FRENCH LINE SS FLANDRE Compagnie Generale Transatlantique Saturday December 16th, 1967

 FRONT OF MENU DESIGNED BY JEAN A. MERCIER

 

Notice the whimsical top hat, bird beak umbrella and flowery carpet man bag 

Jean A. Mercier (1899-1955) was a former student of Regional  School of Fine Arts in Angers. He studied under Master Charles Berjole Art Deco Style of Art. He began his career creating movie posters and advertising. From 1925-1939  he created over 110 posters working for famous movie directors such as Jean Renoir, Abel Gance Sacha. He was known for his Billboards including being the artistic director of the house of Cointreau Liquor.

 He was also known for his fantastic illustrations in Children's books he created for his daughter Sylvie.

This is from one of his books called "Les Trois Papillon Roses" 1947

After seeing this illustration I was reminded of the dish pattern my parents owned from Villerory and Boch. What a great coincidence to have eaten off of these balloon plates by Mercier!

Back cover of the menu

HERE IS THE YOU TUBE LINK FOR THE SONG MONSIEUR DUMOLLET 

HORS-D OEUVRE :  I personally would select a fruit appetizer over a Pigeon Terrine. So  PAMPLEMOUSSE RAFRAICHI AU MARASQUIN will be my starter!
 It basically translates into refreshing Grapefruit with a maraschino cherry. ( Funny we rarely get cherries with fruit salad today because of the red dye allergies)

SOUP:  CREME VICHYSSOISE GLACEE
Cold Leek and Potato Soup is so refreshing and I have it all year because I love the taste of it so much. Here is my favorite way to have it!
Ingredients
5 Leeks
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter or butter substitute
6 boiling potatoes, chopped and peeled
4 cups of good chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon of ground mace
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
3/4 cups of heavy cream or milk
salt to taste

Directions: Cut the tough parts of the ends of the leek stalks and slice finely the white parts. Melt the butter in a large deep saucepan, stewing the leeks until they are very soft. Add the potatoes, stock and seasoning. Boil it and lower heat, simmering for about 40 minutes. Use your immersion wand and puree the mixture together. Then add heavy cream (you can use 1 or 2%milk but it won't be quite as rich) continue blending with the immersion wand. Taste it and reseason if needed. Cool to room temperature and place in refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
Ladle into soup bowls and top with sour cream or dill yogurt and a dollup of salmon caviar
Viola Vichyssoise Glacee!!!!

I will skip the Egg and Fish dish and go right to the Entree!

ENTREE: COTE DE BOEUF ROTIE JARDIN DE FRANCE
Cote de Boeuf is the same thing as a big juicy tender richly flavored Cowboy Steak.  Cote de Boeuf in French is the big bone in rib-eye steak and not to be confused with boneless rib steak also called the delmonico or entrecote steak.
I like to cook my steak on my favorite cast iron pan. I get it very hot for about 10 minutes. Preheat my oven to 400F. Then I season my steak of 1 & 1/2 pounds with a rub of your liking ( I use garlic, salt, pepper and paprika mixture.) I also score the fat a little. Then I place the steak fat side down in the skillet so the fat melts and flavors the outside of the beef. The steaks char nicely for about 4 minutes. I turn it over again and rotate the steaks so they cook evenly for about 2 minutes longer. Then I flip them rotating as I did before. Then I place in the oven to finish cooking for about 6 minutes for medium or less for more rare. I let it rest for 5 more minutes and carve it table side. You can add a pad of herb butter to kick it up a notch!

