Coronation Chicken

Below is a small article about a dish that was created in the early 1950s called Coronation Chicken. I first learned about the recipe while watching a "SUPERSIZERS" episode about the 1950s: 


CORONATION CHICKEN

Sixty years ago last June, the citizens of the United Kingdom and the remaining British Empire celebrated the coronation of their new monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. She had ascended the British throne upon the death of her father, King George VI on February 6, 1952. A year and four months later on June 2, 1953; the Queen was crowned in a ceremony called a coronation.

Among the events scheduled in celebration of the event was a coronation luncheon hosted by the Queen. A chef named Rosemary Hume and a food writer/flower arranger named Constance Spry, who were both associated with the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London, were commissioned to prepare the food for the luncheon. When the two women set about preparing the food, Spry suggested the idea of a recipe that featured cold chicken, curry cream sauce and dressing that would later become known as coronation chicken.

Many believe that the Coronation Chicken recipe may have been inspired by another recipe called Jubilee Chicken, which had been specifically created for Silver Jubilee of the present Queen's grandfather, King George V, in 1935. And for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebration in 2012, guests at the Royal Garden Party were served "Diamond Jubilee Chicken", a variation of Coronation Chicken created by Heston Blumenthal. 

Below is the recipe for "Coronation Chicken", from "The Constance Spry Cookery Book", written by Rosemary Hume and Constance Spry:


Coronation Chicken

Ingredients for Chicken
2 Young chickens
Wwater and a little wine to cover
1 Carrot
1 Bouquet garni
Salt
3-4 Peppercorns
Cream of Curry Sauce

Ingredients for Cream of Curry Sauce
1 Tablespoon oil
2 oz. Onion, finely chopped
1 
1 dessert spoon Curry Powder
1 Good Teaspoon Tomato Purée
1 Wineglass red wine
¾ Wineglass water
1 Bay-leaf
Salt, sugar, a touch of pepper
1 Slice or 2 of lemon 
1 Squeeze of lemon juice, possibly more
1-2 Tablespoons Apricot Purée
¾ Pint mayonnaise
2-3 Tablespoons lightly whipped cream
A little extra whipped cream


Preparation

Poach the chickens, with carrot, bouquet, salt and peppercorns, in water and a little wine, enough barely to cover, for about 40 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool in the liquid. Joint the birds, remove the bones with care. Prepare the sauce given below. Mix the chicken and the sauce together, arrange on a dish, coat with the extra sauce. For convenience, in serving on the occasion mentioned, the chicken was arranged at one end of an oblong dish, and a rice salad as given below was arranged at the other.

Cream of curry sauce: Heat the oil, add the onion, cook gently 3-4 minutes, add curry-powder. Cook again 1-2 minutes. Add purée, wine, water, and bay-leaf. Bring to boil, add salt, sugar to taste, pepper, and the lemon and lemon juice. Simmer with the pan uncovered 5-10 minutes. Strain and cool. Add by degrees to the mayonnaise with the apricot purée to taste. Adjust seasoning, adding a little more lemon juice if necessary. Finish with the whipped cream. Take a small amount of sauce (enough to coat the chicken) and mix with a little extra cream and seasoning. This is an admirable sauce to serve with iced lobster. 

Rice Salad: The rice salad which accompanied the chicken was carefully cooked rice, cooked peas, diced raw cucumber, and finely chopped mixed herbs, all mixed in a well-seasoned French dressing.

Steak Diane

Below is an article that features the history and a recipe for a dish called "Steak Diane": 



STEAK DIANE

Tracing the history of the culinary dish, Steak Diane, proved to be a complicated affair. From some of the articles I have read, the dish's history could be traced back to the late 19th century and early 20th century, when European chefs rediscovered the recipe for an ancient dish that required sauce served over venison. Its sharp sauce was intended to complement the sweet flavor of deer meet. It was named after the Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon, Diana.

But the actual Steak Diane evolved from Steak au Poivre, which was coated with cracked peppercorn before cooked and smothered with sauce. But Steak au Poivre did not include flambéing with brandy in its recipe. Steak Diane did. Sometime during the 1950s, Steak Diane made its first appearance either at the The Drake Hotel, the Sherry-Netherland Hotel or the Colony Restaurant in New York City. Beniamino "Nino" Schiavon, an Italian-born chef who worked at the Drake Hotel. I do know that Steak Diane became a very popular dish for those who hobnobbed within New York's high society during the 1950s and 1960s.

