Meat meet.
Eight ate.
Plasma, hearts, spleen:
A deep red ribbon
Whirring in his blender.
Extruding from his grinder.
Laid upon his table
Mesmerizing guests.
That bad Hannibal! He really knows how to keep a food
stylist running. Now he’s having a whole bunch of friends for dinner
– and that’s not counting the guests.
In the production meeting, we discuss the massive food scenes: Freezing Frenzy - Hannibal stashing his ill-gotten groceries in his Sub-Zero mini-morgue; Frying Frenzy - Hannibal cooking for a huge party: Feeding Frenzy - Hannibal presenting a lavish dinner for eight. The organ
tally is mounting. I'll need organs going into the freezer, out of the freezer,
onto the chopping block, through the grinder, into the ovens and onto the
dinner table. More meat every way all day.
Layout of platters proposed for the dining room table |
At the abattoir, my boxes of carefully culled “hero” organs
are ready. Also, a pail of pig’s blood which I need for a scene where Hannibal
separates blood in a centrifuge so he can use the clear plasma in a tomato
broth. My guy at the plant tells me pig’s blood is not used for food much these days, but it’s more in demand by non-food industries. His company ships
barrels of it all over the world to make iron supplements. Then he tells me
something I can hardly believe: many slaughterhouses sell their blood to
cigarette companies to put into the filters. Something about the high protein
binding qualities of hemoglobin make it excellent at trapping toxins, keeping
the poisons from getting into smokers’ lungs. I shake my head. Why not just eat
bacon? Smoky and delicious.
Every head cheese should have a cucumber tiara studded with radishes - in the foreground, wild boar pate and king and shiitake mushrooms |
I just get my offal beauties vacuum-pack for the freezer
insert shots when I find out - of course, there is a last-minute change in the
shooting schedule. We are shooting the dinner scene in two days! I need more organs!!!! There’s no time to requisition them
from the abbatoir. I have go to the ethnic butchers and work with what’s on the
racks.
I stop in at the Italian butcher who has gut, heart and
liver but is horrified by my request for lung and spleen and rushes me out of
his shop like I’m Rosemary’s Baby’s godmother or something. My humiliation is
complete in Chinatown, where I ask for lungs, heart and liver in
mangled Cantonese. “Gee yeoh…gee whang lei…gee sie,” I sing-song which sends
the men at the meat counter into spasms of laughter. They are killing
themselves guffawing and gasping for air as I pound my chest like Celine Dione
trying to communicate “lung”. They
supply me with some of the body parts on my list and I move on, hoping to find more
and better specimens elsewhere. Thank goodness for the Sino-East-West Indian
shops out in the suburbs where they display everything in rows of styro trays.
Heart Tartare in vol-au-vents - a great suggestion by Robyn Stern from Jose Andres ThinkFoodGroup |
Shoot day is a killer with nine food scenes. One of my
assistants, Kristen Eppich, goes on-camera as a cook’s helper in the big kitchen scene. My 1st assistant, Ettie Benjamin and I stay in the trenches and handle
the food prep. Our prep tables are covered in bloodied cutting boards, wads of
plastic wrap, mixing bowls and pots and pans. Emerging from this mass -- a
headcheese the size of a volleyball wearing a cucumber tiara, platters of
galantine, liver en gelée, blood sausages, carpaccio, sopressatta and wild boar
pate. Not a leafy green in sight. The director wants a meat-only dinner. And
you and I and millions of viewers know what kind of meat. There are only eight
people in the world who don’t -
and they are applauding Hannibal as the credits roll.
The dinner scene: A hand (and a leg and a lung) for Dr Lecter photo: Brooke Palmer/NBC |
I had to pvr Hannibal this week so I could throw octopus at
the tv while I watched the Stanley Cup Playoffs. (I just happened to have about
20 lbs of octopus on hand for a scene I’m prepping for Dr Cabbie, the movie I’m
working on right now.) So I will
view it on the weekend. This gives me time to whip up a tray of canapés to
snack on while I watch it with friends. Here are a couple of recipes adapted from Hannibal’s dinner so you can do the
same:
Brain and Tartare Canapés
Here are two fillings for puff pastry tartlets. You will
need 24 mini pastry shells which you can buy ready-to-use or frozen and
ready-to-bake. If neither are available, buy blocks of frozen puff pastry and
prepare as described below.