History of The French Line: French Line was a shipping company that started in 1861 by the Pereire brothers for mostly freighters and shipping. It was created to revive the french merchant marine. Although it was popular with transporting passengers on ocean liners, with the invention of air travel, The French Line in 1958 took a hit and started depending on government subsidies until 1974 when it all ended. The SS France, its last ship was sold to Norwegian Cruise Line and became the Norway until it was sold for scrap to India

  

ITALIA LINE Tn. ANDREA DORIA MENU March 19, 1953

Edelweiss Leontopodium alpinum 
"Edelweiss, Edelweiss, every morning you greet me, small and white, clean and bright, you're more happy than me!" from Roger and Hammerstein's "Sound of Music." I remember as a child, my mother brought me the flower preserved under a glass globe from her ski vacation in the Swiss Alps. We were living in Puerto Rico and I had just seen the "Sound of Music" with Julie Andrews and I wanted to run through the hills like the children in the movie looking for Edelweiss. I lived most of my childhood in the tropics and had never seen snow or a mountain until I was a teenager. When I went to high school in Seattle, I spent a week in the summer hiking 90 mile through treacherous mountain range of the Olympic Peninsula with ice axes and sadly never came across any Edelweiss in the high altitudes of The Pacific Northwest.  I recently learned that even though Edelweiss is native to the Alps, it can be easily germinated at home in colder landscapes between zones 3-9. And lo and behold the O mighty Amazon which has everything you could wish for in life has 100 seeds for $2.99. If you live in cold climate you could grow it now and it will bloom a beautiful foliage white star-shaped flower June through August. It grows to about the height of12 inches.
There is an ebook that is free to download from the Gutenberg project called Edelweiss by Berthold Auerbach and here is part of a definition of Edelweiss that Ralph Waldo Emerson refers by its latin name," A Gnaphalium like that which grows on the most inacessible cliffs of the Tyrolese Mountains where the Chamois (goat like antelopes) dare hardly venture and which the hunter tempted by its beauty and by his love( for it is immensely valued by the swiss maiden) climbs the cliffs to gather and is sometimes found dead at the foot with the flower in his hand.
Ohh the power of the noble white Edelweiss!!

 

Cocktails: SAUERKRAUT JUICE COCKTAIL

I think Sauerkraut juice on its own sounds boring for lunch so I suggest doctoring it up as a Martini!!!
Krautini
2 shots of vodka and a splash of sauerkraut juice. Shake it well. Pour into a glass and serve with an olive

ENTREES:  FARINACEOUS MACCHERONI, BOLOGNAISE

Farinaceous literally means "rich starchy food". Maccheroni is a generic term for dried or fresh pasta. Bolognaise also known as Bolognese in Italian is a tomato and meat-based sauce originating from the city Bologna in Italy. It can be called Pasta Bolognese depending on the type of ribbon pasta you use with the sauce. There is spagetti, tagliatelle, pappardelle or fettuccine, I have heard some Italians refer to it as Ragu alla Bolognese. The sauce is also commonly poured over short shaped pasta like rigatoni and penne.
Generally Bolognaise is a sauce made by braising or sauteing chopped meat that can be either ground veal, beef, pork or a combination of them.  Pancetta, the pork gives it the real flavor! Then chopped onions, celery ribs, carrots and garlic cloves are cooked in virgin olive oil and then combined with the meat. Add tomato pureed or paste with cooking white wine for flavor. Last Italian seasoning of fresh chopped oregano or thyme are added to the sauce. Simmer for an hour and pour over fresh cooked pasta and presto, your Maccheroni bolognaise is complete!

VEGETABLE: STEWED BLACK CABBAGE 
Another name for it is Cavolo Nero pronounced Ca-voll-oh-nee-ro which is loose leafed cabbage from Tuscany, Italy. The leaves are dark green and almost black. the taste can range from has a tangy bitter to sweet. You are probably familiar with the American type, known as Lacinato or Dinosaur Kale which tends to be dark green. Instead of stewing the Cabbage or Kale which tends to overcook and take out all its nutrients, I prefer steaming it or sauteing it to retain the best flavor and texture. My favorite is way to cook it is to dice 1/4 inch of pancetta and crush 2 garlic cloves in 2-3 Tbsp of good olive oil into a broad skillet pan. Cook for a few minutes and then add about 2 Ibs of Kale and a dash of pepper. Serve immediately and you have a healthy dose of flavonoids rich in antioxidants and anti inflammatory properties. 

