A night of debauchery at Piranha Club: Apicius Apr 12 - 7pm

It is a great honor and privilege that I have been invited by fellow LTHer Jefe (Eric May) to co-chef at his next Piranha Club dinner! When he asked what theme I would be interested in tackling, I immediately thought of only one thing, the collection of ancient Roman recipes “Apicius” (free in e-book!). Of course reading the world’s oldest printed recipes is educational, and a novelty, but there is also something about the incomplete and/or intentionally ambiguous wording of the recipes that really gets my imagination stirring and allows for interpretation and creative freedom. I have never been one to follow a recipe to a T, so there is a good reason this is my favorite cookbook.

April 12, 7pm, cost is $45. To RSVP, let me or Jefe know by posting here and the purchase tickets through the link on the event page here.

It will be a proper feast! From Apicius we have selected a 5 course dinner comprised of:

Salt Fish Balls in Wine Sauce
Aspara­gus Custard
A Tempt­ing Dish of Peas
Dainty Dish of Kid
Cheese and Honey
...and of course lots of wine, praise be to Bacchus.

I’ll post the complete recipes in a 2nd post following this one, but first I leave you with a morsel of humor.

“The Porker’s Last Will and Testament”
by Petrus Lambecius

“I, M. Grunter Corocotta Porker, do hereby make my last will and testament. Incapable of writing in my own hand, I have dictated what is to be set down:

“The Chief Cook sayeth: ‘Come here, you—who has upset this house, you nuissance, you porker! I’ll deprive you of your life this day!’

“Corocotta Porker sayeth: ‘What, perchance, have I done? In what way, please, have I sinned? Have I with my feet perhaps smashed your crockery? I beg of you, Mr. Cook, I entreat you, if such be the case, kindly grant the supplicant a reprieve.’

“The Chief Cook sayeth: ‘Go over there, boy! Fetch me from the kitchen that slaughtering-knife. I’m just itching to give this porker a blood-bath!’

“Mr. Porker, realizing that this is the season when cabbage sprouts are abundant, and visualizing himself potted and peppered, and furthermore seeing that death is inevitable, asks for time and begs of the cook whether it was possible to make a will. This granted, he calls out with a loud voice to his parents to save for them the food that was to have been his own in the future, to wit:

“To my father, Mr. Genuine Bacon-Fat, appointed by me in my last will I give and bequeath: thirty measures of acorns; and to my mother, Mrs. Old-Timer Sow, appointed by me in my last will, I give and bequeath: forty measures of Spartan wheat; and to my sister, Cry-Baby, appointed by me in my last will, whose wedding, alas! I cannot attend, I give and bequeath: thirty measures of barley; and of my nobler parts and property I give and bequeath, to the cobbler: my bristles; to the brawlers, my jaw-bones; to the deaf, my ears; to the shyster lawyers, my tongue; to the cow-herds, my intestines; to the sausage makers, my thighs; to the ladies, my tenderloins; to the boys, my bladder; to the girls, my little pig’s tail; to the dancers, my muscles; to the runners and hunters, my knuckles; to the hired man, my hoofs; and to the cook—though not to be named—I give and bequeath and transmit my belly and appendage which I have dragged with me from the rotten oak bottoms to the pig’s sty, for him to tie around his neck and to hang himself with.

“I wish to erect a monument to myself, inscribed with golden letters: ‘M. Grunter Corocotta Porker lived nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine years, and had he lived another half year, a thousand years would have been nearly completed.’

“I ask of you who love me best, you who live like me, I ask you: will not my name remain to be eulogized in all eternity? if you only will prepare my body properly and flavor it well with good condiments, nuts, pepper and honey!

“My master and my relatives, all of you who have witnessed this execution of my last will and testament, you are requested to sign.
(Signed)
Hard Sausage
Match Maker
Fat Bacon
Bacon Rind
Celsinus
Meat Ball
Sprout Cabbage.”

The Recipes with editor/translator notes:

