7 Quotes by Janet Gleeson

The shelves were filled with a spectacular array of preserves and pickles as richly colored as jewels. She brushed a finger over the middle row, where bottled fruits were stored, giving a proprietorial glance to jars labeled quince, morello cherry, damson, peach, greengage, grape, and finally plum.

Agnes added the yolks of half a dozen eggs to her stuffing, cracking each one over a small bowl so the white ran into it, then dropping each golden orb into the crumbled mixture, where it gleamed like a small sun. Taking up a long metal spoon, she began to stir the ingredients together, cutting again and again through the mix until it had transformed to a rich yellow-tinged forcemeat.

Still riled, Agnes picked up the calf's head and plunged it into a pot with white wine, lemon pickle, walnut-and-mushroom catsup, an anchovy, a blade of mace, and a bundle of sweet herbs, then set the pot on the stove.

Theodore took his seat between Nicholas and Lydia, while John, the footman, removed the dome lid of the tureen by its acorn finial, and ladled out the almond soup.Theodore's appetite was always formidable, and now he slurped a spoonful, savoring the creamy sweetness, noting that Mrs. Meadowes had expertly prevented the soup from curdling and had seasoned it to perfection with a melange of nutmeg, pepper, bay, and mace.

First course: almond soup, white fricassee, boiled codSecond course: chicken patties, jugged hare, roast venison, oyster loaves, mushrooms, cauliflower pickleDessert: apple tart, orange cream, plums in syrup

As she assembled the stuffing with ingredients Doris had prepared- a pound of bacon fat scraped to beads, the crumbs of two penny loaves, a small nutmeg grated, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and a little grated lemon peel-

Agnes could not count on the fingers of one hand the times she had entered the Blanchards' business premises. Usually she had been sent to borrow extra items of silverware prior to important dinners. Perhaps bowls for sweetmeats or leaf-shaped pickle dishes, or her particular favorite, salt cellars fashioned like muscular sea gods supporting oyster shells- so realistically modeled that every stria of the shell was visible.