Treat of the Week: Meatloaf and Maple Cake

 

A random ice storm prevented our usual Sunday visit to my parents' house.  Bertie was disappointed that he didn't get to see Grandma and Grandpa.  Even though he got to stay home with his cat, Miss Oscar, he pouted for several hours.

Nonetheless, we were able to spend the evening of Mardi Gras with my parents and we enjoyed a lovely "Fat Tuesday" meal of perfect comfort food.

Meatloaf is truly the epitome of comfort food, especially when joined by a hot, gooey casserole of macaroni and cheese.  

Of course, every boy (or forty year old man) prefers his mother's meatloaf recipe above all others, and I'm not different.  The only difference is that I'm right, and the rest of you are wrong.  Moist and light and filled with carrots and onions, no other can match my mother’s meatloaf.

This gorgeous macaroni and cheese was baked to perfection with just the right crust and creaminess and filled with the flavors of a variety of cheeses from gruyere to cheddar.  Yum!

A side dish of broiled broccoli and cauliflower, seasoned to perfection, and baked with grated Romano and Parmigiano cheeses was an idea accompaniment to this meal.  Some pretzel rolls completed the meal.  

For dessert, we indulged in wee, glazed maple-nut bundt cakes.  Ah, there's nothing as satisfying as being given your own pound cake to devour.  It makes one feel like a giant.  And, don't we all want to feel like a giant sometimes?  I know I do.  This was an especially good way to feel like a giant, too.  Tender with just the right amount of sweetness, these little cakes made each of us feel like a King without the hassle of having to dig around to find a plastic baby. Served up on new, sparkly, polka-dot dishes, we let the good times roll--right into our mouths.

Now, that's the way to spend Mardi Gras.

Bertie's Pet-itations: Pet-ience

Here's Bertie's weekly opportunity to share his ideas for creating our new "Beautiful Age."  Bertie's advice, I'm sure, can be applied to many different areas of our lives.

And, so, I happily hand the computer over to him.


Bertie says:

My cat and I know that we're taking up all the space on the sofa, and, in the bed, and...well, everywhere we can take up as much space as we can.  We just do it to see what you'll do.  You always let us get away with it.  It's important to be patient with your pets (and your pets' pets).  Sometimes we challenge you just because we can and because it's fun.  When you see that it's fun, too, everyone has a good time.

A Recipe for Punch, Chapter 72

Chapter 72
A Good Little Soldier


"Your Lordship,"  Gerard smiled as he opened the drapes of the bedchamber.  "Good morning."

Robert moaned softly.  "Already."

"I am afraid so,"  Charles added as he assisted Gerard with the drapes.

Gerard brought Robert his dressing gown.  "Were you able to sleep?"

"Like the de..."  Robert began.  He changed his mind.  "Like a baby."  He sat up and looked over his shoulder, "What of you, dear Punch?"

His face went pale when he saw that Punch was not in his place.

"His Grace isn't here."  Charles shook his head.  "His dressing gown isn't where I left it last night."

"Where is he?"  Robert bolted out of the bed, snatching the robe from Gerard's hands.

"He's likely gone to the nursery to look in on Master Colin,"  Charles suggested.

"No."  Gerard shook his head.  "His Grace wasn't in the nursery.  Only Ethel was in the nursery with Colin when I left Gamilla to come here."

"Bloody hell!"  Robert growled, wobbling a bit on his feet as he tied the dressing gown around his feet.

Gerard helped steady his master.

"Perhaps he's gone to see Miss Morgana or Her Ladyship."  Charles suggested.  "And didn't wish to wake you."

Robert inhaled.  "Perhaps."  He leaned over and felt Punch's side of the bed.  "He has been gone quite awhile.  The bedclothes are cold."  He looked at Dog Toby who sensed his master's panic.  "I wish you could talk.  You know where he went."

"I've prepared your basin for you,"  Gerard smiled.

"I'm going to look for His Grace first."  Robert shook his head.

"Your Lordship,"  Charles began.

"Charles, you are not going to tell me that there is no reason to be concerned, are you?  You are aware of what's gone on here in the last day."  Robert snapped.

Charles nodded.  "I am aware, Sir.  I was going to suggest that though Dog Toby cannot speak, he might be able to help you find His Grace.  You know how Toby is always able to locate the duke in the house.  I suppose he follows his sense of smell as dogs do."

"Of course.  Good thinking, Charles.  I apologize for being so... irritable."

"Not at all, Your Lordship."  Charles smiled.  "I would be equally so, in your position."

"Here are your slippers,"  Gerard interrupted.  He paused.  "There is one more thing."

"Yes,"  Charles nodded.  "We'd intended to tell Your Lordship and His Grace together.  We had not anticipated His Grace not being here."

"What is it?  Colin's all right, isn't he?"

"Oh, yes, the baby is just fine.  Her Ladyship and Miss Morgana are well also."  Charles answered.

"It's Georgie Pepper."  Gerard began.  

"Is he ill?"

"No, Sir.  Neither he nor Lord Cleaversworth's man, Perkins, are in their room.  Their boots are gone.  It appears that they left the house.  Neither bed has been slept in."  Gerard responded.

"That's just what we need!"  Robert spat.  "Does Mrs. Pepper know?"

"She does, Sir.  She's livid."  Gerard replied.

"As she should be.  What could that boy have been thinking?  I tend to forget that Georgie is as young as he is.  Still youth is no excuse for being an idiot!  Whatever could have compelled him to leave?"

"I suspect that Perkins is a bit of a wild lad."  Charles shook his head.

