“The table was laid under the cart-shed. On it were four sirloins, six chicken fricassees, stewed veal, three legs of mutton, and in the middle a fine roast suckling pig, flanked by four chitterlings with sorrel. At the corners were decanters of brandy. Sweet bottled-cider frothed round the corks, and all the glasses had been filled to the brim with wine beforehand. Large dishes of yellow cream, that trembled with the least shake of the table, had designed on their smooth surface the initials of the newly wedded pair in nonpareil arabesques. A confectioner of Yvetot had been intrusted with the tarts and sweets. As he had only just set up on the place, he had taken a lot of trouble, and at dessert he himself brought in a set dish that evoked loud cries of wonderment. To begin with, at its base there was a square of blue cardboard, representing a temple with porticoes, colonnades, and stucco statuettes all round, and in the niches constellations of gilt paper stars; then on the second stage was a dungeon of Savoy cake, surrounded by many fortifications in candied angelica, almonds, raisins, and quarters of oranges; and finally, on the upper platform a green field with rocks set in lakes of jam, nutshell boats, and a small Cupid balancing himself in a chocolate swing whose two uprights ended in real roses for balls at the top.”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
it over the fire in enough cold water to cover it, with one dessertspoonful of salt, half a saltspoonful of pepper, a bouquet of sweet herbs, made as directed in Chapter first, two ounces of carrot, pared and left whole, and one dozen button onions peeled; skim frequently as often as any scum rises, simmer slowly until the chicken is tender, about an hour, and then take it up to keep hot while the sauce is made; strain out the vegetables, and set the broth to boil; mix one ounce of butter and one ounce of flour together over the fire until they become a smooth paste; then gradually add a pint and a half of the broth, stirring the sauce with an egg-whip until it is quite smooth, season it to taste with salt and pepper, and dish it on a hot platter; half a can of mushrooms greatly improve the flavor of the _fricassee_. 65.
Sources: The passage is from Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, tr. Aveling, Eleanor Marx, 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 — plum cloth, grapes stamp.