by Craig Boreth
Why does the curlew have that voice, and who thought up the plover’s call, which takes the place of noise of wings, to give us that catharsis wing shooting has given to men since they stopped flying hawks and took to fowling pieces? I think that they were made to shoot and some of us were made to shoot them and if that is not so well, never say we did not tell you that we liked it.19
It is not surprising that Ernest took every opportunity to fight the early morning bitter cold to hunt again and again in the Venetian environs. One such trip provided the wonderful opening scene of Across the River and into the Trees:
His head low, he swung the gun on a long slant, down, well and ahead of the second duck, then without looking at the result of his shot he raised the gun smoothly, up, up ahead and to the left… and as he pulled, saw it fold in flight and drop among the decoys in the broken ice.20
Arrigo Cipriani fondly remembers Papa’s early morning duck hunting trips in Torcello with Emilio, his boatman. Cantwell reminisces about the ducks he once offered to the bellman at the Gritti Palace, who could not afford a meal of such expense. We, too, may feel that roast duck is, as the bellman put it, “outside of our way of life.” And yet with the help of Signore Cipriani we may truly indulge ourselves in the spoils of Hemingway’s love of hunting ducks in the icy waters outside of Venice.
I never knew that anything could be so wonderful to eat. When your teeth close on the small slice of meat it is an almost unbelievable delight.21
Roast Duckling (Anitra Arrosto)
From The Harry’s Bar Cookbook
6 TO 8 SERVINGS
For the Sauce
6 tablespoons olive oil
Necks, wings, and giblets (except livers) from ducks
Chicken bones or carcasses or extra duck carcass
2 ribs celery, cut into chunks
2 onions, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, or ¼ teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, or ¼ teaspoon dried, crumbled
1 clove garlic, halved
1 cup Marsala
½ cup dry white wine
6 tablespoons flour
1 quart hot chicken stock, or more as needed
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
For the Ducks
2 3- or 4-pound ducks
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
6 flat-leaf parsley sprigs
6 fresh rosemary sprigs
4 fresh thyme sprigs
2 cloves garlic, halved
1 large onion, sliced
½ cup Marsala
Preheat the oven to 450° F.
To make the sauce, put 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the duck necks, wings, and giblets and the bones and/or carcasses in a roasting pan and roast until they are well browned, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a soup pot over high heat. Add the celery, onions, carrots, herbs, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Pour the Marsala and white wine into the pot and boil hard, stirring constantly, until the wine has evaporated. Sprinkle on the flour, stir it in well, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 or 4 minutes. Add 3 cups of the stock to the pot and whisk it in until it forms a thickened sauce. Add the roasted bones to the pot.
Pour off the oil in the roasting pan and deglaze the roasting pan with the remaining cup of stock, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add this to the pot and bring it to a boil.
Stir the mixture as well as you can, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, over low heat, for 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
To roast the ducks, place a shallow roasting pan with a rack in the oven to preheat at 450° F. (This will keep the ducks from sticking.) Season the cavities of the ducks with salt and pepper and fill with the parsley, rosemary, thyme, garlic, and onion. Place the ducks breastside up in the preheated roasting pan and roast until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Prick the skin of the ducks well, especially the breast and thighs, reduce the heat to 350° F, and continue to roast for 1 to 1½ hours longer. Prick the ducks every 20 minutes to allow the fat to drain from beneath the skin. Start testing the ducks for doneness after 1 hour by piercing the flesh near the thigh bones with a sharp fork; when the juices run clear, with no sign of pink, the ducks are done.
While the ducks are roasting, finish the sauce. Strain it. If it is too thin, boil it, uncovered, to reduce it. Taste and carefully adjust the seasoning.
Remove the ducks and the rack from the roasting pan and spoon off as much fat as possible, leaving any juices in the pan. Set the roasting pan over the burner, pour in the Marsala, and cook over high heat until reduced by half, about 3 or 4 minutes, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add this to the sauce, stir to combine well, and heat through. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Carve the ducks and put them on a platter. Serve the sauce on the side.
GRITTI PALACE HOTEL
From their large corner room on the third floor, Ernest and his fourth wife, Mary, commanded a magnificent view of the Grand Canal as it turned sharply to wrap itself around them. The luxurious Gritti Palace Hotel with its worldclass restaurant served as a fitting domicile for the Hemingways (and Cantwell) as they sated themselves with Venetian charm. The Colonel and Renata dine repeatedly at the Gritti, enjoying dinner and breakfast served with wit and elegance. As they arrive, they are greeted by the Gran Maestro, a friend of the Colonel’s from the war and a fellow member of El Ordine Militar, Nobile y Espirituoso de los Caballeros de Brusadelli, a fictitious organization named after a Milanese profiteer who, during a property dispute, publicly blamed his young wife for clouding his judgment through her “extraordinary sexual demands.”22 Nevertheless, the Colonel and Renata partake of a feast befitting their passionate reunion and their surroundings.
“I have saved your table. We have a very fine lobster if you would like him to commence with.”
“Is he really fresh?”
“I saw him this morning when he came from the market in a basket. He was alive and a dark green and completely unfriendly.”
