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Richard Wright
 
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On 10 Mar 2005 19:33:06 -0500, (Lee Rudolph) wrote:

>Richard Wright > writes (both at >>> and
>at > level):
>...
>>>>Mid 19th century in US? What's the source? The Oxford English
>>>>Dictionary does not record the phrase in the USA until 1939:
>>>>
>>>>1937 America's Cook Bk. 180. "Lobster or shrimp cocktail . . . Chill
>>>>thoroughly and serve in cocktail glasses."

>...
>
>I have a precitation for that (below), which I shall take care
>to forward to the OED.
>
>...
>>That's a proper 'cocktail' recipe, certainly. I made a mistake when I
>>typed". . . in the USA until 1939". Should have been 1937, the date of
>>the OED citation.
>>
>>No details of the recipe given, but 'shrimp cocktail' is on a
>>suggested menu in "Mrs. Allen on Cooking, Menus, Service" by Ida C.
>>Baily Allen [Doubleday:New York] 1924.

>...
>
>The 1932 edition of "Mrs. Allen on Cooking, Menus, Service",
>reissued under the title "Ida Bailey Allen's Modern Cookbook",
>has a recipe for "Lobster, Shrimp, or Crabmeat Cocktail" in
>the "Savoury Cocktails" section of the chapter on "Foods that
>Begin a Meal".
>

<snipped>

At the risk of turning this thread into a "my citation's earlier than
your citation", I have found the following from 1931 (since the Allen
book goes back to at least 1924 I don't expect my claim to last long):
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"Lightning Cookery" by Countess Morphy. London: Country Life Ltd 1931.
Pages 15-16.

Prawn Cocktail

Ingredients: This can be made with either prawns, lobster or crab. For
4 people: 1/2 a pint of fresh prawns, 1 lettuce, equal parts of
mayonnaise, cream and Heinz's Tomato ketchup, a dash of brandy,
(optional).

Method: Wash and pick the lettuce in the usual way, and keep a few
small white leaves from the heart for decoration. Dry the other leaves
in a cloth and chop them finely. Place 1 tablespoonful of these in a
champagne glass, then add a few shelled prawns, or lobster or crab cut
in small pieces, and pour over this the mayonnaise, fresh cream and
tomato ketchup, which have been thoroughly blended in a basin with a
little salt and pepper, and a dash of brandy. Decorate each glass with
a few of the small leaves from the heart of the lettuce. Time: 25
minutes.
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