tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post557113003570650858..comments2024-03-28T01:49:29.773-07:00Comments on lostpastremembered: Alice B Toklas Cookbook Part II, Eggs Francis PicabiaDeana Sidneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14908407077861396161noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-75868978101494032702021-04-02T16:36:36.183-07:002021-04-02T16:36:36.183-07:00Anonymous Andre -- Goodness gracious, that was a l...Anonymous Andre -- Goodness gracious, that was a lifetime ago. I deeply regret misspelling Mr Mellow's name and have repaired it. <br /><br />As for the rest - I gather a bouquet of sources. I share them so people can go off and investigate. They are meant to be amusing and interesting. I comment on what I read. I cut and paste because, in this case,I am letting people that knew Toklas tell their stories. Many people I quote or write about are forgotten and I've endeavored to tell their stories (like Naomi Berry). Hell, most people have heard of Toklas cookbook only because of the brownies... not the divine eggs Picabia.<br /><br />I don't think I've ever had anyone call me offensive and had no idea it was possible to misspell every proper noun.<br /><br />I hardly ever have enough time to write these anymore -- I did spend a lot of time looking up sources and can't imagine I misquoted everyone so completely. I know I enjoyed doing it. <br /><br />I can't imagine why you revisited my offensive drivel 3 years later! Deana Sidneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14908407077861396161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-55074286911266757292021-03-26T22:53:43.780-07:002021-03-26T22:53:43.780-07:00A friend has recently reminded me of my youthful p...A friend has recently reminded me of my youthful passion for the Facteur Cheval's curious single creation, and it occurred to me that the moniker by which that artist-architect has become known closely resembles that of his roughly contemporary, and similarly "outsider," le Douanier Rousseau. The detailed description of a banquet the Steins gave in honor of Rousseau serves as the festive overture to the grand opera that is "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas." The friendly reminder also gave me the impulse to return to the blog post for the first time since I commented on it three years ago. This time I found, to my consternation, that just about no proper noun is spelled correctly in the principal blog post (I hesitate to refer to it as "original"), and a few "improper" nouns haven't come out quite right either. I must have been so mesmerized on my prior visit by Cecil Beaton's affecting pictures, that I did not pay much, if any, attention to the copy (an apt synonym here for "text"). After all, since its undisguised second-hand, copy-and-paste "creative" process is evident at a glance, one might as well go and consult the original sources. Mind you, it is admittedly a charming confection, and if we must choose between charm and orthography, I too would unhesitatingly go for the charm. Yet, I cannot fathom why we can't have both; why someone capable of painstakingly extracting every last gram of charm from her sources, would be unable to extend her attention to those sources' grammar or spelling. She even cites the late James Mellow - he would have turned 95 last month - who is hardly a universal go-to for quotes like Walter Benjamin or Frantz Fanon. Mellow gave his definitive biography of Stein and Toklas the title "Charmed Circle," and indeed the book succeeded in being almost as bewitchingly captivating as its two subjects. In his obituary in The New York Times, Mellow was cited as having stated that the biographer "wants the life ... to have the verisimilitude of a period photograph: the exact hour of a certain afternoon, the forgotten details in place, the casual smile or anxious look fixed forever in its particular time." In other words, he aimed just as tirelessly for accuracy as he did for atmosphere. But even if he could not have everything, at the very least he surely would have liked that his name not be misspelled.Andrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06072715056447160498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-65337738115216927032018-12-09T07:18:16.801-08:002018-12-09T07:18:16.801-08:00The "gargoyles-like" setting of Gertrude...The "gargoyles-like" setting of Gertrude and Alice's double portrait by their friend Cecil Beaton is known as the Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval, a monument of outsider art avant la lettre. Cheval was a French postman who spent 33 years building this functionless pile of proto-surrealist decorative elements, beginning in 1879. It has been preserved in remarkably good condition - perhaps owing to French Minister of Culture André Malraux's blessing - and can be visited in the town of Hauterives, in the Drôme, which is not terribly far from Getrude and Alice's summer residence in Bilignin.Andrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06072715056447160498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-77385828202634260992012-10-15T04:08:34.506-07:002012-10-15T04:08:34.506-07:00Lovely post on this blog. i love it.Lovely post on this blog. i love it.Buying Goldhttp://www.bullionstore.co.