Monday, March 21, 2011

Baby's in Black

Komm, süßer Tod, Part II: John Lennon
(Spotted dick* with currants, grated ginger, and lemon and orange zest, and crème anglaise on the side)

I don't have to explain John Lennon to you. I probably don't have to explain how he died, but here goes: John Lennon was one quarter of the uncontested Best Band Ever. The Beatles broke up after a series of hissy fits, and Lennon ended up making less awesome music with the help of his screechy wife, Yoko Ono.



And then one day, an insane man named Mark Chapman shot him with four hollow-point bullets. The public response was, naturally, effusive. A few fans even reportedly committed suicide over Lennon's death.


*First: One usually makes spotted dick with beef suet, but I used grated frozen butter. Secondly: Bet you thought I'd make a strawberry dessert, didn't you, for "Strawberry Fields"? We must remember, however, that before he was John Lennon, More Popular than Jesus, he was John Lennon, Liverpudlian boy growing up with his working-class aunt and uncle. A traditional British steamed pudding seems apropos. Also, there's a personal anecdote in this one: My father and brother, when my family was visiting England about twelve years ago, were offered spotted dick by a waitress as the day's lunch dessert special. To her confusion, they promptly began rolling on the floor with laughter. It's become a small family legend.

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