Betsy Challenge 20: Foods Served at Notable Events in History

I finished this challenge on time, I swear! I just didn't get around to documenting it until now. I have been at the Civilian Symposium in Harrisburg (having the time of my life), and before that I was visiting family in Washington DC (and running them ragged with my sightseeing stamina). I am actually sitting in the airport right now, waiting for my flight back to Minnesota as I type this.

I actually made this recipe on February 23rd. The notable event I chose was Lincoln's second inauguration, which occurred on March 4th, 1865 - almost 150 years to the date! Lincoln's first inauguration celebration had been a very small affair. His family went to the Willard Hotel and had a small luncheon, and then retired privately to the White House. His second inauguration, however, was marked with a grand ball and featured a lavish supper table.

One of the things on the supper table was chicken salad, and I thought I'd like to add that to my historical repertoire. Chicken salad was a very common recipe - almost every cookbook I have from the mid-19th century has some sort of recipe for chicken salad - and they are all very similar. In the end, the recipe I chose was from Practical American Cookery and Domestic Economy, from 1860, as it gave the most explicit directions. It also relied on hard-boiled egg yolks in the dressing instead of raw egg yolks, and since I was trying this out on my mother who stipulated no raw eggs, it was handy.

The Challenge: Foods Served at Notable Events in History

The Recipe: Chicken Salad from Practical American Cookery and Domestic Economy

The Date/Year and Region: 1860, United States

How Did You Make It?: Just like it says. No, really! I halved the recipe, and carved the meat off a cold chicken, which I then cut into small pieces.  I mixed it in with celery and set it aside.

To make the dressing, I mashed up the yolks with the seasonings. I mixed it with the oil, bit by bit. The recipe called for sweet oil - I used an olive oil. When they say to add a little bit of oil at a time, they really mean it - I was never able to get a completely smooth texture. Then a little bit of vinegar.

 I tore up some leaf lettuce, added it to the chicken and then tossed it with the dressing. I had read in Godeys from 1861 that chicken salad should be served with rolls, crackers and butter, so we had all of that on hand. For presentation's sake I put it in a pretty ironstone bowl lined with lettuce leaves, and added the rings of egg yolk as garnish. I think it's pretty enough for the White House!

Time To Complete: About 45 minutes, including carving the chicken. I took my time with it and let the dressing sit for a while to let the flavors marry.

Total Cost: About $12, and serves 4 to 6.

How Successful Was It?: It was really good! The seasonings were good, and although the dressing got a little grainy, it wasn't bad. I held back a bit on the mustard - the original recipe calls for A LOT - and I wish I hadn't, because it really could have used that kick, but with the cayenne it had a nice flavor. Mom enjoyed it as well.

How Accurate Is It?: No heirloom ingredients, as usual, but beyond that I followed the recipe to the letter. I even used a wooden spoon when it called for it.

Betsy Challenge 14: Fear Factor

It may sound silly, but I'm afraid of gelatins.

Okay, it is silly. I come from the Upper Midwest - the land of Jell-O salads. No family dinner is complete without Jell-O, preferably with fruit in it. Pears go in red or green Jell-O, mandarin oranges in orange Jell-O. It's a ritual here.

So, why should I be afraid of historic gelatins? I'm just afraid of them not setting up. It's a chemical process, and chemical processes scare me in general. But I've learned to be fearless, so I decided to make some sort of jelly.

I had plenty of resources and recipes - calves feet jellies, aspics, wine jellies. You'll be relieved to know that I avoided Eliza Leslie (for once) and went with Eliza Acton's Modern Cookery.

Acton goes on to note that this is technically NOT a blanc-mange, since it's not white. It's in the family of cream jellies, more of a Bavarian cream or "un Fromage Baravoise. Either way, this looked like a winner - it already says it's extremely good!

The Challenge: Fear Factor

The Recipe: Extremely Good Strawberry Blanc-Mange from Eliza Acton's Modern Cookery  (found on Google Books)

The Year/Date and Region: 1868, England

How Did You Make It: As always, I halved the recipe. First, I mascerated the strawberries with some sugar and let them sit to get juicy. After a couple hours I came back and mashed them through a sieve. After struggling to find the right tool for this (potato masher? meat tenderizer? wooden spoon?) I used the bottom of a glass jar. Necessity is the mother of invention, right?

Now, I have to come clean. I semi-cheated. The recipe calls for isinglass, and try as I might, I couldn't find any brewing supply store in the area to buy isinglass. I did not want to mess with carrageenan, which was also used in the 1860s to jellify things. The only other period option I was left with was boiling calves' feet to extract the gelatin, and I didn't think my neighbors in my apartment building would appreciate it. So, I went with powdered unflavored gelatin. Despite the fact that it wasn't available in the 1860s, and wasn't called for in the recipe, it's still similar chemically to the gelatin from calves' feet.

Anyway, where was I? Gelatin. Mixing gelatin with milk makes it look pretty gross.

But, mixing it in with the strawberries was SO pretty.

I poured the mixture into some little copper molds and put them in the fridge to set up overnight. When I woke up in the morning, they were all set! VICTORY! I dipped one in hot water and turned it out onto a plate. So very, very pretty. It was very firm (I may have overdone it with the gelatin in my nervousness).

Time to Complete: Less than half an hour, plus overnight to set and the time the berries spent sitting in sugar.

Total Cost: I didn't really keep good track of this. More than $5, less than $10.

How Successful Was It?: VERY. Imagine strawberries and cream, but in gelatin form. I taste-tested it on two people: my boss, who enjoyed it very much, and the Gentleman Friend, who also enjoyed it greatly. It was...dare I say it? Extremely good. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

How Accurate Is It?: We've already talked about the gelatin, and the strawberries were not heirloom. I do want to try this again with isinglass, so I can judge the difference.