I decided, as I often do, to take this a few steps further; to pick my guest list based on their interactions with one another as much as their interactions with me; to go so far as to plan out a menu which is both slightly historical and completely vegetarian; even to plan my outfit. (It's a men's suit with a lacy blouse, combat boots, and flapper-red lipstick, if you are wondering.) So come along and join me at this (admittedly sort of ridiculous) dinner party.
On a nondescript Saturday evening, not too hot or too cold, I have the whole house to myself. (In my fantasy it's a sweet little Victorian house that in reality I will never, ever own. But it could also very well be my parent's house in San Jose or even my future apartment. Venue is not important here.) I am putting the finishing touches on the decorations, setting the table with a vintage embroidered tablecloth my grandparents brought over from Poland and artfully mismatched porcelain (it's more whimsical that way, shut up!).
I'm in the process of arranging bouquets of tightly-massed flowers around the dining area. Spiraling ferns, sage leaves, and stalks of lavender intermingle with roses, carnations, and big, yellow daisies. (Some would say plants like this have symbolic meanings - shelter, wisdom/female fidelity, devotion, love/friendship, fascination, innocence/loyalty - but really I just think they look and smell nice, and the daisies were chosen in honour of one particular guest.)
It's about an hour until the party begins, and there is a knock at the door. I yell out that it's open, and Sarah comes in - I wouldn't have a party without my best friend in the entire world present, and really I could use her help getting all the food and decorations ready before our intrepid time travelers arrive. It is only with her help that everything is ready by six P.M.
The Guest List:
Sarah
Of course Sarah is coming! She isn't a famous historical figure yet, but honestly I'm not going to entertain a bunch of total strangers without her. I want her there. She's a hell of a lot more charming than I am. And I do think she'd have fun, even if she's not as big of a history geek as I am. (I'm not sure she'd want me posting a photo of her, though, so instead there is a drawing I made of her, even though her hair doesn't look like that anymore.)
Alexander Hamilton
Raise your hand if you're surprised. I've made no secret of my admiration for the man - I mean I celebrated his birthday earlier this year, for crying out loud. (I won't repeat again why I admire him and want to meet him; that link spells out why.) In addition to being a favourite historical figure, however, I also just think he'd be a great party guest. He was well-known for being witty. If I got a choice, however, I'd prefer to meet a younger Hamilton. He became a lot more jaded and kind of asshole-ish as he got older. Also, his date (my next guest on the list) would only be 27 at the oldest, so it's fitting to invite a Hamilton in his twenties.
John Laurens
Evidence suggests that John Laurens was probably gay and probably in love with Alexander Hamilton. I don't think it's historical revisionism to say that, I firmly believe this was the case, and I am skeptical of people who try so hard to erase queer history. (It's really homophobic to assume that everyone was straight until the 1970s, guys.) I would like to see firsthand how he and Hamilton acted together because of this, but I also would like to let Laurens know how far gay rights have come, and how his abolition efforts were not for nothing. I'm really quite attached to John Laurens and I feel like he deserves to know those things.
Catherine the Great
She's another favourite historical figure of mine. I admire people who can build themselves up to positions of power using only their intellect and cunning. (Granted, her beginnings were not quite as low as Hamilton's, but she was still a relatively minor and poor noble with a very abusive mother who was sent off to an even more toxic situation than the one she had left.) She was an early feminist icon who was so powerful that her misogynistic son later made a law that women couldn't rule Russia anymore because he was so bitter that his awesome mom had been such an amazing ruler. She made a lot of strides in Russian policy-making for girls' education, which I admire, and was a personal friend of Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire. That isn't to say she was perfect, of course - she did take part in the partitions of my beloved Poland, and she did not successfully free the Russian serfs despite making some early efforts to do so.
All this is enough to meet her, but I especially want to watch her interact with Hamilton. I admire similar traits about them, and I think they would either get along very well or not at all, there is no inbetween options. They will love each other or they will despise each other, and I want to know which.
Olga Nikolaevna Romanov
Like many history fans, one of the early things that got me into history as a child was the fate of the last royal family of Russia. Of Tsar Nicholas II's 4 beautiful daughters, though Anastasia gets the most attention, I have always identified most with Olga. She was bookish, smart, sensitive, imaginative, and seemed to have a better grasp on her country's political situation than her parents did. Many close to her suspected that she understood how much danger they were in better than most of her family members. However, she remained kind and compassionate until the end, even writing a friend that, “it is not evil that will conquer evil—only love.” She was also the oldest sister, like me. I truly believe she would have grown into a remarkable woman if she had been given the chance.
She also would have made a great empress if not for Paul I's stupid Salic Law. I think Catherine would see that and have much to talk to her about that. I also think she was a beautiful young woman and, let's face it, Hamilton was a bit of a flirt, even with John Laurens around. Honestly, the idea of Alex, Catherine, and Olga all interacting is entertainment enough. I really really want to see how their personalities would interact, but I can only speculate. That aside, I've entertained fantasies about meeting Olga for years now, so what better opportunity?
