CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL
DECEMBER 7TH – 1-4 PM
Joins us at the 1680’s hearth where we will add a festive touch to the Hurd house with delicious aromas of spinning chicken, simmering pot of carrot pudding and fresh baked bread. Bring the children and learn about the Pomander Balls and other early history.
While you are there sign up for our 2020 Hearth Cooking Workshops
Hurd House Museum, Hollow Rd, Woodbury Ct,
Your invited to spent an afternoon by the hearth and discover how the Hurd family would prepared for the winter and spring months during the late 1600’s. With a grocery store in every town seasonality and preservation is not something we think about anymore. Seasonal rhythms kept the households in constant motion to preserver food and drink. Food preservation and it’s storage was paramount to their survival.
From cellar to garret and out to the well house food needed to be stored for the family meals. Sandra Tarbox a colonial foodways culinarian will be demonstration cooking techniques at the hearth and sharing her knowledge on how the summer and fall foods would have been preserved and made into a nutritious winter meal.
Sunday October 29th from 2 to 4
Hollow road Woodbury Ct
You can now read my article called “Georgian Christmas Tea” in the Christmas issue of A Primitive Place magazine. Grab a copy and enjoy the food and all the lovely decorated house cover to cover. Christmas is not that far away.
“What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.” ~ Agnes M. Pharo
We have moved to Connecticut, however don’t worry I’m getting prepared to start hearth cooking again.
Now that we’re a bit more settled here, I’m working on my article for the winter 2018 magazine “A Primitive Place”. Hope you had a chance to read the Fall article” Hannah Glasse for the Open Hearth”. In the upcoming Christmas issue it will be, wonderful desserts for a fine tea. If your not already subscribed please do and let me know how you like my articles.
Sandie
“I’m a freelance person, and I’ve always been able to support myself.”
Gloria Steinem.
Our Savory for the day would be Hannah Glasse’s Pea Soup with Grilled Emmer Flatbread. This workshop certainly concentrated on the sweet side. But Hey! Everyone wants lunch.
All the ladies arrived and each chose a receipt (recipe) that needed to be started first. The Pea Soup would take the longest and we would be having it around noon for our lunch. Rachel and Cindy began by reading Glasse’s receipt and then started chopping all the ingredients. Stephanie whipped up the batter for The Right Dutch-Wafers from Mary Kettilby 1724 cookery book. The receipt contains yeast so it would need to sit and expand and bubble before it was ready to use. Then she washed and chopped fresh strawberries, added sugar, and put them aside to be used on the waffles at lunch. The Grilled Flatbread receipt also need to rise so Lisa popped open the dark beer and added the yeast and sugar. Once that was ready she added the oil, salt and flour. We used emmer flour. Emmer flour is an ancient wholegrain flour much like whole wheat. It has a sweet, rich nutty flavor. Marsha made the Lemon Cheese from the receipt of “The Cookbook of the Unknown Ladies.” We will use this in our wafers, cones, and rolls later.
Natalie is a pie crust master and began on Lydia Maria Child’s Common Pye Crust receipt while Cathy prepared Hannah Glasse’s Marzipan To Make a Hedge-hog.
Rachel and Cindy scooped up all the ingredients at various times and put them into the soup kettle, and, every so often, made sure to stir it well so nothing stuck to the bottom. With the final step they would be adding some more butter, ham, and Worcestershire sauce.
The marzipan and pie dough, made by Natalie and Cathy, was ready to wrap and rest until they were needed in the afternoon.
Several of the girls worked together to cut the candied angelica, citron, lemon peels, orange slices and almonds for Frederick Nutt’s Millefruit Biscuits.
Cindy whipped the egg whites and orange flower water with the birch whisk. She wanted everyone to see how amazing it was that you could get such nice peeks from a wooden whisk. The cut-up fruit and chopped almonds would be added to this and dropped onto parchment paper to dry in the oven.
The pie crust would be used for Richard Bradley’s, 1732 receipt, To make a Tart of Ananas, or Pin-apple. Rachel cut a fresh pineapple into small pieces for the pie. You could small the aroma of the sweet-scented juices as she sliced. The pineapple then went into a pot with sugar and sherry placed on the crane, high over the fire, and left to stew.
After about two hours of simmering, the soup was done and taken off the fire. The flat bread had risen and Cindy and Lisa oiled it before it went on the grill over the hot coals.
