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The Culinary Historians meet for this December’s themed meal:
first each person describes the history and content of the dish they contributed to the feast! |
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| My plate of delicious foods. |
The Ann Arbor Culinary Historians was founded around 40 years ago, and has developed its own traditions, including a winter theme meal. The theme for our meeting this evening was “Food from the Gilded Age.” The 18 members and guests who attended made a variety of dishes, using a number of cookbooks published in the late 19th century, and the food was very interesting and also very tasty.
The group’s themed dinners, which take place twice a year, are held in rented space at the Ladies’ Literary Club in Ypsilanti (founded 1878). The club’s historic building is an enjoyable location for the dinner: it is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is considered to be one of the most important Greek Revival structures in Michigan. It also has a very modern kitchen and beautiful dining room for preparing, serving, and consuming the members’ contributions.
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| Gilded Age cookbooks on the buffet table. |
Desserts
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| Trifle and chocolate cookies |
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| “Russian Punch Tart” — a delicious layer cake. |
Some of the Main Courses and Appetizers
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| Smoked salmon canapes. |
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| Chicken in mayonnaise, made by hand. |
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| A traditional dish: Kedgeree with cooked eggs. I associate it with breakfast buffets in Agatha Christie mysteries. |
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Our contribution: tomato and shrimp salad from a recipe in the cookbook La Cuisine Creole by
Lafcadio Hearn, 1885. |
Photos © 2025 mae sander
7 comments:
How interesting! I would so enjoy an event like that. I wonder if there would be any interest in my area.
Oh, what fun! I'm envious.
It is an interesting event, most of the food and recipes are new to me. Take care, have a wonderful week ahead.
I bet it's interesting to have a meal from another time or place. That's an interesting group. Did the food seem very different overall from what people eat now or was some of it similar to todays' foods? Happy new week Mae. Hugs-Erika
Oh, this looks like such fun. I sometimes watch their Youtube lectures. The dinner and gilded age challenge looks fun!
Ohhh how fun is this? Food from days long gone. Thank you for sharing this.
What a great gathering and wonderful food! I actually reviewed the Gilded Age Cookbook on my blog in the past and when I did, I discovered that the author, Becky Diamond, lived in my town of Yardley, Pennsylvania. So funny!
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