The White House 1887 Mock Turtle Soup

I have been looking through my 1887 Edition of "The Original White House Cook Book" and found a few turtle soup recipes. I thought I would make the mock version. After thinking about it, I came up with an idea to create a turtle from a squash and fill it with the soup. I would never eat the real deal but I will eat a mock version with black beans and chicken! The Campbell's Soup Company made Mock turtle soup in the late twenties. Here is an article about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mock_turtle_soup
Let's get started!

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Step 1: Ingredients

I cut the recipe down for my family because we would have been eating turtle soup for a month! The recipe ingredients are as she wrote them though. I did not want to change that because it might have changed the flavor. She mentioned it was hard to distinguish the difference between it and the turtle soup made from turtle meat. I don't think making a smaller amount made a difference because it was a soup that was very different. It will be interesting if anyone makes this version and post a reply.

The way the directions were written, it sounded like the beans would be way over cooked using her directions. This recipe would be best if you did the quick soak method and cooking the beans only until they are almost done because you will add the meatballs and the herbs to the beans 20 minutes before serving. You could make everything the day before and refrigerate it and add the herb bag and meat balls to the chilled beans the following day to finish cooking the beans. This recipe makes about 16 one cup servings.

1 Qt organic black beans (soak overnight)
Pinch thyme
1 t summer savory
1 t Parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
1 T butter
4 Hard boiled eggs (only the yokes are used)
1 Cup boiled chicken minced ( unseasoned)
1/2 Cup Fine bread crumbs (not seasoned)
2 beaten eggs
1 Tablespoon milk I used cream because that is what I had on hand
1/2 t flour
Sliced lemon and fresh parsley for garnish optional

Turtle bowl:

1 Gold nugget squash
1 Pickle
2 Pepper corns
Scant Olive oil for the bowl's rim and lid to keep the edges from curling up.
Toothpick and skewer not shown

Utensils:

Mixing bowls, large sauce pan, knife,measuring cup, measuring spoons, spoons, cutting board, stock pot, whisk or fork,
mixer or food processor, small cloth and string for herbs, colander, and sauce pan.