[145] SALT FISH BALLS IN WINE SAUCE
[1] PATELLA ARIDA [2] DRY PIECES OF SALT TURSIO [3] ARE BONED, CLEANED [soaked in water, cooked] SHREDDED FINE AND SEASONED WITH GROUND PEPPER, LOVAGE, ORIGANY, PARSLEY, CORIANDER, CUMIN, RUE SEEDS AND DRY MINT. MAKE FISH BALLS OUT OF THIS MATERIAL AND POACH THE SAME IN WINE, BROTH AND OIL; AND WHEN COOKED, ARRANGE THEM IN A DISH. THEN MAKE A SAUCE [utilizing the broth, the court bouillon in which the balls were cooked] SEASON WITH PEPPER, LOVAGE, SATURY, ONIONS AND WINE AND VINEGAR, ALSO ADD BROTH AND OIL AS NEEDED, BIND WITH ROUX [4] [pour over the balls] SPRINKLE WITH THYME AND GROUND PEPPER [5].
[1] Reminding us of the Norwegian fiske boller in wine sauce, a popular commercial article found canned in delicatessen stores.
[2] List. patella sicca—dry, perhaps because made of dried fish.
[3] List. isicia de Tursione; G.-V. Thursione. Probably a common sturgeon, or porpoise, or dolphin. List. describes it as “a kind of salt fish from the Black Sea; a malicious fish with a mouth similar to a rabbit”; Dann. thinks it is a sturgeon, but in Goll. it appears as tunny. The ancients called the sturgeon acipenser; but this name was gradually changed into styrio, stirio and sturio, which is similar to tursio (cf. styrio in the vocabulary). The fish in question therefore may have been sturgeon for which the Black Sea is famous.
[4] List., G.-V. ovis obligabis—tie with eggs—certainly preferable to the Tor. version.
[5] Tor. thyme. The above is an excellent way of making fish balls, it being taken for granted, of course, that the salt fish be thoroughly soaked and cooked in milk before shaping into balls. The many spices should be used very moderately, some to be omitted entirely. We read between the lines of the old formula that the Tursio had a long journey from Pontus to Rome; fish however dry acquires a notorious flavor upon such journeys which must be offset by herbs and spices. It is quite possible that the ancients made a réduction of the herbs and spices mentioned in this formula; in fact, the presence of vinegar leads us to believe this, in which case this formula would be nothing but a very modern sauce. The herbs and spices in a réduction are crushed and boiled down in vinegar and wine, and strained off, they leave their finest flavor in the sauce.

[133] ANOTHER ASPARAGUS CUSTARD ALIA PATINA DE ASPARAGIS ASPARAGUS PIE IS MADE LIKE THIS
[1] PUT IN THE MORTAR ASPARAGUS TIPS [2] CRUSH PEPPER, LOVAGE, GREEN CORIANDER, SAVORY AND ONIONS; CRUSH, DILUTE WITH WINE, BROTH AND OIL. PUT THIS IN A WELL-GREASED PAN, AND, IF YOU LIKE, ADD WHILE ON THE FIRE SOME BEATEN EGGS TO IT TO THICKEN IT, COOK [without boiling the eggs] AND SPRINKLE WITH VERY FINE PEPPER.
[1] Tor.
[2] Reference to wine wanting in Tor. We add that the asparagus should be cooked before crushing.


[192] A TEMPTING DISH OF PEAS PISAM ADULTERAM [1] VERSATILEM
THIS ADROIT, TEMPTING DISH OF PEAS IS PREPARED IN THIS MANNER: [2] COOK PEAS; BRAINS OR SMALL BIRDS, OR BONED THRUSHES, LUCANIAN SAUSAGE, CHICKEN LIVERS AND GIBLETS—ALL OF WHICH ARE PUT IN A SAUCE PAN; BROTH, OIL AND A BUNCH OF LEEKS, GREEN CORIANDER FINELY CHOPPED, COOK WITH THE BRAINS; CRUSH PEPPER, LOVAGE AND BROTH [3].
[1] Sch., Dann. crafty, i.e. not genuine. Adulteram cannot here be used in its most accepted sense, because the peas are genuine, and no attempt is made to adulterate or “fake” this dish in any way, shape or form. Never before have we applied the term “seductive” to any dish, but this is just what adultera means. “Tempting” of course is quite common.
[2] Tor. sentence wanting in other texts.
[3] This formula is incomplete or mutilated, the last sentence breaks off in the middle—very likely a description of the sauce or condiments belonging to the peas. Each and every component of this (really tempting) dish must be cooked separately; they are then composed in a dish, nicely arranged, with the peas in the center, surrounded by the several morsels, with an appropriate gravy made from the natural liquor or juices of the component parts poured over the dish.

[355] DAINTY DISHES OF KID OR OF LAMB
COPADIA HÆDINA SIVE AGNINA COOK WITH PEPPER AND BROTH, ALSO WITH VARIOUS [190] ORDINARY BEANS [1] BROTH, PEPPER AND LASER, CUMIN, DUMPLINGS [2] AND A LITTLE OIL [3].
[1] cum faseolis, green string beans.
[2] Tor. imbrato; G.-V. inbracto, broken bread, regular dumplings.
[3] Lamb and beans is a favorite combination, as in the French haricot, made with white beans, or boiled lamb with fresh string beans, quite a modern dish. Torinus omits the cumin, which is quite characteristic.

