Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses by Isabel Allende

This book was one of the most wonderful and sensual I’ve had the pleasure of reading in ages. Isabel Allende is a an amazingly erotic writer, bringing to life the twin joys of food and sex……something I’ve blogged about previously. If you truly think about it, these two activities are mirrors of each other in so many ways. We must all eat to live, and we must procreate to continue life.

But I speak of not procreation or eating to survive, but rather, the sheer joy that is inherent in both activities. The sensation of an oyster sliding down your throat, the salty crunch of roasted almonds in your mouth, the grape flavor of wine on your tongue………all are just as pleasurable as the taste of your lover’s lips and tongue, the feel of his strong hands on your body, and the sensation of being made love to.

Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses is an ode to the joys of lovemaking and the joys of eating. Coupled with various recipes designed to be aphrodisiacal, the beauty of kissing and touching and making love, and how these sensations are heightened by specific foods and drinks, are chronicled in dizzying detail. Allende is known for magic realism, and this book retains and spills over with that flavor of magical realism and picturesque description. Probably best read and cooked with your lover, the recipes in this book run from simple – consommes and soups – to more complex meals and desserts.

Though the entire book is devoted to the connection of food and sexual passion, my favorite passage is in the chapter when Allende describes her ultimate orgy and the food she would serve with it. Sensual reading at its best!

What would I serve at my orgy? If I had unlimited resources, I would offer cold fish, salads, sweets, and fruits – especially grapes, which always appear in films about the Roman Empire. And mushrooms, of course, which are as aphrodisiac as oysters. The celebrated Roman poisoner Lucasta knew the popularity of those fungi.

I love mushrooms and eat them at least once a week, whether sauteed in butter with onions and garlic and added to spinach and chicken, cooked into scrambled eggs or an omelette, or sliced raw into a lunchtime salad. And when I came across Allende’s recipe for Festive Mushrooms at the back of this wonderful book, I was inspired to recreate them, with a couple of minor changes.

INGREDIENTS
1 dozen mushrooms
1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, finely minced
2 tablespoons duck liver patê flavored with truffles
Juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
Wash the mushrooms and cut off the stems, but keep the stems. Pat dry.

In a food chopper, finely chop the mushroom stems and the shallots.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Lightly saute the stems and shallots for up to 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice and cook another 5 minutes. Let cool.

Heat the oven to 375F, and while it heats, mix together the finely chopped stems and shallots with the patê, the heavy cream, and the lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the mushroom caps on a flat baking tray. With a small spoon, fill each one with the mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until they become golden on the top.

They can actually be eaten straight out of the oven, at room temperature, or even chilled. Hot or cold, they are always delicious…………kind of like love.