Dinner At The Queen's Table

Well Mr. Grimes came in and he Embry and I sat down to our little meal of fried pork, Irish potatoes, biscuits and butter, and sweet milk, and felt as well as if we had dinner at the queen's table.  - Frances, January 1892

While Frances' diary doesn't contain many recipes, any Southerner knows that food is more than just sustenance.  Food is how we show our love for others.  As soon as I saw this menu, I knew I had to recreate it for someone I love.  I've done a little research, and here's my plan so far:

Fried pork - I'm thinking this is most likely bone-in pork chops, lightly breaded in a flour-salt-pepper mixture.

Irish potatoes - Still not sure about this one.  I've found a few Irish Potato recipes that make more of a casserole-style dish.  Others that are simply steamed or stewed, with some mashed potato recipes thrown in for good measure.  There is also a set of recipes for Irish Potato Candy, but I'm pretty sure that's not what Frances made here.  I'll keep digging, and see if I can come up with an authentic version.  Right now, my plan is to use russet potatoes, and boil them for a bit in salty water.

Biscuits and butter - I have several biscuit recipes in my recipe files, most of which call for self-rising flour.  It looks like self-rising flour came about in 1844, and likely made it to America by the mid-1850s.  White Lily flour has been around since 1883, so I'm thinking that their self-rising flour is a likely candidate.  Butter was probably hand-churned - at least I'll get an arm work out!  I'm going to buy some buttermilk, though, just in case my liquid buttermilk isn't enough.  

Sweet milk - I think this was just used to distinguish from 'sour' milk (buttermilk), but I've seen a few recipes for sweet milk that call for a glass of whole milk with heavy cream floated on top.  I'll try both.  I'll see if I can get my hands on unprocessed, unpasteurized milk, too.

Thanks so much to the following websites for their info!  Wish me luck!

Alabama Pioneers

Alabama Foodways

Joe Pastry

NCpedia

White Lily Flour

It Was Such Fun Having Company

My 27th birthday and the first one I've ever had when I didn't receive a single present.  Was sort of disappointed that Elsie forgot.  We celebrated Thanksgiving tonite.  I invited Mr. Chen + Miss Su + Doc + Mrs. Chen.  It was such fun having company for a change.  We had a very nice dinner I thot - chestnut stuffing + a pumpkin pie with nuts.  Our table looked very pretty with candles + the jack-o-lantern, tangerine place cards + red autumn leaves.  - Annette, November 1942

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  My family has a history of large Thanksgiving celebrations with polished silver, place cards, and delicious food made with love by all our guests.  Every year, my aunt and I start working weeks in advance to plan all the details.  This year, my Thanksgiving will be a bit smaller - just 6 instead of 20 - but I am excited for new traditions!  As I worked on my to-do lists, I started thinking about Annette's Thanksgiving celebrations.

While in China, they were never really sure when Thanksgiving was supposed to be, so they would have their celebrations when they could.  This one happened on a Sunday - maybe to celebrate her birthday as well!  I love that she used fresh tangerines as place cards, and decorated with leaves from their trees.  I love that they made chestnut stuffing and pumpkin pie.  I love that my grandfather carved a pumpkin as decoration.  I can just imagine this beautiful scene, and as I embrace my own inner hostess, it makes me feel so connected to her.

I also love that she mentioned how glad she was to have company.  And that she was a little bit sad to not receive a birthday gift.  So much of our existence on this planet is tied to the people around us, and celebrations can sometimes be bittersweet.  This will be my first Thanksgiving since I was I child that I won't be with my aunt.  That makes me a little sad.  But, I'll be celebrating with fiancé's family, whom I completely adore, so with the sadness there is also joy!  To me, Thanksgiving is a celebration of family - whether family by blood, by choice, by circumstance, or anything else.  I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with good food, good company, and love.  And maybe a place card or two.