:: Nipples of Venus ::

Contrary to first appearances, today's post is designed to educate, rather than titillate - and it will probably make you salivate, too. Regular readers might know that if there's one thing I'd prefer to do in my spare time than prance around on stage, it is to engage in serious culinary activity. Thus on a recent day off work, I spent much of the morning carefully crafting authentic pelmeni for La Griboullieuse's and my lunch. In case you're wondering what they are, and can't be bothered to read the recipe, these are a sort of meat-filled Siberian ravioli. The Polish also make them with other fillings under the generic name pierogi. The opportunities to combine these passions arise only rarely, so I was rather excited when I reread the script of Amadeus recently. An intriguing subplot in the play is Salieri's preoccupation with Northern Italian sweetmeats and his seduction technique involving them. Having a soft spot for patisserie, I decided to scour the interweb for recipes in order to produce the real items for our June production of the play.

A few minutes' searching produced positive results. It was easy enough to find Salieri's beloved Crema al Mascarpone - a heady dessert not unlike a syllabub - but some of the others were harder to track down. These delicious-sounding (and -looking) Ricciarelli di Siena are the closest thing I could find to the "Sienna Macaroons" referred to in the script:

I'm also assuming that these Biscottini di Milano are the same as the "Milanese biscuits" the old man craves. That leaves one final item: the famous Capezzoli di Venere or "Nipples of Venus" that Salieri use successfully in his seduction of Katherina Cavalleri and with less success n his attempt to bed Mozart's wife, Constanze. These are sugar-dusted brandied chestnuts, which in the film were saucily topped with a nut to suggest a nipple. In the near future I hope to be hosting a tea party in which many of these delights are sampled. If they're good, who knows, I might even pull. If all else fails I'll hit 'em with the "Fuck Me Chocolate Cake", stolen from Larousse Gastronomique...

The mention of chestnuts brought to mind a number of other tasty recipes. Avoiding the obvious roasting option, our continental chums seems to prefer sweetening them for oral pleasure:

  • The grand-daddy of all chestnut recipes is the one for marrons glacés. This French recipe is a fair representation of what's available, but I also found an Italian version.

  • Vacherin aux Marrons is a scrumptious dessert consisting of meringue, cream and marrons glacés, a must for anyone with a sweet tooth.

  • Any mention of chestnut-based desserts would be incomplete without the artery-busting Gâteau Turinois aux Marrons. My step-mum makes an orange-flavoured version of this (pepped up with Cointreau or Grand Marnier). It is so rich that even I have to stop after a single slither.

Of course, those wishing to seduce with puddings don't have to resort to chestnuts for the required aphrodisiac effect. For me, a decent chocolate tart would suffice, but only if made with bitter chocolate and chocolate-enriched pastry. To accompany post-prandial coffee, the following recipe for chocolate truffles from the River Café Cookbook is more than adequate:

Ingredients:
150ml Double cream
400g bitter dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
50g softened butter
Best quality cocoa powder to dust

Method:
Boil the double cream in a saucepan until it has reduced in volume by about three quarters. It should be very viscous. Then remove it from the heat and add the chocolate, broken into small pieces or grated. The retained heat in the pan should be sufficient to melt the chocolate with a little stirring. Next add the butter and stir gently until a smooth rich consistency has been achieved. Pour the mixture onto large flat plates and place in the fridge for at leaat 45 minutes (until set).
Using a soupspoon or a teaspoon, scrape across the set truffle mixture to create large chocolate curls. Roll the curls in the cocoa and put back in the fridge until serving.

You could also pay a visit to cheesecake city! I must admit though, that baked cheesecake is one of a select band of culinary wonders I've never quite managed to reproduce to my satisfaction at home. Any comments, suggestions and recipes gratefully received.

So, what of the world outside, you cry. Other than last week's horrific bombings in Madrid and the possiblity of something similar happening in London, the news has been dominated by equally searching questions: Why shouldn't we eat at our desks? Was 1976 really the greatest year ever? And when does eternity not last forever?

All this and more in your next installment of Devukha's so-called life...