The following is a recipe for the dish from celebrity chef, Emeril Lagassee:


Steak Diane

Ingredients
4 (3-ounce) filet mignon medallions
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 teaspoons minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup sliced white mushroom caps
1/4 cup Cognac or brandy
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup reduced veal stock, recipe follows
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 drops hot red pepper sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onions
1 teaspoon minced parsley leaves


Preparations

Season the beef medallions on both sides with the salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat and cook for 45 seconds on the first side. Turn and cook for 30 seconds on the second side. Add the shallots and garlic to the side of the pan and cook, stirring, for 20 seconds. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until soft, 2 minutes. Place the meat on a plate and cover to keep warm.

Tilt the pan towards you and add the brandy. Tip the pan away from yourself and ignite the brandy with a match. (Alternatively, remove the pan from the heat to ignite, and then return to the heat.) When the flame has burned out, add the mustard and cream, mix thoroughly and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the veal stock and simmer for 1 minute. Add the Worcestershire and hot sauce and stir to combine. Return the meat and any accumulated juices to the pan and turn the meat to coat with the sauce.

Remove from the heat and stir in the green onions and parsley. Divide the medallions and sauce between 2 large plates and serve immediately.


Here is the recipe for the Reduced Veal Stock:

Preparation

4 pounds veal bones with some meat attached, sawed into 2-inch pieces (have the butcher do this)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups coarsely chopped yellow onions
1 cup coarsely chopped carrots
1 cup coarsely chopped celery
5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/4 cup tomato paste
6 quarts water
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups dry red wine


Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the bones in a large roasting pan and toss with the oil. Roast, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and spread the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic over the bones. Smear the tomato paste over the vegetables and return the pan to the oven. Roast for another 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour off the fat from the pan.

Transfer the bones and vegetables to a large stockpot. Do not discard the juices in the roasting pan. Add the water, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and peppercorns to the stockpot and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, place the roasting pan over two burners on medium-high heat. Add the wine and stir with a heavy wooden spoon to deglaze and dislodge any browned bits clinging to the bottom of the pan. Add the contents to the stockpot. When the liquid returns to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 8 hours, skimming occasionally to remove any foam that rises to the surface.

Ladle through a fine-mesh strainer into a large clean pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle boil, and cook, uncovered, until reduced to 6 cups in volume, about 1 hour. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove any congealed fat from the surface of the stock. The stock can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or frozen in airtight containers for up to 2 months.

Turk's Head Pie

Below is a small article about an old dish from the medieval era called Turk's Head. I first learned of this dish, while watching the "SUPERSIZERS EAT . . ." series. Following the article is a recipe: 


TURK'S HEAD PIE

I believe many would be surprised to learn that Turk's Head Pie is a basic meat dish made from leftover game meat. The origin of the dish's name is pleasant and a lot more complicated. Turk's Head Pie originated probably during the Crusades. European armies that fought during those wars - probably Norman - fed its soldiers by baking leftover game in pastry shells or crusts. These armies named the dish after their enemy - the Muslim soldiers that were known as"Turks". Judging by the simple recipe, the Europeans did not mean to be complimentary.

The oldest version of the Turk's Head pastry recipe can be found in an Anglonorman (Norman or French) manuscript from the 14th century. There is an even older recipe called "Teste de Turk" from an older Anglonorman manuscript dated 1290. However, this recipe is not a pasty. Instead, it calls for a pig's stomach stuffed with pork, chicken, saffron, eggs, bread and almonds before it is boiled. 

The original recipe, which can be found in "Two Anglo-Norman culinary collections edited from British Library manuscripts Additional 32085 and Royal 12.C.xii": Speculum 61 (1986):

Turk's Head 

A sheet of dough, well filled(?): much in it, rabbits and birds, peeled dates steeped in honey, a lot of new cheese in it, cloves, cubebs, and sugar on top. Then a very generous layer of ground pistachio nuts, colour of the layer red, yellow and green. The head shall be black, dressed with hairs in the manner of a woman on a black dish, the face of a man on it.


Here is a more updated version of the recipe:

Turk's Head Pie

Ingredients

300 gram (2/3 pound) minced meat (pork or veal) (optional)
4 hindquarters of a wild rabbit (or one rabbit)
4 quails, or 2 partridges or pheasants
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground cubeb (or black pepper with a little piment)
200 gram (1 1/4 cup) dates
200 gram (3/4 cup) young, fresh cheese (sheep, goat, cow)
200 gram (1 1/2 cup) pistachio's without shells
60 gram (2 Tbsp. or 1 fl.oz) honey
lard, suet or butter
salt
dough for pasties
1 egg (optional)


Preparation in Advance

Fry the minced meat in lard, suet or butter. 

