"Does not our lives consist of the four elements?" Sir Toby Belch inquires in Act II, Scene 3 of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. His drinking companion replies, "Faith, so they say, but I think it rather consists of eating and drinking." Sir Toby responds, "Thou art a scholar, let us therefore eat and drink."
Though others may select the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet's soliloquy, or Bottom's transformation in A Midsummer Night's Dream as their favorite Shakespearean episode, this one is clearly mine. And there's reason to believe it might have been a favorite of the Bard himself, for, as Caroline Spurgeon concludes in her study of Shakespeare's imagery, he had a discriminating palate. "His interest in and acute observation of cooking operations are very marked all through his work," she maintains.
Madge Lorwin, author of Dining with William Shakespeare, agrees. She says, "There is not a play in which he has not woven some scene around food or drink."
It's perhaps no accident then that the most famous speech in dramatic literature ("All the World's a Stage") is given at a banquet. Shakespeare, like any good writer, relies on everyday rituals that allow the audience to identify with the action of the play, and meals are among the most familiar of rituals.
Thus in Troilus and Cressida, Shakespeare describes the steps involved in bread baking. In All's Well That Ends Well, he reveals his knowledge of pie baking and in twenty-six of his thirty-seven plays he mentions wine, as often as not through Falstaff.
This shouldn't be surprising, because just as Shakespeare was revolutionizing the English language, there was a corresponding metamorphosis going on in the kitchens of his era. Increased trade brought exotic new foods to England, the printing press allowed publication of recipes, and a growing middle class sharpened the appetite for good cuisine.
So the Bard should be honored, not just for his soul but for his stomach as well.
+++++ Sweet Potatoes with Apples +++++
(adapted from an updated version of the 17th-century dish by Madge Lorwin)
1½ lb. sweet potatoes
1 lb. tart cooking apples
4 tbsp. butter
5 tbsp. brown sugar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger
? c. white wine vinegar
¼ c. diced candied orange peel
Bake the potatoes at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Peel and slice thinly. Peel and core the apples and slice thinly. Grease a casserole dish with 1 tablespoon butter and place a layer of apples into it. Combine 3 tablespoons brown sugar with spices, and sprinkle a little over apples. Dot with butter. Cover with a layer of potatoes, sprinkle with sugar mixture, and dot with butter. Continue with remaining apples and potatoes. Pour vinegar over and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes until tender. Scatter orange peel over top and serve.
