June 1, 2015

Finest Hour 108, Autumn 2000

Page 49

By Georgina Landemare, Churchill family cook, 1940s-1950s Updated and annotated ror the modern kitchen by Barbara Langworth ([email protected])
All recipes have been pre-tested and pronounced editle by the editors.


Mrs. Churchill knew, ‘…if you want to keep Winston happy the first thing is to feed him well. He must have a good dinner. It is essential to his happiness.’ This embraced everything from his breakfast of eggs and bacon, cold cuts or fresh salmon followed by toast and black cherry jam, coffee or a glass of white wine, ending with a cup of cold consomme before retiring. To the last he loved his roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. On a certain occasion one of his clubs served his favorite meal beginning with petite marmite followed by filet of sole wrapped in smoked Scottish salmon smothered in tiny shrimp. Next a roast deer stuffed with plate and truffles. The dessert was a pudding”
—The Irrepressible Churchill, by Kay Halle.

VEGETABLES

Like many British households, Mrs. Landemare’s kitchen kept a cookery book from the quintessential Mrs. Beeton. The pictures are from my ca.1930 copy of Mrs Beeton’s Family Cookery and the recipes are, as usual, from Mrs. Landemare. BFL

• French beans: Wash, top and tail the beans and place in boiling salted water, cook for five minutes.

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Melt a good lump of butter in a saucepan, add a cupful of cream, a little finely chopped shallot and pepper. Add the beans to this and continue cooking until tender.

• Petits Pois a la Francaise: Shell the peas and put into a saucepan with 11/2 oz. butter, 1 Tb sugar, and a cup of water to every quart of shelled peas. Put a small bouquet of parsley, salt and pepper and a little more butter. Peel a dozen small onions, add to the peas and allow to cook slowly for one hour. Remove the parsley before serving.

• Artichauts Hollandaise: Trim off the points of the artichoke leaves. Cook for 1/2 hour in salted boiling water and serve with Hollandaise sauce.*

• Carrots: Cut the carrots into small shapes and cook in a very little water to which a pinch of salt has been added. Add about 1 oz. of butter and allow to cook slowly until nearly all the liquor is absorbed, then add a little cream and chopped parsley.

*Modern Hollandaise recipes are much easier than Mrs. Landemare’s but if you’d like to try hers, here it is:

4 egg yolks, 4 oz melted butter, juice of 1 lemon, 3 Tb vinegar, 4 crushed peppercorns, 1 Tb cold water.

Reduce the vinegar in a saucepan with the peppercorns. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in the yolks of eggs and half the quantity of melted butter, lemon juice, cold water, salt. Whisk vigorously until the mixture thickens, then add the remainder of the butter. This sauce must not be boiled and requires an even heat all through the cooking.

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