December 19
Édith Giovanna Gassion's  Birthday

 



 
She was and remains even after her death France's most popular singer. The legends about Edith's life are fascinating because most of her early life is shrouded in mystery. She allegedly was born on the pavement of a Paris street. Her mother was a 17- year- old cafe singer and her father was a street acrobat. Her mother abandoned  Edith shortly after she was born and, after her father enlisted in the army in World War One, she was given to her paternal grandmother who operated a whorehouse, and little Edith was raised by prostitutes, She  went blind for a few years when she was very young but the prayers of the prostitutes allegedly resulted in a miracle and Edith's vision was restored.

When her father retuned at the end of the war, Edith joined his street performance act as a singer. She soon left the act, and went out on her own as a street singer and was soon  "discovered" by the the Paris impresario, Louis Leplee, who offered the starving street urchin a contract. Louis changed her name from Edith Gassion to "La Mome Piaf" ( Little Sparrow). and soon Edith was wowing the patrons on Paris's most elegant cafes and cabarets.

The great love of Edith's life was the former world middleweight boxing champion Marcel Cerdan who died in a plane crash in October 1949. Marcel was married at the time and their affair and their relationship often made international headlines. After his death, Edith married Jacques Pills, a French singer/actor, which ended in divorce. Then when Edith was 46, she met and fell in love with Theo Lamboukas a Greek singer/actor 20 years younger then her, when the scored a hit in 1962 with the song À quoi ça sert l'amour? (What Good Is Love?). After paying off all of his debts, they were married and continued  performing together. Edith and Theo are buried with her daughter Marcelle (who died at age two from meningitis) in a tomb in Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris with a motto over the tomb which translates as "Love Conquers All."

But is was her singing that captured the heart of millions with more than a hundred  recordings, especially La Vie En Rose, Non Je ne Regrette Rien, Hymne à L’Amour, Milord. Padam, Padam. Mon légionnaire, Les Trois Cloches, and La Goualante du Pauvre . There was renewed global interest in and affection for her songs by a new generation after the release of. La Vie en rose (2007), a film about her life staring Marion Cotillard who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal as Piaf.

So for Edith's birthday celebration, what could be more appropriate than enjoying a slice or two of Sparrow Pie while watching a DVD of La Vie en rose? Sparrows were a popular food in Europe before World War I. They were especially popular in England where a famous sparrow pie containing 100 sparrows was served on January 16,  1967 at the Rose Inn at Peldon, near Colchester. Since sparrow hunting can be tiresome,  we cut the recipe down to 24 sparrows.

 
   

Sparrow Pie

 

 
Ingredients
 
1 frozen pie crust (top and bottom)
24 sparrows
1 lb. bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 TB butter
1/4 tsp thyme
 
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp pepper
salt and pepper
large Russet baked potato
1 small onion, chopped
 

Instructions

  1. Pluck, singe, and flatten the backs of the sparrows
  2. Remove the sparrow flesh and cook in a skillet with butter with onion of medium heat for 4-6 minutes in a food processor, add the sparrow and onion, baked potato, allspice, thyme, salt, and pepper. Pulse until all meat is finely chopped or to the desired texture (be careful not to overdo it else you will get baby food - just until meat is in very fine pieces).
  3. In a 9 Inch round pie dish, put the bottom crust in and then put the meat mixture into it. Pack it firmly and top with 2nd pie crust. Brush top with egg wash for extra color and shine, if desired. Poke a few holes in the top crust to vent steam.
  4. Bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes.

Makes about 6-8 slices.
 

 
© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes