Voracious

by Cara Nicoletti

  People are always scared of egg poaching, but fear not—I’m here to show you that it’s actually very easy.

  Serves 4 generously

  1½ pounds fingerling potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes

  1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes

  2 medium beets, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes

  1 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into chunks

  1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

  1 garlic clove, minced

  4 thyme sprigs

  ¼ cup white vinegar

  4 large eggs

  Kosher salt

  Freshly ground black pepper

  Set a steamer basket over a large pot filled with enough water to just reach the bottom of the basket. Place the fingerling potato and sweet potato cubes in the basket and bring the water to a boil over medium heat. Cover the pot and steam the potatoes for 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

  Next, steam the beet cubes for 12 minutes.

  While the beets are steaming, fry the bacon in a cast-iron or other heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat until lightly crisp. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic and cook over low heat. Once the beets are steamed, add them to the skillet, along with all of the potatoes and the thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are crispy, about 20 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs.

  Fill a sauté pan or skillet with water. Add the vinegar. Heat the vinegar-water over medium heat until very hot, but do not let the water come to a boil, or even to a simmer. You want it to be at that point where bubbles are forming at the bottom of the pan and steam is rising from the surface.

  Crack 1 egg into a ramekin and create a whirlpool in the water with a spoon. Gently slip the egg into the water and let it cook for 20 seconds. After 20 seconds you can start very gently nudging the white up around the yolk. If the egg is sticking to the bottom of the pan, just use a spatula to loosen it. Cook for about 3 minutes—the white should look cooked, but you should still be able to see the yolk wiggling around inside. Lift it out with a slotted spoon, place it on a paper towel to drain, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve on top of the red flannel hash. Repeat with the remaining eggs.

  The Secret History

  WINE-BRAISED LEG of LAMB with WILD MUSHROOMS

  When I was a little kid, one of my (many) strange and irrational fears was that someday every combination of musical notes would be exhausted and that new music would cease to exist. As a grown-up this is a hard thing for me to explain, which is probably why it was so hard for my parents to understand when I came to them with it. They thought it was just another quirk of mine, and I suppose it was, but I was genuinely terrified. I was in my second year of taking violin lessons when this anxiety emerged; learning to read music had somehow sparked it. My older sister was in her early teens and heavily into radio pop and hip-hop, and I took their repetitive tunes and constant samplings of older songs as proof that my fear was being realized.

  In the evenings after school I would spend hours playing records from my dad’s collection, which stretched across the entirety of our living room. I found comfort in the Smiths and the English Beat, the Pogues and Dusty Springfield, while I did my homework. By the end of the night, though, I always felt that familiar dread creeping in. It’s already all been done, I thought, when I heard Keith Moon’s drumming—how could anyone ever do better than this?

  Recently, while writing this book, I felt a similar anxiety creeping in. What if someday all of my creative energy just runs out? What if eventually there simply isn’t anything left to write about? What if it’s all already been done? Put in much simpler terms: I was struggling with debilitating writer’s block. In many ways, this is a scary admission, but often I find that saying out loud the things that you are most afraid of somehow makes them seem less scary (unless you finally muster enough courage to say it to your violin teacher and she just stares at you with her mouth agape). In order to admit that you have writer’s block you also have to admit that you are a writer. This is a terrifying declaration. It feels heavy and self-indulgent and pressure-filled in a way that saying “I’m a butcher” doesn’t.

  Finally, I admitted all of this to a friend over beers one night. I’m sure she was expecting a much simpler answer to her question, “How’s the writing going?” but she listened carefully and responded by telling me about all of the famous writers she had heard about who had suffered terrible creative blocks throughout their careers. The conversation eventually led to Donna Tartt, whose alleged writer’s block has generated a good deal of media attention and intrigue since she published The Secret History in 1992. The book was an instant bestseller, and people hungrily awaited her next. Eleven years passed between The Secret History and The Little Friend, and rumors of writer’s block–induced breakdowns abounded.