SWEETS AND ICE CREAM: CHOCOLATE CAKE
I will have to pass on the dessert unless it is flourless or is using belgian or french 75 % cocoa dark chocolate 


 
History of the Italian Line S.S. Andrea Dora

Pronounced an-Dray-a-Dohr-ee-a

Was an ocean liner for the Italian Line home ported in Genoa, Italy, most famous for her sinking in 1956, when 52 died. This menu with Frutta d'italia was From a Luncheon menu Wednesday June 6, 1956 ( 53 days before it collided with MS Stockholm ship off the shores off Nantucket, Mass.) It was the most infamous Maritme disaster that occurred in U.S. Waters.

I am not crazy about the Chef's suggestion of Honey comb tripes in gravy with green pea, but if you are inclined to look up a good recipe and try it yourself Look up "beef Tripe Milanese for a typical Italian recipe!

Also you might enjoy watching the Seinfield ANDREA DORIA episode: George wants an apartment that an Andrea DORIA survivor is bidding for. 

Home LInes SS Homeric Ship Thanksgiving Luncheon Menu November 25, 1965

 

One of a series of Home Lines West Indian Pirate Menus.
The story of Captain Mission's ship is disputed to be possibly a fictional anarchist colony from the 17th century.

 

Sun-Way Cruises to Nassau in the Bahamas

 Chef de Cuisine: Giuseppe Viani

Hors- d'oeuvre, Cream of Fresh Vegetable, Chinese Peppered Steak, Lettuce with Gravy, Coppa Isola Bella, Italian Pastry

CHINESE PEPPERED STEAK is a stir fry American- Chinese dish of sliced beef or pork with green or red pepper typically cooked with seasoning such as soy sauce, ginger and thickened with cornstarch.  Chopped onions and bean sprouts can be added to the dish. 

Chinese Pepper Steak has been in existence since 1948 and originated from Fujian Cuisine. 

LETTUCE WITH GRAVY is just how it sounds.... Its wilted lettuce cooked with bacon fat, water (sometimes cream) and flour and made into a thickened sauce and then mixed together sugar, cider vinegar and molasses, cooking it a low heat until it becomes the consistency of a rich syrup. You combine the two sauces into a gravy and pour over the lettuce. Stir gravy over lettuce gently until wilted and serve immediately.

COPPA ISOLA BELLA is a delicious sorbet with vanilla ice cream, fruit, whipped cream and topped with black cherry sauce. Yummm

Home Lines s. s. HOMERIC Sunday, November 21, 1965

One of a series of menu covers from Home Lines on West Indian Pirates.
These Swashbuckling Feminist of the the 1700's masqueraded as men and had ferocious tempers. They were considered the most famous female pirates of the western hemisphere! The back cover of the menus says " That the female of the species can be more dealy than the male was demonstrated by two pirates women."  Sounds intimidating!
Watch this You Tube video to learn all about Mary Read and Anne Boony

Sun - Way Cruises to Nassau in the Bahamas



Entrees: In The Manner of the Far East JAVANESE CURRY WITH ALMOND RICE
ahhh Javanese Cuisine is the cuisine of the Javanese people a ethnic group in Indonesia, the province of Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java. Known for its spiciness It has Indian and Arabic influence. The ingredients of Javanese cooking include coconut milk, peanut sauce, palm sugar (the food is heavily sweetened with it), chilies and rice is a staple food.
Rice is an important crop in Java and the Javanese worship The Goddess of Rice, Dew Sri
There are wonderful folk tales about the goddess on the Web.

The following is a curry dish that I often substitute the peanuts for almonds since one of my family members is allergic to peanuts.

