Friday, December 26, 2014

Dinner aboard ship, Boxing Day 1931.


I have a holiday treat for you today – the menu for passengers lucky enough to b eaboard R.M.S Scythia of the Cunard Line on this day in 1931.

R.M.S Scythia             Saturday  December 26, 1931

MENU

Oysters on the Half Shell
Queen Olives              Salted Peanuts                        Iced Celery
Hors d’Œuvres
--
Consomme Henry IV              Crème [Liseise?]
--
Flounder – Meuniere
Halibut  - Bonne Femme
--
Weiner Schnitzel
Cotelettes d’Agneau – Clamart
-
Prime Sirloin and Ribs of Beef – Horseradish
Cauliflower Polonaise             Spinach en Branche
--
Potatoes – Boiled, Roast, and Dauphine
-
Sorbet au Ceron
Roast Surrey Capon – Anglaise
-
Salade Royale and Chiffonade
--
Palmire Souffle Pudding
Vanilla Blanc Mange              Coupe Mexicaine                    French Pastry
Ice Cream and Wafers
Dessert                        Coffee

I do hope you did not find it too difficult to make your dinner choice.

As the recipe for the day I have chosen the classic dish:

Cauliflower Polonaise
Trim off the outer leaves and stalk of a good-sized, white cauliflower. Place in a saucepan with two quarts of boiling water and a gill of hot milk; season with a tablespoonful of salt. Cover the pan and boil for forty minutes. Remove, drain on a sieve, and dress on a hot dish. Heat one tablespoonful and a half of melted butter in a frying-pan, add three tablespoonfuls of fresh breadcrumbs, then gently toss until a good golden colour. Pour over the cauliflower, and serve.
May Byron's Vegetable Book: Containing Over 750 Recipes for the Cooking

and Preparation of Vegetables (1916)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

40 minutes to boil cauliflower! Sounds like they didn't want a single vitamin left alive :)

The Old Foodie said...

This was pretty much the normal in those times - there was a bit of a fear about undercooked veges being difficult to digest. And also to be factored in is that modern varieties of vegetables are different - much horticultural effort has gone into producing them, so perhaps they are more intrinsically tender???