SUNDAY PUZZLE -- Will Shortz, in his print introduction to this grid, writes: "Miranda Kany is a chef and caterer in Philadelphia. This is her fourth crossword and first Sunday for The Times. Its food-related theme might be predictable given Miranda's line of work. But the theme has two more layers, explained by an astonishingly fortuitous crossing at 69-Across and 40-Down. The crossword gods were smiling while Miranda was making this."
Even though it clearly evolved from Ms. Kany's Times construction debut in 2023, this puzzle is so immaculate that I can't argue against the possibility of divine influence. It's a remarkable feat: almost impossibly intricate, and still a fast-paced joy to solve.
Today's Theme
You know that old icebreaker where you say which historical figures you'd like to meet over a meal? This theme is partly that, in puzzle form. The famous figures are provided for you, as are all the ingredients that you need to make a delicious dish (preferably at the table, with dramatic flourishes). The ingredients appear at 22-, 35-, 51-, 86-, 107- and 125-Across, and 4-, 7-, 67- and 89-Down. They are all clued in italic.
These clues are straightforward enough for most solvers to toss in, I'd wager (and if you want to toss them together, directions are provided below, by Ms. Kany). For example, 35-Across, [2 tbsp., for acidity], solves to LEMON JUICE; 51-Across, [One clove, crushed], is GARLIC; and 7-Down, [1/2 cup, slowly drizzled and mixed to form an emulsion], is OLIVE OIL. More specific elements include 67-Down, [2 tbsp., for a briny flavor], or ANCHOVY PASTE, and 125-Across, [One, coddled or raw; add an extra for a richer flavor], which is an EGG YOLK. If you don't know what we are preparing, there's a little revealer entry at 126-Across: [This puzzle's subject, in two very different ways], or CAESAR -- the ingredients are a reference to a CAESAR salad, which is named for a chef, Césare Cardini, and not Julius, as trivia lovers know. Note that 126-Across refers to two ways, and you will see that we have not conquered this theme yet.
You may have had your suspicions as you were making the salad and found an entry here or there that didn't fit, or you may have stumbled on the puzzle's other revealer entry, at 69-Across: [Infamous warning for 126-Across ... and for solvers, when filling in seven squares in this puzzle?]. It turns out that Julius is in this puzzle as well, and he has brought with him a nice bottle of mamertino, perhaps, and a rebus, definitely.
A rebus? Talk about a surprise guest! Some places where the rebus appears in the grid include the crossing of 130-Across, [Contemptuously laughed at], and 123-Down, [Slyly disparaging]: DERIDED and SNIDE fit in these entries, as long as IDE goes in one box. The rebus is also where 24-Across -- [Stockholder's portion] -- intersects 9-Down, [Certain silk spinner]; that's DIVIDEND and SPIDER. The answer to the "Infamous warning for 126-Across," then, is BEWARE THE IDES, a line from a soothsayer in Shakespeare's tragedy, ignored by its titular character to catastrophic effect.