Much Depends on Dinner: Cooking with Gerard Manley Hopkins as interpreted by Karen Resta

Karen Resta and I began a correspondence a couple of weeks ago when she commented on a post here.  She was at one time a chef  and now writes and maintains a couple of lively blogs and a facebook page.  She collects vintage postcards (eg. right; reverse ) and these are often a jumping off point for her blog posts.  Oftentimes her meanderings lead her to a favorite poem or a snippet of literature.  I love these imaginative leaps; the card and post may seem unrelated yet the one is how she got to the other so they make sense anyway.  She e-mailed me today's post as an afterthought, as something I "might like."  She was right - I do like it.   When I showed it to David he had one word:  "Brilliant!"  I'm hoping that Karen will share more of these "recipes inspired by poems" with us.-- sdh

Pied Beauty

Glory be to God for dappled things –

   For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

      For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;

   Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough;

      And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;

   Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)

      With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;

He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:

                                Praise him.

-- Gerard Manley Hopkins

Ingredients:

Well-marbled steak (brindled cow)

Waterchestnuts (chestnut falls)

Golden chanterelle mushrooms (finches' wings)

Pear (whatever is freckled)

Chili-Tamarind Sauce (sweet, sour)

Steamed White Rice (whose beauty is past change)

Directions:

Place brindled cow (well-marbled steak) on grill till heaven approaches with aromas bold in a pink-centered imperfection.

As brindled cow passively beckons its destiny, approach hellfire with sturdy pan and steady hand. Rapidly consign chestnut falls and finches' wings (waterchestnuts and golden chanterelle mushrooms) to fiery brimstone along with toss of sweet oil in sturdy pan. With steady hand lead the dance of a well-informed jig.

Add whatever is freckled (thick slice of hard winter pear), being sure to crisp its curves and warm its heart.

Pool the sweet, sour (chili-tamarind sauce) on a plate of willing design then denounce the martyred steak upon it. Chestnut falls, finches' wings, and freckled things (waterchestnuts, golden chanterelles, and pear) should glorify in circular testament to a fine edibility. Allow space for that whose beauty is past change (steamed white rice).

Pray or not, as you wish. Lift pitchfork and pierce delicately to eat.

-- by Karen Resta

  Karen Resta has had an . . . interesting career history, one part as Executive Chef for Partners Dining at Goldman Sachs in NYC, and another as VP for Goldman Sachs NYC. She is a proud graduate of both Buttonball Lane Elementary School and Gideon Welles Middle School in Glastonbury, Ct. Her writing can be found at eGullet, The Culinary Media Network, Serious Eats, Book of Rai, and Christian Science Monitor.