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