McCarty - The philosophers table: how to start your philosophy dinner club - monthly conversation, music, and recipes

JEREMY P. TARCHER/PENGUIN

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Copyright 2013 by Marietta McCarty

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Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McCarty, Marietta, date.

The philosophers table : how to start your philosophy dinner clubmonthly conversation, music, and recipes / Marietta McCarty.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-101-61600-0

1. PhilosophyMiscellanea. 2. Dinners and dining. I. Title.

BD31.M33 2013 2013009656

100dc23

The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

FOR M EL MY TEACHER

Dear Fellow Philosopher,

Please join me for dinner. Gather a few friends, old and new, perhaps a neighbor, maybe family members or colleagues. Were starting a philosophy supper group and making plans for a yearlong trip around the world.

Heres a peek at the menu for twelve monthly evenings: lively conversation about universally intriguing issues, more knowledge of cultures near and far, genre-spanning music, and a feast of home cooking from Japan to France, Kentucky to Brazil. For years Ive pulled up a chair at festive philosophers tables just like the ones set for you in this book. Wherever I go, I find people thriving on hearty discussions. While telling stories, laughing, pondering, and questioning, diners develop a sense of belonging as they break bread, pass carafes, and wash dishes. Philosophy, music, and traditional cuisine spring from a particular culture while serving to define that culture, as well. Coming together in your homes, listening to the voices of your dinner partners, as well as those youll meet from other times and places, youll taste the hearts of Kenya and Greece, China and Iraq.

This book was an invigorating, joyful project for me to think about and to write. I chose the dinner topics after much thought, settling on the ones that continuously light conversational sparks. Yes, give me some persistence and grace. Hurry up with that mental clarity. Help wanted for decision making and adapting to change.

I worked with a head chef in creating and modifying dishes to match food and chapter themes in appealing combinations, and recipe testers and tweakers around the country prepared your meals and added their own just-right touches. The evenings you are about to share have been enjoyed in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, California, Washington, Virginia, Massachusetts, Georgia, Vermont, and in my kitchen. Music lovers joined me in narrowing my picks, the decisions hotly contested after wonderfully long work. All the philosophers I looked to as representatives of their cultures are perennial favorites. When sorting through the suggestions given at the beginning and end of each chapter for your further exploration of that culture, I couldnt get enough. I wanted to learn more about a city, rain forest, museum, humanitarian, and an athlete.

As I wrote this book, I imagined countless, always-changing faces talking and eating around philosophy tables. Quite a treat to know that people speak face-to-face now, enjoying an exceptional kind of evening, feeding mind and body in comfortable companionship.

S OME K EY P OINTS TO G ET Y OU S TARTED

Whatever time of year your group is ready, whether August or December, start right there.

FOOD

• All recipes serve eight. Proportions and appetites will find each other.
• Allow plenty of time for this once-a-month happening. Though active preparation times are included for each dish, variations in pot and bowl sizes, stoves, knives, kitchen experience, etc., inevitably result in some deviation. (Do not worryabout anything!)
• Borrow whatever equipment you dont have on hand. Someone has that big pot, skillet, sieve, or large bowl. If not, improvise with confidence.
• Experiment with regional-ingredient substitutions, if you like. For example, root vegetables with similar densities are usually interchangeable.
• The chapters alternate between those offering recipes for two small-plate dishes and others serving up three-recipe meals that always include dessert. We begin in January with small plates of good-luck New Years noodles and chicken Yakitori, and conclude with Decembers three-course celebration, featuring Salmon Cooked on a Bed of Salt, Pot-au-Feu, and Clementine Souffl.
• Tips are given for food and beverages that guests can contribute, and the person serving as host should delegate assignments freely and welcome surprises. All groups with which Im familiar rotate hosting duties.
• Add individual touches: photographs of the release of Burmese political prisoners, the sights of Chicago, or your own travels to the nights featured location. Perhaps use that certain tablecloth and Grandmothers platters along with candles at a winters table, or pull out those brightly colored quilts for the August picnic.

PHILOSOPHY

• Each chapter opens with my presentation of the topic and its importance. As youll see, these topics sit on the tips of tongues, younger and older. Next, I introduce a philosopher whose work explores the issue in ways that have captivated my companions in thought over the years. The philosophers section comes in two parts, each described in one word, for good clarity and focusfirst we look at the problem and then we find the solutions. For example, stale thinking about education is followed by fresh approaches.
• If you think you are a newcomer to philosophy, I doubt it. Whether we speak about these issues or not, they linger in our minds.
• Reward your group and yourself by reading that months chapter in advance.