Aubrey and Maturin - toasted cheese?

[Peter Payzant]

Any idea what Patrick O'Brian has in mind when he talks about
"toasted cheese? in the Canon?

For that matter, there is a wealth of obscure references in this series.
Has anyone any plans to produce an "Aubrey/Maturin Companion", similar to
"The Hornblower Companion"?

------------------

Peter Payzant Chebucto Freenet: aa...@cfn.cs.dal.ca
Halifax, NS Canada Office: peter....@nspower.ns.ca
(902) 428-7721

"Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought
half so good... luckily, it's not difficult."
--- Charlotte Whitton, mayor of Ottawa, 1962

[Vance Maverick]

In article <D64os...@cs.dal.ca> aa...@cfn.cs.dal.ca (Peter Payzant) writes:
> Any idea what Patrick O'Brian has in mind when he talks about

> "toasted cheese" in the Canon?

According to John Thorne (in _Outlaw Cook_), the cheese is held to the
fire so it browns nicely, and spread on toasted bread just as it's
about to melt.

Vance

[Jo Beverley]

In a previous posting, Peter Payzant (aa...@cfn.cs.dal.ca) writes:
> Any idea what Patrick O'Brian has in mind when he talks about
> "toasted cheese? in the Canon?

Toasted cheese seemed to be extremely popular in early 19th century
England, since one finds "toasted cheese dishes" in collections of
silverware. Lots of them. They are generally perforated in the top, and
sit over a containedr which would have held hot water to keep it warm. The
perforations, I assume, would stop the melted cheese on bread or toast
from getting steamed and soggy.

Think of it as a simple pizza! It is also a relative of Welsh Rarebit (or
rabbit)

Now I come to think of it, I don't think Northa Americans go in for
putting cheese on a slice of toast and popping it under the grill. Quite
common in England, but I assume that before the modern grill it was as
someone suggested, and the cheese was melted then spread.

Doubtless more than you wanted to know! A related fact (since toasted
cheese was a common addition) "supper" in regency England, being a sight
meal taken when returning home late at night, was literally that -- a soup
meal. Usually soup and toasted cheese.

Jo

--
Jo Beverley, ab...@freenet.carleton.ca JO.B on GEnie,

[Tim Smith]

aa...@cfn.cs.dal.ca (Peter Payzant) writes:
>Any idea what Patrick O'Brian has in mind when he talks about
>"toasted cheese? in the Canon?

>For that matter, there is a wealth of obscure references in this series.
>Has anyone any plans to produce an "Aubrey/Maturin Companion", similar to
>"The Hornblower Companion"?

One of the great pleasures of reading the O'Brian novels is that you
have to have a really good dictionary (really only the OED will do)
and an world atlas by your side as you read. Even with these, there
are nautical terms and concepts that you miss. But so what?

I'm in a panic. On my second reading of the series I'm halfway through
The Commodore, and there's nothing left. I guess it's time to retry
the Banks biography (which I didn't like the first time).

--Tim (tss...@netcom.com)

[Sara Larson]

Jo Beverley (ab...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA) wrote:
: Now I come to think of it, I don't think Northa Americans go in for

: putting cheese on a slice of toast and popping it under the grill. Quite
: common in England, but I assume that before the modern grill it was as
: someone suggested, and the cheese was melted then spread.

I grew up with "cheese toast" so this American says you are slightly
misinformed. A horrible thing happened though. Just when I thought my
cooking would be easier because of using a gas stove instead of an
electric one (with the coil burners), I found out that gas stoves
commonly have their broilers on the bottom. When I'm half-asleep with
dripping hair, it is hard for me to sit on the floor and wait for the
cheese to be at just the right point of melted-ness. With the electric
oven, I just stood next to the slightly open oven door and watched the
cheese melt (broiler element is on the ceiling of the oven). Picky,
picky. Maybe I'll try melting the cheese (somehow) first (holding it
over a gas flame? hahaha) and then spreading it, as of old.

ObBook:After all this time, I finally have a copy of _The Vegetarian
Epicure_. Imagine my surprise in finding a book of "American"
vegetarian cooking without much reference to healthful cooking
habits. All the butter in there! Wow! I love butter.

-Sara

[Douglas Vaughan]

In article <D64os...@cs.dal.ca>, aa...@cfn.cs.dal.ca (Peter Payzant)
wrote:
>

> For that matter, there is a wealth of obscure references in this series.
> Has anyone any plans to produce an "Aubrey/Maturin Companion", similar to
> "The Hornblower Companion"?

Just yesterday, I picked up _A Sea of Words_, a lexicon and commentary on
the Aubrey/Maturin novels. Forgive me, I don't have the authors' names,
but the publisher is Henry Holt (not Norton!). Contains essays, I think,
on naval medicine and relevant naval history, then an A-Z lexicon.

