“I remember the easy confidence of her smile the gentle elegance of her hand the refined warmth of her voice.”

–Desperate Housewives – Episode 01.03 – Pretty Little Picture

If you remember at the beginning of Mary Alice’s traditional narration, there is a scene where Bree displays her “gentle elegance” by pouring alcohol on the dinner entree and lighting it.

I’ve seen this performed once in real life in a Greek restaurant. I ordered a side of flaming goat cheese because it just sounded interesting. The waiter poured brandy on the cheese block and lit it. The subsequent flame quickly consumed the liquor and all that was left was sizzling, browned cheese.

I thought that it would be fun to add a “flambé” entree to my cooking repertoire. A flaming entree brings elegance and grandeur to the dish and exhibits the expertise of the cook.

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Bree: I got you the honey mustard dressing. The ranch looked just a little bit suspect.
Rex: Bree, are we gonna talk about what I said?
Bree: If you think that I’m gonna discuss the dissolution of my marriage in a place where the restrooms are labeled Chicks and Dudes, you’re out of your mind!
Rex: What’s in this?
Bree: What do mean, “What’s in this?” It’s salad.
Rex: With onions? You put onions in my salad!
Bree: No I didn’t! Oh wait…
Rex collapses on the floor.

–Desperate Housewives – Episode 01.01 – Pilot

A salad is a vegetarian’s or a vegan’s best friend. I love them! They are so fresh and crisp! When prepared correctly, without pale nutrition-less vegetables (like Iceberg Lettuce), but with deep rich color, they add elegance to the meal.

Ironically, while the actual salad is great for us vegetarians and vegans, we have to be wary of the toppings. Sometimes they are “a little bit suspect” in a vegetarian or vegan sort of way. Often, food establishments serve their salads laden with bacon shavings, chicken strips, milk-based dressings, or even dressings with anchovies. Like Pasta alla Puttanesca, which I covered in my last post, some dressings unexpectedly have anchovies.

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Mary Alice: Susan had met the enemy and she was a slut.
Mike: What’s this?
Edie: Sausage puttanesca. Just something I threw together.
Mike:That’s great. I’d invite you both in, but I was sort of in the middle of something.

–Desperate Housewives – Episode 01.01 – Pilot

It turns out that Bree isn’t the only cook on Wisteria Lane! When watching this episode, I’ve always wondered about this sausage puttanesca. After a bit of research, I found an interesting correlation (and a great recipe). Apparently, puttanesca is an Italian pasta sauce. Surprisingly, the word “puttanesca” was derived from “puttana” (Italian) or “puta” (Spanish Vulgar) which means prostitute, whore, slut, etc. The writers for Desperate Housewives are so cleaver! They had Edie, who by Mary Alice’s judgment was a slut, serve Mike whore sauce. The symbolism!

The connection between “women of easy virtue” and pasta sauce comes from Naples. Prostitutes made this slightly spicy sauce with pasta for two reasons. 1) It enticed male customers as they set it on the windowsill. 2) It was the quickest and cheapest thing to make between “clients.” Like Edie said, its just something they “threw together.”

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