On the 100th anniversary of Ernest Hemingway's birth, Craig Boreth gives the reader a tour of the author's taste buds in The Hemingway Cookbook. With chapters titled "The Early Years," "Italy," "France," "Spain," "Key West and Cuba," "East Africa," and "Idaho," as well as the Hemingway Wine Cellar and the Hemingway Bar, the reader is assured of finding taste treats ranging from
Hemingway spent many afternoons in early 1920's Paris sitting before Gertrude Stein in her studio, listening attentively to her instructions on the rhythm of words, the power of repetition, and sex and writers and life. She found him an extremely handsome young man, eager to learn. Their friendship grew into the relationship between master and disciple, and each benefited. Ernest, while working for Ford Madox Ford on the transatlantic review, insisted that Ford publish Stein's immense The Making of Americans serially in the magazine. As with most friends of those days of whom Ernest was once the willing student, soon the talent and the success of the disciple overshadowed that of the master. Ernest was often less than gracious in victory, seeing clearly the faults and shortcomings of those who he once so deeply admired. Stein was no exception. He saw in her the cardinal vice of writers, one that he could never forgive: laziness. He saw her through new, seemingly clearer eyes, her genius turned to arrogance, and their friendship dissolved in venomous public critiques.
In the early days, though, when there was much to learn and a child-like eagerness to listen, Ernest drank in the warmth of Miss Stein's studio and partook of her philosophy as well as of her food and drink. The following recipe is adapted from The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook.
Makes about 2 3/4 quarts
1/2 pound raspberries
3 pounds black currants
1 cup black currant leaves
1 quart vodka, or solution up to 90% alcohol
3 pounds sugar
3 cups water
Wash and drain raspberries and black currants. Place the berries in a large ceramic or glass bowl, and mash thoroughly. Cover the bowl with cheesecloth and set aside in a cool place for 24 hours. After this time, add the black currant leaves and alcohol to the bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate and set aside again for 24 hours. After the second day, pour the mash through a fine sieve into another bowl, forcing through all of the liquid with a pestle. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and water, and bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove syrup from heat and allow to cool completely. Add syrup to the berries, and allow to stand for several hours. Filter the liqueur through cheesecloth into bottles. It may be served immediately.
