by Nancy Armitage
Americans & Europeans & the World, tried to emulate royalty in the Gilded Age. Newspapers would publish a English Royal menu from Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle in England. People were interested in what the royals ate. When researching Royal English Menus, they often tried to emulate elegant French menu & recipes.
On the English royal menus, they had foods named after the royals, like Prince of Wales Tea (named after Prince Edward) & Queen Cakes (named after Queen Victoria). I found royal foods & recipes on Gilded Age Cruise ships & fine restaurants. One of the first restaurants in New York City Delmonico’s. I found recipes on wealthy Gilded Age Fancy Ball menus, like Mrs. Vanderbilts ball. I knew that the Huntington menus were sprinkled with some of these royal recipes. But, once I started researching, I couldn’t believe how many royal recipes, I found that were eaten during the Gilded Age.
Some of this royal foods were named after kings, queens, princes, princesses, & empresses. Mrs. Arabella Huntington had many of these dishes on her ‘Entertainment” menus. We know that the Huntingtons enjoyed the following royal foods: Consommé Royale (No 2), Chateau Potatoes, Petit Napoleons, & Empress Eugenie Tea Blend (Paris). Royal Desserts: like Royal Pudding (SMR), Apple Charlotte, Empress Pudding with Paris Sauce (Paris), Queen Cakes (Cunard Ship) & Chantilly Cream (No. 2) & many more.
Royal Cocktail:
Martini Royale or Royal Martini: equal parts of vermouth like martini bianco, & French Champagne or prosecco and chambord, finished with lime juice & mint. Served at the Hotel Bristol Paris France (Arabella Huntington’s favorite hotel)
French Kir Royale: consisted of 1/2 oz. of creme de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) & 5 oz. chilled French champagne. serve in a champagne glass & garnish with several raspberries & a lemon twist.
Royal Punch Course:
Royal Punch (1899) I found this recipe in a rare book called Cassell’s Dictionary of Cookery published in 1899 at Mr. & Mrs. H. E. Huntington’s Library in San Marino, CA Royal Punch is made with brandy, rum, arrack, calf’s foot jelly, lemon, & sugar. I am not sure what the purpose of the calf’s foot jelly is, but that would have turned me off & I would omit that ingredient.
Imperial Punch (1924) I found a luxury hotel menu & this punch was made at the Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, Ca. It was a tropical Caribbean sounding punch with pineapple, rum (Captain Morgan or Jamaican Rum) Hock wine (Rhine wine), oranges, lemon, seltzer water, vanilla extract, & champagne with lots of ice.
In 2010, on bonappetit.com, Frizell & Knowlton published this recipe “Imperial Punch Royale“. That punch consisted of alcohol of Brandy, Port, Maraschino Liqueur, chilled Prosecco sparkling wine. Fruit : pineapple, oranges and lime slices , lime juice & sparkling water.
Royal Soups:
Potage a la Reine (Queen’s Soup): a French winter soup made in honor of the Queen & served in the household of Napoleon. It had chicken stock, chicken, & almond paste, with double cream & handmade croutons. Through the years, this soup got simpler & lighter & less rich by the Gilded Age. which turned into Princesse Soup.
Princesse Soup or “Potage a la Princess” ( a lovely velvety French cream soup) with a base of chicken or veal stock with the tips of asparagus, spring veggies, & small chicken dumpling called “quenelles”. The base is made by making a white roux of butter, flour, chicken or veal stock & heavy cream. Another addition to princess soup are chicken quenelles which is a meat dumpling
Consommé Royale (1915) (on many Huntington menus) found on HEH’s Hobby Club of NYC menu on December 1915. Consommé Royale is a simple beef soup with garlic & white pepper with petit cubes of savory custard. Royal custard is an old-fashioned savory firm egg custard, allowed to set up, & then diced & added to this beef consommé. You could substitute extra-firm tofu for the custard, cut in small cubes. This soup can also be served as a cold jellied soup or hot.
