What foods do Americans miss when they are abroad? Mark Twain's autobiographical book, A Tramp Abroad, written in 1879 while on an extended stay in Europe, includes a scathing assessment of the cuisine offered by European hotels. After negative reviews of pretty much everything he has eaten during his stay, Twain sees the light at the end of the tunnel, since he is getting ready to travel back home, where he is planning to eat:
In the book, Beahrs tells us stories about both the man and the country, both the past and the present, stories about trout and oyster, terrapin, raccoon and more. The chapters include old recipes and references to food that I hope will inspire us, including the full list penned by Twain (see the Introduction).
Radishes. Baked apples, with cream.He goes on to mention about 80 more American foods from buckwheat cakes to squash pie. On first reading, the list made me think about the menu of a Baroque banquet. In Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens, Andrew Beahrs "tracked down a number of these American classics, discovering what Twain's experience of them was, what's become of them today, and what's being done to bring them back" (source)
Fried oysters; stewed oysters. Frogs.
American coffee, with real cream.
In the book, Beahrs tells us stories about both the man and the country, both the past and the present, stories about trout and oyster, terrapin, raccoon and more. The chapters include old recipes and references to food that I hope will inspire us, including the full list penned by Twain (see the Introduction).
The deadline for publishing your post inspired by Twain's Feast
is Monday, March 31st
When you publish your post (or posts), you can leave a comment to this post or email me at simosite@mac.com. Feel free to write a comment or email message, should you have any questions.
Buon divertimento (have fun)!
Simona
