lostpastremembered

Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne at 10 Chimneys

Have you ever heard of Ethel Barrymore or Helen Hayes or Alfred Lunt & Lynn Fontanne? You're not alone if you haven't.  As a history fan I am frequently stunned by the way that our culture’s pool of knowledge about our past is contracting exponentially.

The individuals in question have all had Broadway theatres named after them and most people who attend them these days don’t have a clue who they are. Barely 50 years ago, they were as famous as could be. They were Broadway royalty. Although Hayes and Barrymore had a good body of work on film (and in Hayes case, even on television), the Lunts were never comfortable on the silver screen where they might have achieved the immortality that the medium provides –– although they were exhaustively courted by Hollywood they only made one film together in 1931 (The Guardsman). They hated film acting and felt their talents were best suited to the stage not the screen.  Because of that, they are largely forgotten today.  That's just a crime, they were a brilliant couple.

10 Chimneys

Katharine Hepburn said: “Every time I was visiting with the Lunts in Genesee Depot, I was in a sort of daze of wonder… the dining room, the table, the china, the silver, the food, the extraordinary care and beauty and taste… a sort of dream, a vision."  Joan Crawford marveled at the thoughtfulness of the couple. The 10 Chimney's blog reported that Crawford had said in her memoir, My Way of Life, "When I stayed with Lynn and Alfred on their lovely farm in Wisconsin they told me that their custom – a very nice one for a guest – was to give the breakfast order the night before, and then ring when it was wanted. There was never a sound until I pressed the button that told the kitchen “I’m up. You can prepare it now.” They would never let a houseguest go down for breakfast.  Then I would appear whenever I felt like it. If I had a script to prepare I just stayed in my room."







The superlative cuisine at Ten Chimneys was the purview of Alfred Lunt.

He got his Le Cordon Bleu degree at age 65 and was thrilled with the accomplishment as much as for his many acting awards –– he had been cooking for his friends for decades before the piece of paper acknowledged his prowess in the kitchen. Noel Coward said the Lunts “are deeply concerned with only three things: themselves, the theatre and food –– good hot food." Even on the road, their accommodations had to include a kitchenette –– no ifs ands or buts about it.


It was expected that Lunt would collect his recipes together for a cookbook and he did get that far but he wouldn't publish them.   Although he was a master in the kitchen, Lunt was not comfortable with his skill as a cookbook writer.  He went to no less than Truman Capote to ask for advice, "Will you tell me how, when you make a pie crust, just describe this?  I want it in words.  How would you 'do this, now do that' in a few words...' I asked.  'I could show you but put it in words...' and he couldn't".  A perfectionist, he would not put his name on a cookbook that wasn't the best cookbook it could be –– for Lunt "is the artist whose soul has gone into the soufflé you eat.  He is the soul of torment, hanging on your opinion of a sauce" –– so it languished on a shelf for many a year till the foundation that took over the house found it and published it as The Testers Edition of Alfred Lunt's Cookbook (most of the quotes here come from this book).  The "testers" part is a gentle way of saying no battery of test kitchen cooks have gone over these recipes to see if they work so you are on your own.  Honestly, although some are missing detailed instructions, most appear to be good solid recipes.

I loved the book and its stories and photos but fell in love with his take on Cumberland Sauce.  I LOVE Cumberland Sauce and couldn't leave it off my Sauce Series list.  Lunt adds a touch of magic in his version by the addition of a bit of horseradish.  Best I ever tasted. Although I have always associated it with venison, it  would be great with any pork (chops, loin, tenderloin or even sausage or ham) or a game bird (duck to grouse and pigeon) and even would work for vegetarians because it is amazing on sweet potatoes (sans the demi-glace).

If you like venison, run, do not walk to D'Artagnan for the best venison tenderloin ever.  It was butter tender and full of flavor –– I made it rare and loved it that way. It is also extremely lean so best not to cook it too much.  Dr. Lostpast gave this one an A+ with reason –– the combination is superb.  The sweet and savory combination with a bit of heat from the horseradish and cayenne is masterful and you understand why this sauce has been a favorite for generations (something like it has been used since at least the 18th century).  The best part?  It takes about 15 minutes to make and can be done ahead of  time.  That means a world-class dinner could be ready in 1/2 an hour. It's low in fat and high in flavor, how cool is that?

Also, I want to introduce you to Aftelier's new Chef Essence Sprays.  I used thyme for this recipe and it was splendid. It's really the best thyme ever, if you ask me and its sensual muskiness is brilliant with venison.  The sprays also come in citrus (lemon and lime and blood orange) and spice (pepper, cumin, ginger and cinnamon) as well as herbs (basil, and spearmint with the thyme) and even raspberry and chocolate.  Just a spritz gives you the heart of each element.  Great for accents on cooked food, desserts and drinks.  You will love them as much as I do.  I've told you about Aftelier chef's essences already (and there are over 50 to choose from like my favorite rose and jasmine), the sprays are a great new way to use the essences. Aftelier's chef essences have transformed the way I cook, that's the simple truth –– mad for them!