Indonesian Chicken
Serves 4 people

4 chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
1 (270 ml) can low-fat coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons cayenne
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon coriander
1 tablespoon water
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Directions:

Combine turmeric, salt, ginger, pepper, cayenne, peanut butter, coriander, and water. Mix to a paste.
Sauté onions & garlic in a little olive oil until tender. Add the peanut butter paste, sauté 2 minutes.
Remove from heat. Combine well with chicken. Refrigerate in a covered bowl for at least 1 hour. (I left mine overnight, and the flavors were awesome).
In a large pan, bring the coconut to the boil. Add chicken pieces, paste, and lemon rind. Stir until all combined. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken pieces from the pan, and place under the grill until browned. Spoon remaining sauce over the chicken to serve.
We served this with a garden salad, but next time I'm thinking of cutting the chicken smaller, and stirring some Singapore noodles through.

Recipe from Food.com

Fish Dish: FRIED STUFFED SILVER SMELTS
According to The University of Wisconsin Sea Grant site smelt, also called eulachon by Native Americans are small silver fish the size of herring approximately  6 to 10 inches. The Native Americans nick named the them "candle fish" from the fact that it is full of so much oil then when dried, placed upright and lit, the fish would burn end to end like a candle. The fish is 20 % oil by weight and in addition to being a healthy high energy food source, it was used by the Native Americans as moisturizer for the body. They were the first fish to arrive in the river after a cold long winter when most of the stored food supplies were depleted.  Hence the trading route of the precious oil of the fish was named the "Grease Trail".
My favorite way to cook smelt is soaked in beer and be sure to drink one while you are cooking!
Here is a great recipe for fried Smelt from www.Lakesuperiorfish.com and if you have trouble locating them in your local fish market then they will gladly ship you some frozen smelts

Smelt with Beer Batter
Serves 4 people

2 lbs dressed smelt
1/2 can cold beer
3 eggs
2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of cornmeal
1 dash of Basil and 1 dash of Oregano
2 dashes garlic powder

Beat eggs until fluffy. Add beer and 1 tsp salt. In seperate bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, seasonings, and remaining salt. Dip fillets first into liquid batter then in dry mixture, and back into liquid batter.
Fry in butter until light brown and fish flakes with a fork.

Dessert: ITALIAN ICE CREAM, TORRONCINO
Rich creamy nougat gelato with amaretto liqueur. amaretto is my favorite cookie and liqueur!

I would also be inclined to order the Marsala water ice ( some how ice doesn't resonant creaminess like the word Gelato.)
My favorite way to have a boozy marsala wine ice cream is with fresh grilled peaches.

History of SS Homeric ship:
Originally the SS Mariposa. She was a luxury ocean liner launched in 1931; one of four ships in the Matson Lines "White Fleet" which included SS Monterey, SS Malolo and SS Lurline.
In the second world war she served the U.S. as a fast troop carrier, bringing supplies and support forces to distant shores as well as rescuing people stranded in foreign countries by the outbreak of war. In 1947 the ship was mothballed for six years at Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard in California. Her engines were overhauled by Todd San Francisco Division and was bought by Homes Line 1953 and renamed SS Homeric. By 1955 Home Lines used the Homeric to make cruises from New York to The Bahamas.

Home Lines SS Atlantic Mediterranean Cruise Luncheon Menu Sunday February 18, 1951

The art cover on this menu is part of a larger painting named Madonna in adorazione del bambino from 1478 that hangs in Florence, Italy at the Uffizi Gallery by Filippe Lippe. Filippe was a rival of Boticelli and colleague of Leonardo da Vinci

  
Melon cup with Liqueur
First wet the palate

                                                                 
                                             
Arlequin Canape (Harlequin from Italian Comedia dell'arte character)
According to The Post Graduate Cookery Book "small pieces of buttered toast, decorate to your fancy by forming stripes crosswise or lengthwise with chopped beef tongue, hard boiled egg, gherkin, truffle, smoked salmon, parsley served on a napkin."

