Gingery Goodness

A slightly out of focus picture of ginger crackles cooling on my ancient cookie tin:

A slightly small picture of a nearly perfect comedy:

An Everlasting Piece
2000; Barry McEvoy, Brian F. O’Byrne
Directed by Barry Levinson

Being a Catholic, I'll start with confession:

When I first saw An Everlasting Piece at the age of 15 or 16, I had a crush on Barry McEvoy, who plays Colm, a Catholic barber. (He also wrote the screenplay.) His hair so dark, his temperament so intense; that was all it took. I had the same feelings for Robert Arkin who played Jimmy Rabbitte in The Commitments. Not my most embarrassing crushes, but embarrassing enough. Moving on...

An Everlasting Piece is comic brilliance, a story set in 1980’s Belfast about two barbers, one an assertive Catholic, the other a hesitant Protestant, (McEvoy and Brian F. O'Byrne) who decide to get into the hairpiece business, figuring that they can capture both the Catholic and Protestant markets, calling themselves The Piece People. Though they start out as “the only hairpiece company in all of Northern Ireland,” they don’t remain the only one. The ensuing competition, fraught with religious tension and a growing friendship between the two men, is material for many classic scenes. You may want to buy An Everlasting Piece, because you’ll likely watch it over and over again.

In honour of the Irish wit, snappy dialogue and intense personalities, I present gingersnaps to consume with this film. I know that they aren’t Irish but there is something about gingersnaps, the spiciness, the sugar granules on top and most of all, the satisfying crunch as you bite down. These cookies, redolent with spicy, warm aromas and just hot enough on the palate, always make me think of Colm dancing a jig on top of the flight of stairs after being chased by Mr. Black and his cronies.

SPICY UNAPOLOGETIC GINGER CRACKLES (Makes 3 1/2 dozen)

1/2 cup vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap. Use "fancy" or "cooking" molasses)

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

Pinch of white pepper

1 teaspoon ground cloves

Pinch of salt

Sugar to roll the cookies in

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cream together the shortening, butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and molasses. Combine both flours, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, cloves and salt in another bowl and then mix the dry ingredients into the wet until thoroughly combined. I usually do this in the food processor, where, as my brother Isaiah pointed out, the batter takes on the appearance of dog food. Rover never had it so good...

Roll your batter into 1 inch balls and then roll each ball in a little bit of sugar to coat it.

Place your balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 - 10 minutes until the cookies are set and brown underneath. Allow to cool before greedily munching away. They are great with a glass of milk and even better with coffee.