Professor Butter Beard and Raeburn’s “Colonel Alastair Ranaldson Macdonell of Glengarry”
Is olc an cócaire nach imlich a mheur.”
(It’s a poor cook who doesn’t lick his finger)
My soul craves Scotland the most in spring. The sun hits the mountains with a white-gold glow. Fast moving clouds cast a dance of shadows across the peaks inviting the daffodils and heather and new-born lambs to celebrate in the warmth before a quenching rain suddenly erupts to encourage the streams and rivers to flow. The sounds of the hungry birds and mewing lambs mingle with the gurgling of the brooks and the aromas of smoking chimneys and whisky. It is so easy for me to transport myself - like stepping into a Peter Graham landscape.
I’m submerged in the dream right now as I prepare to direct an open-air production of “Macbeth.” Auditions are in just a matter of weeks, and I am already reading and listening to everything I can grasp in order to immerse myself into the world of the 11th century Scottish king. I’m re-reading Hudson’s “Macbeth Before Shakespeare,” and re-entering my studies to read and speak Gaelic. And, I must remember, most of all, to order my McClellan tartan kilt to be ready for opening night in June.
As a reminder, I have Sir Henry Raeburn’s portrait of Colonel Alastair Ranaldson Macdonell of Glengarry saved as my laptop screensaver, my phone’s home screen, taped to my bathroom mirror, and as the bookmarks in the three books I am reading at the moment. I have often stood before the original portrait in the National Galleries in Edinburgh admiring the man who so wished to emulate, in changed times and with romantic panache, the flamboyant public image of a Highland chieftain.
Sir Henry Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a former village now within the city of Edinburgh. His ancestors were believed to have been soldiers, and may have taken the name “Raeburn” from a hill farm in Annandale, held by Sir Walter Scott's family. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to the goldsmith James Gilliland of Edinburgh, but it was a love of painting that emerged and propelled him forward into a highly successful career as a portrait painter.
At the time, it was usual, and almost expected, for young artists to visit Rome. In London, Raeburn was kindly received by Sir Joshua Reynolds, the president of the Royal Academy, who advised him on what to study in Rome, especially recommending the works of Michelangelo, and gave Raeburn letters of introduction for Italy. He fastidiously studied the Italian masters for two years, returning to Edinburgh in 1787.
Raeburn was fortunate in the time in which he practiced portraiture. Sir Walter Scott, Hugh Blair, Henry Mackenzie, Lord Woodhouselee, William Robertson, John Home, Robert Fergusson, and Dugald Stewart were residents of Edinburgh, and were all painted by Raeburn. In 1812, the same year he painted Glengarry, he was elected president of the Society of Artists in Edinburgh; and in 1822, he received a knighthood during the visit of King George IV to Scotland.
Sir Walter Scott is thought to have been inspired by Raeburn’s portrait of Glengarry enough to base his character of the doomed Jacobite clan chieftain Fergus McIvor in his novel “Waverley” on the image of the Colonel. Scott wrote, “This gentleman is a kind of Quixote in our age, having retained in its full extent whole feelings of Clanship and Chieftainship elsewhere so long abandoned.” I’m convinced! And I certainly hope I wear my tartan with as much panache and pride (and supreme style) as the Colonel.
Along with all the historical and stylistic research, I have also been dabbling in the kitchen with a few of my favorite Scottish bakes. Raeburn’s kilted “Colonel,” and the cookbooks written by the Hebridean Baker Coinneach MacLeod, have inspired these biscotti packed with hazelnuts, orange and dried Scottish heather flowers. Pour yourself a dram, tuck a dozen biscotti in your sporran, and join me in the Highlands for a springtime reel.
Heather “Bis-scotty”
24-30 cookies
1 cup whole toasted hazelnuts
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
3 large eggs
3 Tbs olive oil
Grated zest of 1 orange (or two clementines) – reserve 1 tsp of zest.
1 tsp dried Scottish heather flowers
Topping:
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp dried Scottish heather flowers
Reserved 1 tsp of orange zest
1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees with one rack in the center. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, baking powder and sea salt. Stir in the whole hazelnuts.
3) In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, orange zest and heather.
4) In an even smaller bowl, mix the topping ingredients together with your fingers.
5) Make a well in the dry mix and add the wet mix all at once. Mix together until evenly combined to form a dough.
6) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into four parts. Form each into a log, about 9” long and press gently to slightly flatten. Place two logs on each baking sheet. Sprinkle the topping mix evenly over the four logs.
7) Bake one sheet for 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and bake the second sheet.
8) While the second sheet bakes: Let the first baked logs sit for five minutes to firm up, and then, using a serrated knife, cut the logs on the diagonal into slices, about ½ inch thick. Lay the slices on the baking sheet.
9) After the second sheet is removed from the oven, reduce the temperature to 300 degrees. Return the first sheet to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes until golden brown. Then do the same for the second sheet.
10) Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack and leave them to cool completely.
