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Mock turtle and a fillet
Oct 18–24, 2026
The grandest week in the pool: a calf's-head mock turtle soup and a three-pound fillet of beef garnished with peas, carrots, raisins, and mushrooms. A curried vegetable plate, a pan of venison sausages, and a corn-meal gingerbread out of the 1796 book fill the rest.
This is a present-day menu assembled from historical cookbook records spanning 1796–1896, from Amelia Simmons's *American Cookery* through Fannie Farmer's *Boston Cooking-School Cook Book*, and a source-led sampler rather than a claim that this exact week is traditional or representative of how every American household ate. The recipes are adapted, with quantities restated in modern units, and the shelf's centre of gravity is the Northeast.
Early American dinner week
Early American dinner week
23 of 71 items checked
Monday
Fillet of Beef with Vegetables
View a published recipe at Project Gutenberg (opens in a new tab)
4 of 12 items checked · 6 aisles
4 of 13 items checked · 4 aisles
3 of 8 items checked · 3 aisles
4 of 13 items checked · 4 aisles
2 of 6 items checked · 3 aisles
Saturday
Gingerbread Cakes, or Butter and Sugar Gingerbread
View a published recipe at Project Gutenberg (opens in a new tab)
2 of 7 items checked · 4 aisles
Each dinner is adapted from a public domain record in the Open Recipe Archive collection; the card’s source link carries its original cookbook and record. These dishes reflect authentic period techniques and ingredients, organized into a practical weekly dinner plan.