18thC Cuisine

Limonade de Vin

2012-01-03T11:44:00.004-05:00

I managed to grow just two lemons on my Meyer Lemon tree this year. And here is the perfect recipe for this bounty--I shall have a taste of summer in this very cold month.

Wine lemonade

Put in a pot two pints of wine, a wine bottle of water, Zests of two Lemons, & also the juice which you express: Then put in nine or ten ounces of Sugar, more or less according to whether you like it sweetened, or according to the quality of the wine. Let it infuse approximately half an hour; then strain, & put it in bottles. When you want to drink some, chill it.

Limonade de Vin

Mettez dans une terrine deux pintes de vin, une chopine d'eau, les Zests de deux Citrons, & aussi le jus que vous exprimez: Ensuite mettez-y neuf ou dix onces de Sucre, plus ou moins selon que vous l'aimez sucré, ou selon la bonté du vin. Laissez-la infuser environ une demi-heure; ensuite passez la à la chausse, & la mettez dans des bouteilles. Quand vous voulez en boire, faites-la rafraîchir.
*****
Nouvelle Instruction pour les Confitures, les Liqueurs, et les Fruits, François Massialot. Chez Claude Prudhomme, Paris, 1716, p. 305.

10 Years - 10 Days

2011-08-14T11:05:00.006-04:00

Image Source

Total immersion, ten days of living history to mark the tenth anniversary of a dedicated band of reenactors in a truly magical place, Louisbourg. Cooking, dancing, fishing, praying - you name it - they did it. Enjoy the photos and relive with them an 18thC colonial seaport.

Assembling Pastry-making Tools

2011-06-24T13:57:00.003-04:00

My order is in--I'm just waiting for the boat to arrive with provisions. I will be perfecting my technique by comparing modern instructions with 18thC recipes using the following books: Mastering the Art of French Pastry, by Healy and Bugat and Nouvelle Instruction pour Les Confitures by Massialot.

Swiss or Dry Meringues

2011-06-22T21:20:00.005-04:00

«For Swiss Meringue, egg whites and sugar are combined at the outset and whipped over low heat. … Swiss merignue is much heavier than French and Italian merignues. At one time it was considered quite versatile, and some chefs preferred it over French and Italian meringues for many purposes because it is very stable.» The Art of the Cake, Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat. William-Morrow, NYC, NY, 1999, p. 173.

The beginnings of Swiss meringue can be found in François Massialot's Le Cuisinier Roïal et Bourgeois, 1691, translated in The Court and Country Cook in 1702, p. 103.

Dry Meringues
Having caus'd the Whites of four new-laid Eggs to be whipt, as before, till they rise up to a Snow, let four Spoonfuls of very dry Powder-sugar, be put into it, and well temper'd with a Spoon: Then let all be set over a gentle Fire, to be dried a little at two several times, and add some Pistachoes, that are pounded and dried a lttle in the Stove. Afterwards, they are pounded and dried a little in the Stove. Afterwards, they are to be dress'd as the others, and bak'd in the Oven somewhate leisurely, with a little Fire underneath, and more on the top: When they are sufficiently done, and very dry, let they be taken out, and cut with a Knife: Lastly, as soon as they are somewhat cold, let them be laid upon Paper, and set into the Stove to be kept dry.

Bread Baking Day #40 - Baking with Curds

2011-05-22T10:04:00.001-04:00

This month the theme is bread with curd. With curd I mean the dairy product obtained by curdling milk with rennet or an edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar. You don't need to make curd yourself, but you are invited to do so, if you like. Otherwise just buy it. You can use curd, cottage cheese, quark and paneer and the bread can be sweet or savory.

How to participate: •Bake a yeasted bread with curd.
•Post about it on your blog with a link back to this post.
•Fill in the submission form below and your post will be listed in the roundup.
•Please only one entry per blog.
•Your post can be written in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian. All other languages please translate to one of these languages.
•Last day of submission is June 1st, 2011.

Baby Lemons

2011-03-21T14:11:00.002-04:00

It's been a dreary Winter. The calendar says it's now Spring. I've been busy hand-pollinating my lemon tree and it appears I shall be rewarded with some lemons one of these Spring days.

Biscotins

2011-01-25T19:10:00.003-05:00

Another manner of Biscotins
Take a half-pound of sugar; cook it to the feather stage. Once cooked, remove it from the fire, & weigh three-quarters [pound] of flour which you will put inside your sugar syrup, reserve some flour that you will keep to handle it on the table. Having put your flour in your syrup, you will stir it well with a spoon: when your paste is well done [all your syrup has been absorbed into the flour], take it from the stove, & put it onto a clean table [marble pastry board], where you will have strewn a little flour before; it is necessary to stir it up; at the same time you will pour out your paste, & make small balls about one inch: you must work quickly; because when the paste is cold, one cannot work with it anymore: when the balls are formed, cook in the oven without paper; on copper sheets. When they are cooked, take out of the oven, & put them in a paper cone at the drying oven.

Another manner.
You will take a pound & half wholewheat flour: cook twenty ounces of sugar to the small feather; you will pour it in a mortar; let it cool & afterwards put in the flour, six fresh eggs & a spoonful of orange flower water; pound the whole together one quarter-of-an-hour, & pour out of the mortar onto a clean table, & roll the aforementioned paste in rolls, as large as a hazel nut, & cook in an oven until hot [cooked through or set] and sweet-smelling. Here is a recipe with proportions of ingredients. These biscotins also enclose a hazelnut, or you could use a whole almond. The orange flower water makes a delightful taste and smell--even better the next day. But be warned! These are very hard on the teeth--dunk them in expresso or mocha to soften them. Enjoy!

Nouvelle Instruction pour les Confitures, les Liqueurs, et les Fruits, François Massialot. Chez Claude Prudhomme, Paris, 1716, pp. 194-196.

Arroche Fraise - Strawberry Spinach

2010-11-28T15:00:00.007-05:00

Strawberry Spinach [Chenopodium capitatum, also known as strawberry blite] (available from Heirloom Seeds) turned out to not only be a spectacular plant, but a delightful eat, served here with one of my tiny green climbing melons(vert grimpant seeds available from Baker Creek) after mascerating with a touch of sugar on a bit of yogurt.

Thanksgiving Bounty

2010-11-25T16:44:00.007-05:00

May this day of Thanksgiving find you truly blessed.

Pictured are Galeux D'Eysines squash, our own cross of a pumpkin-squash, Marina Di Chioggia squash and Rouge Vif D' Etampes & Musquee De Provence pumpkins. Aah, the pies and confitures that await …

Seeds available from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Court & Country Cook

2010-09-09T09:13:00.007-04:00

A 1702 translation of François Massialot's Cuisinier royal et bourgeois of 1691, is now available hand bound, 18thC style with marbled boards and 1/4 leather binding, by Paul McClintock, Common Hands Studio, for $100.00. Please contact Paul for shipping details and payment.

Massialot's book was reissued and updated often in French during the 18thC, but only once in English. The book is full of savories and sweets, liqueurs and confitures, instructions for table settings and menues for fat days and lean (fasting meals according to the church's calendar). Reenactors, living historians, museums and lovers of food and great books will find a remarkable treat in this lovely volume. Paul's work is magnificent--you won't be disappointed!

The Court and Country Cook: Giving New and Plain Directions How to Order all manner of ENTERTAINMENTS. A 480 page volume, presented to the BINDERY by Mrs. Carolyn Smith - Kizer. Additional copies will be bound in a 1/4 calf with marbled boards and may be had at the Crown and Book. Please inquire. fromcommonhands@yahoo.com

Poirée - Chard - White Beet

2010-09-02T17:57:00.006-04:00

Chard - use the chopped, blanched or wilted leaves in fillings for ravioli, tarts or pan-pies. The stalks can be sliced and used like celery. Another use of stalks is to cut them in finger lengths, blanch, dip in beaten egg and dredge in bread crumbs and fry in oil - sprinkle with salt and freshly grated nutmeg and serve as a side dish.

WHITE BEET, otherwise called chard, in Latin beta, pot herb which one cooks the leaves in a pot, & the stalks in ragout. … One can cut it very often during the summer, because it grows back easily, like sorrel & parsley.

POIRÉE, autrement appellée bette-blond ou blanche, en Latin beta, herbe potagere dont on met les feuilles au pot, & les cardes en ragout. … On peut le couper fort souvent pendant l’été, parce qu’il repousse aisément, comme l’oseille & le persil.*****
La Nouvelle Maison Rustique, Troisieme Partie, Le Jardinage, Livre Second, Chap. II, p. 125.

Cooking for Geeks

2010-08-06T14:14:00.008-04:00

If you've ever wondered how to adjust the taste of something you're cooking to give it the WOW factor or to add what's missing, this book is for you. With the added factor of umami (savory), along with salty, sweet, sour and bitter tastes explained by cuisine/country and ingredients, you're sure to find an explanation of «why» this or that ingredient is or isn't the one to add to mask or enhance your dish. Cooking for Geeks by Jeff Potter is more a book about cooking than a cookbook - new from O'Reilly Press.

Even though Geeks contains experiments with new ways of food preparation, overclocking your oven and sous vide, the science behind new techniques and centuries' old ones are explained in this book. Case in point, the Maillard reaction--how proteins react with heat and why you would want them to--explains the browning of your bagel, your sausage and even your self-tanning lotions!

Jeff Potter has taken the sting out of the moniker «geek.» Once you're through with his book, you'll proudly claim that title for yourself!

If Jeff has inspired you to play more with your food, cooking schools online may be for you.

Ail - Garlic - A Favorite for Millenia

2010-07-27T12:40:00.004-04:00

We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. Num 11:5 ESV
Nous nous souvenons des poissons que nous mangions en Égypte, et qui ne nous coûtaient rien, des concombres, des melons, des poireaux, des oignons et des aulx. Nombres 11:5 (Louis Segond)

GARLIC, is produced by the offshoots which are formed out of the ground around a stem, & is an onion species: one calls these offshoots cloves of garlic. To multiply it one plants these cloves in ground in April or March [or the preceding Fall], four inches deep, & three or four inches from each other: one leaves them in the ground until towards the end of July, & one puts them to dry to keep them then from one year to another, in a place which is not wet. Most of the major garlic diseases are soilborne, so proper site assessment and yearly rotations are crucial in maintaining a healthy garden of garlic. Garlic has a very strong odor.

Garlic scapes are the flower stalk of the garlic pulled to allow the head to become bigger below the ground. Scapes make a wonderful pickle, can be pounded into a «pesto», or just cut and added to stirfries.

***AIL, est produit par des caïeux qui se forment en terre autour de pied, & qui font tous ensemble une espéce d’oignon: on appelle ces caïeux des gousses d’ail. Pour le multiplier on remet ces caïeux en terre au mois de Mars ou d’Avril, à quatre pouces de profondeur, & à trois ou quatre de distance les unes des autres: on les sort de terre vers la fin de Juillet, & on les met sécher pour les garder ensuite d’une année a l’autre, dans un lieu qui ne soit pas humide. La meme terre ne peut pas porter de l’ail deux années de suite; & cette plante craint dit de Sarres, de s’y succéder à elle-même. L’ail est d’une odeur très-forte.

La Nouvelle Maison Rustique, Troisieme Partie, Le Jardinage, Livre Second, Chap. II, pp. 87.

Arroche - Orache - Bonne-Dame

2010-07-13T16:33:00.014-04:00

BONNE-DAME, ou arroche, est une herbe potagere qui dure peu; elle ne vient que de graine, qui est extrêmement plate & mince, ronde & roussatre; on la seme fes premieres au printems en rayons sur planche, ou elle ne reste guère de tems, parce qu’elle leve fort vite, & qu’elle monte en graine dès le mois de Juin. Sa feuille est fort agreeable à manger en farce: on en met aussi dans les potages; elle les rend jaunes and comme dorés: on s’en sert presque d’abord qu’elle est sortie de terre, à cause qu’elle passé vite. Pour en avoir dans la primeur, il faut en semer sur un bout de couche: elle vient en toute sorte de terre, mais toujours plus belle dans les bonnes que dans les médiocres. Lorsqu’on veut en avoir de belle graine, il est bon d’en replanter quelques pieds dans un endroit à part.

La Nouvelle Maison Rustique, Troisieme Partie, Le Jardinage, Livre Second, pp. 93-94.

French Synonyms : Bonne Dame des jardins, la Folette, la poule grasse, la glorieuse, la prude femme, le blé d'espagne, épinard des montagnes, belle dame et le chou d'amour. Atriplex hortensis L., family Chenopodiaceae.

Seeds of Arroche blonde (white/alba) or Bonne Dame available from Ferme de Sainte Marthe

Recipes for orach as an au courant vegetable. Here you see it peaking out of my lettuce patch--I don't have to plant seeds--it's considered by some to be a pervasive weed. It ranks right up there with Dandelion, Watercress and Nettles in chemical analysis: leaves per 100 g contain ca. 17 g protein, 3 g fat, 56 g total carbohydrate, 11 g fiber, 24 g ash, and perhaps 2,000 mg Ca, 150 mg P, 10 mg Fe, 2 mg Cu, 500 mg Mg, 800 mg K, 10 mg Mn, 2 mg b-carotene equivalent (Miller, 1958). It mixes very well with shredded roots and could be used to farce or stuff pasta (ravioli) or tint and flavor pasta dough for lasagna.

Here you see my starts of strawberry spinach or Arroche Fraise. It will eventually look like this and have little red berry fruits.

ARROCHE, plante connue sous les noms de bonne dame, belle dame & follette. Ses fleurs naissent en grand nombre aux extrémités de la tige & des rameaux, elles sont composées de plusieurs étamines sans pétales. Ces étamines sortent d'an calyx à cinq feuille, avec un pistile qui devient dans la suite une semence plate, ronde, & enveloppée par une capsule.

On distingue trois especes d'arroche, la blanche, la rouge, & la puante: il n'y a que les deux premieres qu'on cultive dans les potagers pour l’usage de la cuisine; on en bannit même la rouge à cause de la teinte rouge que sa feuille donneroit au bouillon.

L'arroche eft une herbe potagere. Qui dure très-peu; elle ne vient que de graine qu'on seme pour l'ordinaire à l'entrée du printems, à la volée, ou par rayons sur planche, pour en jouir en attendant la poirée qui ne pousse pas avec la meme rapidité. Mais si, d'un côté, elle a le mérite de lever très-vite, elle a aussi le défaut de monter en graine presqu'auffi-tôt qu'elle est levée. Elle vient en toute sorte de terre, mais toujours plus belle dans les bonnes que dans les médiocres. Lors-qu'on veut en avoir debelle graine, il est bon d'en replanter quelques pieds dans un endroit à part. S'es feuilles entrent dans les potages, & dans les farces, où on l'emploie avec l'oseille, au défaut de la poirée.

Dictionnaire Domestic Portatif. Chez Vincent, Paris 1765, Tome Premiere, p. 105.

Dandelion Fritters - A Spring Tonic

2010-04-21T12:44:00.004-04:00

Dried up [left over from winter storage], shredded turnips and fresh chopped dandelions make a tasty fritter with the addition of an egg, some milk and flour, maybe some flavoring herbs or spices, a pinch of salt. Beets, carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, even shredded pumpkin or squash will work. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche.

