Their Last Suppers: Legends of History and Their Final Meals Read online

  Dinner at the house of Marcus Lepidus, on March 14, 44 B.C., was kept simple because Caesar was intent on working through it, preparing for his upcoming campaign, while socializing with the eleven senators.

  Caesar’s Last Supper

  Scillas (Big Shrimps)

  1 lb lightly poached and cleaned big shrimps

  1 tsp green pepper, ground

  1 tsp chopped celery

  ½ tsp celery seeds

  2-3 tbsp malt vinegar

  6 tbsp liquamen, or fish sauce

  5 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

  Combine all ingredients and chill for several hours.

  Serve on a bed of lettuce and garnish with pine kernels and radishes.

  In Mitulus (Sea Mussels) (4)

  3 lb fresh sea mussels

  1 ½ tbsp liquamen, or fish sauce

  2 large leeks, chopped 1 ½ tsp cumin powder

  300 ml passum or ½ bottle Chardonnay

  4 tsp black pepper

  3 cups water

  Clean the mussels thoroughly.

  Mix all the other ingredients and cook gently as a broth for about 8 to 10 minutes.

  Add mussels last, cover, and simmer gently until mussels start to open.

  Serve immediately.

  Aliter Baedinam Sive Agninam Excaldatam

  (Steamed Lamb)

  12 large lamb cutlets

  bottle Soave or dry Italian wine

  2 large white onions, diced

  2 tsp ground coriander, fresh if possible

  cup liquamen, or fish sauce

  1 tsp ground cumin

  1 tsp chopped celery

  2 tsp oil

  Seal the cutlets gently on both sides in a frying pan. Put the cutlets in a large pot with the onion, celery, and spices. Add liquamen, oil, and wine. Cover and then cook gently for 40 to 50 minutes.

  Remove the cutlets, thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch, and after letting the cutlets rest for 3 to 4 minutes, place on a tray and cover with sauce. Serve with plums, figs, and fresh rosemary for garnish.

  Fabraciar Virides et Baianae

  (Green and Baian Beans)

  1 lb green beans, lightly blanched

  ½ tsp sea salt

  8 oz dry white wine

  1 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil

  1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

  1 tsp cumin seeds

  1 leek, finely chopped

  Place oil in a large frying pan, then add the leek and coriander; cook gently for 2 to 3 minutes.

  Add the wine, salt, and spices with beans. Toss and serve.

  Pullum Frontonianum (Frontier Chicken) (4)

  1 large (4 lb) chicken, cut into eight pieces

  ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

  1 cup liquamen, or fish sauce

  1 large leek, chopped

  1 bunch fresh dill, chopped

  1 tsp Indian red pepper

  ½ cup fig paste or syrup

  Seal chicken pieces in a frying pan until lightly golden on both sides. Remove from pan, mix with all the other ingredients except figs, and cook for about 1 hour in an oven at 400°F.

  Smear the fig paste on the plates, put chicken on top, sprinkle with red or black pepper, and serve.

  Garnish with bunches of fresh dill, hard-boiled eggs, and radishes.

  Dessert Ambrosia

  2 pints heavy cream

  2 lb pulped fresh strawberries

  3 egg yolks

  3 egg whites, beaten stiffly

  Whip cream until it gets body, then add egg yolks; fold in egg whites and strawberries, place in a mold, and chill for 2 hours.

  Serve with single cream, sliced apples, and pears.

  GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER

  Little Bighorn

  June 25, 1876

  Custer of the golden locks, his broad sombrero turned up over his hard browned face. The ends of his crimson cravat floating over his shoulders, and gold galore spangling his jacket sleeves. A pistol in his boot, dangling spurs on his heels and a ponderous claymore swinging at his side. A wild dare-devil of a General and a prince of advance guards, quick to see and act … he died as he lived, fighting his hardest at the head of his men.

  —Obituary, New York Tribune, July 7, 1876

  On May 17, 1876, the Seventh U.S. Cavalry Regiment rode out of Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota, in what would be for many of them the last time. At its head was one of the most colorful and controversial soldiers in American history, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.

  Finishing thirty-fourth out of a class of thirty-four at West Point Military Academy, Custer was court-martialed for the first time within days of graduation but eventually saved from punishment by the beginning of the American Civil War and the Union’s urgent need for officers of any type, a luck that followed him for many years.

  He was flamboyant and headstrong from the outset of his career, and Custer’s aggressive battlefield forays quickly endeared him to an enraptured public, but he was detested by many of the men in his commands for his recklessness with their lives in battle and harsh treatment in peacetime, while he himself often rode off to engage in his favorite pastimes, hunting and carousing with his wife, Elizabeth Bacon.

  His superiors loved Custer, though, and admired the dashing young officer who would take all manner of risks to win battles, always emerging as the victor, with large numbers of enemy prisoners, guns, and artillery. They never paid much attention to the fact that he lost more troops in battle than any other Union general in the Civil War.