Everyone was working hard on a variety of items and it was time for a well-deserved break. The day was lovely and perhaps too warm for, however, this gave us a chance to remove ourselves from in front of the fire and sit on the porch and have our lunch. I had opened the porch door a bit, as the sun was shining in, and this made it cooler.
Sitting comfortably, Natalie and Rachael enjoy the hearty pea soup and flat bread, (not pictured) on the cool porch. The fragrant soup had many wonderful flavors as well as textures. The combinations of dried peas, cabbage, leeks, onions, carrots, potatoes, ham and spices made it an epicurean delight. The flat bread was dense but had a nice reddish brown color and a nutty taste that is much more mellow and more pleasant than the typical whole wheat bread. Next time I think I’d have it rolled out flatter. I do wish we had a picture of it on the table. However, I can tell you it did taste wonderful dipped into the pea soup.
Lunch on the porch gave us all time to chat and talk about what was to be done next. There were several receipts that were started in the morning that needed to be completed. One was our dessert. With lunch consumed, everyone went about getting the next part of their receipts ready. Stephanie had made the strawberries and the waffle batter when she first arrived in the morning. Once the waffle iron was hot, she started making The Right Dutch-Wafer. The “Right” means authentic or true and the wafers batter contains yeast. These ‘Wafers’ what we would call waffles nowadays.
As she made them they were put into a pan and hung on the crane over the fire to keep warm. 
The batter was just right and made perfect waffles. The strawberries , with their sugar added, had macerated and had just the right amount of liquid to drizzle on the waffles. The waffles were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside and had a nice taste of orange flower water that complemented the strawberries. And, yes, we had whipped cream to go with it.
The simmering pineapple was not losing much of its liquid, perhaps making more as it stewed. I was afraid that additional heating would break down the pineapple and we would have just liquid. I decided to have Natalie add sago. Sago is almost a pure starch that comes from the sago palm and has been used for centuries to solidify puddings. It’s like tapioca. This worked and the pineapple thickened and was no longer watery. 
Lisa puts the Millefruit Biscuit in the bake oven. Later in the day, we took them out and they still had to dry some. I put mine back into the oven for the rest of the afternoon, and they were fine by the time I went to bed. They do take a long drying time. I liked the taste of the fruit, however, the nuts got lost, so next time I’ll double the amount.
In the morning, Marsha and Lisa had made the dough for the Dutchess of York Biscuits from Joseph Bell’s 1817 cookery book. Now it was time to roll, stamp and dock the biscuits. Everyone got into the swing of it, and seemed to have their favorite mold.
Stephanie was back at the fire melting chocolate for our Chocolate Drops. Lisa and Marsh helped Stephanie with the drops. We left a few without sprinkles of nonpareils for Marsha.
While the biscuits baked, two wafer irons were made hot. We used Elizabeth Moxon’s 1764 receipt for To Make Goffer Wafers. I’ve found that this works every well with my irons. Cathy and Natalie teamed up to pour the batter and work the two wafer irons.
Rachael helped to roll the wafer into shapes. She used a tin cream horn mold and a wooden dowel. She had to work fast. They were hot when the came off the iron, nevertheless they cooled quickly and became rigid.
With all the receipts completed it was time to sit down and make marzipan. Stephanie mixed colors and I showed a few samples that I had already made and some pictures. Everyone sat down and let their creative juices flow.
Rachel made this wonderful Medieval dragons and Cindy put some cinnamon on the face of her hedgehog.
As adults, it is always enjoyable to play with food that feels like play dough. The ladies let their artistic abilities soar. The marzipan turned into strawberries, apples, lemons, limes, hedgehogs, dragons, pears, oranges, pumpkins and a malamute dog (made by Natalie) .
From the oven came the Tart of Ananas. Once again we see the creativity of Natalie, she took the extra dough and made a pineapple shape and when it came out of the oven she added a few sprigs of rosemary on top. A show-stopper for sure.
Next, the pretty-looking Dutchess of York Biscuits were done. This is a simple receipt made with butter, sugar, flour and water. It has very little in the way of flavor. However, that said, I did enjoy mine dipped in my tea and also tried it in my wine, as they would have in the 19th century. I liked it best in my tea.
Marsha piped the lemon cheese into the wafer cones and a bit of chocolate was dipped on the ends of the rolled wafers.
It was an enjoyable, busy, and productive day. Everyone had fun, learned some new receipts and went home with containers filled with soup, flatbread, and desserts. I’m sure there were many happy husbands that evening.