Dandelion Root - Coffee Substitute

2010-04-12T16:35:00.003-04:00

For those of you who think dandelions are the bane of your lawn, dig them up, scrub the roots, slice the tops off then chop all of the roots, including the hairs finely and roast in a very slow oven, stirring often so they don't burn.

My husband does not drink wine, he says he doesn't like the aftertaste, but later in the day when he walked through the kitchen, he asked me why he smelled carob. Everytime I opened the oven door to stir the danelions, I smelled dark berries and chocolate. We discussed the way the palate works, how the tongue, throat and nose all catch different smells and tastes that contribute to the bouquet of food. Maybe someday I can convince him to try a wine with a carob or chocolate bouquet.

To make «coffee» from your roasted roots, steep in water that has just come to the boil, remove from the heat. After 10 minutes or so, strain, pour and sweeten to your taste. Then tell me what smells are wafting from your cup …

Œufs pochez à la Princesse - Princess Poached Eggs

2010-03-24T19:04:00.006-04:00

Princess Poached Eggs.
Start by dissolving sugar [simple syrup], cooking until it takes a consistency of syrup; break eggs, using only the yolks, put each one in an eating spoon, & hold in the syrup, until they are cooked; make as many and as cooked [hard or soft] as you like, & when your dish is filled, sprinkle with sugar, and when they are served, pour a little Orange flower water over them and add a grating of candied lemon peel.

Interesting taste, one of those items of which you close your eyes before you take a bite--reminds me of what I thought was crazy when the boys in the cafeteria at college in East Texas poured pancake syrup on their eggs--but it actually tastes good. Evidently it is still appreciated in Quebec where they pour maple syrup over eggs.

*****Œufs pochez à la Princesse.
On commence par faire fondre du sucre qu’on cuit, jusqu’à ce qu’il ait pris une consistance de syrop; on casse des œufs dont on ne prend que les jaunes, qu’on met l’un aprés l’autre dans une cuilliere à bouche, & qu’on tient ainsi dans le syrop, jusqu’à ce qu’ils soient cuits, on en fait tant qu’on en veut de cette maniere, & lorsque le plat est rempli, on les poudre de sucre, puis on les sert, piquez d’écorce de citron confits, avec de l’eau de fleur d’Orange, qu’on verse pardessus.

Le Menage de la Ville et des Champs, et le Jardinier François, Louis Liger & Nicolas de Bonnefons. Chez Jean Leonard, Brussels, 1712, p.156-157.

Fricassée de Poulets & à la Bourdois

2010-03-21T22:22:00.005-04:00

Chicken fricassee.
Take two fatty chickens which you singe, then remove the skin and entrails; cut them into pieces and rinse in tepid water; blanch for 1 minute in boiling water and plunge immediately into ice water, drain and pat dry with a towel; barely color them in sizzling butter, on medium heat, and add some mushrooms and a tablespoon of flour, stir to coat and add two ladlesful of good [chicken] broth; add a well seasoned bouquet [garni]; remove any foam that arises, and degrease it only at the end. When the chickens are cooked, you drain them on a white cloth and then put them in a small pan; reduce the sauce if it is too liquid, and bind it with three egg yolks, a good piece of butter and juice of a lemon; strain the sauce through cheesecloth onto the chickens, hold over a bain-marie, until you serve.

Chicken fricassee à la Bourdois.
Chicken fricassée à la Bourdois is made in the same way as the preceding one, with this difference that when it is drawn up on its dish, you cover it with bread crumbs. Put on the bread crumb small pieces of large butter like a pea: color it below a lid of tart plate [salamander or red-hot fireshovel] or in a furnace [oven]: serve warm. This way is good to mask a fricassée which one [has already, i.e., leftovers] served at table.

***** Fricassee de Poulets.
Prenez deux poulets gras que vous flambez, épluchez et videz; coupez-les par membres et les faites dégorger dans de l’eau tiède; vous les faites blan¬chir légèrement et les égouttez ensuite sue un torchon; vous les passez au beurre, sur un fourneau un peu vif, et y mettez quelques champignons et une poignée de farine, que vous délayez avec deux cuillerées à pot de bon consommé; ajoutez-y un bouquet bien assaisonné; ayes bien soin de l’écumer souvent, et ne la dégraissez qu'à la fin. Lors¬que les poulets sont cuits, vous les égouttez sur un torchon blanc et les mettez ensuite dans une petite casserole; vous faites réduire la sauce si elle ne l’est pas assez, et la liez avec trois jaunes d'œufs, un bon morceau de beurre et du jus d'un citron; vous la passez à l'étamine, sur les poulets, que vous te¬nez chaudement au bain-marie, jusqu'à ce que vous serviez.***Fricassée de Poulets à la bourdois [family name].
La fricassée de poulets à la bourdois se fait de la même façon que la précédente, à cette difference que quand elle est dressée sur son plat, vous la pannez de mie de pain. Mettez sur la mie de pain des petits morceaux de beurre gros comme un pois: faites prendre une couleur dorée dessous un couvercle de tourtiere ou dans un four: servez chaudement. Cette façon est bonne pour masquer une fricassée que l’on a desservie de la table.

La Cuisiniere Bourgeoise, Suivie de l'Office. Menon, Chez Monory, Paris, 1769, p. 250-252.

Chicken Galantine

2010-03-18T14:03:00.006-04:00

Galantine.
The nature of an Intermess of Galantine shall be hereafter explain'd in the Article of Suckling-Pigs, under the Letter P. and there also shall be shew'd the Manner of Garnishing it and Serving it up to Table: We shall only intimate here, that it may also be garnish'd with its Skin well breaded and brought to a fine colour, by means of the red-hot Fire-shovel; for the rest, the Reader is referr'd to the Place even now mentioned. P. 128.

I have discovered that any fowl can be deboned and stuffed, then rolled and placed seam-side down in a close-fitting casserole dish and baked with its lid--this will approximate the Stew-pan named in the following recipe. Once the bird is baked [350°F 1 1/2 hours or so], remove the lid and place a weighted board on the top of the galantine and cool overnight. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and broil [red hot Fire-shovel]. Slice and serve.

The close-fitting casserole takes the place of the napkin and the broth in which modern galantines are normally poached. Although this recipe is for suckling pig and includes Gammon [Old French for jambon--ham] & Bacon, this works very well for stuffed poultry or game birds. I used ground beef [with a spoon of brandy, 1/4 teaspoon curing salt and a teaspoon of Menues Epice] along with an egg yolk, the strong herb liquor and cream pounded until smooth to Farce the chicken and strips of turkey ham along with harden'd Yolks and Pistachoes; otherwise the recipe is the same. I cannot believe how easy this dish is to prepare. There is even lots of gelatin surrounding the cooled galantine to serve in little cubes.

Here is a video of Jacques Pepin deboning a chicken.

An Intermess of a Suckling Pig in Galantine.
After having caus'd your Pig to be well scalded and drawn, cut off the Head and the four Legs: Then let the Skin be slipt off, beginning at the Belly; but care must be taken that it be not cut, especially on the Back: Let this Skin be neatly spread upon the Dresser, whilst a Farce is preparing, with the Flesh of the Pig, a piece of very tender Veal, a little raw Gammon, and Bacon; also, a little Parsly, chopt Chibbol, and all sorts of fine Herbs, except Rosemary and Sage. In the mean while, a Strong Liquor is to be made, with a Quart of Water, two Bay-leaves, some Thyme, sweet Basil, Savoury, three Cloves of Garlick, and two or three shalots; this Liquor when half boil'd away, will serve to moisten your Farce. Let some Pistachoes and Almonds be also scalded according to discretion, and let six Eggs be harden'd to get their Yolks: Afterwards let some of your Bacon and Gammon be cut into thick Slices, taking only the lean part of the Gammon: When they are all well season'd, let a slice of Gammon, another of Bacon; as also, a Lay[er] of Almonds, another of Pistachoes, and a third of hard Yolks be set in order. Besides, you must put into the Farce, some Truffles and Mushrooms cut small, with a little Milk-cream, and soak them in your strong Liquor, adding afterwards the Yolk of one Egg. The Bacon and the other Things being thus order'd, this Farce is to be spread over them, beginning at one of the ends of the Skin, and then roll'd up; drawing the two Swards on both Sides close together, so as the Farce my not fall out: When it is well roll'd up of a convenient length, let it be tied, or sow'd up on all Sides, and put into a Napkin; which must be bound at both Ends and in the middle, to keep it very firm and compact. At last, it must be bak'd in a Stew-pan between two Fires, viz. one upon the Lid and the other underneath, for the space of ten or twelve Hours, with some Slices of Bacon and Beef_stakes, both on the Bottom and Top of the Pan: Let your farced Pig cool in the same Pan, and as soon as it is taken out of the Napkin, let it be untied, and cut into Slices, which are to laid in a Dish, upon a clean Napkin, and so serv'd up cold, with Slices of Lemmon and Flowers. P. 191-2.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702.

BizYmoms Interview

2010-03-17T14:50:00.002-04:00

Bizymoms.com has recognized me as a Top Blogger. Read my Interview on Classic French Cuisine.

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Marinade de Poulets - Batter-fried Chicken

2010-02-15T22:06:00.005-05:00

Fried chicken, with and without batter--the original chicken tenders--and period-correct, too!

Chicken Marinade.
Cut your Chickens in pieces, & marinate them with the juice of lemon & verjuice, or vinegar, salt, pepper, cloves, Welsh onions [scallions] & bay leaves. Leave them in this Marinade the space of three hours: then make a batter in a bowl with flour, salt, an egg, & a [walnut-sized] piece of butter, melted; beat well, adding water if needed to create the right consistency; then drain your Chickens of marinade & pat dry with white linen, & soak them in your batter, drain with a spoon & fry in lard: having a beautiful color, you withdraw them & drain them on a towel, or a dish, also fry parsley for garnish; & serve them hot for Entrèe, or Hors d'œuvres; can use to garnish other dishes.
One can make these Marinades without batter; Chickens are marinated, then drained & wiped on a linen cloth; flour a towel, roll the Chickens [around on the towel to coat with flour], & fry in lard; be careful of splattering grease: being fried of a beautiful color, you serve it just as the other recipe above.
*****
Marinade de Poulets.
Mettez vos Poulets par quartiers, & faites-les mariner au jus de citron & verjus, ou vinaigre, sel, poivre, clous, ciboules & laurier. Laissez-les dans cette Marinade l'espace de trois heures: ensuite faites une pâte avec de la farine, du sel, de l'eau, que vous délayez bien ensemble, avec un œuf, & y mettez un morceau de beurre fondu; & ayant bien battu le tout ensemble dans une casserole, avec une cuilliere, vous égoutez vos Poulets de vôtre marinade sur un linge blanc, & les trempez dans vôtre pâte, & les faite frire dans du sain-doux: ayant une belle couleur, vous les retirez & les dressez sur une serviette, ou sur un plat, avec du persil frit; & les servez chaudement pour Entrèe, ou Hors d'œuvres, ou garniture.
L'on fait ces Marinades là sans pâte; on ne fait seulement, lorsque les Poulets sont marinez, que les égouter & les essuyer sur un linge, & les fariner bien sur une serviette, en les remuant bien, & les faire frire dans du sain-doux; mais que la friture soit un peu chaude: étant frite d'une belle couleur, vous la servez de même que l'autre marquèe ci-dessus.

Cuisinier Nouveau Royal et Bourgeois, Massialot, François. Chez Prudhomme, Paris 1734, Vol I, p. 432.

Period Hot Sauce! Cayenne en Vinaigre

2010-02-13T19:43:00.006-05:00

1. Take cider vinegar and add pepper and other spices to excite fermentation.
Nouvelle Maison Rustic 1702 and 1777 p.85.

2. Capsicum

3. Piment de Cayenne

Rough translation of the third citation:
«Guinea pepper is also called coral gardens, Spanish pepper, pepper of India,
called in England the whole fruit chillies ground pepper, Cayenne. Generally
cultivated in America, in Europe, Spain, Hungary & South of France.

This pepper is used as seasoning in vinegar. It is also used to flavor vinegar
and really to make bitter [tangy] instead of sour. In England there are fruit
pepper pods heart shaped.

Cayenne pepper also known as cayenne pepper, Cayenne chillies, whole fruit red pepper Americans, Cayenne pepper, another species of Capsicum.

In America, use of a special process to grind the pepper red fruit is mixed with
wheat flour after putting in earthen pots of alternate layers of fruit and flour
that is placed in a drying oven. After it dries, the flour [pepper pot] or
Cayenne is prepared by pulverizing the biscuit that is made with wheat flour and seed.

Chemical analysis was carried out by L M Braconnot in 1817.»

These peppers were growing in America, the Caribbean and the South of France and Basque country since at least 1600-ish.

Marinade - Mariner

2010-02-12T12:59:00.004-05:00

Marinade.
Est une sausse dans laquelle on met tremper les choses aux quelles on veut relever la saveur, & les rendre plu agréables au goût. On met differentes choses en Marinade, ou pour garnir d'autres plats, ou pour en faire de cela même. On garnit des Fricassées de Poulets, d'autres Poulets en Marinade: la Marinade de Veau sert à garnir des Poitrines de Veau farcies, ou Longes de Veau rôties; & ainsi du reste, comme Pigeons, Perdrix, & autres, dont on peut aussi faire des plats separez pour Entrèes. Parcourons de qu'il y a à observer là-dessus.

Marinade.
Is a sauce in which one puts to soak to increase flavor, & to tenderize. One puts various things in Marinade, depending upon the desired result. Used with Chicken fricassèes, & other Chickens in Marinade: the Veal Marinade is used with the stuffed breast of veal, or roast Veal Loin; also used with Pigeons, Partridge, & others, including vegetables or salads.

Le Cuisinier Nouveau Royal et Bourgeois, Massialot, François. Chez Prudhomme, Paris 1734, Vol I.

Etymology: French, from Marinate to pickle, marinate, probably from Italian marinare
Date: 1725, usually a savory acidic sauce in which meat, fish, or a vegetable is soaked to flavor or tenderize it.

Mariner: se dit des viandes, ou poissons aux quels on donne un goût de marine; par cette préparation, en les mettant dans l'huile ou le vinaigre, avec des herbes fortes, on les conserve quelque tems. On marine des huitres & des champignons, &c.

To marinate: said of meats, or fish; used to give a taste of marinade; by using this preparation, putting them in oil or the vinegar, with strong herbs, one preserves them some time. One marinates oysters, mushrooms, &c.

Marinade: espece de préparation qu’on fait aux viandes, en les laissant tremper quelque tems dans une sauce de vinaigre, avec sel, poivre & épices, cloux, citrons, oranges, oignons, romarins, sauge, &c. pour en relever la saveur, & leur donner plus de relief au goût.

Marinade: type of preparation used with the meats, by letting them soak some time in a vinegar sauce, with salt, pepper & spices, cloves, lemons, oranges, onions, rosemary, sage, etc., & to highly season or to enhance the taste.

