Music on the plate

Grand Rossini menu

By Cezary Owerkowicz

usic is the food of love…’ wrote Shakespeare. I’m sure he was right. But if somebody by mistake would say the opposite: ‘music is the love of food…’? Is it a totally wrong opinion? Let us have a look.

Feast of music is quite often described as something extraordinary. The closest explanation of the word ‘feast is a banquet’ but it sounds much more ‘gastronomically’, isn’t it? Relations between music and gastronomy are very old and vary in tradition.

Both were sometimes immanent elements of – exactly – feasts. Since the prehistoric beginning of humanity singing and dancing around common meal up to dazzling monarch banquets in golden eras of dynasties earlier or contemporary oligarchs nowadays. No need to come back to extravagant samples: live music, recorded music soundtrack or broadcasting tunes are present in a majority of gastronomic places of quite different various levels and characters.

And opposite: throughout history meals and drinks were offered or served during Operatic spectacles and concerts. During certain times, different in certain countries or – continents, ‘gastronomic elements of feasts’ began to be restricted to buffets, bars or even restaurants located in the same building but outside the performance hall.

Owerkowicz

Appreciate

Personally I appreciate it very much. Since I was lucky to attend the Covent Garden Opera spectacles with possibilities to book/order something during intervals (spectrum of ‘something’ is really amazing there!) I started to implement this idea during events and places without such tradition. Successfully – and with real pleasure.

Except for all of it mentioned above there are many well-known compositions inspired by food or drinks, illustrated than musicians, especially composers were – and are – connoisseurs of ‘art de cuisine’, or even – gourmands. The menu is very rich and varies from Baroque, J. S. Bach’s – Coffee Cantata (How sweet coffee tastes, more delicious than a thousand kisses and milder that muscatel wine) up to contemporary classic, L. Bernstein’s: La Bonne Cuisine for soprano and piano glorifying among others in its parts: Plum Pudding, Ox Tails, a savory Turkish pudding and quick rabbit stew.

Passing to the history 2018 was proclaimed Gioacchino Rossini Year on the occasion of 150th anniversary of his death (Nov 13, 1868). Why, because he was born in Pesaro on Feb 29, 1792, Italian genius of opera, author of The Barber Of Seville, after composing thirty nine operas which conquered all theater stages on all continents and are continuously performed until now, at the age of 37, at the peak of his career, dropped composing and performing and just enjoyed life. However he loved all available pleasures of life, his favorite was the art de cuisine.

Of all composers, Rossini was surely the king of the dinner table. His love for food was evidenced not just by his ever-expanding waistline, but also the number of dishes named after him. The corpulent composer claimed he only cried three times in his life: once when his first opera was a fiasco; the second time when he heard Paganini play and the third time when sailing to a picnic lunch and seeing a turkey stuffed with truffles, his favorite treat, fell overboard.

Not by chance Tournedos Rossini, Eggs Rossini and Rossini Cocktail are on the menus of every top restaurant. Already during second half of his life (even most of life) he became known as pot-belly, sybarite, maniac of truffles, foie gras, Madeira and demi-glace, not only as author of the top Opera hits of that époque.

Born into a musician family in Pesaro, growing in Emilia-Romania he became imbued with music and taste of butter, eggs macaroni, rich vincigrassi and tortellini, smoked sausages ciauscolo or mortadella, prosciutto, Parmesan and pecorino. His father played the horn and was inspector of slaughterhouses, was arrested because he was a revolutionary. His mother was a singer. His first teacher on harpsichord was known for selling beer and sleeping during the lessons. During the performance he was under care of a ... butcher in Bologna.

Practice

Much more he learned during practice with a blacksmith, who appeared to be also an excellent music teacher! He taught him singing, playing piano, sight reading. At the age of twelve he composed in Three Days six Sonatas for strings and piano. Not so far ago the original scores were found at the Library of Congress in Washington, Excellent pieces with Mozart and Haydn influences eagerly punctuated by frequent rhythmic changes and clear songlike melodies. Rossini composer was born in 1804.

