Biche - Hind [female red deer]

Hind is good only when it is quite young; its flesh is rather delicate & agreeable: it has [as] much [flesh] in ratio to the flesh of the stag & is cooked in the same way; but it is softer & more insipid flesh. It is eaten roasted, & for that soak in a marinade after having pricked it [larded or wrapped] with a little bacon. Baste it while roasting; & when cooked put capers & a little flour in the drippings with a little lemon, & simmer the sauce. It can also be eaten with a sweet sauce, made with vinegar [to deglaze the pan], pepper, cinnamon & sugar, & one whole shallot.

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. 800.

Biche, n’est bonne que quand elle est bien jeune; sa chair est assez delicate & agreeable: elle a beaucoup de rapport à la chair du cerf & s’accommode de même; mais elle a la chair plus molle & plus fade. On la mange rôtie, & pour cela on la fait tremper dans une marinade après l’avoir piquée de menu lard. On l’arrose en la faisant rôtir; & étant cuite on met des câpres & un peu de farine dans son dégoût avec un peu de citron verd, & on la fait mitonner dans la sauce. On la mange si l’on veut à la sauce douce, avec vinaigre, poivre, canella & sucre, & une échalotte entiere.

Aloyau -- Sirloin

Sirloin in ragout. Take a sirloin of the first part, degrease [cut off extra fat] & prick it [wrap it with well seasoned bacon], cook it with the pin [rotisserie]; being half-cooked, remove it from the pin & put it in a pot with juice of ox [jus--which see], some mushrooms, truffles, morels, artichoke bottoms—all well chopped, season with salt & pepper to taste & add a bouquet of sweet herbs; cover the pot & cook gently on embers: when cooked to desired doneness, slice the sirloin & serve it with a ragout of calf sweetbread, foie gras, truffles, mushrooms, morels, willfoam [mushrooms], artichoke bottoms, asparagus tips & salt and pepper to taste; pour a coulis [made from pan drippings, jus and puréed vegetables] above your sirloin & serve warm.

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. 795.

Aloyau en ragout. Ayez un aloyau de la premiere piece, dégraissez-le & le piquez du côté du filet de gros lard bien assaisonné, faites-le cuire à la broche; étant à demi-cuit, vous le retirerez & le mettrez dans une marmite avec jus de bœuf, un peu de champignons, un peu de truffes, morilles, de quelques culs d’artichaux, le tout haché, assaisonné de sel, poivre & un bouquet de fines herbes seulement pour donner gout; on couvre la marmite & on le laisse cuire ainsi doucement sur la braise: étant cuit à propos, on tire l’aloyau, & on le sert avec un ragout de ris de veau, de foies gras, de truffes, champignons, morilles, mousserons, culs d’artichaux, crêtes & points d’asperges & bon assaisonnement, le tout bien lié d’un bon coulis & de bon gout; vous le jettez dessus votre aloyau & le servez chaudement.
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Stuffed sirloin. When your sirloin is almost cooked with the pin, take some of the flesh of the middle and chop quite small with bacon, beef marrow, sweet herbs & good trimmings, as one has just explained to the ragout above, & good seasoning; then you stuff them your sirloin between the skin & the bone; & repin upon the rotisserie properly, for fear the flesh does not fall into the dripping pan while completing cooking: when fully cooked & being table ready, remove the skins [bacon wrappings] to have freedom to eat it with a fork or spoon.