Dictionnaire Portatif de Cuisine, d'Office, et de Distillation. Chez Vincent, Paris 1767

Crackling Crust for Marmelade and Cheese

2009-11-28T17:07:00.000-05:00

Crackling crust another way used to form a rustic tart baked on paper and filled with a jar of very old plum jam I couldn't bear to throw away. I seasoned it with a few grinds of black pepper to cut the cloying taste of the jam. As you can see from the crumbs on the plate, my husband had more than one piece. Pepper with sweets is an old taste, but a very interesting one and very good. The crust was so delicious that I tried it with sweetened cheese, as well. Superb with coffee for breakfast or dessert!

Preparing for treize (13) desserts …

2009-11-18T14:36:00.008-05:00

Groaning holiday tables, after le «gros souper», reflect the special treats, a little something for everyone, known as treize (13) desserts, one for each of the 12 apostles and Christ. Now is the time to begin to gather the ingredients for the preparation of items such as pâte de coigns, nougats, calissons, dried fruits and nuts. Fresh fruits known as winter (meaning their flavor and texture will improve with storage) apples, pears and melons can be sat back in special boxes and nets to bring out at the last minute. Fondant stuffed dates and nutmeat farced figs and an assortment of nuts can be cured in paper-lined boxes with bay leaves which can then be used to dress they plate when serving these sweetmeats. Chocolates and fresh citrus fruits will round out the menu.

Raifort - voyez Rave

2009-11-12T11:05:00.005-05:00

Horseradish was used in Alsace in many ways and was taken to New France. Grated fresh it is used as a preventive against food poisoning, scruvy, tuberculosis and colic; cooked it's used in sauces with meats and soups. It is considered a bitter herb and has been used medicinally for centuries. Depending upon how young your horseradish patch is, it is best gathered in Spring. If your patch is old, dig the roots in Fall, and process only the smallest and most tender. Disburbing the patch will result in smaller and more numerous roots for next Spring.***Dictionnaire Portatif de Cuisine, d'Office, et de Distillation. Chez Vincent, Paris 1767, p. 275. *****RAVE: on en distingue de plusiers sortes, sçavoir, celle qu'on appelle communément rave, ou petit rave; le grand & le petit raifort, & autres. On ne mange guère de ces trois especes, que celle qu'on appelle raves & radis. Le printems est le tems où el es sont meilleures: il faut les choisir tendres, bien nourries & faciles à rompre. Lorsqu'il fait chaud, elles deviennent trop piquantes.
OBSERVATION MÉDECINALE.
La rave est stomachique, apéitive, anti-scorbutique; mais comme elle se mange crue, elle ne convient qu'aux estomacs, & à ceux qui la mâchent bien.

Raifort - Horseradish

2009-11-10T16:20:00.005-05:00

Cool, brisk weather means it's time to dig the raifort - horseradish roots to grind and preserve in white wine vinegar. After several weeks, the vinegar makes a wonderful liquid to deglaze fond and to flavor vinaigrette. The root itself flavors soups, sauces and roast meats.

Scrub and peel the roots; grind and store in a jar covered with vinegar--lasts virtually forever!

Calville Rouge d'Automne

2009-10-15T20:36:00.003-04:00

Well, I finally harvested the one apple that has been hanging on my little tree. The tag said just Calville when I planted it early in 2008. This spring the flowers were double and white, not pink as the print suggests. The skin is pale red with a tinge of yellow. Its taste is sweet, slightly strawberry or tart in flavor; its flesh crisp and juicy. Its texture would make great baked apples. There were several small bumps or ribs on its blossom end. There is only one problem--I asked for a Calville Blanc d'Hiver (1598), not Rouge d'Automne (1670), from the nursery. I shall have to reorder a Calville Blanc.

World Day of Bread - 2009

2009-10-03T09:14:00.000-04:00

… in the hands of the cook …

2009-10-01T11:03:00.002-04:00

«The strength of the nation is in the hands of the cook. Feed a man well, he will work well, he will fight well.» Handwritten inscription, Célestine Eustis, 1911, from Cooking in old Créole days. La cuisine créole à l'usage des petits ménages. Eustis, Célestine.

When You Can't Have the Real Thing …

2009-09-24T18:51:00.012-04:00

One of the first faience patterns produced in the French town of Luneville c. 1728 by Jacques Chambrette was «Old Strasbourg», a brilliant polychrome made possible by the pure white of the tin glaze. I have a few pieces, but not enough to set a table for more than one--and my husband shudders every time I take them to a reenactment. But the pattern was so popular that it has been copied by Spode with variations; and also by Royal Doulton, now Minton, known as «Arcadia».

As you can see, I have a few pieces of Arcadia; it was, indeed, the pattern I chose as my wedding china.

Imagine my delight when that wonderful carrier pigeon, eBay, procured Arcopal «Provincial» in milk glass from France. Now I can serve a table of ten with several courses. Now to get to those French recipes again to grace these lovely dishes!

Doll House Kitchens -Mon Plaisir, Arnstadt (1666-1751)

2009-09-18T09:06:00.003-04:00

«Mon plaisir (My pleasure) is a miniature city of the princess Augusta Dorothea of Schwarzburg Arnstadt (1666-1751) for dolls. Thereby the reproduction of the reality at that time with aristocracy, middle class and farmer was aimed at. Is populated the doll city of over 400 dolls, which were made by the yard state of the princess in manual work. Since 1932 the entire plant is in the possession of the museum donation.»

A wonderful YouTube video of this exquisite creation. From the flamestitch tapestries to the kitchen pots and pans you are presented with intricate tableaux of 18thC life … enjoy!.

The Amadeus Award for Taste & Excellence

2009-07-27T12:31:00.003-04:00

18thC Cuisine is among the first to be awarded the coveted Amadeus Award for Taste & Excellence, a privilege to be cherished and a great responsibility to further its continuance by nominating my own favorite 18thC blogs.

Isaac Walters, a fellow reenactor and friend whom I first met at Fort de Chartres, is a historian and teacher who is furthering living history by reenacting with his young family.

18th-Century History of American Women and her companion blogs about gardening and women of other American centuries is Barbara's marvelous contribution to the Age of Enlightenment.

Mme. du Jards Atelier is a delightful site for embroidered garments and frolics à la 18thC.

Les Portraits au Pastel du XVIIIe is Jean Paul's lovely site where portraits that might not otherwise be seen are freely shared.

Colonial Women is not a blog, but a portal into living history in the vast French Colonial interior of our wonderful country. Carol, almost single-handedly, has done much to raise the barre of women's interpretations in the Pays Illinois.

Now it is time for these wonderful sites to send us further down the road to 18thC excellence.

Vin de pêche - Peach Leaf Wine

2009-07-12T14:58:00.003-04:00

Macerating quietly in the cold room is a crock of peach leaves [55], one small peach with its skin, sliced and its pit crushed and a bottle of white wine. I have been shaking this mixture for about 15 days. When I tasted it today, it still has not developed enough of that characteristic «almond» aroma, which comes from its genus [Prunus persica]. I will check it every two days and when it smells and tastes just right, I will strain it and bottle it with a handful of white sugar and a quarter cup of eau-de-vie or Marc. After corking and sealing with wax, the bottle will sit in the back of the cold room shelves for at least six months. In the middle of winter, when it’s cold and dreary, a small glass served with a biscuit for dessrt, or as an apéritif will delight my guests and remind us that Summer will eventually come again.

See Cherry Leaf Wine for a similar process.

Poulpette à l’Italienne

2009-06-30T09:31:00.004-04:00

Add a drop of Peau d’Espagne to either a bit of warm, freshly brewed tea or spirits and pour over dried Grapes of Corinth to plump them up. Make a farce of finely chopped meat to which you add grated Parmesan, pinions and your plumped raisins and any leftover liquid. Mix well and shape into flat, boat shaped poulpettes [meatballs]; flour and brown in butter. Arrange in a baking dish and pour over a coulis of Partridge [I used browned chicken broth and used it to deglaze the fond from the pan used to brown the poulpettes]. Bake until hot and bubbly and serve immediately.

The Peau d’Espagne will embue your kitchen with aromas redolent of eastern bazaars—heady and delicious!* * * * *
Poulpette à l’Italienne.
Vous faites une farce cuite à l'ordinaire, point trop fine, & liée d'œufs, de bon goût; vous mettez dedans Parmesan rapé, pignons, raisins de Corinthe entiers; vous mélez bien le tout, & vous roulez vos Poulpettes comme des croquettes, mais plates, & le farinez; vous avez une tourtiere, vous mettez du beurre dedans, & le faites fondre, & arrangez les Poulpettes dedans, & les faites cuire des deux côtés vous faites un bord au plat de la même farce, & le faites cuire; & étant cuit, vous arrangez vos Poulpettes dedans, & vous avez un appareil de peau d'Espagne à l'ordinaire avec un coulis de Perdrix passé à l'Italienne, vous plissez votre plat & les mettez prendre au four, étant cuits, servez chaud; une demie heure au four.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p.29.

Peau d'Espagne

2009-06-28T16:35:00.005-04:00

Peau d’Espagne is a combination of flower and spice oils that is used to impregnate leather with scent. To further enhance the exotic smell, civet (cat musk) and grain musk (obtained from the wild deer whose grain [gland] you see here) are added to gum (tragacanth) mucilage which is used to secure two pieces of leather together under pressure. The resulting Spanish Leather is then used to scent writing paper, ladies gloves & linens—the scent is reputed to last for years. However, the peau d’Espagne can also be used to add flavor to meat dishes.

In the kitchen, use a drop of oil in a carrier oil, such as olive, poured over a dish at the last minute prior to serving, much as one does orange or rose flower water—the heat of the dish will waft a delightfully exotic aroma. Or it can be added to warm tea or spirits used to plump up dried fruit before its inclusion in a receipt.

To scent one’s body, perhaps, is its best use today …

«This fragrance lingers on everything it touches like a rugged kiss from a cowboy soaked in campfire smoke and saddle leather sweat. It smells like the sexiest man you've ever seen in your life, taking a hot outdoor bath in a tin tub, smeared with sweet shaving lather and dust, steaming on a cold high-desert morning.»

«More specifically, according to Havelock Ellis:
“Peau d'Espagne may be mentioned as a highly complex and luxurious perfume, often the favorite scent of sensuous persons, which really owes a large part of its potency to the presence of the crude animal sexual odors of musk and civet. It consists of wash-leather steeped in ottos of neroli, rose, santal, lavender, verbena, bergamot, cloves, and cinnamon, subsequently smeared with civet and musk. It is said by some, probably with a certain degree of truth, that Peau d'Espagne is of all perfumes that which most nearly approaches the odor of a woman's skin; whether it also suggests the odor of leather is not so clear”.»

«1355. Peau d'Espagne, or Spanish Skin, is merely highly-perfumed leather. Take of oil of rose, neroli, and santal, each 1/2 ounce; oil of lavender, verbena, bergamot, each 1/4 ounce; oil of cloves and cinnamon, each 2 drachms; in this dissolve 2 ounces gum benzoin. In this steep good pieces of waste leather for a day or two, and dry it over a line. Prepare a paste by rubbing in a mortar, 1 drachm of civet with 1 drachm of grain musk, and enough gum-tragacanth mucilage to give a proper consistence. The leather is cut up into pieces about 4 inches square; two of these are pasted together with the above paste, placed between 2 pieces of paper, weighted or pressed until dry. It may then be inclosed in silk or satin. It gives off its odor for years; is much used for perfuming paper, envelopes, etc.; for which purpose 1 or 2 pieces of the perfumed leather, kept in the drawer or desk containing the paper, will impart to it a fine and durable perfume.»
Encyclopedia Of Practical Receipts And Processes, by William B. Dick.

Receipt de Cuisine:
Used in Poulpette à l’Italienne – Italian Meatballs

Exotic Ingredients - Their Receipts & Lores

2009-06-27T22:13:00.000-04:00

Today, with our often times bland tastebud experiences, the idea of eating a dish with exotic ingredients, e.g., tastes that we associate with perfumery, may seem off-putting. With this post, I will be creating a sidebar to include exotic ingredients, their receipts for manufacture, lore and links to 18thC recipes in which they were included.

Greens of Summer

2009-06-26T15:09:00.005-04:00

In my bowl are greens with sometimes funny names--pigweed, lamb's quarters, corn salat, dandelion, chickories. With them I can make stewed pot herbs, fresh salad, fried greens for inclusion in an omelette, a sandwich. Some can be brewed as tisanes.

Estragon - Tarragon

2009-06-17T15:38:00.006-04:00

Estragon: plante potagere, d’un goût âcre & aromatique qu’on emploie en cuisine, & les sommités, sur-tout les plus tendres, dans les fournitures des salades.

OBSERVATION MÉDECINALE.
Cette plante fournit un assaisonnement fort sain; elle augmente l’appetit, facilite la digestion, préserve les humeurs de putridité, ou la corrige; fait périr les vers; est legérement apéritive & calmante.

Tarragon: plant potagere, of a bitter & aromatic taste which one employs in kitchen, & the buds, especially most tender, in the supplies of salads.

MEDICINAL OBSERVATION.
This plant provides an extremely healthy seasoning; it increases the appetite, facilitates digestion, preserves moods of putridity, or corrects it [acid tisane]; purges worms; is slightly apéritive & calming.* * * * *
Dictionnaire Portatif de Cuisine, d'Office, et de Distillation. Chez Vincent, Paris 1767, p. 263.* * * * *

«An old French remedy for insomnia and hyperactivity that's been tried with pretty good success is tarragon tea. Tarragon tea is used for tough insomnia. Just steep 1-1/2 tsp. of the dried, cut herb in 1-3/4 cups boiling water, covered and away from the heat, for 40 minutes. Prepare about an hour before retiring, then strain and drink the tea while it's still lukewarm.

The best way to take tarragon for digestive-related problems is in the form of a homemade vinegar, 1 tbsp. before each meal. To make tarragon vinegar, fill a wide-mouthed fruit jar with the freshly gathered leaves, picked just before the herb flowers, on a dry day. Pick the leaves off the stalks and dry a little on a flat cookie sheet lined with foil in a low-set oven.

Medicinal uses - A simple infusion of tarragon leaves has been used to stimulate the appetite, relieve flatulence and colic, regulate menstruation, alleviate the pain of arthritis and rheumatism and gout, and expel worms from the body. The fresh leaf or root, applied to aching teeth, cuts, or sores, is said to act as a local anesthetic.

Culinary uses - Tarragon is essential in the making of Béarnaise sauce, hollandaise sauce, Montpellier butter, sauce tartare, salad dressings and vinaigrettes. It is always included in French fines herbes mixtures.

Use tarragon leaves to flavor fish, shellfish, poultry, meat dishes, particularly veal, creamy soups, omelets, quiche, and delectable oeufs en gelee, as well as spinach and mushroom dishes. As it takes but a few minutes' cooking time to release tarragon's flavor, add the leaves when your dish is just about ready to serve.»

Cited from: Herbs 2000

Spinage-pan-pie.

