Part 1 (1/2)
The Unofficial.
DOWNTON ABBEY COOKBOOK.
from LADY MARY'S CRAB CANAPeS.
to MRS. PATMORE'S CHRISTMAS PUDDING.
More Than 150 Recipes.
from UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS.
Emily Ansara Baines.
For my parents.
Acknowledgments.
As always, infinite love and thanks to my friends and family. Jenine and Kevin Baines are the most supportive and loving parents a girl could ask for, and my brother, Christopher, is so wise. I possess never-ending grat.i.tude for the love of my life, Nicholas Stefanovich, who managed to keep me on track and smiling - my love for you knows no bounds. Special thanks to the rest of the Baines, Bsharah, and Stefanovich families for being constant sources of comfort, wisdom, and love.
I would be remiss to not immediately thank agent spectacular Danielle Chiotti and all the crew at Upstart Crow Literary, along with editors Andrea Hakanson, Katie Corcoran Lytle, and the entire team at Adams Media. Without you, this book would quite literally never be published. Thank you for the hand-holding and ingenious edits.
Infinite grat.i.tude and love to Keagan Buchanan and family. Thank you Alice Kahn, Cory Carroll, Jas Bohrman, and Estella Soto for the long-distance love and conversation. You keep me grounded, you keep me sane, you keep me striving.
Hugs to Vince, Spam, and Katie, who still give the best hugs of anyone I know. Benjamin Manoochehri, thank you for being you.
A necessary nod of grat.i.tude to all the faculty and staff of Flintridge Preparatory School who had to listen to me muttering to myself in the faculty lounge while working on this cookbook, especially librarians Sue Hodge, Meryl Eldridge, and Reggie Ursettie, and teachers Sarah Cooper and Peter Vaughn. A special shout-out to Sonja Sung and Sam Na.s.strom, two lovely ladies who kept me fit while I spent days doing nothing but eating and writing. As always, infinite appreciation to Aimee Bender, who is a role model for me not just as a writer but as a human being.
And, of course, thank you Julian Fellowes, Carnival Films, WGBH Boston, and everyone involved in the making of Downton Abbey. What you have created is an inspiration to us all. If we ever meet, I owe you an eight-course dinner.
Introduction.
In a world where appearance is key, it's no surprise that each meal served at Downton Abbey is a gargantuan display of opulence. The sumptuous offerings cooked by Mrs. Patmore, served by Mr. Carson, and enjoyed by the Crawleys and their guests are meant to showcase the grandeur and generosity of the great estate and, subsequently, the people themselves. Everyone at Downton Abbey, from kitchen maid Daisy to the Countess of Grantham herself, takes pride in their food. Indeed, while the upstairs elite of Downton may seem miles - rather than feet - away from the downstairs inhabitants, servants and aristocrats alike share a nearly fanatic appreciation for rich food, a fact that quickly becomes apparent once you begin flipping through The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook.
Armed with these recipes, you will be able to sample delicious upper-cla.s.s delights such as Guard of Honor Lamb with Mint Sauce, Crispy Roast Duck with Blackberry Sauce, and Regal Veal Prince Orloff. All of which are delicious on their own, but which turn into a feast for the senses when paired with b.u.t.ter- and cream-filled favorites like Potatoes Lyonnaise, Pommes de Terre Sarladaise, Creamed Carrots, Cuc.u.mbers a la Poulette, and Baked and b.u.t.tery Balsamic Asparagus with Sea Salt. You'll also find the sweetest of many desserts offered at Downton such as Treacle Tart, Mr. Bates's Bread and b.u.t.ter Pudding, Grand Gougere, and Fancy French Meringues.
And just as there is social hierarchy in Edwardian England, the dining experience for the upper crust at Downton Abbey necessitates a hierarchy of dishes - all prepared by the servants downstairs. The average meal during the early 1900s was served in the coveted French version of Service a la Russe, which required the butler and the footmen to bring out each course sequentially rather than all at once. Depending on the occasion and time period, the number of courses could range from a modest eight to a filling thirteen. A full Service a la Russe consisted of the following courses: Hors d'oeuvres varies (often oysters or caviar).
