In The Royal Manner (4 page)

Other cocktails and aperitifs are usually served before a dinner party – for some specific ideas and recipes, see pages 140 – 141. Gin and tonic, whisky and sherry are customary pre-dinner drinks; the latter can also be served with consommé – a light clear soup – as a first course. Sherry and port served with ice are also becoming quite popular, while a light or sparkling wine is always an excellent choice to offer your guests.

Champagne can be rather expensive, but a cheaper sparkling white wine can be livened up by adding freshly squeezed orange juice to make a Buck's Fizz, or try adding a dash of the blackcurrant liqueur. Cassis, to champagne to make a Kir Royale.

To accompany the meal itself, full-bodied clarets and red wines are served with rich meals, red meat and game, and fruity crisp white wines such as Moselle or Chardonnay to accompany lighter dishes such as fish or chicken. Vintage and good-quality red wine must be opened at least two hours before serving, decanted and allowed to breathe and reach room temperature. Beaujolais, white and rosÉ wines, sparkling wine and champagne should be served chilled. I have suggested a few wines to go with some recipes in this book, which you may find a useful reference.

Make sure there is plenty of iced mineral water available throughout the meal for your guests, and don't forget to cater for those who don't drink alcohol.

You may want to serve a dessert wine with the sweet course, and you should make sure that this is very cold. After the sweet, you may choose to serve port with cheese, biscuits and fruit. The port should be decanted and is traditionally passed clockwise around the table. Other liqueurs aren't really necessary and bottles often sit untouched in cupboards until the next dinner party. If you want to offer something other than port, then brandy is the best alternative.

Coffee and tea are served at the end of the meal, and it is worth remembering that some people prefer decaffeinated or herbal teas – chamomile and peppermint are generally popular. The Princess preferred a brew of grated ginger root steeped in hot water, which has particular cleansing and detoxifying properties, and is good for settling the stomach.

WINE

There is much snobbery attached to wine, and most of us feel out of our depth when presented with a very long wine list or faced with endless rows of bottles in the local wine store. The main thing to bear in mind is that drinking wine should be an enjoyable and pleasurable pastime. Experienced wine-tasters often use terms like ‘bubble gum’, ‘biscuity’, nutty’ and even ‘petrolly’ when describing their favourite vintages, but please don't be alarmed by these descriptive words. Be confident in your own taste and sample different wines, as this way you will learn what is most appealing to
you
and your palette.

As a general rule, wine should look clear. However, older wines especially red varieties may contain sediment and will need decanting before serving. One of the simplest ways to choose the right wine with the particular characteristics that you like is to look at the label and recognize the grape variety.

WHITE WINES

CHARDONNAY An easy variety of grape to grow and one which produces the most popular and fashionable of wines, Chardonnay grapes grow all round the world. Some familiar names might be White Burgundy, Chablis, Meursault and Montrachet. The latter is one of my favourite white wines, and one which is versatile enough to serve throughout a meal. It is often aged in oak barrels and has a distinctive dry, vanilla taste. Serve this crisp, clear wine to accompany richer fish and white meat dishes, or simply enjoy its unique qualities as a pre-dinner aperitif.

GEWÜRZTRAMINER I associate this grape with Germany as
Gewiin
in German means spice, although it is also produced in other countries. The German wine is bottled in tall, brown, slim bottles, and tastes full and fruity. It may be too fruity and sweet for those who prefer the drier Chardonnay. This wine would typically be served at lunches or with the first course at a dinner. Try serving it with the Rosemary Bread Cases with Fennel and Egg Fricassee recipe on page 122, or with the Victorian Dinner on pages 92.

MUSCADET The Muscadet grape lends its name to a classic wine which is grown almost exclusively in the Nantes region of the French Loire Valley. It is very dry, light and crisp with little ‘bouquet’, and it is drunk whilst young. Ideal to accompany plain fish and white meat dishes, or enjoy as an early evening refreshment.

MUSCAT This grape is grown throughout the wine regions of the world and is associated with sweet, sticky, rich after-dinner wines. It should be served as cold as possible to accompany puddings and sweets. The honeyed French Muscats of Beaumes de Venise are probably the most famous example. Perfect to serve with the Tipsy Ratafia Trifle on page 126, or the Pears in Port Wine with Cinnamon Ice Cream on page 97.

RIESLING This sweet wine is bottled similarly to Gewurztraminer. It has a musky aroma and a citrus aftertaste. Serve with plain fish and white meat dishes.

SAUVIGNON BLANC Generally produces a dry, crisp fruity wine with a sharp acidity. Famous examples include the group of French wines Sancerre and Pouilly-FumÉ. Ideal to serve with rich fish and white meat dishes. Try it with the Small Fishcakes with Lemon and Sorrel Sauce on pages 92 – 93.

RED WINES

CABERNET SAUVIGNON Most famous of all red grapes, grown worldwide. The wine produced is medium to full-bodied and inky red in colour. It is an excellent accompaniment to spiced rich red meats with sauces or gravy. The best clarets in the world are made from this grape and the wine is aged in oak barrels for 15 – 20 years. This gives a spicy, vanilla flavour to the wine, The aroma is unmistakably that of blackcurrants. Ideal with the Roast Beef on page 94.

MERLOT Famous in the Bordeaux region of France, well-known Merlot wines include St. Emilion and Pomerol. It is successfully grown in many other regions of the world as well. A wine-taster would describe this wine as having a chocolaty aftertaste, and a perfumed sweet aroma. Perfect served with the Roast Beef.

GAMAY An unfamiliar name perhaps, but a very well-known wine: Beaujolais Nouveau. Light, bubble-gum-flavoured wine which is drunk young. Try serving this chilled with the Crown Roast of Lamb on page 52.

