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Weekend Butler: Editor’s letter update. Praise for Taylor Swift (Okay: one song). Pulitzer Prize novel. Sharon Olds poem. Blood-pounding movie. Delish cacao a pepe.
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Published: Apr 10, 2024
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Weekend
UPDATE: LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
I rarely do this, but earlier this week, I wrote an editor’s letter about my health, which has been, in the 20 years I’ve been publishing Head Butler, a non-event. But now I will have some surgery on my spine — nothing major, I said, more like an oil change — and I invited readers to become Guest Butlers and write 800 to 1,000 words about their favorite books, movies, music and products. The response was unsettling. First, some speed-readers missed the date of my surgery, which is April 30 — weeks away. Plenty of time for me to write and bank new pieces — or to reprint some of the 2,500 reviews in the archives. Not that I’ll need to reprint many: the operation takes less than two hours, and I may not need to spend even one night in the hospital. Twenty of you volunteered to write Guest Butler reviews; they sound delicious and, I hope, won’t require much editing — I could go to Barbados and no one would be the wiser. A dozen home chefs have volunteered to cook more exotic meals than I make for myself. Finally, the home team is competent, although they tend to go heavy on Tough Love as a spice. Bottom line: Please visit Butler in May.
I MIGHT BE DAMAGED, BUT I’M NOT CRAZY: IN PRAISE OF TAYLOR SWIFT (OKAY, ONE SONG)
You’re not a teenage girl. You know Taylor Swift is a) a billionaire and 2) has a football player for a boyfriend and 3) is a kid. Well done! You missed just one — she’s not a kid, she’s 34. And when she sings with The National or Bon Iver, the songs deal with issues that you will recognize.
The National? They’re major (and unknown to me). They’re in their 40s and 50s who have been together for 20 years. There’s a terrific New Yorker profile. You get extra points for reading it.
The song that grabbed me — and which I press on you — is “The Alcott.” (The name, in England, means “old cottage”). Please watch it. The lyrics are on the video, but when you see them printed out….
Him: I get myself twisted in threads
To meet you at the Alcott
I’d go to the corner in the back
Where you’d always be
And there you are, sitting as usual
With your golden notebook
Writing something about someone
Who used to be me
And the last thing you wanted
Is the first thing I’d do
I tell you my problems
You tell me the truth
It’s the last thing you wanted
It’s the first thing I’d do
I tell you that I think I’m falling back in love with you
I sit there silently
Waiting for you to look up
I see you smile when you see it’s me
I had to do something
To break into your golden thinking
How many times will I do this
And you’ll still believe?
Taylor: tell me, which side are you on, dear?
Give me some tips to forget you
Him: You tell me your problems
Taylor: Have I become one of your problems?
Him: And I tell you the truth
Taylor: Could it be easy this once?
Him: It’s the last thing you wanted
Taylor: Everything that’s mine is a landmine
Him: It’s the first thing I’d do
Taylor: Did my love aid and abet you?
Him: I tell you that I think I’m falling back in love with you
Him: And I’ll ruin it all over
I’ll ruin it for you
I’ll ruin it all over
Like I always do
Taylor: Why don’t you rain on my parade?
Him: I’ll ruin it for you
Taylor: Shred my evening gown
Him: I’ll ruin it all over
Taylor: Read my sentence out loud
’cause I love this curse on our house
Him: It’s the last thing I wanted
Taylor: Tell me, which side are you on, dear?
Him: It’s the first thing I’d do
Taylor: Give me some tips to forget you
Him: I tell you my problems
Taylor: have I become one of your problems?
Him: And you tell me the truth
Taylor: Everything that’s mine is a landmine
Him: It’s the first thing I’d do
Taylor: Did my love aid and abet you?
Him: I tell you that I think I’m falling back in love with you
Can a 14-year-old relate to those lyrics? Doubtful. I had no idea of their push-pull meaning until I was in my 50s.Then I forgot them and blundered. Later, I remembered. Then I forgot and blundered again. And now? How optimistic am I that the couple in the song can repair their relationship and keep it repaired? Not very. Which is what makes this song so poignant….
CONCERT
The National and The War on Drugs. Forest Hills, New York. Friday, September 13. 5:45 PM.
WEEKEND BOOK
“Trust.” It shared the Pulitzer. I read it twice.
WEEKEND MOVIE
“Leave No Trace” was directed by Debra Granik, who made “Winter’s Bone” and gave Jennifer Lawrence her first Oscar nomination. The story: a PTSD-afflicted vet has chosen to flee our national nightmare by living in the woods with his daughter. Here’s the trailer. To stream the film on Amazon Prime, click here.
WEEKEND POEM
Sharon Olds does what the greatest poets do: She knows what you feel but can’t find the words to say. Married to someone you actually like? Read The Wedding Vow. Here are the last lines:
And then it was time
to speak — he was offering me, no matter
what, his life. That is all I had to
do, that evening, to accept the gift
I had longed for — to say I had accepted it,
as if being asked if I breathe. Do I take?
I do. I take as he takes — we have been
practicing this. Do you bear this pleasure? I do.
MOTHER’S DAY (PART ONE)
Louise Fili brings classic Italian design to note cards and more.
DEEP THOUGHTS ABOUT GARDENS
WEEKEND RECIPE
Roscioli Roman Cacio e Pepe
Julia Moskin, in the NY Times: “The Roscioli family has built its own culinary empire in Rome since the 1960s, including bread bakeries, a pastry shop, a wine bar and a salumeria that moonlights as a restaurant. It’s a straight-from-the-airport destination for many American chefs, who go to taste the best food and wine from all over Italy, plus perfected Roman classics like cacio e pepe. The Roscioli method involves making a “crema” of cheese, pepper and water in advance. (It can also be refrigerated for later use.) The cheese needs to be grated until fine and feathery, so that it will melt quickly, and the hot pasta water must be added slowly. Unlike many recipes, the pasta here should be fully cooked, not al dente; it won’t cook any further once it’s added to the cheese.”
4 to 6 servings
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
7½ ounces (4¼ cups) finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for serving
3⅓ ounces (1⅓ cups) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 pound dried tonnarelli, spaghetti (regular or thick) or long fusilli
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. (Do not add salt.)
Meanwhile, in a very large nonstick skillet or pot set over high heat, toast the peppercorns just until fragrant. Let cool, then grind or crush very coarsely. Reserve 1 teaspoon for serving.
In the same skillet or pot, combine the cheeses and remaining pepper. Add 1½ cups warm water and stir to make a thick pecorino cream.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and stir. Keep the heat very high until the water returns to a boil, then stir again and adjust the heat as needed to keep the water bubbling. Set a timer for 8 minutes.
Set the pecorino cream over very low heat. When the timer goes off, scoop out about ½ cup of the pasta cooking water and set aside. Taste the pasta and continue cooking until the pasta is done to your liking. Drain pasta very well (this is important, as adding too much hot water can cause the cheese to clump) and add to the pecorino cream.
Use tongs or two forks to stir, turn and toss the pasta in the sauce over low heat until the cheese melts and the sauce becomes sticky. Don’t add any water yet, just keep tossing. To test, squeeze a drop of sauce between your thumb and finger. When the sauce is thick and forms strings like glue, it is ready. If it starts to dry out, add cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and toss thoroughly before adding more.
Divide among 4 bowls, twisting the pasta into a nest, if desired. Dust with additional pecorino and the reserved pepper. Serve immediately.
