The Grand Dining Room

After talking with Brian today, he is set to build me a sub-basement for the manor.  I decided there needed to be bedrooms for Aoife, Reginauld, and a newcomer (who will be revealed at a later date) since they are needed to manage the household.  Other servants will be hired from the village.  So the sub-basement will house two bedrooms, a hall and a butler's pantry.  The basement will house the wine cellar, servant's hall, kitchen and a bedroom.  All the bedrooms will have their own bathroom (a novel idea back in the late 1800s early 1900s, but what the heck!).  I've set a monumental task for this basement!

So while I'm dreaming away at what the basement will hopefully become, I worked on some details in the Grand Dining Room.  I was thinking of grand chairs for the host and hostess so I made one of the two kits I ordered (see the big red chair in the photo below), but I decided they're just too big for this room.  One would hide the china hutch and the other the French doors.

See it there hogging all the space?!

So I opted instead to build the same chairs as the ones already at the table, except the arm chair version . . .

Arm chairs and a regular chair from the dining room made from
House of Miniatures kits.

And here they are stained and varnished with red velvet seat cushions.
The varnish was still a tad wet, but I'm an impatient crafter.

I had ordered two Chrysnbon china sets and yesterday I set about prepping them and then painting the edges with silver metallic paint.  The laser cut placemats are from Jeannetta Kendall Miniatures on ebay.  I think I have the silver settings wrong, they should be reversed, so at some point I'll have to rearrange them so they meet Grand Dining Room standards.  The pink champagne glasses are from Global Miniatures on Etsy.

I still need to add water and sherry glasses (on order from Global Miniatures on Etsy) and a big, beautiful Victorian center piece.  Oh . . . and food!

Won't you take a seat?  Dinner is being served.

First course will be Queen Victoria's Brown Windsor Soup . . .

Queen Victoria's Brown Windsor Soup
Serves 4

The very soup reputed to have built the British Empire and one that was oh-so-fashionable in Victorian and Edwardian times!  This soup was served daily, until recently, in the dining cars of British Rail.  This classic hearty soup was also very popular at the castle (Windsor) in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Queen Victoria was particularly fond of it, and it regularly appeared on state banquet menus.  However, this recipe has not had very good press over recent years - drab tinned brands and indifferent, greasy soups served in some lower end restaurants have given it a bad culinary name!  However, this authentic recipe is from Windsor in Berkshire, England - home to the Royal Windsor Castle.  A rich and hearty soup, this makes a meal in itself when served with crusty bread, scones or bread rolls.

13 Ingredients

Meat ~ 1/4 lb lamb, 1/4 lb stewing beef

Produce ~ 1 carrot, 1 medium onion, 1 parsnip

Canned Goods ~ 4 cups good beef stock

Pasta and Grains ~ 1/2 cup cooked rice

Baking & Spices ~ 1/4 tsp chili power,

2 tbsp flour, 1 tsp salt and pepper

Dairy ~ 2 tbsp butter
1 Bouquet Garni

1/4 cup Madeira wine

Directions

1. Cut the lam and beef into 1 inch cubes and roll in the flour.
2. Place the butter in a large saucepan over a low to medium heat.
3. Fry the meat for 3 minutes and then add the rest of the flour and fry for a minute longer until the butter/flour is golden brown.
4. Add the sliced vegetables and stir in the stock.  Throw in the Bouquet Garni, partially cover the saucepan and simmer for 2 hours.
5. Puree the soup before adding the cooked rice if using.  Serve the soup piping hot with assorted breads and rolls.
6. Traditionally a tablespoon of Madeira would be stirred into the soup at the table.

The above information, recipe and picture are from Food.com

An evening of fine dining in the Grand Dining Room of Pennethorne Manor . . .

One of the new chairs in position in front of the French doors.
These are much better suited to the room.

That was a fine dinner with excellent conversation.  Shall we withdraw to the parlor for a game of Bridge?