                                                                                    
Sole a la Colbert

Described in The Every Woman Encyclopaedia 1910-1912 book: "Wash and skin two sole filets, twist filets around the finger putting the side with no skin on the outside; add salt, pepper & lemon juice and place grease paper on top and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Then roll in bread crumb and place in a hot dish. Combine in saucepan on the stove a pint of white sauce, anchovy essence, salt, pepper, lemon juice to taste and pepper to taste. Put sauce in a hot tureen. Put a pad of Maitre d' Hotel on each piece of fish and serve with sauce."

Dessert: Pears Bordaloue

This Almond Pear Tart dessert was invented in the mid 19th century by a Parisian pastry cook named Fasquellor or Lesserteur who worked on the street Bourdaloue (9th arrondissment in Paris)

My favorite recipe for Pears Bordaloue is from a french man who conveniently refers to himself as a frog..fitting since he is french. His website has a beautiful photo of the Pear Bordaloue dessert www.frogcooking.com

I unfortunately have never made a pear dessert because they always seem to bruise beyond recognition before I can enjoy them. In the great words of 

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat."

This Ocean liner was built in 1927 for Matson Line named Malolo then renamed 1937 Matsonia, then Home Lines purchased the ship in 1948 and renamed it the Atlantic
 The Home Line Ships were registered in Panama; the Chairman of Home Lines was Greek Eugen Eugenides and the crew was Italian

Hamburg-Amerika Line Cruise Ship MS Milwaukee 1937

 HAMBURG-AMERIKA LINIE MS MILWAUKEE Wednesday August 18th, 1937 

MS Milwaukee Hamburg-Amerika Line was a German Oceanliner that was in service from 1929-1943 and did mostly Caribbean Service it was then captured in Kiel and renamed the "Empire Waveney"

Trifold Menu that opens up to a cover with a faux window pane for the glass bottom boat!

GLASS BOTTOM DINNER
                                                      
FRESH LOBSTER WITH MAYONNAISE
                                                                     
TURTLE SOUP
                                                      
GERENADIN OF VEAL WITH FRESH VEGETABLE
 Not the same as a Shirley Temple drink...Its made by creating a 'gastrique' sauce made of a caramel sauce mixed with vinegar or a sour element like lemon & lime combined with veal trimming, fresh ginger added then boiled and deglazed in a hot sauce pan

Bresse Poularde is Fattened Young Hen
                                                             
 DESSERT

"The Miracle of Loch Ness"  



VIENNA PUDDING WITH PISTACHIO
made with butter, eggs, sugar, lemon rind and Zwieback crumbs...yes the ones you gave your babies for tooth pain)

ngredients

• 1/4 pound butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 9 eggs
• grated rind of 1/2 lemon and the juice of 2
• fine zwieback crumbs

Instructions

Stir the butter with the sugar to a cream and add by degrees the yolks of 7 eggs, 2 whole eggs, the grated rind of and juice; set this in a vessel of boiling water and stir over the fire till it begins to thicken; then remove it, stir until cold and add the whites of the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth; butter a pudding form and sprinkle it with fine zwieback crumbs; fill in the mixture, put on the cover, set the form in a kettle of boiling water, cover closely and boil slowly for 1 hour; in serving turn the pudding onto a warm dish and send wine cream or fruit sauce to table with it. This pudding should be served immediately upon being turned out of the form.
- See more at: http://www.vintagerecipes.net/books/desserts_salads/vienna_pudding.php#sthash.cd9OVlnK.dpuf

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 9 eggs
• grated rind of 1/2 lemon and the juice of 2
• fine zwieback crumbs

Instructions

Stir the butter with the sugar to a cream and add by degrees the yolks of 7 eggs, 2 whole eggs, the grated rind of and juice; set this in a vessel of boiling water and stir over the fire till it begins to thicken; then remove it, stir until cold and add the whites of the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth; butter a pudding form and sprinkle it with fine zwieback crumbs; fill in the mixture, put on the cover, set the form in a kettle of boiling water, cover closely and boil slowly for 1 hour; in serving turn the pudding onto a warm dish and send wine cream or fruit sauce to table with it. This pudding should be served immediately upon being turned out of the form.
- See more at: http://www.vintagerecipes.net/books/desserts_salads/vienna_pudding.php#sthash.NDgcxnCz.dpuf

ngredients

• 1/4 pound butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 9 eggs
• grated rind of 1/2 lemon and the juice of 2
• fine zwieback crumbs

