September 09
Armand du Plessis Duc de Richelieu 's Birthday

Armand Jean du Plessis Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu by Philippe de Champaigne,

Armand du Plessis Duc de Richelieu was one of the most successful politicians of all times. His mother forced him to join the clergy because King Henry III had granted Richelieu's father the bishopric of Luçon for his participation in the Wars of Religion. In 1606m King Henry IV nominated the young Richelieu to become Bishop of Luçon which the Vatican subsequently approved, A few years later, Richelieu entered the service of King Louis XIII's wife, Anne of Austria, and quickly began to rise to power . The King soon nominated Richelieu for a cardinalate which Pope Gregory XV approved, and Richelieu soon became an indispensable advisor to the King. Richelieu intrigued against the chief minister who was arrested for corruption, and the Cardinal took his place as the King's principal minister, and eventually shaped modern France into a strong, centralized state.

Richelieu has been a character in more than ninety films and television productions, due in part to the continued popularity of the Alexandre Dumas novel The Three Musketeers . Memorable portrayals of the cardinal include those by George Arliss in Cardinal Richelieu (1935); Raymond Massey in Under the Red Robe (1937); Vincent Price in The Three Musketeers (1948) and in a television production of the same title in 1960; Christopher Logue in Ken Russell's The Devils (1971); Charlton Heston in The Three Musketeers (1973) and again in The Four Musketeers (1974); and Stephen Rea in The Musketeer (2001).

Richelieu is credited with introducing the eggplant to French cuisine and serving it often at state banquets. Eggplants had been nicknamed the "mad apple," because of their reputation of being poisonous, a reputation that they shared with the Cardinal. Richelieu's passion for eggplant spawned a wide spectrum of recipes. The most impressive is Aubergines Cardinal which is the French version of moussaka. In this creation, eggplant, duxelles, and chopped ham are cooked in a charlotte mold lined with the eggplant skins.

So we suggest celebrating Richelieu's birthday with Aubergines Cardinal and enjoy the latest portrayal of him by Christoph Waltz in the 2011 film version of The Three Musketeers:

*Aubergines Cardinal* (The Cardinals' Eggplant)
Ingredients
2 lbs cooked ham, ground 1 large onion, minced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese 1/2 cup white glace de viande* 1 cup dry white wine 8 oz cream cheese, cut in 1" cubes 2 cups Béchamel sauce* *See Appendix A	4 large unblemished eggplants 2/3 cup olive oil 2 cups duxelles* 2 eggs 1/3 cup chopped parsley 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 2 TB butter
Instructions
Cut the eggplants in half. Make several slashes in the eggplant flesh (not the skin). Sprinkle eggplants with salt, rubbing salt into slash marks. Let them sit for 30 minutes, flesh side down on paper towels to drain. Squeeze gently to remove additional liquid. Wipe dry with paper towels. Pour 1/4 cup olive oil in a deep covered skillet. Place as many eggplant halves in skillet as fit. and sauté for 15 minutes covered. Turn eggplants over and sauté for another 15 minutes, being careful not to break skins. Add more oil if necessary. Repeat until all eggplants have been cooked. Allow eggplants to cool for at least 15 minutes so they can be handled. Preheat oven to 350º F. Put 2 TB olive oil in skillet and cook onions for 4 to 5 minutes, until translucent and soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Carefully remove eggplant skins in tact. Put flesh aside. Butter Charlotte mold. Line bottom of mold with a buttered circle of waxed paper. Line charlotte mold with eggplant skins, making sure that the skins overlap at least 1 inch. Let ends of skins hang over mold. Retain 1 skin for final assembly. Roughly mash eggplant flesh with the back of a wooden spoon in a large bowl. Add chopped ham, onions, garlic, parsley, duxelles, Swiss cheese and eggs. Mix thoroughly and add salt and pepper to taste. In a food processor equipped with chopping blade or in a blender, add glace de viande, wine, and Béchamel. Blend. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fill Charlotte mold halfway with eggplant mixture. Pour in one half of Béchamel mixture. Gently stick fork in eggplant mixture to help Béchamel mixture mix thoroughly . Repeat procedure with balance of eggplant and béchamel mixtures. Cut remaining eggplant skin to cover filling. After covering filling, lap over eggplant skin flaps hanging over Charlotte mold. Cover with a circle of buttered waxed paper. Place mold in a pan of water reaching two-thirds up on the mold. Bake for 1&1/2 hours. Remove mold from water and let rest 20 minutes before unmolding. Peal off waxed top and run a thin knife around the sides of the mold. Invert and remove waxed paper from top.

Serves 6-8