[303] CHEESE AND HONEY MEL ET CASEUM [1]
PREPARE [cottage] CHEESE EITHER WITH HONEY AND BROTH [brine] OR WITH SALT, OIL AND [chopped] CORIANDER [2].
[1] G.-V. Melca ... stum; List. mel castum, refined honey; Tac. Mel caseum; Tor. mel, caseum. Cf. No. 294.
[2] To season cottage (fresh curd) cheese today we use salt, pepper, cream, carraway or chopped chives; sometimes a little sugar.

This sounds like an incredibly cool event; I'm out of town that day, or I'd be very tempted.

I'd never thought of Apicius as being "intentionally ambiguous," but I guess it's possible (I had assumed his failure to include measurements for ingredients was due to a general lack of kitchen measurement tools, but I don't know if that's historically accurate).

Years ago, I prepared a few recipes from his "cookbook," and I especially liked one with caraway seed and chicken.

There was some speculation as to why the recipes are missing exact measurements, but none that i remember had to do with lack of tools. I believe it was thought that either the authors never intended to share these recipes with others, much less an amateur cook, but a trained chef would not need measurements, as they'd use common sense or training. I also think I remember reading something about how guarded trade secrets were back then, with craftsmen writing in code and using words that would be intentionally confusing as a primitive form of copy protection. I'll see if i can pull up those quotes.

There may have been two chief reasons for concealing necessary information. Apicius, or more likely the professional collectors of the recipes, may have considered technical elaboration of the formulæ quite superfluous on the assumption that the formulæ were for professional use only. Every good practitioner knows, with ingredients or components given, what manipulations are required, what effects are desired. Even in the absence of detailed specifications, the experienced practitioner will be able to divine correct proportions, by intuition. As a matter of fact, in cookery the mention in the right place of a single ingredient, like in poetry the right word, often suffices to conjure up before the gourmet’s mental eye vistas of delight. Call it inspiration, association of ideas or what you please, a single word may often prove a guide, a savior.

The other chief motive for condensing or obscuring his text has a more subtle foundation. Indeed, we are surprised that we should possess so great a collection of recipes, representing to him who could use them certain commercial and social value. The preservation of Apicius seems entirely accidental. Experienced cooks were in demand in Apicii times; the valuation of their ministrations increased proportionately to the progress in gastronomy and to the prosperity of the nation. During Rome’s frugal era, up to 200 B.C. the primitive cooks were just slaves and household chattels; but the development of their trade into an art, stimulated by foreign precepts, imported principally from Greece, Sicily and Asia Minor, opened up to the practitioners not only the door to freedom from servitude but it offered even positions of wealth with social and political standing, [29] often arousing the envy, satire, criticism of bona-fide politicians, journalists, moralists, satirists and of the ever-present hordes of parasites and hangers-on. Some cooks became confidants, even friends and advisors of men in high places, emperors, (cf. life of Vitellius) and through their subtle influence upon the mighty they may have contributed in no mean measure to the fate of the nation. But such invisible string-pullers have not been confined to those days alone. (Take Rasputin! Take the valet to William I, reputed to have had more “say” than the mighty Bismarck, who, as it developed, got “the air” while the valet died in his berth.) Such being the case, what potential power reposed in a greasy cookery manuscript! And, if so, why bare such wonderful secrets to Tom, Dick and Harry? Weights and measures are given by Apicius in some instances. But just such figures can be used artfully to conceal a trap. Any mediocre cook, gaining possession of a choice collection of detailed and itemized recipes would have been placed in an enviable position. Experimenting for some time (at his master’s expense) he would soon reach that perfection when he could demand a handsome compensation for his ministrations. Throughout antique times, throughout the middle ages down to the present day (when patent laws no longer protect a secret) strict secrecy was maintained around many useful and lucrative formulæ, not only by cooks, but also by physicians, alchemists and the various scientists, artisans and craftsmen. Only the favorite apprentice would be made heir to or shareholder in this important stock in trade after his worthiness had been proven to his master’s satisfaction, usually by the payment of a goodly sum of money—apprentice’s pay. We remember reading in Lanciani (Rodolfo L.: Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Discoveries) how in the entire history of Rome there is but one voice, that of a solitary, noble-minded physician, complaining about the secrecy that was being maintained by his colleagues as regards their science. To be sure, those fellows had every reason in the world for keeping quiet: so preposterous were their methods in most cases! This secrecy indeed must have carried with it a blessing in disguise. Professional reserve was not its object. The motive was purely commercial. Seeing where the information given by Apicius is out of reason and unintelligible we are led to believe that such text is by no means to be taken very literally. On the contrary, it is quite probable that weights and measures are not correct: they are quite likely to be of an artful and studied unreliability. A secret private code is often employed, necessitating the elimination or transposition of certain words, figures or letters before the whole will become intelligible and useful. If by any chance an uninitiated hand should attempt to grasp such veiled directions, failure would be certain. We confess to have employed at an early stage of our own career this same strategy and time-honored camouflage to protect a precious lot of recipes. Promptly we lost this unctuous manuscript, as we feared we would; if not deciphered today, the book has long since been discarded as being a record of the ravings of a madman.