“Would you like lobster, Daughter, to start your dinner?”
“I would love some lobster” the girl said.
“Cold, and with mayonnaise. The mayonnaise rather stiff.” She said this in Italian.23
Hemingway at Harry’s Bar.
THE MENU
Dinner at the Gritti Palace
Hotel, Venice
Lobster Salad
Scaloppine with Marsala
Cauliflower Braised with Butter
Artichoke Vinaigrette
Wines
Capri Bianco
Valpolicella
The Colonel and Renata do indeed commence with the lobster before moving on to the veal and vegetables. He’s a big lobster and the Colonel likens him to George Patton. The Gran Maestro stems Renata’s concern that he may be too tough: “He’s truly not tough. He’s only big. You know the type.”24
Lobster Salad
2 SERVINGS
2 carrots, diced
1 parsnip, diced
1 leek, white part only, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 onion stuck with 2 cloves
Bouquet garni (a few sprigs of parsley, thyme, rosemary, and a few bay leaves bundled and tied together or in a cheesecloth bag)
1 clove garlic
2 cups dry white wine
Salt
Pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 small live lobsters (1¼ pound each), or 1 large lobster (about 2½ pounds)
Juice of ½ lemon
Hard-boiled egg and capers, for garnish
Wine
Capri Bianco, secco and really cold
To a large stockpot filled with 8 to 10 cups water, add the diced vegetables, onion, bouquet garni, garlic, wine, salt and pepper to taste, and c
ayenne. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Add the lobsters and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until the lobsters turn bright red.
Drain the lobsters and chill. Remove the tail and the tail meat. Crack the claws and remove the meat from the claws and the knuckles. Cut the lobster meat into uniform pieces. Arrange the meat on a bed of lettuce and season with salt and pepper to taste and a little fresh lemon juice. Cover with mayonnaise, garnish with quarters of hard-boiled egg and capers, and serve.
For the mayonnaise
MAKES ½ CUP
1 egg yolk
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon tarragon vinegar
Salt
Dash of freshly ground white pepper
Combine the egg yolk, salt, and mustard in a food processor. Pulse briefly to combine. With the food processor on, very slowly add the olive oil until the mixture is thickened and silky. Add the vinegar and salt and pepper to taste and process briefly to blend.
The Colonel and Renata continue their meal with the attentive assistance of the Gran Maestro. The Countess orders a simple meal of steak with mashed potatoes and a plain salad. The Colonel orders the classic Scaloppine and accents it with braised cauliflower and an artichoke. He accompanies the food with the light, dry Valpolicella.
Scaloppine with Marsala
This recipe is adapted from Cuisine of Venice.
4 SERVINGS
2 pounds veal, thinly sliced
3-4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup dry Marsala
Salt
Pepper
Carefully trim any white skin from the veal. Place the slices of veal in a single layer between two pieces of wax paper. With a flat wooden mallet, pound the slices to approximately -inch thickness. Make several small incisions along the edges of each slice to prevent it from curling up while cooking. Dredge each slice lightly in flour. Shake to remove any excess.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat almost until it begins to smoke. Add several slices of veal to the pan, being careful to leave plenty of room between the slices. Sauté for 3 minutes on each side, moving often to prevent sticking. Remove the veal to a warm serving plate while continuing to saute in batches.
Deglaze the skillet with the wine, scraping up all the bits that have stuck. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the Marsala over the scaloppine and serve.
Cauliflower Braised with Butter
2 SERVINGS
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ head cauliflower, cut into crowns
Salt
Pepper
1 cup chicken stock, or enough to cover
Combine the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan. Place over high heat until the butter is melted and frothy but not browned. Add the cauliflower and toss until well coated. Sauté the cauliflower for 2 minutes, or until just lightly browned. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour in the stock. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, or until tender. Remove cauliflower with a slotted spoon and serve immediately.
Artichoke Vinaigrette
This was one of Hemingway’s favorite vegetables, 25 and the Colonel enjoys this dish, once thought to be an aphrodisiac, “taking a leaf at a time, and dipping them, heavy side down, into the deep saucer of sauce vinaigrette”26
4 SERVINGS
Vinaigrette
¾ cup finest olive oil
¼ cup wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper
2 cloves garlic
Artichokes
4 artichokes
4 lemon slices
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Prepare the vinaigrette 2 hours before serving. Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the garlic and steep for 2 hours.
Clean the artichokes by plunging them repeatedly, upside down, into cold water. Cut the stems off, leaving a flat bottom. To prevent discoloration, tie a slice of lemon to the bottom of the artichoke with kitchen string. Break off any tough bottom leaves. Cut off the top third of the artichoke and trim the top ¼ inch off the remaining leaves with scissors.
Bring a large pot of water, salted and with 2 tablespoons lemon juice added, to a boil. Add the artichokes and boil for about 30 minutes. The artichokes are done when an outside leaf pulls away easily. Remove the artichokes, drain upside down in a colander, untie and remove the lemon slices and rinse the artichokes thoroughly in cold water. When cooled, open them slightly, remove the very thin center leaves, and scoop out the choke with a spoon. Serve whole, one per person, with vinaigrette in a saucer for dipping the leaves.
