Sunday, February 11, 2007

An Old Fashioned Church Supper......


“Chicken, dumplings, gravy, salt rising bread and every thing else good to eat.”

On Friday evening, Feb. 9, 2007, Anna Crumley-Effinger, an Earlham senior, presented a paper she wrote for a class on Indiana Yearly Meeting church architecture. Her focus was on the Winchester Friends Meetinghouse and its history. She did an excellent job presenting her paper and created good interest in the heritage of our meetinghouse. It is the oldest church building in Winchester, and built in 1898, was one of the first Indiana Yearly Meeting meetinghouses to change from the traditional Quaker architecture to a building with a focus on a platform and Sunday School classrooms that flow into the worship area.

An old fashioned church dinner was recreated for the evening, using as the source a newspaper article reporting on a meal served by the Ladies Aid Society of Winchester Friends in March of 1905.

The menu:

Chicken and dumplings (chefs- Marcella Bolinger McHolland and Pam)
mashed potatoes (chef-Pam)
corn (chef-Pam)
green beans (chef-Pam)
bread and butter pickles (chef-Pam)
coleslaw (chef-Pam)
deviled eggs (chef-Marcella Bolinger McHolland)
salt-rising bread*(chef –Pam)
pumpkin pie (chef-Pam)
tapioca pudding (chef-Pam)

All the above, plus a 21st century salad**, for the old fashioned price of 25 cents per person. Over 40 people gathered for the evening of fellowship and to listen to Anna’s presentation. It was a great evening and I had an incredible amount of fun planning it.

Compare the above menu to the menu below that was reported in Britain's Guardian newspaper this week under the heading: The World’s Most Expensive Meal. This dinner cost $30,000 per person, not including tip:

Crème brûlée of foie gras with Tonga beans
Alain Soliveres (chef)
1990 Louis Roederer Cristal (wine)

Tartar of Kobe beef with Imperial Beluga caviar and Belons oyster
Antoine Westermann (chef)
1995 Krug Clos du Mesnil (wine)

Mousseline of pattes rouges crayfish with morel mushroom infusion
Alain Soliveres (chef)
2000 Corton-Charlemagne, Domaine Jean François Coche-Dury(wine)

Tarte Fine with scallops and black truffle
Antoine Westermann (chef)
1996 Le Montrachet, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (wine)

Lobster Osso Buczco
Jean-Michel Lorain (chef)
1985 Romanée-Conti, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (wine)

Ravioli with guinea fowl and burrata cheese, veal reduction
Annie Feolde (chef)
1961 Château Palmer (wine)

Saddle of lamb "Léonel"
Marc Meneau (chef)
1959 Château Mouton Rothschild (wine)

Sorbet "Dom Pérignon"
Supreme of pigeon en croute with cèpes mushroom sauce and cipollotti
Heinz Winkler (chef)
1961 Château Haut-Brion (wine)

Veal cheeks with Périgord truffles
Heinz Winkler (chef)
1955 Château Latour (wine)

Imperial gingerbread pyramid with caramel and salted butter ice-cream
Jean-Michel Lorain (chef)
1967 Château d'Yquem (wine)

I’m sure if I’d served wine, I would have had to charge 50 cents………

You’ve got to wonder about the world we live in today.


* Recipe for salt rising bread will be in a future post.
**Recipe for the “salad to end all salads” from my friend Stan, will also follow soon…..I made the salad because I found all the “white” in the meal overwhelming!

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