Did you have dinner or supper?

“Then I suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow up this clue while it is still hot.” Sherlock Holmes.

Although we now use the words dinner and supper interchangeably to mean the same thing, our largest meal of the day. It has not always been as such.
Well, at least in certain cultures.

Most of us have grown up in a society that now runs on three meals a day; breakfast, lunch and dinner.
At least that is the way my family has always done it.

Breakfast, usually oatmeal or cereal (with bacon and eggs on weekends). 

Lunch, what ever mom packed for school or the lunch ladies cooked.

And dinner, when dad got home from work, and our biggest meal of the day.

I don't remember us ever having a distinction between the use of the words dinner or supper, although I seem to have been called to more 'dinner times' than 'supper times'.

For much of the English speaking world dinner is the biggest meal of the day, usually taken sometime between noon and early evening.

Even the now traditional Sunday Roast is sometimes called Sunday Dinner or Roast Dinner.
In the USA we usually eat our Thanksgiving or Christmas meals early in the afternoon and they are usually referred to as Thanksgiving Dinner or Christmas Dinner.

And supper would be a lighter meal taken later in the evening. The etymology of supper is usually seen to come from some form of soup. Which would suggest a light meal.

For much of it's modern history the time of 'dinner' seemed to keep getting pushed back, until what had been a meal taken at two or three in the afternoon, to now easily taking place much later, at say six or seven. One survey by an Australian winemaker found that the average time in the UK for the evening meal is now about 7:47 pm.

Throw into the mix 'Tea Time' and what time that could take place, and what is served with 'Tea Time' and it can get real confusing.
Where I have always assumed 'Tea Time' was at 4pm, source suggest it can also be taken some time between 5 and 7.

It is associated with the working class and is typically eaten between 5 pm and 7 pm. In the North of England, North and South Wales, the English Midlands, Scotland and in rural and working class areas of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, people traditionally call their midday meal dinner and their evening meal tea(served around 6 pm), whereas the upper social classes would call the midday meal lunch or luncheon and the evening meal (served after 7 pm) dinner (if formal) or supper (if informal). Source 

So, with all that said, there doesn't seem to be any firm set rules of when you call what, it just depends on where you grow up.

With that said; what prompted this inquiry was when Sherlock Holmes says, “Very glad to see you. I dine at seven. There is a woodcock, I believe. By the way, in view of recent occurrences, perhaps I ought to ask Mrs. Hudson to examine its crop.”

And then a few minutes later Holmes and Watson have the following exchange; “It is quite certain that he knows nothing whatever about the matter. Are you hungry, Watson?” 
“Not particularly.” 
“Then I suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow up this clue while it is still hot.'

This suggests that, one; dinner was going to be Holmes big meal of the day. Two; it was going to be rather late, seven. And three; super would be a very late, a much lighter meal (maybe cold woodcock sandwiches?).

We must also remember that this habit of assigning times to meals can also be considered an industrial age habit and mostly, as suggested, a middle and upper class tradition. Poor countries and rural workers were more likely to take the meals when time and abundance allowed.

These are the Canonical discussion that made me wonder how we use the words dinner and supper.

BLUE ends with Holmes saying to Watson, "If you will have the goodness to touch the bell, Doctor, we will begin another investigation, in which, also a bird will be the chief feature.”

So, we know their little expedition didn't even start till at least seven. Probably took at least an hour or so. So supper was sometime after 8 or 9pm.

I hope Mrs. Hudson wasn't keeping things warm all that time.

At this point in the story I see an image of the long suffering Mrs. Hudson more as she is portrayed in 'Sherlock' than in Granada's Sherlock Holmes.

I promise, after this one I will go get breakfast.

Happy Birthday Sherlock Holmes - herb recipes

Today is Sherlock Holmes’ Birthday.  Everyone who has read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories has noticed that Holmes appreciated good food and drink. Holmes and Watson were often sitting down to a meal prepared by their excellent landlady Mrs. Hudson or dining in a country inn or joining Holmes' brother, the large and reclusive Mycroft, for a meal at the Diogenes Club.

I have been an avid reader of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation since I was about 12.  And I love adaptations that stick to the personalities of the characters, so I love both the Robert Downey Jr. version and the new PBS version.  As a result of reading these Victorian novels so early in life, there is really no tangled writing style I cannot translate - which came to good use in my museum career.  Now my focus is on herbs and tea and Holmes again seems an appropriate fit in my life.