Instructions

Stir the butter with the sugar to a cream and add by degrees the yolks of 7 eggs, 2 whole eggs, the grated rind of and juice; set this in a vessel of boiling water and stir over the fire till it begins to thicken; then remove it, stir until cold and add the whites of the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth; butter a pudding form and sprinkle it with fine zwieback crumbs; fill in the mixture, put on the cover, set the form in a kettle of boiling water, cover closely and boil slowly for 1 hour; in serving turn the pudding onto a warm dish and send wine cream or fruit sauce to table with it. This pudding should be served immediately upon being turned out of the form.
- See more at: http://www.vintagerecipes.net/books/desserts_salads/vienna_pudding.php#sthash.cd9OVlnK.dpuf

ngredients

• 1/4 pound butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 9 eggs
• grated rind of 1/2 lemon and the juice of 2
• fine zwieback crumbs

Instructions

Stir the butter with the sugar to a cream and add by degrees the yolks of 7 eggs, 2 whole eggs, the grated rind of and juice; set this in a vessel of boiling water and stir over the fire till it begins to thicken; then remove it, stir until cold and add the whites of the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth; butter a pudding form and sprinkle it with fine zwieback crumbs; fill in the mixture, put on the cover, set the form in a kettle of boiling water, cover closely and boil slowly for 1 hour; in serving turn the pudding onto a warm dish and send wine cream or fruit sauce to table with it. This pudding should be served immediately upon being turned out of the form.
- See more at: http://www.vintagerecipes.net/books/desserts_salads/vienna_pudding.php#sthash.cd9OVlnK.dpuf

Matson Lines S.S. Matsonia Enroute SF to Honolulu

This menu is from August 24th, 1959

The cover is a watercolor of San Francisco done by Louis Macoulliard ( of French descent and studied at the Art Student League in NYC.

Inside the Cover the author says"home port of Matson ships, gay, urbane, magnetic city if the Golden Gates. If an epicure, you discover a constellation of marvelous places to dine!"

The wine selection are also outstanding; my pick would be the Louis Martini Johannisberg 1951 Riesling ( fun fact is Louis's son was the first winegrower to use wind machines to combat frost in the vineyard)

Appetizers Hawaiian Poi cocktail ( made with milk, poi, sugar and or salt with personnal flavoring to appeal to Western taste!

Soup: consommé Printaniere (is vegetable flavored broth with peas. Asparagus tips and other spring veggies cut small pieces

Entree: Coq au Vin Rouge chicken in red wine sauce, buttered toast en casserole

To experience replicating the chicken recipe dish go to cooks.com and search COQ AU VIN ROUGE 

Cunard Ship Menu R.M.S. SCYTHIA 1932

Here is tourist class menu from Cunard's Steamship RMS Schythia in 1932
It was built as a luxury liner for service in the beginning of the roaring 20's to travel between Liverpool & Queenstown in UK to New York and Boston harbor. It was built to appeal to American tourist and later started sailing from New York to the Mediterranean in the mid 20's. It was later used in the 1940's to transport troops with their young bribes home after the war.
I always take notice of dishes on a menu that I am not familiar with on a regular menu and I was first curious about Potage St. German for starter and Broiled Weakfish for entree. I learned that Potage St. German is also referred to as Potage St. Germain is a classic Pea pureed soup. Broiled Weakfish is a trout. It is actually a powerful swimmer but named after the weak mouth muscles that cause the hook to tear free and the fish escape. It caught mostly in the coastal waters of Long Island Sound and it is most abundant in September and October. So try find it and grill, fry or broil it now to have a real delicacy. The flesh is white, sweet and lean and goes excellent with a dry white wine. To learn more about it and find recipes, contact NY Seafood Council.