Dinner en homage Pasolini

Popularized as a cult celebrity by bands as diverse as Blonde Redhead and Coil, often superficially serving as a symbol of artistic integrity tempered with personal decadence, one of the seminal Tragic Figures of the 20th century, and, not forgotten at Cafe Drake, a most genius filmmaker, poet, philosopher and radical Communist with the best of intentions, Pier Paolo Pasolini has been an idol in these parts since our 16th year when we sat through a trilogy of films at Atlanta's Rhodes Theater. A half-dozen biographies later and a torturous undergraduate independent study of the father of semiotics in cinema and we're still enamoured with this crypto-complex, deeply disturbed artist capable of such breathtaking beauty and compassion.

Modern legend has it that prior to his unfortunate murder on the Roman sea plane of Ostia, Pasolini supped at a modest trattoria with his killer, enjoying a plate of spaghetti with salad and cheese to follow. Eschewing morbidity and celebrating a career of vast, far-reaching proportions, we pay tribute with a similar fantasy meal served by Cafe Drake, minus the stabbing, beating and running over of his body with his own Alfa Romeo.

SUGGESTED FILMOGRAPHY: Mamma Roma (1962); Teorema (1968); Medea (1969); Arabian Nights (1974)

DINNER FOR PASOLINI

Campari and Soda

Olives

FRICO CON le CIPOLLE

Frico is a specialty of the Friuli region, home to Pasolini. If Montasio is unavailable, or out of your price range, Gran Parma will do nicely.

12 oz. thinly sliced Montasio cheese / 1 large onion, VERY THINLY sliced (shaved almost) / 1/4 cup butter (unsalted, natch)

1. Saute the onion until it browns in the butter.


2. Add cheese over a low flame, shaking the skillet so onion integrates with cheese.


3. Once the bottom has browned, carefully slide onto a plate using a spatula.


4. Now, flip frico onto other side so browned side is facing up. Is this clear?


5. Continue cooking until other side is browned: about 12 minutes+ total cooking time.


6. Serve with polenta on side and a small green salad as a first course.

FRIULIAN LEG OF LAMB

2-lb leg of lamb / 1/4 cup butter / 1 clove garlic, chopped / 1 onion, sliced / about 3 oz. of pancetta, diced / 1 large can beef broth / 1/3 cup tomato sauce / 2 t. ground cinnamon / salt and pepper / potatoes (boiled separately)

1. Melt butter and brown pancetta.


2. Add onions and garlic after 5 minutes.


3. Add lamb and season with salt, pepper and cinnamon.


4. Add tomato sauce.


5. Pour broth over all and cover and simmer for 1 hour.


6. Meanwhile, chop potatoes in large pieces, boil until tender, drain and set aside.


7. After 1 hour, remove meat and reduce remaining liquid by 1/3. Add potatoes and heat until warmed through.


8. Carve lamb after 15 minutes and serve with potatoes and sauce.

STRAWBERRIES AND SUGARED RICOTTA

GRAPPA