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-4820152877986540372012-09-22T09:49:57.250-07:002012-09-22T09:49:57.250-07:00When I cook the eggs a la Sultain my guests are al...When I cook the eggs a la Sultain my guests are always delighted! It is one of my favorite recepies. I tried also other Alice recepies as the Coconut tart. Realy delicious! Ciao GregorioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-50975333030524465532012-07-20T13:43:50.142-07:002012-07-20T13:43:50.142-07:00i can't wait to try the eggs. they sound divin...i can't wait to try the eggs. they sound divine!Dinahttp://huntingfortheverybest.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-39485272449275523972012-07-18T12:49:30.449-07:002012-07-18T12:49:30.449-07:00My arteries clogged reading that one egg recipe!!!...My arteries clogged reading that one egg recipe!!! But worth the triple bypass I have no doubt. Fascinating stuff as always.Tasty Trixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17583301157540398839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-38771887186956069532012-07-17T09:48:14.150-07:002012-07-17T09:48:14.150-07:00I could spend all morning reading your posts Deana...I could spend all morning reading your posts Deana. Adore this quote- “If you want to be a good cook, you should go at it as a daily pleasure. You should never economize in the kitchen. Once the menu is established, the materials should be the very best.”<br />And although I am pretty sure I will never make Eggs Picabia, I must say I've immensely enjoyed reading about them...<br />LLLori Lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07618373287712454892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-50830424321035567882012-07-16T05:08:34.248-07:002012-07-16T05:08:34.248-07:00That's butter sauce, held together with a litt...That's butter sauce, held together with a little egg. Why not just omit the egg altogether? Or maybe just show the pan an egg.Ken Albalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16379852662105383295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-88570645698972674862012-07-15T15:20:38.828-07:002012-07-15T15:20:38.828-07:00What interesting reading and the photos are amazin...What interesting reading and the photos are amazing! I can see what a little goes a long way with those eggs made with butter. They must taste exquisite, though.SavoringTime in the Kitchenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14416968440250548090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-79556060425608102042012-07-15T10:21:16.477-07:002012-07-15T10:21:16.477-07:00Hi Deana:
Wonderful post. What struck me most, wa...Hi Deana:<br /><br />Wonderful post. What struck me most, was how <i>different</i> most of their food was from today's gourmet offerings. <br /><br />I wonder if Stein and Toklas would look on today's gourmet offerings and appreciate them as much as they did the dishes of their own time. Likewise what will "gourmet" mean in 100 years and would any of us recognize and appreciate it. . .<br /><br />Love pistachio butter - have encountered it in food of the Caucasus, Western Asia (Iran) and Central Asia. Persians also use pistachios is their own egg dishes (kukus)with delicious results.<br /><br />Will try the early 20th French gourmet version of the pistachio butter eggs soonest!Laura@Silkroadgourmethttp://www.silkroadgourmet.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-60248185615713469362012-07-15T09:24:05.534-07:002012-07-15T09:24:05.534-07:00MY GOODNESS, that is a rich concoction of eggs and...MY GOODNESS, that is a rich concoction of eggs and butter but why the heck NOT!!! That has got to be so delicious with a hunk of bread and a hot beverage, on a cold morning. The taste of these dishes has got to be heightened just by the history behind their discovery and only YOU my dear, can dish it up so beautifully! <br /><br />Thank you for visiting today. I am turning off my computer tomorrow (ahhh!) to prepare to see my high school buddy with whom I shared many a good time. BE WELL AND SEE YOU NEXT WEEK! AnitaCastles Crowns and Cottageshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01780241008313365707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-40778212274768560702012-07-14T12:33:04.960-07:002012-07-14T12:33:04.960-07:00Lord, they were an unattractive pair. But I've...Lord, they were an unattractive pair. But I've read so much about them both, I'm fascinated. It's fascinating to read the account of others re the two of them. So many other writers were in their circle and have written about them. You see them from all angles.