Aloyau farci. Votre aloyau étant Presque cuit à la broche, vous prenez la chair du milieu que vous hachez bien menue avec du lard, moëlle de bœuf, fines herbes & bonnes garnitures, comme on vient d’expliquer au ragout ci-dessus, & bon assaisonnement; ensuite vous en farcissez votre aloyau entre la peau & l’os; & le recousez proprement, de peur que la chair ne tombe dans la léchefrite en achevant de cuire: étant cuit à propos & servi sur la table, on ôte les peaux pour avoir la liberté de la manger avec une fourchette ou cuiller.
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Roast sirloin. Have a sirloin of such size as you wish, cook it with the pin, take care that it is not cooked too much, for fear it does not lose its juice--if you want to eat it rare & red in its juice. Those which do not like it quite so rare, cut it by sections and place slices in a [chafing] dish, then add a little water, pepper, salt, a dash of vinegar & some chopped chives, & make it boil [in the chafing dish]; then serve. Some, who leave it on the pin, eat it with a caper sauce & with the anchovies, which is done thus: One washes well three or four anchovies [removes the salt], and the edges [fins], & chops them, then puts them in a pan with capers & well seasoned ox jus; one only heats this sauce & serves it under the sirloin.

Aloyau rôti. Ayez un aloyau de telle grosseur qu’il vous plaira, faites-le cuire à la broche, prenez garde qu’il ne soit trop cuit, de crainte qu’il ne perde son suc: il veut être mange saigneaux & rouge dans son jus. Ceux qui ne l’aiment point si peu cuit, le coupent par tranches dans un plat, puis y mettent un peu d’eau, du poivre, du sel, un filet de vinaigre & quelques ciboulettes hachées, & le font bouillir un moment sur le réchaut; on le set ainsi. Quelquez-uns, au sortir de la broche, le mangent avec une sauce aux câpres & aux achois, qui se fait ainsi. On lave bien trios ou quatre anchois, on en ôte les arêtes, & on les hache, ensuite on les met dans une casserole avec des câpres & du jus de bœuf assaisonné de sel & de poivre; on fait seulement chauffer cette sauce & on la sert sous l’aloyau.
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The ox juice [jus] is made this manner. Take a piece of beef rump, cut it by sections & lay it in a pot, cover well with a lid, then put paste around [seal with a paste of water and flour], so that it is air-tight; put it on a small fire & one lets it sweat [cook very slowly in the embers] two hours; then [use a knife to cut the flour seal open] & draw the juice to use as needed.

Le jus de bœuf se fait de cette maniere. Prenez un morceau de bœuf de cimier, coupez-le par tranches & le jettez dans une terrine que vous couvrirez bien de son couvercle, puis mettez de la pâte autour, en sorte qu’il n’y ait point d’air du tout; on le met sur un petit feu & on le laisse suer pendent deux heures; en-suite on tire le jus & on s’en sert dans le besoin.

Boucons - rolled veal fillets with mushroom ragout

Boucons, is a ragout which is done as follows: take small sections of fillet of veal a little long & thin & flatten by pounding; then take as many raw ham & bacon plugs as fillets and arrange them perpendicularly on your sections, putting a bacon plug & one of ham on each, sprinkle on a little parsley & chopped Welsh onions [scallions], & season them with fine spices & sweet herbs [traditionally a blend of four herbs — Parsley, Chervil, Chives and Tarragon]. Roll them properly [tie securely] & sear until well browned & add liquid for braising--cover pot: when cooked and tender, degrease, remove to a hot dish to keep warm. Prepare a mushroom ragout in the pan drippings and serve ragout over boucons.
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Boucons, est un ragout qui se fait ainsi: vous prenez de petites tranches de rouelle de veau un peu longues & minces & vous les applatissez sur une table; ensuite vous prenez de gros lardons de lard & autant de jambon crud, rangez-les en travers sur vos tranches, y mettant un lardon de lard & un de jambon, poudrez-les d’un peu persil & de ciboules hachés, & assaisonnez-les de fines épices & de fines herbes. Vos tranches étant garnies de ces lardons, vous les roulez proprement & les mettez cuire dans une marmite à la braise: étant cuites, vous en égouttez la graisse, vous les dressez dans un plat, puis vous les servez avec un ragout de champignons par-dessus.

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. 802.

fillet of veal image

rouelle de veau paupiette image La Bonne Cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange,translated by Paul Aratow. Ten Spreed Press, 2005, p. 280.

