November 09

Edward VII's Birthday
 

Edward VII (1st row right) and  his family

Edward VII (or "Bertie" to his intimate friends) was the symbol of opulence throughout Europe. His corpulence, addiction to beautiful women, parties, yachting, and racing made him a popular  figure of his time. His extravagance was matched by an extraordinary charm, urbanity, intelligence, wit, and affability that made his excesses forgiven by everyone except his mother, Queen Victoria.

Queen Victoria was so remote, especially after Albert's death, that the closest her subjects ever got to seeing her was her picture on postage stamps. When her son and his new bride, the beautiful and enchanting Alexandria, began attending a succession of banquets, balls, and parties, London society embraced them with extraordinary enthusiasm.

Edward VII introduced the practice of eating roast beef, roast potatoes, horseradish sauce, and Yorkshire pudding on Sundays, which remains a staple British favorite for Sunday lunch. There were probably more dishes created for and named after Edward VII than any other English monarch including recipes for chicken, turbot, sole, eggs, and cake, and some popular dishes not usually considered to be associated with him, such as Crêpes Suzette.

Crêpes Suzette were created  for the Prince by Henri Charpentier in 1896 when he was a chef at the Cafe de Paris in Monte Carlo. When notified that the Prince and several companions had reservations for lunch, Charpentier created a special sauce for the crêpes dessert. As he was nervously reheating the sauce near the Prince's table, the sauce caught fire. At first Charpentier thought that the sauce was ruined, but when he tasted it, he found that the flaming substantially improved the sauce's flavor. The Prince was impressed with the dessert and asked Charpentier what it was called. The chef replied "Crêpes Princesse". (In French, the adjective's gender is ruled by the gender of the noun that it modifies and crêpes is a feminine noun.) The Prince, fully aware of French grammatical rules, winked and replied, "How can that be, since there is no princess present? There isn't even a lady." One of the Prince's friends had brought his seven year old daughter, Suzette, to the luncheon. When Suzette heard the Prince say  that there wasn't even a lady present, she  stood up and stated that she was a lady. The Prince laughed and asked Charpentier to change the name of the dish to Crêpes Suzette in honor of their young luncheon guest.

Since Charpentier initially named this classic dish in honor of the prince, it seems an appropriate way to celebrate his birthday which we suggest pairing with a viewing of Edward the Seventh (1979).
 

Crêpes Suzette

1. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, melted butter, flour sugar and salt until smooth.
2. Heat a medium-sized skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Grease pan with a small amount of butter or oil applied with a brush or paper towel. Using a serving spoon or small ladle, spoon about 3 tablespoons crepe batter into hot pan, tilting the pan so that bottom surface is evenly coated. Cook over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes on a side, or until golden brown. Set aside.
3. Put sugar and zests in blender on high speed for 30 seconds.
4. Pour brandy, vanilla, and liquors together in a small pitcher.
5. Melt butter in a heated chafing dish. When butter begins to bubble, pour half of cognac mixture into it and allow it to flame. When flame dies, add crepes and sprinkle with sugar/zest mixture. Turn crepes over carefully so they are heated on both sides and absorb sauce. Pour in remaining cognac mixture, flame, and serve immediately when flames have died down.