'To roast a turkey in the genteel way'
To roast a turkey or fowl to perfection
Bone them, and make a force-meat thus: take the flesh of a fowl, cut it small, then take a pound of veal, beat it in a mortar, with half a pound of beef-suet, as much crumbs of bread, some mushrooms, truffles and morels cut small, a few sweet-herbs and parsley, with some nutmeg, pepper, and salt, a little mace beaten, some lemon-peel cut fine; mix all these together, with the yolks of two eggs, then fill your turkey, and roast it. Let your sauce be good gravy, with mushrooms, truffles and morels in it: then garnish with lemon,
In addition to this glorious-sounding turkey, the table was likely to be laden with mince pies, both sweet and savoury, a chine of beef, salads of sweet-herbs, green peas in cream, braised celery or endive, roasted potatoes, cabbage stewed in butter (but 'retaining its crispness'), followed by plumb-pudding, a lemon pudding and a gooseberry pie. Both white and red wine would be on the table; the white probably English or German, and the red French. If you had a spare corner left, sugared almonds and little pieces of Hannah's broken up chocolate bars could be had with your heavy Port.
May your Christmas be as perfect as this sounds.