Next year he debuted as a singer. In 1806 he became the cello student at the Bologna Conservatory. At the age of eighteen he composed his first opera The Marriage Contract, produced by Marquis Cavalli in Venice. At the age of twenty after operas Tancredi and The Italian Girl in Algiers he catapulted to the position of international fame. Eagerly and easily he composed all 39 operas, except a lot of sacral music, cantatas, instrumental chamber music, and secular vocal music and presented his works around the world. He earned lot of honors, public and critics’ appreciation and money – everything with real cosmic speed.

Retire

When he decided to ‘retire’ he settled in Paris, capital of ‘haute cuisine’. The most famous dish dedicated to the composer, Tournedos Rossini the most probably was prepared by one of most prominent Parisian cooks. Some say he was Marie-Antoine Careme, personal master chief of banker Rothschild family, although some have a different opinion, because there is such recipe in his numbered publications.

Tournedos Rossini – Rossini was regular visitor of luxury Maison Doree, where the master chef was Casimir Moissons and Café Anglais, which was the duchy of Adolphe Duglere, called by Maestro Rossini as The Mozart between All Cooks.

The name of beef medallions ‘tournedos’ comes from the description in French ‘tourner le dos’ – (‘turn with one back’). Maybe it is description of situation when maitre d’hotel during ‘live performance of the dish, turned back to the guests. In cooking dictionary tournedos means not too thick, rounded steaks from beef filet mignon. All Rossini style means that those steaks are pan fried in fresh butter, served on a browned crouton and topped with hot slice of fresh whole foie gras (goose liver pastry), briefly pan fried at the last minute. The dish should be garnished with black truffles flakes and finished with a Madeira demi-glace sauce.

Just quintessence of culinary debauchery! Famous Tournedos and other Rossini influenced dishes you will find among others at the époque Larousse Gastronomic. When Maestro wasn’t yet acclaimed millionaire his diet was more modest but always tasty.

Foam from mortadella sausage is done from half of kilo mortadella, 100 gram of cow-milk ricotta cheese, spoon of grated Parmesan, 2 spoons of sweet cream and 2 spoons of masacarpone. All are ground and mixed until you get fluffy substance. Add spices up to your taste and serve with hot croutons or country bread.

Eggs Rossini: Half cupful of demiglace and boil rapidly to reduce by half. Throw into boiling water four chicken livers and let them simmer gently for ten minutes; then drain. Slice twelve nice mushrooms and put them with livers into the stock. Cook six eggs. Melt fresh butter on the shallow platter; when melted put the eggs, garnish with liver and mushrooms and pour over the sauce.

Simple

Semolina dumplings were also simple but Maestro liked dish. Quarter of kilo semolina he boiled densely; cooled and mixed well with two eggs, pinch of nutmeg and salt pastry is formed into ‘small nuts’ and fried on hot butter. Flood by hot demiglace.

Demi-glace needs three kilos of veal bones, baked to brown in oven (180ºC) and after being boiled slowly in water with one kilo of onion, veggies for broth and spices until reduced to dark, dense cream. It is fantastic addition to every sauce or dish.

Everything but except Rossini Drink – just containing Italian sparkling Prosecco with fresh strawberries or homemade mousse from them. Bon appetite! PS. Liking to differentiate a bit solemn character of articles dedicated to distinguished jubilees of great musicians, I wanted to pay tribute to famous Italian writing of his really passion (beside music, of course!)

Love of life is heard in every phrase of his music. Even The Greatest Maestro before climbing plinth of bronze or marble monument was also a human loving somebody and something!

Editor’s Note:

Cezary Owerkowicz is the chairman of the Kuwait Chamber of Philharmonia and talented pianist. He regularly organizes concerts by well-known musicians for the benefit of music lovers and to widen the knowledge of music in Kuwait. His email address is: cowerkowicz@yahoo. com and cowerkowicz@hotmail. com