Cynthia D. Bertelsen's Blog, page 9
March 8, 2022
A Brief Passage to India
[Note: I wrote this piece in February 2005 and have revised it a bit. I scarcely remember what it is to eat inside in a restaurant anymore. I still have never been to India … .] Curry aromas waft promisingly in the cold winter air as the smudged glass door opens and closes with every … More A Brief Passage to India
February 28, 2022
Carnevale Goeth: Dipping into Austerity via Cucina di Magro
“Thin” kitchen, that’s what the “magro” part means here. No, not a galley kitchen. Not a New York loft kitchen. Not even a Paris apartment kitchen. Skinny food. That’s cucina di magro. Vegetables. Legumes. Fish. Fruit. Shellfish. The bones of the Mediterranean diet. No meat, at least none that walks around on four legs. Or … More Carnevale Goeth: Dipping into Austerity via Cucina di Magro
February 27, 2022
Carnevale Cometh: Ricotta and Fritters, Oh My Goodness!
Fritters and Carnevale, lumped together like ham and eggs, mashed potatoes and gravy, risi e bisi, rice and beans. Ricotta fritters, to be exact. True, most people associate ricotta fritters more with St. Joseph’s Day, March 19 in Italy. But those fritters lean toward the filled variety, sweetened, creamy ricotta delivering a tantalizing surprise with … More Carnevale Cometh: Ricotta and Fritters, Oh My Goodness!
February 26, 2022
Carnevale Cometh: Calzone, Yum Yum
What of calzone? And its cousin panzerotti? As cousins will often do, both look alike, except for size. And both end up seated at the communal table for celebrations like Carnevale. Calzone comes from a Latin word, calceus, meaning shoe, and may have been in used in everyday speech beginning around 1170. Today, the accepted … More Carnevale Cometh: Calzone, Yum Yum
February 25, 2022
Carnevale Cometh: Cenci by Any Other Name Would Taste as Sweet as Wine…
Hereupon, a whole host of absurd figures surrounded him, pretending to sympathize in his mishap. Clowns and party-colored harlequins; orang-outangs; bear-headed, bull-headed, and dog-headed individuals; faces that would have been human, but for their enormous noses; one terrific creature, with a visage right in the centre of his breast; and all other imaginable kinds of …
February 24, 2022
Carnivale Cometh, Again: Sumptuous Lasagne di Carnevale
And now for the food of Carnival, as interpreted by cooks in what is now Italy. (See previous post on Carnival for more history.) Greasy, fatty, protein-rich, oozing with cheese or sugar, the dishes created for Martedi Grasso (Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday) served a higher purpose than merely feeding hungry stomachs: the severe Lenten proscriptions … More Carnivale Cometh, Again: Sumptuous Lasagne di Carnevale
February 23, 2022
Carnevale Cometh, and Lent Beckons
Soon the streets of Venice will overflow with a flood – not of water, as usual – but of tourists and food. For soon the rituals of Carnevale, or Mardi Gras (also called Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday ) will once more surge into popular culture. The official date of Mardi Gras in 2022 falls … More Carnevale Cometh, and Lent Beckons
February 20, 2022
“Stoves & Suitcases” Book Trailer!
Take a girl with an iffy start in life. Mix in wanderlust and cooking. And lots of books. Add a dollop of yearning for home and belonging. Knead in a pinch of self-discovery. Let rise and ripen. The result is Cynthia D. Bertelsen’s Stoves & Suitcases: Searching for Home in the World’s Kitchens, a reflective … More “Stoves & Suitcases” Book Trailer!
February 7, 2022
Petits Propos Culinaires, an Oft-Overlooked and Unobtainable Tool Now Available in Digital
In these days of plague, I’ve spent much time thinking about the past. Not so much my own past as that of England. The runaway popularity of “Downton Abbey” and the resurgence of interest in Jane Austen contributed to a new rabbit hole I’m climbing down. And maybe too a little curiosity about the Black … More Petits Propos Culinaires, an Oft-Overlooked and Unobtainable Tool Now Available in Digital
January 24, 2022
Down the Rabbit Hole: Wandering through an Amazing Maze of Links
A long time ago, like many children, I read Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The White Rabbit always intrigued me. Walt Disney’s interpretation of the character, with his twitching, nervous upper lip and hoppity movements, made me laugh. As did his habit of clutching his timepiece, which I called a grandfather watch. Just like the … More Down the Rabbit Hole: Wandering through an Amazing Maze of Links
