The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook by Emily Ansara Baines Read Free Book Online Page A

Lessons
    There were usually two types of fish offered at a formal dinner party: one broiled, one lightly fried. This low-stress recipe would be a tempting choice for Mrs. Patmore to offer as her broiled option.

 

Baked Cod with Parmesan Bread Crumbs

    While cod is the most popular choice for fish-and-chip dishes such as Spicy Pub Fish and Chips (see Chapter 10 ), it can also be used in a quite delicate, understated yet elegant fish dish. One can just imagine the Dowager Countess frowning at the unfamiliar texture of this dish, as she would be much more familiar with fish covered in sauce rather than bread crumbs!
YIELDS 4 SERVINGS
    1 ⁄ 4 cup Italian bread crumbs
    4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
    1 tablespoon cornmeal
    2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
    1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
    1 ⁄ 4 teaspoon garlic powder
    1 teaspoon kosher salt
    1 ⁄ 2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    4 (3- to 4-ounce) cod fillets
    2 tablespoons mayonnaise
    1 teaspoon lemon juice
Preheat oven to 425°F.
In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, cornmeal, olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Grease the rack of a broiling pan. Place cod on the rack, folding under any thin edges. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and lemon juice, then brush fillets with mayonnaise and lemon-juice mixture. Then spoon the crumb mixture evenly over top of fillets.
Bake fillets in preheated oven for 13–15 minutes or until the fish flakes easily when prodded with a fork. Fish should be opaque all the way through.
Times Gone By
    As Britain was a rather small island surrounded by a ready supply of fresh seafood, a great deal of fish was consumed during the Victorian era. In fact, oysters were once so readily available that they were used as a sausage filling in lieu of more expensive meat, and salmon was among the few fish the poor could afford. Nowadays, however, thanks to the rise in frozen fish, it has become a lot harder to find some of the lesser-known varieties of English fish… but if you are lucky, you might be able to hunt some down!

Chapter 3
T HIRD C OURSE: E LEGANT E NTRÉES
    Entrées, in the
Service á la Russe
sense, meant anything that did not require carving with a knife. While the following dishes may seem like meals on their own, remember that, for the Downton Abbey set, this was just the third course out of an eight-course (or more) meal. However, entrées increased in importance over time, and in 1907 writer Hermann Senn wrote: “Entrées are generally looked upon as the most essential part of the dinner… there can be no well-balanced dinner without an entrée course.” It’s likely that the Earl of Grantham would heartily agree with the importance of an entrée; however, whether that agreement is due to etiquette or hunger remains an unanswered question. The following entrées are incredibly rich, just like the company who consumes them.

 

Lobster Thermidor

    Due to the incredibly expensive cost (not to mention intensive — and extensive — preparation) of lobster, this dish would only be served at Downton Abbey for the most regal of affairs when the family most wanted to impress, such as when the Earl of Grantham auditions future possible fiancés for Lady Mary.
YIELDS 4 SERVINGS
    4 lemons, halved
    2 onions, quartered
    2 (1 1 ⁄ 2 -pound) lobsters
    1 cup unsalted butter
    1 ⁄ 2 cup all-purpose flour
    1 ⁄ 4 cup shallots, minced
    1 ⁄ 2 cup dry white wine
    2 cups whole milk
    2 cups heavy cream
    2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
    2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
    1 cup and 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese
    1 pound bacon
    2 cups onions, julienned
    1 ⁄ 2 cup green beans, blanched
    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
    2 teaspoons garlic, chopped
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Bring a large stockpot of salted water containing the lemon halves and quartered onions to a boil. Add lobsters to boiling water and cook for 15 minutes.
Remove lobsters from