  At this point, I had not yet read any Donna Tartt. I think her name always led me to believe that her books would be of the supermarket romance variety (not that there’s anything wrong with those). My friend urged me to pick up The Secret History, so the next day I went to the bookstore and by the end of the night I had torn through almost the entire book. It’s no surprise to me that Tartt had to take eleven years between this book and her next. The anxiety of others’ influence is one thing, but I imagine the anxiety of your own influence is quite another. This book must have been a daunting one to follow up.

  The book’s narrator, Richard, is reminiscent of Charles Ryder from Brideshead Revisited—a boy running from his humble beginnings in hopes of making a much more interesting life for himself. He leaves Plano, California, and arrives at the fictional Hampden College in Vermont, where he becomes infatuated with a group of misfit classics students who have isolated themselves from the masses. Henry, Bunny, Charles, Camilla, and Francis spend their days studying ancient Greek with their charming and enigmatic professor, Julian, drinking massive amounts of alcohol, and spending money faster than their parents can make it. After a few short weeks Richard infiltrates the group and quickly finds himself in way over his head.

  Things come to a boiling point when Henry, the group’s leader, decides that they have to kill Bunny because he knows a secret that could destroy them all (this is given away in the very first sentence, so I haven’t ruined anything for you). Henry begins experimenting with poisonous wild mushrooms, trying to determine how many it would take to kill a person Bunny’s size. That night, Richard is invited to Julian’s house for dinner, and the reader, unsure at this point who in this dysfunctional group can be trusted, watches as Julian presents him with a dinner of roasted lamb and potatoes, leeks and peas with fennel, and lastly, a heaping plate of Henry’s wild mushrooms, “steaming in a red wine sauce that smelled of coriander and rue.”

  The day I finished the book I got an email from the friend who had recommended it. It was a press release stating that Donna Tartt would be publishing a new novel with Little, Brown that year—her third book in more than twenty years. (This, of course, was The Goldfinch, which would go on to win the Pulitzer.) When asked what took her so long, Tartt brushed off the rumors of writer’s block and unapologetically and succinctly answered, “Writing takes time.”

  THE SECRET HISTORY

  Wine-Braised Leg of Lamb with Wild Mushrooms

  Use whatever nonpoisonous varieties of mushrooms you like. I used dried lobster mushrooms, morels, and porcinis and fresh hedgehog mushrooms, yellowfoot chanterelles, and maitakes.

  Serves 6

  1 (3-pound) bone-in lamb leg steak

  Kosher salt

  Freshly ground black pepper

  5 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

  1 pound fingerling or red potatoes, scrubbed

  4 ounces dried mushrooms

  1 bunch rosemary

  1 bunch thyme

  4 cups chicken stock

  1 (750-milliliter) bottle dry red wine

  10 tablespoons unsalted butter

  4 small shallots, minced

  4 garlic
cloves, minced

  8 ounces fresh wild mushrooms

  Crusty bread, for serving

  Generously season the lamb steak all over with salt and pepper and allow it to sit out until it reaches room temperature, about 40 minutes.

  Preheat the oven to 300°F.

  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and sear the lamb until it forms a nice crust, about 3 minutes per side.

  Place the lamb in a Dutch oven and add the carrots, potatoes, dried mushrooms, rosemary, and thyme (reserve a few sprigs of the thyme for cooking the fresh mushrooms). Cover with the chicken stock and red wine.

  In the same skillet that you used to sear the lamb, heat 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat and add the reserved thyme sprigs. Cook the shallots and garlic until the shallots are translucent—about 8 to 10 minutes. Add them to the Dutch oven, along with 4 more tablespoons of the butter, cut into pieces.

  Cover the pot, put it in the oven, and cook until the meat is falling off the bone, about 5 hours.