Today, Bouc[h]ons are known variously as corks or rammers or jammers, or beggars' purses. They are a bite-sized morsel, usually cooked [sometimes steamed] in a casing of dough, as in dumpling, or in a mold. Restaurants, paricularly in Lyon, where one can get a quick bite are also called bouchons. And for all you chocoholics, there are cork shaped chocolates filled with marc.

Champignons ragoût - mushroom ragout

Mushroom Ragout. After they are well cleansed [brushed off], pass them in the pan with very fresh butter, parsley and chibol [scallions] minced, season and stove [cook] them, and when you are ready to serve, put into it the juice and peel of lemon and serve.

The French Cook, François Pierre La Varenne, Englished in 1653, p. 96.

Beignets à fleurs d'courges & Fromage

My squash and pumpkins do not realize that Fall is coming on--they are still producing a bumper crop of blossoms. Today I picked all of the ones that have not set fruit and fried them up for supper.

Fritter (Beignet) Batter
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup flour
sticks of cheese 1/2" x 2"
fresh or dried herbs, optional for flavor
salt and pepper
olive oil & butter for frying

Beat egg whites until stiff. Beat yolks separately; add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of fresh or dried herbs. Stir whites into yolk mixture.

Stuff sticks of cheese into blossoms, dredge in flour, then into fritter batter. Fry at medium low heat in melted olive oil and butter. Serve with cold beer and crusty bread--welcome to Fall!

World Bread Baking Day '07

kochtopf is hosting World Bread Baking Day 2007 on Tuesday, October 16th. You can also access last year's entries. Now, where's my bench flour?

Pain de Seigle Sisteron - BBD#3

BBD#3, Sourdough Rye Bread is a new challenge in baking bread. Here is a sourdough rye from Provence, Pain de Seigle Sisteron, or Sisteron Rye Bread. Makes two loaves.


Take a one pound lump of dough from a previous baking of white bread, known as a chef, and put it in a bowl with 2 cups of warm water [this chef contributes the sourness that we associate with rye bread]. Squish the dough ball between your fingers until mostly dissolved in the water. Add 1 package of yeast, 1 tablespoon salt, 4 cups stone ground rye flour; stir with a heavy wooden spoon until the dough is no longer sticky. Be patient--it will take quite a few turns of the spoon. Sprinkle one hand full of white flour onto bread board and dump rye dough onto the board; knead the white flour in and pat the dough into a round ball. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until double in bulk.

When double, punch down and allow to rise again.

Shape dough into two flattened disks. Place on baking sheet or pan which has been greased and sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover. Allow to double in bulk once more.

Slash a circle on the middle of each loaf.

Bake at 380F for 45 minutes.

Cook's Note: As you can see from the picture, I did not have a razor blade or baker's lame (razor blade in a tool). I used a knife tip to slash a circle in my bread top after it had risen and just as it went into the oven [this caused it to deflate and didn't give it a chance to raise again]. I think I would have been better off to slash it when first shaped for the last rising--this would have allowed the circle on top to raise somewhat independently--and I think the loaf would have been prettier and would have looked more like the original loaves.

Rye bread is better eaten the next day and the day after that … The flavor increases with age. This bread is amazing!

Recipe: The Breads of France and how to bake them in your own kitchen, Bernard Clayton, Jr.

Rossoli

Most of us do not have access to stills today. I suggest pouring measured boiling water over your petals and spices in a glass jug. Cover and allow to cool. Add your cooled sugar syrup and stir; and spirits and stir again. Cover and allow to steep for several weeks. Filter and bottle; store in a cool place for several more weeks before drinking. You may leave out the carmine, but as a result, your liqueur will be only slightly pink.

Rossoli: You will take musk roses, Spanish Jasmine, orange flowers [four ounces each], cinnamon [one half ounce] & [12] cloves [if clove is too strong for you, use common garden pinks flowers {œillet}, again four ounces]. When you choose well, according to what we said, you will put the whole in the Still, according to quantities' prescribed in the receipt, with [four pints] water, & will distil these matters with simple water, on a medium fire; when this receipt is distilled, you will dissolve sugar [two and three-quarters pounds] in this distillation, & when it is molten, you will pour into this distilled syrup [one bottle] brandy, or the spirit of wine [marc], according to quality or the force [proof] which you will want to give to your liquor; this being made, you will colour your liquor a crimson red [cochinille or carmine]. [Filter and bottle; store in a cool place for several weeks before drinking.]