2009-05-24T11:34:00.005-04:00

A Spinage-pan-pie.
Take Spinage-leaves, and scald them in Water, or else stew them in an earthen Pot, with half a Glass of white Wine, to take away their Crudity. As soon as the Wine is consum’d, let the Spinage be drain’d, and chopt very small, season’d with a little Salt, Cinnamon, Sugar, Lemmon-peel, two Macaroons* (Macarons) and sweet Butter. Them let them be put into fine Paste, and cover’d with Slips of cut Pastry-work; adding some Sugar and Orange-flower (water), as it is serving up to Table.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 261.* * * * **A tablespoon of flour mixed with the sugar will work well if you have no macarons. Because of the flavor achieved from the macaron (usually ground almonds or other nutmeats), add a grating of nutmeg or a drop of almond oil.

Again, we usually don't think of spinach with sugar, but this is delicious, either for dessert or as a side dish.

Tisane - an herbal brew

2009-04-15T13:24:00.004-04:00

The Tisane Seller, Françoise DuParc

On this day of protest, I bring you a medicinal brew, a tisane*, used in place of that once heavily taxed tea.

«You are cordially invited to An Independence Tea Party.

On October 25, 1774, fifty-one ladies of Edenton, North Carolina, were called together by Penelope Barker and met in the home of Elizabeth King to express their indignation over the newly imposed British tax on tea. The ladies vowed (while sipping tea made from raspberry leaves) that: "We, the ladies of Edenton, do hereby solemnly engage not to conform to the Pernicious Custom of Drinking Tea."»

* * * * *Invitation quoted from The Military Wives' Cookbook, Carolyn Quick Tillery. Cumberland House Publishing, Nashville, TN, 2008, p. 5.

*[Middle English tisane, peeled barley, barley water, from Old French, from Latin ptisana, tisana, from Greek ptisanē, from ptissein, to crush.]

As Those Tea Parties Brew …

2009-04-06T15:52:00.005-04:00

Detail, Lady Taking Tea, Chardin

Back in 1773, the powers that be imposed an unpopular tax on tea. The colonists, already seething with rebellion over taxation without representation, dumped a boatload of the stuff into Boston Harbor in protest.

Today it appears that we have not learned the lessons of history--our leaders are once again heaping unfair taxes upon us--so it's time once again to proclaim liberty!

Tourte of franchipanne

2009-04-01T22:56:00.004-04:00

Take the fairest flowre you can get, and allay it with whites of eggs. Presently take the twelfth part of your paste, and spread it untill you may see through it. Butter your plate or tourte pan, spread this first sheet, dress it up, butter it at the top, and do the same to the number of six. Then put what cream you will, and make the top as the bottom to the number of six sheets. Bake your tourte leasurely, After it is baked, besprinkle it with water of flowers, sugar it well and serve.
You must have a care to work up your paste as soon as it is made, because it drieth up sooner than you are aware, and when it is dry, it is unusefull, because your sheets must be as thin as cobwebs, therefore you must choose a moist place.* * * * *The French Cook, François Pierre La Varenne, Englished in 1653, p. 200.

Basically this is describing using phyllo dough, and the adjuration to work it in a moist place is imperative. Thaw your dough in the fridge and place your 12 sheets of dough between waxed paper with a moist towel laid over the top. Remove one sheet at a time and recover the rest immediately. Lay your dough in a pan and brush with melted butter, one layer at a time.
Prepare a mixture of 5 oz of pounded almonds, 4 oz of sugar and 2 eggs. Pour into your pan and cover with 6 more layers of dough brushed with melted butter. You could also use beurre cream or a cream cheese mixture with sugar and eggs.
Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes; then reduce temperature to 400°F and bake for 10-20 minutes more until golden brown and a broom straw inserted in the center comes out clean.
Removed from oven and sprinkle with orange or rose flower water and a sprinkle of sugar. Cool, slice and serve.

A loaf of bread, a jug of wine …

2009-03-27T13:23:00.008-04:00

It seems the way to a man's heart has always been through his stomach. If the lady who supplies the bread and honeyed wine is also good in other wifely arts, so much the better.

Here is a plate of barley bread & goat cheese with honey, served with that infamous Pramnian wine in honor of Novel Food, an event celebrating food immortalized in prose or poetry, and a dish that Circe served Odysseus, hoping to tempt him to stay.

While my Homer eschewed the wine, he thoroughly enjoyed the honeyed cheese and barley bread baked on the griddle. He liked it so much, he has requested that I bake them again for Days of Unleavened Bread.

Barley Bread.
Take leftover mashed potatoes or other root vegetable, add a little milk and enough barley flour to make a soft dough--adjust taste with more salt if needed. Stir or knead, cover and allow to rest for about an hour.

Heat griddle to medium heat. Prepare several pats of butter or clarified butter to grease griddle.

Roll out dough, cut into circles, squares or triangles and fry on both sides on buttered griddle. Adding a cover to the griddle will help with baking the bread all the way through. The vegetables in the dough help the dough stay fresh and moist.

Serve with butter, cheese, jam or honey.

The TEMPUS FUGIT Award

2009-03-21T15:02:00.003-04:00

Chloe, the Widow Black of Slightly Obsessed, has lately granted 18thC Cuisine the Tempus Fugit Award. My thanks go out to her for both her support & for her continued blogging on various 18th century subjects.

"The TEMPUS FUGIT Award is given to writers & living historians whose journals represent the best aspects of the 18th Century. These writers aim to inform and entertain the public with tales from events, historic research & experiments and highlights from 18th Century arts and culture. It is the hope of TEMPUS FUGIT that this award will forge a web of friendship and knowledge that will aid in creating a tight community of reenactors and living historians on the internet and beyond. Winners of the TEMPUS FUGIT Award should pass this award along to six other 18th Century blogs that meet the above criteria, and include this text with the Award, as well as a link back to the TEMPUS FUGIT blog."

Here is a list of my nominations, which alas, seems somewhat short by comparison, due to so many already being named.

Culinary History Online: not a blog, per se, but an extensive onine resource for 18thC culinary arts

New Orleans Cuisine: Danno blogs about his love, New Orleans, and his recipes are modern adaptations of Creole la Louisiane. Bon Apetit!

Les portraits au pastel du XVIIIe: JP has access to beautiful portraits from the 18th Century, many never seen by those of us on this side of the pond.

Tourte de beurre

2009-03-20T16:25:00.002-04:00

Butter Tourte.

Melt a peece of butter; after it is melted, put some sugar in it, and some stamped almonds, with a little cream or milk, allayed with flower sod. Then make a sheet of fine or puft paste. Put your implements into it, make a brim about it, bake it, and serve it sugred, and with sweet water, if you have any.

The French Cook, François Pierre La Varenne, Englished in 1653, p. 198.* * * * *Sugar High Friday is the brainchild of Jennifer, the Domestic Goddess, and is hosted this month as The Test of Time - Desserts over a century old by In My Box.

Similar sweets to this 1653 tourte de beurre are known today as crème brulée or sugar cream pie. Whether baking in a puff paste shell on a sheet of paper on the sole [floor] of the oven or in a flaky pastry crust in a pie pan, this rich pastry cream flavored with almonds has been delighting palates for centuries.

Steep your crushed almonds in warm milk. Mix melted butter with an equal amount of sugar and flour then stir in heated milk and almonds, continuing to heat and stir constantly until mixture bubbles for one minute. Pour onto a plate and cool.

Roll puff paste and cut into desired shape. Build up the edges with waste strips of puff paste and place on baking paper. Chill until pastry cream is cold. Fill cold paste shell with cold pastry cream. Bake in a hot oven [400°F] until crust is golden and flaky. Sprinkle baked tourte with sugar and pass a red hot fire shovel [salamander or torch] over the top of the tourte to melt the sugar. Cut into portions and serve with a drizzle of orange flower or rose water--an oldie but goodie!

The Excessively Diverting Blog Award

2009-02-20T14:43:00.001-05:00

Chloe, the Widow Black, of Slightly Obsessed, and one of the circle of 18th century bloggers, has generously nominated 18thC Cuisine for an Excessively Diverting Blog Award. Started by the blogging team at Jane Austen Today the "aim of the Excessively Diverting Blog Award is to acknowledge writing excellence in the spirit of Jane Austen’s genius in amusing and delighting readers with her irony, humor, wit, and talent for keen observation. Recipients will uphold the highest standards in the art of the sparkling banter, witty repartee, and gentle reprove." What an honor, and, yes, what a delight to be in such good company!

Here is a list of my nominations, which alas, seems somewhat short by comparison, due to so many already being named.

La Cuisine du Jardin: a beautiful blog with sunny photos of home grown food and recipes from Portugal

The Long Eighteenth: a blog by academics with wonderful 18thC resources and interesting ventures

A Reenactor’s Journal: a blog about the journey of soon to be reenactors as they walk the steps of their ancestors through the 18th and 19th century.

Recipients, please claim your award by copying the HTML code of the Excessively Diverting Blog Award badge, posting it on your blog, listing the name of the person who nominated you, and linking to their blog. Then nominate seven other blogs that you feel meet or exceed the standards set forth. Nominees may place the Excessively Diverting badge in their side bar and enjoy the appreciation of their fellow blogger for recognition of their talent.

Creme Triangles

2009-02-15T17:35:00.003-05:00

Sometimes you just want richness in the dead of Winter. All it takes is a few scraps of puff pastry, some left over pastry cream, crème Chantilly or whipping cream and some preserved fruit.

Take chilled pastry cream and whip it with a little heavy cream until smooth and fluffy or fold in crème Chantilly. Spread between two sheets of baked puff paste. Chill until firm. Dust with powdered sugar, cut in traingles and serve with a piece of fruit preserved in syrup. I used apricots. Fresh berries or a drizzle of heated jam would work, as well. This is a very simple but elegant dessert to serve throught the year.

Variation: Chocolate pastry cream with raspberries or strawberries.

Bouillans

2009-01-25T14:22:00.002-05:00

Another way to disguise leftovers, Bouillans would make great finger food at your next get-together and are made thus: Take the Breasts of roasted Pullets or Capons, with a little Marrow, about the thickness of an Egg, some Calves-udder parboil’d, as much Bacon and a few fine Herbs, and put the whole Mixture will minc’d and season’d upon a Plate: Make some fine Paste and roll out two pieces, as thin as Paper: wet one of them lightly with a litter Water, and lay your farced Meat upon it in small heaps, at a convenient distance one from another: Cover them with the other piece of rolled Paste, and with the tips of your Fingers, close up every Parcel between the two Pastes; then with an Instrument proper for that purpose, cut them off one by one, and set the uppermost underneath; dressing them neatly, as if they were so many little Pies. Thus they are to be bak’d, and may be used for Out-works or to garnish Side-dishes; but they must be serv’d up hot to Table.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 70.

Making Chocolate Paste

2009-01-22T10:37:00.003-05:00

On these cold dreary days of January, draw near the fire and smell the cocoa nibs roasting, and watch them being being husked and ground into chocolate paste. After this point, the hardened paste would be chopped and melted and mixed with spices to make chocolate tablets, which are then made into hot chocolate or chocolat chaud. Enjoy!

Potage, with Spinage

2008-12-31T19:03:00.004-05:00

Take only the Heart or soundest part of the Spinage, which must be chopt small and stew'd in a little Pot with Pease-soop, a Carret, an Onion stuck with Cloves, and the other seasoning Ingredients. As the Crusts are soaking, scrape in some Parmesan, and dress your Potage; garnishing it with sticks of Cinnamon, round about, and one in the middle; or else with Onions, or fried Bread.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 216.

Sauce à la Czarienne - Russian Sauce

2008-12-28T15:14:00.006-05:00

You have a purposely made a reduction of a beautiful color [from whatever meat or fish you have cooked, i.e., brown sauce made by deglazing pan with liquid] in which you make a liaison a little before serving, with two rolls of butter of Vamvre [Vanvres-fresh sweet butter], minced grapes of Corinth [small grapes], long pepper[s] which are in gherkins [entire long pepper fruit included in pickling of cornichons—these have a sweet, hot taste], green gherkins [cornichons—small whole pickled cucumbers] & two Lemon slices, heat through [& strain if desired] & spoon upon your entrée and serve. You can make it the same with white sauce, without binding with reduction, by adding a little butter, long pepper, & gherkins.* * * * *Sauce à la Czarienne.

Vous avez une essence faite exprès de belle couleur dans laquelle vous mettez, un peu avant de servir, deux pains de beurre de Vamvre, raisin de Corinthe, poivre long qui se trouve dans les cornichons, & cornichons verds, deux tranches de Citron, faire chauffer & dressez sur votre entrée à ce que vous voulez. Vous pouvez la faire au blanc de même, sans lier avec de la réduction, mais y mettre peu de beurre, poivre long, cornichons bien blanchis.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p. 82.

Beurre de Vanvres[Vamvres] - Fresh, Sweet Butter

2008-12-27T21:48:00.004-05:00

A favorite of the Bourbon court, was the good fresh butter [sweet, not salted], brought to Paris every Thursday by the women, the children or the domestiques of the plowmen & farmers of those villages surroundings Paris, & the butter of the village of Vanvre[Vamvres--Southwestern outskirts of Paris] was the most excellent; it was usually sold in rolls of three or four ounces for eating on bread, & was much more expensive than other butter, in that it could not be kept for long. Even today, the finest pastries, custards and sauces are made with sweet, not salted, butter.

“The fresh butter most in request for the table in Paris, was that made at Vanvres [Vanves], which in the month of May the people ate every morning mixed with garlic.”

Manners, Customs, and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period, Paul LaCroix. D. Appleton and Co, New York, 1874, p. 135.

And here is Madame de Pompadour's Asparagus with butter sauce.

Gâteau à la Jacobine

2008-12-26T16:08:00.007-05:00

It is the same mixture as the cake of Savoye [this same batter is used to make lady fingers, savoiardi and other biscuits cuiller]; make paper moulds of the same form as an éclair, six inches long; butter the moulds of paper well [I used a cast iron financier pan], fill the moulds with batter half way; & put them in a soft furnace [350◦F for about 15 to 20 minutes]; remove from the oven when light golden brown, cool slightly and remove from mould or peel paper away and allow to cool thoroughly; cover them with Royale icing, and then drizzle with red currant jelly.

The tartness of the currant jelly is just the right foil for the sweetness of the icing. The cake itself is rather bland, but lends itself as a blank canvas for experimenting with tastes and textures of soaking syrups, icings or fruit compotes.

The original recipe goes on to suggest using these in conjunction with caramel--that was too much sweetness for me.
* * * * *
Gâteau à la Jacobine.
C'est le même appareil que le gâteau de Savoye; vous faites des moules de papier de la mêrne forme d'un rouleau à pâte longs de six pouces; vous les beurrez bien, ensuite vous les dreffez tout de bout sur une tourtiere bien collés; Vous y mettez de cet appareil à moitié; & les mettez au four doux; étant cuits, Vous les ôtez du moule, & les glacez d'une glace Royale, & au bout de la gelée de groiseilles; Vous les dressez toutes de bout dans le plat qu'il les faut server, & les faites tenir avec du caramele, & servez.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p. 156.

Cheese Ramakins

2008-12-24T23:35:00.002-05:00

Pastry Ramakins To Serve With The Cheese Course Using Leftover Very Good Puff Paste Cheshire, Parmesan or Stilton Cheese.

