My daughter and I have always had a strong interest in Scottish history. More so, after her discovery that we descend in a round about way from the line of Stuarts. We couldn't wait for the new movie about Queen Mary to make it to our little town. I decorated the dining room for a Scottish Christmas, in plans for a special dinner featuring the foods from the time of King Henry VIII and the cousins, Mary and Elizabeth I.
Just above this post, you will find a link to the menu booklet I created for this meal. The purpose was to attempt to inspire Miss Phoebe to become a little bit interested in incorporating history with food and tablescaping! I am the tablescaper; my daughter is the food historian; Phoebe has become interested in cooking and setting pretty tables. If we can create more interest in history (which she currently says is boring), we will have succeeded!
We do ... what we do ... for this pretty young lady.
The movie finally arrived in January! The Christmas decorations were all about the plaid tartans! Douglass is our clan, but I was happy to add any tartan pattern I could find!
Here are a couple views of the composed centerpiece ... set on the end of the table! I frequently use books in stacking centerpiece compositions! This time I added some vintage books.
The place settings were perfect for this theme.
Johnson Bros. Brookshire China on a plaid charger!
The menu was taken from a variety of cookbooks featuring recipes from the era of Henry VIII and Tudor times. I also used several websites featuring favorite foods of Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots and King James II.
The most important part of the menu is always to initiate conversation! I certainly did that!
At first, Phoebe said she couldn't eat mustard sauce on an egg! She gobbled it up and asked for another one!
Phoebe loves noodles, so I knew that adding noodles to a thick vegetable soup ... would make her taste it! She loved it.
While history tells us that Kim James II loved lots of vegetables in his salads ... as many as 35 different things ... I kept our salad simple! Marinated artichoke hearts over spinach leaves and parmesan cheese! ... also favorites of Phoebe's!
I love the presentation of a whole game hen! Game was standard fare on the Tudor menu. This got a "I can't possibly eat this whole thing," from Phoebe. She was, of course, correct! None of the 3 of us could eat the whole thing.
Son-in-law had gone to Minnesota ice fishing, so we three girls had a perfect excuse to have our special meal!
We had short history lesson ... and a long meal! The perfect way to spend a Saturday night in January!
I'll share this with a couple blog parties, so make sure you click through to see the other posts!