  Six feet tall with broad shoulders, blue eyes, and long golden hair, Custer could do no wrong in the eyes of his public. Receiving the South’s white flag of surrender at Appomattox from General Lee himself, Custer and his new wife, Elizabeth Bacon, set their eyes on furthering his career in politics, believing that the “Golden General” could one day aspire to the White House.

  The end of the Civil War brought an end to glory and headlines. He was assigned to Texas at the head of the cavalry, and boredom set in. He frequently left his troops to have fun with his wife, while having any other deserters shot on the spot, without a hearing.

  Eventually he went too far and was charged and convicted with abandoning his command. But General Philip Sheridan, who saw Custer as the perfect man to lead a campaign against the Cheyenne in Oklahoma, overturned his punishment.

  Once more marching his men forward without proper intelligence or planning, Custer attacked the Cheyenne camp at Washita on November 27, 1868.

  The warriors were absent hunting, but this didn’t stop a frustrated Custer. The Seventh Cavalry attacked, slaughtering 103 women and children and more than 800 animals and burning all the Cheyennes’ possessions. Again the public saluted their hero, but once again, they were never given the real facts of the “victory.”

  Apart from the massacre of the helpless, Custer had allowed a detachment of his soldiers, under Major Joel Elliot, to look for the missing warriors by riding east of the village. Elliot finally found them and was promptly massacred with all his troops.

  Returning to camp to celebrate his victory, Custer completely ignored his missing cavalry. When their remains were finally discovered 2 weeks later, no one dared question what had happened to them. They were written off as casualties of the battle.

  In 1873 and 1874 he had several small skirmishes with the Lakota Sioux in North Dakota. His take-no-prisoners attitude against the Indians hardened their hatred of the white men even more and sowed the seeds for his eventual destruction. His wife, Elizabeth, both before and after his death, saw herself more as his agent, constantly promoting him as a statesman, patron of the arts, or military genius.

  With her prompting, he went to Washington in March 1876 and testified against the secretary of war over alleged corruption. This move seemed to backfire on him as a furious President Grant relieved Custer of his command on May 2. But once again the public came to his rescue, forcing the president to revoke his decision on May 8, sending him out West once mo
re to meet his destiny at Little Bighorn. Custer had demanded to lead his beloved Seventh in what everyone believed would be the final confrontation with the Indians.

  Leaving Fort Abraham Lincoln on the morning of May 17, Custer was part of a column commanded by Brigadier General Alfred H. Terry. Their mission was to coerce the Lakota Sioux and the Cheyenne nations back to their allotted reservations. Despite the Hollywood versions of large Indian battles, the Indians very rarely fought large engagements against the U.S. cavalry, and the sight of a large force normally guaranteed their compliance and retreat back to their reservations.

  However, after years of mistreatment and broken promises the Indian nations had had enough. Under Chief Sitting Bull and his war chief, Crazy Horse, the tribes were assembling in never-before-seen numbers, determined to strike a blow against the “long hairs,” if only to regain some of their lost pride.

  Terry’s column was supported by two others already in the field, under General Crook and Colonel Gibbon, and over the next 4 weeks they criss-crossed the territory looking for the elusive tribes. On June 21 they received word from their scouts that “some Indians” were in the vicinity of the Little Bighorn River. Custer was instructed to proceed south along that stream in the hope that they could trap any Indians found between him and the other forces circling behind them. Impatient to get to any potential engagement first, Custer declined a Gatling gun battery, saying, “It will slow me down,” and four additional cavalry companies, saying his force could handle anything it met.

  On Saturday, June 24, several old Indian campsites were discovered, and Custer’s Crow scouts reported to him that some Sioux were actually in the Little Bighorn valley. Believing the Indians would scatter when they saw him, Custer decided to strike immediately rather than wait for the other columns to arrive on June 26.

  At noon on June 25, at the Rosebud and Little Bighorn River junction, Custer divided his troops. For a general who had been in charge of a balloon reconnaissance unit in the Civil War, Custer yet again paid little attention to scouting. Believing that the Indians had at most 1,300 warriors to oppose him, and that they would not make a stand against his cavalry, he rushed to action. The left column, under Major Reno, made its way down the riverbank, heading for a village the scouts had discovered some 2 miles away. Immediately Reno was confronted by a surprisingly large force of warriors, forcing him to dismount his troops and fight in a skirmish line on the edge of the surrounding timber forest. With ammunition dwindling and no sign of Custer, Reno and his command were forced to withdraw to the bluffs on the east of the river.

  Custer meanwhile had found the battle he was desperate for. Believing the large dust cloud ahead of him was the retreating Indians he sought, he raced his column north, straight into more than 5,000 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors, eager for blood. The fight was short. The Indians swarmed over the Seventh, cutting them down as they fought desperately to escape. Even if he had not split his command, it is doubtful that many would have survived that day. The worst defeat ever sustained by the U.S. Army against Indians saw Custer die with 268 of his command, with another 60 in other skirmishes severely wounded.

  Although pictures show Custer fighting to the end with his long blond locks flowing around him, he was in fact the only white man not scalped that day because he had had a crew cut a couple of days before, and wearing his trademark buckskins he was not even recognized by the Indians.