Royal Appetizer: “Amuse Bouche” (which is a small appetizer surprise from chef)
Canapes, Medici (1900) (found on HEH’s Queen City Club menu, Cincinnati, Ohio – Jan. 1900) HEH menu Document: HEH Coll. HEH EphE40-194 at Huntington Library, San Marino, CA HEH was a member of Queen City Club, Cincinnati, Ohio
Aspic of fresh Goose Liver, Beauregard (1900) (Queen City Club, Cincinnati Ohio 1900) Later in 1913 H. E. Huntington & Arabella D. Huntington leased the Chateau Beauregard in Paris for 10 years.
Royal Fish Course:
Saumon, St.-Cloud (1893) (served at the Westchester Polo Club NY 1893 – named after Chateau St. Cloud – Years later Arabella & H. E. Huntington leased that property with Chateau Beauregard in Paris, near St. Cloud. ). Saumon Saint-Cloud was a traditional French dish with a medium-sized salmon, poached in a court-bouillon of water, white wine, salt, a bouquet garni of parsley, thyme, & bay leaf with sliced onions. Saint-Cloud garnishes were onions sautéed in butter, & blended with Bechamel Sauce then finished with a little heavy cream & butter. The Salmon St.-Cloud is served cold with onion puree & crayfish butter & sauce poured over, garnished with some lovely French herbs.
Royal Entrees:
Queen Patties (served at Hotel St. Regis NYC Jan. 1907 Menu of ADH Huntington Library, SM,CA) Queen patties are historically known as “Bouchees a la Reine” or “Patties a la Reine”. They were served on the Cunard Ships in the 1st class Dining Room & were a staple in wealthy people residences in the Gilded Age. Queen Patties are puff pastry shell filled with chicken, mushrooms, & truffles in a rich white cream sauce. This recipe was record by Auguste Escoffier & Charles Ranhofer of Delmonico’s NY restaurant.
Pigeonneau Royale farci a la Tavernier (1913) (made for HEH’s Hobby Club of NYC – Dinner at Union Club, NYC May 1, 1913 Document: HEH Coll. HEH EphE40-194 at Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
Fillet of Beef Prince Albert (is a filet mignon steak – this tenderloin medallion is stuffed with foie gras or duck liver pate & truffles. Then wrapped in bacon & larded, browned & then roasted with mire poix of carrots, celery & onion, with bay leaves, garlic with butter, salt & pepper. Served with a rich Madeira wine sauce with cognac, wine, & beef stock.
Royal Vegetables:
Chateau Potatoes (Chat B. Huntington)
Royal Sauces:
Sauce Royale it a zesty, savory dipping sauce made with mayonnaise, dijon mustard, soy sauce, garlic, chives or scallions, & cayenne pepper. Sauce Royale may be spoon over Eggs Benedict or Eggs de Beauregard
Paris Sauce: A sweet sauce , it is made with sherry or vanilla extract, egg yolks, powdered sugar, heavy cream & nutmeg. A sauce poured over Empress Pudding.
Royal Salad Course:
Victorian Aspic Mold or Savory Gelatin Salad made with meats or molded vegetables of carrots, asparagus or potatoes and topped with homemade mayonnaise
Lobster Salad, Crab Salad,& Chicken Salad, were popular and made with homemade mayonnaise (a newly invented product in the Gilded Age)
French Salad with lettuces, arugula, endive, celery, & watercress, served with a French Vinaigrette dressing
Royal Dessert Course:
Bombes Napolitanies (1879) (Continental Hotel Paris May 1879 Huntington menu ephemera
Chantilly Cream (made at Chateau – Chantilly especially made for Louis XIV & Marie Antoinette. Go to my blog “For the love of Chantilly” for many Chantilly Recipes.
Petit Napoleons (1900-1920’s)(Fancy French menu Huntingtons at No. 2 NYC & Chateau B.)
