BY: M. TOMOSKI

From furnitures to films and exotic pets, Salvador Dali lived in a world that only he could imagine. So it’s no surprise that his food also derives from there. Published in 1973, “Les Diner des GALA” is a twelve-chapter erotic work of art that lets you taste the alternative reality that Dali brought to life.

“At the age of six, I wanted to be a cook,” Dali says in his biography. “At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.”

According to rumors, likely started by Dali himself, only 400 copies of the cookbook were printed. It contains 136 recipes and comes at a price of over $300 for an ordinary copy to $25,000 for copies that feature an autograph.

Each chapter comes with a peculiar title and personality, with chapter five being devoted entirely to snails and frogs while chapter ten to aphrodisiacs. The title for this chapter reads, ‘Les “je mange GALA”’ (which translates to “I eat GALA”) a reference to Dali’s wife, to whom the artist was so devoted. According to Vanity Fair, he bought her a castle but was only allowed to visit by invitation.

The book begins with a warning against moderation, saying:

“Les Diners de Gala, with its precepts and its illustrations, is uniquely devoted to the pleasures of Taste…If you are a disciple of one of those calorie-counters who turn the joys of eating into a form of punishment, close this book at once; it is too lively, too aggressive, and far too impertinent for you.”

And just in case you don’t have a heap of cash to throw at a cookbook, here are a couple of recipes:

Casanova cocktail

• The juice of 1 orange
• 1 tablespoon bitters (Campari)
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 4 tablespoons brandy
• 2 tablespoons old brandy (Vielle Cure)
• 1 pinch Cayenne pepper

This is quite appropriate when circumstances such as exhaustion, overwork or simply the excess of sobriety are calling for a pick-me-up.

Here is a well-tested recipe to fit the bill.

Another advantage of this particular pep-up concoction is that one doesn’t have to make the sour face that usually accompanies the absorption of a remedy.

At the bottom of a glass, combine pepper and ginger. Pour the bitters on top, then brandy and “Vielle Cure.” Refrigerate or even put in the freezer.

Thirty minutes later, remove from the freezer and stir the juice of the orange into the chilled glass.

Drink… and wait for the effect.

It is rather speedy.

Toffee with pine cones

• 2 ¼ lbs sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon of butter
• 1 slab of marble
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 7 ozs of pine nuts

In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water and cook over a medium flame. Be careful: you have to watch the process since the sugar is turning to toffee (or caramel, however you want to call it). It can burn very fast.

When it turns brown and has started to smell like something burnt, remove quickly from the fire. Add the tablespoon of butter, which will melt right away. You don’t have to stir.

Grease the slab of marble with oil and pour the toffee on it. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, work it, combining it with pine nuts.

Soon it will be cool enough for you to use your hands.

Watch it: don’t let it harden too much. Squeeze in the palm of your hand and form little sausages that you will cut to candy-size.

Allow it to thoroughly cool.