Sunday 22 March 2009

Mrs Beeton menu

Mrs Beeton still delivers the goods! Today I cooked a three course dinner (she recommends eight...) from my 1920s Mrs Beeton's Household Management. I thought the food would be bland and stodgy but it was tasty and very approachable. Starter was puff pastry cheese twists with anchovy paste, then chicken wrapped in bacon with tartare sauce and finally chocolate blancmange. I loved blancmange as a kid and this was both dead easy and tasted just like Cadbury's Dairy Milk. To make...heat 1 pint whole milk in a pan, melt in 100g dark choc, then melt in 7 leaves gelatine, add 1oz sugar and splash vanilla. Put in a bowl and set in fridge for a few hours.
Only difficulty with Mrs Beeton is adjusting to old measurements (a gill?) and instructions like 'over a clear fire'. But with over 1000 pages, I'll be back for more...

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