Sandie
“Mama usually made pea soup. On Sunday nights she cooked it – and not just enough for one or two repeat performances. She made enough to last until the following Saturday. Then on Sunday, she’d cook another one. Pea soup, bread, sometimes a small portion of potatoes or meat. You ate it up, didn’t ask for more, and you didn’t complain.” The Book Thief
Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Coincidence? I think not! ~ Author Unknown
(Dear readers, We are still having technical difficulties. To see all post please go to the HOME button. Thanks You for your patience. Sandie)
PART TWO
In 1722 Edward Kidder published his cookery book, called “The Receipts of Pastry and Cookery”. At this time he was already teaching the techniques of cookery in his school in London and to wealthy ladies in their own homes.
His receipt for A brown Fricassee of Chicken or Rabbit, was going to be my number two Rabbit receipt. As you know I was not happy with the first one. After reading this receipt, I decided to alter it to my taste. Instead of white wine I would use sherry, and, because we have enough rabbit tenders to eat, I would eliminate the ‘Shiver’d Pallats’ (sliced cooked beef) and savory balls. Yes, this will change the taste somewhat, however I’m not feeding an army just the two of us. And I do want to have the flavor of the rabbit to really be the highlight of the dish.
One of the treats growing up was to bake potatoes in the fireplace. They were wrapped in foil and everyone took turns rolling them around so the sides baked evenly. We did this every week. And ate them by the fire while we watched Lawrence Welk, Ed Sullivan Show or Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour. Once we even watched my sister Phyllis sing and duke it out with another contestant. My sister came in second.
I haven’t done potatoes like this in a long time so with a brisk fire going and coals ready, Allan made a nice pile of them in the corner and I put the foil wrapped-potatoes on the coals. Okay, back to Kidder.
Earlier in the week I took out all the packages of chicken gizzards, and backs I had cut from Cornish hens and tossed in the freezer. They come in handy when you need a quick gravy. I put them in a pot with some chicken broth, onion, parsley, garlic and salt and pepper then simmered them (with the exception of the liver). This cooked for about 45 minutes then I strained it I then made a roux and added it to the broth and I had a nice gravy ready for the Rabbit Fricassee .
In the afternoon, I took out from the freezer, the French rolls that I had made the week before. I put four on them in a dish covered with a cloth and let them defrost. When they were beginning to warm I dampened the cloth and put them in a warm place to rise. I must say I was surprised how much they rose, and I was really happy with the results. When the potatoes began to get soft, I brushed the tops with butter and started them in a bake kettle.
I floured the rabbit tenders, and sautéed them in browned butter in the skillet. When they had a nice color, I removed them to a plate to keep warm. I poured a little broth into the pan to deglaze it than added more butter, the leeks, mushroom, thyme, garlic and parsley. I let this all cook over the heat until the mushrooms and leeks were soft. While the pan was hot I added the sherry and burned off the alcohol, the taste would remain in the sauce. The gravy and some chicken broth went in next and then another lump of floured butter to thicken it up. After I mixed this about, I squeezed a little lemon juice on it.
Allan poked the potatoes and they were ready. The beans were al dente, the way we like them, and the rolls a wonderful golden hue. The rabbit was cooked to perfection.
Well, I did not hold true to Kidder’s receipt. However, I think the beef and savory balls would have perhaps added a overwhelming flavor to the delicate rabbit. I likes this dish and will make it again.
Coming up: Savory and Sweet Workshop blog. Stay tune.
Sandie
“You cook good rabbit, pilgrim.” from the film Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
Receipts
Pastry and Cookery 1722
(Dear readers, We are still having technical difficulties. To see all post please go to the HOME button. Thanks You for your patience. Sandie)
PART ONE
Francisco Goya
I grew up eating wild game meat. My dad owned a fishing and hunting store. He, my brother Jim and sister Joan hunted all the time. It was a great way to stretch the food budget of a household of nine. One of my favorite was rabbit. My mom cooked it two ways, in a stew or deep fried. I loved them both. So, while looking through Williams Verral’s cookery book, I came across “Collops of Rabbit in Champagne wine” and it looked interesting. Being that we don’t hunt, Allan and I took a ride up RT 4 to Loudon and the Hungry Buffalo. They sell all kinds of wild game. We purchased enough rabbit tenders for two meals.
