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

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.

Pickled Purslain

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.].

Cherries Preserved as Olives

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)

Herbes mélanges - An Herb Mixture

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◦.

Amandes vertes--Green Almonds

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

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.

Herbes 101

Plain food can be enhanced by any number of herbes, which are the leaves and stems of plants [usually roots and fruits and nuts of plants are considered spices]. Fresh herbes should be bruised or twisted before being added to cooking foods, the exception being herbe bundles or bouquet garni which is often tied together and suspended from the handle of the cooking pot to aid in its removal prior to serving.

Some herbes, bay [laurel] leaves in particular, benefit from being bruised and "fried" in a little oil, graisse or butter, which releases the oils of the herbe and intensifies its flavor. There may be times when you do not want to intensify the herbe--adding it at later stages in cooking may give a more elusive flavor.

Dried herbes should be crushed in the hand before adding to the pot. This will release more flavor, as will toasting in a dry pan or frying in the oils and fats at the beginning of the preparation of the dish.

Adding herbes at the very end of the cooking process is necessary when using herbes like basils, which darken with cooking and can spoil the looks of the dish.

National cuisines use different combinations of herbes--begin to experiment with not only local herbes, but be sure and lay in a supply of unusual herbes from your traveling merchants when given the chance. Bon appétit!

Pickled Green Walnuts

2 - 3 lb young green walnuts
1/4 lb salt
3 1/2 pints water
1 oz black peppercorns
1 teaspoon allspice berries
2 1/2 pints malt or wine vinegar
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 inch stick of cinnamon, crushed


Prick the walnuts all over with a large needle (these nuts are best picked before June 24th--you don't want any developed hard shell within the nut itself). Place the nuts in a ceramic bowl, dissolve half the salt in half the water and pour over the walnuts. Cover and leave for 5 days in a cool place, stirring twice a day to ensure even brining.

Drain the walnuts, mix the remaining salt and water, pour over the brine and leave for another five days, stirring twice a day as before. Drain, spread out in a single layer on a flat dish and leave to dry in the sun until they are black but not dry, turning every few hours.

Crush the peppercorns and allspice berries and simmer the vinegar with the sugar and spices for 20 minutes. Allow to cool and strain. Pack the walnuts into sterilized, wide-mouth jars, filling them no more than three-quarters full, and pour in the spiced vinegar. Cover and leave in a cool place for 6 weeks before using.

These pickles are delicious smashed into a viniagrette or mayonnaise for a salad or sandwich dressing. Try a slice of pickle and a slice of cheese for a canapé.

Asperges Glacé avec Fraises Coulis Balsamique

Pour blog appetit! de ce mois J'offre un goût délicieux et colore la combinaison. Les dirigeants [cuisiniers froids de cuisine] aux 17èmes et 18èmes siècles, faits glace de tout imaginable, y compris l'asperge. Comme le créateur de cette recette trouvé, la glace Cream de Asparagus de goûte comme la pistache, ainsi elle est la couleur verte impaire peut être pardonnée [la recette suit]. L'appareillement de elle avec des coulis de fraise avec un contact de vinaigre balsamique est génie pur.

Ingrédients
Une asperge de groupe
sucre de 1 tasse (pour faire le double sirop de sucre)
l'eau de tasse de 1/2
tasse Amaretto de 1/2
2 oeufs (à la température ambiante)
sucre de tasse de 1/2
(1 pinte) crème 600mL
(pinte de 1/2) lait 200mL
Méthode

NOTA:. Cette crême glacée est complètement expérimentale. Ainsi j'ai enregistré la méthode que j'ai employée et des pensées j'ai eues pendant la fabrication. Si vous avez n'importe quoi à ajouter, satisfaire /msg je.

Dissolvez 1 tasse de sucre dans l'eau et l'apportez à l'ébullition. Enlevez la partie boisée de l'asperge, et du coup de hache dans de petits morceaux. Ajoutez l'asperge. Revenez à l'ébullition et enlevez la chaleur. Puisque l'asperge était d'être puréed, j'à gauche il pour se refroidir vers le bas dans le sirop, pour tremper dans le sirop de sucre.