I own several Holmes theme cookbooks, although the detective himself probably never cooked a meal himself, he did eat, and the books and stories are liberally peppered with descriptions of dishes and situations.  If you enjoy the idea of British Victorian cooking then any of the cookbooks will introduce you.  Here is a list of the ones I know about (I found it interesting that the first batch came out around the Bicentennial and the second batch or reprinting came out when Jeremy Brett became extremely popular as the Great Detective.)

 The Sherlock Holmes Cookbook or, Mrs. Hudson's Stoveside Companion formed upon principles of economy and adapted to the use of private families by Sean Wright and John Farrell - Published in 1976, the book features a sensible approach to preparing British food from the Victorian era, while connecting actual menus to specific stories. The title tells you they are adhering to those descriptive titles cookbooks seemed to have at the turn of the last century and the recipes included are just as authentic.

Dining with Sherlock Holmes: A Baker Street Cookbook by Julia Carlson Rosenblatt and Frederic H. Sonnenschmidt  - First printed in 1976 and reprinted again in 1990.  Recipes are divided into different eating occasions in Holmes life, such as “Breakfast at Baker Street,” “On the Chase,” and “The Horrors of a Country Inn," which breaks out meals by the name of the Inns where Watson and Sherlock dined.

 The Sherlock Holmes Victorian Cookbook: The Favorite Recipes of the Great Detective and Dr. Watson by William Bonnell - Published in 1977, this book is laid out by type of dish – soups, salads, meats, etc, Story quotes appear at the top of each recipe. Rather than support a notion that Holmes was interested in food, the quotes reinforce how focused he was on the case at hand.

The Sherlock Holmes Cookbook by Charles A. Mills – printed in 1990 pulls together recipes mentioned in the various stories.

Cooking for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: British Recipes for Two Persons by William S. Dorn – this self published book from 2004, was nicely researched and contained typical hearty fare and is divided by type of food like Bread, desserts, soups, etc.

For the purists, here is a very good Victorian Recipe that can be found in The Sherlock Holmes Victorian Cookbook, which for authenticity is my favorite.  The credited source for the dish is “Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management” (1861), which I think I have mentioned in posts before.  This one appealed to me because WGN was at ½ Acre Brewery in Lincoln Park yesterday and got me thinking about food and beer!

 Asparagus Soup with Pale Ale
Serves 4-6

2lb lean beef, diced
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp butter
5 cups beef stock
1 cup pale ale or beer
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried marjoram
½ tsp dried mint
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 bunches asparagus stalks
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Dust the beef with the flour. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cook the meat until it browns on all sides. Add the stock, ale, and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 30 minutes.

Add the marjoram, mint, and spinach. Bring to a boil again, then reduce the heat. Cut the top 3 inches from the asparagus stalks, and chop them into bite-sized pieces (the remainder of the stalks can be saved for vegetable stock). Add the asparagus tops to the soup and simmer until they are tender (4-5 minutes). Stir in the sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

For those who want an herb or tea related recipe to celebrate Sherlock’s Birthday, might I suggest these two:

From Cooking for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson  here is Mrs. Hudson’s SODA BREAD.  This is great for a quick ham sandwich or with jam and a cup of tea for breakfast.  Originally suggested to the author by a reference in The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet, it makes two loaves of soda bread.

Mrs. Hudson’s Soda Bread

(makes 2 loaves)

4 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 tsp. Rosemary, broken

1 tsp. Thyme

2 1/2 cups of low fat buttermilk

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 450F.  Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium-size

Bowl.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients in the bowl. Gradually add the buttermilk while gently and quickly mixing the dough.  Shape the dough into two circular loaves; if the dough is too moist to shape, add a little more flour.  Place each loaf on a greased, 8 inch pie plate.  With a knife cut a deep cross on the top of each loaf. Bake the loaves for 15 minutes at 450F. Reduce the oven temperature to 400F.  Bake for another 25 minutes (If the crust appears to become too brown, cover each loaf with some aluminum foil.) If the bread is not lightly brown or does not sound hollow when tapped, bake longer.  Cool the bread loaves on a wire rack.

