Delmonico’s Recipes
We’re going back to 1837 in New York City to learn the history of America’s first fine dining restaurant, Delmonico’s. We’ll make the dishes they made famous like Baked Alaska, Eggs Benedict along with owner Oscar’s Tucci’s Secret Delmonico cocktail. Delmonico’s is one of the most famous restaurants on earth. It’s older than the Brooklyn bridge and the Statue of Liberty. Legend has it that the columns came from the ruins of Pompeii and that every president since Monroe has dined at Delmonico’s. During the Gilded Age, Delmonico’s hosted elaborate banquets for Mrs. Astor’s 400, including the swan dinner…when Delmonico’s filled the dining room with live swans for guests to view as they ate. President Lincoln dined at Delmonico’s during the civil war, complimenting the chef “We have mansions in Washington but nothing like your cooks”. Delmonico’s even sent thousands of turkeys to union soldiers for Thanksgiving during the Civil War. In the 1920’s Delmonico’s joined the list of New York speakeasies …Oscar Tucci rescued Delmonico’s from extinction during prohibition. In the 20th century, it became the place to see and be seen for movie stars, musicians and presidents. Standing in its original location for nearly 200 years, you can still go there to this day.
Swiss brothers Giovanni and Pietro Delmonico, opened Delmonico’s pastry shop in 1827 located at 23 William street. They built the gorgeous Delmonico building at 56 Beaver Street in 1837. The citadel as it was known, became the home of the Delmonico’s empire, although at one point there were 10 Delmonicos locations. With Lorenzo Delmonico managing at the helm, Delmonico’s became the most famous restaurant in the country. What really put the restaurant on the map was French chef Charles Ranhoffer who presided over Delmonico’s kitchen for nearly 4 decades. Gilded Age taste maker Ward McCallister said” Tell Ranhoffer the number of guests and nothing more and you will have perfection.” Chef Ranhoffer created and popularized dishes recognizable to this day like eggs Benedict, chicken a la Keene, now sometimes called chicken a la king), baked Alaska and lobster Newberg.
Eggs Benedict
This recipe is from Chef Ranhoffer’s 1893 cookbook, The Epicurean. Eggs Benedict, invented by Ranhoffer in the 1860s for a rather bossy patron, Mrs. LeGrand Benedict. Legend has it that Mrs. Benedict barged into the kitchen and requested something new. A competing theory of origin, out of Delmonico’s rival Waldorf hotel, states that Lemuel Benedict created Eggs benedict when he ordered the dish as a remedy for his hangover in 1894. While a nice story, my vote goes to Ranhoffer because he printed the recipe in his book the year prior to Benedict’s supposed invention. Hollandaise sauce includes egg yolks, lemon juice, and cayenne. I’ll cook this over simmering water in this double boiler, then slowly pour in the melted butter. Ranhoffer doesn’t specify the type of ham so I’m going with a traditional sliced ham cut out with a round the size of the English muffin. Today Delmonico’s serves theirs with pork belly on brioche…which sounds outstanding. A quick toast on the English muffin and then assemble.
Gilded Age Delmonico’s
In the Gilded Age, the height of sophisticated dining was Delmonico’s. If you watch the HBO Series, the Gilded Age, Delmonico’s is mentioned in a conversation but I’m actually begging for a Delmonicos scene in season 3! Delmonico’s was the place to show off that sweet robber baron cash. The prices are a bit different in todays dollar. In the 19th century, you could host an entire table with Delmonico’s specialties: canvasback duck, terrapin soup, lobster Newberg, baked Alaska and the finest wines for only a few dollars…Of course the lavish banquets cost a pretty penny. The Luckmeyer Swan dinner cost $10,000 which equates to a quarter of a million dollars today. Even the banquet menus themselves were elaborate…with ribbon and gilded lettering. In order to get access to the best produce, the Delmonico brothers bought a farm in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to supply the restaurants. What a bunch of clever hipsters! They were ahead of their time with the farm to table movement.
My favorite meal in Delmonico’s history without question…the Sorosis Luncheon of 1868. In the 19th century, women dining without a male chaperone was unseemly. What would we do without a man to guide us? Would we know how to act without a male chaperone present? What is this, a fork?! A group of women gathering in a restaurant simply wasn’t the norm. A dinner was held at Delmonico’s for Charles Dickens’ tour of America in 1868. Although a member of the New York Press Club, the leadership purposely excluded writer Jane Cunningham Croly on the basis of her gender. They finally said she could attend if she stayed behind a curtain and kept quiet. Jane refused this lovely offer. Instead she created the Sorosis club, a professional women’s organization. “We will give a banquet to ourselves, make all the speeches ourselves, and not invite a single man.” Jane approached Lorenzo Delmonico to request a private women’s luncheon for her new club to meet. Lorenzo graciously agreed. The ladies met for power lunches at Delmonico’s for decades, enjoying lobster salad, lemonade, and chocolate while fighting for women’s rights. So in case you’re keeping score, these powerful New York Men, the Delmonicos were early adopters of women’s rights & the farm to table movement by growing their own produce in Brooklyn.