Use the remains or odd pieces of paste left from large tarts, etc.
Gather up the pieces of paste, roll out evenly. Sprinkle with grated cheese of a nice flavour. Fold the paste in three, roll it out again and sprinkle more cheese over. Fold the paste, roll it out and shape with a paste cutter in any way that may be desired.
Bake the ramakins in a brisk oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Dish them on a hot napkin and serve quickly. The appearance of this dish may be very much improved by brushing the ramakins over with egg yolk before they are placed in the oven. Where expense is not objected to, Parmesan is the best kind of cheese to use for making this dish. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Time: 10 to 15 minutes. (Brisk oven: 400F. Recipe: Mrs. Beetons

Absolutely delicious hot out of the oven with a glass of ale or port.

Aîlerons à la Chipolata - Wings and Sausages

2008-12-21T20:33:00.005-05:00

Scald, flame [singe] and bone your wings; trim them [I cut the little tips off to use in making broth]; crisp some bacon [I use turkey] in butter in a skillet; brown your sausages [I made homemade sausage using this recipe and ground turkey] in this butter in the pan; remove and reserve sausages and bacon and brown your wings in the flavored butter; sprinkle a spoonful of flour over the wings, add two ladles full of broth, a bay leaf, and a good pinch of pepper; braise your wings in this ragout; when your ragout is three quarters cooked, add twenty-four small onions peeled and your reserved sausages. When your wings are done, degrease your ragout, and pile your wings in the middle of a serving dish, surround with sausages and onions and a ladle of ragout. Serve hot with more ragout on the side.* * * * *Aîlerons à la Chipolata.
Vous avez des aîlerons de Poulardes échaudés bien propres; étant blanchis, vous coupez du petit lard comme pour des atelets, que vous mettez dans une casserolle, le passez à demi, y mettez les aîlerons passés, ensuite mouillez de bon bouillon; vous avez des petits oignons blanchis, & des petites saucisses à qui vous avez fait suer la graisse, que vous mettez dedans selon leur cuisson, & liez le tout d'une essence bien dégraissée & de bon gout; dressez les aîlerons le ragoût dessus, & servez.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p. 59.

Quince Liqueur - Ratafia de Coigns

2008-11-30T22:46:00.004-05:00

Mash some very ripe quinces and take care to remove the pips and cores; macerate pulp for three days in a jar; then squeeze out all the juice; measure it, and mix it with an equal quantity of brandy; add six ounces of sugar to each quart of the mixture, some cinnamon and cloves; leave it to infuse two months; then filter it and bottle it. This liqueur becomes more excellent the longer it's kept.

Bits of Sugar

2008-11-29T12:49:00.009-05:00

Relaxing with a cup of tea is a time-honored tradition. Settling in a cozy chair before the fire, sipping a strong brew sweetened by little bits of sugar actually required some strong-armed preparation.
Sugar came in hard cones in the 18thC, and pieces small enough to serve with tea meant nipping off small chunks with specially made nippers. Our modern sugar cubes approximate the size of the nips, but because of their odd shapes, special tongs were created to grasp the nips. The extra spring in the handle of the nipper kept the ends from overlapping and insured a smooth [s]nip off the cone.

Jean-Étienne Liotard, Still Life: Tea Set
Swiss, Geneva, about 1781 - 1783

Anise Comfits

2008-11-25T23:01:00.004-05:00

In honor of Think Spice, a monthly event hosted by Baking History and whose theme is anise, I submit anise comfits, a Medieval sweet made of anise seed coated in sugar, still made today in France and known as Anise Pastilles.

The Old Foodie has posted a 17thC recipe for anise confits and Historic Food offers instructions and illustrations for its process.

Continuing to add sugar syrup and continuing to roll around will smooth the surface, but it adds more sugar, which today's taste may think is excess. Use as a breath sweetener, an additive to tea, or just to munch--a unique taste in candy.

Crème à l’Angloise frite - Fried Crème Anglaise

2008-11-24T22:11:00.007-05:00

In honor of Sugar High Friday, hosted this month by The Well Seasoned Cook, and whose theme is all that glitters, I offer a fried crème Anglaise sprinkled with sugar. Here is Mario Batali’s modern recipe for Fried Cream or Crema fritta.

Fried Crème Anglaise
Make an ordinary crème Anglaise, with extra egg yolks in a double boiler; cool; cut in diamonds, flour them well, & fry until a beautiful color; sugar, & serve.
* * * * *
Crème à l’Angloise frite.
Vous faites une crême à l'Angloise ordinaire , à la reserve que vous la faites plus forte d'oeufs; étant prise au bain-mari, & froide, vous la coupez par losanges , la farinez bien, & la faites frire de belle couleur, glacée, & serve.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p. 137-138.

November and December for the Confectioner

2008-11-23T12:26:00.006-05:00

Forasmuch as the Fruits of the Earth now cease, recourse must be had to the Provisions that have been made during the preceding Months; as well with respect to dry and wet Sweetmeats, as to Jellies and Marmelades, which may be dried, in order to make Pastes that are wanting: A greater quantity of roasted Apples and Pears are likewise prepar'd, from time to time, with some Compotes of Chesnuts, which may also be iced and dried.

Lastly, The assistance of Oranges and Lemmons, which are brought over at this time, is considerable, more especially China-oranges; but the other are not preserv'd till the following Months.
* * * * *
The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 14 New Instructions for Confectioners.

Notice the wooden boxes--these were usually lined with white paper (see also paper coverings on the jugs) which folded over the sweetmeats inside.

Melendez, Still life with oranges and walnuts, 1772

food-o-graphie

2008-11-01T12:34:00.003-04:00

Join me on November 8 as Zorra shows us how foodies learn to choose and use their cameras for the best food photography!

Julian

2008-10-30T15:28:00.004-04:00

The Julian is a very considerable Potage, and may be made in this manner: Having roasted a Leg of Mutton, let the Fat and Skin be taken away, and let it be put into a Kettle or Pot, of a sufficient bigness to hold some Broth for the Potage. Then add a good piece of Beef; another of a Fillet of Veal; a fat Capon; Carrets, Turneps and Parsneps, two of each; Parsly-roots, Celery and an Onion Stuck with Cloves; and let all boil together a long while, to the end that your Broth may be sufficiently enrich'd. In the Mean time, another Pot must be provided, and therein three or four Bundles of Asparagus, as much Sorrel as my be cut with a Knife at two strokes and some Chervil. Let them be well boil'd with some Broth taken out of the great Pot, and when the Crusts are soak'd, let the Asparagus and Sorrel be laid in order upon them, but nothing round about.

Julian-Potages are also made of a Breast of Veal, Capons, fat Pullets, Pigeons and other sorts of Meat: When they are well prepar'd and scalded, let them be put into a Pot with good Broth and a Bunch of fine Herbs; afterwards adding the above-mentioned Roots and Pulse; which may also serve to garnish the Potage, with Heaps of Asparagus chopt into pieces, and nothing else, but what is green, such as green Pease, etc.
* * * * *
The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 140.

Casseroles

2008-10-27T15:03:00.002-04:00

Casseroles, take their Name from the Stew-pan in which they are dress'd, call'd Casserole by the French, and are generally used for Side-dishes and Potages: For the former, take a large Loaf wash'd over with Eggs, which must not be chipt on the upper side; bore a Hole therein underneath, and take away the Crum or Pith. Afterwards prepare a good Hash of roasted Chickens, fat Pullets, or some other sort of Roast-meat, and put this Meat well minc'd into a Stew-pan, with good Gravy, as if it were to make a Hash. When it is dress'd, put some of it with a Spoon into the Loaf, that was roasted at the Fire; on the crummy side: After having thus pour'd in a little of this Hash, add some small Crusts of Bread, and proceed to fill up the Loaf alternately, with the Hash and small Pieces of Crust. Then take a Stew-pan that is no bigger than your Loaf; put a Sheet of Paper into it, or rather, some Bards or thin Slices of Bacon, and afterwards the Loaf on that side where it was farc'd; covering the bottom of it, with the same Loaf. Let it lye a soaking in this manner, with good Gravy; but it must not be too much press'd, nor too long steept, so that it may be kept altogether entire, and well cover'd. A little before 'tis serv'd up to Table, turn it out dextrously into a Dish, take away the Bacon-Bards, drain off the Fat, and cover your Loaf with a good Ragoo of Veal-sweet-breads, Artichoke-bottoms and Truffles; small tops of Asparagus being also spread round about the Dish, according to the Season.
* * * * *
The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 80-81.

See also: Stuffed Bread

Oils

2008-10-23T14:25:00.003-04:00

The Oil is a very considerable Potage, which may be serv'd up as well on Days of Abstinence, as on Flesh-days.

An Oil for Flesh-days
Take all sorts of good Meats, viz. Part of a Buttock of Beek, a Fillet of Veal, a piece of a Leg of Mutton, Ducks, Partridges, Pigeons, Chickens, Quails, a piece of raw Gammon, Sausages and Cervelas, all roasted or fried brown: Let them be put into a Pot, every Thing according to the time that is requisite for boiling it, and let a thickening Liquor be made of the brown Sauce to be mingled together. As soon as the scum is taken off, season your Meats, with Pepper, Salt, Cloves, Nutmeg, Coriander-seed and Ginger, all well pounded, with Thyme and sweet Basil, and wrapt up in a Linnen-cloth. Afterwards add all sorts of Roots and Herbs well scalded, accordingly as you shall think fit, such as Carrets, Turneps, Parsnips, Cabbage, Parsly-roots, Onions, Leeks and other Herbs in Bunches. In the mean while, you are to provide Cuvets, Silver-pots and other Vessels proper for that purpose, and when your Potage is sufficiently boil'd, let some Crusts be broken into pieces, and laid a soaking in the same Broth, after it has been clear'd from the Fat, and well season'd. Before it is serv'd up, pour in a great deal of Borth, still continuing to take away the Fat; dress your Fowls and other Meats, and garnish them with the Roots, if you have only one great Dish: Otherwise they may be serv'd up without Roots; putting the Cuvets on a Silver-dish, with a Silver-ladle in it, with which every one of the Guests may take out some Soop, when the Oil is set on the Table.

An Oil for Fish-days
Take some good Broth, Peas-soop, or half Fish-broth; let all the above-mentioned Roots be put into it, and boil'd as much as is requisite: Then dress your Oil, with a Profitrolle-loaf in the middle, and garnish it with Roots.
* * * * *
The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 166-167.

Potages

2008-10-21T14:15:00.003-04:00

Altho' mention has been alread made of several Potages, as well for Flesh-days, as those of Abstinence; particularly , the Bisk, Casserolle, Oil and Julian, as also Potage of Lambs-heads, Pike, Cray-fish, Sea-ducks, Muscles and some others, according to the espective Messes that were treated of: Nevertheless this Subject is very copious, and capable of furnishing matter for a large Article. A general Account has likewise been given of the peculiar Broths, that ought to constitute the Body of all those Potages, and of all others, as also of the Cullises that usually made.
* * * * *
The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 197.

Potage à la Reyne, with Partridges, Quails, or other sorts of Fowl

2008-10-19T13:39:00.001-04:00

Let fresh Partirdges, after they have been scalded and well truss'd, be boil'd in good Broth, with a good Faggot of fine Herbs, some thin slices of Bacon and pieces of Lemmon; whilst a Cullis is making of the Breast of a roasted fat Pullet, or Capon; minc'd and pounded in a Mortar, with the Crum of a Loaf soak'd in Broth, and strain'd thro' the Hair-sieve. Let this Cullis be put into a little Pot, well cover'd; and let your Potage, that ought to be made of Bread-crusts, be laid a soaking with strained Broth. Afterwards set your Fowls in the same Potage, sprinkle all with good Gravy, and before they are served up, squeeze the Juice of a Lemmon into the Cullis: A farced Loaf must also be put in the middle of the Potage, with the Fowls round about; the Cullis must be pour'd upon them; and a Border is to be made about the Dish, with farced Cocks-combs, Sweet-breads of Veal larded and roasted, other Slices of Veal-sweet-breads in Ragoo, and Artichoke-bottoms: Lastly, the Breasts of the Partridges, or other Fowls, must be cover'd with Slices of black Truffles, and all dispos'd of in a good order. As for the farced Loaf, it must be stuff'd with a good Hash of a roasted Fowl, pieces of Truffles and Mushrooms, and small Asapragus-tops, according to the Season.

A lesser quantity of Potage, may be made of a single Partridge, without a farced Loaf, observing all the rest of the Circumstances, as much as Convenience, or the allowed Expences will admit of.

A Potage of farced Partridges, may be also prepar'd; which ought to be garnish'd with larded Fricandoes dress'd in a Ragoo, also Veal-sweet-breads, Mushrooms, Artichoke-bottoms, Cocks-combs, and Truffles; adding the Juice of a Lemmon, when brought to Table.
* * * * *
The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 201-202.

Potage after the Italian Mode

2008-10-15T11:33:00.003-04:00

This potage is a kind of Oil dress'd in a large Dish, after having made a Partition in it, in form of a Cross, with Paste baked in the Oven. In one of the Squares, a Bisk is to be put; in the second a Potage, of young Chickens; in the third, a Potage à la Reyne, with a Profitrolle-loaf; and in the fourth, a Potage of farced Partidges; all in their peculiar Broths, and with different Garnitures, as rich as they possibly can be.
* * * * *
The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 212.

October for the Confectioner

2008-10-09T12:40:00.004-04:00

In this Month and the following, you have other sorts of Apples and Pears, for all the above-mentioned Uses, and also for Jellies, if you shall think fit to prepare them.

But this is the chief time, for making the Pastes, Jellies and Marmelade of Quinces, as also Confits with Must or sweet Wine and others, which nevertheless only fall under the management of the Country People.

The Officers [those who preside over the cold kitchen/confectioners] and Butlers are otherwise employ'd in this Season, that is to say, in gathering the Fruits, that ought to be in their Custody, which requires a more than ordinary Skill and Precaution.
* * * * *
The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 14 New Instructions for Confectioners.

World Day of Bread

2008-09-22T09:54:00.004-04:00

Join me in trying your hand at bread baking, any loaf will do. Can't you just smell that wonderful aroma? I can hear the crackling of the loaf as its crust sets as I pull it out of the oven.

Once when a maintenance worker was working outside my apartment window, I received a knock on the door. When I opened the door, the man was standing there, hat in hand, and he asked me what I was doing--he hadn't smelled anything like what was coming from my window since he was a child. Somewhat incredulously I said I was just making whole wheat bread. He looked so forlorn that I sent him home with a loaf. I guess it's true that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!

Of the Pastes of Fruits

2008-09-22T06:11:00.000-04:00

See Quince Paste

It is only requisite to have recourse to the particular Marmelades, of every sort of Fruit, to know how to make as many Pastes; in regard that it is almost the same thing, and the whole Work is brought to Perfection by drying those Marmelades. To that purpose, when the Business requires dispatch, the Sugar must boil, till it be crack'd, or at least, greatly Feathered; to be incorporated with the dried Fruit. Afterwards, the Marmelade being made according to Art; may be taken up with a Spoon, and dress'd upon Slates, or in Moulds, in order to be dried in the Stove, with a good Fire. In the Evening, or the next Day, they must be turn'd on the other side, and laid again upon the same Slates, or upon Sieves: As soon as these Pastes are become very firm and compact, they are to be lock'd up in Boxes, and may be us'd, as Occasion requires.