"I wouldn't have thought our George so easily swayed."  Robert grunted.  "Youth.  Bah.  Matthew's arrival has proven to be more trouble than..."  He trailed off.  "Never mind that now."  He pressed his hands together.   "Does the earl know?  Is Lord Cleaversworth aware that his man has trotted off?"

"No, Your Lordship.  He has not awakened yet."  Charles replied.

"Does anyone else know that our young men have gone out what I can only guess is a country spree?"  Robert asked, hoping that it was only that and nothing to do with the strange goings-on of the last day.

"Except Gamilla, not yet."  Charles replied.  "We didn't see the need to worry any of the girls.  We told Mrs. Pepper, of course, since she's George's mother.  I don't think she's said anything to Maude or Ethel.  We haven't mentioned it to any of the Hall's staff as, to be perfectly honest, they don't really care what goes on with us."

Robert shook his head.  "Well, they're going to have to.  They work for His Grace, don't they?  Gerard, run down, would you, and send someone to look for them?  One of the younger men who know the estate well.  William or...if need be that wretched Gregory though sending him to anyone's aid is rather like sending a fox off to rescue a hen."

"Yes, Sir."  Gerard nodded.  

"Charles, come with me, we'll see if Toby can't sniff out His Grace.  I can't imagine that he'd leave the house in his dressing gown and slippers.  I just fear that..."  Robert squinted, rubbing his temples.

"There's no need to explain, Sir."  Charles said softly.

"I'll find you and help you look when I come back up,"  Gerard said, as he left.  

"Thank you, Gerry."  Robert nodded.  He picked up Toby and whispered to the terrier.  "Here boy, help me find Punch.  Let's go find Mr. Punch.  Right.  Mr. Punch!  There's a good little soldier."

Toby wagged his tail and headed for the door.

"Charles, this is the second time that His Grace has wandered out while I was sleeping..."  Robert sighed as they followed the dog into the passage.

"Oh?"  Charles responded.

"The first time, he felt compelled to go to his old rooms..."  Robert stopped.  "Oh, why didn't I think of that sooner?"

Toby confirmed what Robert suspected as the terrier trotted in the direction of the suite which had been Julian/Punch's home for decades.

Charles and Robert followed quickly behind.



Did you miss Chapters 1-71 of A Recipe for Punch?  If so, you can read them here.  Come back tomorrow for Chapter 73.

At the Music Hall: There’ll Always Be an England, 1939

The Union Jack
1910
The Royal Collection

This rousing British patriotic song was written and composed in 1939 by Ross Parker. During World War II, it became extremely popular with a version sung by Vera Lynn dominating the airwaves. During the first year of World War I, over two hundred thousand copies of the sheet music were sold.

The song has remained popular, being covered by many artists, notably even The Sex Pistols. However, I prefer Vera Lynn’s version. Enjoy!

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Black Brunswicker, 1860

The Black Brunswicker
Sir John Everett Millais, 1860
The Lady Lever Art Gallery
Liverpool

Sir John Everett Millais was known for his emotionally-charged, theatrical and highly detailed paintings. He preferred to paint scenes which featured figures which would tempt the viewer to touch them because of the highly tactile nature of their clothing and radiant skin. This painting is no exception.


In the composition, we see a young lady being embraced by a soldier in a historical scene. The soldier represents a member of the special troop of highly-trained German soldiers of 1809 known as The Black Brunswickers whose motto “Glory or Death” became widely known. The Black Brunswickers wore death’s heads on their helmets to reinforce their grisly anthem. This regiment suffered tragic losses at the 1815 Battle of Waterloo.

For his subjects, Millais used Charles Dickens’ daughter, Kate, as the model for the girl, and a private in the Life Guards as the model for the soldier. At no point were the two ever in the same room. Each posed with a mannequin for preliminary studies.

Notice the folds of the woman’s dress. They invite the viewer to reach out and touch it to see if it is, in fact, real. Millais has included a figure of a dog to reinforce the humanity of the scene and has placed a reproduction of an engraving of Napoleon Crossing the Alps by J.L. David as a reminder of Waterloo.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Eugène de Beauharnais Bonbonnière, 1809-1819

This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This mighty fancy candy dish was made between 1809 and 1819. The portrait atop the lid depicts Eugène de Beauharnais, the stepson of Napoleon Bonaparte through his first wife Josephine. Eugène remained a staunch supporter of his step-father, engaging on the Emperor’s behalf in a number of notable battles. Eugène was viceroy of Italy for many years, but following the overthrow of Napoleon, he took refuge in Munich where he died at the age of 43.

The cameo that we see was carved by Giovanni Beltrami (1779-1854) who trained as a stone-cutter under the celebrated Giovanni Pichler. Beltrami was so skilled that he was said to be able to cut twenty figures on a single stone and is known to have created a miniature version of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper on a topaz. Beltrami was favored by a number of European monarchs, but none more so than the Empress of Austria, Elisabeth.

This attractive vessel, in addition to the cameo features a base of pierced and chased gold, and, on the lid, a frame of  pearls, turquoise, agate, enamel, and glass.

Painting of the Day: Princess Alice, 1851

Princess Alice
William Essex, 1851
The Royal Collection

Prince Albert collected miniature paintings of family members which he displayed in his dressing room at Buckingham Palace. Nearly seventy miniatures were arranged in what Albert called “a family tree.”


For their wedding anniversary in 1851, Queen Victoria presented Prince Albert with this miniature oil on copper painting of their third child, Princess Alice. The painting by William Essex is a miniature of a larger portrait by Franz Winterhalter. Victoria called the painting, “a perfect ‘bijou’.”

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II