Do you remember your first fancy French Restaurant?  I do.  I remember being awed by the menu and having no idea what to order while at the same time not wanting to display my teen-aged ignorance and ask the waiter what was what.  The waiter was terribly kind and recommended things to me in such a way that I didn’t feel condescended to ––  he was so adept that in fact I felt rather special.  But that isn’t always the case.  When you are blowing hundreds of dollars on a dinner, waiters with attitudes are indefensible and such bad form –– don't get me started.

I know many times I wished I’d had my fits-in-my-bag copy of Le Repertoire De La Cuisine –– the professional chef’s secret book of sauces and preparations with me on those occasions. It’s one of my favorite tools –– indispensable whether you are deciphering 19^th century menus and cookbooks or dining out in the high French style. I recommend it to anyone who eats or cooks, really.  

It's good for:

Many of you who go to a classic French restaurant and are confused as to what you are ordering because the names are a blur (what the heck is Veal Romanoff or Eggs Metternich?).

Many of you who have written to me expressing surprise at finding how great the “old sauces” are – not the gloppy floury messes they were expecting to get for their efforts and want to try more of them.

Many people who are afraid to make the sauces because they think they are too difficult to prepare or are too rich or because they just never heard of many of them –– they’re missing a great resource.

Inspired by Repertoire de la Cuisine and the confusion I hear over and over from my readers, I decided to do a little series on sauces to inspire YOU to get the book and experiment –– beginning with one of the  “Mother” Sauces, Sauce Espagnole and what can be made with it (like about 50 variations!).  I enlisted my pals at D’Artagnan on the project since their wonderful products are perfect for the sauces that make something ‘scary’ like cooking a squab feel easy –– because it really is!

Sauces Mères or Mother Sauces are the basis of all classic French sauces codified by the great Carême   in the 19^th Century and finessed by Escoffier in the 20th. 

Believe it or not most are a breeze to do if you know a few little tricks.  Suddenly a battery of sauces (made with a few base sauces like demi-glace and Espagnole and good stock safely stashed in your freezer), are at your fingertips, often in 15 minutes. 

Jessup Whitehead said in 1896 that, “The great authority Dubois - Bernard, speaking of this branch of his art, says: "The gourmet would not think much of an elegant and sumptuously served dinner of which the sauces are wanting in that fineness of taste, that succulency, and that purity which are indispensable. A man is never a great cook if he does not possess a perfect knowledge of sauces, and if he has not made a special study of the methodical principles on which their perfection depends.”  A bit flowery but the sense is right.

You can cook classic French like a master and turn whatever meat, fish, poultry or game into an occasion meal in a snap.  How cool is that?  It’s like have the world’s best accessory closet.

Sauce Robert, one of the very oldest of the French sauces,  is even mentioned in the 16^th century Rabelaisian masterpiece, Pantagruel.  It’s a mustardy ancestor to sauce Espagnole and one of the earliest compound sauces  (tomatoes were yet to be discovered) with onions and reduced stock (I'll be making some in the series).  The technique of making a roux was not yet part of French cuisine–– breadcrumbs were used as a thickener until the mid-17^th century when La Varenne came along and changed the game.

La Varenne was quite an innovator.  He changed the flavors of French food by cutting out most of the exotic spices that had been the style for centuries in favor of local herbs and began using roux (cooked buttered or larded flour) to thicken sauces.  He was the first to write about a béchamel sauce using a white roux (made with lard). He had a proto-hollandaise made with vinegar (not lemon). 

Dark, stock based sauces like the medieval Sauce Madame (a fruit stuffing for goose that was used with stock to make a sauce for the bird) were also ancestors of Espagnole and our own ketchup and barbeque sauces (yup, going to make Sauce Madame for you too!). 

During the reign of Carême sauces really came into their own with new and extravagant variety.

Carême’s original 4 mother sauces are Bechamel (white) Veloute (blonde), Brown (demi-glace or Espagnole) and Allemande (stock with egg yolk).   Escoffier traded out Hollandaise/mayonnaise type sauces (with butter or oil) for the Allemande and added tomato sauce (red) to his list, making it 5 mother sauces.  The sauces were mostly thickened with roux (flour and butter) a liaison (egg and cream) or an emulsion (most famously egg and butter in hollandaise and egg and oil in mayonnaise). 

Espagnole sauce is a revelation as is the technique to create it. The end result is silky and lovely.  Although some of the older recipes call for 8 hours of cooking –– reducing, adding more stock and then reducing again then finishing it the following day, I did it in a few hours and froze it in 1 cup baggies so I could have it any time I wanted. If you flatten the baggie when you freeze it, you can break off tablespoon-size pieces as you need them. I also did a quick hour version that turned out rather well.

