“The supper consisted of a roast pheasant garnished with Corsican blackbirds; a boar’s ham with jelly, a quarter of a kid with tartar sauce, a glorious turbot, and a gigantic lobster. Between these large dishes were smaller ones containing various dainties. The dishes were of silver, and the plates of Japanese china.”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
½ tablespoon butter ⅓ cup currant jelly Few grains cayenne ¼ cup Sherry wine 1 cup cold cooked ham, cut in small strips Put butter and currant jelly into the chafing-dish. As soon as melted, add cayenne, wine, and ham; simmer five minutes.
Sources: The passage is from Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Farmer, The Boston cooking-school cook book of 1896, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — teal cloth, boar stamp.