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A bill of fare

A Journey to the Centre of the Earth

by Jules Verne

A JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OFJULES VERNE
Our binding, not the publisher's

“But as I was hungry, I sallied forth to the dining room, where I took up my usual quarters. Out of politeness I waited three minutes, but no sign of my uncle, the Professor. I was surprised. He was not usually so blind to the pleasure of a good dinner. It was the acme of German luxury--parsley soup, a ham omelette with sorrel trimmings, an oyster of veal stewed with prunes, delicious fruit, and sparkling Moselle. For the sake of poring over this musty old piece of parchment, my uncle forbore to share our meal. To satisfy my conscience, I ate for both.”

From a cookbook of 1877

A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.

1877  ·  Corson
76. =Omelette with Ham, Tongue, or Cheese.=--Use chopped or grated ham, or

tongue, or cheese, in the proportion of one tablespoonful to one egg; proceed to mix and cook in the same way as for omelette with herbs. 77. =Omelette with Oysters.=--Blanch one dozen small Blue Point oysters, by bringing them just to a boil in their own liquor, seasoned with a dust of cayenne, a saltspoonful of salt, and a grate of nutmeg; mix an omelette as above, omitting the herbs, place it over the fire, and when it begins to cook at the edges, place the oysters, without any liquor, in its centre, and fold and serve it in the same manner as the omelette with herbs. 78.

Sources: The passage is from Jules Verne, A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Corson, The Cooking Manual of Practical Directions for Economical of 1877, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — navy cloth, oyster stamp.

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