Episode 2 - Murder on the Ballarat Train

Like Cocaine Blues, the menu for Murder on the Ballarat Train is being created in advance of Friday's episode and is somewhat hampered by the fact that I haven't actually read the novel. I won't even attempt to recreate the refreshments, if any, offered by Victoria Railways on the Ballarat train in the 1920s. Instead, I'll turn to the big hotels that accommodated and fed train travellers.

In the 1920s Melbourne's "most modern hotel", the 12-storey Hotel Alexander opposite Phyrne's departure point for Ballarat, Spencer Street station, advertised "200 rooms and 200 bathrooms". The main dining room offered "discriminating travellers who want the best Australia can provide" a 10-course table d'hote menu for 7/6: hors d'oeuvres, potage, poisson, entree, roti, legumes, entremets, savoury, dessert and cafe. The restaurant also had a la carte menu with continuous service through breakfast, morning tea, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper.

After the pallid piece of toast she waved around in Episode 1, I hope the promise of country air will do something to sharpen Phyrne's appetite. 

Tonight's menu is inspired by the Hotel Alexander's table d'hote on 22 February 1928: 

Oysters a la Mornay

Filet de Boeuf Roti

Currant and Apple Tart

Oysters a la Mornay

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Like the recipes for oyster cocktails and lobster cutlets, this one comes from the women's page of the Sydney Morning Herald. Readers were told that oysters could be kept fresh in their shells for four or five days by covering them with a brine solution - "four or five ounces of salt to a gallon of water"- and changing it each day. In this recipe the liquor from the freshly shucked oysters is stirred into the mornay sauce. My oysters came opened, rinsed and sitting on a black plastic tray, so I'll discard the shell water and stir a little fresh Sydney tap water and salt into the sauce.

18 oysters

¾ cup grated cheese

Juice of ½ lemon

1 cup milk

30g butter

1 tblsp plain flour

5 teasp Dijon mustard

Fresh breadcrumbs

Salt, Cayenne pepper

Remove the oysters from their shells, and pour off the liquid into a cup. Sprinkle the shells with a little grated cheese and replace the oysters. In a saucepan, melt the butter, add the flour and cook stirring for a few seconds, then add the milk and oyster liquor, and stir till it boils and thickens. Remove from the stove, and stir in ½ cup of grated cheese, salt, pepper, mustard, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Cover the oysters with the cheese sauce, then sprinkle remaining cheese on top along with a few breadcrumbs. Place under a hot grill till golden brown, and serve immediately garnished with parsley.