How to recreate a vintage Victorian New Year’s dinner straight from 1891

New Year's dinner

Note: This article may feature affiliate links, and purchases made may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Find out more here.

Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Email
LinkedIn
Pocket
Reddit

A vintage New Year’s dinner menu with timeless recipes

New Year’s dinner has always been a time for families to gather and enjoy one last hearty meal before the start of another year. While modern tables might feature a mix of trends and traditions, holiday menus of the past were rich with classic dishes and careful preparation. One standout example comes from 1891, where the Pittsburg Dispatch published a full Victorian New Year’s dinner plan that still feels celebratory, even today.

The suggested menu starts off with a comforting tomato bisque, a soup that warms the stomach and sets the stage for the rest of the meal. From there, diners enjoyed a variety of courses, including boiled fish served with drawn butter and “Parisienne potatoes,” which were delicate potato balls fried to a light brown. This was followed by sweetbread croquettes and green peas — adding a sophisticated touch to the spread.

Victorian era Christmas dinner table 1890s

For the main dish, roast duck took center stage, accompanied by stuffing and a side of apple sauce. Creamed onions, baked macaroni and lima beans rounded out the savory options. A celery salad offered a refreshing contrast before dessert arrived. The final course was a fruit pudding with lemon custard sauce, accompanied by nuts, raisins, fruits, and a strong cup of coffee to end the meal.

What stands out about this 1891 menu is its balance. After the indulgent feasts of Thanksgiving and Christmas, the New Year’s dinner offered plenty of variety without feeling overwhelming. There were rich and delicate dishes, warm comfort foods, and lighter fare that kept things festive but manageable for hosts and guests alike.

Want to bring a bit of Victorian flavor to your own table for your celebration? Below, we’ve reprinted this classic 1891 New Year’s dinner plan along with the original recipes so you can recreate it step by step. Whether you want to try the whole spread or simply borrow a dish or two, it’s a delicious way to celebrate the new year with a nod to the past.

Family dining room 1891

Ellice Serena Prescribes a Dinner Suited to Stomachs Tried by the Thanksgiving and Christmas Festivities — How to Make and Serve the Various Dishes.

The stomach is perhaps a little the worse for the over-indulgence of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the good housewives have one more treat for us. And we must remember that it was the over-indulgence, not the character of the dinners, that did any mischief there was.

Here is another good dinner, and it is my suggestion for New Year’s Day.


Dinner menu for New Year’s Day

Tomato Bisque

Boiled Fish, Drawn Butter, Parisienne Potatoes

Sweet-Bread, Croquettes, Green Peas, Sage

Roast Duck, Stuffing, Apple Sauce

Creamed Onions, Lima Beans, Baked Macaroni

Celery Salad

Wafers, Cheese

Fruit Pudding, Lemon Custard, Nuts, Raisins, Fruits, Coffee

Manners for social events in 1891

Tomato Bisque

Stew slowly for 30 minutes a quart of tomatoes. Stir in a half teaspoonful of soda and strain through a sieve. Re-heat, add a quart of hot milk, a large tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper to taste. When about to stew, stir in two heaping tablespoonsful of finely sifted cracker crumbs.

Sage Stuffing

Moisten one pint of stale bread crumbs with two tablespoonsful of melted butter. Season with salt, pepper, one tablespoonful of minced parsley, one teaspoonful of sweet marjoram or powdered sage. Mix thoroughly.

Parisienne Potatoes

Scoop out the potatoes and drop the balls into cold water. At the end of a half hour, dry them and cook in hot fat until tender and lightly browned. Place some brown paper on a sieve and turn in the potatoes to drain.

Creamed Onions

Select the white silver skins, remove the outside, and cut off the ends. Let them lie for some moments in warm water, drain, and boil in salted water and milk until tender. Pour off the water, add cupful of hot cream to the onions, a lump of butter rolled in flour, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss about until the butter is melted, and serve.

Lima Beans

If the dried beans are used, put them in soak overnight. When ready to cook them, cover with fresh, cold water and boil them until tender and mealy, adding salt when about half done. Season with butter and pepper. A thin strip of sweet bacon cooked with the beans gives a flavor that is agreeable to most tastes.

Baked Macaroni

Take one-quarter pound of imported macaroni, break into pieces and cover with plenty of boiling water, well salted. Add a small lump of butter and cook rapidly for 30 minutes, occasionally stirring it from the bottom ot the pan with a fork. Arrange in a baking dish with butter, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Strew the top thickly with grated cheese and place in the oven just long enough to color it. Too long baking renders the cheese leathery and indigestible.

Fruit Pudding

Cream a large tablespoonful of butter with four level tablespoonfuls of sugar. Add the beaten yolks of two eggs and two teacupsful of sweet milk. Mix well and stir in gradually 1-1/2 pints of flour, sifted, with two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Flavor with nutmeg — about a saltspoonsful full. Add one-half pint of well-floured raisins and currants mixed — the raisins to be seedless. At the last moment, gently fold in the whipped whites of two eggs. Have some coffee cups lightly greased, fill each of them with two tablespoonfuls of the mixture and steam 45 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife. Turn out on a dessert dish and surround with custard sauce. This is an excellent family pudding and may be eaten with impunity by young or old.

PS: If you liked this article, please share it! You can also get our free newsletter, follow us on Facebook & Pinterest. Thanks for visiting and for supporting a small business! 🤩 

Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

You might also like...

The fun never ends:

Comments on this story

Leave a comment here!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.