Chapter 2
GATHERINGS WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS
When the Marches and the Laurences have company over, each family may bring different kinds of meals to the table, but no matter what their means, they always show their guests a good time. You can, too, with these Little Women–style ways to bring your favorite people together over picnics, dinner gatherings, and even a Sunday roast.
Cheese, Butter, and Celery Sandwiches
Chicken Salad with Grapes and Almonds
Jo’s Much-Improved Corned Beef
◁ ROAST BEEF PICNIC SANDWICHES
In the nineteenth century, sandwiches were often served at picnics as well as for evening “supper” gatherings. Keep in mind that because the main meal of the day was served in the middle of the day, the evening meal or “supper” would often be quite light, even if company was coming over.
This beef salad sandwich calls for pickles and celery, both of which often appeared on picnic menus in the Marches’ day. Tote it to your next picnic—or serve it cut in quarters at a casual buffet-style gathering.
Makes 4 sandwiches
4 ounces (114 g) deli roast beef, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
1/4 cup (40 g) finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup (40 g) finely chopped tart pickles, such as small gherkins or cornichons
1/4 cup (60 g) mayonnaise
1 tablespoon (11 g) Dijon mustard
Unsalted butter to taste
8 slices white or whole-wheat sandwich bread
1. In a medium bowl, combine the roast beef, celery, onion, pickles, mayonnaise, and mustard and stir to mix well.
2. Butter four slices of bread. Divide and spread the beef mixture atop the four buttered slices. Top with the remaining slices. Cut into halves for picnics or into quarters for buffet-style serving.
CHEESE, BUTTER, AND CELERY SANDWICHES
While the Marches probably enjoyed celery only on special occasions—the veggie was expensive in their time—Laurie would most certainly have offered celery at his party, and maybe even in a cut-glass vase, if he wished to truly indulge his guests (and knowing Laurie, he probably did!). This sandwich showcases celery in an old-fashioned way that’s nevertheless perfect for today’s style of picnics.
Makes 4 sandwiches
Unsalted butter to taste
8 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced crosswise
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
8 thin slices cheddar cheese
1. Butter one side of each slice of bread. Top four of the buttered slices with the sliced celery, dividing the celery evenly and pressing it into the butter to help it stay in place. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Top each celery-topped bread slice with two slices of cheese. Cover the sandwiches with the remaining bread slices, buttered side down. Cut the sandwiches in half diagonally and serve.
The Celery Glass
It’s hard to believe, but in Louisa May Alcott’s time, celery was a delicacy. Well-to-do families would present crisp celery stalks on their dining tables in ornate glass vases (known as a “celery glasses”), much as one might display fresh flowers. Celery would often be enjoyed on its own simply with salt. The most dashing tables would offer individual vessels for salt—known as salt cellars—placed at each setting.
◁ CHICKEN SALAD WITH GRAPES AND ALMONDS
“I can't get any lobsters, so you will have to do without salad today,” said Mr. March, coming in half an hour later, with an expression of placid despair.
“Use the chicken then, the toughness won't matter in a salad,” advised his wife.
“Hannah left it on the kitchen table a minute, and the kittens got at it. I'm very sorry, Amy,” added Beth, who was still a patroness of cats.
Amy’s dinner party for her painter friends hits a few snags—especially when Beth’s kittens get into the chicken the sisters had planned to make into chicken salad. Here’s a simple salad recipe that’s perfect for a gathering like Amy’s. Just be sure to keep any kittens away from the chicken! And don’t worry about the chicken being tough: Roasting and then shredding it as called for here is a lovely way to keep it tender in salads.
Makes 4 servings
11/4 pounds (567 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup (105 g) dried elbow macaroni
1 cup (50 g) seedless red grapes, halved
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, minced (about 1/4 cup [40 g])
3 tablespoons (20 g) slivered almonds
5 tablespoons (74 g) mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and brush them lightly with olive oil. Place the chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish and bake until the internal temperature registers 170°F (77°C) on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to rest until they are cool enough to handle. Using two forks, shred the chicken into bite-size pieces.
