Whenever I'm in Delhi, I end up reading yet another book by Georgette Heyer from my sister's ever-burgeoning collection. Some good must come out of all this, and here's a bit of foodiness from Charity Girl:
Tain, relieving him of his hat and gloves, said that he had ventured to order a neat, plain dinner for him, consisting of a Cressy soup, removed with a fillet of veal, some glazed sweetbreads, and a few petit pâtés, to be followed by a second course of which prawns, peas and a gooseberry tart were the principal dishes. 'I took the precaution, my lord,' he said, 'of looking at the bill of fare, and saw that it was just as I had feared: a mere ordinary, and not at all what you are accustomed to. So I ordered what I believe you will like.'
4 comments:
I see you didn't wait for the Heyer post I owed you! Just as well.
Offhand, though, since you're now reading her, look at the first dinner in Arabella, when she meets Beaumaris. Also, there's this wonderful, wonderful visit to the Marquesa in The Grand Sophy, where the lady lays out a splendid meal, and afterwards invites the elder female guest to join her in a siesta.
Said elder female guest, earlier, is on a reducing diet, and grimaces her way through a glass of vinegar, which, she is told, is Byron's preferred method of losing weight. Sophie is astonished and persuades her aunt to eat something real. Aunt is persuaded, and eats several slices of toast, some macaroons and assorted other things, but keeps the glass of vinegar to hand, hoping it will somehow magic a trasformation.
(Please read more Heyer).
SB: I read both Arabella and Grand Sophy much before I had the foodiness blogging idea, and by that time, I'd forgotten all about it - till you mentioned it. So this time around I took particular care to note the food, et voila!
*Some* good must come out of your Heyer reading? Surely nothing but good can result.
There's also a rather excellent sounding meal in Cousin Kate (not one of my favourites) in which a quiet family dinner is a multi-course meal involving pigeon, spinach, rabbit (I think) and other delicious things.
Aishwarya: you're right! I used 'fustian' in conversation the other day. Felt mighty pleased for a while thereafter, despite the askance looks I received.
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