The Cross & Cleaver. From Page to Plate
Great Gatsby (pt.1) – Champagne, Caviar and Devilled Eggs.
“The Great Gatsby” by Scott F. Fitzgerald is 100 years old this year. Many people have read it. Some voluntarily and some under duress. Many people have seen the latest movie or some many other adaptations. Even if you have never heard of it, if you spent any time on social media, you are probably familiar with what now became nearly iconic image of Leonardo DiCaprio (playing Jay Gatsby in 2013 movie).
The book is being read and studied from many angles. Quick internet search highlights such topics as prohibition, Golden Age of Jazz (or The Roaring Twenties), social strata, wealth, sex, emotions etc. like with any other book of such genre we can choose which theme, which plot to pay more attention to, which character to identify with, which emotions we can understand.
What I like, and appreciate, is that Scott F. Fitzgerald allows me to enter the lives and lifestyle of people I would never call “my kind,” as the vernacular goes. Or who would not likely invite me to one of their parties. I am sure most of you know exactly what I mean. Movies do the same thing; except we get to take it easy on our imagination.
As readers, listeners or spectators we can choose to identify with a character, we can choose to become the character. Think of the opening paragraph of my previous article.
So, I decided to step uncommittedly into the shoes of Jay Gatsby, in a very shallow sort of way. I don’t care where the money came from. I put aside the feelings Daisy might have for me, the jealousy of others and the potential lustfulness of gorgeous women at my party. All of that might come later … might … if I choose it and let it.
In the meantime, I just want to eat, drink, sway to music and pretend I am somebody else, just as is suggested about Jay. Join me in experiencing what likely was present at one of many of his parties.
⦁ Dress in your finest.
⦁ Dab or waft the most expensive perfume/cologne you can manage.
⦁ Put on Gershwin, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Django Reinhardt or the Cotton Club Orchestra.
⦁ Pour yourself a generous glass of chilled champagne. No need to splurge on Dom Perignon, a three-pack of Henkell Trocken at the Red Lion off-license will do just fine, and you can easily turn it into decent salad dressing if you don’t like it. Non-alcoholic fizzy wines are widely available as well.
⦁ Caviar – a must have unless you absolutely hate it. Real stuff is beyond my wallet’s capabilities, so I am happy to contend myself with a jar of lumpfish caviar available in most supermarkets. Preferably black to keep with character. Serve on warm, crustless, white buttered toast with a drop of lemon juice.
⦁ Devilled Eggs were very popular. Look up the basic recipe (or follow your own) with those two twists:
⦁ Add a generous spoonful of English mustard to the egg yolks for an extra “kick.” Top with pickled beetroot
⦁ Add to the egg yolks a generous spoonful of powdered parmesan. Top with shredded crispy bacon bits.
It is the bees’ knees!
(Opening of season 6 of Downtown Abbey dressed accordingly!)
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