To say that Michel has a prodigious memory is
actually an understatement. It’s almost savant-like in its scope and depth. I
often tell him that I wonder how he can carry his head around “with all that
stuff in it.” Some researchers label this type of person a Super Memorizer
(yes, that’s a thing). Obviously this
innate skill has served him well as a violin dealer; he can identify a fiddle
from a fuzzy photo or a PBS broadcast of the NY Philharmonic even if he has
seen the instrument only once many years ago. But—in addition to naming the
instrument he can also recall its provenance, including what the owners paid,
who wrote the certificates, how it sounds compared to other violins,
damage/repairs, etc. This same alarming ability also applies to violin bows, by
the way. Michel can rattle off the names of international music competition
winners over many decades the way some guys recite World Series stats. It’s not
just the first prize winners, either; it’s second, third, fourth, fifth place
along with where they made their solo debuts, who conducted the concerts, etc.
It’s exhausting (and scary) just to think about how much this man knows. One of
his former violin-dealing associates teased him, saying: “Ask Michel what time
it is and he’ll tell you how to build a watch.” Before you get the idea that
his brain is filled with music-related data exclusively, let me add that his
highly developed recall ability also applies to cars, food, historical figures
and events, painters and sculptors, cigars, films and books, fountain pens, travel,
etc. Not a day goes by that I don’t hear a new anecdote or learn something
unexpected from Michel’s Massive Memory Bank.
When he decided to make this cabbage dish a few days ago, Michel related an interesting story about one particular man he recalls from his childhood. To provide a little context, keep in mind that Holland has long been the destination for many Indonesian and Moroccan immigrants (among others), hence the pervasive presence of foods from those cultures in The Netherlands to this day. Michel’s parents had an Indonesian friend, Mr. Mehlbaum, who would visit from time to time. Mr. Mehlbaum spoke with an Indonesian accent and he liked to express his opinions about classical music (which young Michel silently disagreed with based on his own music study and concert-going experiences). Another common topic of conversation among the adults was food and Mr. Mehlbaum also liked to talk about Indonesian cuisine. Michel recalls hearing him describe in mouth-watering detail an Indonesian stuffed cabbage dish that sounded just great, wondering why they couldn’t try it at home. It wasn’t just some pitiful stuffed cabbage leaves à la Betty Crocker Cookbook; Mehlbaum was talking about an entire head of cabbage stuffed with all kinds of goodness and cooked whole. Why not? Well, aside from the limited cooking skills of his mother (previously noted), Michel’s father, Eduard, hated Indonesian food. It turns out he only thought he didn’t like it because later on he changed his mind. It also turns out that Eduard was considering buying an inexpensive car and Michel surmised that Mr. Mehlbaum’s unspoken motive for visiting his parents was trying to sell Eduard a pricey car. This suspicion was confirmed when, at the ripe old age of eight, Michel took the train by himself from The Hague to Amsterdam to attend a special car show. (Parenting gets tiresome after one or two kids, so the youngest generally
have more liberties, right?) Among the exhibits there Michel spotted Mr.
Mehlbaum and put two and two together. Eduard eventually bought a used car from
another family acquaintance.
End of Mehlbaum story. On to cabbage and
gnocchi. Part of the blog post process
for a big nerd like me includes searching for information about the ingredients
in a dish, so here’s some trivia you may opt to appreciate or disregard: The
Dutch word for cabbage is kool (pronounced
“cole”) and koolsla is Dutch for
cabbage salad. Now you know how we get
to coleslaw which, sadly, some people think is “cold slaw” because it’s served
cold. We all know at least one of those
people who is blissfully unconcerned about word choices. If you think that cabbage is lacking nutritional
value, you are mistaken; it has the same benefits as its cruciferous cousins (broccoli,
Brussels sprouts, etc.)—Vitamins C and K as well as a host of antioxidants. Another
found tidbit has to do with the origin of the word gnocchi, the little Italian dumplings. The name derives from nocca, which translates to “knuckles”—and one knuckle is just about
the size of one little dumpling. I was
hesitant to look at the nutrition info for gnocchi because I figured a pasta
dumpling filled with potato or ricotta is probably not so healthful. Some things it’s just better not to
know. Michel described this braised
cabbage dish as “real Italian country food”—simple and delicious.
Braised Italian Cabbage with Mushrooms, Gnocchi, and Cannellini
You will need:
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
½ a medium to large cabbage
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup pitted seasoned olives
5 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon capers
1 teaspoon chopped dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup vegetable broth
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
16 oz. package of gnocchi
Optional non-vegan topping: grated parmesan
Cut the core out of the cabbage, chop into quasi-julienne
pieces, then set aside.
In a 3-quart skillet:
Heat olive oil then add sliced mushrooms, letting them start
to cook while you chop the garlic, capers and olives together.
Add chopped capers, garlic, olives
to skillet. Add dried rosemary, tarragon,
and pepper flakes, stirring gently to mix.
Allow the mushrooms and seasonings to cook for about ten
minutes before adding cabbage and vegetable broth to the skillet.
Cover and cook over low to medium heat for half an hour.
Meanwhile, bring lightly salted water to a boil in your
favorite pasta cooking vessel and prepare the gnocchi per package
directions. While the gnocchi cooks, add
drained/rinsed cannellini to the skillet.
Replace cover and tend to the gnocchi, making sure
it doesn’t overcook. Important: Before you drain the pasta water, add about ¼ cup
to the skillet to act as a binding agent for the dish.
Drain gnocchi, add to cabbage/mushroom/cannellini mixture
and stir gently to make sure all your ingredients get acquainted.
If you like, top your finished dish with grated
parmesan. Michel likes to put the
skillet on the table and serve our plates straight from the pan. No matter how you serve it, this
country-style food makes a perfect autumn meal.
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