Two books this month! Plus, a special guest, poet Angela Patten! Please join us for a special Food For Talk event on the food and drink of Ireland.
We will start with a demonstration of how to make corned beef at home with chef Richard Witting. Then poet Angela Patten will give a reading from a classic Irish cookbook. Discussion of Irish culinary history and recipes will follow. Everything you need to know to celebrate Ireland and St. Patrick's Day with full gusto!
About our Presenters:
Angela Patten is author of four poetry collections, The Oriole & The Ovenbird, In Praise of Usefulness, Reliquaries and Still Listening, and a prose memoir, High Tea at a Low Table: Stories From An Irish Childhood. Her work has appeared in many literary journals and anthologies in the U.S. and abroad. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, she now lives with her husband, poet Daniel Lusk, in Burlington, Vermont, where she is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Vermont English Department.
She became a vegetarian at age eight, quit Irish dancing after only one lesson, and inherited her mother’s talent for memorization which she used to memorize most of the songs of Bob Dylan.
Richard Witting is a chef and Burlingtonian who studies and teaches about food, culture and history. Richard got his undergraduate degree in anthropology, with a focus in food, and is currently pursuing a masters in History for UVM looking at Vermont's agricultural history and foodways. He also owns and runs Firefly Catering, does pop-up dinners as Isole Dinner Club, and with the local synagogues.
About Ireland's Green Larder by Margaret Hickey AND The Irish Cookbook by Jp McMahon
Ireland's Green Larder tells the story of food and drink in Ireland, for the first time. From the ancient system of the Céide Fields, established a thousand years before the Pyramids were built, right up to today’s thriving food scene. Rather than focusing on battles and rulers, Margaret Hickey digs down to what has formed the day-to-day life of the people. It’s a glorious ramble through the centuries, drawing on diaries, letters, legal texts, ballads, government records, folklore and more. The story of how Queen Maeve died after being hit by a piece of hard cheese sits alongside a contemporary interview with one of Ireland’s magnificent cheese makers, and the tale of the author’s day in Clew Bay on the wild Atlantic coast, collecting the world’s freshest oysters, is countered by Jonathan Swift’s complaint about dubiously fresh salmon being sold on the streets of Dublin.
The Irish Cookbook showcases the true depth of Irish cuisine, its ingredients, and its fascinating history. Ireland's remarkably rich food heritage dates back millenia and, in The Irish Cookbook, acclaimed chef Jp McMahon captures its unique culinary origins and varied influences. Irish food is the summation of what the land and sea gives; the book's 480 home-cooking recipes celebrate the range and quality of Ireland's bounty, from oysters and seaweed on its west coast to beef and lamb from its lush green pastures, to produce and forage from throughout the island. Presenting best-loved traditional dishes together with many lesser-known gems, this book vividly evokes the warmth, hospitality, and culinary spirit of the Emerald Isle.
Co-sponsored by City Market.
About Food For Talk Bookclub:
Food for Talk is a book club for anyone interested in cooking! If reading about food, experimenting with new recipes and learning from other cooks sounds fun, then the Food For Talk Cookbook Book Club is for you! Chef Richard Witting has selected some beautifully delectable cookbooks. Signing up is as easy as 1.2.3....
1. To register, contact Programming Librarian, Barbara Shatara, at bshatara@burlingtonvt.gov
2. Place a Hold on the book. We will contact you when the book is ready at the Library.
3. Read through it, make a dish (though not required) and bring your experiences to the discussion via Zoom or outside. Barbara will send you meeting information the week of the discussion.
