Cooking by the (fiction) book
17. Nov, 2010 
4 Comments
Every year in the fall, I re-read one of my favourite books from childhood: Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl. The story tells of a young boy, Danny, and his father… who just happens to poach pheasants in his spare time. (That’s “poach” as in hunt illegally, not “poach” as in cook immersed in liquid.)
And every year when I read the father’s description of how delicious roast pheasant is, what an unmatched delicacy, I think to myself that it’s a shame I’ve never cooked pheasant. So this year I set out to rectify that. Tempting as it was to poach my pheasant, I bought one instead (frozen; fresh doesn’t seem to be widely available around here), and roasted it in a moderate oven until the thigh juices ran clear. Sadly, by that time, the breast was overcooked – a story that will be familiar in millions of American households in a couple of weeks.
Still, the flavour was good, so it’s certainly something I would try again. So far, I’m not quite as enthusiastic about roast pheasant as Danny’s father, but maybe stealing the bird adds a flavour to the meat that can’t be achieved any other way!
What meals have you cooked after being inspired by literature?
Matthew Kayahara
Have you tried out this way for fresh pheasant? There are several farms offering fresh poultry of several sorts. Some of them run stalls at St. Jacob’s Market as well as selling out of the farm.
I haven’t, actually. I’ll have to make a point of checking at St. Jacob’s. Thanks for the heads-up!
I once made brotchan foltchep (leek and oatmeal soup) after reading a description of it in a Sister Fidelma novel set in 7th-century Ireland. I quite liked it straight out of the pot, but it made for some pretty ghastly leftovers…
Matthew, you know I made the Lady Baltimore Cake from the Lady Baltimore novel published around U.S. Civil War. And the cake was tremendous. I hope a worthy occasion will arise to make it again.
Pheasant and Goose are two birds I’ve never dealt with and they are a bit exotic to me and I’ve always wanted to make them. (Although all the Canadian Geese pooping their way through New York City at the moment before they go further south may destroy the romance of roasting a goose.)
Ah, pheasant under glass – sounds so classy and beautiful.