Dinner in the 1880s

Recently, Amy was back in California for visits with old friends and a weekend as Agnes from David Copperfield at The Great Dickens Christmas Fair. This left me with an excellent opportunity to cook things that she especially can't stand the smell of, which especially means fish (which I especially love). If I was going to craft a dining experience, it was going to be completely Victorian. On this particular evening, the latter end of the period won out and I went with further exploration of my copy of the 1886 Philadelphia Cook Book 

by Mrs. S.T Rorer

Every word this lady wrote was solid gold (I have a lot of cook books and this is truly one of the best) so I knew I was in good hands for a new experiment.

The main event was broiled fish (salmon in my case):

With Sauce Hollandaise:

Which also requires making drawn butter:

A few notes if you want to try it in a modern kitchen- when you broil the salmon (I only did about 0.63 lb.), place the oven rack about 6" from the broiler (second place in mine) and broil for a good five minutes on each side. I highly recommend doing further reading on safe handling for the specific fish and weight you are using.

When you are making the drawn butter for the Hollandaise sauce, 1 Cup of water will work well for the 1/2 pint specified.

I kept it simple and just had an appropriately basic salad as an accompaniment with French dressing from the same book (using the option for tarragon vinegar):

This is a wonderful dressing and, while not difficult to make, it is crucial that the instructions be followed exactly in order for it to come out well.

Madeira was my wine of choice (courtesy of my good friend Doug Rousch) with water as well.

Indulged in setting the table with original 19th Century table ware with the exception of the oil lamp, napkin, and the bowl that the salad dressing was in. That bowl is the excellent craftsmanship of my friends at J. Henderson Artifacts. They can't be beat for any sort of historic stoneware, including custom pieces.

It was a delectable taste of the period and very nice way to pass an evening. One more thing solidly in the realm of what the Victorians did better. If you are feeling the need to immerse your senses in history but the next event is just not close enough, I highly recommend jumping into a few recipes from whatever period is your passion and making an evening of it. You won't be sorry!

Your's & c.

The Victorian Man