Readin’ and Eatin’
July 5, 2009

Last November I talked about a new tradition I instituted for that holiday, the Great Thanksgiving Weekend Read. It was a two-pronged celebration of food and books, and I came away feeling wonderfully stuffed on both fronts.

Six months later and with another four-day holiday weekend—because I added a vacation day to it— in front of me, I decided to do the same thing. Thus, my Great American Celebration Read. (At least it is this year and next; it won’t be quite the same when July 4 falls on a Wednesday.)

I began my preparations the weekend before. By Wednesday I had two lovely steaks, a cut-up chicken, Portobello mushrooms, potatoes, , and the herbs, oils and vinegars/juice for the marinades sitting in my refrigerator, good Cabernet, my favorite green salad makings (recipe shared, below), corn on the cob and artichokes for steaming, and a quart of vanilla bean ice cream with fresh blueberries and raspberries. Life looked good.

Once the menus were decided and the food gathered I set about selecting my books. One of the problems I have with this kind of early decision-making is that what looked good during the selection process may not appeal when the time comes to pick it up. One way around that is to choose more books than I know I can read. Another is to simply be flexible. After all it’s not about sticking irrevocably to a plan but to have made some solid desirable choices.

On Thursday night I settled down on the sofa, two of the three cats draped across my legs with a glass of post-dinner wine on the floor and Notes from a Big Country (the UK version; the American edition is titled I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America after Twenty Years Away) in my hand. This book is a compilation of Bill Bryson’s columns written over a two-year period for a British magazine on his experiences as an American who had returned to this country after living in Britain for an extended period of time. He had left as a young man and returned a husband, father, and career man. And while the changes he found were often baffling and frustrating, his writing renders them into something tender and funny.

I have never had a garbage disposal before, so I have been learning its tolerances through a process of trial and error. Chopsticks give perhaps the liveliest response (this is not recommended, of course, but there comes a time with every piece of machinery when you just have to see what it can do), but cantaloupe rinds make the richest, throatiest sound and result in less ‘down time’. Coffee grounds in quantity are the most likely to provide a satisfying ‘Vesuvius effect’, though for obvious reasons it is best not to attempt this difficult feat until your wife has gone out for the day and to have a mop and stepladder standing by.

For reasons I cannot begin to understand, when I was about eight years old my parents gave me a pair of skis for Christmas. I went outside, strapped them on, and stood in a racing crouch, but nothing happened. This is because there are no hills in Iowa.

Casting around for something with a slope, I decided to ski down our back porch steps. There were only five steps, but on skis the angle of descent was surprisingly steep. I went down the steps at about, I would guess, 110 miles per hour, and hit the bottom with such force that the skis jammed solid, whereas I continued onward and outward across the patio in a graceful, rising arc. About twelve feet away loomed the back wall of our garage. Instinctively adopting a spread-eagled posture for maximum impact, I smacked into it somewhere near the roof and slid down its vertical face in the manner of food flung against a wall.

Her husband was as astute as he was energetic, and because he wanted so much for his family he went to his office quite early in the morning while most men were still asleep and he often stayed there working until late at night. He worked all day Saturday and part of Sunday, and holidays were nothing but a nuisance. Before very long the word had gone around that Walter Bridge was the man to handle the case.

The family saw very little of him. It was not unusual for an entire week to pass without any of the children seeing him. On Sunday morning they would come downstairs and he might be at the breakfast table; he greeted them pleasantly and they responded deferentially, and a little wistfully because they missed him. Sensing this, he would redouble his efforts at the office in order to give them everything they wanted.

Consequently they were able to move to a lare house just off Ward Parkway several years soon than they hadexpected, and because the house was so large they employed a young colored girl named Harriet to do the cooking and cleaning.

One morning at the breakfast table Carolyn said petulantly, “I’m sick and tired of orange marmalade!” Mrs. Bridge, who was mashing an egg for her, replied patiently, “Now, Corky, just remember there are lots and lots of little girls in the world who don’t have any marmalade at all.”

Mixed greens (using Shepherd’s salad mix is fine)
Fresh dill
Fresh cilantro (optional but recommended)
Tomatoes, fresh, glorious, richly red, preferably organic
Capers
Moroccan or other dry, salty olives
Mango, ripe, but semi-firm
Green onions
Chives
Cucumber
Avocado
Goat cheese
Radishes
Yellow bell pepper
Hard-boiled egg
Croutons, homemade or high-quality store (large) ones
Freshly ground black pepper
Cardini’s Caesar Salad dressing (original)

Use an oversized bowl for the salad because you want to show off the gorgeous array of ingredients.

Can be done ahead of time: If you are making your own croutons, cut day-old French bread into large squares. Brush with garlic-infused olive oil or butter. Toast lightly in a 250-degree oven, turning every four minutes or so until they are light golden-brown. 

Hard-boil the egg, then set in refrigerator to chill.

Begin by removing the feathery parts of the dill from the stems as well as the cilantro leaves from their stems. Discard stems, and add the dill and cilantro leaves to the greens. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the tomatoes into wedges—thick or thin is your choice—retaining seeds and juice if possible. Drain the capers. Slice the mango yourself (rather than use store bought previously-cut slices), and cut half the slices into wedges. Peel, seed, and cube the cucumber. Slice the green onions, both the green and white parts. Cut the chives with a kitchen scissors. Slice the goat cheese into rounds. Slice the radishes after removing ends. Remove stem and seeds from bell pepper, and cut into attractive matchstick-sized pieces. Slice the chilled egg as neatly as you can into wedges (eight pieces) or slices. Finally, peel and slice the avocado into think wedges.  

Set aside half the tomatoes wedges, the mango slices, half the goat cheese, all the egg wedges, and the dressing. Then fill salad bowl, tossing gently to mix the ingredients up and distribute the pepper. On top of the attractive mixture, artistically arrange the rest of the tomato wedges, the mango slices, the avocado, the remainder of the goat cheese slices, and the egg wedges. Note that if your salad is large, you may want to make two complete layers so that all the goodies are not sitting on top of a large bowl of greens. Serve with a pepper grinder for those who want more, and the dressing in an attractive gravy boat or other server. Chilled salad forks add a nice touch.

Note: You can make the bottled dressing even better by adding a quick squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a tablespoon of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and one-half teaspoon of freshly ground pepper. Shake well to mix before putting in server.