Κατηγορία: etiquette

Η Σιωπηλή Απόλαυση ενός Γεύματος


Ο Επιθεωρητής Μονταλμπάνο είναι δημιούργημα του Ιταλού συγγραφέα Andrea Camilleri, και μου είναι ιδιαίτερα αγαπητός. Έχω διαβάσει πολλά βιβλία που ιστορούν τις υποθέσεις που διαχειρίστηκε, και έχω δει την μεταφορά πολλών από τις υποθέσεις αυτές σε εξαιρετικές τηλεοπτικές ταινίες. Ο Επιθεωρητής έχει πολλά αξιαγάπητα χαρακτηριστικά, ανάμεσα στα οποία είναι και το ότι όταν απολαμβάνει ένα γεύμα δεν συνομιλεί. Ή τουλάχιστον προσπαθεί να αποφύγει οιαδήποτε συνομιλία, αδιάφορα από το ποιος ή ποια είναι μαζί του.
Ο Μονταλμπάνο έχει μια έντονη σχέση με το φαγητό. Είναι εκλεκτικός και το απολαμβάνει. Για να μπορέσει να το απολαύσει όμως δεν θέλει ούτε να μιλάει ούτε να του μιλάνε καθώς απολαμβάνει ένα ωραίο πιάτο. Πριν ή μετά μπορεί να συνομιλήσει. Το θέμα αυτό είναι τόσο σημαντικό για τον Μονταλμπάνο που δεν διστάζει να εκφράσει την επιθυμία του να μην συνομιλεί καθώς απολαμβάνει ένα ωραίο γεύμα ακόμη και σε συνδαιτημόνες που δεν τους γνωρίζει, και θα μπορούσαν να τον παρεξηγήσουν ως αντικοινωνικό, ή ακόμη και αγενή.
Εκφράζει την επιθυμία του στην αρχή, πριν έρθει στο τραπέζι το ορεκτικό και έτσι έχει τη συνείδηση του ήσυχη. Μικρά σχόλια στα ενδιάμεσα επιτρέπονται, αλλά όχι συνομιλία με προεκτάσεις και περιπλοκότητα.
Εδώ μια διευκρίνηση είναι απαραίτητη. Δεν αναφέρομαι γενικά και αόριστα σε τροφή, αλλά σε ένα γεύμα. Όταν για παράδειγμα ο Μονταλμπάνο τρώγει ένα λουκουμά στο γραφείο του δεν ακολουθεί τον κανόνα της σιωπής. Τον ακολουθεί όμως με θρησκευτική ευλάβεια όταν έχει μπροστά του τα καλοτηγανισμένα μπαρμπούνια στο αγαπημένο του εστιατόριο. Έχει μεγάλη αδυναμία στα μπαρμπούνια «Triglie alla Livornese», μια απλή συνταγή όπου τα τηγανητά ψαράκια σερβίρονται με άφθονη σάλτσα ντομάτας. Η σιωπηλή απόλαυση ενός γεύματος αποτελεί για τον Μονταλμπάνο μια σύνθετη και πολυεπίπεδη διαδικασία, ένα είδος τελετής, όπως είναι η απόλαυση του τσαγιού στην Ιαπωνία.


