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WEEKEND BUTLER: Jackie O’s favorite poet. The Beatles tell all (or most). Judi Dench recites Shakespeare. George Clooney mouths off. Jamie Oliver’s chicken.
By
Published: Apr 25, 2024
Category:
Weekend
BORN: APRIL 29, 1863. DIED: APRIL 29, 1933. WHO AM I?
His poem, “Ithaka,” was the favorite of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who had it read at her funeral. Easy to understand why: It’s advice from the poet about going to Ithaca, the Greek island that was home of the mythological hero Odysseus. The poet doesn’t wish a short, smooth trip for the traveler; he hopes for a long, eventful one. In fact, he lived in one town for most of his life, had only two jobs, one for decades.
The poem:
As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon —don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn’t have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
Who is the poet? Click here.
MARIANNE FAITHFUL
“It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”. Just a shade darker than Bob Dylan. Listen/watch.
TOP OF THE POPS
“All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in their Own Words,” by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines,” is the number #1 non-fiction best seller. To buy it on Amazon, click here.
ONLINE COMMENT OF THE WEEK
‘Men in dresses playing in women’s sports take priority over Jews.
A MINUTE OF SHAKESPEARE
SEAN DOORLY: THE AVEDON OF FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY
In 1997, Sean was the first hire of the Book Report. He was a prize: reliable, unflappable, able to leap problems in a single bound. He married, became a father, moved to Los Angeles, worked for Disney, where he ascended. Then Disney needed to cut 7,000 jobs, and he discovered he was a number.
Sean is a fantastic father, and his Facebook page is the proof. He and his daughter are out every weekend, hiking miles to photograph nature, his delighted child, and birds. In 2023, he launched Sean Doorly Photography to serve Los Angeles and Glendale. He specializes in family photography and corporate events, He’s low stress, high fun, huge empathy. And conscious –Sean Doorly Photography offers special discounts to non-profit and charitable organizations, helping those who do good look good. Visit SeanDoorlyPhotography.com to view his portfolio.
GEORGE CLOONEY
Surprised? Don’t be.
WEEKEND RECIPE: JAMIE OLIVER’S CHICKEN IN MILK
Sam Sifton, in the Times: “The British chef and cooking star Jamie Oliver once called this recipe, which is based on a classic Italian one for pork in milk, “a slightly odd but really fantastic combination that must be tried.” Years later he told me that that characterization made him laugh. “I was hardly upselling its virtues,” he said. The dish’s merits are, in fact, legion. You sear a whole chicken in butter and a little oil, then dump out most of the fat and add cinnamon and garlic to the pot, along with a ton of lemon peel, sage leaves and a few cups of milk, then slide it into a hot oven to create one of the great dinners of all time. The milk breaks apart in the acidity and heat to become a ropy and fascinating sauce, and the garlic goes soft and sweet within it, its fragrance filigreed with the cinnamon and sage. The lemon meanwhile brightens all around it, and there is even a little bit of crispness to the skin, a textural miracle. It is the sort of meal you might cook once a month for a good long while and reminisce about for years.”
Yield: 4 servings
1 (3 to 4 pound) whole chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small cinnamon stick
10 cloves garlic, skins left on
2½ cups whole milk
1 handful of fresh sage, leaves picked — around 15 to 20 leaves
2 lemons
Preparation
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Season the chicken aggressively with the salt and pepper. Place a pot that will fit the chicken snugly over medium-high heat on the stove and add to it the butter and olive oil. When the butter has melted and is starting to foam, add the chicken to the pot and fry it, turning every few minutes, until it has browned all over. Turn the heat down to low, remove the chicken from the pot and place it onto a plate, then drain off all but a few tablespoons of the fat from the pot.
Add the cinnamon stick and garlic to the pot and allow them to sizzle in the oil for a minute or 2, then return the chicken to the pot along with the milk and sage leaves. Use a vegetable peeler to cut wide strips of skin off the two lemons and add them to the pot as well. Slide the pot into the oven, and bake for approximately 1½ hours, basting the chicken occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and tender and the sauce has reduced into a thick, curdled sauce. (If the sauce is reducing too quickly, put a cover halfway onto the pot.)
To serve, use a spoon to divide the chicken onto plates. Spoon sauce over each serving. Goes well with sautéed greens, pasta, rice, potatoes or bread.
