Mister 8

Through July, or at least until I run out of things about which to talk, we’ll be looking at the Harry Palmer series of novels (in which the character doesn’t actually have a name), their author — Len Deighton, the films based on them, the star of those films — Michael Caine, and the television movies that followed. I will be re-reading the whole series of novels, re-watching the films, and giving my thoughts on all I encounter. I’ll inevitably be drawing heavily on the collection of Kees Stam, author of The Harry Palmer Movie Site, and Rob Mallows, creator of the Deighton Dossier, and other odds and ends that I’ve turned up over the years.

Clicking posters will take you to the site where I originally found them, and you’ll find they’re often available for purchase. For the complete collection of Harry Palmer film posters, check out the Harry Palmer Movie Site!

BONUS: Dinner, Harry Palmer style!

So, I finally had time to sit down tonight to watch The IPCRESS File again, and made good on my plans to have a Harry Palmer / Len Deighton inspired dinner with my wife as well. I wound up making omelets following Len’s example in The Truth About Len Deighton, with ingredients from Palmer’s movie recipe — mushrooms, green peppers, onions and cheese. And yes, I crack my eggs one handed! In addition, we had green peas (or, as I believe some of you call them, English peas or petit pois) with onions sauteed in butter. I had a slice of smoked salmon. My vegetarian wife enjoyed “facon” on her omelet.

For dessert, we didn’t turn to Deighton, but to Caine, who provided a recipe for bread n’ butter pudding in a 1989 interview with the New York Times. I adjusted the recipe a little, and got the wrong kind of raisins accidentally, but it still turned out to be quite delicious. Here’s a picture of the pudding before the finishing touches were put on (looks like someone snuck a bite!):

MICHAEL CAINE’S BREAD-AND-BUTTER PUDDING

• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 3/4 cup dark rum
• 4 cups milk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 30 slices good-quality white bread
• 6 ripe bananas, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch slices
• 1/2 pint whipping cream.

1.Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 14-cup glass baking dish with one tablespoon of butter.

2.Soak the raisins in one-half cup of the rum.

3.Combine the milk, eggs, remaining rum and one-quarter cup of the sugar. Set aside.

4. Butter one side of each slice of bread. Dip each slice in the custard and arrange in the baking dish. Alternate layers of bread with layers of bananas sprinkled with raisins and one tablespoon of sugar. There should be five layers of bread, four of bananas.

5.Pour any of the remaining custard over all and bake for one hour. Place under the broiler for about five minutes, or until brown. Whip the cream with the remaining sugar and serve with the warm pudding.

Yield: Eight to 10 servings.