Watching 1795

Popped in a tape today; it was middlish of 1795.

Good scenes:

Shortly after Josette's demise, Ben is going to dig the grave; he & Barn are in the masoleum and Barnabas is going to leave.

Ben goes to make him stay, but Barn says, "No, if this is my existence, let me live it alone."

It's so sad, lonely and tragic. 

Later, Barn encounters  Abigail being nosy at the Old House. Barn tells her, "Even not exactly an opinion, you always had something to say about everything. How very little you knew."

Of course, the highlight of any/all 1795 is:

Danel (NO I, rhymes with panel, by Ben Stokes.)

Now, I've'd just popped in some eps I've never seen; Julia Hoffman ( a DOCTOR!) tells Barn she can cure his affliction.

Faux Burke is on the lose while viewing Seacliff.
(oyevah, Barn & Burke...who says men can't be catty!!)

OT:

Have a good weekend.

Oh, did I mention that for a change I didn't work today....so....I BAKED ALL MY CHRISTMAS COOKIES.

Go ahead...curse/cure me....(I didn't say they came out great)...and, for the record, MY version of Christmas cookies isn't the pretty cut out/decorate; it's choc. chip, and I made some (ick) dough then added different stuff (bananas w/walnuts and peanut butter for another type).

Who cares....it's done Amen and Hallelujah.

Patti

Patti....just out of curiosity.....if you find making Christmas cookies such a chore, why on EARTH do you do it?

Mrs. Johnson doesn't strike me as the Christmas Cookie Type.  I'll bet money she had them delivered from Ye Olde Collinsport Cookie Shoppe. 

Been watching the 1795 episodes also. (Working on a drawing of Nathan Forbes.)
Now why is it that a big handsome hunk like Nathan can't kick Peter Bradford's butt??

Janet

I bet Mrs. Johnson does indeed make her own Christmas cookies and feeds them to Willie who gets a stomach ache soon after!

Janet

Mrs. Johnson doesn't strike me as the Christmas Cookie Type.  I'll bet money she had them delivered from Ye Olde Collinsport Cookie Shoppe. 

Nope....I think cookies are just too frivolous for Mrs. Johnson.

I see her as more the fruitcake, stollen, mince pie type.  Difficult things that take days  (if not weeks!) to make.

 Then she could feel superior to the Collins women who probably can't light the stove.

Now why is it that a big handsome hunk like Nathan can't kick Peter Bradford's butt??

What an excellent question, Janet!! 

Then she could feel superior to the Collins women who probably can't light the stove.

Well, we know Carolyn can at least make coffee because she made such a big deal of all the trouble she had to go through to do it in episode #289.    And while I don't think it was made clear whether she made it on the stove on in an electric perculator, I'd really hope that before Mrs. J's arrival the Collins women (and men) knew how to work a stove - or esle the family must have gone awfully hungry or survived on a lot of cold (sardine? ) sandwiches because somehow the "tiny, fishing village of Collinsport" doesn't strike me as a mecca for great take-out and/or catering. 

Then again, maybe they all survived on a staple of Matthew's muffins. 

For what it's worth, Mrs. Johnson was not know for her good cooking. Roger insinuated that more than once. Perhaps that's why Bill Malloy was always so cranky. Maybe his ever present scowl was due to heartburn, the poor dear.

     I think the Collins family is used to bad cuisine.  There is a scene in 1795 where Natalie Dupres complains about the cooking(the cook would not use wine when cooking the fish  because it was against her religion).
     Some of the dishes Mrs. Johnson would have been familiar with are"Chinese Pie" a dish made with elbow macaroni, canned tomatoes, and corn and who knows what, Salmon Pie and Pork Pie which I am informed by the locals are French Canadian dishes, American chop suey(similar to Chinese pie) and whoppie pies.  I hope I have not spoiled anyones appetite but I can see why Roger would go to Boston and bring home recipes for Mrs. Johnson to try.

Salmon Pie and Pork Pie (more commonly known as French Meat Pie) are quite delicious. (But, of course, a bad cook (if indeed that's what Mrs. J was) can ruin just about any great dish.  )

My mom (who had not a drop of French Canadian blood in her - she was English and Irish) made excellent Salmon Pies. And even if I do say so myself, I make a pretty good French Meat Pie. (I'm not French, but my best friend's mom was and I coerced her recipe out of her. Speaking of which, now just what did I do with that recipe...I think I saw that lean ground pork is on sale this week...)

Can't say I've ever had whoppie pie (AKA whoopie pie), though I *think* it's a dessert.

     A whoopie pie is two small chocolate cakes about the size of a large cookie with fluffy white icing in between(think devil dog).  I have also seen it with pumpkin cakes.  Roger would not be caught dead eating one but David would have indulged in this treat often.  Willie, too.  This is probably the only thing Mrs. Johnson would get right.
     As for Salmon pies and  Pork pies, I have never tried one but they are available in our local bakeries.  I live in a part of Maine that has strong French Canadian roots.  The chinese pie and American chop suey are served often at my sons elementary school and at church suppers.

As for Salmon pies and  Pork pies, I have never tried one but they are available in our local bakeries.

Both are so popular around here that unless you get to the bakery very soon after it opens, or, better yet, call at least a day ahead to order one, you're not likely to find one.    The bakeries have limited themselves to making only so many a day because they would never be able to keep up with the demand.

Obviously Mrs. J wouldn't have been able to buy hers from a bakery because then everyone around town would have known that the food she was serving at Collinwood wasn't her own. Think of the scandal! 

Salmon is my absolute favorite food on earth.  So unless Salmon Pie is made with smoked salmon (desecration!!) I want the recipe, please.

And while I never saw "pork pie" on a menu in France, I saw it EVERYWHERE in England......how did this get to be a French Canadian specialty?

I imagine anything called "pork pie" would have been considered too "below stairs" to be served in the dining room at Collinwood....no matter HOW tasty a dish.

Salmon is my absolute favorite food on earth.  So unless Salmon Pie is made with smoked salmon (desecration!!) I want the recipe, please.

I'll IM it to you. 

And while I never saw "pork pie" on a menu in France, I saw it EVERYWHERE in England......how did this get to be a French Canadian specialty?

I imagine anything called "pork pie" would have been considered too "below stairs" to be served in the dining room at Collinwood....no matter HOW tasty a dish.

Perhaps. Or perhaps not. The main ingredient is (are?) mashed potatos, which could certainly have been a meal stretcher for the "below stairs" crowd.    But at the same time, ground pork is more expensive (at least today) than ground beef is. And probably more interestingly, nutmeg is one of the spices used. Now, this recipe dates back centuries, and nutmeg was an extremely expensive spice at one time. Actually, a good nutmeg isn't exactly cheap nowadays. And a good bakery's French Meat Pie isn't usually cheap either...


(Methinks perhaps we might have to retitle this thread "Mrs. Jonhsons' possibly favorite meals".  )

[But at the same time, ground pork is more expensive (at least today) than ground beef is.

I have never heard of or seen ground pork.
Is this like ground turkey?

Patti