Sarah Winchester
Working in her mansion day in and day out, I've gotten incredibly attached to this woman, and I feel that I love her like a member of my own family. That being said, there's still so much that we don't know about her, and I think I speak for most of my coworkers when I say I'd like the chance to ask her about them. I mean I'd at least want to know her birthday, since we don't know when that was. Plus her life was so sad, I think she deserves to go to a nice dinner party. I'd like to befriend her if she came. I can't say how she'd react to the other guests other than perhaps an almost-maternal affection for both Olga and my Sarah, but I do really want to meet her.
Oh, and by the way? The daisies are for her - we think they were her favourite flower just based on how often the daisy motif is repeated throughout her mansion.
The Menu:
Salads have existed for centuries (cookbooks from the 1600s and 1700s call them "sallets") but I doubt a salad like this one has existed for very long. It just happens to be my favourite type of salad. Specifically, the version they make at Le Boulanger. I could eat their Primavera salad (sans cranberries because those are gross) for days.
I originally wasn't going to include a soup because I didn't want my menu to be too overly rich, even if creamy soups like this were popular historically. I've always read that eating potatoes was not at all common in the 18th century, though it was actually done more than some would believe in some parts of the American colonies. (It's a total myth that everyone thought potatoes were poisonous.) However, I found this recipe on a historical reenactor's blog for a potato-leek soup based on a Civil War era potato soup - the era Sarah Winchester got married in. I couldn't resist some 19th-century historical precedence, especially when other historical recipes on my menu skewed more 18th-century.
The spinach puffs, however, have no historical precedence. I just have a bomb-ass recipe for some delicious spinach puffs.
The Main Course
The mushroom tart is based on the "Forest Mushroom Fricassee" served at King's Arms, one of the restaurants at Colonial Williamsburg. (I went there once as a child and I would love to return someday now that I'm old enough to appreciate it!) I'd rather have it as a tart just because I feel like that seems more like an entrée than just having them loose, and I changed the sauce to something a little more creamy that would be more fitting with the Victorian palette for some of our later-era guests.
The ravioli don't match anything else on this menu, they're the only Italian dish in a menu that is based more in English and French traditions. But fuck it, if you've ever had the cheese ravioli from La Villa, you would understand. Those raviolis are San Jose famous - even mentioned by name in the book 100 Things to Do in San Jose Before You Die - and for good reason. Biting into them is like biting into tiny pillows of paradise. Sarah and I are both fans of this place, and I would like to share this favourite food of mine with my new historical friends!
The Dessert Course
I know, I know, after spinach puffs in the appetizer course and a mushroom tart for the main course, a chestnut pie seems like a bit much. But I love chestnuts, and there is a real historical recipe for chestnut pie. (Incidentally, I adore the Jas. Townsend and Son youtube channel.) I think it would be delicious, and in my head I can even picture a warm chocolate sauce to drizzle over it even if that sauce is more modern than historical.
To contrast the heaviness of the chestnut pie, another dessert that was consumed in the 18th and 19th centuries is the more citrussy syllabub. That particular recipe has a more liquidy syllabub, but it can be made thicker as well. I have had syllabub once and I remember enjoying it enough that I would love to have it again, and for this dinner party I would like to make one that is really lemony because lemon makes everything better. Literally everything.
It's a European custom to have a cheese platter offered with or after dessert, and I love cheese. I believe this custom dates back to the 19th century - at the very least, Olga would be familiar with it if no one else was. For my perfect cheese plate I would select a French triple créme brie, a firm and nutty manchego, an English cheese such as cheddar or Cheshire cheese, and local favourite Humboldt Fog (which tastes like a mix of brie and blue cheese, but is actually a goat cheese), with bread and local honey and fruits such as grapes or pear slices to eat with the cheese.
Drinks
Historically, one just didn't have a dinner party without serving wine. That's still a tradition people keep up today. My mother is a huge wine person but I actually don't know a lot about wine. I don't drink wine very much, except on Passover. I know that madeira and claret were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, but I must confess I don't actually know what kind of wine madeira is, and I only vaguely know that claret is red wine. Beyond that... I might have to enlist outside help with the wine list.
I'd be drinking peppermint tea, myself. It's my favourite drink and it goes with everything. Plus it's light on the stomach, which is nice considering that most of my guests are from eras where people are used to eating much heavier fares than what our modern stomachs can handle.
As for hot chocolate, I know that in the 18th century, those who could afford chocolate consumed it in warm drink form. It was a popular drink in the 19th century and up until the 1920s as part of breakfast or as a nighttime drink. So I think it's fitting to have it with dessert. Not with the whole dinner, though. Who wants to have hot chocolate with mushrooms?
Obviously, this is a smaller, more intimate dinner party, not an overly lavish formal affair as was the fashion at the height of the Victorian era. I could not handle something on that scale, to be honest. I've actually never hosted a dinner party before. (Though if you want to look at some of the etiquette and party games from that era...) But I have put a lot of thought into this, and though it's impossible for me to really host this thing, it's still been a lot of fun to think about and plan.
So. Who would you invite to a historical dinner party?
~Nym~
(this is Lucy fyi)
ReplyDeleteI love this so, sooo much. You are so incredibly thorough and thoughtful, this sounds like the loveliest event, I'd pay money to... see it? read it? watch it? I dunno, I just love everything about this post. You're amazing <3
Thank you so much! It took me a while to come up with the menu but I wanted this post to be perfect and I am pleased with how it turned out.
DeleteIf the technology ever becomes available (I know that's a very big if lmao) then you'll get an invite too! XD