Steamdrunks: The Drunken Earl

Trust this man to feed you drinks.
He won't tie you to train tracks. I promise.

I present to you today a post written by my good friend Oz, who you may remember from the Halcyon days of the State Dinner at the Dolmabaçe. He's been in exile for a while, toiling out of state, and so while we haven't been able to cook together for a while (the last time was in December...) we have conversed extensively about many things. Drinks, of course, are one of our many shared enthusiasms, and so this man–this wonderful man—has provided us with the following:

“We simply contend that a relish for 'social drinks’ is universal;... and that he, therefore, who proposes to impart to these drinks not only the most palatable but the most wholesome characteristics of which they may be made susceptible, is a genuine public benefactor.”
~Jerry Thomas, Bartenders Guide: How to Mix Drinks: Receipts for Mixing All Kinds of Punch, Egg Nog, Juleps, Smashs, Cobblers, Cocktails, Sangarees, Mulls, Toddies, Slings, Sours, Flips, and 200 other Fancy Drinks (1862)

This story starts, as so many often do, with a lady.
“What if you made a cocktail with tea-infused simple syrups?” the lady asked, innocently.
“Ooh... wouldn’t be that hard to do... but what would you make?” I pondered.
And like that I had been nerdsniped into the fascinating concept of Steampunk Cocktails.

The Picnic Luncheon: The Plan

Last Year's Picnick, by Blue Dragon Media

Having gazed at Mrs. Beeton's picnic menus (see my last post,) and at the menu suggestions provided by Buckeye Cookery, to wit: 

Cold roast chicken; ham broiled on coals; fish fried or broiled; sardines; tongue; hard-boiled eggs; eggs to be fried or scrambled; Boston corn bread; buttered rolls; ham sandwiches prepared with grated ham; orange marmalade; canned peaches; watermelon and beet sweet-pickles; euchered plums; variety or bottled pickles; chow-chow; quince or plum jelly; raspberry or other jams; Scotch fruit, rolled jelly, chocolate, Minnehaha, old-fashioned loaf, and marble cake; coffee, chocolate, tea; cream and sugar; salt and pepper; oranges.

I have thus come up with a somewhat simple plan for our own picnic. I'm hoping to stay away from fish, simply because it's an expense and a process that I don't want to engage myself in right now (as much as I'd like to smoke a side of salmon for my friends, the cost might be a bit prohibitive, even with a good job such as I have right now.)

A simple luncheon, then, to serve roughly 12 people:

• Chicken Pie (2)
• Cold Roast Beef with Appropriate Sauce (1 large joint)
• Cucumber Salad (1 quart)
• Pickles and Relishes (1-2 quarts)
• Hard-Boiled Eggs (1 dozen)
• Fresh Berries and Fruit (2 quarts)
• Fruit Tarts (12 small)
• Cheese, Butter, Bread, Biscuits, Jam
• Iced Tea (4 bottles)
• Wine (2 bottles)

You may as well put away your picnicking-baskets, I think this will win the all-time award for 'best picnic ever.'

Another Picnic!

Once again, yours truly will probably
win the annual croquet game.

Once again, it is May, and with the advent of spring comes picnics and celebrations. This year, I'm off (once again) to the Grand Ledge Victorian Days celebration, and have resolved to provide a completely different picnic luncheon experience to my friends and companions who will be joining me.

As with last year, we shall once again be taking part in that great Victorian tradition of picnicking by a battlefield, enjoying the great sport of war! It's never caused us any trouble before, you see: We go down, watch the battle from an encampment, and go home, the war concluded in an afternoon of glory and honor. There's no way it could go any differently, is there?

We are provided, as mentioned in last year's post about this very event, with some picnic luncheon menus by the Buckeye Cookery cook-book, and these are quite lovely, but Mrs. Beeton also offers two menus for picnics that I had not previously paid much attention to—so it is to them that I intend to look first.