Sprinkle rabbit and fowl with peper and salt. Heat lard, suet or butter in a large skillet, brown the meat quickly, then cover and simmer until it is done (about forty minutes). You can also roast the meat in the oven, baste regularly with the fat (suet, lard, butter). When it is done, let the meat cooluntil you can easily debone it. Cut into large chunks. 

Steep the stoned dates five to ten minutes in honey that is heated with two tablespoons of water. Drain the dates, but keep the honeywater. Cut the dates in quarters.
Crumbe the cheese, or chop it.
Put everything in a bowl - minced meat, rabbit and fowl, spices, chees, dates, sugar and honeywater, mix well.

The crust - make a pasty dough, or use some ready-made if you really think you must. But making your own is more fun, and you get a special dough.


Preparation

Heat the oven to 200 degrees (400 degrees Fahrenheit).

Take a springform or a pie dish that is large enough to contain the stuffing (that depends on how large your rabbit and fowl were, whether or not you added minced meat, or how much leftovers you had). Grease the form with butter and roll out your dough. Place the dough in the piedish. If you use a springform, it is best to assemble the pasty: first cut out the bottom out of a rolled sheet of dough and place that in the springform. Then cut a long strip of dough, a little broader than the springform is high, and cover the sides. Be sure to seal the side to the bottom sheet of dough by gently pressing the edges togehter. If you want to be sure, roll a thin strip of dough between your palms and press that against the edges. Let the dough that hangs over the top of the form be, you'll use that to seal the cover.

Scoop the stuffing into the dough, cover with pistachio nuts. Close the pasty or pie with another sheet of dough. Press the edges of the cover and the sides together and cut out a small hole or two to let the steam escape. You can incorporate these holes into your decoration (eyes, mouth).

Now the name of the pasty becomes clear - use leftover dough to decorate the cover with a 'Turk's head' or something else. Colouring and gilding is done after baking, but you can baste the dough with eggwhite (for a light glaze) or egg yolk (for a darker glaze).

Put the pasty or pie in the middle of the oven, bake for about forty minutes. Let cool five minutes after taking it from the oven befor demoulding. 
To finish the decoration apply food colouring paste with a small brush, and gold leaf or silver leaf.


To Serve

A pasty like this one can be served hot as well as cooled to room temperature. Cut the cover loose and lift it, and scoop out the stuffing. When eating the medieval way, you use your fingers to pick what you want, and eat it above your bread trencher.

"THE SUPERSIZERS": Eating Through History

Here is a look at a series of episodes about the history of food, mainly in Britain: 


"THE SUPERSIZERS":  Eating Through History

 

In April 2007, the BBC aired a special episode in which food critic Giles Coren and broadcaster-comedienne Sue Perkins explored the history of food during the Edwardian Age. The result was the television special called "Edwardian Supersize Me". This episode was part of a series called "The Edwardians — the Birth of Now". Following the success of this special, the BBC commissioned a series of six episodes in which Coren and Perkins explored the history of food through six eras in British history. This series, which aired in May and June of 2008, was called "The Supersizers Go . . .". 

Below is a list of the episodes:

"The Supersizers Go . . ."

 
"Wartime"

 
"Restoration"


 
"Victorian" 


 
"Seventies"


  
  "Elizabethan"


  
"Regency"


 Following the success of "THE SUPERSIZERS GO . . .", the BBC commissioned a second series of episodes featuring Coren and Perkins called "THE SUPERSIZERS EAT . . .".

Here is the list of episodes from that series:

  "The Supersizers Eat . . ."


 "The Eighties"



 "Medieval"



"The French Revolution"



"The Twenties"



 "The Fifties"



"Ancient Rome"

Woolton Pie

Here is some information about an old dish first created during the first year of World War II in Great Britain. I learned about this dish, while watching the "Wartime" segment of the BBC series, "THE SUPERSIZERS GO", hosted by Giles Coren and Sue Perkins.


WOOLTON PIE

First known as (Lord) Woolton Pie, this savory vegetable pie dish was first created during the early years of the Second World War at the Savoy Hotel in London by its then Maitre Chef de Cuisine, Francis Latry. The dish was one of a handful recommended to the British public by the Ministry of Food during the war to support a nutritional diet, despite shortages and rationing of many types of food - especially meat. The pie was named after Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton, who became Minister of Food in 1940.

