Dishy Literature: cooking by the books

I recently came across the blog Dishy Literature, and I am in love. This blog pairs the best of literature and food blogging, and does it with style. The concept is simple: the author cooks dishes mentioned in (or inspired by) works of literature. The photography is top notch, the literature choices are fascinating, and the recipes are clearly written and easy to follow.

Obviously when most people think of food and literature, they think of Proust's madeline cookie. (This Slate author attempted to reverse engineer Proust's madeline, and came to the interesting conclusion that Proust's cookies were likely very stale.)

When I think of food and literature, the first thing that comes to mind is from Hamlet. "Thrift, thrift, Horatio! The funeral baked meats/Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables." Such a great bit of imagery: Hamlet's father's funeral and his mother's remarriage happened in such quick succession that Hamlet quips they were able to use the leftovers from the funeral's hot dish buffet as cold cuts at the wedding.

My next thought is of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. While reading this book, I was so stricken with the desire for Chinese dumplings and potstickers that I had to stop reading and drive to Uwajimaya (a fabulous international grocery store in Seattle) right that very minute. Luckily their deli case was still open, and I soon found myself happily swirling dumplings around in soy sauce while back to reading the book again.

And if I were to be honest, my third thought would be of Lembas Bread from the Lord of the Rings series. I remember being somewhat obsessed with the stuff when I was a kid. Was it like a big cracker, like a giant Elven Saltine? Or more like a biscuit?

Image courtesy Flickr/mistersmed