Emily Ansara Baines - The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook: From Lady Marys Crab Canapes to Mrs. Patmores Christmas Pudding - More Than 150 Recipes from Upstairs and Downstairs

Emily Ansara Baines is a writer who has worked as a professional baker and caterer throughout the East Coast, most recently in New York City. When Emily isnt busy writing, baking, or trying to learn French, shes watching her favorite series, Downton Abbey, in hopes of one day being as poised and elegant as the ladies of Downton. The author of The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook, Emily currently writes and teaches in Los Angeles, California.

The hors doeuvres, or appetizers, set the scene and subsequently the entire mood of a formal dinner party. Thus, it should come as no surprise that both Mrs. Patmore and the Countess of Grantham would take their hors doeuvres very seriously as would their guests. If the dinner invitation suggested an 8 P.M. dinner, it was expected that guests would arrive a half-hour early so they could take part in idle chitchat and share news while drinking cocktails and munching on these offerings. After all, many an episode of Downton Abbey begins with the Crawleys fighting or insinuating or laughing among themselves as they drink and snack before Carson announces dinner. An entire argument or proposal could occur in the time it would take for the Dowager Countess to finish her caviar.

Hors doeuvres started to become more of an expected and accepted offering in the early to mid 1900s. Indeed, the idea of eating food as a way to whet the appetite started in Russia, where guests partook of caviar, herring, anchovies, and other salty food in a separate room before dinner. Russia was also the birthplace of the Service la Russe (AKA, in the Russian style of dining). While the Earl of Grantham might not like to be associated with Russia, he would not balk at the chance to show off his opulence and his ability to provide not just an extravagant meal but an extravagant array of snacks (expensive caviar and decadent oysters were standard offerings). Sometimes, however, depending on the number of people and the lateness of the hour, hors doeuvres would be served at the dinner table with the guests already seated. But no matter where the hors doeuvres were served, they would be served with Chablis and at Downton Abbey you know theyd also be served with a wry sense of humor and plenty of witty repartee.

As oysters and caviar were the most common appetizers offered before a large meal, the Earl and Countess of Grantham along with their children would know not to eat oysters with their fingers but with a fork. After all, one incorrect move and the Dowager Countess would have a field day complaining about her familys manners.

1 cups unsalted butter

2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 tablespoon minced parsley leaves

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lime juice

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced chives

1 teaspoon minced shallot

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

teaspoon cayenne pepper

25 shucked oysters, half of each shell reserved and washed

1. Mix together all ingredients other than oysters in a large bowl, then place mixture on a piece of plastic wrap, rolling it to form a stiff log. Freeze until firm.
2. Move oven rack to middle of oven. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. Place washed oyster shells on a baking sheet. Top each shell with one oyster. Remove the butter log from the freezer and unwrap, slicing it into 25 rounds. Place each round on top of an oyster.
4. Put oysters in oven and cook about 1015 minutes until they are cooked through, curled around the edges with bubbling butter. Do not overcook. To test for doneness, tap oyster shell. If hollow-sounding, then the oyster is done.

In the decade preceding World War I, Lady Jeune, Baroness St. Helier, a well-known socialite and self-proclaimed modern woman, revolted against what she saw as extravagance and outdated customs. She proclaimed, No dinner should consist of more than eight dishes: soup, fish, entre, joint, game, sweet, hors doeuvres, and perhaps an ice; but each dish should be perfect of its kind. Luckily, this dish counts as an hors doeuvre and makes the cut!

A more modern appetizer that the Dowager Countess would both detest for its modernity and enjoy for its taste, this is a take on the better known dessert mousses and jellies. However, we can rest assured that Mrs. Patmore would not offer this modern mousse on the night that the Dowager Countess first meets Matthew Crawley the dear Dowager Countess is in a bad enough mood already.

Unsalted butter for greasing mold

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

cup cold water

cup boiling water

cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 drops hot sauce

teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups poached salmon, flaked into minute pieces