The Market
Early one morning, before daylight, the Colonel embarks on an excursion that was one of Hemingway’s favorites while in Venice. He would cross the Grand Canal at the Rialto bridge to the spectacular fish and vegetable market on the far side of the city by the Adriatic. Ernest loved the market, and shared its sensory feast, as well as his own taste for clams on the half shell, with the Colonel:
He loved the market. A great part of it was close-packed and crowded into several side streets, and it was so concentrated that it was difficult not to jostle people, unintentionally, and each time you stopped to look, to buy, or to admire, you formed an îlot de resistance against the flow of the morning attack of the purchasers.
In the market, spread on the slippery stone floor, or in their baskets, or their rope-handled boxes, were the heavy, gray-green lobsters with their magenta overtones that presaged their death in boiling water. They have all been captured by treachery, the Colonel thought, and their claws are pegged.
He went past these, stopping to ask one seller where his clams came from. They came from a good place, without sewerage and the Colonel asked to have six opened. He drank the juice and cut the clam out, cutting close against the shell with the curved knife the man handed him.27
Clams on the Half-Shell
Shucking clams requires little more than a firm grip and a basic clam knife. Yet the rewards for this simple labor are exquisite. To prepare clams on the half-shell, first rinse the clams thoroughly under cold water and discard any clams that are broken or that will not close when squeezed shut a few times. Hold each clam with the hinge firmly wedged in the palm of your offhand. Holding the knife in your strong hand, wedge the knife into the seam of the narrower side of the clam. Pull the blade into the seam using the fingers of your off hand. Work the blade up and down slightly to separate the shells, keeping the clam level to hold the juice. The clam has two muscles on either side of the hinge, which must be severed. Place the tip of the blade against the inside of the upper shell, and sweep the knife first to one side to sever that muscle, then to the other side. Sever the second muscle, then open the clam and discard the top shell. Run the knife under the clam to release it from the lower shell. Serve about 6 clams per person, and accompany them with lemon wedges.
The Colonel returns from the market “in the cold, hard Venice light of morning”28 to meet Renata at Piazza San Marco to have breakfast at the Caffe Florian and to watch the crowds of people. Renata, though, decides that breakfast there is “worthless” and that she dislikes the square so crowded. She is very hungry, and they decide to return to the Gritti: “We’ll give breakfast the full treatment,” the Colonel said. “You’ll wish you had never heard of breakfast.”29
The Gran Maestro seats them in the empty dining room, gives the Colonel the situation report on bothersome compatriots and other potential intruders, and details for Renata her “breakfast to end breakfasts:”30 “We can make our fabricar rognons grilled with champignons dug by people I know. Or, raised in damp cellars. There can be an omelet with truffles dug by pigs of distinction. There can be real Canadian bacon from maybe Canada, even.”31 Renata accomp
anies her meal with tea rather than coffee, and the Colonel orders a decanted flask of the Valpolicella to go with an order of the Canadian bacon.
THE MENU
Breakfast to End Breakfasts:
The Gritti Palace Hotel,
Venice
Rognons Grilled with
Champignons
Omelet with Truffles
Canadian Bacon
Rognons Grilled with Champignons
2 SERVINGS
2 veal kidneys
Pinch of salt
Pepper
4-6 tablespoons melted butter
4 large mushroom caps
Preheat the broiler.
To prepare the kidneys, peel off the exterior membrane. Slice the kidneys in half, not quite severing them in two. Trim off any fat and skewer the kidneys on two metal skewers each to keep them flat when grilled. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, brush liberally with melted butter, and place on a broiling pan.
Clean the mushroom caps with a damp towel. Brush with melted butter, season with salt and pepper to taste, and place on the broiling pan with the kidneys, capside up. Set the pan about 5 inches from the heat and broil the kidneys and mushrooms, basting with butter, for 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Remove the kidneys to a warm serving platter, slice the mushrooms, and place them around the kidneys. Drizzle on any remaining butter.
Omelet with Truffles
When buying truffles, choose carefully, as a purchasing error could cost you literally their weight in silver. The Italian white truffles used in this dish should be pale beige in color and very firm. Buy your truffles shortly before you plan to use them, as they will spoil quickly, which will be evident by their aroma—distinctly similar to a gas leak. Purchase a truffle slicer while you’re at the store, for, if you acquire a taste for these pungent and costly fungi, this tool will be indispensable.
2 SERVINGS
2 tablespoons butter
1 truffle
Pinch of salt
Pepper
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon Madeira
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Slice the truffle and fry it in the butter for 10 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste and allow to cool. Break the eggs into a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the wine, and beat thoroughly. Add the truffles. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a clean skillet. When the butter is sizzling but not yet brown, pour in the eggs. When the omelet begins to set underneath, prick the bottom a few times with a fork and lift to allow the uncooked egg to run through. When the eggs are only slightly runny and creamy on top, fold the omelet in half and slide onto a warm platter. Garnish with more slices of truffle, if desired.