At other times, when you would have any Paste-dryed, let as much Marmelade, as you shall think fit, be put into a Copper-pan, and having caus'd some Sugar to be brought to its Feathered Quality, pour it in; tempering it well till it slips off from the bottom of the Pan; after the same manner, as in the making of Marmelade. Then let all simper together, for a while, and let the Paste be immmediately dress'd upon Slates, or in Tin-moulds, made in form of a Heart, Square, Flower-de-luce, etc., which are usually set into the Stove, to be dried as before. These are the general Directions that may be given, for the ordering of such Fruit-pastes as are made of Marmelades; allowing two Pounds of Sugar, for every Pound of Fruit. But for other Pastes, that are made on purpose, an equal quantity of each will be sufficient, and the Sugar must be boil'd till it has attain'd to its Crack'd Quality.
* * * * *
The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 81-82 New Instructions for Confectioners.

Cooking with Les Dames d'Escoffier

2008-09-17T15:38:00.006-04:00

A dinner party arranged in response to an all-male organization of eminent chefs led to the first-ever all-women’s food society, Les Dames d' Escoffier International (LDEI). To date, LDEI and its chapters have raised nearly $4 million for scholarships and grants for mentoring women in the food and beverage industries and portions of the proceeds from this book will help finance such efforts. Their Green Tables initiative teaches the benefits of eating seasonal, local and sustainable food.

«COOKING WITH LES DAMES D'ESCOFFIER celebrates the collective wisdom of this impressive group of food professionals. A definitive resource, the cookbook is filled with insights and tips for the home cook, together with 125 of the Dames’ most essential recipes. Here are such delights as Lidia Bastianich’s hearth-warming Pork Rib Guazzetto; Susan Feniger’s Roasted Black Cod with Horseradish Coulis and Farmers’ Carrots; Anne Willan’s elegant Twice-Baked Spinach Soufflés; and Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet Soufflés with Nibby Cream. More than 120 recipes include appetizers, first courses, soups, main courses (including vegetarian options), sides, baking, and desserts.»

COOKING WITH LES DAMES D'ESCOFFIER is like sitting down with a renowned chef and teacher across the counter, guiding you along the way in culinary adventures. The recipes are highlighted with tips to insure success, both in preparation and saving time. Once the food is prepared and the aromas are wafting through the room, you'll feel like you're curled up in the inglenook with a hearty bowl of delight.

COOKING WITH LES DAMES D'ESCOFFIER Cookbook tour begins in major US cities in October.

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570615306
• ISBN-13: 978-1570615306

Crackling Crust

2008-09-11T15:26:00.004-04:00

Paste for Crackling-crust.
Having provided about two Handfuls of Almonds, which are sufficient for one Pan-pye, let them be scalded, blanch'd, and thrown into fresh Water: Then they are to be wip'd, and pounded in a Mortar, moistening them from time to time, with a little White of an Egg and Orange-flower Water, beaten together, to prevent them from turning to Oil. 'Tis very material, that they be well pounded, and they may also be squeez'd through a Sieve, to take away all the Clods, or Lumps, The Almond-paste being thus prepar'd, must be spread on a Bason or Dish, and dried with Powder-sugar, as an ordinary sort of Paste, till it become very pliable. Afterwards, having set it by for some time, you are to roll out a Piece for the under-crust, to be dried in the Oven upon the Pie-pan; whilst other small Pastry-works are making, with what was par'd off, such as Petits Choux, Ciphers, Knots and other Devices, that may serve for the Garnishing of your Pie.

Crackling-crust made after another manner.
After the Almonds have been thoroughly pounded and moisten'd, as before, let as much Sugar as Paste, at least, be put into a Copper-pan, and boil'd till it become Feathered: Then throwing in your Almonds, let all be well temper'd and mingled together with the Spatula, and having set them over the Fire again, keep continually stirring the whole Mass, till your Paste slips of[f] from the bottom and sides of the Pan. Afterwards, it must be laid in a Dish, strew'd with Powder-sugar on the top, and set by, for a while, as the former, in order to make a Pye of it, after the same manner.

In preparing the Paste conformable to either of these Methods, the Pie will certainly become crackling and delicious to the highest Degree: But if you are minded to avoid the trouble, and perhaps the charge of Almonds, very good Pies may also be made according to the following Instructions.

Another Way.
Take one, or two Whites of Eggs, with three or four Spoonfuls of fine Sugar, and as much Flower, if you would only make one Pan-pye: The Sugar being first temper'd with the Whites of the Eggs, and then the Flower, knead all together, till your Paste become pliable, and roll out a very thin Piece; strewing it with fine Sugar: Afterwards, having put it into te Pie-pan, let the Sides be neatly pinch'd, at certain Intervals, and prickt with the point of a Knife, to hinder them from puffing: In the mean while, the remaining part of the Paste is to be roll'd out into Slips of the thickness of a Lace, to compleat the inside of the Pie; which may be made in the form of a Sun, Star, Malta-cross, Flower-de-luce, Coat of Arms, or the like. At last, it must be gently bak'd in the Oven, and when ready to be brought to Table, the void Spaces are to be fill'd up, with several sorts of Marmelades, or Jellies, according to the Colours, that shall be judg'd most expedient: The same thing ough also to be observ'd, with respect to Pies made of the preceding Pastes. To the latter, may be added a little Orange-flower Water, or some other sweet Water, and if it be requisite to prepare a greater quantity of either sort of Paste, another Piece, of an equal thinness, may be roll'd out for the Lid; which must be cut round, and dried in the Oven, upon a Pie-pan, or Plate, in order to cover the Pie, after it has been ic'd over, if you have no mind to leave it in its natural Colour.
* * * * *
The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 114-116.New Instructions for Confectioners

Compotes of Peaches

2008-09-09T09:09:00.002-04:00

When the Peaches are full ripe, they can only be roasted; because this sort of Fruit is too soft. Therefore they must be neatly par'd and laid in Quarters, upon a Silver-dish, or Plate, with Sugar, and, if you think fit, with candy'd Lemmon-peel chopt small: Then, being bak'd in an Oven, let them be dress'd, if they are to be serv'd p with any Thing else, and let the red-hot Fire-shovel be pass'd over them, to give them a fine Colour, after they have been strew'd with Sugar.

This Compote, and others of the like nature, may be put into a Tourte, or Pan-pie, and to that end, a Border of Paste, and even the whole Furniture that is usually provided for other Pan-pies, must be laid in the Dish, in which the Peaches are to be roasted, and the Fruit must be set in order therein. In the mean while, another Piece of Paste for Crackling Crust, being roll'd out, may be cut into slips, and separately bak'd in an Oven; in order to be ic'd over with the White of an Egg, and Powder-sugar, well temper'd together. This ic'd Crust must aso be dried in the Oven, till it become very white, and laid upon the Pie, a little before it is serv'd up to Table.
* * * * *
The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 71 New Instructions for Confectioners.

September for the Confectioner

2008-09-05T18:48:00.010-04:00

Plums continue still, for a considerable time, and Apples and Pears much longer: So that new Compotes, Pastes and Marmelades may be made of them, and the best ought to be chosen for that purpose; such a the Bon-chretien [Bartlett], the Bergamot, and the Summer-Certoe [Certeau d'Été, whose flesh turns pink upon cooking], among Pears: This last is also preserv'd dry.

Peaches, which continue for a long while, likewise furnish Matter for Pastes, Compotes and Marmelade, and they may be order'd so as to make dry Sweet-meats.

Moreover, Bell-grapes are then preserv'd liquid, and Pastes, Jellies and Compotes are made of them. Muscadine-grapes are order'd in the same manner, and serve to make a very delicious sort of Ratafiaz.

Barberries, which are generally ripe at the same time, are proper for Conserves.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 13.

Sauce à l’Italienne blanche, Claire - Italian Sauce made with White Wine or Clairet (rosé).

2008-08-31T13:34:00.005-04:00

Sauté parsley, Welsh onions [scallions], mushrooms, shallots, some chopped truffles, some cloves of whole garlic, one half bay leaf; add bouillon [broth] & let it reduce as much you desire for your dish; add two lemon slices, & degrease it properly & add a glass of champagne, season for good taste, & serve with all light or dark meats, & also with butcher's [cured] meats, according to what you’ve made. Italian Red sauce is done in the same way, using rosé [clairet, a now uncommon dark rosé which was the most common style of wine exported from Bordeaux until the 18th century], it tastes good with all sorts of things. [This sauce would have been strained prior to serving—use the strainings to add to farces for additional flavor.]

Sauce à l’Italienne blanche, Claire.
Vous avez persil, ciboules, champignons, échalottes, quelques truffes hachées, quelques gousses d’ail entieres, une demi feuille de laurier, vous passez le tout à l’huile, ensuite vous les mouillez de bon bouillon & de la reduction, & la laissez réduire au point que vous voulez vous en server; vous y mettez deux tranches de citron, & la dégraissez proprement & de bon gout , un verre de vin de Champagne dedans, & vous en servez à toutes sortes de viands blanches & noires, & meme sous la viande de boucherie, selon ce que vous en faites. La sauce rousse à l’Italienne se fait de meme, au lieu de bouillon vous la mouillez d’essence Claire & vin, finie de bon gout à toutes sortes de choses.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p.123.

Sainserelle à l'Espagnole & à l’Italienne - is this Stracciatella or Spätzle?

2008-08-30T23:32:00.006-04:00

Take bread crumbs [without crust] & grated Parmesan, half and half; bind the whole with an egg(s), & drop into boiling broth, & cook, stirring constantly, for fear it does not stick to the bottom; once cooked, draw it out with a skimmer & serve in a dish with a little broth; it is used as soup if one wants.
* * * * *
Sainserelle à l'Espagnole & à l’Italienne.
Vous prenez de la mis de pain & du Parmesan rapé, autant de l'un que de l'autre; vous déliez le tout avec des œufs entiers, & après vous y mettez du bouillon, & le faites cuire en remuant toujours, de peur que cela ne s'attache au fond; étant cuit, vous le dressez dans son plat, & servez un peu liquide; cela sert de potage si l’on veut.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p.38.

Pickled Purslain

2008-08-29T22:35:00.002-04:00

Now is the time to gather all those pesky purslain stems and to pickle them for winter salads and garnishes. Blanche for 5 seconds and pack stems and leaves into a jar and cover with four parts vinegar to one part water with 2 tablespoons salt dissolved in it, add 1 teaspoon black peppercorns and 2 large garlic cloves crushed. Cover and set in a cool place for two weeks [this is a fermented pickle--keep submerged and remove any scum that might form; then use in salads, as a garnish or stirred into scrambled egs or sandwich fillings. Purslain is very high in protein and iron and is a very underrated pot herb/vegetable--try stirfrying it with butter.

Purslane \Purs"lane\, noun. [Old French expression porcelaine, pourcelaine (compare to Italian expression porcellana), corrupted from Latin porcilaca for portulaca oleracea.].

Rafiolis - Raviolis

2008-08-28T23:16:00.006-04:00

Roll out your rissoles paste: make a farce [filling] of spinach wilted in butter, & add cream, bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, & egg yolks to bind the farce; season with salt and pepper for good taste & let it cool; dollop this farce on your paste as for rissoles, & cut them with a corer or pastry wheel, & arrange them on a dish [dusted with flour to keep from sticking] and let dry for one hour before cooking; bring [a large pot of] water to the boil, add salt, drop your Rafiolis in one after the others; let cook a half hour [this seems excessive—7-10 minutes]; withdraw them with a skimmer & arrange them in layers in a baking dish with melted butter & grated Parmesan; pour more melted butter over the top and broil until hot & bubbly. On fat [days], you serve it with beef marrow in the farce, with Parmesan, & cooked in bouillon [broth, brodo not boiling water], always with grated cheese in the farce.

Observations:
It's amazing how little farce it takes to fill rafiolis. This dish must have resulted from poverty--all good cooks need a way to stretch a little meat or cheese into a full meal and filled pastas do this.

This pasta rolling pin for rafiolis may not have been used in the 18thC, but it is a modern implement to thrill! Making rafiolis is a snap! Here are three videos that show how to roll out the paste, how to fill it and how to use the rafioli cutting pin. Enjoy.

* * * * *
Rafiolis.
Vous tirez de cette pâte sur vos mains, & l'etendez sur une table de côté & d'autre: vous avez une farce d'epinards passés au beurre, & vous y met¬tez de la crême, de la mie de pain, fromage de Parmesan rapé, & jaunes d'œufs, pour lier la farce; assaisonnez de bon goût; vous y mettez de la moëlle de bœuf, & laissez refroidir; vous couchez cette farce sur votre pâ¬te comme des rissoles, & les coupez avec une videlle, & les arrangez sur un plat; une heure avant que de servir, vous avez de l'eau bouillante, vous y mettez un peu de sel, vous y mettez vos Rafiolis les une après les autres; laissez cuire une demie heure; étant cuits & prêts à servir, vous les retirez avec une écumoire & les retirez dans leur plat par lits; un lit de Rafiolis, un lit de Parmesan & de beurre frais fondu; étant arrangez, au dernier lit vous y mettez davan¬tage de Parmesan & du beurre par-dessus, & servez chaud, vous en faites en gras de même, avec Parmesan, moëlle de Bœuf, mais cuits au bouillon, tou¬jours du fromage rapé dans la farce.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p.31.

Pâté de Macaronis à l’Italienne - Macaronis Pie, Italian-style

2008-08-27T13:40:00.003-04:00

Make a batch of Macaronis [pasta dough] with eggs, a little water, a little salt, [knead, rest, roll out over and over until the dough is strong]; lay four or five sheets of rolled pasta [between floured towels, & let them dry, then cross [cut] in tailladins [tagliatelles] two fingers-width [these really are the description of pappardelle—wide fettuccine]: liberally salt a kettle of boiling water and cook the Macaronis for seven minutes in this water, & remove and rinse them in a colander; mix together thin slices of ham [I used turkey bacon], truffles, mushrooms, chopped beef marrow, fresh butter, powdered cinnamon, grated Parmesan, gravy &/or coulis [purée of meat juice and vegetables used in cooking ragu] in a bowl: add your Macaronis, & mix the whole together, season with salt and pepper for good taste and set aside; make a pie crust, usually Pâte brisée [short crust], as much as necessary for your timbale mold [I used a charlotte pan], butter it very well, & put arranged bands of pastry [fancy cut shapes] according to your imagination; then insert your crust pastry, & put your macaronis mixture inside & cover it with a disk of pastry, sealing sides and bottom well, & bake for one hour & one half; when it’s done, you reverse it [unmold] onto a serving dish, & make a hole in the top [usually part of the design is cut away and replaced after filling with gravy] and use a funnel to pour in enough gelatinous jus [gravy] to fill the spaces in the timbale. Cool [these pies are usually served cold or at room temperature after chilling], slice and serve.

Observations:
When laying your fancy shapes of pasta over the buttered pan bottom, be sure and brush the unbuttered side with egg wash so that the crust will adhere to the shapes after the large envelope of pastry is inserted into the pan; otherwise, the decorations will detach when unmolding the pastry.