  Strain the stew, reserving the braising liquid. Pick out the herb sprigs and place the meat, potatoes, carrots, and dried mushrooms on a dish.

  Place the braising liquid in a medium saucepan and simmer over medium heat until reduced by half, about 20 minutes.

  While the sauce is reducing, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the fresh mushrooms and reserved thyme sprigs. Salt and pepper the mushrooms liberally and cook until they are crisp at the edges and have released most of their liquid.

  To serve, spoon the mushrooms into a serving bowl, top with the lamb, carrots, and potatoes, cover in red wine sauce, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Good bread will be necessary for mopping up every last bit.

  THE BOOKS IN VORACIOUS AND THE RECIPES THEY INSPIRED

  Jane Austen, Emma • Perfect Soft-Boiled Egg

  Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice • White Garlic Soup

  Lynne Reid Banks, The Indian in the Cupboard • Grilled Roast Beef

  Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden • Currant Buns

  Truman Capote, In Cold Blood • Cherry Pie

  Michael Cunningham, The Hours • Birthday Cake

  Roald Dahl, The Witches • Mussel, Shrimp, and Cod Stew

  Tomie dePaola, Strega Nona • Black Pepper–Parmesan Pasta

  Charles Dickens, Great Expectations • Pork Pie

  Joan Didion, “Goodbye to All That” • Grilled Peaches with Homemade Ricotta

  Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca • Blood Orange Marmalade

  Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex • Olive Oil Yogurt Cake

  Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl • Brown Butter Crêpes

  Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections • Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream Frosting

  Tana French, In the Woods • Chocolate-Covered Digestive Biscuits

  William Golding, Lord of the Flies • Porchetta di Testa

  Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, “Hansel and Gretel” • Gingerbread Cake with Blood Orange Syrup

  Thomas Harris, The Silence of the Lambs • Crostini with Fava Bean and Chicken Liver Mousses

  Peter Heller, The Dog Stars • Whole Roasted Trout

  Homer, The Odyssey • Red Wine–Rosemary Bread

  Pam Houston, “The Best Girlfriend You Never Had” • Red Flannel Hash

  Victor Hugo, Les Misérables • Black Rye Bread

  Washington Irving, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” • Buckwheat Pancakes

  Carolyn Keene, Nancy Drew • Double Chocolate Walnut Sundae

  Ken Kesey, Sometimes a Great Notion • Blackberry-Hazelnut Coffee Cake

  Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird • Biscuits with Molasses Butter

  Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking • Buttermilk Pancakes

  Robert McCloskey, Homer Price • Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts

  Herman Melville, Moby-Dick • Clam Chowder

  Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables • Salted Chocolate Caramels

  Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye • Concord Grape Sorbet

  Laura Numeroff, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie • Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

  George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London • Rib-Eye Steak

  Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar • Crab-Stuffed Avocados

  Edgar Allan Poe, “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether” • Goat Cheese Pumpkin Pie

  Wilson Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows • Skillet Cornbread with Honey Butter

  Philip Roth, American Pastoral • Hot Cheese Sandwich

  J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye • Malted Milk Ice Cream

  Maurice Sendak, In the Night Kitchen • Scalded and Malted Milk Cake

  Isaac Bashevis Singer, “Gimpel the Fool” • Challah

  Donna Tartt, The Little Friend • Peppermint Stick Ice Cream

  Donna Tartt, The Secret History • Wine-Braised Leg of Lamb with Wild Mushrooms

  Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina • Oysters and Cucumber Mignonette

  John Kennedy Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces • Jelly Donuts

