You Are Invited To Downton Abbey!
Full disclosure: I consider “Downton Abbey” to be one of the best TV series of all time, right up there with “Mad Men”, “Game Of Thrones”, “Seinfeld” and “The Office.”
As part of my “Dinner And A Movie” series, I decided to cook Downton-style, and I had just the cookbooks to help me!
The “Unofficial” Downton Abbey Cookbook!
First thing about this book, as you can see, the cover goes to great lengths to point that that this is not an officially sanctioned cookbook, but it’s still a terrific collection of recipes that evoke the “Downton Abbey” era – with dishes from both “Upstairs” and “Downstairs” – yes, the staff would have traditional fare like “Toad In The Hole” and “Bubble And Squeak”, while the family upstairs in the formal dining room would feast upstairs on “Squab with Fig Foie Gras” and “Lobster Newburg”, which is described this way in the cookbook:
“This modern and spicy entree would be different from what most Edwardians would expect – just like Lady Sybil’s own personality!”
Jessie Brown Findlay played Lady Sybil Crawley, a free spirit who fell in love with the family Chauffeur – spicy indeed!
Time to see if we can match it!
Sybil’s Seafood Newburg!
So that’s the recipe as presented in the cookbook, let’s get this “Dinner And A Movie” feast going!
“Spicy” Indeed!
The key to the color and richness of this dish is the Paprika, so I brought out the authentic stuff that Alex and I bought in Budapest last fall…along with three of my favorites: garlic, garlic and garlic!
The first step is making the roux for the sauce…I combined my garlic along with shallots and butter and sautéed them in a pan:
I added my Paprika, which was mixed with curry powder, nutmeg and flour, and added the two together, also adding tomato paste, sherry, etc as the recipe states…once I had my Roux smooth, I added the rest of the liquid to give it a smoothness and body…
Time For The Lobster!
Next up, time to prepare the seafood that will go in this dish, beginning with these Lobster Tails…I also added Shrimp AND Scallops as well!
While the recipe called for boiling the seafood, I chose to put it all raw in the sauce – except for the Scallops, which I seared in butter over high heat for several minutes to give them color:
Add all of the seafood to the sauce and let it simmer until the Lobster and Shrimp are cooked – meanwhile, make some buttered noodles to ready:
The last touch: ladle a lot of that rich seafood sauce over the noodles and add a sprinkle of fresh parsley – and guess what? It’s time for a feast!
Well, I loved the rich decadence of the sauce – real Hungarian Paprika just can’t be beat – and virtually ANYTHING over butter noodles is. a winner for me!
There’s my “Dinner And A Movie” recipe from the “Unofficial Downtown Abbey” Cookbook – I plan to dig in and try a few other recipes as well…
Recently I shared this recipe for a “Pasta Pie!”
It’s the “Timpano” made in the terrific film “Big Night” – and you can see the entire recipe by clicking on the story here:
And if you wan to know how to make “Goodfellas Garlic”, then do I have the recipe for you:
I previously shared the meatball recipe from “Goodfellas”, which included the legendary “Goodfellas Garlic” process as shown here by the great character Actor Paul Sorvino – see it here:
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Let me know if you are going to try this Seafood Newburg recipe!
Categories: Action Films, Art, Books / Media, British Cinema, cookbooks, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Food, food blog, Food Review, Great Films, Movies, Pop Culture, Recipes, Talent/Celebrities, Wacky Food
The show was my #1. I can still hum the opening music. I must see the movie! Better yet, watch it along with your seafood dinner. I might cut down on the spices. Thanks, John.
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It really wasn’t too spicy at all, but any “cream and seafood” over pasta dish is perfect for me! Thanks for commenting as always!
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Yes, perfect for me too!
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Yummy.. That looks and sounds delicious, John…I love Downton Abbey 😊x
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Newburg looks like a wonderful rich and delicious treat
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It was fun to make! Thanks for reading!
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Ps do you still have corn?
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HA! My Wife actually told me last week I have to cook the one last can and post about it – to make my year of “Corn-tine” complete! We got locked down in mid-March so I guess it’s on the way! Any requests?
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Yay! Corn ice cream?
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OK! You are on!
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Wow! Now I must have some scallops!
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Yes, seared scallops are the best!
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This recipe looks soooo good, just like the show. I too brought paprika back from Budapest when we visited a few years ago. We can get very good paprika here in Spain too. On my shelf, I have sweet, spicy and smoked paprika.
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I wish I had bought more when there, but ordered some online so I use it so much more now than I ever did before! Thanks for commenting, always so great to hear from you!
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John, that meal does look delicious. But I would probably choose the ‘Toad in the hole’ from the servants’ menu. It’s one of my favourite Englsh dinners! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, I’mm going to make one soon – it was made on the “Travels By Narrowboat” TV show and now I’m hooked on it! I promise to share!
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This is a most delicious looking dish. I love paprika, it gives a lovely meaty flavour. I may reduce the garlic a tad though.
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Reduce the garlic, Robbie? Say it isn’t so! As you may know, I am hoked on it! Thanks for commenting!
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Haha, John, I am not as big a fan as you are.
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Robbie, I’m not sure ANYONE IS!
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I loved the show, and the food looks soooo good!
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It really was!
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