Faites la crème. Battez les oeufs et le sucre ensemble. Chauffez doucement la crème et le lait. Ajoutez la crème/lait aux oeufs tout en remuant. Filtrez la crème de nouveau dans le pot au-dessus d'une chaleur douce. Remuez jusqu'à la crème enduira le dos d'une cuillère.

Mélangez la liqueur d'asperge et d'amande. Je n'ai pas vidangé l'asperge complètement, tellement il y avait un peu du sirop de sucre dans le mélangeur, mais pas trop. Je sûrement n'ai pas voulu concentrer la saveur d'asperge.

Ajoutez le purée d'asperge à la crème. Bien que j'aie voulu à, je n'ai pas tendu le mélange encore. J'ai pensé qu'une texture douce serait une bonne idée. Mais l'éloge de la crême glacée était son inclusion de fibre.

Battez selon les instructions sur la machine de crême glacée.

Fraises Coulis Balsamique
300 fraises fraîches de g
150 ml d'eau
sucre glace de 100 g
15 ml de jus de citron
25 ml au vinaigre balsamique

Lavez les fraises et placez-les dans un mélangeur ;
ajoutez l'eau, le sucre glace et le jus et le mélange de citron tout ensemble complètement ;
placez les coulis dans une casserole et un cuisinier de sauté pendant quelques minutes ;
laissez frais pendant 5 minutes ;
ajoutez le vinaigre balsamique au goût.

* * * * *

For this month's blog appetit! I offer a delightful taste and color combination. Officers [cold kitchen cooks] in the 17th and 18th centuries, made ices from everything imaginable, including asparagus. As this recipe's creator found, Asparagus Ice Cream does taste a little like pistachio, so it's odd green color can be forgiven [recipe follows]. Pairing it with strawberry coulis with a touch of balsamic vinegar is pure genius.

Ingredients
One bunch asparagus
1 cup sugar (to make double sugar syrup)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Amaretto
2 eggs (at room temperature)
1/2 cup sugar
600mL (1 pint) cream
200mL (1/2 pint) milk
Method

NB. This ice cream is completely experimental. So I have recorded both the method I used and thoughts I had during the making. If you have anything to add, please /msg me.

Dissolve 1 cup of sugar in the water and bring to the boil. Remove the woody part of the asparagus, and chop into small pieces. Add the asparagus. Return to the boil and take off the heat. Because the asparagus was to be puréed, I left it to cool down in the syrup, to steep in the sugar syrup.

Make the custard. Whisk the eggs and sugar together. Gently warm the cream and milk. Add the cream/milk to the eggs while stirring. Strain the custard back into the pot over a gentle heat. Stir until the custard will coat the back of a spoon.

Blend the asparagus and almond liqueur. I didn't drain the asparagus completely, so there was a small amount of the sugar syrup in the blender, but not too much. I surely did not want to concentrate the asparagus flavour.

Add the asparagus purée to the custard. Although I wanted to, I did not strain the mixture again. I thought a smooth texture would be a good idea. But the praise of the ice cream was its inclusion of fibre.

Churn as per the instructions on the ice cream machine.

Strawberry Coulis with Balsamic Vinegar
300 g fresh strawberries
150 ml water
100 g icing sugar
15 ml lemon juice
25 ml balsamic vinegar

Wash the strawberries and place them in a blender;
add the water, icing sugar and lemon juice and blend everything together thoroughly;
place the coulis in a sauté pan and cook for a few minutes;
let cool for 5 minutes;
add balsamic vinegar to taste.

Sugaring Time

I’ve been hard at work drilling holes and inserting wooden tubes from which maple sap can flow into my containers. It takes roughly 40 times more sap than I shall end up with in syrup or sugar. That’s a lot of time slaving over a hot fire waiting for the evaporation to turn my clear sap into dark golden syrup.