  Virgil, The Aeneid • Honey–Poppy Seed Cake

  Gertrude Chandler Warner, The Boxcar Children • Chocolate Pudding

  Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited • Blinis with Caviar

  E. B. White, Charlotte’s Web • Pea and Bacon Soup

  Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods • Breakfast Sausage

  Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway • Chocolate Éclairs

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book was the combined effort of many people. Special thanks to my family, who always believed me when I said I would write a book someday: my sisters, Ande and Gemma—the coolest women I know. Cam, my first best friend, Caroline, Jack, Auntie Marcy, Peter, Auntie Sue, Brett (I couldn’t have navigated all of those book contracts without you), Auntie Linda. My Papa Seymour, for so much more than I can say here—your unfaltering kindness and positivity, your stories, your warmth, your history. Thank you for teaching me about meat and hard work and generosity. To Lentil, for changing my whole world. To Grandy, I wish you could have seen this. To Emily, for being the bosom friend I always wanted and the sister I chose. Juddy, my sweet, my biggest supporter—thank you for your patience and your love and your fancy dance moves. My Meat Hook family: Ben, Tom, Brent, Sara, Maddy, James, Mike, David, Gil—I never thought I could love my job or my coworkers so dang much. Harry and Taylor and the Brooklyn Kitchen crew for your knowledge and your willingness to lend me props. To Marion—I am in awe of your talent, thank you for making this book infinitely better. Thank you to all the owners of the various places in the neighborhood who let me make offices in your establishments when I couldn’t be in my apartment any longer: the West Café, the Grand, the Second Chance Saloon, Burnside, the Anchored Inn. To Max and Arlo, for letting me watch you grow up and for reminding me what it’s like to fall in love with reading. To my Yummy Books readers, who made this book possible—especially you, Elizabeth, my first Internet friend. Kari—super-agent, and Michael—super-editor. To every chef I’ve worked for, even those of you who threw things at my head and made me feel worthless, you still taught me something. To the people I have toiled beside and for in kitchens and coffee shops throughout NYC: Jason, Willa, Erin, T-shirt, and Mo. To my favorite English teachers, Ms. Jacoby and Mr. Mitchell. To everyone who helped me test these recipes—Mallory and Michelle, my amazing book club girl gang, and so many others. And lastly, to the writers who inspire me every single day and the characters who were my first friends—this book quite literally could not have happened without you.

  Cara Nicoletti is a butcher, former pastry chef, and author of the literary recipe blog Yummy Books. She comes from a long line of butchers in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been working in restaurants since she moved to New York in 2004. She lives in Brooklyn, teaches sausage making at the Brooklyn Kitchen, and became a butcher at the Meat Hook.

  Illustrator Marion Bolognesi lives and works in New York City and has
exhibited her paintings around the globe. Her website is Marion-B.com.

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  Cover

  Title Page

  Welcome

  Dedication

  Preface

  Part I : Childhood Little House in the Big Woods: Breakfast Sausage

  “Hansel and Gretel”: Gingerbread Cake with Blood Orange Syrup

  In the Night Kitchen: Scalded and Malted Milk Cake

  Nancy Drew: Double Chocolate Walnut Sundae

  If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

  The Indian in the Cupboard: Grilled Roast Beef

  The Boxcar Children: Chocolate Pudding

  Pippi Longstocking: Buttermilk Pancakes

  Anne of Green Gables: Salted Chocolate Caramels

  Homer Price: Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts

  The Witches: Mussel, Shrimp, and Cod Stew

  The Secret Garden: Currant Buns

  Charlotte’s Web: Pea and Bacon Soup

  Where the Red Fern Grows: Skillet Cornbread with Honey Butter

  Strega Nona: Black Pepper–Parmesan Pasta

  “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”: Buckwheat Pancakes

  Part II : Adolescence and College Years To Kill a Mockingbird: Biscuits with Molasses Butter

  Lord of the Flies: Porchetta di Testa

  The Catcher in the Rye: Malted Milk Ice Cream

  The Bell Jar: Crab-Stuffed Avocados

  Rebecca: Blood Orange Marmalade

  Les Misérables: Black Rye Bread

  Great Expectations: Pork Pie

  Moby-Dick: Clam Chowder

  Down and Out in Paris and London: Rib-Eye Steak