Today’s Thursday 13 is about dishes that are named after famous literary people.
Image by Shermeee at flick’r
- Omelette Arnold Bennett – an unfolded omelette with smoked haddock invented at the Savoy Hotel for the writer Arnold Bennett
- Chateaubriand – a cut and a recipe for steak named for Vicomte Franois Ren de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), French writer and diplomat. His chef Montinireil is thought to have created the dish around 1822 while Chateaubriand was ambassador to England. There is also a kidney dish named for him.
- Salad à la Dumas – Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), noted French author. Apparently a favorite of Charles Ranhofer, there are also timbales, stewed woodcock, and mushrooms la Dumas.
- Lamb chops Victor Hugo – the renowned French author, Victor Hugo (1802-1885), is commemorated with these, and with fillets of plover.
- Timbales à la Irving – Washington Irving (1789-1859), the American author, given Charles Ranhofer’s penchant for honoring writers with his creations, is the likely source of the name.
- Potage anglais de poisson Lady Morgan – Lady Morgan, née Sydney Owenson (1776-1859), a popular Irish novelist, was visiting Baron James Mayer de Rothschild in 1829, when Creme created this elaborate fish soup in her honor. If you have several days available, you can make it yourself.
- Mornay sauce – diplomat and writer Philippe de Mornay (1549-1623), a member of Henri IV’s court, is often cited as the name source for this popular cheese version of Béchamel sauce. The alternative story is that 19th-century French chef Joseph Voiron invented it and named it after one of his cooks, Mornay, his oldest son.
- Lamprey à la Rabelais – François Rabelais (c. 1484-1553), French monk, turned physician, turned famed writer and satirist, was honored in this dish by Delmonico’s chef Charles Ranhofer.
- Chicken sauté George Sand – George Sand, the pseudonym of French author Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin, Baronne Dudevant (1804-1876), a major figure in mid-19th century Parisian salons, had several dishes named for her, including fish consommé and sole.
- Wild Duckling à la Walter Scott – the dish named for the Scottish writer Walter Scott (1771-1832) includes Dundee marmalade and whiskey.
- Lobster cutlets la Shelley – Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), the great English poet, drowned off the coast of Italy. Charles Ranhofer remembered him with this.
- Omelette André Theuriet : the French novelist and poet Andr Theuriet (1833-1907) has this omelette with truffles and asparagus named for him.
- Sole Jules Verne : Jules Verne (1828-1905), the famous French novelist, had several dishes named after him besides this, including a sauce, a garnish, grenades of turkey, breasts of partridge, and meat dishes.
Source: Wikipedia
To see what other TT 13ers are talking about, go to the Thursday 13 website.
Want to see how much you know about food? Check your knowledge with the ultimate food quiz at the Guardian. Beware, it’s hard.
Last time it was Champagne bottles, for this week’s Thursday 13 I am looking at a nomenclature of the size of Cuban cigars…
Image by ChrisGoldNY on flick’r
| Size | Length in inches |
| Demi-Tasse | 3 7/8 |
| Très Petit Corona | 4 – 4 5/8 |
| Panetela | 4 1/2 – 4 7/8 |
| Petit Corona / Robusto | 5 |
| Corona | 5 1/2 |
| Piramide / Belicoso | 5 1/2 – 6 1/8 |
| Corono Gorda / Extra | 5 5/8 |
| Laguito No. 2 | 6 |
| Lonsdale | 6 3/4 |
| Churchill | 7 |
| Laguito No. 1 | 7 1/2 |
| Double Corona | 7 5/8 |
| Gran Corona | 9 1/4 |
To see what other TT 13ers are talking about, go to the Thursday 13 website.
I am having a look at the nomenclature of Champagne bottles today.
We start with the smallest bottle available and will work our way up…
| Name | content in litres |
| Piccolo | 0.1875 |
| Demiboite | 0.375 |
| Standard | 0.75 |
| Magnum | 1.5 |
| Jeroboam | 3 |
| Rehoboam | 4.5 |
| Methuselah | 6 |
| Salmanazar | 9 |
| Balthazar | 12 |
| Nebuchadnezzar | 15 |
| Melchior | 18 |
| Solomon | 20 |
| Sovereign | 25 |
I know, there are two more, but then we would have more than 13, wouldn’t we. And, honestly, who keeps bottles with 27 and 30 litres of Champagne (Primat and Melchizedek) in the house anyway?