Today this pastry is called a tortellini pie (The Splendid Table, Lynne Rossetto Kasper, p. 175) or Timbale Milanaise (La Bonne Cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange, p.456). Both books give excellent instructions. Quite a lot of effort is required in its making, but the macaronis pie is a beautiful dish for a festival meal.

* * * * *
Pâté de Macaronis à l’Italienne.
Vous faites une pâte avec des œufs, un peu d'eau, un peu de sel; qu'elle soit ferme; vous en faites quatre ou cinq abaisses, & les laissez sécher, après vous les coupez en tailladins grands de deux doigts: vous avez de l'eau bouillante; vous y mettez du sel: faites cuire les tailla¬dins un demi quart d'heure dans cette eau, & les égoûtez dans la passoire; vous avez jambon en tranches bien minces, truffes, champignons, moëlle de Bœuf hachés, beurre frais, canelle en poudre, Parmesan rapé, jus & coulis: vous met¬tez le tout avec vos Macaronis dans une casserolle, & mêlez le tout ensemble de bon goût; vous avez une pâte brisée à l'ordinaire; vous prenez une casse¬rolle comme il faut, vous la beurrez par tout, & vous y met¬tez des bandes de pâte arran¬gées votre fantaisie; vous y mettez une abaisse de pâte dessus comme une timballe ordi¬naire, & vous y mettez votre appareil dedans & recouvrez d'une autre abaisse à l'ordinaire, & la faites cuire au four une heure & demie; étant cuite, vous la renversez dans son plat, & vous y faites un trou pour y jetter un jus lié de bon goût, & servez.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p.36.

August for the Confectioner

2008-08-08T18:42:00.003-04:00

Much more Pains may be taken in this Month, in ordering these latter Fruits, because they are successively renew’d, by other kinds that are more proper for Preserving. Thus Orange-plums and Amber-plums, those of Isle-verd and others are preserv’d dry to be kept: Pastes and Marmelades are made of them, and they are still iced, and put into Compotes.

The same thing is done with the Pears in their Season, more especially the Rousselet, or Russetin, and some others, that are of an exquisite taste.

There are also certain Plums, proper for drying, in order to make Prunes, as occasion serves.

Figs are preserv’d and dried in the same Month, and they may be iced with Powder-sugar, as well as Grapes: Syrup of Mulberries is likewise prepar’d, and some think fit to preserve them: Apples are put into Compotes, and preserv’d after some other manners.

About the end of the Month, Girkins or small Cucumbers, Samphire, Purslain and other Herbs are pickled with Vinegar and Salt, for the Winter-sallets.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 13.

Strouille à l’Italienne - Savory Strudel - Boiled

2008-07-30T13:13:00.005-04:00

This savory strudel is boiled, not baked and is also known by [strucolo, rotolo or strukel]; also similar to napkin dumpling. Again, this is a dish found on the margins of Northern & Eastern Italy, and reflects those cuisines of the surrounding areas.

Savory Italian Strudel
Use the same paste* as with rissoles; make a farce [filling] in this manner: sauté finely diced onions in butter until light golden; add fine bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, cream, some egg[s] to bind, stir & season to taste, & let it cool; roll out your paste and put it on a floured tablecloth on a large work surface, continue stretching and rolling dough until very thin; spread your farce evenly over the dough, & begin to roll this strudel longitudinally by using the tablecloth to help you turn the roll, & tighten the roll [not loosely rolled]; wrap it in a well tied up cloth, & put it to cook in boiling water, with a little salt, for one hour; draw it out, unroll from the cloth & cut it in slices, & arrange it in a dish; cover with more grated Parmesan & melted butter & serve. It is also done sometimes with cabbage, spinach, sorrel, cheese or beef marrow.

*Rissolles Paste or Italian Pasta Dough
Make a paste with flour, egg whites, salt, & tepid water; knead it soft [until smooth for about 10 minutes] & let it rest below [covered by] a pan for 15 to 30 minutes; roll out in the manner the recipe directs.

Observations:
I used sorrel and found this strudel tangy and delicious; I served it with browned butter.

Shredded cabbage fried and seasoned with cardamom is also a delicious filling.
This strudel comes away from the dumpling cloth very easily. Allow it to cool slightly before slicing.

* * * * *
Strouille à l’Italienne.
C'est la même pâte** qu'aux rissolles; vous faites une farce de cette maniere: vous hachez des oignons bien menus en des, & les passez au beurre; presque cuits, vous y mettez de la mie de pain bien fine, Parmesan rapé, de la crême, quelques œufs pour lier le tout assaisonné de bon goût, & le laissez réfroidir; vous avez votre pâte ci-devant; vous étendez une nape sur une table, vous saupoudrez de la farine; vous étendez votre pâte dessus, comme pour des rissolles; vous jettez votre farce dessus, & vous en couvrez la pâte le plus mince que vous pouvez avec votre couteau; ayant étendu cette farce, vous roulez cette pâte comme un boudin en long, & la retournez en rond; vous l'enveloppez dans un torchon bien ficelé, & la mettez cuire à l'eau bouillante, avec un peu de sel, pendant une heure; étant cuite, vous la tirez & la coupez par tronçons, & l'arrangez dans un plat, du Parmesan rapé dessus, & beurre frais que vous faites fondre, jettez dessus, & servez. Il s'en fait aux choux, aux épinards, à l'oseille, & a la moëlle de Bœuf, & fromage.

**Pâte à Rissolles à l’Italienne
Vous faites une pâte avec farine, blancs d'œufs, sel, & de l'eau tiede; vous la faites molle & la laissez reposer dessous une casserolle, vous en servez de cette maniere.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p.39.

Nioc à l'Italienne - Gnocchi

2008-07-29T09:47:00.008-04:00

The French had not begun to eat potatoes (1740); it is not plain that Italians were then either.

Nioc Dough:
1/4 cup butter plus enough boiling water to make 1 cup liquid
2 cups dried bread crumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
2 eggs
10 or so tablespoons cold water
Butter and grated Parmesan for the sauce
OPTIONS
Handful of chopped, minced and pounded Partridge or other poultry flesh, or
Handful of very finely chopped and squeezed dry, blanched spinach, or
Bits of cooked marrow or other meat/drippings

Melt butter and add enough boiling water to make a cup of liquid. Pour the bread crumbs into a bowl and add the boiling water and butter. Let stand 10 minutes. Mound the flour on your pastry board and make a well in the flour [holding some of the flour back to add as needed. Add the eggs, 10 tablespoons water, grated Parmesan and soaked bread crumbs to the well [now is also the time to add the optional ingredients—keeping in mind that on Fast (maigres) days, no meat or extra grease would be used]. Blend them together with a fork, gradually stirring in the flour by drawing in the flour into the liquids. Continue to stir in flour until the mixture has become a rough dough, knead it by hand 10 minutes, or until elastic. [You may not have used all of the flour or extra tablespoons of water.] Wrap the dough or cover with a bowl and let it stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Take 1/4 of the dough (keep the rest covered) and divide it into 10 pieces, keeping all but the one you are rolling covered. Roll out each piece into a 1/2-inch in diameter dowel shape. Cut each roll into pieces half of your little finger’s length. Gnocchi pieces have traditionally been further rolled on a grooved board or back of the fork to produce grooves that will help the sauce it’s served with to adhere. Leave each piece to dry on a lightly floured surface, such as a basket or tray, which will aid in getting the gnocchi into the cooking water.

Have ready a large pot of boiling water. It is not necessary to add salt to the water as the Parmesan should be enough seasoning. Drop gnocchi into boiling water, stirring up at the beginning to prevent sticking. When they float to the top, they are done; remove with a slotted spoon to a large pan with melted butter and toss with grated Parmesan. Use a bit of the cooking water to stretch the sauce if necessary. For Feast days [not Fast] you can boil in broth.

Nioc à l'Italienne.
Il s'en fait de plusieurs façons en gras comme en maigre; pour les grasses vous maniez du beurre dans une casserolle, avec du fromage rape, de la mie de pain, un peu de farine, & des œufs entiers, de la chair de Perdrix, ou autres vollailles, un peu de sel; vous mêlez bien le tout, & y mettez de la moëlle de Bœuf hachée; pour les maigres elles se font de même, l'on n'y met point de moëlle, ni de chair; vous les faites vertes, si vous voulez, en y mettant des épinards; vous mettez une casserolle sur le fourneau avec de l'eau; quand elle bout, vous les coupez à même l'appareil gros comme la moitié du petit doigt; a mesure que vous les mettez dans l'eau, en mettant la derniere vous couvrez la casserolle & l'ôtez de dessus le feu; étant prêt à servir, vous les dressez a sec avec du fromage, du beurre par-dessus, & servez; pour les grasses vous les faites cuire au bouillon, & les servez avec leur bouillon de bon goût.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p.44.

Gâteau à l’Italienne frit - Fried [pies] Italian

2008-07-28T17:03:00.001-04:00

Take a large sheet of puff paste, that used for the undercrusts of small Pies [cut small squares or circles of dough]; put apricot marmalade, cream-[cheese], &/or other sweet mixtures between two undercrusts and press the two crusts very well together [I used a fork to seal the edges], & fry them in lard [I used butter] until puffed and golden, drain & frost or glaze them, & serve.

Gâteau à l’Italienne frit.
Vous avez un gros feuilletage, vous en faites des abaisses comme pour des petits Pâtés; entre deux abaisses vous mettez marmalade d’abricots, crème, & autre chose; vous fondez bien les deux abaisses, & les faites frire au saindoux, & les glacez, & servez.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p.141.

Strouilles à l'Italienne - "Sweet" Strudel

2008-07-27T20:39:00.004-04:00

Strudel is normally thought of as an Austrian dish; bear in mind that Southern Austria is on the Northern Italian border and the Piedmont or foothills area of Northern Italy is a margin where ideas flowed both North and South.

Strouilles à l'Italienne - Sweet Strudel
Use the same paste* as that of the savory entrée and in the same way. After melting your butter, spread it on your paste well everywhere; make a preparation [combination of about 3 cups worth] of very thin slices or dices of apple, candied citron melons, green [limes] and yellow lemons, grapes of Corinth, raisins, sweet & bitter almonds, pistachios, pinions, all kinds of [sweet] ingredients of the office [cold kitchen or pantry] and spread all over the well-buttered pastry; roll it like that of the savory strudel, but buttering the top of the pasty as you roll it; place it on a tart plate like a snail, & put it in the oven to cook one hour & one-half [mine cooked 35-40 minutes--just until golden], basting it with butter three or four times while it cooks; once baked, glaze it [with frosting or sprinkle with powdered sugar] & serve.

*Rissolles Paste or Italian Pasta Dough
Make a paste with flour, egg whites, salt, & tepid water; knead it soft [until smooth for about 10 minutes] & let it rest below [covered by] a pan for 15 to 30 minutes; roll out in the manner the recipe directs.

OBSERVATIONS:
Be liberal with your melted butter, lots on the bottom before you add filling, and with each roll, brush the top of the dough with more butter. And don't forget to baste with butter several times during cooking.

This dough is amazingly stretchy--do not be afraid to roll it as thin as possible--if it tears stick it back together. I recommend rolling it as a very long rectangle and rolling it from the longest side--this will give you the longest «snail».

Modern tastes may find the addition of sugar and/or spices to the mixture to be a welcome choice.

Strouilles à l’Italienne.
C’est la même pâte** que celle d’entrée étendue de même; vous faites fonder du beurre; étant fondu, vous beurrez bien votre pâte par-tout; vous avez un appareil de filets de pommes, citrons vert & confits, raisins de Corinthe, gros raisins, amandes douce & ameres, des pistaches, pignons, toutes sortes d’ingrediens d’office, que vous mettez dans cette pâte bien beurrée, & l’étendez par-tout; étant faite, vous la roulez comme celle d’entrée, en la beurrant de tems en tems, vous la roulez sur une tourtiere comme un limaçon, & la mettez au four cuire une heure & demie, la frotter trios ou quatre fois de beurre pendant qu’elle cuit; étant cuite, la glacez & servez pour un plat.

**Pâte à Rissolles à l’Italienne
Vous faites une pâte avec farine, blancs d'œufs, sel, & de l'eau tiede; vous la faites molle & la laissez reposer dessous une casserolle, vous en servez de cette maniere.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p.172.

Transalpine [Italian] Kitchen

2008-07-22T23:07:00.005-04:00

According to tradition, this book, Le Cuisinier Gascon, was written by the grandson of Louis XIV and Madam de Montespan. The Prince, Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, also cooked for King Louis XV; he would introduce Gascon cuisine to culinary literature.

Le Cuisinier Gascon has two hundred and seventeen recipes, some with “picturesque names,” such as Drunken Fritters, Eyes of Veal Stuffed with Gratin, the Chicken in Bat, etc.

The author grants a place to the transalpine [Italian] kitchen: lazagne with oil, rafiolis [raviolis], nioc [gnocchi], macaroni with milk, cabbages Roman-style, veal served with rice, truffles, macaroni pie, polpette [_meat_balls], stuffed veal intestinal membranes baked in two crusts [torta]…

The Foreword announces: «One will find a wise choice of the most exquisite recipes here, with the detailed manner to prepare them.»

Coming, some «French» Italian recipes …

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740

July for the Confectioner

2008-07-11T12:42:00.003-04:00

The Fruits of the former Month still make up the greater part of this, and the Preserving of them is continu’d, after the above-mentioned Ways. This is the chief time for wet and dry Cherries, as also for the Jellies and Marmelades of Currans and Raspberries.

In the beginning of the Month, white Walnuts are preserv’d, either liquid or dry, to be kept during the whole Year, and a little afterwards ripe Apricocks, of which Compotes and Pastes are first made: Others are par’d in order to be preserv’d with half Sugar, or in Ears, and Marmelade is made of them, which is us’d in many Things, out of the Season, particularly, for drying the Paste: for Apricock-pastils; or the Royal March-pane. At the same time, the Syrup and Ratafiaz of Apricocks are usually prepar’d.

Pears now begin to provide Employment for the Confectioner, and to afford an agreeable Variety: So that Compotes may be made of them, and Muscadine-pears may be iced, to the number of six or seven in Clusters, as they are, whilst the Blanquets are preserv’d, and some few other sorts dried.

There are also Plums and Grapes in the end of the Month, and altho’ the latter are fine enough then to appear in their natural Color; yet they are sometimes ices with powder’d Sugar. The same thing is done with Plums; besides that Pastes are already made of them, and they may be put into Compotes, or into half-Sugar, to be dried.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 12-13.

Hachis d’œufs sans malice

2008-06-30T22:43:00.008-04:00

Eggs minced without mischievousness [non-deviled?].

Cut hard-boiled eggs in two; keep one good half of each and chop the other whites with the yolks, & moisten mixture with good cream, season with salt and pepper to taste; serve mixture in an egg half on a piece of bread [toast] topped with a sauce made of chopped parsley, scallions, mushrooms [optional], fresh, sweet butter [of Vamvre or Vanvres] and lemon juice.
* * * * *
Hachis d’œufs sans malice.

Vous avez des œufs durs desquels vous ôtez la moitié des blancs, & hachez l’autre moitié avec les jaunes; vous y mettez persil, ciboules, champignons passés & hachés dedans, & le mouillez de bonne crème, assaisonnez de bon gout; sur la fin vous y mettez un pain de beurre de Vamvre, manié, pour lier le tout, jus de citron, & servez.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p 45.