Υπάρχει και μια άλλη διάσταση που είναι πολύ σημαντική στην τελετουργία του Μονταλμπάνο. Είναι η ποιότητα του γεύματος. Ο Μονταλμπάνο δεν «σαβουρώνει», απολαμβάνει γεύματα υψηλής ποιότητας, και προτιμά να μείνει νηστικός από το να καταναλώσει τροφή που είναι χαμηλής ποιότητας. Το κόστος κάθε ποιοτικού γεύματος του Επιθεωρητή είναι προσιτό και έτσι το γεύμα είναι προσιτό σε καθημερινή βάση. Δεν αναφερόμαστε επομένως σε κάτι που συμβαίνει σπάνια στη διαδρομή του χρόνου, αλλά σε μια καθημερινή δραστηριότητα.
Η «απαγόρευση» της συνομιλίας καθώς απολαμβάνει το γεύμα, επιτρέπει στον Μονταλμπάνο να συγκεντρωθεί σε κάθε πιάτο, και για το χρονικό διάστημα που διαρκεί η ανάλωση του, να ξεχάσει τα πάντα όλα εκτός από το πιάτο που έχει μπροστά του. Αυτή η μονομερής προσέγγιση έχει το πολύ θετικό χαρακτηριστικό ότι μειώνει την ένταση της καθημερινότητας, αφού έστω για ένα μικρό χρονικό διάστημα εστιάζει στην απόλαυση και σε τίποτε άλλο.
Ο Μονταλμπάνο δεν είναι μόνος του στην πρακτική του σιωπηλού γεύματος. Ο Γερμανός συγγραφέας Βίνφριντ Γκέοργκ Ζέμπαλντ (1944-2001) στο οδοιπορικό πεζογράφημα του “Οι δακτύλιοι του Κρόνου” αναφέρει τον ταγματάρχη Τζώρτζ Γουϊνταμ Λε Στράνζ (George Wyndham Le Strange) που αφού βίωσε την απελευθέρωση του στρατοπέδου συγκέντρωσης Μπέργκεν Μπέλσεν επέστρεψε στην Αγγλία για να διαχειριστεί την κτηματική οικογενειακή περιουσία στο Σάφολκ. Εκεί απασχόλησε σαν οικονόμο και μάγειρα την Φλόρενς Μπαρνς με τον αυστηρό όρο ότι θα γευματίζει κάθε μέρα με τον ταγματάρχη σε απόλυτη σιωπή. Μετά τον θάνατο του, ο ταγματάρχης άφησε ολόκληρη την μεγάλη περιουσία του στην σιωπηλή του οικονόμο.
Ασπάζομαι την προσέγγιση του Επιθεωρητή Μονταλμπάνο στην απόλαυση του γεύματος χωρίς συζητήσεις στη διάρκεια της και προσπαθώ να την εφαρμόζω όσο περισσότερο μπορώ. Η κλίμακα εφαρμογής στην εμπειρία μου είναι η ακόλουθη.
ΠΡΑΣΙΝΟ – Επίπεδο Πλήρους Εφαρμογής: Δεν ακούγεται ψίθυρος. Οι παριστάμενοι έχουν προειδοποιηθεί και συμμορφώνονται πλήρως.
ΠΑΠΑΓΑΛΙ – Επίπεδο Μερικής Εφαρμογής χωρίς δυσάρεστες παρενέργειες: Ακούγονται σποραδικά σχόλια που αφορούν ένα πιάτο ή το κρασί.
ΠΟΡΤΟΚΑΛΙ – Επίπεδο Μερικής Εφαρμογής στο όριο δυσάρεστων παρενεργειών: Συχνά σχόλια, τα περισσότερα για τα πιάτα, όμως μερικά ξεφεύγουν.
ΚΟΚΚΙΝΟ – Αποτυχία Εφαρμογής: Οι παριστάμενοι δεν ακολουθούν την οδηγία και το αποτέλεσμα είναι οδυνηρό. Δεν αρκεί η σιωπή μου, αφού το περιβάλλον εμποδίζει την απόλαυση του γεύματος.
Η παραπάνω εμπειρική κλίμακα οδηγεί και σε μερικούς κανόνες διαχείρισης των σχετικών κινδύνων.
Χρυσός Κανόνας: Ένα γεύμα υψηλής ποιότητας δεν πρέπει να έχει περισσότερους από έξι συνολικά συνδαιτημόνες, εκ των οποίων μόνον ένας το πολύ μπορεί να είναι άγνωστος.
Αργυρός Κανόνας: Αποτίμηση συνδαιτημόνων εκ των προτέρων. Αν είναι δυνατόν, αποφυγή εκείνων που δεν συμμορφώνονται. Στην περίπτωση αυτή, όλα τα μέσα είναι θεμιτά, όπως ακριβώς στην αγάπη και τον πόλεμο
Χάλκινος Κανόνας: Αν δεν μπορείς να αποφύγεις κάποιους προβληματικούς συνδαιτημόνες, απόφυγε το γεύμα. Καλύτερη η προσμονή παρά η εμπειρία της κακοποίησης.
Είμαι σχεδόν βέβαιος ότι αν μπορούσα να ζητήσω τη γνώμη του Μονταλμπάνο, θα συμφωνούσε με όλους τους κανόνες.

