Quails A La Romaine

This recipe hails from the 1917 Greek-language cookbook 'Megale amerikanike mageirike', published in New York to serve the burgeoning Greek immigrant community in America. It reflects both traditional Greek cookery and the adaptation to readily available American ingredients and kitchen practices of the early 20th century. The dish 'Quails a la Romaine' evokes the cosmopolitan sophistication that immigrants aspired to, marrying the beloved quail—a delicacy in both Mediterranean and American cuisine—with the then-modern convenience of pasta, a staple among Mediterranean peoples abroad. Recipes like this were bridges between nostalgia for the homeland and new American life.

Cooks of the time would use a heavy, lidded stewpot (often enamel or cast iron) placed over a wood or coal fired stove. A sturdy kitchen knife would be used to split the quails. Simple wooden spoons for stirring, and perhaps a hand-cranked meat grinder or grater for preparing the onion and tomatoes. Measuring was often by eye or touch, though scales and cup measures did exist in better-equipped households. Pasta would typically come in large bulk packages or be locally made at home.