Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1854) of Oscar Fingal O’fflahertie Wills Wilde Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the circumstances of his criminal conviction for gross indecency for consensual homosexual acts in one of the first celebrity trials, imprisonment, and early death from meningitis at the age of 46.

Wilde’s parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Latin and Greek; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
At the height of his fame and success, while The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) was still being performed in London, Wilde prosecuted the Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde’s lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The trial backfired and led to Wilde’s own arrest and trial for gross indecency with men. After two more trials he was convicted and sentenced to two years’ hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. After release he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.

Today is also World Food Day which is devoted to combating hunger worldwide. Wilde was born in Ireland at a time when the effects of the potato famine were still being felt throughout the country. The famine led to around 1 million deaths and more than 2 million people emigrating to England, US, and Australia, causing major cultural shifts both at home and abroad. In memory of Wilde’s Ireland you might do something creative with potatoes. Here is a recipe for duchess potatoes:

Ingredients

2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
salt
¼ cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 large egg yolks

Instructions

Place the potatoes in a medium to large (3 quart) pot and cover with cold water. Add salt to taste, and bring to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

While the potatoes are boiling, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and set aside. You will use this butter to coat the potatoes right before they go into the oven.

Preheat the oven to 425° F/220° C.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain them in a colander. Put the potatoes back in the pot and set over low heat. Allow them to release steam for a minute or so.
Add 2 tablespoons of butter and mash the potatoes until the butter has been incorporated. Add the nutmeg, black pepper, and heavy cream and continue mashing the potatoes. Once everything is incorporated, add the egg yolks. Continue to mash until the mixture is smooth. Do not over-mash or your potatoes will end up with a gluey consistency.

Using a piping bag with a large star point, pipe the potatoes on to a greased baking sheet or lined with baking paper. Alternatively, you can just fill a casserole dish with the mashed potatoes, and use a fork to create lots of peaks on the surface. The swirled edges from the star-point piping bag forms (or the peaks of mashed potatoes in a casserole dish) will brown in the oven. Whether you make piped portions or a casserole, brush the potatoes with the melted butter.

Bake in the preheated oven until nicely browned, about 20 minutes. Serve hot, fresh from the oven.