To see what other Thursday 13ers write about today, visit Thursday 13.
Image by geishaboy500 @ flickr
Today I’ll tell you a few phrases and expressions that Shakepeare coined. 
- The “green-ey’d monster” made its first appearance in print in Othello (III.3)
- Ever wondered what you saw in a man when it was over? At the time you’ve probably been in your “salad days” like Cleopatra. Antony and Cleopatra (I.5)
- Aldous Huxley revived the “Brave New World” from The Tempest (V.1) in 1932
- “A Dish fit for the Gods” is not necessarily a delicious meal, as we know from Julius Caesar (II.1)
- It is up to you to decide whether “Her Infinite Variety” is a good or a bad thing in Antony and Cleopatra (II.2)
- Macduff’s family was erased in “one fell swoop” by the hell-kite Macbeth. Macbeth (IV.3)
- When you say “the play’s the thing”, you might not have exactly the same intention as Hamlet had. He wanted to get proof of fratricide, after all. Hamlet (II.2)
- Let us hope you will never have to give “a pound of flesh” when defaulting on a debt. The Merchant of Venice (IV.1)
- Ever seen “a sorry sight”? Probably it won’t be as bad as the one Macbeth is talking about. Macbeth (II.2)
- “Sweets for the sweet” are not always candy for the cutie you are going out with. Hamlet (V.1)
- Better not express your desire of “too much of a good thing” in public. People might be embarrassed by it. As you like it (IV.1)
- On the other hand Lady Macbeth’s wish that scheming spirits “unsex me [her] here” has no sexual connotation at all. Macbeth (I.5)
- The first “wild-goose chase” was one of wits, namely Romeo’s and Mercutio’s. Romeo and Juliet (II.4)
To see what other Thursday 13ers write about today, visit Thursday 13.
Today is all about Latin, a language that I hated to learn when I was at school, but sort of appreciate now.
- The first one shows clearly that the old Romans have a lot in common with the Germans. We have an expression “Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht” (actually they even made a film with that title), meaning “What does not fit will be made to fit”.
This is the ancient version:
Aut viam inveniam aut faciam – I’ll either find a way or make one - Crede quod habes, et habes – Believe that you have it and you do.
- Amor tussisque non celantur. – Neither love nor a cough can be hidden . Ovid
- Bonitas non est pessimis esse meliorem. – Being better than the worst is not goodness. Seneca
- Seneca is probably right with the last quote, however he also says:
Exigo a me non ut optimis par sim, sed ut malis melior. – I expect myself not to be equal to the best, but better than the bad. - Aliquando et insanire jucundum est. – Sometimes it is enjoyable to be insane. Seneca
- Nec possum tecum vivere, nec sine te. – I can neither live with you, nor without you. Martial
- Nemo repente fuit turpissimus – No one ever became thoroughly bad in one step. Juvenal
- Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum. –
- Exitus acta probat – The outcome proves the deeds. Ovid
- Mens agitat molem – The mind moves the matter. Vergil
- Nulla res carius constat quam quae precibus empta est – Nothing is so expensive as that which you have bought with pleas. Seneca
- And my favourite:
Animum debes mutare non coelum. – You should change your attitude, not your sky. Seneca
Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system. Cicero
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Again I have missed Thursday 13 for quite a while. This must be the first one in months. As it was Oscar Wilde’s birthday a few days ago, here is another batch of his quotes – and it’s all about romance…(or relationships).
- They spoil every romance by trying to make it last forever.
- A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her.
- The heart was made to be broken.
- The very essence of romance is uncertainty.
- Romance should never begin with sentiment. It should begin with science and end with a settlement.
- Men always want to be a woman’s first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a man’s last romance.
- Those who are faithful know only the trivial side of love: it is the faithless who know love’s tragedies.
- One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.
- How marriage ruins a man! It is as demoralizing as cigarettes, and far more expensive.
- Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same.
- Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.
- How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being.
- In married life three is company and two none.
See here at Thursday 13 what other TTers are talking about.
Today’s Thursday 13 shows you 13 sights in town that are worth seeing…
- The Imperial castle
- Albrecht Dürer’s birthplace
- The Nazi party rally grounds
- Schwurgerichtssaal 600, where the Nuremberg trials took place
- Executioner’s bridge
- Beautiful fountain
- St. Elisabeth
- St. Johannis cemetery, a medieval cemetery, containing many old graves (Albrecht Dürer, Willibald Pirckheimer, and others).