Women in Men's Clothes

Today I want to address the subject of women wearing men’s clothes.

In spite of the Bible’s (Deuteronomy 22.5) urge:

“A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.”, women have been wearing men’s clothes for many centuries now.

Amazon wearing pants, Attic white-ground alabastron, British Museum, 470 BC As the 470 BC white-ground alabastron from Attica Greece shows, the Amazons were wearing pants many centuries before Christ (it is in the British Museum’s collection).

Cross-dressing is the wearing of clothing and other accoutrement commonly associated with a genderwithin a particular society that is seen as different than the one usually presented by the dresser.[1] Cross-dressing has been used for disguise, performance art and as a literary trope in modern times and throughout history. (Source: Wikipedia)

What are the motives behind women’s wearing of men’s cloths? Lets see some different cases.

Case 1 (A means to an end): The wife tries to liberate the husband form the prison

In Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, Act 1 begins with Florestan’s wife, Leonore, came to Rocco the jailers door dressed as a boy seeking employment, and Rocco hired her.

Yvonne Howard as Leonore in Opera Holland Park's 2003 production of Fidelio

Case 2 (Artistic): The woman is a mezzo-soprano and has to dress as a man, before her role is a man

In Act 1 of Richard Strauss’s “Der Rosenkavalier,” Princess Marie Therese von Werdenberg (the Marschallin, the title given to a Field Marshal’s wife) and her much younger lover, Count Octavian Rofrano exchange vows of love. In this case, Octavian is a role sung by a mezzo-soprano. Therefore, the role is male, but the singer is female.

Renee Fleming as the Marschallin and Susan Graham as Octavian

Case 3 (Stylistic): Diane KEaton in Woody Allen’s Anny Hall

This is the moment in Annie Hall, Woody Allen’s classic 1977 romantic comedy, when the world (and Alvy Singer) fell in love with Diane Keaton’s distinctive and quirky style. When the 30-year-old actress had turned up on the set, the film’s costume lady complained to Allen that she looked “crazy” and couldn’t possibly wear her own gear onscreen (as often happened in Woody movies). But Allen replied: “Leave her. She’s a genius. Let’s just leave her alone and let her wear what she wants.” (Source: Style Matters)

Case 4(Love): Alice in the Navy – In a Greek movie of 1961, Alice enters the Naval Academy’s Training Center dressed as a Cadet, in order to meet her lover.

Η Αλικη στο Ναυτικο: Αλικη Βουγιουκλακη και Δημητρης Παπαμιχαηλ

Case 5 (Stylistic): Marlene Dietrich in 1928 was photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt. The photo was part of a set published by LIFE Magazine.

Marlene Dietrich

Case 6 (Stylistic): Catherine Hepburn ten years later, also in a Alfred Eisenstaedt photo.

Catherine Hepburn

Case 7 (Fashion): Thanks to the “How to spend it” Financial Times’ magazine, I can publish the following pictures, for private non-commercial use only.

The Monk of Cappadoccia – Part I

Cappadoccia (Kapadokya), a beautiful mysterious place.

In the 4th century AD it was the center of major developments in Christian theology and philosophy.

The tradition of the Christian Orthodox religion remains strong even today in the rough and mysterious landscape.

A lot of men are abandoning the life we know to become monks leaving in the caves carved inside the rocks centuries ago.

This is the story of one of them.

His name is Kostas T. He grew up in a city in the North of Greece.

As a Lyceum student he distinguished himself in carving names and hearts in trees, and there are a lot of them in the countryside around the city.

After serving in the Greek Army he started working as a model.

His success brought him a lot of female admirers.

As it usually happens, none of them captured Kostas’ heart.

The lucky ones got to experience his extra-ordinary love making for one night, or two.

No one seemed to be able to tame the young stud, until he met Iphigenie M, a beautiful heiress of a ship owning family of the island of Andros.

Happiness was knocking on their door.

But life was hard on Kostas.

Quite accidentally, Iphigenie met Sophie M, an Australian girl who was working in Greece as a waitress after having divorced her Greek husband.