Dictionnaire Portatif de Cuisine, d'Office, et de Distillation. Chez Vincent, Paris 1767, p. 286.

Rossoli
Vous prendrez des roses musquées, un peu de lys, du jasmine d’Espagne, de la fleur d’orange, de la cannelle & du clou de girofle; le tout avec leurs qualités décrites dans chacun de leurs chapitres. Quand vous aurez bien choisi, selon ce que nous avons dit, vous mettrez le tout dans l’alambic, selon les qualités presecrites dans la recette, avec de l’eau; & vous distillerez ces matieres avec de l’eau simple, sur un feu tant soit peu vif: quand cette recette sera distillée, vous ferez fonder du sucre dans cette distillation; & quand il sera fondu, vous verserex dans ce syrop distillé de l; eau-de-vie, ou de l’esprit de vin, selon la qualité ou la force que vous voudrez donner à votre liqueur; ceci étant fait, vous colorerez votre liqueur un rouge cramoisi.

Cook's Note: Carmine is cochinille/cochineal, red coloring matter derived from the carapaces of beatles that chew on Cacti in the American Southwest and Mexico--used since Spanish conquest times.

Although I have reproduced the recipe as it was written in the 17-18thC, carmine/cochineal has proven to be highly allergenic today.

Cheat and use food coloring or just be happy with the light pink color from the petals.

Hypocras

Hypocras can be a refreshing drink over ice in the summer, or when heated in winter will warm the soul.

Take two pints good wine, put it into a non-reactive pot that will not cause an off-taste. Add one and one half pounds sugar or brown sugar, a little cinnamon, ginger the size of a hazel nut, two seed strands of long pepper, twelve cloves, nutmeg flower or two blades of mace, a Cox's orange pippin peeled & cut in round slices; let the whole soak approximately half an hour, covered. Then half-crush a dozen sweet almonds in a mortar with a little sugar, & add a little orange flower water. At this point if you want to add two amber grains & one musk grain, crush your amber & musk with the almonds and sugar, & place crushed nuts, sugar and flavorings into a cotton straining bag [jelly bag or cotton lined filter], & pour hypocras back forth over the grains and crushed nuts – from one pot to another; if you want to keep it more than eight days use lemon instead of apple.

Le Cuisinier François, De LaVarenne. Chez Jaquez Canier, Paris, 1680, 11 Edition, p. 384-5

Prenez de bon vin, le mettez dans quelque vaisseau bien net, & qui ne puisse pas donner de mauvais goust. Mettez dedans du sucre ou castonnade, un peu de canella, du gingembre la grosseur d’une noisette, du poivre long deux brains, douse cloux de girofle, de la fleur de muscade, ou massis deux feüilles, une pomme de reinette pelée & coupée par roüelle; laissez le tout tremper environ demie heure, tenez le couvert, puis pilez une douzaine d’amandes douces à demise pile, & les mettez dans vostre chasse quand vostre sucre sera fondu, & que vous serez prest à passer vostre hypocras, mettez dedans un peu d’eau de fleur d’orange, & le passez sur vos amandes, & le passes trios ou quatre fois: si vous le voulez ambret & musquer, broyez vostre amber & musc dans un petit mottier avec un peu de sucre en poudre, & le mettez dans du cotton, ou filasse, & l’attachez au bas de vostre chausse, & passes l’hypocras par dessus; si vous voulez le garder plus de huit jours, n’y mettez point de pomme, n’y de citron. Il faut à deux pintes de vin environ une livre & demie de sucre, deux grains d’ambre, & un grain de musc.