Here is a wonderful site on maple sugaring history. Keep watch for recipes using maple syrup and sugar to follow.

Dried Mushroom Gravy

Quand j'avais 7 ans, un voisin est venu courant plus de pour dire que le pré au-dessus de la colline brûlait-un le bûcheron était allé dormir, se reposant contre un arbre, alors que le tabagisme d'une pipe et des braises de la cuvette avait attrapé le pin moche sur le feu. Une pluie de trempage de début de l'été avait fortuitement eteint le feu. Le matin prochain tôt le même voisin est venu courant encore, cette fois avec des nouvelles merveilleuses. La pluie avait fait jaillir des champignons des cendre-acres de morelles maintenant froides tenues poussantes leurs têtes au-dessus de la dévastation tout autour de elles. Mon grand-mère et mère ont rapidement recueilli autant de sacs et paniers car nous pourrions trouver et la famille entière pénible au-dessus de la colline et dans le pré noirci. Nous avons traîné la maison beaucoup de boisseaux de morelles, que nous avons ficelées dans des fils et avons accrochées les des combles. Quand le processus de séchage avait accompli, nous avons eu quatre boisseaux de la rançon du roi sec de morelles-un dans manger fin. Tout l'hiver long, avec chaque morceau de viande-élans, des cerfs communs, volaille sauvage et volaille-nous avons pris la sauce au jus succulente de champignon. Quand je pense de nouveau aux odeurs et le goût et les combles lourds avec la générosité de cette année, je désire pour ce goût merveilleux. Depuis ce jour, en ressort en retard et début de l'été quand les mayapples apparaissent sur le plancher de forêt, j'ose dedans aux bois, poussant par le moule de feuille, espérant ces couronnes de morelle pour apparaître. Mais en toutes années où j'ai recherchées, j'ont seulement trouvé uns. Maintenant, avec chaque type de champignon je parviens à moissonner, I sèche toujours uns dans les tranches sur une corde pour s'ajouter à mon [garde manger] pour me rappeler ce jour glorieux il y a beaucoup d'années.

Dried le champignon Gravy
Une corde de huit pouces des champignons secs (rudement une poignée)
Eau bouillante à couvrir à peine
1 tranche d'un petit clou de girofle d'ail, haché
1 petite échalote, hachée
Graisse ou beurre ou huile d'olive
vin rouge pour les viandes rouges, vin blanc pour les viandes blanches
sel et poivre

Prenez les champignons outre de la corde et les placez dans une petite cuvette. À peine couverture avec l'eau bouillante. Mis de côté pour tremper reconstituez.

Hachez l'ail et l'échalote et le sauté dans votre choix de graisse jusqu'à commencer caramelize. Casserole de Deglze avec du jus de trempage de champignon. Fermentez jusqu'à la moitié en volume. Ajoutez votre choix de vin, au sujet de tasse de ½, et les champignons reconstitués coupés ou coupés en tranches à la casserole. Fermentez doucement jusqu'à ce que les champignons soient faits à votre tendresse désirée ; réduisez probablement le mélange plus loin pour intensifier la saveur. Ajoutez le sel et le poivre au goût. Servez très chaud avec des viandes grillées, rôties ou bouillies. Appréciez.
* * * * *
When I was 7, a neighbor came running over to say the meadow over the hill was burning—a woodcutter had gone to sleep, sitting against a tree, while smoking a pipe and the embers from the bowl had caught the pine duff on fire. A soaking early summer rain had fortuitously put the fire out. Early next morning the same neighbor came running again, this time with wonderful news. The rain had caused mushrooms to spring from the now cold ashes—acres of morels stood poking their heads above the devastation all around them. My grandmother and mother quickly gathered as many sacks and baskets as we could find and the whole family trudged over the hill and into the blackened meadow. We dragged home many bushels of morels, which we strung on threads and hung them from the rafters. When the drying process had completed, we had four bushels of dried morels—a king’s ransom in fine eating. All winter long, with each piece of meat—elk, deer, wild fowl and poultry—we had luscious mushroom gravy. When I think back to the smells and tastes and rafters heavy with the bounty of that year, I hanker for that wonderful taste. Since that day, in late spring and early summer when the mayapples appear on the forest floor, I venture in to the woods, poking through the leaf mould, hoping for those morel crowns to appear. But in all the years I’ve searched, I’ve only found a few. Now, with each type of mushroom I do manage to harvest, I always dry a few in slices on a string [to add to my garde manger] to remind me of that glorious day many years ago.

