6 Recipes to Celebrate Bloomsday in Quarantine

Food inspired by Ulysses and its protagonist, Mr. Leopold Bloom.

Photo by Me, in the Kitchen

Food is one of the best ways to get closer to a culture, whether real or fictional, so as part of my social distancing Bloomsday celebrations this year, I wanted to try out some Ulysses-inspired meals. Unlike Mr. Bloom, I do not relish organ meats, but there are plenty of other tempting foods that Bloom eats and thinks about over the course of the novel, especially in the chapter “Lestrygonians.” Most famous is the gorgonzola sandwich that he orders when contemplating vegetarianism at Davy Byrnes Pub — a real pub in Dublin that still offers this sandwich on the menu. This meal is of course number one on my list, but I found a wealth of other Ulysses-related recipes that yielded delicious results. They are not my recipes, so I linked back to the original pages I found them on, with the corresponding Ulysses quotes and some notes on my mistakes and triumphs below.

Try a few out! Remember, it’s okay to blunder along the way — even our favorite foodie Bloom burnt his breakfast. And be sure to scroll to the end to find out what booze to knock back on Bloomsday!

Bloomsday Recipes

1. Gorgonzola sandwich (with a glass of Burgundy)
2. Green salad
3. Guinness-battered fish and chips
4. Garlic butter mushrooms and onions
5. Devilled crab
6. Irish caraway seed cake

1. Gorgonzola Sandwich (with a Glass of Burgundy)

Photo by Me, in my Kitchen

“Mr. Bloom cut his sandwich into slender strips … He studded under each lifted strip yellow blobs.”

“A warm shock of air heat of mustard hanched on Mr Bloom’s heart.”

“He smellsipped the cordial juice and, bidding his throat strongly to speed it, set his wineglass delicately down.”

“Mr. Bloom ate his strips of sandwich, fresh clean bread, with relish of disgust, pungent mustard, the feety savour of green cheese. Sips of his wine soothed his palate. Not logwood that. Tastes fuller this weather with the chill off.”

“Wine soaked and softened rolled pith of bread mustard a moment mawkish cheese. Nice wine it is.”

“Mild fire of wine kindled his veins.”

“Glowing wine on his palate lingered swallowed. Crushing in the winepress grapes of Burgundy. Sun’s heat it is.” (Lestrygonians)

Recipe notes:

• For the soda bread, I used a beer bread mix from Trader Joe’s that is sinfully easy to make. Sadly they have stopped selling it for the season.
• My “pungent mustard” of choice is Dijon.
• I skipped the Italian olives on the side like Mr. Bloom prefers, they are too salty for my taste.

Photo by Me, in my Kitchen

Why is the gorgonzola sandwich scene so memorable? It’s not just because of the wonderful descriptions of the sandwich and the wine. In this passage, James Joyce performs a dance of three partners — his own third-person account of what Bloom is doing, Bloom’s first-person thoughts, and the conversations of Bloom and the other bar patrons.

Bloom himself is also doing a complex dance — Bloom is observing Nosey Flynn as he scratches his fleas and nearly drips snot into his own drink, while Bloom is still trying to enjoy his meal. Meanwhile, Nosey Flynn is prodding Bloom by mentioning Mrs. Bloom and her lover in the same sentence, asking about their upcoming concert together. Bloom is responding coolly, refusing to give Nosey the satisfaction of seeming flustered by this mention, all the while desperately trying to distract is inner thoughts from flitting to the impending meeting between Mrs. Bloom and her lover later that day.

2. Green Salad

Photo by Me, in my Kitchen

“A nice salad, cool as a cucumber, Tom Kernan can dress. Puts gusto into it. Pure olive oil.” (Lestrygonians)

Recipe notes:

• Pretty basic, didn’t use a recipe. Just cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, onion, and butter lettuce, with an oil and red wine vinaigrette dressing.
• I added feta cheese…because it’s Greek…like The Odyssey…
• I forgot the Spanish onion (red onion) that Bloom mentions, but a white onion worked fine in its stead.

3. Guinness-Battered Fish and Chips

Photo by Me, in my Kitchen

“He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liver slices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencods’ roes.” (Calypso)

One source I came across said that “fried hencods’ roes” was just an extra Joycean way of saying fried cod. So — fish and chips, with a pint of Guinness in the batter, was the obvious answer.

Recipe notes:

• I definitely forgot the part where you coat the fish in flour before dipping it in batter, but the batter mostly stayed on the fish and it still tasted good.
• I ate it with homemade tartar sauce, fresh-baked chips, and vinegar. Have a Guinness with it for true self-actualization.

4. Garlic Butter Mushrooms and Onions

Photo by Jessica Burlage — follow @j.bird.art on Instagram

“After all there’s a lot in that vegetarian fine flavour of things from the earth garlic of course it stinks after Italian organgrinders crisp of onions mushrooms truffles.” (Lestrygonians)

Recipe notes:

• The recipe calls for “small button mushrooms,” so I used baby bellas. They look bigger in the package but they shrink during cooking and become the cute little button-sized mushrooms that appear in the photo — who knew that’s how mushrooms worked!
• I added about 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream right at the end. The cream balanced out the sharpness of the lemon and added more richness. It was heavenly. This recipe is not for the faint of heart.