Lammas, Cross Quarter Day

Today, August 1st, a cross-quarter day known also as Lammas, carts wheel past my house loaded with grain for the granary. Since the grain is being harvested, now is the perfect time for bread baking. Flour ground today shouldn’t have to be sifted to remove weevils before adding to the sponge or levain to create loaves.

Bread: it is prepared in every village, that is to say wheat, or rye, or of a mixture of both, [into a] tiny well in the flour, one kneads in a little hot water, also putting in a little salt & the leaven, to cause it to rise by fermentation, a kind of homemade bread, lighter and skillfully made, artisanal without their [professional baker’s] help. It is the food of the common man, wholesome, very nutritious, & that which is appropriate for him, in all the states which one can suppose.

Dictionnaire Portatif de Cuisine, d'Office, et de Distillation. Chez Vincent, Paris 1767, p. 113.

Pain: c’est une preparation du bled, soit froment, ou seigle, ou d’un mélange des deux, réduit en farine, qu’on pétrit avec de l’eau un peu chaude, en y mettant un peu de sel & du levain, pour lui donner, par la fermentation que ces substances excitant, une sorte de cuisson anticipée, & plus de legérete qu’il n’en adroit sans leur secours. C’est d’aliment ordinaire de l’homme, le plus sain, le plus nourrissant, & celui qui lui convient le mieux, dans tous les états qu’on puisse supposer.

Cherry Ratafia

Ratafia de Cerises.
Take cherries* and their pits, & put them in a pot to crush them, & let them ferment 24 hours. Usually three pounds of cherries produce a pint of juice. When you strain them, squeeze them to extract all the juice, & put as much of eau-de-vie (brandy*) as that of juice, pint for pint; add a quarter pound of sugar per pint; i.e., on a jug of twelve pints; three pounds sugar; & to that jug; you will add a piece of cinnamon and a handful of crushed cherry pits & stopper the jug, letting it infuse six weeks. After six weeks, strain, bottle and cork, and set back in a cool place for at least 4 months. This ratafia only gets better with age.

Make certain your cherries are ripe and mature, without being spoiled; otherwise all the spices, which one has habit to put at it, are not worth anything for ratafia.

Dictionnaire Portatif de Cuisine, d'Office, et de Distillation. Chez Vincent, Paris 1767, p. 143-144.

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*If you use Royal Ann (Napoleon or Bigarreaux) cherries, use a white brandy (Marc, vodka). If you use a dark cherry (Bing or Black Tartarian) use dark brandy.

Noix Vertes & Cerises - Walnuts and Cherries

June 23rd is the usual day to pick green walnuts to make vin noix, chutneys and pickled walnuts. But the key is to begin picking a nut and piercing it with a darning needle to make sure the shell has not formed. Then process your nuts for each recipe.

Try Jean-Luc Odeyer’s Chutney de noix vertes if you’re in France—his is just like the taste of mine—it’s marvelous on grilled bread with goat cheese.

Cherries make a delicious aperitif, sometimes known as guignolet, and which sometimes uses cherry leaves n addition to fruit and pits. Start checking your cherry trees to make sure the robins haven’t stolen each fruit as it ripens or shows color. You might have to gather them here one, there another and hold them in the cold room until you have enough to make your wine.

Where's my passport …

My simple dish of meat and cheese tied for 7th place in a new competition for bloggers to demonstrate at the prestigious Européennes du Goût 2007. Try my rib steak with pepper sauce and cheese and onion crispy toasts to sop up the juices--bon appétit!

Côte de Boeuf & Croûtes farcies à l’ancienne--Blog Appétit #11--Salers & Salers AOC

Cette édition de Blog Appétit #11 appareille le boeuf de Salers, bien-marbree et d'une race antique, et du fromage du lait de la vache fruitée et forte à Salers. Puisque j'habite dans Nouvelle France, je n'ai plus accès à ces variétés, mais peux rapprocher la viande par Charolaise/Longhorn métisse le boeuf ; savoureux et pas trop maigre. Une coupe 18thC de boeuf est Côte de Boeuf, bifteck de nervure avec avec os, et l'une des coupes du boeuf principales.

