The Gilded Age Cookbook by Becky Libourel Diamond

Author:Becky Libourel Diamond [Diamond, Becky Libourel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Globe Pequot
Published: 2023-03-27T00:00:00+00:00

Ballroom, Sherry’s Restaurant, 1898 WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

This fanciful setting was so over the top that it almost overshadowed the impressive eight-course menu. Luckily Delmonico chef Charles Ranhofer recorded it in his 1,200-page masterpiece cookbook, The Epicurean. The eight courses began with two soups, consommé imperial (chicken-flavored consommé served with green peas, asparagus points, and small quenelles of chicken forcemeat) and velvety bisque aux crevettes (shrimp bisque). Next was a course of hors d’oeuvres, then fish (red snapper and roulades of smelt), a beef filet relevé, and an entrée course including canvasback duck and cold asparagus in a vinaigrette. At this point a pause was taken for a palate-cleansing sorbet, then the menu segued into the roast course of capon and saddle of mutton and a vegetable course of cardoons, choux fleurs sauce crème (cauliflower in cream sauce), and buttered peas. The meal ended with fifteen luscious dessert choices, from gelée de ananas (pineapple jelly) to gaufres chantilly (waffles with whipped cream), petits fours, and bonbons.

Sherry’s was also host to numerous banquets, including an over-the-top dinner in 1903 where all of the guests dined while on horseback. Given by millionaire C. K. Billings in celebration of his election as president of the New York Equestrian Club, it was his intention to “give his clubmates the most memorable dinner that had yet been eaten.” Billings originally wanted to serve his guests on horseback at his new stables in Washington Heights but claimed New York newspapers spoiled the surprise. So he pivoted to Sherry’s, secretly arranging for the horses to be taken upstairs to the restaurant’s second-floor ballroom by freight elevator two at a time. He hired drivers to pick up each guest and take them to Sherry’s, where they enjoyed their first course in a banquet room on the ground floor. They were then led upstairs, where the horses were arranged in a horseshoe formation inside Sherry’s grand ballroom, each equipped with a white quilted satin saddle and bridle and gold-and-white harness. In the center of the horseshoe was a woodland scene, with a mound of imitation green grass surrounded by flowers. Each saddle had a miniature table attached to the front to serve as a dining tray, as well as each guest’s name printed in gold lettering to mark their place. The men mounted the horses, which stood patiently throughout the meal. Twelve courses in all were served by waiters dressed as hunting groomsmen, and while the men ate, so did the horses, munching on oats from individual satin-covered troughs. The tables were then removed so the guests could enjoy their after-dinner cigars and speeches. The New York Times called the dinner “one of the most novel that has ever been given in the city.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.