So, with this meal, is "failure certain"?

Very interesting. I've been doing a series for New City on comfort food, and I've been talking with chefs about their favorite stuff and they are uniformly reticent when the subject of "recipes" comes up. No surprise, I guess, though I didn't expect them to be so militantly close-mouthed on the topic.

Hi,

When I was IACP a few weeks ago, I participated in the culinary history special interest group meeting.

Present in the meeting was a Swede named Daniel Serra, who considers himself a culinary archeologist. He wrote a book, not yet distributed in the United States, on Viking recipes. He has cooked his way through Apicius. If there are any questions related to these recipes, I can put you in contact.

Regards,

laikom wrote:There was some speculation as to why the recipes are missing exact measurements, but none that i remember had to do with lack of tools. I believe it was thought that either the authors never intended to share these recipes with others, much less an amateur cook, but a trained chef would not need measurements, as they'd use common sense or training. I also think I remember reading something about how guarded trade secrets were back then, with craftsmen writing in code and using words that would be intentionally confusing as a primitive form of copy protection. I'll see if i can pull up those quotes.

Detailed recipes with measurements and precise methods of execution is fairly new. It was expected the recipient knew how to cook.

Long ago, Culinary Historians had a speaker who compared early recipes to Baroque music. If you played Baroque music as it was written, it was a pretty flat tune. It was expected the artist understood to add trills and other musical bells and whistles to make it work.

I know people today who will not always share their recipes. Years ago, Greater Midwest Foodways had a symposium on sausages. One expert on sausages commented the tightest secrets revolve around the seasonings added to sausage.

Regards,

Awesome, I'm in. Is it weird that this will be my third Apicius dinner? I cooked one with some friends and then attended one at Balena.

One fav blog of mine has a huge section on Apicius
http://www.silkroadgourmet.com/tag/apicius/

^ Very cool blog!

Glad you'll be joining us!

I have stumbled across that blog a few times, it is pretty great. In fact, I consulted it while I was making my garum, which is now about 1.5 years aged, so it should be pretty mellow by now. I'll be sure to have a bottle of it at dinner, if anyone dares try some salted fish juice that I let rot on my back porch for an entire summer. All I can say is that many people have tried it and it hasn't killed anyone yet!

Just a heads up for anyone trying to purchase tickets on Paypal: I don't have a merchant account, so the functionality is limited and you have to buy them one at a time– annoying, I know, sorry about that. Cash or check night of is fine too if you RSVP.

I'll have a plus one.

Just purchased 2 tickets. This will be our 3rd Apicius dinner as well with mgmcewen. Looking forward to it!

"Some people have soundtracks to their lives ... I have a menu."

Sounds awesome and I'd love to come but I'll be out of town

In!! If you trust me I'll just bring a cheque that night. What should I bring beverage-wise?

Count me in for some winey balls, adulterous peas and dainty kid. If ok, I'll just bring you cash that night or can quick pay you--just PM me and let me know which you prefer. Looking forward to it!!

This looks fantastic! I can't wait to see pics and here all about it. I'm calling this as an event that will have dishes on the top 10 list for 2014!

pairs4life wrote:I'm calling this as an event that will have dishes on the top 10 list for 2014!

Oh no, the pressure is on!

I'll be there. It should be a night merging art and culinary communities.

It looks like this is shaping up nicely, but we would love to see more of you there! There should still be a few spots left, so if you're on the fence, sign up!

Tonight I'm working on my sourdough starter, for a couple types of fresh baked breads. One savory to be served with the bulk of the meal and the 2nd perhaps a fruit bread (still thinking about this one) to go with the homemade farmers/cottage cheese and honey as the dessert course.

I also made a keg of some really awesome Berliner Weisse aged with grapes (compliments of RAB and REB's garden) which is now carbed up and ready to bring to the party. It was aged for about a year and is crisp and crystal clear, more like a champagne than a beer. I'm made the executive decision that since it's an old style of beer and sour, it's probably similar to what they may have drank in antiquity...

I'm really looking forward to this, can't wait to see you all there!

One more +1 in my group, buying a ticket now.