Stephanie Hannus & Sylvia McArdle/iTV
Try the Crawley family's chicken breasts with caper cream sauce and more recipes inspired by "Downton Abbey."
If you’re a fan of British TV show “Downton Abbey” you probably love seeing the fashion and lifestyle of the 1900s' British characters much as you love following the drama and intrigue. Checking out the food is also one of the most irresistible aspects of the show — especially for writer Emily Ansara Baines.
Baines, author of “The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook," is a big fan of the show and, as a cook, she couldn’t resist the idea of creating recipes based off the British hit.
“Watching the show, they’re [often] eating where the intrigue is happening [and] I always wondered, 'What are they eating?'” Baines told TODAY.com.
The book features more than 150 recipes spanning the show’s two seasons as well as the 2011 Christmas special.
Aiming to be as historically accurate as possible to avoid riling fans (including herself), Baines took over s months to craft the recipes. She spent most of that time in the library researching the time period and studying old menus, cookbooks and eating etiquette guides.
Only a few of the recipes, most notably the Christmas ones, can be seen in the actual show but everything is inspired by the time period and includes interesting notes about the food’s history and etiquette tips. Baines also took the time to modernize the methods used in each recipe so fans will only feel like they’re living in Downton Abbey when they’re eating -- and not like they’re working in the kitchens with Downton’s cook Mrs. Patmore!
This isn't Baines' first foray into recreating food from pop culture -- she's also the author of “The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook.” So how did the Downton project compare?
“This was more difficult," Baines said. "I had to go through the episodes to see the food, but it would just be meat with gravy and not very specific,” Baines said, adding that 'The Hunger games' cookbook was easier to develop becuase the book was more descriptive about the meals.
While new episodes of “Downton Abbey” Season 3 already started airing in the U.K. on Sept. 16, American fans have to wait until January to return to the lives of the fascinating upstairs and downstairs residents. To hold yourself over, try some of these delicious dishes before returning to the big house.
Stephanie Hannus & Sylvia McArdle
Crunchy Fig and Bleu Cheese Tarts
As any experienced chef would know, bleu cheese brings out the sweet taste of figs like no other ingredient. Thus, Mrs. Patmore would bake these delicious hors d’oeuvres that are simultaneously sweet and tart. Eaters beware, however: Nothing is as tart as the Crawley sense of humor!
Yields 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
Pastry
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
Walnut crunch
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Figs
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 fresh figs, halved lengthwise and stems removed
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup sweet port
- 6 ounces Stilton bleu cheese, crumbled, room temperature
- Honey to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out puff pastry sheet on a clean, lightly-floured surface. Place puff pastry sheet in a well-greased baking pan and then place another sheet pan on top of puff pastry to prevent it from rising too much. Bake puff pastry in preheated oven (with sheet pan still on top) for 5–8 minutes or until beginning to turn golden. Remove and set aside.
To make walnut crunch: In a medium-sized skillet, stir honey, sugar, butter, cinnamon, and salt over medium heat until butter melts. Cook mixture until it boils and reaches a deep golden brown, about 3–5 minutes. Stir in cream, followed by walnuts. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, then pour out over a sheet of heavy foil. Let cool completely, then chop walnut crunch into small pieces
To prepare figs: Mix sugar, water, and salt in a heavy skillet over medium heat until sugar is evenly moist, adding more water if needed. Cook mixture until sugar turns golden, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Place figs cut-side down in sugar mixture. Cook figs until they begin to release juice. Immediately add butter, swirling skillet to melt. Remove from heat and add port. Let figs marinate in port mixture for 5–10 minutes before removing figs to a plate to cool. Once again bring syrup to a boil, whisking until smooth. Cool completely.
Using a 2- to 3-inch pastry cutter, cut outrounds of semi-baked puff pastry. Divide walnut mixture among rounds, then top with fig halves, cut-side up. Bake tartlets in preheated oven (still at 350 degrees F) for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Artfully arrange cheese on top of tartlets, followed by the sweet port syrup. Drizzle with honey and serve.
Suggested pairings: If you choose to serve this dish as a dessert rather than as an appetizer, try pairing these pastries with a delicious yet full-bodied dessert wine such as a Riesling, Moscato, or Chianti. Be careful, however, Moscato can be an especially sweet wine, and depending on the brand can easily overpower, rather than complement, the bleu cheese.
Stephanie Hannus & Sylvia McArdle
Crawley Family Chicken Breasts with Caper Cream Sauce
This dish combines the Edwardian love for capers/salty appetizers in a fancy entrée. As this is a relatively inexpensive yet still elegant dish to offer, this would be a staple for dinners at Downton Abbey when no guests are present.
Yields 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons lemon pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh dill
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 clove garlic, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
Thoroughly season chicken breasts with lemon pepper, sea salt, black pepper, dill, and garlic powder. Then marinate chicken breasts for at least 2 hours in lemon juice. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sugar, and sauté for 5 minutes. Then place breasts in skillet and increase heat to medium-high. Turn chicken frequently until brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook breasts for 5–7 minutes or until breasts are cooked through.
Remove chicken, cover with foil, and keep warm. Increase heat to high, and whisk in wine and heavy cream. Whisk until mixture is reduced to a sauce like consistency, about 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat, then stir in capers. Pour sauce over chicken breasts and serve.
Suggested pairings: For a different — yet nonetheless caper-filled — sauce, Mrs. Patmore could serve these chicken breasts with a Cajun remoulade sauce. This remoulade sauce includes mayonnaise, anchovies, capers, mustard, herbs, and pickles.
Stephanie Hannus & Sylvia McArdle
Yorkshire Pudding
Yorkshire Pudding was an excellent and affordable way to “fill up” on a meager budget. Often, Yorkshire Pudding was served before a less-than-filling meal as a way to stave off hunger.While not enjoyed by the upper crust, Yorkshire Pudding — along with a side of jam or cream — is the kind of snack Mr. Mason would serve to Daisy during her after-Christmas visit.
Yields 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the dry mixture, then pour in the milk, whisking thoroughly. Beat in eggs one at a time. Pour dry mixture into a blender, then add water. Blend until the mixture is light and frothy. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, covered.
Let batter warm up to room temperature before using. While batter warms up, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place butter in a 9x12-inch baking pan in oven and cook until sizzling, at least 5 minutes. Pour the batter over the melted butter and bake for 30 minutes or until the sides have risen and are golden brown. Cut into 6–8 portions and serve immediately.
Times gone by: The history behind this dish is long and storied. When wheat became a viable option for cooking cakes and other batter-related dishes, cooks up in Northern England, fans of the “waste not, want not” philosophy, developed a way to use the fat drippings from roasting meat to make a batter pudding. The Yorkshire Puddings served at Downton Abbey were flatter than they are today, though the Royal Society of Chemistry issued a proclamation that a Yorkshire Pudding was not a true Yorkshire Pudding if it was less than 4 inches tall. While the following recipe does not use beef drippings, beef drippings can easily be substituted for the butter.
(Recipes and excerpts from "The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook: From Lady Mary's Crab Canapés to Mrs. Patmore's Christmas Pudding — More Than 150 Recipes from Upstairs and Downstairs" (F+W Media, September 2012) By Emily Ansara Baines.)
TODAY.com producer Lisa Granshaw really wants to bake some of the Dowager Countess's Dark Chocolate Truffles while wearing a "Free Bates" T-shirt.
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