The aubergine, in all its purple-black glory, was inspiration for my pasta sauce, baked till soft and toast-coloured on its cut edges, mashed with lemon juice and olive oil then stirred through cooked orecchiette with big, peppery basil leaves.
Many don't like it toasted because of the lovely soft texture, but toast is always a good serving suggestion for breads.
Published in 1999, his Nose to Tail Eating features such enduring pleasures as soft roes on toast (a glass of port is the suggested accompaniment), devilled lamb kidneys (a Black Velvet beer cocktail) and Welsh rarebit (back to port).
When he does stray from meat, the recipes continue their merry tangents from the norm: soft roes on toast turn out to be made with herring semen; "hairy tatties" made with a cousin of the salt cod that is noted for its fibrousness; a stew of eel, bacon and prunes.
When she was sober, those knives, unlike the silver ones with the dull edge she'd use to spread soft butter on toast or yellow mustard on white bread, were used to slice through the salt and pepper steak she'd make for Joe, my stepdad.
Mr. Bloomberg is said to like his eggs soft boiled and his toast "well done," which may or may not mean almost burned.
The food is simple: small snacks (known as ciccheti) such as salt cod on polenta, anchovies on toast, tiny soft sandwiches called francobolli (postage stamps) and, in winter, pig's trotter sausage in broth.
I write those sentences as though I'm spreading soft butter on warm toast, but the result of covering such a distance when we've lost a day yet added 900 miles to our route is some of the most sustained, brutal travelling I've ever done.
Hinoki & the Bird: For the first time, the restaurant will be serving Mother's Day brunch from 10 30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Brunch specials include oyako toast with soft scrambled eggs, crispy chicken, green garlic and shiso aioli; citrus-marinated Maine lobster with chilled somen noodles; and chile crab eggs Benedict with milk bread and Sriracha hollandaise.
Here are some ideas to get you started: Beans on Toast, with soft music and a candle can go a long way.