- Way of Human Rights
- Craftmen’s courtyard
- Marriage Roundabout
- Nassau House
- Medieval Dungeons
Click on the image below to view a photo album of all the sights (all images from wiki commons).
I’m not a big Douglas Adams fan, in fact, I am probably one of the handful of people on this planet who didn’t like The Hitchhiker’s Guide. However, “The Deeper Meaning of Liff” is one of the cleverest books ever. It is “a dictionary of things that there aren’t any words for yet” and it is brilliant, as you will see in a moment. Astonishingly, they even managed to publish it in German, not as a translation but an adaptation with German place names instead of English ones to act as the new words.
To give you a taste here are 13 examples…
- Aalst (n.) One who changes his name to be nearer the front
- Oystermouth (n.) One who can kiss and chew gum at the same time
- Nazeing (ptcpl. vb.) The rather unconvincing noises of pretended interest which an adult has to make when brought a small dull object for admiration by a child
- Malibu (n.) The height by which the top of a wave exceeds the height to which you have rolled up your trousers
- Margate (n.) a margate is a particular kind of commissionaire who sees you every day and is on cheerful Christian-name terms with you, then one day refuses to let you in because you’ve forgotten your identity card.
- Loberia (n.) Unshakeable belief that your ears stick out
- Lochranza (n.) The long unaccompanied wail in the middle of a Scottish folk song where the pipers nip round the corner for a couple of drinks
- Glud (n.) The pinkish mulch found in the bottom of a lady’s handbag
- Falster (n.) a long-winded, dishonest and completely incredible excuse used when the truth would have been completely acceptable.
- Dunino (n.) Someone who always wants to do whatever you want to do
- Bradworthy (n.) One who is skilled in the art of naming loaves
- Cafu (n.) The frustration of not being able to remember what an acronym stands for
- Zagreb (n.) A stranger who suddenly clutches an intimate part of your body and then pretends they did it to prevent themselves falling
Oh, and a German example so you can see that it works just as well…
- Hilter (n.) Political agitator the masses are not happy with since he always misspeaks
To see what other T13ers are writing about please go to Thursday 13.
Image by firexbrat on flickr
Today I’ll show you some lovely book items I found on Etsy and other similar shops…
- Sony Reader cover. I bought one of those in February last year and still love mine. Those make your Reader look so much nicer.
- Library button or magnet
- Cute “I love books” zipper pouch
- Print: “Today a Reader, tomorrow a leader”. Awesome, I want one of these for the kids’ room.
- I like the idea of giving a book as a gift in this gift box.
- Whale book plates…too sweet! Great for kids.
- Romantic book cover
- Silver bookmark with nice dolphin and beads
- Book marks Origami style Learn how to make them yourself. It’s easy!
- If you have a Kindle or Nook you might want to have a look at these covers.
- Customize those modern looking book plates
- And customize those awesome book stamps
- Super cute book charm bracelet.
That’s it for today, but I could have continued this list for quite some time….
See what other T13ers blog about today!
- It is almost 1.000 years old.
- Around 1515 Albrecht Dürer published the "Stabiussche Weltkarte", the first perspective drawing of the terrestrial globe.
- Together with Prague and Cologne it was one of the biggest cities of the Holy Roman Empire.
- The main part of Nicolaus Copernicus’ work was published in Nuremberg in 1543.
- In 1632 Wallenstein had a military camp put up in the west of the town for more than 50.000 soldiers. However, it was never conquered.
- On Sept. 15, 1935 at the 7th rally the Nuermberg Laws were introduced.
- Today it has a “street of human rights”, an art installation created by Israeli artist Dani Karavan in 1993. It consists of pillars and an old oak, each of which has engraved an article of the universal declaration of human rights in thirty different languages.
- Since 1995 it is the venue for the annual International conference for human rights.
- Our library is the oldest German library with municipal funding.
- 18% of its inhabitants are citizens of foreign countries.
- It has fourteen international partner cities.
- In an international study by Mercer Human Resource Consulting about the quality of life in 215 cities worldwide it is on rank 23.
- In a recent referendum in Bavaria 63.4% of its citizens voted for the strictest anti smoking law in Germany.
Street of human rights and its languages
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