Tournedos, Sauce Poivrade

This recipe hails from '6o Cuaderno', a personal manuscript by Carmen Volante, dated 1904. In turn-of-the-century Spain, personal cookbooks often gathered influences from French haute cuisine—evidenced here by the use of both the peppery French poivrade sauce and the technique of larding meat with cured ham. At that time, such substantial, fortified sauces and elaborate plating expressed culinary refinement and the aspiration to fashionable European styles. Most likely, this dish graced the tables of affluent households for special occasions, reflecting a dynamic blend of local Spanish ingredients and French methods that was typical in kitchens of that era. The handwritten notebook contains not only hearty entrees such as this but also preserves, sweets, and practical fare, illustrating an era when home cooks adapted cosmopolitan trends to their local traditions.

To create this dish in 1904, the cook would have employed a sharp paring knife for larding the beef, a sturdy iron or copper sauté pan for browning the meat, and a large earthenware or metal bowl for marinating. The marinade and sauce would be cooked in heavy-bottomed pots, while a simple wire mesh or slotted spoon served to lift the fried bread from the oil. Presentation would have relied on a platter, likely ceramic or silver, for arranging the finished tourne-dos in a pleasing 'crown' style for the table.