We were at dinner with some friends the other day. One of the ladies commented on what I write by saying that she thought that I could make a column out of a “sow’s ear”. That got me to thinking – could I? Everyone is aware that a sow’s ear is one ugly thing. This is true particularly of their right ear. No prominent scientist has ever been able to figure out why the right one is uglier than the left one. That being the case, I determined that I could most likely not write anything on that subject.
Although, there was this girl in college who was a couple of grades ahead of me. She had a boyfriend who she wanted to dump. She therefore invited him to lunch one day and made him sow’s ear soup – using the right ear since it was the ugliest, and she figured that it would make the worst tasting of the two. To her surprise, he thought it was the best soup he had ever savored. She changed her opinion of him and they were married right after graduation.
Unfortunately, the marriage lasted only two years. The divorce papers on his part stated that being fed sow’s ear soup three times a week constituted mental and culinary cruelty. Apparently, he had been faking that he liked the soup in order to get her to marry him, but reached a point where he could take it no longer. Not all was sad in this case as the girl moved to NYC where she got a position as an assistant chef in one of the best restaurants in Brooklyn. She made her sow’s ear soup one night and the rest is history.
The soup became an overnight sensation and an epicurean hit. Even people who had no idea where Brooklyn was made their way to the restaurant. Actually no one liked it, but it was the “in” selection so they gulped it down. There were other restaurants who tried to get in on the trend, but they were unsuccessful. The reason, of course, was that they threw both ears into the soup. They did not know the secret that only the right ear should be used. Ultimately,
the sow’s ear soup craze passed.
However, by that time the girl from my college was famous and had her own restaurant – but not in Brooklyn. She made several other gastronomic dishes that became sensations. She had a sow’s ear pie that people died for (actually a couple did). She even made a visit to The Villages right in The Blonde in the house and my neighborhood. She was aware that the area around Lake Deaton had some wild boars. She disappeared for a couple of days. A few weeks ago some of the neighbors who back up to Lake Deaton heard noises in back of the fence. They investigated and found some hunters whose job it is to round up the wild boars every so often. One of the hunters said he had never seen anything like it. It seemed that all the boars they corralled had their right ears missing.
Finally, I have heard from an impeccable source that one of the Country Clubs here in The Villages will soon have a famous chef visit and feature her “Wild Boar Sow Ear” soup. It is said to be much better than the domesticated kind. You do not want to miss it!
Barry Evans writes about Life in The Villages for Villages-News.com