I don’t know how we hadn’t heard of Downton Abbey until recently, but we hadn’t. However we’ve managed to catch up on all three seasons in three short months. š
When our GYRO Challenge was to pick a country as an at-home theme, we couldn’t resist the chance to have an authentic Downton Abbey dinner set in the beautiful country of England. To begin click on this link to listen to the music of Downton Abbey from Pandora as you read this post. It will add much to your read as it added to our dinner date.
I (Debi) took on the role of Mrs. Patmore for the dinner preparations, and Tom became Mr. Carsen as he picked the wine, set the table perfectly and lit the candles. After dinner was ready we changed into our proper dinner attire, although it was a bit on the casual side since Tom only had a black tie. Very frowned upon in Downton Abbey for the evening meal, as Matthew Crawley soon discovered.
In researching authentic recipes from the period, I was surprised to discover just how much went in to each course. The Huffington Post provides some excellent information on the subject:
There is a lot to love about the show. The characters are all compelling in their own way, and it is fascinating to watch a household that functions as a tiny town. But what we particularly love is how much cooking and eating takes place during each episode. Meals were a big part of life during the Edwardian period. The noble class used it as a way to, quite literally, taste their social status. They ate four times a day — breakfast, lunch, teatime and dinner. And the dinners were particularly elaborate, ranging from six to 22 courses! (emphasis mine)
We cut our dinner down to only four courses, and we were stuffed by the dessert. š
Our first course consisted of a delicious Creamy Watercress Soup garnished with blue cheese crumbles and breadcrumbs.
Watercress SoupOur second course was a palette cleanser of Meringue Nests with Roasted Rhubarb and Strawberry Sauce.
Our Third course was by far our favorite–Lamb Stew with Lemon and Dill served over a bed of Orzo.
Our Fourth course was Apple Confit with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
We played Pandora Radio Station of the Downton Abbey Sound Track.
It was a perfectly wonderful night together and got better when Mr. Carsen showed up after dinner to do the dishes. Mrs. Patmore was quite relieved.
We ended the night be watching the next episode in our quest to finish Season 3.
What we love about this time period as depicted in this series is the respect people showed to one another. Of course, there are the inconsiderate and those who fake their respect, but for the most part the etiquette is sincere. I believe we have lost something very precious in our modern culture. Maybe this is why Downton Abbey has become so popular in the United States. Maybe we do long for a bit more tradition and manners.
This date was one we will always remember fondly. And we may just do it again next year during Season 4. After all, we only hit on 4 courses of the potential 22 course dinner menu. That leaves three more dates to try without repeating a recipe. Below is a gallery of photos from our date. We hope this will inspire you to try such a date yourself. You will be ever-so pleased.
The Romantic Vineyard 
So fun! š I have good memories of watching the first season – we would watch them on the weekends at the two middle of the night feedings…and sometimes, after feeding three babies and all, we would stay up to finish a second episode. David isn’t quite so fond of those memories, though… š
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Jennifer – Haha! I can’t believe you were watching D.A. back then! How did I miss hearing about this show? I’ve loved the series–especially learning what life was like then.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I know how limited your time is these days. ā¤
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Hi Debi! This is Mai at the Happy Wives Club and Fawn wanted to make sure you saw the note that our Thursday link up party has now moved to Marriage Mondays ā beginning today. We want to get all our favorite married bloggers linking up every Monday so we hope youāll join us.
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Thanks for the reminder, Mai. I’ve linked up, and I think you’ll love today’s post. Check it out!
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YAY! Your date looks fantastic! Matthew and Mary, as a couple, are our date in two weeks š We are having afternoon tea for dinner. I can’t wait!!
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Sounds so fun, Nikki! We have some recipes on today’s post that were delicious!
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I totally love your post Debi! š Thanks for sharing and for linking up too! (hugs) š
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This is so much fun to read about! I can only imagine how rich your marriage is, since you enjoy “playing” together! THanks for sharing. I’d love to see some of these recipes, too!
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Amy, we do enjoy being together that’s true, but it isn’t always fun. We have our ups and downs like everyone else. And you’ll be happy to know each recipe is found by clicking the link. I’m so glad you commented.
Blessings!
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How cute is this?!?! I LOVE this!!!! I think I would like to be Mary:-) Thank you for sharing this fun and unconventional idea. I’m going to have to get more creative!!!! Keep em coming an thanks for linking up with HWC!
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Oh, I LOVE Downton Abbey. I’m trying to convert my husband now. This is an amazing date night idea. My only addition would be speaking in British accents all evening. LOL.
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Haha! J, I love your idea, but I’m afraid Tom’a British accent sounds more like an Italian Chinese mix. š
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What a fantastic idea, Debi! We watch Downton Abbey on Netflix and it’s only on its 1st season. Can’t wait for the next two seasons to come out on it!
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Hey Fawn,
We did the same thing. Then we discovered Season 2 was on Hulu Plus. š Our daughter had signed up, so we were good to go. By then we were so hooked we bought Season 3 on Apple TV. Yep, we finished all three seasons in two months. Now we have to wait like everyone else until Season 4 starts in January. The food on our date was wonderful! I think it will become a new favorite.
Blessings,
Debi
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