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.