Just in time for the second film version of Downton Abbey, The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook is here to help us reach new heights of fandom – by making dishes inspired by the series and movies. Read this review of the cookbook and see how the dishes came out for our real-life home chef. Then give a simple, but delicious, recipe a try before heading out to the theater!
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Review: The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook
Way back when, while impatiently waiting for one of the new seasons of Downton Abbey to start, I came across Emily Ansara Baines’ cookbook, The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook, at a local library and instantly checked it out. I was eager to take my fangirling to a whole new level and into my kitchen. Strolling through the pages, I saw elegant dish titles cleverly personified with the names of Downton Abbey characters, such as “Alfred’s Ritz Approved Vichyssoise” and “Nothing Makes You Hungrier Than Grief Apple Tart.” However, none were as appealing to my meat and potatoes palette quite like the “Classic Cornish Pasty.” This recipe quickly became my reliable go-to dish to celebrate (Meghan and Harry’s wedding) or mourn (the series finale of Downton Abbey) British-themed events. The meat pie crust is both sturdy enough to be hand-held but buttery and flaky enough to perfectly complement the savory meat and potato filling. Though humble in origin, I would serve this to the snootiest British aristocrat without a second thought.
But what about the rest of the recipes? Fast forward about four years to the present day when my palette has expanded, the Downton Abbey movie is being released in a week, and I find myself in possession of this cookbook once more. I decided to try my hand at making at least four of the eight courses of recipes offered (that’s right, you could host your own eight-course meal from this book if you really wanted to torture yourself), as well as one more from the “Sustenance for the Staff” section of the book from which the delightful Cornish pasties came. The dishes I chose were: “Mushroom Barley Soup,” “Lady Sybil’s Poached Salmon with Creamy Hollandaise Sauce,” “Crawley Family Chicken Breasts with Caper Cream Sauce,” and “Sir Anthony’s Apple Charlotte.”
Used with permission of the publisher, Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.”
Overall, my impressions of the recipe instructions were as such:
- Never have I used so much butter and dill in my life.
- It may have been the recipes I chose, but I was able to use many of the same ingredients (i.e., butter, dill, lemons, cream, potatoes) across the dishes, which helped consolidate my grocery list and expedite food preparation.
- The introductions to each recipe, which included a brief story about how a Downton Abbey character hypothetically would have enjoyed the dish, were cute, but in some instances I wished more time were spent explaining how the dish should look at certain points in the cooking process (e.g., when was the sauce thick enough, how fine did the bread crumbs need to be).
- To that point, the expanded edition of this cookbook boasts it includes “stunning photography,” but the photos were few and far between and more would have been helpful. Therefore, I would say this cookbook is not meant for the first-time chef as you need to have a foundational knowledge of certain cooking techniques that are not described in this book’s recipes.
Though there may be some obstacles to creating this dishes depending on your level of expertise, the finished products I obtained with my intermediate level of expertise were delicious.
The Mushroom Barley Soup is a surprisingly hearty vegetarian dish that was incredibly easy to make (throw it all in the pot!) and holds up as deliciously reheated leftovers for lunch. Though marketed as one of the first course dishes, you can easily make it a meal by modern standards.
Mushroom Barley Soup.
Similarly, Lady Sybil’s Poached Salmon with Creamy Hollandaise Sauce is a light but filling seafood dish, probably thanks to the two sticks of butter in the sauce. Be sure to allow yourself enough time to make the hollandaise sauce, either prior to poaching the salmon or by making ahead a day before. While slowly adding one pat of butter at a time into the sauce, I found myself wondering, “How the heck could Lady Sybil make this if she couldn’t make tea?!”
Lady Sybil’s Poached Salmon with Creamy Hollandaise Sauce.
On to our main dish: Crawley Family Chicken Breasts with Creamy Caper Sauce. The chicken dish required marinating with dill and lemon for at least two hours prior; if you are not a dill fan, I recommend using a bit less than the recipe suggests. However, the marinade helped produce juicy chicken breasts with golden-seared edges. I reheated the leftovers in a skillet the next day, both chicken and sauce, and this dish was even better the second time around; the sauce created a caramelized, crisp coating and balanced out the prominent flavor of dill.
Crawley Family Chicken Breasts with Creamy Caper Sauce from the Downton Abbey Cookbook.
Rounding out my humble four course meal was Sir Anthony’s Apple Charlotte. Embrace the three sticks of butter that will grace this one dish, and know you will be entering cinnamon-apple heaven. I love desserts that are cooked in cast iron skillets, and you can happily add this one to the list. The outer edges had a sugary crust, while the inside of the dessert was buttery and gooey. I was surprised to find that, similar to bread pudding, this recipe utilized a “loaf of French bread, shredded into crumbs.” The one issue I had with this cookbook arose here; the picture of the finished product appeared to show rather large pieces of bread in the dish, while the recipe called for crumbs. I compromised by tearing small pieces of bread, about the size of croutons. Consequently, I unfortunately was not able to serve the dish in clean-cut pieces as the picture showed and instead served tasty mounds of cinnamon apple croutons. The flavor did not at all seem compromised by this issue, but my dish-presentation ego was. At least it was free of salt (sorry, Sir Anthony).
Sir Anthony’s Apple Charlotte.
Overall, The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook, is a great addition to your collection of cookbooks and Downton Abbey fandom. The sample of recipes I cooked held up pretty well in the taste and presentation departments, and it was fun to put myself in the shoes of Mrs. Pattmore, Daisy, and Ivy. I fully appreciate the level of work they put into each dish, day in and day out. Now, who wants takeout? — Review and photos, except where noted, by Claire McD.
Classic Cucumber Sandwich
No tea party is complete without this classic finger food. If the Countess of Grantham had tea without this delicacy, she would likely raise many an eyebrow—especially one belonging to her mother-in-law. However, if the Crawleys realized just how common the ingredients were, they might not feel so pleased with these treats.
Cucumber Sandwiches. Photo courtesy Simon & Schuster.
Yields 10–12 Sandwiches
Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
24 slices white bread
12 sprigs dill, for garnish
Method:
- Blend cream cheese and mayonnaise in a blender until smooth, scraping down sides and blending thoroughly.
- Combine cream cheese mixture with cucumber, garlic salt, white pepper, and chopped dill. Spread mixture on top of twelve white bread slices, and garnish with dill sprigs. Cover with other bread slices to form sandwiches. Cut and discard crusts from bread, then cut sandwiches into quarters.
Times Gone By
Legend has it that one of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting is the creator of afternoon tea. Knowing the Queen felt hungry around four p.m. and perhaps fretted before dinner, her lady-in-waiting started the trend of serving tea with a few breadstuffs. Soon, teatime had taken hold of England.
Excerpted from The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook, Expanded Edition by Emily Ansara Baines. Copyright © 2012, 2014, 2019 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
Read this review of Downton Abbey: A New Era on our sister site.
Hungry for more? After you’ve thrown a Downton gathering, featuring recipes from this cookbook, consider throwing a Limoncello Party with these tips. Or, enjoy the recipes from this cookbook, about Istanbul.
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