I won't pass judgment, having spent only a few minutes with it yesterday
evening.

Cheers.

-Doug

Berkeley, California
Doug_V...@macmail.lbl.gov

[Rebecca Leann Allen]

Sara Larson (lar...@cfar.umd.edu) wrote:

: When I'm half-asleep with

: dripping hair, it is hard for me to sit on the floor and wait for the
: cheese to be at just the right point of melted-ness. With the electric
: oven, I just stood next to the slightly open oven door and watched the
: cheese melt (broiler element is on the ceiling of the oven). Picky,
: picky. Maybe I'll try melting the cheese (somehow) first (holding it
: over a gas flame? hahaha) and then spreading it, as of old.

Get a toaster oven. They are perfect for toasted cheese on
bread.

Before anyone asks how I would know, I'd just like to point out that
for a few brief years in adolescence, I was sufficiently un-allergic
to milk derivatives to be able to have cheese, and one of my
favorite lunches was sliced cheddar toasted on sourdough bread.

Num.

I miss them still.

--
Rebecca Allen standard disclaimers apply rcro...@zso.dec.com
He doesn't give a damn about my body -- all he wants is my mind.

[Francis Muir]

Rebecca Allen writes:

Sara Larson writes:

When I'm half-asleep with dripping hair, it is hard for me
to sit on the floor and wait for the cheese to be at just
the right point of melted-ness. With the electric oven, I
just stood next to the slightly open oven door and watched
the cheese melt (broiler element is on the ceiling of the
oven). Picky, picky. Maybe I'll try melting the cheese
(somehow) first (holding it over a gas flame? hahaha) and
then spreading it, as of old.

Get a toaster oven. They are perfect for toasted cheese on
bread.

Indeed. I am past master at making toasted cheese or Welch Rarebit and I'll
give you my recipe. First, white French bread. La Baguette is the place here
at Stanford, now that the Jap bakery has folded its tent. A quarter baguette
sliced down the center and lightly toasted (in the toaster oven). Now put
these two slices on the broiling tray and cover them with sliced Stilton -
no other cheese will do. Make certain that you have a goodly amount of the
cheese crust, since it is this that will metamorphose into an incredibly
delectable goo. it's done when there's some browning to the cheese.

Buon' appetito

[Jeffrey A. Del Col]

IMHO the absolutely finest account of a toasted (charred, actually)
cheese sandwich is in Samuel Beckett's short story "Dante and
the Lobster."

Belacqua's torment of two rounds of bread and a slab of gorgonzola
goes on for four pages; it's priceless.

J. Del Col (who ate many a toasted cheese sandwich
instead of detestable fish on Fridays.)

--
Jeff Del Col * "Sleeplessness is like metaphysics.
A-B College * Be there."
Philippi, WV *
* ----Charles Simic----

[Doug Faunt N6TQS 510-655-8604]

I don't know about the rest of the US, but I certainly learned about
cheese toast or toasted cheese from my parents (although my
father's parents were British) and probably my first electrical
kitchen appliance was a toaster-oven so that I could do just that
conveniently. It's still one of my favorite comfort/snack foods, with
an added bit of glow when I'm reading O'Brian.

There's great Canadian cheddar avaialable from the Castro Cheesery.
Worth the trip, in my opinion.
73, dou

[Meg Worley]

Sara writes:

>ObBook:After all this time, I finally have a copy of _The Vegetarian
>Epicure_. Imagine my surprise in finding a book of "American"
>vegetarian cooking without much reference to healthful cooking
>habits. All the butter in there! Wow! I love butter.

*TVE* is like every other weggetarian cookbook published during
the 70s, ie, loaded with dairy products (which is just fine by
me). What made it different was that Anna Thomas's recipes take
twice as long as those of her contemporaries Mollie Katzen &
Julie (Jordan? I forget). That's why *TVE* was billed as feast-
food, and the others weren't. Only the 80s turned the focus
onto alimentary abstemiousness.

And *The Vegetarian Epicure* is still a great cookbook.

Rage away,

meg

--
mwo...@mathcs.emory.edu Oldest Living Emory Senior Tells All

[Marcy Thompson]

Meg Worley writes:

>And *The Vegetarian Epicure* is still a great cookbook.

Yes, and the second volume is even better than the first.

Marcy
--
Marcy Thompson
work: ma...@passage.com
play: ma...@world.std.com m...@netcom.com

[Ted Samsel]

Jeffrey A. Del Col (br...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu) wrote:

: IMHO the absolutely finest account of a toasted (charred, actually)

: cheese sandwich is in Samuel Beckett's short story "Dante and
: the Lobster."

