Sunday, March 28, 2010

Eric and I hosted the third installment of 1913 Club Sunday dinners. For almost three weeks we searched, purchased and planned exactly how we would present our menu on March 28. It was definitely a journey of discovery along with a few frantic moments as we realized just how inexperienced we were when it came to setting a formal table or preparing some of the menu's dishes. During this time we were also out of town for 10 days. We made sure we had our menu with us at all times and spent hours at coffee houses reviewing procedures and discussing presentation. It was important to us to get this right. We had never hosted a formal dinner and therefore wanted to do something special for our friends.

Our menu for March 28 called for:

Cream of lettuce

Baked ham with hot horseradish sauce

Sweet potato croquettes

Spinach with eggs

Grapefruit salad

Cheese balls

Rhubarb tart served with cheese and after dinner coffee

Our menu required the purchase of non-edible items as well as the food for the meal. Some of the things we purchased included a tablecloth, silver water pitcher, cloth napkins, three antique crumb knives (we couldn't decide on the finish), wine glasses (we only had four and required seven so we purchased a set of 12), double boiler, deep fryer, potato ricer, 12 small tart pans with removable bottoms, silver wine coasters (we purchased three in two sizes), crystal salt and pepper shakers, seven small glass vials to hold flowers on the table and finally flowers for the table. After acquiring all of these things we still needed to purchase the food.

Finding the food items we needed for the menu wasn't too difficult. Ham is common although finding one large enough presented a slight problem. Rhubarb was definitely the most expensive individual item at $6.95 per pound and the horseradish took a few grocery excursions before we located it.

All items included, the dinner totaled $374.

Preparation began the day before the meal with the baking of rhubarb tarts. We made the crust first, carefully molding it into the small tart pans. The rhubarb bubbling on the stove gave off a gentle sweet aroma that slowly folded itself into the individual tart pans as it was poured. For decoration we chose not to use the braided dough top suggested in the recipe but to add a heart and some apricot jam for appearance and extra flavor. Saturday also included placing the ham in a apple cider marinade, preparation of the homemade French dressing for the grapefruit salads and horseradish sauce. Each would keep well until the following day and lessen the stress of full preparation left until Sunday. While all of these things were cooking we decided hand-painted place cards would be a nice touch so those were made in advance as well.

Sunday morning began around 9 a.m. with a lot of activity in the kitchen. Eric and I were quickly determining the order of procedure for the day as the oven was preheated and the ham was prepped for cooking. The ham needed to cook for seven hours and guests were to arrive at 5 p.m. so we had some time to prepare the rest of the dishes. Everything progressed as planned for the first few hours. Serving items were placed in order of need, the table was dressed with the new tablecloth, dishes, napkins folded and water vials in place for flowers. Setting the table with silverware was a new challenge so I referred to an early 1900s housekeeping journal realizing in 1913 nobody had the internet to help them.

The biggest challenge was that the menu called for several items to be cooked and served while parts of the meal were being served. Most of these menus were designed for a cooking staff complete with servers waiting the table and we realized this would be a scheduling nightmare for any professional cook, let alone us. To complicate things even more we had opted to bake dinner rolls from scratch and the dough was not rising fast enough. By the time the ham finished cooking it literally fell off the bone which eliminated the final step of adding cloves, brown sugar and bread crumbs to return to the oven for browning. In addition, the deep fryer had a meltdown at the expense of our fried cheese balls which were ultimately sacrificed to the Cottolene god as they promptly went into the trash.

Ultimately, guests arrived and the day was a success. The table looked beautiful in the warm glow of the candles surrounded by antique furnishings in a home that has surely experienced wonderful dinners among friends in years past. The food is merely the host for cherished time spent with friends and good conversation. We have to thank our ancestors for providing us with the knowledge of what really matters in life. It isn't the busy work schedules we keep or daily frustrations that will be remembered, it is the time we spend with those that are important to us and the special memories we make today that will always be treasured.


The next 1913 Club dinner will be held the Sunday following Easter on April 11.

