What we used to eat (fancy)

[Jenise]

1907 menu from the Waldorf-Astoria in NYC. Pretty fun to look at. Check out the duck options, among other things:

waldorfastoriamenu.jpg

Always fun to look at stuff like this. Because of course our present day menus/fare, which seem so "normal" to us, will probably look equally comical and interesting to future readers 100+ years later.

I find many contemporary menus comical already!
Interesting, I wonder if the difference in duck prices is solely size (teals are very small, canvasbacks large) or if they saw a taste premium?
I wondered what Montebello meant in terms of sweetbreads prep, and found a recipe (from Waldorf cookbook!)
Sweetbreads, Montebello
Prepare some sweetbreads the same as sweetbreads Waldorf; take them from under the weight and trim them into ovals; cover them all with a preparation made of other sweetbreads minced into very small dice with mushrooms of the same size mingled with cream sauce, salt and pepper. Form this over the ovals in a dome-shape and cover with chicken forcemeat, containing very finely shredded red beef tongue. Dress the ovals on a dish covered with Montebello sauce, made by mixing tomato and Bearnaise sauce together.

[Jenise]

Rahsaan, exactly right! And Dale, cool that you looked that up. But it sounds rather awful to me!

Did anyone notice the "Railbird" there among the ducks? I looked it up and could not find any entry other than that of a human fan of live horse racing. Anyone know what that might be?

I also laughed at "Canadian cheese" nestled there among all the formal cheese names like Stilton. Wonder what that would have been?

[Jenise]

Another one that made me laugh: Bermuda potatoes. The involuntary picture-generator in my brain suddenly showed a potato wearing little shorts in a beach scene.

The prices are also amusing/bemusing. $4.50 for roast duck! Highway robbery!

I looked up Jenny Lind soup. Jenny Lind was a popular 19th century singer who allegedly ate this soup to help preserve her voice. It was very popular in the 19th century and appears in Isabella Beeton's famous cookbook. It is a cream soup of rudabaga and cheese in chicken stock, thickened by cream and a white roux.

-Paul W.

Did anyone notice the "Railbird" there among the ducks? I looked it up and could not find any entry other than that of a human fan of live horse racing. Anyone know what that might be?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_(bird)

I also laughed at "Canadian cheese" nestled there among all the formal cheese names like Stilton. Wonder what that would have been?

That one is impossible to search for.

Bermuda potatoes are a cultivar. Relatively resistant to disease and a fair choice for french fries as it crisps well.

Barbe de Capucin is chicory.

Sweetbreads Montebello sounds awful... and very typically Victorian. In that era, it was not possible to overdo.

Reading about the ducks, there might be some taste premium going on: canvasbacks are said to be the best eating of all species of duck and even in 1904 they were harder to come by (due to over-hunting). I also read that teal ducks are small, nicely fatty but very mild in flavor. So, if Americans had more of a palate for gamy game birds that would put downward pressure on teal prices.

It's a December menu and has Mince Pie among the desserts


But no steaks.
Or Vegan, vegetarian, Gluten Free options

Dale - you are making me hungry! To long since I have made sweetbreads!

I love sweetbreads, and mushrooms and cream sauce sounds pretty good, but then the dome of chicken and tongue lost me (I'm find with tongue, just not covering sweetbreads)
But I think next time we're serving a Ridge MB I might make a Monte Bello sauce now that I know what it is!

My mom used to make creamed tuna on toast. She was raising me on her own and at times money was tight especially when I discovered skating and started lessons and needed costumes for shows our club put on.
cream tuna suddenly became dinner over and over. I hated it and got so mad at her one time and told her I'd get a job to help out. I did and the creamed tuna on toast became a thing of the past. I hated babysitting almost as much!