3. Meanwhile, cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Rinse under cool running water and drain well.
4. Combine the chicken and macaroni with the grapes, celery, onion, almonds, mayonnaise, and tarragon in a large bowl. Toss to combine and coat everything with the mayonnaise. Refrigerate the salad for 1 to 2 hours before serving to meld the flavors.
CLASSIC ROAST BEEF TENDERLOIN
Roasted meats, especially beef and pork, often appeared on Sunday dinner menus in the time when Little Women took place. If simple roasted meats sound a bit boring for a special day, keep in mind that cooks of the day knew how to dress up a simple roast with sauces and relishes. A few ideas appear in the tip box below.
Beef tenderloin, the most expensive and opulent of beef roasts, would have more likely appeared on the Laurences’ table than on the Marches’. Serve this lavish roast on a special occasion that calls for a fancy dinner.
Makes 4 servings
1 (2- to 21/2-pound [900 to 1135 g]) beef tenderloin roast, trimmed
1 tablespoon (15 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon (1.3 g) dried parsley flakes
Prepared horseradish sauce, for serving
Meg’s Currant Jelly Sauce (opposite page), for serving
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
2. Rub the roast all over with the olive oil. Sprinkle the roast evenly with salt and pepper. Rub the parsley evenly over the roast.
3. Place the roast on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer so that the tip is centered halfway through the roast at its thickest part.
4. Roast until the meat reaches medium-rare doneness (145°F [60°C]), about 40 minutes. Transfer the roast to a carving board. Loosely cover with aluminum foil. Let stand for 15 minutes (this allows the meat’s juices to redistribute for a moister roast).
5. Carve the roast into 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) slices. Serve with horseradish and currant jelly sauce.
Relishes for Roast Beef
Serving the beef tenderloin with both currant jelly sauce and horseradish makes for a great contrast of sweet and hot. Want more ideas? These sauces and condiments were also served with roast beef in the 1800s, and they’re as tasty alongside the dish today as they were in Laurie’s time:
Chili sauce
Currant jelly
Dressed cabbage (what we call coleslaw today)
Pickles
Made mustard (the old-fashioned term for prepared mustard)
Cranberry sauce
Mango chutney
MEG’S CURRANT JELLY SAUCE
"It was too bad to laugh at the poor little jelly pots. Forgive me, dear. I never will again!"
But he did, oh bless you, yes, hundreds of times, and so did Meg, both declaring that it was the sweetest jelly they ever made, for family peace was preserved in that little family jar.
Early on in her marriage to John Brooke, when Meg tries and fails to make her first batch of currant jelly, the minor domestic disaster leads to the couple’s first major argument. However, they reconcile, and in the end the jelly fiasco enhances their affection for and understanding of each other.
It’s no wonder Meg wanted to make pots and pots of currant jelly—the preserves appeared frequently on tables in her day. Melted and poured from a sauceboat, it most often accompanied mutton and venison, but it was also served with other roasted meats. Add a touch of Dijon mustard and some salt and pepper and you will find this a custom well worth reviving. It goes especially well with roast pork, beef, and turkey.
Makes 1/2 cup
(enough for servings of meat dish)
1/2 jar (6 ounces [170 g]) red currant jelly
1 tablespoon (11g) Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch ground black pepper
1. Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil and the sauce is smooth.
2. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Pour the jelly into a small pitcher to pass warm at the table.
Bill of Fare for a Little Women Dinner Party
Assorted crackers and cheeses, including a Vermont Cheddar
Classic Roast Beef Tenderloin (opposite)
Pink and White Ice Cream Dessert
JO’S MUCH-IMPROVED CORNED BEEF
“Well, they can eat beef and bread and butter, if they are hungry, only it’s mortifying to have to spend your whole morning for nothing,” thought Jo, as she rang the bell half an hour later than usual, and stood, hot, tired, and dispirited, surveying the feast spread before Laurie, accustomed to all sorts of elegance.
The day of Jo’s ill-fated dinner for Laurie, about the only dish that did turn out well was the corned beef, and that should tell you something about how easy corned beef is to cook! The only trick? According to Mrs. Cornelius (the author of Meg’s trusty cookbook), “The goodness of corned beef depends much on its being boiled gently and long.” This recipe relies on that good advice. The simple sauce harks back to the custom of serving fruit preserves with savory meats.
