Gardenia

Recipes:     Lamb  /  Oysters   /   Brown Butter Cakes

"On New Year's Day, no matter how humbler her circumstances, the Creole housewife will have freshly blooming roses on her table. In our delightful climate, wehre flowers bloom the year round, and where, in winter especially, roses are in their zenith of glory, there are few homes, indeed, in which a patch of ground is not set aside for the cultifation of flowers; while in the lovely open gardens in the "Garden District of New Orleans" roses in exquisite bloom overrun the trellises and arbors and smile upon you from the fancifully laid-out garden beds. It is wonderful how a bit of green, with a few roses nestling between, will brighten up the homeliest table. With the linen spotless, the crystal shining, a few loose clusters of rosebuds, typical of the budding year, blooming on the mantels and in low, glass bowls in the center, a charm is imprted to the feast, the graceful idea of beginning anew suggested, and a lingering fragrance thrown over memory's page that will remain as an incentive to nobler effort for many a day."
---The Picayune's Creole Cook Book, facsimile 2nd edition, 1901 [Dover Publications:New York] 1971 (p. 432)

 

Creole menus, New Orleans, 1901

A New Year's Menu

Breakfast
Oranges
Oatmeal, Cream
Radishes. Cress. Olives
Broiled Trout, Sauce a la Tartare.
Potatoes a la Duchesse.
Creamed Chicken. Omelette aux Confitures.
Salade a la Creole.
Batter Cakes. Louisiana Syrup. Fresh Butter.
Cafe au Lait.

Dinner.
Oysters on the half Shell.
Spanish Olives. Celery. Pickles.
Salted Almonds.
Green Turtle Soup, Croutons.
Broiled Spanish Mackerel, Sauce a la Matire d'Hotel.
Julienne Potatoes.
Lamb Cutlets Breaded, Sauce Soubise.
Green Peas.
Sweetbreads a la Creole.
Ponche a la Romaine.
Roast Turkey, Cranberry Sauce.
Baked Yams. Cauliflower au Grating.
Asparagus a la Matre d'Hotel.
Lettuce, Salad Dressing.
Broiled Snipe on Toast.
Pouding a la Reine, Wine Sauce. Mince Pie.
Cocoanut Custard Pie.
Biscuit Glace. Petits Fours. Fruits. Nuts.
Raisins.
Cheese. Toasted Crackers.

Supper
Cold Turkey, Currant Jelly.
Celery Salad.
French Rolls. Butter. Assorted Cakes.
Fruit. Nuts.
Tea.