  The tribes released all their pent-up anger in an extensive mutilation of the dead cavalry, stripping them and hacking them to pieces before finally retreating away from General Terry and his support columns and eventually making a permanent peace some 12 months later.

  Had Custer held back from battle for one more day, it is doubtful there would have even been a fight, but yet again, his need for personal glory dictated his actions.

  Interestingly, the Democratic nominations for the White House were to be held 3 days later, and he’d even brought his own reporter, Mark Kellogg, along with him. Had he defeated the Indian nations arraigned against him on June 26, there would still have been time to get a report of his victory back to Washington and help him realize the dream of the White House. Always surrounding himself with hangers-on and admirers, he took four other Custers, including his brother Tom, to their death that morning. The only survivor of the battle was a horse, ironically called Comanche, who was found in a thicket with seven arrows in his body.

  MENUS

  Although Custer was more than happy to serve hardtack to his men (flour and water softened in coffee to make it edible), his personal cook, Eliza Davidson, traveled everywhere with him to prepare his favorite dishes, even when he was in hard pursuit of the enemy.

  Custer hunted every day and on one expedition bagged forty-one antelope, four buffalo, four elk, seven deer, two white wolves, and one red fox, along with “geese, ducks, prairie-chickens and sage-hens without number.”

  Last Meal

  Roasted Buffalo Steaks

  Beans and Molasses, Roasted Wild Corn

  Prairie Hen

  Texas-Style Game Hens (4)

  ½ cup apple jelly

  ½ cup ketchup

  1 tbsp vinegar

  ½ tsp chili powder

  ½ tsp salt

  ½ tsp garlic powder

  ½ tsp chili powder

  4 (1–1¼ lb) Cornish hens, split

  Combine the first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan and stir well. Cook over medium heat until the jelly melts, stirring constantly. Remove the sauce from the heat and keep warm.

  Combine salt, garlic powder, and chili powder, stirring well; sprinkle over the hens. Grill over medium coals for 45 minutes; turn occasionally. Baste with sauce. Grill an additional 15 minutes. Turn and baste frequently with remaining sauce. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

  Roasted Wild Corn

  Strip the outer leaves back from the corn, leaving them still connected to the cob; remove the cornsilk and fold the leaves back over the corn.

  Place on a hot grill, or fire, for about 30 minutes.

  Peel off the leaves; smother with butter.

  Venison, Moose, or Elk Steaks and Chops

  If they are cut from young animals, they will need no marinating. The meat should hang for about 2 or 3 weeks and then be properly cut by your butcher.

  To cook the young steaks or chops, heat a heavy skillet until it’s quite hot and then add butter and oil. Sauté the meat, turning it frequently to brown on all sides without charring. If you like, you can flame the meat with cognac just before serving. Steak and chops from young animals may be cooked in the same manner as beefsteaks or lamb chops, broiled, grilled, or sautéed. When broiling or cooking on an outdoor grill, cook quickly and do not overcook. Game will become tough or dry with long broiling or frying. Add salt and pepper at the end to taste.

  Beef Jerky

  A staple of the cavalry, when they had fresh meat and time to prepare it.

  1 flank of London broil or other lean cut (e.g., buffalo or horse) salt and pepper

  1 cup soy sauce

  Cut the steak into thin strips; always cut with the grain of the meat.

  Dip the meat into the soy sauce. Lay the strips of meat out on a rack and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

  Cook in 150°F oven for 10 hours.

  Roast Buffalo Steaks

  Bison meat is very low in fat and cholesterol; being very lean, it tends to cook much faster than beef, so watch the steaks carefully. Steaks can be ordered in any size, from 8 oz to 2 lb. When cooked on the grill they produce a delicious dish.

  Always use a low grill temperature.

  Flip the steaks with tongs; never use forks or puncture the meat because this lets the juices escape.

  Don’t use salt during cooking; it dries up the meat. Instead, salt to taste after cooking.

  Never overcook buffalo; it’s best served medium rare.

  Beans and Molasses

  Open regular tins of baked beans. Add to a skillet with ch
unks of ham or bacon and about 1 pint of black molasses to every 3 lb beans.

  Let stew slowly for about 1 hour; serve hot.

  ADOLF HITLER

  The Führerbunker, Berlin, Germany

  April 30, 1945

  Soldiers of the Eastern Front! … Our mortal enemy, the Jewish Bolshevik, has begun his final massive attack. He hopes to smash Germany and wipe out our people. … If in the coming days and weeks every soldier on the Eastern Front does his duty, Asia’s last assault will fail. … Berlin remains German, Vienna shall once more be German, and Europe shall never be Russian. … At this hour the entire German population looks to you, my fighters of the East, and hopes that through your tenacity, your fanaticism, by your weapons and under your leadership, the Bolshevik attack will drown in a bath of blood. At this very moment fate has removed the greatest war criminal of all time [President Franklin Roosevelt] from the world, the turning point of this war shall be determined.