A few days before I wanted to make this I printed Verral’s receipt and read it over twice. I recommend that everyone read early receipt at least twice. This way you will understand what you need to do to change it into a modern equivalent and save yourself from a cooking catastrophe. Also, I need to decide what else would go with it. I felt that cranberries would complement the rabbit and, being that there would be a bit of a sauce, I decided to have French rolls to accompany it. Then I picked a dessert that Allan has been asking for, baked custard. Along with the custard I thought it would be nice to place a tiny Madeleine on top.
I made the cranberry sauce and the Madeleine the day before our meal and sealed them in a tight container. The next afternoon I made the Cream Custard from Lady H in Richard Bradley ‘s 1732 cookery book, and put it in the refrigerator until later.
The next day arrived and I made the custard in the early afternoon in a nice water bath. Then I started the French rolls from Hannah Glasse receipt. We are only two people here so I froze most of the rolls. This is an experiment I’ve been wanting to try to see how will they come out the next time I want to use them. I also froze some of the cranberry sauce for later use. 
That evening I assembled all the ingredients for the collops. I chopped the green onions and shallots put the herbs and seasoning into a small bowl and poured out the right amount of broth. I salted and floured the collops and I was ready to cook.
The fire had been going for a while and the coals were ready. I sautéed the rabbit tenders to a golden brown and then took them out and put the plate aside to keep warm. In the same pan used for the rabbit went some butter, the mushrooms, green onions and herbs, salt and pepper. When they were softened and the mushrooms had turned a nice chestnut color, I added a knob of butter mixed with flour and stirred it in to make a roux, then cooked it. If you don’t cook a roux long enough the flour taste remains. I stirred in the white wine and lemon juice and some chicken stock and let this simmer a while. The rabbit was then added in, tossed around to coat and cooked for a few more minutes. I moved the pan from the coals and covered it.
My French rolls would be baked in the new reflector oven that I recently bought, this was the first chance I had to use it. When the rabbit was out of the way, I moved it closer to the fire so they would obtain a crispy golden top.
Dinner was ready. With everything on the table, we began to plate.
We sat leisurely eating while the custard heated up in a warm kettle by the fire. I like my custard warm. After I took them out I toasted the top with a hot iron out of the fire.
With the custard ready I placed a mini Madileine on it. Allan was in heaven.
Now the review on this meal is complicated. I loved the cranberry sauce and the rolls were flaky and moist. The custard delicious and the Madeleine on top was a perfect compliment. The rabbit sauce I did not like. They say if you’re going to use wine in a recipe use one you love. Well, I am not a fan of white wine and should have thought about this. I found the sauce to be overly sweet from the wine and the lemon didn’t help the matter. I did like the rabbit. After scraping off the sauce I found it very tender and tasting somewhere in-between white and dark chicken meat.
Now Allan, he loved it. The next day he had it for lunch and said it tasted even better after sitting overnight. Don’t be reluctant about trying this rabbit receipt, if you like white wine. You may love it like Allan did.
Our next rabbit receipt will be from Edward Kidder. I’ve read this receipt and with a change or two I’m sure I will like it. I’ll post it soon.
Sandie
“My dinner is still in the woods.” -Unknown
Receipt
William Verral, 1775
“The Complete System of Cookery”
Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images
What could be better in the fall or winter months than a meal built around homemade sausages. We love them, and I decided to make different type. Looking over many receipts, I found several rather interesting ones.
lcanian sausage is a true old-world sausage and can be found in literature in the 4th century. Ten surviving cookbooks of the Greco-Roman world survive under the name of Apicius and are the works of several authors. One receipt included in this work is lcanian sausage which is the forerunner of the Greek Loukaniko. Loukaniko may have originated in Italy, however, it became popular in Portugal in addition to Greece and a few other countries.
Loukaniko is comprised of pork and lamb and a laundry list of spices, wine, and grated orange. It was often served as a mezze (appetizer). I also came across a receipt for Saulcisses en Potage in Lancelot de Casteau, Ouverture de Cuisine, 1585. This was a “Tourney Dish” of sausages with apples, onion, cinnamon and nutmeg eaten at the mock battles during the Middle Ages. I thought this would be great to do together. In addition, I found a German venison receipt from the manuscript of Sabina Welser, 1553. It was edited by Hugo Stopp and published as Das Kochbuch der Sabina , 1980.This was timely, as I was given venison by a friend.