“Biscuit glace a la Chantilly” (Grand Hotel, Paris, France) Document: HEH Coll. HEH EphE40-194 at Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
Neapolitan Ice Cream (1910)- combination chocolate/vanilla bean/& strawberry ice cream (Jefferson Banquet at Levy Cafe Los Angeles CA 1910 / Southern Pacific Annual Dinner in 1890’s San Francisco, CA Document: HEH Coll. HEH EphE40-194 Levy Menu at Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
Royal Cakes:
Queen Cakes (served to the Huntingtons on the RMS “Gallia” Cunard ship January 14, 1879 Document: HEH Eph E38-138 at the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
Albert Cakes ( Queen Victoria & her husband, Albert) this is a drop cake (scone or biscuit) baked in little pans, lemon flavor and chopped candied orange peel
Duchesses Cake (St. Francis Tea Room San Francisco -menu dated 1900-1909 Document: HEH Eph Box E-40 (1900-1909) at Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
Victoria Sponge Cake named after Queen Victoria of England. Victoria Sponge cake is a layered vanilla cake with strawberry jam & chantilly cream in between the layers of cake; topped with whipped cream & sliced strawberries.
Royal Puddings:
King of Puddings (1903) published in a Los Angeles Cookbook. King of Puddings is a steamed bread crumb & suet pudding with Orange Marmalade. It also has sugar, lemon rind & juice of a lemon, baking powder, & beaten eggs & salt. Baked for 4 hours. Served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. This recipe was published in Lummis, Landmark Club Cookbook in 1903.
Royal Pudding in a “Roy” pudding (1920’s) mold in the Huntington Kitchen (Huntington’s SMR in the 1920’s )
Charlotte Russe (1888) Metropolitan Opera House NYC Tues. Jan 17, 1888 (CPH & ADH) & at Queen City Club, Cincinnati, Ohio Jan 1900 – HEH was a member .
Apple Charlotte (SMR 1919) is a apple bread pudding made apples, butter, sugar, cinnamon, white bread & butter. It has a vanilla custard sauce poured over it. The Huntington’s on the ranch sent delicious juicy apples from NYC, to be delivered at the Ranch.
Empress Pudding (1899) Cassells Dictionary on Cookery desribed it as a rice pudding that is made and then layered with Apricot jam or Orange Marmalade in between layers with a Vanilla Custard Sauce or a Paris Sauce poured over it.
Paris Sauce (1899) is a lovely rich dessert sauce made with sherry or vanilla extract, egg yolks, powdered sugar, heavy cream, & nutmeg.
Romanoff Pudding au Marasquin (1914) (Document: HEH Coll. HEH EphE40-194 at Huntington Library, San Marino, CA HEH’s 11th Hobby Club of NYC- Dinner Menu at the University Club NYC, Feb. 1914 – Hobby Club menu)
Royal English Menu with gold crown on top “Diner, du 4, Fevrier 1890” [for Queen Victoria of England]
Englsih Royal Dinner Menu as follows:
[1st or Oyster Course: ]Huitres Withestables [Could be a baked oyster, the beginnings of Oyster Rockefeller. This is a Victorian 1890 recipe, with fresh oysters in a oyster or scallop shell, baked with cream & flour with nutmeg, salt & pepper topped with butter. Garnish with parsley.]
[Soup Course] Potage a la Renaissance [French soup with fresh vegetables & chicken. The ingredients are chicken or capon, blanched almonds, breadcrumbs (to thicken), leek & carrots, celery & heavy cream with salt & pepper – garnishes could be pomegranate seeds or pistachio nuts ]
[Fish Course] Turbot a la Hollandaise sce Venitienne (Fish with lemony Hollandaise sauce)
{Entree Course] Filet de boeuf aux Legumes [Filet mignon petit stead with legumes could be French Green Beans, Garden peas, lentils, or peanuts]
[Poultry course] Poulets a la anglaise [chicken cooked with bacon, a Sausage Stuffing made of sausage, breadcrumbs shallots egg and sage & juniper berries. Serve with a white Bread Sauce of milk breadcrumbs, butter, bay leaf, salt & pepper.