They became fiends and she was introduced to Kostas.

After a few days, a Ménage à trois (a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as “household of three”)  was formed, the two women and Kostas becoming entangled in a world of passion.

Days and months passed by.

One morning, Kostas woke up in a state of deep anxiety.

He went to his two lovers and declared that this cannot continue any more.

He was hoping to convince Iphigenie to dump Sophie and then marry her.

Alas! Iphigenie was caught in the nets of Sophie!

Sophie got so upset with Kostas wanting to break up the trio, that she started eating hamburgers one after the other, and then to burn the calories she was washing cars. The photo above is proof of her condition.

After doing this for fun she opened a car laundry serving the best hamburgers in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Iphigenie tasted the hamburgers and decided she was going to stay with Sophie.

A hamburger changed Kostas’ life!

Kostas became a wreck and started having visions of meeting Death.

Suicide was imminent.

And then things took a totally unexpected turn.

Kostas was spending a lot of time with his parents trying to clear his mind.

One evening, after dinner, he found a book in his father’s library, opened it and started reading it.

It was a book by Saint Basil on the Human condition.

Saint Basil writes,
“Examine what sort of being you are. Know your own nature, that your body is mortal but your soul is immortal, and that our life is twofold in kind. One kind is proper to the flesh, quickly passing by, while the other is akin to the soul, not admitting of circumscription. Therefore be attentive to yourself, neither remaining in mortal things as if they were eternal, nor despising eternal things as if they were passing. Look down on the flesh, for it is passing away; take care of the soul, for it is something immortal…

For when the body enjoys well-being and becomes heavy through much fleshiness, the mind is necessarily inactive and slack in its proper activity; but when the soul is in good condition and through care of its own goods is raised up toward its proper greatness, following this the state of the body withers.”

Kostas was struck by thunder.

He kissed his parents good bye and started the long journey to Cappadoccia.

His life was never going to be the same.

Once he arrived there, he enlisted in the Christian Orthodox legion of monks and started praying.

He never lifted his eyes above to see the sky.

He never breathed freely the fresh air.

His eyes were almost shut, open only enough for him to read and cry.

One day he lifted his face and looked up.

What he saw in front of him was like a vision.

A beautiful woman on a bicycle.

The woman on the bicycle was a psychoanalyst, who was visiting Cappadoccia for a few days.

She needed this break.

Her job was full of the joys and sorrows of the human affairs, and she needed to get away from all that.

Her name was Elektra, and was French from the region of Alsace. She lived and worked in the city of Colmar.

The woman noticed him. and responded enthusiastically.

to be continued….

Meat Rolls with Eggplants and Sudjuk

As the crisis in Greece deepens, and the country becomes more and more indebted and troubled, I dig deep in the treasure box of the Mediterranean, to uncover and (re)create dishes that build on the flavors of the area, the terroir as the French call it. Greece is in tucked in the middle between Italy and Turkey. the same applies to today’s dish,  meat rolls with sudjuk. It is a dish that combines the flavors of the Mediterranean with the ones of Minor Asia. The meat rolls are Mediterranean, the eggplants are in the middle, and the glorious sudjuk is the gem of Minor Asia.

The filling is based on the Sicilian cuisine. Pine kernels, raisins, breadcrumbs, some parsley and coriander. My Greek  touch is to add strained yogurt.

The meat can be pork of beef, in this instance I used pork, the cuts that butchers in Greece sell for “Schnitzel”. I cut smoked bacon very thin, added on top of it the filling and roll the meat adding a toothpick so that the ends do not come apart.

Once all the rolls are ready, I give them some color in a big saucepan and then cover them with tomato sauce and cover. After 20 minutes they are ready to serve.

In another pan, I have sliced eggplants simmering in tomato sauce. They are the partners of the rolls.

Finally, the sudjuk is resting on a tomato slice, covered with a yellow cheese, as hard as possible. I grill it for five minutes and it is ready (as the intensity of the grill may vary, the sure sign that it is done is that the cheese has completely melted and the tomato is soft).

Serve the rolls sliced and enjoy with a moderately bodied red wine.

