Menus
This small collection of menus from Daisie's scrapbook presents an interesting portrait of American dining over 100 years ago. Daisie's menus range from formal to casual. A 1910 meal at the Plymouth Rock House consisted of 8 courses, starting with steamed clams and concluding with tapioca cream pudding. At a banquet in honor of President W. H. Taft, guests dined on "Toasted Zepherettes," lobster, and ice cream. Some of Daisie's menus are written on tree bark, most likely a tradition developed during her many visits to Vermont. Daisie's handwritten menus demonstrate a playful approach to food - the main course on one night was "Sirloin of Beef a la fire place." They also contain the names of foods now mysterious to us, such as "English Monkey" - a dish involving toast and cheese. Two menus seem to include a sentimental touch, an "H" and an upside-down "M" interlocked at the top of the page. These letters were the initials of Daisie Miller and her future husband, John Helyar.