Dried Mushroom Gravy
An eight inch string of dried mushrooms (roughly a handful)
Boiling water to barely cover
1 slice of one small clove of garlic, minced
1 small shallot, minced
Graisse or butter or olive oil
red wine for red meats, white wine for white meats
salt and pepper

Take mushrooms off the string and place in a small bowl. Barely cover with boiling water. Set aside to steep reconstitute.

Mince garlic and shallot and sauté in your choice of fat until beginning to caramelize. Deglze pan with mushroom soaking juice. Simmer until half in volume. Add your choice of wine, about ½ cup, and either chopped or sliced reconstituted mushrooms to the pan. Simmer gently until the mushrooms are done to your desired tenderness; possibly reduce the mixture further to intensify the flavor. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve piping hot with grilled, roasted or boiled meats. Enjoy.

Graisse Normande

Many habitantes here in Nouvelle France came from Normandy. Before butter became one of the flavors associated with Norman cuisine, “graisse normande” was the chief cooking medium. Each farm would have added its own signature vegetables/herbs in its preparation, giving graisse characteristic flavor and imparting the unctiousness associated with goose and duck fat in Southwest France. The Norman Table: the traditional cooking of Normandy, by Claude Guermont, gives a particularly great recipe for graisse, which I will share with you. It will keep, frozen as “ice cubes,” indefinitely; up to four months in the refrigerator. This is one of the secrets in my garde manger.

GRAISSE NORMANDE
8 oz very firm beef fat and 4 oz pork fat (I use a mixture of duck, chicken, and/or goose fat for these fats as I don’t eat pork products)
½ cup coarsely chopped onions
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices
1 medium turnip, peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices
1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices
1 leek (green part only), cut into ½ inch lengths
1 small bouquet garni (parsley stems, sprigs of fresh thyme, and 1 bay leaf in a cheesecloth bag)
Salt and pepper

• Chop fat into small pieces and place them in a heavy pot. Add 1 cup water.
• Place the pot over a low fire for 2 hours and stir occasionally. The fat will melt and begin to clarify.
• After 2 hours, add the vegetables and the bouquet garni. Stir, then simmer for about 2 hours more, or until the fat is clear and the vegetables have released all their flavor.
• Remove the pot from the fire and let it rest for about 30 minutes. This will allow the particles to settle to the bottom of the pot. Strain the fat mixture through a fine sieve or cheesecloth once or twice if necessary to remove all the particles.
• Season the graisse with about 1 ½ teaspoons salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Place in a tightly closed jar in a cool place.

Use graisse to season soups; as the fat for frying dry meats, such as venison, or left overs and to flavor farces.

Cornichons

Les cornichons sont des concombres qui n’ont pû profiter & parvenir à maturité. Onles confit sur la fin d’Aout & en Septembre de cette maniere; on les lave dans le l’eau fraîche,ou les essuye, on les pique avec un piquoir fin en plusieurs endroits; on les range dans un pot avec de bon vinaigre; assaisoné de sel & poivre concassé, & de quelque clous de girofle; qu’ils trempent aisément, & les tenir bien couverts. On confit aussi de gros concombres, mais tenders & avant que la graine y soit formée.