[Game Course]: Cunier de Chevreuil rotis [A rich French venison recipe roasted with red French Burgundy wine, bacon or pork, sauteed onions & carrots in butter & olive oil, & aromatics (garlic, bay leaves, & thyme), butter, salt and pepper] Also, making a savory wine sauce with the gravy to put on mashed potatoes or slices of venison.
Salade [could be a French salad or a Herb salad]
Compote [could be Brandied Peaches or Apricots]
Choux fleurs a la Polonaise (Caulflower with sauce)
Bombe a la Louis Philippe [a raspberry ice cream outer shell that holds a rich vanilla pate a bomb in the center]
Dessert [Queen Victoria’s favorite desserts were petit fours, cranberry tart with cream, Victoria Sponge cake, Chocolate Cake, Burnt Scottish Highland cake, Queen of Puddings, Ice Cream & Fruit Compotes]
Royal Tea Blends:
Prince of Wales Tea: this woody flavored tea was named after HRH Prince of Wales (Edward in1921) who became King of Edward VII. It’s base is a mixture of China black Teas (from different provinces) with hints of blackcurrant, & cornflowers
Chateau Tea Blend (Gentlemen’s “Smokey flavored tea” at Chateau B.- Chateau Beauregard was once owned by Napoleons III & he gave the Chateau B to Harriet Howard & named her Comtesse Beauregard.) The Chateau Tea: 1/2 Hyson Tea ,1/2 Souchong (Smokey) hot water & also Lavender blossoms listed on the Huntington’s Expenditures at the Chateau Beauregard, Paris & Smokey Tea Blend (1852) a gentlemen’s tea, in Book New Book of Cookery (1852) by Mrs. Sarah Hall published in NY
Empress Eugenie Tea Blend (1909) tea with Mrs. Huntington & Empress Eugenie, the tea was black tea with a blend of bergamot (citrus tea) or leaves and lychee fruit and the peel of bergamot citrus.
Royal Preserves & Jams:
Chateau plum Conserve (Huntingtons Chateau Beauregard, Paris France)
Chateau Pear Conserve (Huntington’s at Chat. B)
Chateau Tomato Conserve (Huntingtons Chat B.)
Royal Breakfast:
Omelette Princesse (HEH’s menu Pan American Expo LA times 1901 Menu book) Document: HEH Coll. HEH EphE40-194 at Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
Eggs de Beauregard and Sauce Royale: similar to eggs benedict with ham & a different zesty sauce
Sauce Royale a zesty, savory dipping sauce made with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, garlic, chives or scallions, & cayenne pepper. Sauce Royale may be spoon over Eggs Benedict or Eggs de Beauregard
Royal Wines & Champagne Punch:
Chateau LaFitte (1910-20’s)(Location at Huntington’s Chateau Beauregard)
Marquise Champagne (1907) (Palace Hotel, SF CA 1907)
Prince of Wales Port with coffee (1915) (HEH’s Hobby Club Menu in Feb 12, 1915 Document: HEH Coll. HEH 17/1 uncat) at Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
Royal Punch (1899)
This recipe was written in paragraph form in Cassells Dictionary of Cookery, so I’m going to change it to a recipe. “Arrack” is similar to rum but it is distilled from fermented sugarcane, coconut flowers, grains & fruit. it sounds like a Caribbean Rum Punch with Curacoa & Jamaican Rum.
1/4 lb. (4 oz. – 1/2 c.) Double-Refined Sugar [superfine sugar]
2 Limes
a thin slice of fresh Lemon
With a bruiser [?], rub the sugar & the fruit well together.
2 glassfuls of Calf’s foot jelly
[1/2pt. -1 C. ] Brandy
[1/2 pt. = 1 C. ) Rum [Jamaican Rum],
[1/2 pt. =1c.] Curacoa (Carribbean orange liqueur)
1 pt green tea , boiling
Serve hot.
Rare Book: Cassell’s Dictionary of Cookery (1899)
Inside the Huntington's Story 