: Belacqua's torment of two rounds of bread and a slab of gorgonzola
: goes on for four pages; it's priceless.

An alpine version of this is raclette. A certain type of swiss cheese
is situated near a fire while bivouacked in a chalet and the cheese
is scraped while it melts and spread on bauernbrot.
das schmekt!
--
Ted Samsel....tejas@infi.net.com/bh...@freenet-in-a.cwru.edu...
"driving a Hudson Hornet on the information superhighway"

[Jeffrey A. Del Col]

In a previous article, te...@infi.net (Ted Samsel) says:

>Jeffrey A. Del Col (br...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu) wrote:
>
>
>: IMHO the absolutely finest account of a toasted (charred, actually)
>: cheese sandwich is in Samuel Beckett's short story "Dante and
>: the Lobster."
>
>: Belacqua's torment of two rounds of bread and a slab of gorgonzola
>: goes on for four pages; it's priceless.
>
>An alpine version of this is raclette. A certain type of swiss cheese
>is situated near a fire while bivouacked in a chalet and the cheese

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The Swiss force their cheese to do military service in chalets?

It couldn't be very fondue it, could it?

J. Del Col

[Jeffrey A. Del Col]

In a previous article, te...@infi.net (Ted Samsel) says:

>
>An alpine version of this is raclette. A certain type of swiss cheese
>is situated near a fire while bivouacked in a chalet and the cheese
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Presumably this is the well known Swiss Army Cheese.

Think of it, numberless wheels of Gruyere and Emmenthaler marched
in formaggion, kirsched and then subjected to crudites.

But I guess being bivouacked in chalets makes up for it all.

J. Del Col

[Ted Samsel]

Jeffrey A. Del Col (br...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu) wrote:

Chee(se) whiz!
This would lead to discussion of the practice of all able-bodied
Swiss males keeping a heavy round of Emmenthaler or Gruyere in their
households. When one citizen-soldier picks up another man's cheese, the
the rejoinder is:
"Hey, that's nacho cheese!"

(ObFact: more "swiss" cheese is made in Green County, WI than in all
of Helvetia. & I don't mean Helvetia, WV.)

[Andrew Dinn]

Meg Worley (mwo...@mathcs.emory.edu) wrote:

: *TVE* is like every other weggetarian cookbook published during

: the 70s, ie, loaded with dairy products (which is just fine by
: me). What made it different was that Anna Thomas's recipes take
: twice as long as those of her contemporaries Mollie Katzen &
: Julie (Jordan? I forget). That's why *TVE* was billed as feast-
: food, and the others weren't. Only the 80s turned the focus
: onto alimentary abstemiousness.

Just wanted to pile my two cents on the alimentary overload pan of the
vegetarian food scales. I can never understand it when people assume I
must be a vegetarian because it's *healthy*!!?

Andrew Dinn
-----------
O alter Duft aus Maerchenzeit / Berauschest wieder meine Sinne
Ein naerrisch Heer aus Schelmerein / Durchschwirrt die leichte Luft

[harviste...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, 28 March 1995 03:12:13 UTC+1, Peter Payzant wrote:
> Any idea what Patrick O'Brian has in mind when he talks about
> "toasted cheese? in the Canon?
>
> For that matter, there is a wealth of obscure references in this series.
> Has anyone any plans to produce an "Aubrey/Maturin Companion", similar to
> "The Hornblower Companion"?
>
>
> ------------------

> Toasted cheese in the O'Brian books is not cheese on toast, but simple lumps of semi-hard cheese toasted to a crisp outside and gooey inside - like the Greek saganaki - there were special silver dishes for serving this. Naval delicacies had to be available when far from land so included things like pork scratchings and toasted cheese which did not need fresh bread.

There are now a couple of good companions and lexicons for the series

[Joy McMurchy]

That is why wikipedia and google maps are my constant companion when forging through this series. And sometimes youtube when I want to listen to the music that is constantly being referenced in the series. I agree with Jack and Stephen that the penultimate piece in the Marriage of Figaro is truly the end of the work and that the last piece is really just tacked on to get everyone out on stage singing together. I have learned more geography, zoology, botany, entomology, music and so much more from this series than from many a specific class on those subjects. BTW, have you listened to the audiobooks read by Simon Vance? Absolutely outstanding. My all time favorite reader in the world. (However Ian Carmichael reading Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries and Frederick Davidson reading Wodehouse are just as wonderful.)

For an excellent art education as well as WWII history from many different perspectives, I highly recommend the Gabriel Allon series. Learned about Chiaroscuro and so many other interesting styles.