PINOT NOIR This grape produces Red Burgundy, and is full bodied with an aroma of raspberries and strawberries. A perfect complement to most red meat dishes.

SYRAH/SHIRAZ This grape produces a dark, full-bodied, inky wine from northern regions in France, Australia and South Africa. It has a rich plum flavour. In Australia it is called Shiraz. Serve with spiced rich red meat casseroles and stews, or meat dishes with sauces.

CHAMPAGNE

This is
the
celebratory drink and is the most famous wine in the world. It has no rival. It is impressive and ultimately the most stylish drink. Recently, I attended a reception to celebrate the marriage of Asprey & Garrard, the Crown Jewellers, where we were served tiny bottles of champagne with a straw – a novel and very stylish way to serve the drink, and so simply executed.

At a formal dinner party champagne or dessert wine such as Château d'Yquem or Bcaumes de Venise would be served with the sweet dish. Genuine champagne comes from the Champagne region of France and nowhere else. It was the Romans who originally established the vineyards in the chalky soils of this particular corner of France, only 100 miles from Paris. The church continued to tend the vines and a monk called Dom Perignon is widely recognized as the person who invented the champagne cork and cage which traps the bubbles inside the bottle.

Always serve champagne well chilled, and when opening a bottle do not prise the cork, but gently turn the bottle with one hand whilst releasing the cork with the other. Take care as a cork can fly out at a tremendous speed and could seriously injure an unsuspecting guest!

UNCORKING WINE

You will need a sharp knife to cut away the foil or plastic from just below the lip of the bottle before you attempt to remove the cork. The many corkscrew devices on the market mostly use a screw-pull action which is intended to extract the cork whole.

The extraction of a cork from a fine vintage port, claret or wines over seven years old can be more difficult as the corks usually disintegrate. These wines should be filtered through fine muslin into a decanter or claret jug.

DECANTING WINE

Ideally, good-quality red wine should have been stored in a horizontal position to allow the sediment to settle. Therefore I would suggest that you leave the bottle upright, undisturbed, for two days before opening. Gently pull the cork and, using some fine muslin (or a coffee filter paper) and a funnel, slowly pour the contents of the bottle into the decanter or claret jug. If you do this with a light behind the flow of the wine, you will see that as little sediment as possible escapes from the bottle. There should be little waste, although some is inevitable. Once decanted, the wine should be clear, and left to stand for about two hours to reach room temperature.

I prefer clarets and other red wines to be served warmer, as it gives a much richer and fuller flavour to the wine. White, rosÉ, sparkling and dessert wines are generally served chilled (but avoid putting them in a freezer in order to chill them down quickly, as this will alter the taste of the wine). By far the most effective way to cool wine quickly is to put the bottles in buckets of iced water.

MIND YOUR MANNERS, PLEASE

OR, THE ART OF BEING THE PERFECT GUEST

Imagine now that you are going to a party. I have compiled this guide around common etiquette dos and don'ts. Some are more obvious, but others I'm sure will surprise you.

It is advisable to be punctual at an engagement, although it is acceptable to be 10 minutes late, but no more. Traffic and taxis can delay and hamper anyone's arrival though. If you want to take someone with you to the event, it is common courtesy to check with your host beforehand. (If you are hosting a party, and one of your guests brings a friend, there is nothing you can do about it other than to greet them warmly, then address the situation with your inconsiderate guest at a later date.) It is polite to take along a small gift for the host or hostess such as flowers, after dinner chocolates, wine or champagne. I have often found a perfumed candle to be a guaranteed success.

There are a few basic rules which should be observed at any dining table.

•   Unfold your napkin once you are seated and place it on your lap, and use it to wipe your mouth and fingers during the meal. At the end of the meal it is polite to leave the napkin tidily on the place setting – not scrunched up on the floor!

•   The host will always give you a clear indication of when to start the meal. They may begin with a few words of welcome, or Grace, and traditionally the lady sitting on the right of the host is served first, then the rest of the table in a clockwise direction.

•   A knife and fork should be held with the handles in the palm of the hand, forefinger on top, and thumb underneath. Forks should not be turned over unless tackling peas, rice, swectcorn kernels, or suchlike, in which case transfer the fork to the right hand. At an informal meal, buffet or barbecue, it is of course perfectly acceptable to eat with just a fork.

•   It is unwise to use your bread to mop up sauces, although this is customary in other parts of Europe.

•   A sweet can be eaten with a spoon and fork, or just a fork if it is of cake-like consistency.

•   Rest your knife and fork in between mouthfuls by leaning the knife and fork on the edge of the plate. Only when you have finished should you place them side by side in the centre of the plate.

Should your host present a completely inedible dish, I would suggest that the best course of action is to at least make some attempt at disguising your disgust: cut it up and move it around your plate a little – perhaps no one will notice. More obviously slurping, burping, picking teeth and licking fingers are particularly unattractive, although it is acceptable to pick up meat on the bone such as chicken legs and spare ribs. It is the only way to eat them. Have a napkin and finger bowl on standby for messy fingers.

Remember that you haven't been invited to dinner just to eat, the evening would be more enjoyable it you made polite conversation, however small, to those sitting on your right and left, and make sure you give both sides equal attention. Don't talk with your mouth full or sit with your elbows on the table.

AFTER DINNER

Throughout Victorian and Edwardian England, it was customary for the ladies to retire to the drawing room after the dessert had been served. The ladies would then play a card game such as canasta or bridge, and wait for the gentlemen to join them. The men would gather at the end of the dining table and drink brandy and port, smoke, and discuss business and tell stories. This is still common practice m the Royal Household.