Tomato Brain Barquettes
Tomato Brains are the discovery of Molecular Gastronomy master, Adria Ferran and brought to my attention by Jose Andrés, our
brilliant culinary advisor. They are a lesson in seeing the unusual in the
ordinary. If you gently tear away the flesh from a tomato, you will reveal the
seed jelly clusters which shimmer within every tomato like handfuls of ruby
cabochons – or the brains of tiny Martians, depending on how your mind works.
He suggested stuffing them in pastry shells for our grand banquet. I’ve added a
schmeer of tapenade to add a bit of zing.
12 barquettes
or tartlet shells
3 to 4 large
ripe plum tomatoes
2 Tbsp prepared tapenade
or chopped Nicoise or Kalamata olive
freshly ground
pepper and sea salt
chervil, parsley
or chive
1. Cut off the top ½ inch of the stem end of a tomato.
Leaving the seed jelly clusters intact, gently tear away the tomato flesh to
reveal a wedge-shaped cluster of seeds. Slide the tip of a sharp paring knife
under the seed cluster to release it from the core of the tomato. Carefully set
aside on a plate. Repeat until you have 12 to 16 clusters.
2. Spread 1/2 tsp of tapenade in the bottom of 12 of the
prepared pastry shells, Slide one or two tomato brains in to shell. Season with
salt and pepper. Garnish with a leaf of chervil, parsley or lengths of chive.
Lobotomizing tomatoes for your pastry shells |
Beef Tartare Tarts
For the Dinner For Eight, Hannibal served Heart Tartare. The
recipe here is for Beef Tartare although if you want to add more flavor,
texture and frisson to your canapé tray, instead of beef, substitute fresh veal
heart, trimmed of fat and tendons and chopped very finely. For the
half-hearted, use a mixture of ground sirloin and minced heart.
12 barquettes
or tartlet shells
4 Tbsp good
quality olive oil
1 Tbsp
finely
diced cornichon pickle
1 Tbsp Dijon
mustard
1/2 tsp Worcestershire
sauce
8 oz beef
sirloin, ground OR heart, very finely minced
4 Tbsp minced
shallots
1 tsp orange
zest
freshly ground pepper and
sea salt
capers
truffle
oil (optional)
1. In a large mxing bowl, combine olive oil, pickle,
mustard and Worcestershire. Add beef, shallots and zest. Season to taste with
pepper and salt. Set aside in fridge until ready to serve.
2. Just before serving, fill 12 pastry shells with beef
mixture. Mound remaining mixture in the centre of serving dish and surround
with filled tarts. Drizzle with truffle oil and garnish generously with capers.
To make 24 Pastry Shells:
1 – 14 oz pkg frozen
puff pastry
¼ cup melted
butter, optional
1. Thaw dough according to instructions. Pre-heat oven to
400°. On floured board, roll half of the dough to 1/8-inch thickness into a
rectangle that is about 9 x 7 inches . Press into small barquette tins or shape
shells as follows: Cut dough into rounds using a 2-inch cookie cutter. Using a
1-inch round cutter, press an impression in the middle of each 2-inch round.
The impression should be as deep as possible without cutting through the dough.
Prick inside round with fork tines. Repeat with remaining dough.
2. Place rounds on baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes
or until golden brown. Set aside to cool as you prepare fillings below.
3. Prepare the rounds for filling by pulling out a few
layers of the center round from each, leaving a 1/4-inch wall around the outer
circumference of each shell, thus forming a well for the fillings.
4. Brush shells with butter for flavor, if desired.
Post Script
A lot of you have been asking about the High Life Eggs from
the Episode Formerly-Known-As-4 which was pulled from broadcast and only
available on line. I’ll post the recipe and details in a couple of days.