Welcome the New Year wearing RED underwear!

FROM A NEWSPAPER SOMEWHERE IN ASIA

Good luck charms are usually worn around the neck, or on the wrist. But this year, Chinese Malaysians are wearing them under their pants.

Red men’s underwear emblazoned with auspicious animals and characters have become the rage among Malaysian Chinese ahead of the Chinese lunar New Year holidays, the New Straits Times reported Friday.

The characters printed on the briefs — in the front and at the back — read “attracting fortune,” “golden fortune,” “prosperous four seasons” and “swirling dragons.”

The nationality of the pictured man could not be confirmed

“RED…. Many cultures consider red a lucky color. Chinese families typically hand out red envelopes filled with money at the new year, and rumor has it that the Spanish (and the Turks) slip on some new red undies just before the clock strikes twelve.  But red foods will also brighten the future…so consider adding some cranberry sauce, or red beets, or sundried tomato sauce to the table.”

“RED

Buy red if she’s a sexual extrovert, someone who likes to get all the attention, and who can be rather demanding in bed. Red is the colour of confidence and extroversion but it’s not all it seems in terms of sex.

Red is really the colour of anger and strong emotions, meaning a red undie-wearer is into dramatic and spontan-eous sex rather than anything more drawn-out and romantic.”

“A new study says your guy can’t resist you in red.

Scientists at the University of Rochester have found that women who wear a red outfit on a date with a man will be treated more generously and hold his attention more carefully than women who don’t wear the color.

Through five psychological tests, researchers show the color red makes men feel more romantic toward women. And the best part? Guys are unconscious of the affects the color plays in their attraction – all they know is that they want you. Bad.

Even more interesting: Male study subjects say they would spend more cash on a woman wearing a red shirt, than the same woman in a blue shirt.

When wearing red, a woman was also more likely to score an invitation to the prom and to be treated to a more luxurious date.

Red has always been linked with romantic and sexual matters, from red hearts on Valentine’s Day, to red-light districts. But experts say the current findings have clear implications for the fashion business, product design and promotion.

So wear red undies, don a red sweater, or just swipe on red lipstick – he wont be able to resist you!”

“OoOOo, red underwear is the lucky charm?!
Hahaha, 2moro sure out stock 1!!!
Happy Chinese New Year!!!!
MOOOOoooOoOOoOooO……………………”

What colour of underwear do Mexican women traditionally wear for good luck on New Year’s Eve? What colour do they wear in Venezuela and why the difference?

In both countries red undies are thought to bring luck in love, yellow for wealth and white for peace. Yellow is the most popular in Venezuela, red in Mexico and pink in Argentina. Also helps to wear yellow knickers inside out to improve luck. Guess it comes down to what you want the most for the new year.

Lini e Lane di Firenze, Catalog 1961 – Table Setting and Etiquette – A journey back in time

Today I want to share with you fragments of the 1961 catalog of the house of  “Lini e Lane di Firenze”. I discovered it in the papers of my mother. It is a journey back in time, and for me a journey of reminiscence.

I start with the cover page of the catalog.

coverThe content is entirely dedicated on the breakfast, lunch and dinner tables. The text is in French.

example_asfodelloasfodello_textI continue with some rules regarding the setting of the table.

The first is the normal way as the authors call it. A basic rule is that the napkin must be simply folded and on the plate.

setting1

Moving on to the more formal arrangements.

We can now state more basic rules.

Most important of all, is that the whole composition must be balanced, all items gravitating towards the undeniable center, the dinner plate.

Utensils are placed in the order of their use, starting from the outside. (Careful with the salad, as in France it is served last!)

Forks are always placed on the left, knifes on the right.

Dinner plates should be 2,5 to 3 centimeters from the edge of the table.

setting2Here comes the text for the setting.

setting_textBut this is not all! We have rules for seating the guests.

seatingAnd the rules for serving!

serving_orderNow is the time to have a look at another example of table setting.

This is a rather casual setting, to lighten things up!example_casual

This is all for today, have a great morning, evening, night, whatever you want it to be!

P.S. This is dedicated to Despinarion, who inspired me with her beautiful post of reminiscence a few days ago. Thank you Despinarion!