Schlesinger Library

Plate 2 from Modern Cookery for Private Families

Receipt for Baked Irish Stew
Fill a brown upright Nottingham jar with alternate layers of mutton (or beef), sliced potatoes, and mild onions; and put in water and seasoning as above; cover the top closely with whole potatoes (pared), and send the stew to a moderate oven. The potatoes on the top should be well cooked and browned before the stew is served. We have not considered it necessary to try this receipt, which was given to us by some friends who keep an excellent table, and who recommended it much. It is, of course, suited only to a quite plain family dinner. The onions can be omitted when their flavour is not liked.Recipe from Modern Cookery for Private Families reduced to a system of easy practice, in a series of carefully tested receipts, in which the principles of Baron Liebig and other eminent writers have been as much as possible applied and explainedby Eliza Acton, London, 1864, p. 243.
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Schlesinger Library had a visit from Carme Ruscalleda, owner/founder/chef of the eponymous restaurant Sant Pau in Sant Pol de Mar, Catalonia, Spain, and of Sant Pau Tokyo. Ruscalleda and head chef Jérôme Quilbeuf, who are at Harvard to lecture on caramelization in Harvard’s Science and Cooking course (http://seas.harvard.edu/cooking), came to get acquainted with Schlesinger’s rich historical resources on food. Ruscalleda is the only woman chef in the world to have earned 5 Michelin stars: 3 for the original Sant Pau and 2 for her Tokyo restaurant. She presented a signed copy of her book on the history of the restaurant, CR20: 20 Years of the Sant Pau, issued on the occasion of the restaurant’s 20^th anniversary, to Curator of Books and Printed Materials Marylène Altieri. Three other chef/instructors from the Science and Cooking course have also toured the library and donated their books: Joan Roca (El Celler de Can Roca, Barcelona), Sous-vide cuisine; Ramon Morató, (Aula Chocovic, Gurb, Catalonia) Chocolate; and Carles Tejedor (Via Veneto, Barcelona), Via Veneto.

Photo by Jérôme Quilbeuf, with his permission.