Imagine you’re seated at a round table topped with the most exotic fruit baskets you’ve ever seen, in the most sumptuous and spacious dining room you’ve ever stepped foot in. You sip cool champagne and engage in entertaining small talk with your well-heeled guests. Many of the women, already dripping in glistening jewels, are dressed in the finest fashion from Paris, a treat to themselves before the sojourn home. While the orchestra regales the room with the popular pieces of the day, young men bedecked in tails move seamlessly through the tables, delivering one rich and indulgent course after another.
You begin your evening meal with Oysters a la Russe, accompanied by the most delicious Chablis. From there you and your fellow diners enjoy Consommé Olga with a drop of sherry. Having finished the consommé, a dish of Poached Salmon with Mousseline Sauce is gently placed in front of you, followed shortly afterwards with filets Mignons Lili, although the gentleman from Texas seated to your right opted for Chicken Lyonnaise instead.
Trying not to wince, you straighten your back against the velvet-covered chair in an attempt to better accommodate your ever-tightening corset. You survey the next course arriving, wondering where you will find the room for the Calvados-Glazed Roast Duckling with Applesauce, served with Chateau Potatoes and Minted Green Pea Timbales. You decline the offer of Burgundy with this course, preferring to finish instead the enjoyable glass of Bordeaux from your fourth. This earns you a disapproving glance from Mama, seated across from you, but you avert your eyes and continue the pleasantries with the young man at your table.
From there you enjoy the brief interlude of Punch Romaine and notice for the first time that the vibrations underfoot have become stronger, as if the speed had increased. The genial American assures you that it is merely part of the plan to reach land faster and sooner than anybody else. Mollified, you return to the serious business of dining, continuing with Roasted Squab on Wilted Cress followed by Asparagus Salad with Champagne-Saffron Vinaigrette.
Having just returned from a season in Paris, you opt to ignore the Pâté de fois Gras Celery, but readily accept the delicate glass of Sauterne poured for you and move right along to your favourite part of any meal – dessert. A ring of waiters appears around your table, plates held aloft, and on the nod of the Maitre d’, the dishes descend. Your Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly is delicious, but you eye greedily your mother’s Chocolate Painted Éclairs with French Vanilla Cream. The eleventh course is served from a trolley, as choices of cheese and assorted fresh fruits are proffered, with a welcome return to the champagne.
Sipping the refreshing liquid, you watch as the American gentleman chooses a cigar from the open box presented by a steward and orders a port to accompany it. Mama’s pointed glance across the table announces the end of your evening and bidding adieu to the male diners – who rise from their chairs to say goodnight – you retire to your luxurious cabin, where you will enjoy but a few hours sleep before an iceberg would rip through the seemingly impenetrable hull of the ship you are asleep aboard, and bring to a crashing end your time on the magnificent Titanic.
If you’d been on board the Titanic this night, 100 years ago, you might have been enjoying at this very moment just the type of scene painted above. The details of the menu come via a rather unlikely but thoroughly enjoyable Amazon purchase I made some time ago, entitled ‘Last Dinner on the Titanic’ by Rick Archbold and Dana McCauley. As you can see from the sheer length and breadth of the dinner described above, it is no surprise that an entire book can spring from the details of the menus from which first, second and third party passengers chose their daily meals.
It really is an absolutely captivating read, with enthralling details of the period including descriptions of dress and manners and even mini-biographies of some of the passengers, ranging from the famously wealthy to the poverty-stricken in steerage. The book not only displays the full menus as they were crafted at the time, but also provides modern interpretations which could be just about managed in a kitchen without staff, given enough time. The idea behind this is that families or friends could host their own ‘Titanic evening’, with each guest bringing a course. It’s a fabulous idea, and one I would love to undertake some time.
To help us along the process, the book also features detailed recipes, which give a fascinating insight into the tastes and fashions of the time. I’ve included below one such recipe as featured in the scene above, if you would like to see any of the others just leave me a comment and I’ll post it if the authors don’t mind (I will just detail one or two as a sampler, the book has easily over a hundred – I’d 100% recommend buying it if you can).
Filets Mignons Lili
Ingredients
- 6 filets mignon (2.5lbs)
- 1/2tsp each salt and pepper
- 1tbsp each butter and vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 6 foie gras medallions
- 6 cooked artichoke hearts, quartered
- 6 slices black truffle (optional)
Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 large shallots or ½ onion, chopped
- 1.5 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- ½ cup each Cognac, Madeira and red wine
- 3 cups homemade beef stock
- Salt and Pepper
Potatoes Anna
- ¾ cup melted unsalted butter
- 5 medium baking potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
- 1 tsp each salt and pepper
Instructions
Sauce:
In saucepan, melt 1 tbsp of the butter over medium heat; add shallots and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in tomato paste, bay leaf and rosemary until well combined. Stir in cognac, Madeira and red wine; bring to boil. Boil for 10 minutes or until reduced to about ½ cup. Stir in beef stock. Boil for 15 minutes or until reduced to about 1 cup. Strain into clean pot, set over low heat and whisk in the remaining butter. Season to taste. Keep warm.
Potatoes Anna:
Brush 11-inch oven-proof skillet with enough melted butter to coat. Arrange potatoes in overlapping circles, brushing each layer with enough butter to coat; sprinkle each layer with some of the salt and pepper; press top layer gently down. Place pan over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes or until bottom in browned. Cover and bake in 450F oven for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender and lightly browned on top. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes until brown and crisp. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. In large skillet, melt butter with vegetable oil over medium heat; add garlic and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes; increase heat to medium-high and add filets mignons. Cook, turning once, for 10 to 20 minutes or until well-browned but still pink in the middle. Remove from pan and let stand, tented with foil, for about 5 minutes. Wipe out pan and return to high heat. Add foie gras and cook for 30 seconds per side or until golden brown. Romove from pan and reserve. Gently toss artichoke in pan juices and cook for 2 minutes or until heated through.
Cut cooked potato round into 6 portions and place 1 piece, upside down, on each of the 6 heated plates; top with a filet mignon, followed by a slice of foie gras and a truffle slice (if using). Ladle suaec around edge of plate; garnish with artichokes. Makes 6 servings.
Tips; Because this sauce is a reduction, the beef stock must be homemade if the sauce is to thicken properly. It is better to use two skillets to cook the meat than to crowd the filets.
Ps – I’m much too time-pressed this weekend to cook this tonight, but I will post pics as soon as I’ve an afternoon and a few bob to spare. Promise!