Je propose un plat principal de Côte de grillé Boeuf servi avec Poivrade et un côté du l'ancienne d'à de farcies de Croûtes.

Côte de Boeuf
2 biftecks de Salers
beurre non salé de 1 cuiller à soupe
sel de cuillère à café de ¼
poivre fraîchement rectifié de cuillère à café de ¼
sucre de cuillère à café de ¼ (brun ou crus)

Poivrade
Des égouttures après boeuf est grillées
1 petit oignon, haché
Vinaigre ou verjus dans la casserole de deglaze
Zeste orange
Grains de poivre fraîchement fendus

Croûtes
baguette de 4 tranches, libéralement balayée avec du beurre et grillée
Confiture d'oranges d'oignon (oignons et thym caramélisés rôtis par four)
Fromage de Salers AOC, râpé

Sel, poivre et sucre de mélange ; frottez sur des biftecks de nervure. Grillez les biftecks à votre cuisson désirée en beurre non salé dans la casserole très chaude. Recouvrez les nervures de mode en spirale au centre du plateau de portion. Couvrez lâchement et placez en four de chauffage.

Oignon haché de Sauté en égouttures dans la casserole et la casserole de deglaze avec du vinaigre (verjus). Remuez en zeste orange et poivre criqué. Versez le jus au-dessus des biftecks.

Garnissez avec Croûtes qui ont été remplis de confiture d'oranges d'oignon et complétés avec du fromage râpé de Salers AOC et le beurre fondu et brunis. Appétit de fève !
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This edition of Blog Appétit #11 pairs Salers beef, well-marbled and from an ancient breed, and fruity, strong Salers AOC cow’s milk cheese. Because I live in Nouvelle France, I no longer have access to these varieties, but can approximate the meat by Charolaise/Longhorn crossbreed beef; tasty and not too lean. An 18thC cut of beef is Côte de Boeuf, rib steak with bone-in, and one of the prime cuts of beef.

I propose a main dish of grilled Côte de Boeuf served with Poivrade and a side of Croûtes farcies à l’ancienne.

Côte de Boeuf
2 Salers steaks
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon sugar (brown or raw)

Poivrade
Drippings after beef is grilled
1 small onion, minced
Vinegar or verjus to deglaze pan
Orange zest
Freshly cracked peppercorns

Croûtes
4 slices baguette, liberally brushed with butter and toasted
Onion marmalade (oven roasted caramelized onions and thyme)
Salers AOC cheese, grated

Mix salt, pepper and sugar; rub onto Salers rib steaks. Grill steaks to your desired doneness in unsalted butter in very hot pan. Overlap ribs in spiral fashion in center of serving platter. Cover loosely and set in warming oven.

Sauté minced onion in drippings in pan and deglaze pan with vinegar (verjus). Stir in orange zest and cracked pepper. Pour jus over steaks.

Garnish with Croûtes which have been filled with onion marmalade and topped with grated Salers AOC cheese and melted butter and browned. Bon appétit!

Pissenlit or Dandelions

Dandelions (dente lion) or pissenlit (piss in bed—from its use as a diuretic) is an herb with many uses. Leaves harvested early in spring can be eaten as a salad vegetable; its blossoms make a delicate wine, jelly and syrup for flavoring drinks. Its leaves can also be cooked like spinach.

When cooking older dandelion leaves (now when they are tough, instead of waiting for fresh ones in the Fall) requires a slightly more complicated cooking technique. Gather your greens, rinse, and blanch in boiling water for 10 minutes (this will remove some of the bitterness this green is known for). Drain and continue cooking with fresh water for about 10-20 minutes, or until tender to your taste. Serve with vinegar and oil.

Dandelion greens can also be wilted in a pan of hot oil and a little minced garlic and/or onions. Again, serve with vinegar.

Hard-cooked eggs can be grated or sliced over the greens, as well. And the flavors of your vinegars and oils will change its flavor, too.