My second recipe is adapted from Dining with Sherlock Holmes.  It is a sweet English biscuit recipe I dressed up with a few lemon herbs to accent its gentle lemon flavor. This is perfect with a nice cup of Earl Grey.

Mrs. Hudson’s Biscuits

About 70 biscuits

INGREDIENTS

½ cup butter
1 cup icing sugar
2 tsp. vanilla sugar

     or 2 tsp sugar with 2-3 drops of vanilla extract
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
juice and grated peel of 1/2 lemon

2 tsp. lemon balm, dried

1 cup flour
7 Tbls. corn starch
1 tsp. baking powder
butter to grease pan

Glaze
¾ cup icing sugar

2 Tbls. lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

Whip the butter until it is fluffy, then slowly add the powdered sugar; Add the vanilla sugar, egg, salt, lemon juice and peel and lemon balm; Add the flour, baking powder and corn starch slowly and mix well; Grease a baking tray with butter; Fill a pastry bag with the dough and press small biscuits onto the baking tray; Bake in a preheated 400F oven for 10-15 minutes. Make the glaze by mixing the icing sugar and lemon juice. Brush biscuits with it, and let it dry.

source

I must have skipped breakfast - all my searches are food related.

The Kitchen Thinker: Sherlock Holmes's diet

Bee Wilson on the mysterious case of Sherlock Holmes's diet.

In preparation for the title role in Sherlock Holmes, the new film due for release on Boxing Day, Robert Downey Jr went on a diet.

His friend the rock star Chris Martin warned Downey Jr that he had to be 'skinny’ to play Holmes. 'So every time I’m reaching for a muffin I just think about Chris Martin and skip the snack. It’s been tough.’ Not half as tough, however, as it will be to sit through the film, if the trailer is anything to go by.

As any real Holmes fan would know, the great detective isn’t the kind of Hollywood 'skinny’ that comes from lounging around denying yourself muffins. His thinness results from his intense bouts of mental activity, when he subsists on little but coffee, drugs and nerves. In The Hound of the Baskervilles he tells Watson that his mind has been in Devon solving the case, while his body has 'remained in this armchair and has, I regret to observe, consumed in my absence two large pots of coffee and an incredible amount of tobacco’.

But when he is not in the thick of it Holmes is appreciative of good food, especially breakfast. Numerous stories begin with Holmes seated at the breakfast table, with a polished silver coffee pot in front of him ('He chuckled as he poured out the coffee’). The housekeeper at 221b Baker Street, Mrs Hudson, provides Holmes and Dr Watson with hearty breakfasts such as kidneys, kedgeree, ham and eggs and even chicken curry, covered under metal domes on the sideboard. In

The Adventure of Black Peter Holmes apologises to a policeman who joins them for breakfast. 'I fear the scrambled eggs are cold.’

Holmes is certainly no gourmet.

His 'wants’, he says, are 'simple: a loaf of bread and a clean collar’. Holmes’s occupation makes regular meals impossible and he sometimes falls back on 'some cold beef and a glass of beer’ or tinned tongue and peaches. Like all workaholics, he often relies on sandwiches. On the trail of a jewel thief 'he cut a slice of beef from the joint upon the sideboard, sandwiched it between two rounds of bread and thrusting this rude meal into his pocket, he started off upon his expedition’.

Occasionally, though, Holmes relaxes enough to savour his food, and these are some of the most comforting moments in all of the stories. In

The Sign of Four he complains that Watson has 'never yet recognised my merits as a housekeeper’. He invites Mr Athelney Jones of Scotland Yard to dine with them. 'It will be ready in half an hour. I have oysters and a brace of grouse, with something a little choice in white wines.’ Was ever a more inviting offer made?

Perhaps the best foodie story is The Blue Carbuncle, in which a precious jewel is hidden inside a Christmas goose. It gives a rich sense of households all over London sitting down to enjoy a good fat goose for the festive meal.

The whole story is rich with Christmas appetite: the cold air of London and the warmth of excellent birds roasted before the fire.

When you think of Sherlock Holmes you don’t want Chris Martin and muffins in your head. You want to think of fat geese, cold beef, brandy, strong coffee and the thrill of the chase.

Source

Because I am hoping Brad will put something in his bottle. . . .