Two soups (one thick, one clear).
Two kinds of fish (one boiled, the other fried) An entree The joint, AKA a large piece of meat cooked in one piece Roast and salad Vegetables.
A hot dessert.
Ice cream and wafers Fresh and dried fruits.
Coffee and liqueurs.
Often, additional ”removes” or ”refreshers” (such as sorbet) were added in between the heavier courses. Cheese was often served with the fruits and before the coffee and liqueurs.
Each of the courses in the Service a la Russe are represented in this book with a chapter full of recipes that you can serve at your own dinner party - with or without Carson and Thomas. You'll also find a chapter for that most British of all meals, afternoon tea, that includes recipes for dishes like British Battenberg Cake, Clotted Cream, and Mixed Berry Scones, and finger sandwiches like Cla.s.sic Cuc.u.mber Sandwiches, and Mrs. Isobbel Crawley's Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches. While the food might come in smaller sizes, that doesn't negate the afternoon tea's importance as a venue for negotiation! Throughout the first season of Downton Abbey, for example, often when the Dowager Countess would visit the Countess of Grantham to scheme to put an end to the entail, they'd often have tea served to them. At least those sugary treats would add some sweetness to their machinations!
In addition, many of the recipes in Part 1 will be accompanied by a suggested course pairing. You'll also find historical facts, tips for table seating, and etiquette guidelines, which will give you the tools you need not only to host a realistic Edwardian dinner service but a successful party as well.
Meanwhile, though the servants are not granted extravagant meals with the Service a la Russe, they are allowed a very filling breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with perhaps a tea thrown in for good measure. In Part 2 you'll find a sampling of the filling dishes that Mr. Carson, Mr. Bates, Anna, Daisy, and the rest of the staff at Downton Abbey enjoyed, including dishes such as Cla.s.sic Steak and Kidney Pie, Shepherd's Pie, or Tom Branson's Colcannon. While not as fancy, these dishes are certainly filling and ones both you and your family could enjoy before, during, or after a long workday.
Cooking these beloved dishes may be bittersweet, as you know something those residing at Downton Abbey do not: that this period before the World Wars was the last hurrah of British gastronomy, and soon many of Downton's beloved dishes would be taken away due to war rationing and a changing marketplace. Yes, the world of Downton Abbey no longer exists; its time has past. Yet with these recipes you can re-create it and live one day as a lady, the next as a lady's maid. As the saying goes, you are what you eat.
Enjoy! And bon appet.i.t! (Just don't forget your manners or you'll be sure to hear about it from the Dowager Countess.)
Part 1.
DINING WITH THE CRAWLEYS.
For the Crawleys, dining at Downton Abbey was done with a sense of sophistication and style - even if the family was dining alone - and, in this part, you'll learn how to dine like those living ”upstairs.” Each chapter denotes a specific course featured in a typical Downton Abbey dinner, granting you the freedom to mix and match courses and their recipes to your - and your guests' - palates. You'll also find step-by-step guidance for and recipes to serve at a proper afternoon tea. All chapters offer etiquette tips, to which you should pay great heed before hosting your first event. After all, you don't want to offend any prospective suitors!.
Chapter 1.
HORS D'OEUVRES VARIeS.
The hors d'oeuvres, or appetizers, set the scene and subsequently the entire mood of a formal dinner party. Thus, it should come as no surprise that both Mrs. Patmore and the Countess of Grantham would take their hors d'oeuvres very seriously - as would their guests. If the dinner invitation suggested an 8 P.M. dinner, it was expected that guests would arrive a half-hour early so they could take part in idle chitchat and share news while drinking c.o.c.ktails and munching on these offerings. After all, many an episode of Downton Abbey begins with the Crawleys fighting or insinuating or laughing among themselves as they drink and snack before Carson announces dinner. An entire argument or proposal could occur in the time it would take for the Dowager Countess to finish her caviar.