The gherkins are cucumbers which do not have to arrive at maturity to be useful. Pickle them at the end of August or September in this manner; one washes them in fresh water, or wipes them, one pricks them with a fine pricker in several places; one arranges them in a pot with good vinegar; seasoned salt & crushed pepper, & of some cloves; that they soak easily, & to hold them covered well. One pickles also large cucumbers, but [while they are still] tender & before the seed is formed there.

Page 448-9, Nouvelle instruction pour les confitures, les liqueurs et les fruits de Massialot

Wash and wipe your cucumbers, prick all over with a needle and layer as tightly as possible in a crock. Add salt, pepper and a couple of whole cloves to enough good vinegar to cover the cucumbers and bring to a boil in a non-reactive pan. Pour over cucumbers, cover and leave for two days. Drain vinegar and bring to a boil again and repour it over pickles in crock. Repeat at the end of two days; repeat one more time; then leave covered for two weeks [be certain vinegar mixture completely covers pickles at all time--weight with a piece of crockery, if necessary]. Cornichons will be crisp and sour--just right to serve with richly seasoned meat preparations.

I grew Parisian Pickling cucumbers, a rare, tiny variety, especially grown for cornichons. The weather here has been somewhat mild for so late in the fall. At the beginning of October, I pulled up my cucumber vines and picked through them to find the smallest cucumbers to preserve as cornichons to use with patés.

Sassafras and Filé Powder

Now is the time to gather your sassafras leaves to dry for filé powder. Danno has a great post on filé powder at NolaCuisine.

Gather your leaves on stems in the early evening in mid-August in mid-America--hang upside down in paper bag to help keep them free of dust and to catch any leaves that may fall. When the leaves are dry, remove from stems and crush. Store in an air-tight container--the leaves contain a volatile oil. Use in stews and gumbos to add a certain thick richness to the broth. Do not add until the stew is almost done, and do not boil after the addition of the filé. Enjoy.

As an aside--sassafras roots are an ingredient in modern rootbeer.

Menues espices

Prenes z iiij de Gingembre z iiii de canelle z ii de poyure rond z i poyure long ij de noix de muscade z i de cloux Giroffle z i de Graine de paradis z i de muscade z i Garingal et i le tout mis en pouldre et passes par lesset.

Livre fort excellent de cuysine (1555), 27vº.

A Spice Mixture

7 tablespoons powdered ginger
1/4 cup ground pepper
7 1/4 teaspoons grated nutmeg
5 teaspoons ground cardamom (if grains of paradise unavailable)
5 3/4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons long pepper
4 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 tablespoons powdered galingale (laos)

Sift all the ingredients together and store in a cool place in a tightly covered container.

Faites secher du sel, puis vous le mettrez en poudre, et vous en mettrez autant pesant qu'il y aura d'épisse, gardez-la dans un lieu qui ne soit pas humide.

Le Pâtissier françois (1652)

Salted Spice

Dry some salt, beat it to a powder, and add an equal quantity by weight to the spice mixture. Store in a dry place.

Uses for theses mixtures:

I do not use pork or pork fat when I make pâté and pyes so I was looking for a spice mixture that would unite the others meats I use into that well-remembered taste and smell of charcuterie. This mixture, even though very old, produces an incredible taste, and some of the ingredients will later be known as French "four spice" or Quatre-épice. You will be able to find long pepper and grains of paradise and galingale in out of the way spice shops or online. Do give this a try, especially if you're looking to have an indefinable "taste" in a contest or new recipe. The salted spice works very well in stews. Bon appétit!


Wheaton, Barbara. Savoring the Past: The French Kitchen and Table from 1300 to 1789, p 247 & 253.


Check out New Orleans Cuisine's Creole Seasoning for a modern American French taste.

Caramel Sauce

Caramel is mentioned in La Varenne's The French Cook, Englished in 1653, so it is time that I add this technique to my repertoire. I have some winter pears that will do nicely as a glacé or sorbet, as well.