Makes 4 servings
1 (3-pound [1360 g]) boneless corned beef brisket, with spice packet
1/2 cup (160 g) apricot preserves
2 tablespoons (22 g) Dijon mustard
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Sprinkle the brisket all over with the spices in the packet. (If your brisket was already rubbed with the spices, skip this step.)
3. Place the brisket, fat side up, in a large oven-safe Dutch oven and cover with cold water. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring the water to a simmer (do not boil). Cover the pot and slide it into the oven. Bake until the meat is tender, about 2 1/2 hours.
4. Just before the meat is done, combine the preserves and mustard in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture is smooth and just comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
5. Remove the brisket from the pot and drain well; slice off any fat on the top of the brisket and discard. Slice the meat across the grain. Serve, passing the apricot-mustard sauce at the table.
Bill of Fare for Jo’s Corned Beef Dinner
Jo’s Shellfish Relish (opposite)
Jo’s Much-Improved Corned Beef (above)
Blanc-Mange and (sugared, not salted!) Strawberries
JO’S SHELLFISH RELISH
“Oh, there’s corned beef and plenty of potatoes, and I shall get some asparagus and a lobster, ‘for a relish,’ as Hannah says.” —Jo
It may seem odd to today’s readers that the impoverished March family would get a lobster for their dinner with Laurie. However, in Jo’s New England, lobster was a cheap and abundant seafood that the rich fed their servants and the poor fed themselves. Indeed, later in the book, when Amy ventures out to fetch a lobster for her art class party, she is initially mortified when one of Laurie’s friends sees her on her way home with such unrefined food—though of course, being Amy, she charms the young man all the same.
While cookbooks at the time, including The American Frugal Housewife, often offered recipes for serving lobster in a salad, this recipe follows Jo’s lead and makes the shellfish into a kind of relish to spread on crackers. If lobster meat is not easily available—or you simply don’t feel like cooking it—you can use cooked shrimp for a much easier (but still very tasty) relish.
Makes about 1 cup
(6 servings)
2 ounces (57 g) light cream cheese (Neufchâtel)
1 tablespoon (14 g) mayonnaise
11/2 teaspoons seafood cocktail sauce
1 teaspoon (5 ml) fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (20 g) finely chopped red onion
2 teaspoons finely snipped fresh chives
1 cup (170 g) chopped cooked lobster meat or chopped cooked, shelled, and deveined shrimp (see below)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Assorted crackers, for serving
1. Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed for a few seconds, until fluffy. On low speed, beat in the mayonnaise, cocktail sauce, and lemon juice until combined.
2. Stir in the red onion, chives, and lobster or shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with crackers.
FOR LOBSTER: Thaw two 8-ounce (226 g) lobster tails in the refrigerator, if frozen. Bring a large saucepan filled with enough water to cover the lobster tails to a boil. Add the lobster tails, reduce the heat, and simmer until the shells are bright red and the meat is tender and cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes. Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Remove the meat from the shells; discard the shells. Chop the meat into 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) pieces. Pat dry before using.
FOR SHRIMP: Cooked shrimp is widely available both frozen and refrigerated. Thaw 6 ounces (170 g) shelled, cooked, and deveined shrimp in the refrigerator if frozen. Chop into 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) pieces. Pat dry before using.
JO’S MUCH-IMPROVED ASPARAGUS
She boiled the asparagus for an hour and was grieved to find the heads cooked off and the stalks harder than ever.
Poor Jo! As enthusiastic as she was about making dinner for Laurie, nothing went right, including the asparagus, which she boiled for way too long. Had she consulted another cookbook at the time, The American Home Cook Book, authored by “An American Lady,” Jo would have fared a little better: That book specifies boiling the asparagus for 15 to 20 minutes.
Yet by today’s standards, even 15 minutes is too long! To enjoy asparagus at its crisp-tender, spring-green best, boil it for just 3 to 5 minutes. And be sure to trim off and discard the woody stems, which were likely the reason Jo’s spears were so tough. This recipe tells you how.