Also, details about a Hannibal Dinner that is being held at
a pop-up June 18.
You, ma'am, are an artist. I love being uncomfortable with how delicious everything looks on the show!
ReplyDeleteUncomfort food! It could be the start of a new culinary trend. You've given me some food for thought - thanks!
DeleteAmazing work on this episode; I'm a staunch vegetarian and I still thought it looked incredibly appetizing. Your behind-the-scenes stories are always so entertaining -- thank you for sharing them with us.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the meat - when I fake it for the camera - is made out of gluten, vegetable or cereal. Not in this episode, though. Everything was meat and there was so much of it. Thanks for viewing!
DeleteOh neat! It's funny, I was reading the other comments about repulsion/attraction, and that aspect didn't even occur to me because I assumed the repulsion element of what I felt was to do with the fact that I thought meat looked even remotely appetizing. But nope, seems like that was intentional too -- so congratulations, you and Hannibal manipulated my emotions even more than I was aware of!
DeleteI sincerely hope you take this as a compliment (as it is meant.) I am amazed at how insanely beautiful every platter and plate of food is on Hannibal, while at the same time also looking completely sickening and vile. Does that make sense? I hope that's what you're going for, because it's working perfectly!
ReplyDeleteYes, the fascination of repulsion-attraction is exactly what I'm going for - thanks for seeing that. I think that is the essence of Hannibal's personae and I want his food to be an expression of that.
DeleteYour work is absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYour compliment is absolutely appreciated!
DeleteYour food is so beautiful and after this week's episode my roommate and I went into quiet, fond raptures over the amazing duck heart tartare we had at Toronto's Black Hoof. (If you get a chance, do try to check it out!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the dining tip! I will definitely check it out. Here's a Toronto dining tip for you - The Cookbook Store is planning a pop-up Hannibal Dinner June 18. It's going to be a tasting menu prepared by Matt Kantor who did pop-ups for El Bulli when they were in Toronto. He'll be making dishes like brain ravioli, white asparagus with smoked tongue, chocolate-blood ice cream...
DeleteOh my goodness, thank you! I'll be sure to go.
DeleteYou had my interest. Now you have my attention! Big fan of your work in Toronto.
DeleteThanks Sean. We are so proud of our crew in Toronto.
DeleteAmazing work on the show! very fascinating how you convey the viewers that those food are from people's body parts. I really want to try to make the baked stuffed heart--actually I just contacted my butcher to order some veal hearts. Maybe the recipe will be on here at some point?
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the stuffed heart! I just used a moist dressing with soft bread bits, lots of bacon and butter, mushrooms, onions, herbs and covered the hearts with slices of pancetta before roasting. A red wine duxelles from the lamb tongue recipe (episode 5) would be good with that - just use more wine and stock to make it into a sauce. Or something a little tart and fruity like the plum-berry sauce (from the foie gras recipe episode 4).
ReplyDeleteIt was amazing!! the sauce and flavor profile worked really great with the heart. thank you. I am sure I got a bunch of people hooked on the show after the dinner
DeleteThat's fantastic -- you will be forever thought of as the host with the most heart!
DeleteHey, DoubleTeE, if you took any photos of the hearts you made, I'd love to post them on a new page I'm compiling of Hannibal food that readers/viewers have made from my recipes or from their own. Send to janicepon8@gmail.com
DeleteYour dinner spread looked sumptuous! Hope your next shoot isn't such a wild chase around the city!
ReplyDeleteThere's no rest for the cook of the wicked!
DeleteI love your work! Coming back week after week to get a behind-the-scenes look at the meals on the show is awesome AND informative. PS, any word on the High Life Eggs recipe?
ReplyDeleteYes! Sooner than later. I have a scan of the original 18th century recipe in Spanish which I will post as well. I know I keep saying I'll post the recipe and it keeps falling off the bottom of my to-do list. But it's coming! I was thinking of testing a version using duck eggs - my new favorite thing.
