Recreating "The Queen's" Dinner

I had such a blast with this project!  For those of you just joining us, I recreated one of Frances' meals from 1892 (original post below).  There were several components to this menu, so I've compiled the photos into collages.  Hope you are hungry!

Let's start with the butter.  Maybe Frances had store-bought butter, but I figured I would make my own, just in case.  It is delicious, and I kind of want to make it all the time.  

Next up - biscuits.  My go-to biscuit recipe is from Southern Living, and uses grated frozen butter.  I used store-bought butter for this one, but did use the buttermilk from my homemade butter.  White Lily Flour proved to be a huge success.  The biscuits were light, flaky, and delicious!

I really wasn't sure what to do with Irish potatoes.  I'm guessing that distinction means that they were hard to come by.  The Irish Potato Famine was from 1845-49, so maybe this was still pretty special.  I scrubbed the potatoes, peeled and chopped them, then popped them in a pot and boiled them with salt.

Now the star - fried pork!  I found some beautiful bone-in pork chops and went to town!  Dredged them in a mix of flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.  Somehow, I can't seem to make anything that DOESN'T include cayenne pepper.  I heated up some vegetable oil and butter in a cast iron skillet, and fried the chops, 4 minutes on each side.  A cool side note - I inherited this cast iron skillet from my Grandmother - also named Frances, after her Grandmother (whose diary we are reading).  Now, I'm not what side of the family passed this skillet to her, but wouldn't it be amazing if this was the same skillet that Frances used in the 1890s??  I think so!!

The finished plate!  I settled on whole milk for the 'sweet milk,' so I poured a tall glass and sat down to a really tasty meal!  I worried that the potatoes would be bland, but they were actually quite good.  The pork was crispy, and the warm biscuits with butter were pure happiness.

As we ate dinner, my fiancé commented that this meal is pretty close to meals we have had here in Atlanta.  There is a huge 'Southern American' trend happening in restaurants right now, and this meal stacks up with the best of them.  We started talking about the MANY changes in the world since the 1890s, and yet, we can still enjoy the same food.  But there is something bigger, too.

Frances didn't just write what she had for dinner - she wrote about enjoying the meal with her family.  Dinner together can be the quiet moment of the day where you get to sit down and talk to the people you love.  Not everyone has the luxury of a made-from-scratch meal every night, but when we do, it is usually a special occasion.  It's not just about the food - it's about the people.

I Ought To Be Happy

This is the thrice anniversary of our marriage.  I ought to be happy.  Here I have a nice comfortable home, a dear kind husband.  Two of the dearest little ones in the world.  I am, most of the time.  Sometimes I am about half sick - feel real bad + imagine Mr. Grimes don't love me, but I reckon he does - he does think to say a few kind sympathetic words.  I was never petted in the least in my life.  Why should I expect it now?   - Frances, June 1892

Every time I read Frances' diary, this entry stands out.  Here she is, on her third wedding anniversary.  Living the life she is 'supposed' to live.  Raising two children.  Living in a nice house.  Maintaining that household (with the help of a cook and a nurse).  Supporting her husband.  She has all the comforts a woman could want.

But why isn't she happy?  Are these fleeting moments of sadness - or a more telling description of her married life?  She calls her husband Mr. Grimes - was this just formality, or something deeper?  Was she seeking more affection and connection with her husband?  Or was she just tired that day?

So many questions from one entry, and such a revealing glimpse into her world.  Have you ever felt like Frances?  Felt disconnected from your loved ones?  Felt guilty for not being grateful enough?  Those are definitely familiar to me. 

Journals contain more than lists and recipes - they also hold our doubts, fears, and insecurities.  We are all complicated, messy, beautiful humans - at both our highest and our lowest - and we are more alike than we are different.