<br /><br />The one photo of them with all the snake-like gargoyles...wonder if that was in Florence? Saw so many things like that in Italy, but I remember one grotto in Florence I adored.<br /><br />What I had never heard about was this particular cookbook. Cooking yes, but not the cookbook. I wonder how it sold, as she wasn't wealthy. Think also it was quite sad to read about the poverty of her last years.<br /><br />At any rate, the scrambled eggs look divine. Could I bring myself to incorporate that much butter? Yowee. (My father scarfed down tons of butter all his life and lived to 96.) Love the idea of the pistachio butter though.<br />Great post, great fun to read and super photos, Deana.Barbarahttp://www.moveablefeastscookbook.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-59838053017555631992012-07-14T06:55:15.936-07:002012-07-14T06:55:15.936-07:00I love making scrambled eggs with butter!
I have ...I love making scrambled eggs with butter!<br /><br />I have been doing this for about 20 years.<br /><br />I don't use quite that much butter, but they are <br /><br />awesome anyway. Soft spongy and OH! so good.<br /><br />Thank you for sharing both recipes.<br /><br />I'll try the scrambled with the extra butter.<br /><br />Will definitely do the second!<br /><br />Have a Joyful Day<br /><br />CharlieCharlienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-9193853645970510922012-07-13T18:33:12.477-07:002012-07-13T18:33:12.477-07:00Just back from a complete physicial and the doctor...Just back from a complete physicial and the doctor said, to my amazement "No problem with cholesterol. You must eat healthy." If he only knew! I'm making the buttered eggs in the morning and giving thanks for good genes! :)Julianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00647766346402076033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-77953448886286364312012-07-13T05:34:57.172-07:002012-07-13T05:34:57.172-07:00What a fascinating woman and a tale of her food li...What a fascinating woman and a tale of her food life! The eggs must be so creamy with the 1/2 pound of butter. I'm so intrigued as to the taste. I must give it a go! :oLorraine @ Not Quite Nigellahttp://www.notquitenigella.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-25688367196127644382012-07-12T19:04:57.176-07:002012-07-12T19:04:57.176-07:00Wow what a post with two interesting and intriguin...Wow what a post with two interesting and intriguing egg dishes.Lorahttp://www.diaryofamadhausfrau.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-91721024663246461882012-07-12T12:08:25.598-07:002012-07-12T12:08:25.598-07:00I agree I love the old photos..Oh that courtyard:)...I agree I love the old photos..Oh that courtyard:) I would love to be there for a few days living behind one of the windows:)<br /><br />I loved that about Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris..seeing the women..the parties..Well I just loved the movie.<br />I am reading a light book Life FRom Scratch and the first thing she learns to cook is an egg..on LOW..reminded me of this method..albeit not poached in buttah:) Butter and salt make eggs:)<br />Rich post..rich photos..Yours too! Earthy rich.La Table De Nanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04358539954508050792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-71249824676325510182012-07-12T06:21:19.474-07:002012-07-12T06:21:19.474-07:00Love this post it is more than interesting especia...Love this post it is more than interesting especially as it is based in France. Not sure that I would have the patience to cook eggs slowly for half and hour, or would I want to use that much butter, but I bet they taste fantastic never the less!!! DianeDianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14782670749466305626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778626287556834261.post-81454465386406148392012-07-12T05:49:28.024-07:002012-07-12T05:49:28.024-07:00I don't know what I loved more, looking at the...I don't know what I loved more, looking at the wonderful old photos or fantasizing about those buttery rich eggs!pamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02651944290195111894noreply@blogger.com