International Lasagna Day

Today is the feast day of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor. He died on this day in 814, of natural causes, after a great life. He united much of western Europe for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire, and set a new standard of civilization and government. His dining style was revolutionary, too. At Charlemagne's banquets, roses were scattered over the tables and guests ate with utensils, not fingers. (The implements were mostly knives, the fork having not yet been invented.) One of the world's greatest white wines is named for him: Corton Charlemagne, all Chardonnay, big and rich. He wasn't a saint, but he was beatified.

Parsnip Creek is in the extreme northwest corner of Montana, a mountainous wilderness. Each of its three branches tumble down the slopes of 6139-foot Parsnip Mountain, running about five miles into Lake Koocanoosa. The lake is formed by a dam on the Kootenai River, and crosses the Canadian border. ("Koocanusa" is a made-up name (it won a contest) combining "Kootenai," "Canada," and "USA.") It's a sixteen-mile, rugged hike from the mouth of Parsnip Creek to Libby, where you can lunch at the Red Dog Saloon.

This is International Lasagna Day. The cold weather likely on this date makes a big casserole dish full of meaty, saucy, cheesy, heartwarming lasagna seem perfect. Lasagna is a long time in the oven--what could be better than a winter day for that?Like many dishes, lasagna is named for the container in which it is made. In this case, it's unappetizing. The Greek word from which lasagna descends meant "chamber pot." The first versions were baked in large, deep dishes. The ingredients and their assembly probably evolved from the many layered, baked casseroles (Greek moussaka is the most familiar) that are still found in the Balkans. Lasagna as we know it--with its layers of cheese, meat, and sauce--is probably not much more than a hundred years old.However, recently a story broke in England claiming that the dish originated there. This is not entirely incredible, because layered dishes (shepherd's pie) are also of long standing in the Isles. Here's the story from the BBC.The current controversy among cooks of lasagna in America is whether the dry noodles (flat, broad sheets, sometimes wavy at the edges) should be layered into the dish cooked or uncooked. Both seem to work, but we have a better idea: the best lasagna is made with fresh (undried) pasta sheets, uncooked.Many sources report that today is also Blueberry Pancake Day. Fresh blueberries are completely out of season in America. They are, however, growing nicely and ready to fly or float in from Chile. They're not even all that expensive. Still, this doesn't seem like the right day for this. Not even the pancake part. Pancakes are associated with Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras to you and me), whose earliest possible date is eight days off.

Crottin de Chavignol, (French) n.--A goat's milk cheese from the tiny town of Chavignol, in the Loire Valley. Originally, this cheese was made in balls. Their size and the fact that the rind sometimes turned a light brown gives rise to its name, which also means "horse manure." However, the Crottin you will encounter now is more likely to be made in cylindrical shape, with a white rind. It looks like a taller, smaller Brie. The tiny mushrooms that forms the rind turns brown with a hint of greenish-blue as it ages. A well-aged Crottin de Chavignol is delicious, with a firm, surprisingly crumbly interior and a very full taste. Don't eat the rind of an old one.

You should never be able to finish a restaurant serving of lasagna comfortably.

The perfect lasagna has exactly twice as much cheese--both in kind and in quantity--as it has meat.

Today in 1830, Daniel-François-Esprit Auber's opera Fra Diavolo opened in Paris. It was about a reprobate from Naples bearing the same name as the opera. Fra Diavolo means "brother devil." It appears on Italian menus as a spicy dish of shellfish (shrimp and lobster, most commonly) and a peppery red sauce.

This is the birthday, in 1873, of Sidonie Gabrielle Colette, a French novelist who wrote under her last name alone. She was highly quotable on the subjects of eating, drinking, and loving. Here are a few of her memorable lines:"The three great stumbling blocks in a girl's education are homard a l'Americaine, a boiled egg, and asparagus.""As he chops, cut, slices, trims, shapes, or threads through the string, a butcher is as good a sight to watch as a dancer or a mime.""If you aren't up to a little magic occasionally, you shouldn't waste time trying to cook.""If I can't have too many truffles, I'll do without truffles."

Today in 1945, General "Vinegar" Joe Stilwell reopened the Burma Road from that country to China, a victory in World War II. . . Jackson Pollock, the painter famous for dripping paint on canvases, was born today in 1912. (Pollock is the northern Pacific fish used to make fake crabmeat.). . . Marty Fried, drummer for the 1960s rock band the Cyrkle (who opened for the Beatles when they toured America) was born today in 1944. . . Jan Lamb--Hong Kong stand-up comedian, radio personality, and voice-over artist--bleated his first today in 1967.

"Voluptuaries, consumed by their senses, always begin by flinging themselves with a great display of frenzy into an abyss. But they survive, they come to the surface again. And they develop a routine of the abyss: 'It's four o clock. At five I have my abyss.'"--Colette, French playwright and author, born today in 1873.

"Someone is putting brandy in your bonbons, Grand Marnier in your breakfast jam, Kahlua in your ice cream, Scotch in your mustard and Wild Turkey in your cake."--Marian Burros, New York Times food writer.