Its root is stock, reduced to a rich essence and made velvety by the use of a brown roux –– slowly cooked butter and flour.

When I did the post on Lincoln’s Inaugural Menu (you can read more about it HERE), one of the dishes was Venison with a Sauce Chevreuil. I found an English version augmented with port and currant jelly. It sounded terribly delicious, and it was.  I was most surprised by the velvety texture when I added my Espagnole sauce.

Larousse Gastronomique told me Poivrade sauce was the intermediate step on the way to Chevreuil.  Onions, carrots, parsley and ham cooked in butter with game trimmings and then wine vinegar, white wine and Espagnole is added, then the sauce is strained.  The English version of Chevreuil sounds like one from Charles Elmé Francatelli' s 1861 volume, The cook's guide and housekeeper's & butler's assistant with currant jelly added (his Reform Sauce used port and not the traditional red wine).  D’Artagnan has a few great choices for venison for the dish… as well as fabulous demi-glace to make doing the Espagnole easier. You can use their delicious Venison medallions, tenderloins, even venison in NY strips and chops (available HERE).  I used leftover sauce on beef filets and it was excellent too.

You can add a bit of venison (or beef) cuttings to the sauce for extra flavor if you want.  The Espagnole is straight out of Escoffier with a few of my changes and a quicker version if you would like.

I decided to finish this with Stilton mashed potatoes and steamed sprouts –– port and Stilton are fabulous together.  After making the Espagnole, the whole thing took around 45 minutes to put together  –– if you made the Chevreuil earlier you could have it in 20!

Espagnole Sauce (long version)

2 Q stock (beef veal or even chicken)

5 ¼ oz of brown roux*  (made with equal measures of flour and butter, cooked slowly till brown)

1 small carrot, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 slice bacon, diced

sprig of thyme

½ bay leaf

¼ c white wine

1 cup stock

1 c demi-glace

1 c tomato purée

Boil 2 quarts of stock and add to the roux slowly, stirring all the while.  Reduce heat and add the vegetables and bacon.  Cook for a few minutes and remove any fat from the surface.  Add the white wine and cook for 2 hours over very low heat, stirring occasionally.  Strain, pressing on solids and return to the pot with 1cup stock and 1 container demi-glace.  Cook another hour.  Strain and stir for a few minutes to cool.  Add the tomato puree.

Chevreuil Sauce (an amalgam of many recipes)

1 T butter

2 T chopped shallot

2 T ham

any venison trimmings you may have (optional)

2 chopped mushrooms

bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay and sage tied up)

¼ c wine vinegar

1 c Espagnole

2 t Worcestershire sauce

1 mashed anchovy

1 c   demi-glace or stock

3 oz port

1 T red currant jelly

pinch of cayenne

Sauté the shallot, ham, venison trimmings and mushrooms in the butter till softened.  Toss in the bouquet garni and add the vinegar.  Reduce till syrupy and add the Espagnole, stock, Worcestershire, and anchovy.  Cook for ½ an hour at low heat or till thickened. Strain, pressing on the solids and add the red currant jelly, port and cayenne.

Boneless Venison Steak for 2

2 venison steaks or tenderloin  (4 – 6 oz each serving) available HERE

salt and pepper

2 T butter

3-4 chanterelle and/or shitake mushrooms, sliced

Heat oven 400º

Heat a cast iron skillet till hot. Salt and pepper the steak. Put in the butter to melt and add the mushrooms and steak.  Sear on one side and then the other, stirring the mushrooms as you do.

Flip and put in a 400º oven for 5 minutes for rare.

Remove from oven and put the meat on a plate and tent for 5 minutes.  Take the mushrooms and add the Chevreuil Sauce to warm.  Pour over the meat and serve.

*if you use beef filet, the technique is the same

Quick Version of Espagnole Sauce

4 T butter
4 T Flour
3 T diced carrot
3 T diced onion
3 T bacon
2 c stock
1 t thyme
piece of bay leaf
2 T white wine
1/4 c demi-glace
2 T tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the flour and butter till it is a medium brown on a medium flame –– stirring all the time.
Add the vegetables, ham and bacon and stir.  Slowly add the stock, wine and demi-glace.  Cook over
a low flame for 45 minutes and add the tomato sauce.  Cook for another 10 minutes and strain, pressing hard on the solids.  Add salt and pepper to taste

Stilton Mashed potatoes for 2

6 blue potatoes peeled or unpeeled

2 T butter

½ c milk

¼ cup crumbled stilton or to taste

pinch of mace

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes until tender and drain.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mash.

*To make a brown roux, melt your butter and add the flour on a low to medium flame.  Stir regularly until the mixture turns a medium brown... kind of a  medium caramel color.  Remove from the stove and use.  Don't let it get too dark.  This takes 5-10 minutes.