April 15th was the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and while I’ve never been a Titanic history buff, I do like looking at old menus. Images of Titanic menus are readily available. For example, this one:

I almost went for the Chicken a la Maryland, but I’m not a huge fan of bananas. So I decided on the Salmon Mayonnaise instead. This is only the second recipe I have found for salmon that my kids have eaten without complaint. Usually I heavily salt and pepper a fillet, cover it with brown sugar, and bake it. It’s always a hit and goes well with rice and a vegetable. But this mayonnaise sauce was liked (to my surprise) by everyone, and they asked for seconds. I’m not able to tell you what exactly the Titanic version of Salmon Mayonnaise was, but this is mine:

I baked my fillet, salt and peppered, at 350, covered with a few slices of orange that I had in the refrigerator. I also squeezed some of the orange juice over the fillet, and added some shrimp and scallops in with the fish.

While that cooked I looked through an old 1960s copy of the Joy of Cooking, and found a recipe for a cooked “mayonnaise sauce” to be used over fish. It consists of a cup of mayonnaise, capers to your taste, and lemon juice; start with about a teaspoon and again add to your taste. I added fresh parsley and a few tablespoons of heavy cream. I continuously whisked it in a saucepan and heated it up until it was just warm enough. It came out beautifully and the orange taste on the salmon complemented it very well.

I would not omit the capers as they gave a nice tang and texture, but I did stir them in last so that they wouldn’t get battered by the whisking.

And the finished dish: I should have done a little neater job with the sauce, but by the time I realized that I needed a new picture, we had eaten everything! This is a very decadent meal that is easy enough for a weeknight.

If you’d like to read a classic on the Titanic disaster, I suggest “A Night To Remember”, by Walter Lord.

PS: I don’t care what they say on Mythbusters. Jack could have fit on the door.