Monday, February 17th, 2020
Sardines. Blondie and Dagwood. Cafe Au Lait. Coffeeville. Grouper. Cadbury. Beery. Wish Bone.
Food Inventions
Julius Wolff of Maine became the first man to can sardines on this date in 1876. The kind of sardines you find in cans are generic fish and of more interest to cats than to humans. However, real sardines--named for the island of Sardinia--are a treat we sometimes see in New Orleans, particularly around St. Joseph's Day. They're six to eight inches long, pan-sauteed or broiled, and served whole. They have a very assertive flavor that will not please those who complain about fish tasting "fishy." For those with more adventuresome palates, they're a delight.
Food In The Comics
This is the anniversary of the marriage of Blondie and Dagwood. Her maiden name was "Boopadoop." Dagwood was a wealthy playboy whose choice of a bride (not a bad one, if he was looking for a lady with a great figure) caused his father to disinherit him. Dagwood went on to become an iconic chowhound. The overloaded sandwich (regardless of its contents, as long as there's plenty of different stuff, and sardines) is named for him. Dagwood's Sandwich Shop was on the corner of Cleveland and South Carrollton in New Orleans, serving sandwiches named after characters in the strip until. King Features Syndicate found out about it and forced a name change to the much less appealing Dogwood's. And then it was gone.
Food Calendar
It is National Cafe Au Lait Day. Every day is Cafe au Lait Day for me. In fact, I'm drinking the stuff as I write this. Can't imagine a morning without it. I have so much to say on this subject that I refer you to Matters Of Taste later in today's edition.
Delicious-Sounding Places
Coffeeville is a ghost town in the northeast corner of Texas, ninety miles northwest of Shreveport, LA. It was founded in the 1850s as a supply point for settlers who were buying and developing farmland in the years after Texas became a state. When the railroad came through, in the 1880s, it was built well away from Coffeeville, and the town began to dwindle. It's easy to see that there used to be many buildings here, but almost none are in use. The people who live in the area now do so on their own farms and ranches. The nearest restaurant is Cherubs, a mile and a half east in Ore City.
Edible Dictionary: Lenten Guide To Local Fish
grouper, n.--The word "grouper" is applied to a large range of saltwater fish species, some of which also qualify as sea bass. The Gulf of Mexico groupers are more popular in Florida than in Louisiana, but they are commonly enough caught that they're showing up more frequently on local menus. The firmness of the meat and its whiteness also make it appealing. Some of the groupers are better than others. The one I've liked best is the Warsaw grouper, a rather large (as much as forty pounds) fish with enormous flakes. That's what I like about it. You can serve it one flake at a time. Yellowfin grouper--a smaller fish--are more common. They're usually served in fillets. In general, the flavor of grouper is on the mild side. It benefits from brief marination in olive oil, lemon juice and wine, and a crust of Creole seasoning. The best preparations are grilling and broiling. It's also good panned, with a crust of herbal bread crumbs. The name "grouper" comes through Portuguese from a South American word for the fish.
Food Through History
On this date in 1454, Philip The Good, Duke of Burgundy, and son of John the Fearless (don't you wish we still used such epithets?), held a magnificent feast in Dijon. At its end, he took the Vow of the Pheasant, and swore that he would go on a Crusade to fight the Turks. Big words at that time, because the Turks had just taken Constantinople. He must have been drunk on Pinot Noir. He never did undertake the Crusade.
Today is the ancient Roman festival Fornicalia, which was not what it sounds like. It celebrated the hearth, wheat, bread, and baking.
Food Entrepreneurs
William Cadbury, who founded the chocolate manufacturing concern that still bears his name, was born today in 1867.
Food Namesakes
Actor Noah Beery was brewed up today in 1882. . . Charles de Bourbon, the governor of Lombardy, was born today in 1490. . . Actress Christina Pickles hit the Big Stage today in 1935. . . American film director Michael Bay said "roll 'em" today in 1965. . . Rapper Wish Bone was pulled out today in 1975.
Words To Eat By
"After a few months' acquaintance with European coffee one's mind weakens, and his faith with it, and he begins to wonder if the rich beverage of home, with it's clotted layer of yellow cream on top of it, is not a mere dream after all, and a thing which never existed."--Mark Twain.