Towards the turn of the century some competition came into play but Delmonico’s reigned supreme. In the 1880s, Louis Sherry started to take some of Delmonico’s business in catering, like contracts with the Metropolitan Opera in 1883 and their restaurant opening in 1889. The Waldorf hotel opening in 1893 became another rival, especially with the merger of Waldorf- Astoria in 1897. Their many restaurants and banquet halls were popular…also famous was Waldorf’s maitre D, Oscar Tschirky, inventor of the Waldorf salad anddddd former employee of Delmonico’s. Another rival…Rector’s and similar lobster palaces, famous for wining and dining chorus girls. I have an entire post on Rector’s & Lobster Palaces, that you wont want to miss, which also includes the following story about murder… Delmonico’s even made its way into the murder trial of the century…. After shooting Stanford White on the rooftop theatre of Madison square garden…millionaire Harry Thaw catered breakfast from Delmonico’s in his jail cell. Delmonico’s also hosted more intimate, exclusive private dinners like Mark Twain’s 70th birthday party in 1905.
Cooking Baked Alaska
Let’s make another recipe…Another Ranhoffer classic popularized by Delmonicos, Alaska-Florida, better known today as Baked Alaska. The now world famous dish commemorated the U.S. purchase of the Alaskan territory of 1867. The name Alaska Florida represents the drastic difference in temperature between the frozen ice cream and toasted meringue. In Ranhoffer’s book, he uses a strange recipe for Savoy biscuit which is essentially eggs, sugar and potato starch. Served with banana ice cream and apricot jam and toasted meringue. Today delmonico’s serves its baked Alaska with walnut cake, banana gelato and apricot jam. For my own variation today I’m going to use Ranhoffer’s meringue and flavors but with the base recipe from The Delmonico Way cookbook, by Max Tucci.
Ranhoffer’s book includes some wild ice cream flavors like: rice, burnt almond and truffle. Not chocolate truffles…like full on black truffles. I would love to try that! Banana would have been incredibly rare in 1860s New York, making this dessert quite special. Given the rare ingredients and massive amount of labor needed to produce ice cream, cake, and meringue before electric mixers and modern refrigeration, I can understand why they charged so much for it, the cost equivalent of about $40 today just for dessert. The first step is to freeze your ice cream in a mold for 2 hours. Given that Ranhoffer liked wacky ice cream flavors and walnut flavor was added to recipe at one point, I chose to use Ben & Jerry’s Chunky monkey ice cream…because it has both banana and walnuts! And because I’m too lazy to make my own ice cream. Hey I’m making a lot today so cut me some slack. Next, the base, which is essentially a walnut shortbread cookie. I’ll work in the butter by hand with the flour, sugar, salt and walnuts. After the dough forms, I’ll wrap and chill this in the fridge for 10 minutes. After a chill, I’ll roll out the dough and cut into rounds. These will bake for about 20 minutes and cool completely before assembly. Using Ranhoffer’s Meringue recipe, we will need 6 egg whites to 1/2 pound of sugar. Back in Ranhoffer’s day, meringue would have taken forever by hand. Rotary beaters were used in 19th century kitchens to cut down on some of the manual labor but it still takes quite a long time. The flavors of Ranhoffer’s Baked Alaska were unique, although ice cream under meringue was not a new invention. In fact, I can trace that dish back to Thomas Jefferson’s chef James Hemings in the 18th century. I’ll transfer this to a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe little rosettes all around the base topped with the frozen ice cream. Once piped, use a torch or broil in the oven for 1-2 minutes. The meringue will insulate the ice cream and prevent it from melting but it should be served right away.
Jumping ahead to the 20th century…we see the changing of the guard between the Delmonico Family and Tucci family. After years of struggle through changes in dining habits, world war 1 and then finally with prohibition, Delmonico’s went on the market. Following his American dream, Tuscan-born Oscar Tucci purchased the Delmonico building in 1925. Prohibition posed a major problem but not for resourceful owner, Oscar Tucci. In the basement of the Beaver street building, Delmonico’s entered into a new glittering enterprise… as a speakeasy. Mr. Tucci used Delmonico dollars to exchange for drinks to protect the business and its customers. Oscar’s wife Sesta even used her son Mario’s baby carriage to smuggle in liquor into the restaurant. This led me to want to recreate one of Oscar’s own cocktails that got Delmonico’s through prohibition. Enter…Oscar’s Secret Delmonico cocktail, from the Delmonico Way cookbook.
Oscar’s Secret Delmonico Cocktail
This is Oscar’s very own version of the classic Delmonico cocktail. After guarding his secret recipe for many years, this cocktail contains gin, orange juice, grenadine, lime juice, sugar and an orange peel twist. This gets a thorough shake and strained into a glass of crushed ice. Not just any glass. A Delmonico’s glass. Cocktail enthusiasts recognize a Delmonico glass as a short cylindrical highball glass. They have not just their own signature cocktail but their own glass. As we will see throughout the 20th century, Oscar liked to do things exceptionally well, a touch he called the Delmonico Way.
