Arthur Wellesley's Birthday
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Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and
statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the
nineteenth century. Of his Irish birth, he once said, "
Being born in a stable
does not make one a horse."
Wellesley was appointed the first Duke of Wellington
after he led the British to victory in the Peninsular War in 1814, a year
before he crushed Napoleon at Waterloo during the Hundred Days War. His
famous explanation of the victory was
"The battle
of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton."
Wellesley was the archetype British military hero. He was a genuine
military genius, his integrity was unquestionable, he was magnanimous in
victory, and he was a handsome aristocrat, a combination of qualities that
made him catnip to every woman in Europe.
Wellesley later served as the Commander-in-Chief of the British army and was
twice Tory Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, using his position to push
the Catholic Emancipation Act through Parliament which granted almost full
civil rights to Catholics. However, Wellesley's iron-handed approach
that proved so successful as a military Leader proved to be his downfall
as Prime Minister and also inspired Punch to nickname him the Iron Duke
because of the iron shutters he had fixed to his windows to stop the
pro-reform mob from breaking them..
Wellesley continued to be of the influential figures in the House of Lords
until his retirement in 1846.
The Duke of Wellington, like many battlefield soldiers, was so
indifferent to food, that his cooks often gave notice since they could never
use their culinary talents in his household. However, one of his chefs created a fillet of beef wrapped in puff pastry
that he called Wellington Steak.
Wellesley allegedly enjoyed the dish so much
that he requested that this beef
dish be served at any dinner that he might be hosting. So this is the only
rational choice of o recipe for his birthday celebration .and we suggest pairing it with a viewing of the great biopic
The Iron Duke
(1934) with George Arliss as
Wellesley. |
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1
cup beef stock
1 cup Madeira
2 lbs. of mushrooms, sliced
1 small truffle, sliced
1/2 cup butter
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salt and freshly ground pepper
1 4lb. fillet of beef
2 lbs. prepared puff pastry
1 egg, slightly beaten
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