It has been a while since I posted a book and I have been itching to review this cookbook. Dining with Sherlock Holmes: A Baker Street Cookbook by Julia Carlson Rosenblatt and Frederic H. Sonnenschmidt; pp.239; first printing, 1976 is concentrating on British food with a Sherlock twist. Trying to recreate the Victorian appetite spins a culinary yarn of breakfast, morning tea, luncheon, afternoon tea, high tea and dinner. Factor in Sherlock Holmes and well all the rest becomes quite elementary!
The idea for the book came about when more than a hundred Holmes enthusiasts participated in "a grande Sherlockian repast". There was a casual remark made about a cookbook. And the two author's took it from there. Gathering from the research, Holmes and Watson probably ate more than three meals a day. Except if Sherlock was deeply involved with a case. When dining there was not to be any talk regarding evidence. Leaving Sherlock Holmes to openly digest. Nothing was to interrupt digestion.
Apart from the Acknowledgements, "The Gastronomic Holmes and the Cuisine of His England" is a very well researched chapter. Other chapters are as follows: "Elementary, My Dear Watson", "Breakfast at Baker Street", A Singular Set of Recipes, Watson", "The Sideboard", "On the Chase" and "Horrors of a Country Inn" provide some delicacies to satisfy the your inner super sleuth. Each chapter has an introduction and references the stories of Sherlock Holmes. With 6-16 subtitles within each chapter that offer a set 3-5 course meal. Which makes piecing together a satisfying feast from start to finish, chronologically logical. With dinner titles such as Baskerville Breakfast, The Cornish Horror, A Cold Supper for Burglars and The Game Is Afoot one can certainly relish the morsels set about them.
This cookbook is one I admire. -JW