Cheese ball recipe from the book.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups grated cheese
1 tablespoon flour
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon mustard
Few grains cayenne
Whites 3 eggs beaten stiff

Process:
Add flour and seasonings to cheese, fold in whites of eggs, shape in small balls. Roll in fine cracker crumbs and fry a golden brown in deep hot Cottolene (substitute Crisco). Drain on brown paper.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Dan and I hosted the 2nd installment of our grand experiment in historical cooking. Even though we've only just begun, we've already discovered much on our journey t0 1913, and we've laughed as we shared these lessons amongst good friends at linen-bedecked tables, each meal lovingly prepared and adorned in homage to yesteryear.

Our menu for March 7, 1913 called for:

Spring soup with crusts (croutons)

Breast of veal roasted with a brown sauce

Spanish rice and mashed parsnips

Pineapple fritters

Red cabbage, onion, and celery salad

Steamed currant pudding with a dried apricot hard sauce (apricot & bourbon reduction)

"Small" cups of coffee (meaning demitasse).

Firstly, we've learned that anyone cooking out of this cookbook would have had servants! All the meals are multiple courses requiring some advanced preparation and coordination in the kitchen. Specific menu items are to be cooked while the meal is in progress, and then brought to the table when ready (the pineapple fritters, for example, were to be served hot as 3rd out of 7 courses, maybe as a palette cleanser?) Regardless, being similar to our predecessors only in table appointments and not in economic stature, we've altered course order where necessary.We've also learned that the vegetables and game that were available then can be be very difficult to obtain today. Breast of veal, for example, while not an exotic cut of meat, is not one widely called for today. Central Market could not even order the meat and many local butchers didn't carry it due to low demand within the Lenten season. Thank goodness for GOURMET RANCH in Houston at http://www.gourmetranch.com/. Owner Bob Lorino and his wife Charlene specialize in high quality gourmet meats and game. They were very reasonable and so accommodating to our time schedule, that they located what we needed and sent it to us by air shipment within two days of our order. They were lifesavers...and the meat was tender, juicy, and delicious!! I expect that the way these menus are going, that we will be ordering from them a lot this year!!! We also discovered some wonderful new vegetable dishes, like mashed parsnips. Everyone at the table really enjoyed the fresh, clean flavor, that believe it or not, tasted much like a bright and creamy version of a sweet potato. Prepared much like a mashed potato recipe, the parsnip, also a root vegetable, was an unexpected favorite amongst us all. Most of us, excepting Robert who thought the dish too onion-y, also liked the freshness of the cabbage, onion, and celery salad. Having always been a picky eater and never a big fan of vegetables, this is an odyssey to me--but I'm thrilled to be discovering new flavors and really tasting fresh food that has been largely unknown to me until now.
All total we spent about $200.00 on the meal for eight (invited my Mamma Bear to join us), but in my view, the evening was priceless. As the candlelight flickered against clinking stemware, and the sounds of laughter echoed off worn oak floors, I gazed amongst the smiling faces around our table and took note. As much fun as we've had visiting the past, it's these moments we make together, in the present, that build a treasure of memories and make for a life well-lived.

4th Sunday in February

Ok...I hope this works. So, I had to create the meal, but I also decided to do several short cuts. First, it called for tomato soup, which in 1913 didn't come in a can. So, I used an organic tomato bisque straight from the can and it was delicious!! The other shortcut I took was to use Crisco instead of the Cottolene that called for it to be "creamed" I don't actually know that if you whip vegetable oil if it will cream, but I'm not willing to try, either. In any case, the Crisco worked fine. The third thing that was different was that I was supposed to prepare Guinea fowl and couldn' get it. Plus, had I ordered it, it would have been $13.00 a pound!!! So we had chicken. And had I thought about it, I probably would have tried to make stuffing for them. All in all, they came out fine, but the coup de grace for this meal was the Rhubarb sauce I made for the chicken. All it was was about 8 stalks of rhubarb that I cooked down in a little water and then added some sugar so it wasn't too tart. It was GREAT! I made raw fried potatoes instead of the "potato souffles" which sounded more like home fries than anything else. The meal also called for just plain head lettuce and "french" dressing, so I made a vinaigrette which came out fine, but the modern idea of 'salad" was definitely unknown in 1913. The chocolate jumbles were a keeper and so is the orange ice that didn't freeze in time, but that I've been eating since and it's really good, but more something you might do in the hot summer than in February. All together, I spent about $100 on the meal. The rhubard was the most expensive at $6.99 a pound. We had plenty of food for 7 people, but I'm still not sure how many people the meals are meant for. Thought to self....grow some rhubarb for next year!