Woolton Pie consisted of diced and cooked potatoes (or parsnips), cauliflower, rutabaga, carrots and turnips. Rolled oats and chopped spring onions were added to the thickened vegetable water, which was poured over the vegetables themselves. The dish was topped with potato pastry and grated cheese and served with vegetable gravy. The recipe could be adapted to reflect the availability and seasonality of ingredients.
Lacking in any meat, Woolton Pie was not well received by the British public. In fact, it was among several wartime austerity dishes that were quickly forgotten by the end of the war.


Below is a recipe for Woolton Pie:


WOOLTON PIE


INGREDIENTS

1 lb Potatoes
2 lbs Carrots
½ lb Mushrooms
1 Small leek
2oz Margarine or Chicken Fat
2 Spring onions
Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg, Chopped Parsley.
Bunch of herbs made of 1 small Bay Leaf, 1 small sprig of Thyme, Parsley and Celery


PREPARATION

Peel the potatoes and carrots, cut them into slices of the thickness of a penny. Wash them well and dry in a tea-cloth. Fry them separately in a frying pan with a little chicken fat.

Do the same for the mushrooms, adding the finely chopped onions and leek. Mix them together and season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg and roughly chopped fresh parsley.

Fill a pie-dish with this mixture, placing the bundle of herbs in the middle. Moisten with a little rolled oats, chopped onions, a little giblet stock or water. Allow to cool. Cover with a pastry crust made from half beef-suet or chicken fat and half margarine. Bake in a moderate oven for 1½ hours.

This recipe has been translated from an original flimsy Savoy Restaurant kitchen copy.

The Welsh Rarebit

Here is some information and an old recipe about a dish made with a savory sauce of melted cheese and various other ingredients served hot over toasted bread. The dish is called the Welsh Rarebit:


THE WELSH RAREBIT

The origin and evolution of Welsh Rabbit (aka Welsh Rarebit) differs according to one's point of view. Combinations of melted cheese and toasted bread have been enjoyed in several cultures and cuisines for thousands of years. However, the name of this dish originated from 18th century Great Britain, after Wales. Welsh Rarebit is typically made with Cheddar cheese, in contrast to the Continental European fondue. And Welsh Rarebit made be considered a local variant.

There is no evidence that the Welsh actually originated this, although they have always had a reputation as cheese-lovers. A more likely derivation of the name is that Welsh in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was used as a patronizingly humorous epithet for any inferior grade or variety of article – as a substitute for the real thing. Welsh rabbit may therefore have started life as a dish resorted to when meat was not available.

Although the term is often used simply for a slice of bread topped with cheese and put under the grill, the fully-fledged Welsh rabbit is a more complicated dish with several variations - the cheese (classically Cheddar or Double Gloucester) can be mixed with butter or mustard, beer or wine, and it can be pre-melted and poured over the toast rather than grilled. Welsh rabbit has of course produced one of the great linguistic causes celebres of gastronomy with it genteel variant Welsh Rarebit. There is little doubt that rabbit is the original form and that rarebit (first recorded in 1785) is an attempt to reinterpret the odd and inappropriate-sounding rabbit as something more fitting to the dish. Precisely how this took place is not clear. It has been speculated that ”rarebit” was originally ”rearbit” - that is, something eaten at the end of a meal. But there is no actual evidence for this.

Here is a recipe for Welsh Rarebit from Chowning’s Tavern, located in Colonial Williamsburg:





WELSH RABBIT

- from Chowning's Tavern
Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1 cup beer
2 teaspoons mustard powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1½ cups grated Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt to taste
4 to 6 tomato slices
8 to 12 slices (½ inch thick), toasted French or Italian bread


Instructions:

Preheat a broiler. Place the beer, mustard, cayenne and Worcestershire sauce in a saucepan, and heat over medium heat until boiling. Slowly whisk in the cheese, making sure each addition is melted before adding the next. Add the butter, and whisk until smooth. Season with salt to taste, and set aside.
Place the tomato slices on the rack of a broiler pan, and broil for 1 minute, or until lightly browned.
To serve, place the toast slices on the bottom of an oven proof gratin dish or in individual gratin dishes. Pour the cheese over the toast, and then top with the tomato slices. Place under the broiler and broil until the cheese is bubbly and brown. Serve immediately.

Note: The components of the dish can be prepared up to a few hours in advance and kept at room temperature. Reheat the cheese until hot, whisking until it is smooth, before the final broiling.

- history.org