Peel and core 1.5 pounds Comice pears and cut into rough slices. Cook in a small amount of boiling water until slices are translucent. Drain and puree cooked pears; stir in 3/4 cup sugar while the puree is still warm. Chill mixture and once cooled, add a few drops of Armagnac or brandy. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to instructions.

To make the caramel sauce, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Boil for a good 10 minutes or until sugar starts to caramelize. Turn heat down and, stirring constantly, continue to cook until sauce becomes a deep, rich caramel color. Quickly add 1/4 cup heavy cream and stand back, as mixture will splatter. Then stir caramel sauce again until smooth.

To assemble, place three scoops of pear sorbet into a dish or tuile cup, ladle warm caramel sauce over the sorbet and top with chopped, toasted walnuts. Serves 4. I added a curl of lemon zest as a garnish.

Debbie at Words to Eat By chose caramel as this month's Sugar High Friday.

Sorbet & Caramel Recipe: W, February 10-17, 1986, p. 48.

Crème Fraîche

Rich, thick crème fraîche, sometimes so thick you can stand a spoon in it or cut it with a knife into cubes, is a specialty of France. I have tried several ways of making my own crème fraîche and I'd like to share my secret with you.

Take 1 cup of heavy cream (whipping creme in America) and warm it to wrist temperature (105ºF) in a non-reactive pan, then stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons of buttermilk. Pour into a warmed crock, cover it, then leave on the counter to rest in a warm place until thick (may take 12-36 hours at room temperature). Stir and place into the cool spring house. Use for desserts, sauces, slathered on bread--enjoy!

Verjus

Condiments are sometimes the bases of sauces. Verjus (literally green juice) is one such condiment. Verjus was very popular in Medieval French cuisine, and is enjoying somewhat of a comeback today. However, from perusing the Internet (a passenger pigeon used to ask a question to which the answer appears out of nowhere), it would appear that the verjus available from vintners today is just a bottled grape juice, either white or red, with whole grapes sometimes included in the bottle.

Verjus in 18thCentury France/Canada may or may not have been fermented, but it was more than just green grape juice and a few grapes in a bottle. Frugal French housewives did not waste much. During the harvest, all grapes that were not ripe were set apart from the mature grapes ready for the wine vats. The nicest looking green grapes were then pricked with a fork and put into jars. The rest of the green grapes were pressed to extract the juice from the skins and seeds (today we use a Chinese hat and pestle). The juice is then added to the bottles of grapes and a little sugar and 90 proof alcohol (marc-distilled from the pressings after the wine is made [bouilleur du cru-itinerant distillers still can be seen in rural France-going from one small holding to another making marc]) and wine vinegar is added to the jars—where grapes were not available, crabapples, other fruits and even sorrel were used and are referenced. After two months or more, the verjus is ready. It adds intense flavor and sprightly sourness to sauces, but it does not clash with wine as vinegar does.

"'The basic distinction in modern French cooking between sweet and salt was not routinely made. Vinegar was much used, both in the cooking of meats, where the acid would break down tough muscle fibers, and as one of the principal liquids in sauces. Verjus, a pungent acid liquid-actually a strong vinegar, was extensively used. Sorrel purée was sometimes added for color and flavor (Wheaton:14)." Toussaint-Samat mentions that "verjus was first made of the acid juices of sorrel, then unripe plums. In the 16thC, grapes, as well as oranges and lemons were rare, and verjus used the wasted grapes. Outside the grape areas, crabs and unripe apples were used." In Canada: Saragard talks about really good grapes that could be made into wine in the Huron country, early 17thC. Champlain makes many references to grapes. Kalm in speaking about Montreal "Several people here in town have gotten the French grapevines and planted them in their gardens. They have two kinds of grapes, one is pale green, or almost white; the other, of a reddish brown. From the white ones they say a white wine is made, and from the red ones, red wine (1749). Patricia Mitchell mentions "capons in unfermented wine" was popular. So it would be appropriate to use grape verjus in Canada; however, it would probably be more authentic to use crabapple or other early-drop apples. It is possible that they would have returned to the earlier practice of using plums.

