Writer's Notes! Vinny's 1hr Campfire Surprise

In the book, Vinny cooks a dish I experimented with in my high school Latin class. My high school Latin teacher, Stephen Boyd, actually found and sent me the recipe I used. It was from L. Giacozza's A Taste of Ancient Rome, and was titled therein as an "Onion Appetizer," a modern variation on a Roman "Vegetable Appetizer."

The strange dish made it into this book for three reasons: (1) the Gnomans are, as their name suggests, supposed to be analogous to Romans, (2) I actually liked it, though sadly I've not had it since high school, and (3) it fit the demands of the situation.

Contrary to its title, this "appetizer" is a very rich food. Assuming I made it correctly in high school, it is not at all appetizer-like (but then, the Roman cheesecake I made wasn't very dessert-like - even after quadrupling the honey in it). The preparation of the dish is also simple, and the ingredients are relatively cheap or easy to find substitutions for. Given the fresh meat required, it couldn't be cooked after a full day of hiking, but it's feasible for anyone camping within a few miles of a butcher, or anyone willing to make substitutions based on whatever wild game they could take down before dinner.

Main Ingredients:

• 7oz. Liver (Pork) - This was the hard part for me to get past as a teenager, but once it's mixed in with everything else, it's really not identifiable as anything other than meat. For health/safety reasons, we used beef liver. Vinny might have used deer liver given the opportunity, since (supposedly) it's delicious and safe for humans to eat. 
• 2 Thighs and Wings (Chicken) - What's important here isn't the appendages used, it's that you use dark meat; as I recall this dish, it would be pretty weird with white meat in it. That being the case, I imagine this dish could also be made with other forms of poultry more readily obtainable while traveling. Duck, in particular, seems like a good choice.
• 2lbs. Bulbs (Onions) - According to Giacozza, the Romans would have used wild gladiolus or asphodel bulbs, but edible versions of those plants aren't really available in the here and now. A Gnoman traveler would probably use whatever he could scrounge up near his camp site, though, so in that spirit we'll follow Giacozza's interpretation of the recipe and scrounge up some onions - I'd recommend white or yellow, but not red (though it might be interesting to try once).
• 2 Tbs. Olive Oil - Nary a Gnoman steps out the door without his trusty, multipurpose olive oil.
• 2 Tbs. Garum - Another necessity for Gnoman travelers. Garum was a sauce made from fish, which the Romans used a great deal. Know that person in your family who puts ketchup on everything? Two thousand years ago he would have been covering everything in garum.
• 2 Tbs. Wine - We used red wine. I recall the wine had a strong impact on the flavor, despite thorough cooking, so this may be the easiest place to adjust the recipe to fit your tastes. Just make sure whatever type of wine you use, it's going to go with the onions you picked. 

Sauce ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Wine - The sauce is nearly half wine, so like I said, your choice of wine is kind of important.
• 1/2 cup Passum - The other half of the sauce is more wine! Passum was specifically a sweet wine originating in Carthage that tasted like raisins. It was obnoxiously sweet, apparently, but popular with Roman women, since appletinis and birthday cake-flavored vodka hadn't been invented yet. If you can't find raisin wine or straw wine, look for something that's going to be ridiculously sweet. 
• 1 Tbs. Garum - More garum! Seriously, it was pretty typical for it to be in every recipe. Twice.
• 1 Tbs. Lovage - This is an herb that tastes like celery, though much stronger.
• Black pepper - Add as needed.
• 1 tsp. Cornstarch - Add before serving.

Preparation: Chop the liver and chicken, and slice the onions. If you haven't tried liver before, I'd recommend chopping it into small pieces, as it can be pretty chewy. Start cooking with onions (2 lbs.), olive oil (2 Tbs.), garum (2 Tbs.), and wine (2 Tbs.) in a sauce pan. Once the onions have cooked, throw in the meat. Cook for 30 min while getting the sauce ready. Throw all of the sauce ingredients except the cornstarch into a separate pan or bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the sauce to the main dish and cook for an additional 30 min. Mix in the cornstarch to make the dish thicker, and serve. If I were to do this again now, I'd probably serve it with white rice or garlic bread.

The old book I got the recipe from doesn't say whether to cook the dish on 'high' or 'low'. The omission of that detail makes sense, given Romans didn't really have those settings on their hearths (and our adventurers wouldn't have them on their campfire). This is definitely a play-it-by-ear (and nose) situation. While overcooked liver is not good, the dish will end up being pretty dark and thick, and given the sweet and savory flavor, and the pungent tastes of the onions, slightly burning it will not ruin the meal.