5. Devilled Crab

Photo by Me, in my Kitchen

“God made food, the devil the cooks. Devilled crab.” (Lestrygonians)

Recipe notes:

• I used imitation crab because I’m thrifty like Bloom (also I’ve never bought real crab at a seafood counter and I was too nervous to make an attempt).
• I didn’t know what devilled crab was before I made this. It turned out like a less cakey version of crab cakes (???). You’re supposed to bake and serve in ramekins so they don’t fall apart, but I don’t have ramekins, so I used a Pyrex pie dish instead.
• After a first taste out of the oven, I wanted the mixture to hold together more, so I added an egg and breadcrumbs (in addition to the breadcrumbs called for on top).
• I forgot to take a picture of the final product, or maybe it didn’t photograph well, I can’t remember at this point. Regardless, it tasted good. I ate it with tartar sauce and a squeeze of lemon.

6. Irish Caraway Seed Cake

Photo by Jessica Burlage — follow @j.bird.art on Instagram

“Ravished over her I lay, full lips full open, kissed her mouth. Yum. Softly she gave me in my mouth the seedcake warm and chewed. Mawkish pulp her mouth had mumbled sweetsour of her spittle. Joy: I ate it: joy.” (Lestrygonians)

“…the day I got him to propose to me yes first I gave him the bit of seedcake out of my mouth… yes 16 years ago my God after that long kiss I near lost my breath…” (Penelope)

Yes, you read that right. Molly and Leopold exchanged a half-chewed piece of seedcake in a passionate kiss. While searching for this excerpt I came across a wonderful piece from Bloomsday 2017 reflecting on this kiss. Give it a read, it’s short and sweet.

Recipe notes:

• I have never used a tube pan before — I had to google what a tube pan even was. It sounds like some crazy space age technology. But it’s really just a pan that makes those cakes with the hole in the center. Like a Bundt cake.
• My first mistake was using baking soda instead of baking powder, which is less concentrated. But it didn’t seem to matter in the end, so….*shrug*.
• Another mistake was not waiting long enough for the cake to fully cool before turning it over and letting gravity drag it out of the pan. I had watched enough Great British Bake-Off to know I was playing with fire when I flipped that bad boy over.
• It came out mostly clean, but the top was a mess by Mary Berry standards. So I made some icing to cover it up. With no powdered sugar in sight, I improvised, combining cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, lemon juice, baker’s sugar, and just a splash of Jameson for fun — I think James Joyce would have liked that.
• Have this cake with a cup of tea, and you’ll feel contentment in ways that few Americans experience, sorely lacking in the ritual of afternoon tea.

Don’t Forget the Bloomsday Booze

Guinness

“Hurry up, Terry boy, says Alf.
Terence O’Ryan heard him and straightway brought him a crystal cup full of the foaming ebon ale which the noble twin brothers Bungiveagh and Bungardilaun brew ever in their divine alevats, cunning as the sons of deathless Leda. For they garner the succulent berries of the hop and mass and sift and bruise and brew them and they mix therewith sour juices and bring the must to the sacred fire and cease not night or day from their toil, those cunning brothers, lords of the vat.” (Cyclops)

The brothers mentioned are Edward Guinness, Lord Iveagh, and Arthur Guinness, Lord Ardilaun. Guinness is best when consumed in Ireland, and it is arguably the best beer in Ireland. It is so damned good and it doesn’t matter who you are, it seems like everyone in Ireland drinks Guinness.

Absinthe

“Nos omnes biberimus viridum toxicum diabolus capiat posterioria nostria.” (Oxen of the Sun)

Annotator Don Gifford translates Stephen’s Latin as he’s buying a round of absinthe for everyone: “We will all drink green poison, and the devil take the hindmost.”

In the following chapter, Circe, the characters experience vivid and frightening hallucinations at a brothel as a result of the absinthe. Nowadays, absinthe usually isn’t sold with hallucinogens in it, so it’s safe to sip serenely at sunset on a sofa.

Jameson

“All Irish whiskeys use the water of the Liffey; all but one filter it, but John Jameson’s uses it mud and all. That gives it its special quality.” (James Joyce in real life)

There’s not much I can say about Jameson and Ulysses except to read this article on James Joyce’s whiskey connections. It’s a great read.

White Wine

“White wine is like electricity. Red wine looks and tastes like a liquified beefsteak.” (James Joyce in real life)

Joyce was without question an alcoholic, and his favorite vice was an obscure white wine called Fendant de Sion from Switzerland. It’s not available at my midwest liquor store chain, whose slogan boasts, “If you can’t find it at Binny’s, it’s probably not worth drinking!” I’m not sure if Binny’s and James Joyce will be able to resolve their differences, but I did some sleuthing in the meantime. According to wine experts, Viognier from the Rhône Valley in France has similar qualities to Fendant de Sion, and whaddaya know it’s grown at a similar latitude less than four hours from Sion. Best of all, Viognier is available at my local Binny’s, and it’s on sale for ten dollars.

Photo by Me, in a Backyard

I never really thought of white wine as electricity, but I won’t ever be able to un-hear that. I’ll be trying to catch sparks on my tongue with every glass I have now. Happy Bloomsday!