Use verjus to deglaze the pan with chicken or fish. Reduce a bit of it down and add it to game sauces for that indefinable something extra. In recipes where the phrase unfermented wine appears, what is probably being referenced or remembered is verjus. This taste spans time all the way to present French cuisine and bistro fare. Verjus can also be used in water with a bit of sugar to make a refreshing summer drink. Try it added to other fruit juices or beer for that extra bitter edge to excite the appetite, creating your own apéritif.

Here is Madeleine Kamman's recipe for verjus: "2 pounds green grapes (berries only), as green and sour as possible but already juicy (1 kg.), sugar, 90 proof alcohol or Armagnac, wine vinegar. Select about 30 very large berries and prick them with a fork in 4 different places. Put the berries in a half-gallon jar. Crush the remainder of the grapes. Rinse and squeeze dry a large piece of cheesecloth. Line a strainer with the cheesecloth and strain the grape juice, squeezing well to extract all the juice. Measure it accurately. For each cup (1/4 liter) of grape juice obtained, measure 1/4 cup (75 g) of sugar, 2 cups (1/2 liter) of alcohol and 1/2 cup wine vinegar (1 generous dl). Dissolve the sugar in the grape juice. Add the alcohol and vinegar; pour over the berries in the half-gallon container. Store in a cool place (60-65(F) for at least 2 months before using. It keeps forever, and is good in all chicken dishes, with ham, ducks and so forth. A supply made with 1 quart of grape juice, 2 quarts of alcohol and 2 cups of vinegar lasts one year." (Try this with apples off that flowering crab in your front yard; the taste should be very close to true Canadien.) __________________________________

Boire et manger, quelle Histoire! discusses the history of verjus in France and Obsession with Food makes a verjus curd.

1976 Kamman, Madeleine. When French Women Cook. Atheneum, New York, Pp. 70-71.
1991 Mitchell, Patricia B. French Cooking in Early America. Sims-Mitchell House Bed & Breakfast, Chatham, VA, p.3.
1994 Toussaint Samat, Maguelonne. A History of Food. Blackwell Publishers, p. 528.
1983 Wheaton, Barbara Ketcham. SAVORING THE PAST : The French Kitchen And Table from 1300 to 1789. Touchstone, New York, NY.

Green Walnut Chutney

When I drained the salty vinegar infusion from the chopped green walnuts, onions and garlic to make walnut ketchup, I couldn't bring myself to throw those aromatics away. Although the liquid was somehwhat brown, the solids were still greenish. I added chopped, peeled apples & pears, raisins, grated ginger, mustard seed and one crushed cayenne pepper to my poële. Then I added brown sugar and vinegar to cover. Had I layered all this in a glass jar and just left it to sit macerating, uncooked or "unfinished", I would have had a plain compote. But as I simmered the chutney, the mixture turned inky brown and put forth a wonderfully pungent aroma.

I will use this chunky dark jam to flavor grilled meats and to finish sauces with game. I will even add it to cream sauce to pour over noodles on meatless days. French Catholics observed a lot of meatless days in their religious observance and many early cookbooks spoke to the need to offer "rich" fare that was legal. A rich sauce will please the eye and fill the stomach.

Walnut Ketchup

Last Midsummerday I was allowed to walk through my friend's walnut orchard to pick green walnuts to make vin noix. After picking an apronful, I put three fourths down for wine and the rest I ground and set to steep in vinegar with some onions, garlic and salt. Several weeks later I drained the mixture, reserving the liquid for ketchup and the solids I turned into a chutney [see next post] to eat with game this winter.

To the liquid in the pan I added some wine, a few blades of mace, peppercorns and a few cloves. I simmered this until reduced in volume by half, strained it into a jug, and set it back on the shelf. Use walnut ketchup to deglaze the pan or to add that certain something to vinaigrette.