The Republican party was divided at the war’s end, so Belmont organized new party gatherings and tried to get Salmon Chase elected president in 1868. He thought Chase was least vulnerable to charges of disloyalty to the party during the Republican Lincoln-Johnson administrations.
Horatio Seymour’s became the democratic candidate instead, and lost to Ulysses S. Grant by a lot of Electoral College votes, although the popular vote was much closer. In 1872 the Democrats supported liberal Republican Horace Greeley's disastrous presidential campaign. The election of 1872 prompted Belmont to resign as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, but he stayed interested in politics as a champion of US Senator Thomas F. Bayard of Delaware for the presidency, and as a fierce critic of the process granting Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency in 1877, and as an advocate of “hard money.”
Belmont died in New York in 1890. The "Letters, Speeches and Addresses of August Belmont" was published at New York in 1890. Belmont left an estate valued at more than ten million dollars. He is buried in Newport, Rhode Island.
Belmont's sons were Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, Perry Belmont, and August Belmont, Jr..
August Belmont threw lavish balls and dinner parties, receiving from New York's high society mixed reviews.
He was an avid sportsman, and the famed Belmont Stakes thoroughbred horse race is named in his honour. It debuted at Jerome Park Racetrack, owned by Belmont's friend, Leonard Jerome. Today The Belmont Stakes is part of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown and takes place at Belmont Racetrack in New York.
Also named in Belmont's honor is the town of Belmont, New Hampshire, an honor Mr. Belmont never acknowledged. Edith Wharton reputedly modeled the character of Julius Beaufort in "The Age of Innocence" on Belmont.
Ham mousseline à la Belmont was created in his honour by Charles Ranhofer at Delmonico's.
Parmigiana
Parmigiana is a Southern Italian dish made with a shallow-fried sliced filling, with cheese and tomato sauce on top, then baked. Eggplant parmigiana is the earliest version. Other kinds made with breaded meat cutlets, such as veal and chicken parmigiana, are popular in other countries, usually in areas with a lot of Italian immigrants.
The dish is claimed by both Campania and Sicily. While "parmigiana" means "from Parma" (in Northern Italy), the dish is not part of Parma food. It is based on melanzane alla parmigiana (alt. parmigiana di melanzane) or eggplant parmigiana (or eggplant Parmesan), a classic Southern Italian dish.
Along with the many Italian versions, different kinds of Parmigiana have been developed across the world, most often in countries where large numbers of Italians immigrated. Examples of dishes developed outside of Italy from the early parmigianas include veal (Veal Parmigiana) or chicken breast (Chicken Parmigiana) dipped in beaten eggs, breaded, shallow-fried and topped with a marinara sauce (red Sicilian tomato sauce) and mozzarella. It is then usually baked until the cheese is bubbly and brown. The veal dish is known in Italian as "Cotolette alla Bolognese".
"Parmigiana" is also used as an adjective in the names of other unrelated dishes from Parma food, such as "Trippa alla Parmigiana" (Parma-style tripe).
The dish consists of a sliced filling pan fried in oil, layered with tomato sauce and cheese, and baked in an oven. In some kinds, the sliced filling is first dipped in beaten eggs and covered in flour or breadcrumbs before frying. Some recipes use hard grated cheeses such as Parmesan or Pecorino Romano, while others use softer melting cheeses like Mozzarella or Caciocavallo, or a combination of these.
In the United States and Canada, veal parmigiana or chicken parmigiana is commonly served as a grinder or a submarine sandwich. It is also popular with a side of or on top of pasta. Diced onions or green bell peppers, sautéed or raw, are sometimes added.
Chicken or veal parmigiana has become very popular in Australia as a pub dish, often served with chips and salad. It may also contain a lot of toppings, including sliced ham or fried eggplant slices. This dish is often referred to as a "parma" or "parmi", a simple shortening of the name.
A similar dish, the Parmo, which uses either pork or chicken, has been made within the country of England.
There are several theories for the origin of the name "parmigiana".
One common theory says the name is from Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan cheese).
Another theory says the name is an alteration of the Sicilian word "parmiciana":
This is an ancient Sicilian dish which, in all cookbooks, is erroneously stated as obtaining its name from Parmesan cheese, which is one of the ingredients. Nothing could be further from the truth. The name "parmigiana" does not derive from that of the cheese but is the Italianization of the Sicilian dialectal word "parmiciana", which refers to the slats of wood which compose the central part of a shutter and overlap in the same manner as the slices of eggplant in the dish."
As with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, the word "Parmigiana" is often rendered as "Parmesan" in English-speaking countries, from the French word for "from Parma."
Veal
Veal is the meat of young cattle (calves), as opposed to beef from older cattle. Though veal can be made from a calf of either sex and any breed, most veal comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds. Veal has a tender texture.
Veal has been an important ingredient in Italian and French cuisine since ancient times. The veal is often in the form of cutlets, such as the Italian cotoletta or the famous Austrian dish Wiener Schnitzel. Some classic French veal dishes include: fried escalopes, fried veal Grenadines (small thick fillet steaks), stuffed paupiettes, roast joints and blanquettes. As veal is lower in fat than many meats, care must be taken in preparation to ensure that it does not become tough. Veal is often coated in preparation for frying or eaten with a sauce. Veal Parmigiana is a common Italian-American dish consisting of breaded veal cutlets.
Veal is a controversial issue in terms of animal welfare.
Many animal welfare groups, who strongly focus on factory farming, try to educate consumers about several veal production procedures that they consider to be inhumane. This education has been successful in creating pressure on the industry, resulting in recently announced changes in the methods used by the veal industry.
A strong animal welfare movement about veal started in the 1980s with the release of photographs of veal calves tied up in crates where they could barely move. After people saw these photographs, people started buying less veal. They have not started buying more again.
Many veal farmers listened to the concern of their customers and have started improving conditions in their veal farms.
The American Veal Association has announced they plan to stop the use of crates by 2017, which is often the main focus of controversy in veal farming. Strauss Brands is the first veal packer in the US to raise veal calves completely tether free and group raised since December 31, 2008.
Though a lot of people think the crates are bad because the calves can't move much and get sick, the Veal Quality Assurance Program & Veal Issues Management Program industry fact sheet, and the Ontario Veal Association say the crates are important for keeping out diseases and keeping the calves from getting hurt. They also state that it lets veal farmers provide more personal attention to veal calves.
Other uses for male dairy calves include raising bob veal (slaughter at 2 or 3 days old), raising calves as "red veal" without the harsh food restrictions needed to create pale meat (resulting in fewer antibiotic treatments and fewer slaughtered calves), and as dairy beef.