"Bourbon, Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Prince de Dombes. Le Cuisinier Gascon.
“Amsterdam”, s.n. 1740. 12mo. [iix], 208p. Woodcut headpieces & woodcut title vignette signed N.Contemporary mottled calf (crown & base neatly restored), spine & red morocco label gilt. *PRINCELY RECIPES. FIRST EDITION: THE FIRST PUBLISHED COLLECTION OF RECIPES WRITTEN BY A ROYAL CHEF. The Prince des Dombes was “an amateur cook who often ‘officiated’ at Louis XV’s ‘Petit Soupers’” (Simon). The Count de Charolais and Marie Leczinska also labored in his kitchen: King Stanislas made his own baba au rhum! The prince imaginatively named his dishes — Yeux de veau farcis au gratin, Poulet à l’allure nouvelle en Chauve souris en culotte, Bignets bacchiques, Hachis d’œuf sans malice…. He wryly dedicated the book to himself." citation

My Reenactor Heart Went Pitty-Pat

2008-06-24T07:52:00.003-04:00

My reenactor heart went pitty-pat when a friend sent a link to Michel Nichol's latest reproduction in faïence brun, a moule ä pâté, pictured here. Ask Michel for his price list, and if there is a piece you would like to have him make for you, just ask.

Cherries Preserved as Olives

2008-06-16T05:40:00.001-04:00

CHERRIES. The recipes call for Kentish, Flemish, Cornelian, Morello, and Black cherries. Some of Bradley’s most interesting comments about cherries are to be found in his General Treatise of Husbandry and Gardening. At that time (c.1721) about ten sorts were available in the nurseries about London. Furthermore, red and white cornelian cherries were ‘often gathered green, and put in Salt and Water, to imitate pickled Olives’. (See volume II, 1726, pp. 14, 121.) (Richard Bradley, 1736) citation

CHERRY OLIVES
Wash cherries, leaving on the stems. Place in pint jars with 1 teaspoon salt on top. Pour over equal parts of cider vinegar and cold water. Seal immediately. Nothing is heated. Let stand several months before opening. These are a delicious and attractive garnish for meat. This recipe calls for red sour cherries, but it was also suggested that bing cherries may be used. (Mrs. Leo McCoy, Welton, Iowa)

June for the Confectioner

2008-06-13T08:28:00.001-04:00

This Month affords good store of Raspberries, Cherries and Currans: Compotes, Conserves and Pastes are frequently made of the first of these Fruits; and ‘tis now a proper time to begin to Preserve them dry and liquid.

Cherries, as soon as any ripe ones can be procur’d, are likewise put into Compotes, half Sugar and Conserves: They may be iced over with Powder-sugar, and as this Fruit comes to a fuller growth, or when better sorts of them may be gather’d, they are preserv’d in Ears, in Bunches and after other manners: Cakes or Pastes are then prepar’d with Cherries, as also Marmelade, and at last they are preserv’d liquid, in order to be kept for a considerable time: A Jelly may be also made of them, and the Juice extracted from those that are boil’d for Pastes and of others out of which the Stones were taken, to be preserv’d, may be us’d to very good purpose, in that Jelly, and for the Liquor call’d Ratafiaz, as well as the Syrup of those that are dried.

As for Currans; Pastes, Conserves and Compotes, are first made of them, besides those that are iced; others are preserv’d in Bunches and liquid; and afterwards Marmelade is made of them, with Jellies of several sorts. Moreover, Syrups and Liquors are prepar’d with all these forts of Fruit.

This is also a proper time for the Preserving of Orange-flowers dry, and for the making of Conserves, Pastes and Marmelade of them; which may be serviceable during the rest of the Year; because now there is the greatest plenty of these Flowers.

Conserves and Syrup of Roses are likewise made; so that this is one of the Months, in which the most Pains is to be taken, and that affords the greatest Variety of Fruits and Flowers at once.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 11-12.

Herbes mélanges - An Herb Mixture

2008-06-12T09:52:00.004-04:00

On or about 24 June pick the unsprayed herbs and pluck the leaves from the stems. Pluck the outer petals of the pot marigolds. A soft pastry brush is useful in dealing with the flower petals.

Dry the herbs in the sun or indoors fairly near a gentle fan. Measure, mix, and store in a tightly closed ontainer in a cool, dark, dry place.

Use for soups, salad dressings, roasts and marinades. Parts of this mixture will be found later in Herbes de Provence, using lavender instead of marigold.

1 cup parsley
1/4 cup sage
1/4 cup winter savory
1/4 cup wild thyme
1 1/4 cups marjoram
1/4 cup hyssop
1/2 cup pot marigold petals Calendula officinalis
2 Tablespoons basil (optional)

Savoring the Past, the French Kitchen Table from 1300 to 1789, Barbara Ketcham Wheaton. Touchstone, New York, NY, 1983, p. 248.
* * * * *
Herbes mélanges
Prenes persil effueille deulx poignees mariolaine effueillee deux poignees et demye saulge demye poignee ysope autant sariette autant sarpollet. Une poignee soulcye une poignee. Et quant cest pour faire farce aulcuns y mettent soulcye et peu de Baselicque. Elle seruent a tous potaiges et les fault faire seicher enuiron la sainct Jehan baptiste.

Liure fort excellent du cuysine (1555), ff. 28r◦-v◦.

Spain and the World Table - A Review

2008-06-08T12:56:00.002-04:00

A compilation of the Worlds of Flavor conference on Spanish cuisine in 2006, Spain and the World Table, is a delight to the senses and a feast for the eyes. A beautifully presented book, written by Martha Rose Shulman, for the Culinary Institute of America, Spain and the World Table gathers images, stories and recipes from all over Spain, highlighting the best of current Spanish cuisine. But my favorite recipe, Lentil Stew with cèpes, pumpkin and quail, could equally have come from the pages of my 18thC cooking manuals.

Spain and the World Table available from amazon.com ISBN: 978-0-7566-3387-5

Mad for Macarons

2008-05-30T14:43:00.006-04:00

May is Mad for Macarons Month

Here is an 18thC recipe for macarons.
Peel & crush a pound of sweet almonds, add four egg whites & a pound of caster sugar [powdered or confectioners’], then mix the whole well together; you can add to it a little orange flower water [flavoring and/or coloring]; deposit your macaron batter on papers in ovals or longitudinally, leaving space between each, so that they are not touched: draw [dry for 15 minutes to develop a skin], powder with fine sugar & cook until they are firm: it is necessary that the heat of the furnace is soft, & that the hearth [sole plate—bottom of the oven] however is a little hot, in order to make it puff out: one can leave there macaroon until the furnace is cooled, then removed it from the paper & store in adry place.

La nouvelle maison rustique, ou, Économie generale de tous les biens de campagne: la manière de les entretenir & de les multiplier : donée ci-devant au public / par le Sieur Louis Liger. Paris : Saugrain, 1755, Tome II, IV. Part. LIV. IV. Chap. I. La Cuisine. B., p. 865.
* * * * *
Macarons. Pelez & pilez une livre d’amandes douces, comme celles de massepain; étant bien pilées, ajoutez-y quatre blancs d’œufs & une livre de sucre en poudre, puis mêlez bien le tout ensemble; vous pouvez y ajouter un peu d’eau de fleur d’orange & le piler encoure un peu, après quoi vous dresserez vos macarons sur du papier en long ou en ovale, les éloignant un peu les uns de autres, afin qu’ils ne se touchent point: ayant tout dressé, vous les poudrerez de sucre fin & les mettrez cuire au four jusqu’à ce qu’ils soient fermes par-dessus: il faut que la chaleur du four soit douce, & que l’âtre pourtant soit un peu chaud, afin de faire pousser la pâte & la faire bouffer: le macaron doit être au four un peu plus long-tems que le massepain, parce qu’il est plus épais: on peut y laisser le macaron jusqu’à ce que le four soit refroidi, ensuite le lever de dessus le papier & le mettre en lieu sec.

Here is a super video on making macarons

Amandes vertes--Green Almonds

2008-05-18T02:10:00.001-04:00

Green Almonds Preserved. Choose almonds green and tender, slightly peel them, drill them with a big needle and put them in cold water. Blanche the fruit in boiling water, drain and rub between cloths to remove down; let them soak for 2 hours in cold water, which you will renew several times, drain again, put them in terrines, cover with boiling sugar syrup (25 degrees density) and a round of paper; drop in the cellar. Give eight ways with almonds, adding each time a little syrup and increasing by 2 degrees the density of syrup, which must be 6 to 37 degrees at the last way. Make sure sugar broth covers fruit at all times. Let them stand for twelve to fifteen days prior to the eighth way. Finish as for other fruits.

Green Almonds. Take green almonds preserved in brandy; being drained dip them one after another in sugar prepared au cassé (twelfth degree), and roll them in white nonpareils, or of any other color, or several colors mixed together, and dry them in the stove, or in a soft oven. They are also done after this manner—cut them into two or four pieces, put them on a baking-plate rubbed with oil, and pour some hot sugar caramelized over; turn them to do the same over again and keep them in a very dry place.

Green almond tarts. Pull the almonds from the tree before they shell, scrape off the down, and put them into a pan with cold spring water; then put them into a skillet with more spring water; set it on a slow fire, and let it remain till it simmers. Change the water twice, and let them remain in the last till tender, then take them out, and dry them well in a cloth. Make a syrup with double refined sugar, put them into it and let them simmer; do the same the next day, put them into a stone jar, and cover them very close, for if the least air comes to them they will turn black; the yellower they are before they are taken out of the water, the greener they will be after they are done. Put them into the crust, cover them with syrup, lay on the lid, and bake them in a moderate oven.
* * * * *Recipes collected from friends and relatives* * * * *

GREEN ALMOND CONSERVE

For true aficionados of green almonds, the prime moment is when the seed case has just begun to plump, the interior is still liquid, and there is no hint of a shell. The whole almond, including the green hull, is served chilled, sometimes in salted ice water, and eaten with a little salt.

In this recipe the green almonds are chopped and combined in a spiced mixture with dates and raisins to make a conserve. The intense almond taste contrasts well with the dense, rich background of the other ingredients. The conserve can be spread on buttered bread for teatime or spooned alongside grilled eggplant and peppers for a sweet-and-savory combination. It also makes a good filling for cookies.

50 to 60 green almonds at the soft nut stage (about 1 1/2 pounds), or 1/2 cup unsalted mature shelled almonds
1 cup raisins
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
8 to 10 large Medjool dates (about 1/2 pound), pitted and coarsely chopped
1 cup water
6 whole cloves, crushed

Using a sharp knife, slice through the green almonds lengthwise, splitting the interior nut in half. Pick out the ivory nut halves with the knife tip and set aside. Do not be concerned if some of the nuts are still in the semi-liquid stage. Set aside 8 halves and coarsely chop the remainder. If you are using mature almonds, chop all of them.

Combine the raisins and the vinegar in a nonreactive saucepan and let stand for 10 minutes. Place over medium-low heat, bring to a simmer, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the sugar, dates, water, and cloves and cook for another 5 minutes. Then add the green or mature almonds and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. The mixture will be rather thick and dense.

Remove from the heat and spoon into a hot, dry, sterilized jar with a lid. Tuck the reserved green almond halves along the walls of the jar, making a decorative band or arrangement. Cover with the lid.

Store in the refrigerator. The conserve will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Makes 1 pint.

[recipe from The Glass Pantry, Georgeanne Brennan]seen on gourmetsleuth.com

Buy Green Almonds
Buy Preserved Almonds

mere de vinaigre--vinegar mother

2008-05-15T08:20:00.004-04:00

I just received some mere de vinaigre--vinegar mother from a generous friend, some for white, rosé and red wine vinegar and I can hardly wait to try Christine's instructions over at holy basil. I'll keep you posted on the results.

Houblon - Hops Shoots

2008-05-13T10:18:00.004-04:00

A delicious spring green, similar in taste to asparagus, is houblon or hops, the shoots of which can be eated steamed, braised or fried. The male flowers can also be eaten in salads. The female cones are used later in the season to impart a certain bitter flavor to beer.

Of the Pastes of Fruits

2008-05-02T16:55:00.002-04:00

It is only requisite to have recourse to the particular Marmelades, of every sort of Fruit, described in the fore-going Chapter, to know how to make as many Pastes; in regard that it is almost the same thing, and the whole Work is brought to Perfection by drying those Marmelades. To that purpose, when the Business requires dispatch, the Sugar must boil, till it be crack'd, or at least, greatly Feathered; to be incorporated with the dried Fruit. Afterwards, the Marmelade being made according to Art; may be taken up with a Spoon, and dress'd upon Slates, or in Moulds, in order to be dried in the Stove, with a good Fire. In the Evening, or the next Day, they must be turn'd on the other side, and laid again upon the same Slates, or upon Sieves: As soon as these Pastes are become very firm and compact, they are to be lock'd up in Boxes, and may be us'd, as Occasion requires.
At other times, when you would have any Paste dryed, let as much Marmelade, as you shall think fit, be put into a Copper-pan, and having caus'd some Sugar to be brought to its Feathered Quality, pour it in; tempering it well till it slips off from the bottom of the Pan; after the same manner, as in the making of Marmelade. Then let all simper together, for a while, and let the Paste be immediately dress'd upon Slates, or in Tin-moulds, made in form of a Heart, Square, Flower-de-luce, etc., which are usually set into the Stove, to be dried as before. These are the general Directions that me be given, for the ordering of such Fruit-pastes as are made of Marmelades; allowing two Pounds of Sugar, for every Pound of Fruit. But for other Pastes, that are made on purpose, an equal quantity of each will be sufficient, and the Sugar must be boil'd till it has attain'd to its Crack'd Quality.

New Instructions for Confectioners, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 81-82.

May for the Confectoiner . . .

2008-05-01T15:43:00.001-04:00

In this Month green Goose-berries first appear, of which Compotes and Jellies are made: They are also preserv'd liquid for the rest of the Year, either for Tarts, or to be serv'd up again in Compote, upon certain Occasions.

Green Apricocks come about the same time; affording Matter likewise for Compotes, Pastes and Marmelades: But they are chiefly preserv'd dry, and kept for a considerable time.

Green Almonds, which belong to the same Season, may be order'd after as many different manners, viz. for Compotes, Pastes and Marmelades, as well as preserv'd dry or liquid, in order to be us'd upon any emergent Occasion.

Straw-berries begin likewise to appear, which may be serv'd up, not only in their natural Condition, but also in Compotes, to diversifie the former Banquets.

New Instructions for Confectioners, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 11.

Using "leftover" greens

2008-04-28T15:24:00.002-04:00

I have been toying with the ends of the romaine heads, chopping them into shreds and then combinging them with cheese, bread crumbs, aromatics . . . then using the mixture to stuff vegetables and pasta before baking. I like the texture and crunch the ends of the lettuces give to stuffings. My husband commented that a touch of citrus zest may allay the excess "greeness" taste when baking in vegetables. Now this is quite a suggestion, since he often thinks I use too much zest . . . I'll give it a try next time.