Sherlock & Watson
Recipe by Kenaniah Bystrom, bar manager of Essex

2 ounces American single-malt scotch or Highland scotch
1/2 ounce earl grey syrup
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 dashes Scrappy’s cardamom bitters
1 lemon twist, for garnishing 

For earl grey syrup:
Boiling water
1 bag of earl grey tea
16 ounces honey  

Source

Okay, this one is for my love of Yorkshire Pudding. . . . don't know if Sherlock ever had any or not.

3 local pubs that are fantastic for Yorkshire Puddings

THIS week, we are looking at not one, not two, but three superb Yorkshire pubs.

They're separated by many miles but linked by one common thread: their reverence for the beauty that is the Yorkshire Pudding.

We've hunted high and low, north and south, to bring you today's recommendations, especially in honour of Yorkshire Day.

And now, after a bitter but brilliant batter battle, we have three recommendations. So if you're looking for a splendid lunch, look no further....

1 - First up is a pub we have recommended before: The Ship Inn in Aldborough, a pretty little village near Boroughbridge.

I headed out here in 2012, after a letter writer to The Press said the beef was the best she'd ever tasted and the Yorkshires the most amazing she’d seen - and we weren't disappointed!

This is a fantastic place, reputed to have been a pub since the 1300s, and run by Brian and Elaine Rey for the past few years. It's splendid, but the roast dinner in particular is hard to beat.

The beef is matured for 21 days and slow cooked for 20 hours, and the portions are enormous. The piece de resistance is what they call "Brian's world famous Yorkshire puddings" - humongous crisp balls the size of grapefruit, which I still remember fondly.

2 - Next up, a couple of miles south of Pickering on the A169, is The Black Bull.

This place changed hands in March, and the new owners are full of fighting talk. A roadside sign declares: "We serve probably the best Yorkshire pudding in Yorkshire" - a claim that demanded to be put to the test.

There's no shortage of choice here. There are giant filled Yorkshire puddings and the house speciality - homemade loaf tin Yorkshire Puddings with a choice of five fillings. I plumped for steak and ale and chips and it was fantastic.

The method was inspired; the result was a hefty brick-shaped pudding, topped with steak and ale and with a mound of chips on the side.

Best in Yorkshire though? It's good - but it can't beat our final pub......

3 - Step forward The Crooked Billet at Saxton, directly opposite the historic Lead Chapel near Towton battlefield, just south of Tadcaster.

I've had this pub on my radar since a visit to its sister pub (The Cross Keys in Hillam) introduced me to the some of best pub burgers I've encountered. Here, the speciality in a vast and varied menu is the filled Yorkshire pudding, and the quality is outstanding.

All come filled with mash, veg, gravy and a choice of two sausages, roast meat of the day, steak and kidney, or vegetables and veggie gravy.

I've tried the first two now (on separate trips) and both were excellent. It looks a bit messy, buckling under its own bulk, but it tastes tremendous.

If you're in this neck of the woods, and want a proper lunch for Yorkshire Day weekend, in surroundings laden with Yorkshire history this is the place to go.

The puddings at The Crooked Billet (left) and The Black Bull.

Credit where credit is due. . . .

I just had to share this one - it is so English. . .

She definitely deserves a tip! World's oldest barmaid is celebrating her 100th birthday but has no plans to retire from the pub where she started working in 1940

Story here.

PS. 2015 The world’s oldest barmaid has died less than a year after celebrating her 100 birthday in the pub she worked in for 74 years.

My score was sadly lower than I had hoped.

British Cuisine, how many have you tried?

I did have Bangers and Mash on Sunday.

We have Yorkshire pudding a lot, but I did not see it on the quiz.

Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,

Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old;

Some like it hot, some like it cold,

Some like it in the pot, nine days old

And to go with your Cuppa. . .

Tea Biscuit one-o-one.

And your own recipe. . .

Watch out Twinkie, the Brits are about to invade again. . . .

Cadbury Egg Hack Takes Easter Candy Classic Up a Notch

Credit: Drew Swantak/Thrillist

Though I’m not a Christian, I am a devout worshiper of the church of Cadbury, and April is all about their fantastic creme eggs. And though I’m usually content to just pop a baker’s dozen in my mouth and call it a holiday, I thought that, for Easter this year, it only seemed right to surround their creme-filled goodness with rich dark chocolate cake and then coat the whole thing in Cocoa Krispies and flash fry it. Christian or not, each bite is a revelation.