DeleteHi Janice, I tried your recipe and cooked a feast of episode 7! The pork heart and tomato roses was a great hit. And galantine is also a good choice. I love your work. How can I show your some pictures of my feast work,
ReplyDeleteI'm working how to do this. Some suggest Tumblr but I think I'll try to set up a gallery on this blog. If you email your photos to
DeleteJanicepoon8@gmail.com
I'll post them on this blog so everyone can share and enjoy.
Hi Janice, loving the work on Hannibal! My husband and I are huge fans of your show, and it's all because of your beautiful food! You're an inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if we could get your recipe for wild boar pate? I can't find an adequate one online - yours looks so smooth and unadulterated! I'd adapt a recipe but I'm a pate newbie.
Keep up the awesome work!
-Salvatore
That wild boar pate is from Sanagan's in Kensington in Toronto. I forwarded your request and compliments to them and will post the recipe as soon as he sends it. My own country terrine is a rough one - I'm guessing double-grinding the pork and adding breadcrumbs to the mixture would make a smoother texture.
DeleteHi Janice, I love your work on Hannibal and I really love this blog!
ReplyDeleteSoon I'll make the baked stuffed heart, do you have any suggestions/advice that will help me?
Thank you for your amazing work.
-Chiara
Great Blog! Was there any brain in this meal? I don't see it in your notes, and although we see him handling the brains earlier in the episode when he's preparing for the dinner party, I don't think I see it on the table. Any thoughts on when/where the brain was used?
ReplyDeleteWe didn't use brains - they were requested but we couldn't get them in time for the shoot. I think what you saw was Hannibal making Head cheese from snouts and ears and other yummilicious stuff.
DeleteThis scene. Oh my gosh. But the camera doesn't have time to linger on each dish the way I wish it would, so I love coming to your blog and getting my fix. Had to try my hand at my own Hannibal banquet, posted here: http://roemfo.blogspot.ie/2014/07/the-hannibal-special-stuffed-roast.html
ReplyDeleteHi Colin- It took me a year to read your blog - no one could ever accuse you of skimping on detail - but it was so much fun to read and I applaud your work and the variety of recipes and the authenticity of your photography. Anyway, I really enjoyed your Heart and Kidney banquet. Thanks for sending me the link!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Janice. I actually feel kinda guilty for wasting your time, that recipe was practically a novel! Really, I just wanted to try my hand at cooking something inspired by the incredible work you do on the show. I'm so happy that season 3 is here! Looking forward to seeing what Hannibal cooks up :)
DeleteI love the attitude you have to cooking and it was fun to read your blog where each recipe is like a conversation, not a science project.
DeleteFood has got to be the most tireless conversation. Everyone in the world has conversations about what's for dinner. Of course, once you start having conversations WITH what's for dinner... then you've got something in common with Dr. Lecter.
DeleteI think I missed something. I've been looking over for the recipe for the skewered heart and tomato roses, but have been unable to find it to recreate the dish. Is there a specific reference anyone recommends?
ReplyDeleteI do plan to do the pork spleens (from the pop-up party) as soon as I have my next dinner party.
Is it easy to become restaurant chef? No! You just need to know some reasons why tarts crack and ways that you could avoid that from happening:
ReplyDelete1. over whisking the ingredients – try to whisk your ingredients as minimal possible, using low speed with your mixer
2. high temperature – cheesecakes are better to be baked at a lower temperature so know your oven
3. over baked – they are cooked when you gently shake the pan and the cheesecakes wiggle a bit, with the center looking as if it’s not fully set
Great information. Are you looking for the best packing services? Checkout the link here! vacuum packing services
ReplyDelete"Is it easy to become restaurant chef? No! You just need to know some reasons why tarts crack and ways that you could avoid that from happening:
ReplyDelete1. over whisking the ingredients – try to whisk your ingredients as minimal possible, using low speed with your mixer
2. high temperature – cheesecakes are better to be baked at a lower temperature so know your oven
3. over baked – they are cooked when you gently shake the pan and the cheesecakes wiggle a bit, with the center looking as if it’s not fully set"
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