Makes 4 servings
1 pound (454 g) asparagus
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon (3 g) snipped fresh chives
1. One by one, bend each asparagus spear near the bottom of the stalk until the tough, woody base snaps off; discard the woody base.
2. Put the asparagus spears in a deep 10-inch (25 cm) skillet. Add just enough water to cover the asparagus and season with salt. Bring the water to a boil, then cover the pan, reduce the heat, and cook at a gentle boil until the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well in a colander.
3. Transfer the warm asparagus to a platter. Drizzle the melted butter over the asparagus and sprinkle with the fresh chives to serve.
JO’S LETTUCE SALAD
“We’ll have lettuce and make a salad. I don’t know how, but the book tells.” —Jo
When Jo plans to whip up a salad for the dinner party with Laurie, her cookbook likely offered a recipe for salad served with a dressing made of cooked egg yolks, water, oil, salt, powdered sugar, “made mustard” (that is, prepared mustard, the kind you get in a jar, rather than dry mustard), and vinegar. A kissing cousin to a classic vinaigrette, but with added richness from cooked egg yolks, this dressing (or a variation of it) was among the most common ways to dress salads at the time.
If such simply dressed greens sounds a bit dull, keep in mind that some cookbooks specified using spicy or sharp-flavored greens, such as mustard, watercress, and sorrel, in addition to milder lettuces. Though rare in Louisa May Alcott’s time, arugula makes an easy-to-find contemporary choice for an assertively flavored green. Combine it with lettuce and the tangy-rich dressing, and the salad makes a zippy, refreshing side to stews, roasts, braises, and soups.
Makes 4 servings
1 hard-cooked large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple cider vinegar or white-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon (4 g) Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar or 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 head butterhead lettuce (Boston or bibb), torn into bite-size pieces
2 cups (40 g) baby arugula
1. In a small bowl, use the back of a tablespoon to mash the egg yolk with the salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Add the olive oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, and sugar and whisk until smooth.
2. Toss together the lettuce and arugula in a salad bowl, then divide among four salad plates. Drizzle each salad with the dressing and serve (see Note).
NOTE: Don’t be tempted to toss the salad with the dressing. The cooked egg yolk makes it heaver than vinaigrettes, which means it’s best drizzled over the lettuces rather than tossed with them.
◁ SPICE-TRADE DEVILED EGGS
“[Grandfather] wants me to be an India merchant, as he was, and I’d rather be shot. I hate tea and silk and spices, and every sort of rubbish his old ships bring, and I don’t care how soon they go to the bottom when I own them.” —Laurie
This recipe is inspired by a deviled eggs recipe from a cookbook published in 1869. Are you surprised to see chutney and Sriracha sauce in the list of ingredients? Actually, exotic spices were well known at the time. In fact, Salem, Massachusetts, was a major hub of the spice trade; ships sailed from its port to fetch spices from China, the East Indies, and India.
Laurie might not have been a fan of spices, but cooks at the time used them. The 1869 recipe for deviled eggs called specifically for chutney sauce but mentioned, “In default of chutney sauce, chili vinegar may be employed.”
While Sriracha didn’t arrive on the scene until well over a century later, this thoroughly modern sauce is flavored with hot peppers and vinegar, making it a great option for the “chili vinegar” the original recipe calls for. Serve these warmly spiced deviled eggs at picnic, and potlucks; or, serve late-eighteenth-century style—on a bed of dressed lettuce as a satisfying salad. In that case, Jo’s Lettuce Salad would serve you well.
Makes 12 servings
6 large eggs, hard-cooked and peeled
2 tablespoons (28 g) mayonnaise
1 tablespoon (15 g) Sriracha sauce
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon (15 g) chutney
Paprika, for garnish
Finely snipped fresh flat-leaf parsley or chives, for garnish
1. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks. Put the yolks in a small bowl. Place the egg whites on a deviled egg tray (or slice a very thin piece from the bottom of each egg half to keep them from rolling around on a flat plate).
2. Mash the egg yolks with a fork. Stir in the mayonnaise and Sriracha and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the yolk mixture gently into the whites. Top each egg with about 1/4 teaspoon of chutney and sprinkle with paprika and snipped fresh parsley. Serve.