This year my foodie-filled family has decided to add a twist to our Christmas dinner. An Oliver Twist, that is.
We’re having a Dickensian Christmas dinner, full of potluck goodies ranging from popovers to plum pudding. (Get the Oliver Twist reference now? Funny….)

We think of Charles Dickens when the term Dickensian is thrown around, of course. Except, most food-related content in Dickens’ books is related to the very, very poor.
One obvious exception to this in A Christmas Carol, when Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present, and is shown a feast to top all feasts. But, Dickens’ whole reason for including that was to (hopefully) encourage Scrooge to see the light about all the suffering that surrounds him.
I won’t go further; we all know how the story ends. Right?

So, while Dickens may have shown food in a more meager light in many of his novels, our Dickensian Christmas dinner isn’t shaping up to include things like gruel or a simple loaf of bread.
We’re pulling together a menu that would rival that of Scrooge’s nephew, or even Dickens himself – a noted Victorian foodie who grew up very poor, but amassed great wealth as an adult. It’s inspired by the early 18th Century, and so many classic recipes that have gone by the wayside in modern times.
So, what’s on the menu so far? (I see a more than one post headed your way over the next couple weeks!)
Dickensian Christmas Dinner Menu
Ham
Roast Duck
Curried Fish
Yorkshire Pud
Duchess Potatoes
Winter Salad
Glazed Carrots
Plum Pudding
This menu doesn’t even include the stuff that I plan to make; it’s everyone else’s food. And, by the way, I still need to figure my part out.
Hmmm….
Maybe a cheese tray with crusty bread?
How about meat pies?
Cocoa Flummery? We DO need another dessert….
Stay tuned!
I LOVE this idea! It is so creative and inspirational!
Thanks, Jody!
you have to make a pitcher or smoking bishops! http://toriavey.com/history-kitchen/2012/12/drinking-with-charles-dickens-the-smoking-bishop/
Jessica – I saw those when I was browsing around!! Have you made it before?
Very cool! How’d it turn out?
It was SO much fun! I ended up making a gin punch, along with a non-alcoholic apple punch for the kids (and grown-ups who don’t drink).