Piney Woods

Every so often, the museum receives a donation that includes a cookbook or recipe card. Sometimes the recipes are familiar comfort foods still served on many Thomas County tables. Others… well, let’s just say some recipes are best left in the past. This series highlights some of those recipes: from the classics to the experimental. If you try any of these recipes, successfully or not, let us know what you think!

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Happy New Year! And to start off your New Year right, why not take a note from the past when putting together the menu for your next dinner party? Today we have a menu card from January 27, 1895 at the Piney Woods Hotel. Take a look to see what was served to the fancy guests of yesteryear. Can you identify half these dishes? Or have ever eaten any of them yourself? Let’s dive into this menu and see what recipes you might (or might not) consider trying out yourself. And in the immortal words of the Barefoot Contessa, if you can’t make the ingredients yourself, “store bought is fine.”                                         

First up is Lynn Haven Oysters. These are a specific oyster found in the Lynnhaven River in Virginia. They have a long history with English and American settlers in the New World and are favored for having a light, fresh taste that isn’t too fishy. If you want to put some on your table, simply place an order through the Lynnhaven Oyster Club: a package of 50 costs only $42.50!

Next on the menu are soups: Clear Green Turtle au Madere and Cream of Chicken Princess. At the time this menu was written, turtle soup was all the rage; especially in Southern coastal areas where sea turtles were easily found. That is until they weren’t. The craze for turtle soup contributed to a major decline in the sea turtle population in the first half of the twentieth century. It is now illegal to hunt sea turtles, a protected species under the Endangered Species Act, so if I were you, I’d stick to the cream of chicken soup.

Throw some olives and celery on the table as a palate cleanser or festive decoration as your guests will probably need to save room for the upcoming dishes.

Since you missed out on a seafood option with the turtle soup, how about some Fresh Lobster Pattie a la Cardinal? This recipe calls for only the best: lobster, lobster eggs, and black truffles. Those last two ingredients, along with several others, go into the sauce that creates the “Cardinal” part of the recipe’s name. If the cost hasn’t dissuaded you, I suggest looking up the recipe yourself. If you aren’t a lobster fan, how about the Boiled Kennebec Salmon in Sauce Diplomat? The recipe calls for many of the same ingredients as the lobster above, just substitute the lobster with very salty salmon and add a white sauce with the lobster eggs and black truffles mixed in. While you’re at it, pair the salmon with some light cucumbers and a side of Parisienne Potatoes, France’s round buttery answer to the French Fry.

Hopefully, you aren’t full yet as we’re only half-way through the menu! Next, we have Fried Chicken a la Maryland; Diamond Back Terrapin en Caisse, Club Style; and Queen Fritters, Vanilla Flavor. Unfortunately, this is not the Maryland Fried Chicken you can find on Jackson Street, but instead a fried chicken fillet covered in a white gravy and a side of bananas – yet it may be the easiest to prepare from this grouping. As we said earlier, turtles are illegal so the Diamond Back Terrapin will have to go on the metaphorical back burner. Lastly, we have Queen Fritters – a fancier version of cream-filled donuts.

As roast ribs and duck are fairly self-explanatory dishes, let’s skip to the Roman Punch to help us wash down those first few courses! This drink is made similarly to today’s mimosa but with a twist: add lemon juice alongside the orange juice and champagne and top the mix off with a healthy dollop of light and fluffy meringue. Serve over ice, preferably from a punch bowl.

After that palate cleanser, it’s onto a Saddle of Venison in Currant Jelly alongside lettuce in French Dressing (or salad as the kids would say). After that come a multitude of recognizable sides: boiled potatoes, stewed tomatoes, mashed potatoes, spinach, and rice. Oyster Plant is another name for Salsify Root, a plant native to Southern Europe whose flavor is described as somewhere between oysters and artichoke. In our case, the plant was likely sauteed in butter. Sweet Potatoes, Georgian Style is similar to Sweet Potato Soufflé, often still seen on many Southern tables during the holidays.

Finally, we reach the desserts. Queen Pudding is made from a little cake of breadcrumbs and eggs topped with jam and meringue, although this recipe uses a Sherry wine sauce instead. The Mince Pie on the list is most likely the fruit-only version we are more familiar with today rather than the more Dickensian meaty variety. Port Wine Jelly is just as it sounds – a jelly made from Port Wine. The dessert section fills out with coconut pie, strawberry ice cream, and assorted cake (probably leftovers from another meal). The menu is rounded out with the nineteenth century version of a charcuterie board of fruits (raisins being separated for some reason), nuts, crackers, and cheese all topped off with a cup of coffee.

If you have reached the end of this blog and are still upright and not overwhelmed by the thought of slogging through a dinner at the Piney Woods Hotel, congratulations! This Sunday dinner menu reads more like a food challenge at a fancy restaurant than fare for a modern dinner party. But, for fun, why not try one or two of these recipes the next time you have guests over. Preferably, friends who enjoy a good gastronomic adventure!