Credit: Drew Swantak/Thrillist

Cadbury Scotch Eggs Recipe

Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: Baker’s dozen

Ingredients:

• 12 Cadbury Creme Eggs
• 1 box chocolate cake mix
• 2 quarts peanut oil
• 3 egg whites, whisked with 3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 4 cups Cocoa Krispies

Credit: Drew Swantak/Thrillist

Directions:

1. Freeze Cadbury eggs for at least 30 minutes.
2. Cook cake according to package instructions for a 13x9-inch pan. Let cool completely.
3. Heat oil to 375℉ in a deep fryer or heavy pot fitted with a thermometer.
4. Scoop 1/3 cup of cake into your hand, press a Cadbury egg into the center, and cup your hand around the egg until the cake fully envelopes the egg. Press to adhere the cake.
5. Dip into egg whites, dredge in cocoa powder, and then dredge in Cocoa Krispies. Cup your hands around the egg again and press until the cereal adheres to the cake. Place the egg on a slotted spoon and carefully drop into the hot oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes, until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining eggs.
6. Let cool slightly but eat while still warm.

Source

Kinda going with the previous post. . . Nine of London's oldest restaurants

Nine of London's oldest restaurants

Link

I guess I was still in a Sherlockian mood after the exhibition . . .

because the very next day I had to find the closest thing I could to a Sherlockian era pub. . . .

 We are lucky in the St Louis area to have several British themed pubs and several of these actually pull of a pretty good atmosphere.

The Scottish Arms is one of them.

 Beer is still delivered to the cellar.

 Inside nice dark wood.

 The fish and chips were excellent.

And it is in a neighborhood that many old buildings and businesses, some of which have been around for a long time.

Baker St. in batter.

From Dr. Dan the pancake man.

If you have the legs for it. . . .

London Walks

Birthday with (at) Sherlock('s)

My daughter was in charge of picking where I was going to be surprised for my birthday, and the wise young child picked Sunday brunch at 'Sherlock's', our local steak and seafood Sherlockian themed good restaurant.

 Wife and daughter.

 Daughter and I.

 It is not over done with Sherlockian stuff (darn) but is a real comfortable atmosphere for good food and drink.

A local barn across the street cartooned with Sherlock. and protesting animals.

What's in a name?

What's in a name?


Robin Hood made the list, but not Holmes.
Although there are a few Musgrave's.
What's up with that?

My wife can't stand the smell of them. . .

. .  so therefore, will not try them. But I kinda grew up with them and can eat them right out of the can..
Wish we could get them before they are canned over here, without paying an arm and a leg.

Any mention of kippers or fish in the Canon as a food?

SALES REVIVAL

I wish my 'local' looked like this.

Heritage pubs   I

I can see Holmes and Watson sitting in one like this in Dartmoor.

And (going with the theme) because it's Friday, you deserve it. . . .

In case you didn't know.

10 British foods with strange names

Which one do you think this Is?

Ten British foods with strange names.

A recent poll.

50 Things We Love Best About Britain

1. Bacon sandwiches
2. Roast dinners
3. A Cup of Tea
4. British history
5. BBC
6. Big Ben
7. Buckingham Palace
8. Countryside
9. Fish and Chips
10. Yorkshire Pudding
11. An English Fry or Full English Breakfast
12. British sense of humour
13. Cheese
14. Lake District
15. The Queen
16. Sunday lunch
17. Aston Martin
18. Cornish pasties
19. Stonehenge
20. National Heritage
21. Pubs
22. The Tower of London
23. Wimbledon
24. Baking
25. Strawberries and cream
26. The Pound
27. Black cabs
28. The Beatles
29. The coastline
30. Bargains
31. Shakespeare
32. James Bond
33. Red phone boxes
34. Football
35. Teatime Treat, Crumpets
36. The Houses of Parliament
37. Red buses
38. Harry Potter
39. Ice cream vans
40. The Red Arrows
41. Driving on the left
42. Cricket
43. Concorde
44. Real ale
45. The Royal Family
46. The Queen’s English
47. Festivals
48. Stephen Fry
49. Harrods
50. Cheese Rolling