Saliere ou Poivriere

Just in from France on the Spring canoes …

Item 30 [Planche II, Diderot, attelier de fayancerie.] Une saliere ou poivriere à l'usage des tables, faite pour contenir l'un & l'autre. A salt box or pepper plate used at table, made to contain both.

Asperges confites. Pickled Asparagus

Hors d'œuvre were such a popular appetizer in the 18thC that special faïence plates were created for their service. Here you see an interpretation of the plate[*] from Diderot's Encyclopaedie, 1762-1777.

Pickled asparaguses. Take smallest; cut the white; & cut them in several pieces. Have coarsely crushed salt & cloves; make a layer in a well glazed pot. Make various layers of asparaguses, & the same seasoning, until the pot is full; pour good vinegar above: cover your pot well; & to draw them, when you need some, serve with a silver spoon, & never touch there [the pickle brine] with the hand, for fear of making the brine spoil; what happens inevitably without this attention.

*****Asperges confites. Prenez les plus petites; coupez le blanc; & coupez-les ensuite en plusieurs morceaux. Ayez du sel & du girofle grossiérement concassé; faites-en une couche dans un pot bien vernissé. Faites divers lits d'asperges, & du même assaisonnement, jusqu'à ce que le pot soit plein; versez dessus de bon vinaigre: tenez votre pot bien fermé; & pour les tirer, quand vous en aurez besoin, servez-vous d'une cuiller d'argent, & n'y touchez jamais avec la main, de peur de faire fermenter le mêlange & de le gâter; ce qui arriveroit immanquablément sans cette attention.

Dictionnaire Portatif de Cuisine, d'Office, et de Distillation. Chez Vincent, Paris 1767, p. 55-56.

[*]55. A dish of hors-d'oeuvre for use at tables, furnished internally with roots or other artificial similar things, among which one serves some natural items.

*** 55. Un plat de hors - d'oeuvre à l'usage des tables, garni intérieurement de racines ou autres choses semblables artificielles, parmi lesquelles on en mêle de naturelles.

How to Cook Asparagus

Artichauts - Artichokes

How to Eat Artichokes According to La Varenne, artichoke bottoms should be eaten by taking off all the leaves as far as the choke, and then boiling the bottoms in acidulated [lemon juice or vinegar added] water. Then serve them with butter and salt and a sauce made of very fresh butter, vinegar, nutmeg and the yolk of an egg. I believe this is such a waste. I do cook the entire artichoke in acidulated water, anywhere from 35-45 minutes, or until tender all the way through. I make the sauce he suggests but then I remove each leaf, dipping it in the unctuous sauce and cleaning the "meat" of each off with my teeth--I can't bear to waste the tidbits of flesh found on each leaf. Artichokes were such a popular item of food that fabulous faïence [majolica] dishes were created for their service.

The French Cook, François Pierre La Varenne, Englished in 1653, p. 95, recipe #62.