The rich and famous flocked to Delmonico’s, especially during the glamorous 1950’s and 1960’s. Movie stars from Marlene Dietrich to Marilyn Monroe to Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner, Lena Horne, Jane Russell and Debbie Reynolds all dined here. Marilyn was partial to the broiled grapefruit. Elizabeth Taylor loved Delmonico’s brioche and had discrete private dinners with Rock Hudson and his male suitors. Jackie Onassis had her debutante ball at Delmonicos. JFK and Frank Sinatra were regular fixtures. Oscar implemented an air of confidentiality and a strict no paparazzi policy.They all remained loyal to Delmonicos for the ambiance, hospitality, and the food. Oscar created the wedge salad out of necessity on a trip to the local farm on a produce run. His famous salad includes buttermilk dressing, bleu cheese, bacon and tomatoes…on a chilled plate with chilled silverware. Following the trends of midcentury fine dining, Delmonico’s famous steaks and seafood towers reigned with supreme elegance. You can still find many of the recipes on Delmonico’s menu today in New York City.
For even more Delmonico’s history, get a copy of The Delmonico Way: Sublime Entertaining & Legendary Recipes from the restaurant that made New York!, written by Oscar Tucci’s Grandson, Max Tucci. It’s filled with Delmonico’s best recipes, gorgeous food photography and heartwarming history of the Tucci family written with love. Be sure to read my Gilded Age Food article with the recipe for Delmonico’s famous Lobster Newberg.
A massive thank you to author and grandson of Oscar Tucci, Max Tucci, for his assistance in sharing a few of his recipes. He was instrumental in the creation of this article thanks to his lovely photo collection and gorgeous food photography from his book, The Delmonico Way: Sublime Entertaining & Legendary Recipes From the Restaurant That Made New York! By Max Tucci, Rizzoli New York. You can get his amazing book here: https://thedelmonicoway.com
Baked Alaska
Ingredients
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon ground walnuts
- 1 stick cold unsalted butter (diced)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-3 Tablespoons apricot jam
- 6 egg whites
- 1/2 pound sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2-3 cups Banana ice cream (I used Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey) Depending on the size of the bowl/mold you use.
Instructions
- Line a bowl (the size of the base of the Baked Alaska), with plastic wrap. Fill with banana ice cream. Wrap the top. Freeze for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. To create the base of the Baked Alaska, in a large bowl, mix all the ingredients well while breaking up the butter by hand or with a biscuit cutter. The dough should come together after a few minutes of mixing by hand. If needed, you can add a teaspoon of water to get the dough to form together. Form a disk, wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Roll out the dough on a work surface dusted with a little flour. Only roll out the dough just enough to get 2 (4 inch) rounds. Bake on parchment for 20 minutes until very light golden. Allow to cool before assembly.
- In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, add egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar. Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk for 5-10 minutes until very glossy, smooth and holds a peak.
- Transfer the meringue to a piping back with a large star attachment.
- On a plate, place a small dab of jam in the center. Place the shortbread base on top, then a bit more on top. Top with the ice cream.
- Using the piping bag, pipe little stars all the way around the base and covering the entire Baked Alaska.
- Using a butane kitchen torch, lightly brown the entire surface evenly. You can also apparently use a broiler setting in the oven but I have not tried this method.
Eggs Benedict
Ingredients
- 7 eggs
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon water
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- pepper
- pinch of salt
- pinch of cayenne
- 2 English muffins
- 8 slices of ham, or bacon or Canadian Bacon
Instructions
- Microwave the stick of butter into a pourable glass measuring cup for 20 seconds. Open and stir, microwave another 10-20 seconds until melted. Keep an eye on it! It can pop and burst all over your microwave so go slow and keep checking).
- In a double boiler ( a small pan with a few inches of water, topped with a metal or glass bowl on top), over barely simmering water, whisk the egg yolks and water until very foamy.
- Slowly pour in the melted butter into the bowl and whisk. Whisk until all the butter (except for the milk solids at the bottom of the glass measuring cup) has been incorporated and the sauce is somewhat thick.
- Remove from the heat. Add in salt, pepper, cayenne and lemon juice. Whisk well. You can add the sauce back to the heat if the sauce is still runny but be careful not to scramble the eggs by overheating. Whisk the entire time.
- Poach 4 eggs in simmering water. Cook for 3 minutes and drain on a clean tea towel. Make sure all the water is completely gone from the outside of the egg.
- Cut English muffins in half. Lightly toast them. Place ham on each muffin and a poached egg. Top with Hollandaise sauce & a sprinkle of chives (optional).
Oscar’s Secret Delmonico Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 ounces gin
- 1/2 ounce orange juice
- 1 splash grenadine
- juice of 1/2 of a lime
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- Orange twist or maraschino cherry garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add crushed ice, sugar, gin, orange juice, grenadine, & lime juice. Shake very well for 1 minute.
- Strain into a highball or Delmonico glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a twist of orange or a maraschino cherry.