I made the two types of sausages,(receipt below) and I took each receipt and divided it in half. one half I added pink curing salt; these sausage would be cold-smoked. After the four different types of sausage were stuffed into their casings, they went into the refrigerator to sit overnight.
The next day I got out the Cameron’s Original Stove top Smoker and hickory chips. Once this started to smoke, the two different sausages with the curing salt went in and stayed for 4 hours on a low heat. I was careful to keep the two sausage separate so I’d be able to know which was which. After two days, and help from Allan, my sausage making was complete; now to share them.
For the first night we had our neighbors in. We always like to have them taste test things for us. The menu would be Loukaniko with pottage, Emmer flour Flat Bread. sautéed Brussels sprouts with New Hampshire elixir (maple syrup), and sautéed apples, onions, garlic and cabbage slaw. Now Allan dislikes Brussels sprouts, so I needed to do something a bit different so they would be not be as bitter as he recalls. I was hoping the maple syrup would do the trick.
The first thing I had to prepare for the dinner was the dough for the flat bread. Emmer flour is a rich and nutty, ancient, wholegrain flour, and I thought I would try it to see if I liked it. After they were flattened I put them between strips of plastic wrap and stored them in the refrigerator.
The Saulcisses en Potage does not have cabbage, however, my Russian heritage was screaming put it in! Also I remembered similar receipt from Hannah Glass that I have made. So I incorporated them together. As a result I made a slaw with cabbage and carrots to be added to the apples, onions and garlic all to be sautéed in butter, spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, a tad of sugar, and a bit of dry white wine. This also sat in the refrigerator ready to go.
Allan built the perfect fire, the neighbors arrived and we all enjoying appetizers, which included the smoked Loukaniko. The cooled smoking made the sausage firm and enhanced the flavoring of the spices and orange zest. Served with crackers and cheese. All in all a thumbs-up for sure.
When the coals in the fireplace were ready, it was time to get cooking. The sausage went on the gridiron first. The pottage and Brussels sprouts went into three-legged pans to sauté. Last but not least the flat bread went on the hanging griddle.
When everything was done and put on the table we just dug in, so, sorry no pictures. We took the flat bread and use it as a roll adding the sausage and the pottage on top. OMG!!! It was an epicurean delight, if I have to say so myself. A distinct flavor of lamb in the sausage then a subtle hint of the leeks and garlic hit with the zesty orange and herbs all exploding on your palate, glorified by the pottage all wrapped in a soft and fragrant flat bread. The Brussels sprouts being sautéed in oil and butter with the addition of syrup had a nice brown and sweet nutty finish, And all did try them. The meal was a success.
A few days later we had our friends, who gave us the venison, over for dinner. On this occasion we sampled the cold-smoked venison sausage as an appetizer. To accompany the grilled venison sausage, I chose to serve sautéed wild mushrooms and oven roasted vegetables. Once again I use the fireplace to cook almost everything. (I put the roasted vegetables in the oven).
The venison sausage had just enough of a noticeable gamy taste, with a hint of the clove and the tart taste of the juniper berries was spot on. This time I wanted to try the three-legged griddle to cook the flat bread. It cooked better, I think, as they browned better than on the hanging griddle. We tried the sausage and mushroom in the flat bread and it was good, however my choice would be the sausage with pottage. Again thumbs-up on this one. And what can you say about, farm-fresh, roasted vegetables except yum!
I was happy with the turnout of all the sausages and the wonderful sides that accompanied them. We were able to share this with friends by the hearth with a good glass of wine and beer and an evening of wonderful conversation.
May you have many warm and happy winter days cooking,
Sandie
“…no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.”
― Julia Child, My Life in France
PS. Its nice to have the blog working again. Thank you all for putting up with all the tests. And keep your fingers crossed. Next blog will be two meals of Rabbit.
RECEIPT
LOUKANIKO SAUSAGE
1 pounds pork shoulder, cubed
3 pound boneless leg of lamb, trimmed of silver skin and cubed
1 pound pork fatback, cubed
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 whole leeks, trimmed of dark leaves and finely chopped
3 tablespoons minced garlic (about 9 medium cloves)
2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest from about 3 oranges
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted and finely ground
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano (preferably Greek)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup red wine, chilled
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, chilled
Hog casings
Lancelot de Casteau, Ouverture de cuisine, 1585
SAUSAGES IN POTTAGE.
Sausages in Pottage. Take sausages, & fry them in butter, then take four or five peeled apples & cut into small quarters, & four or five onions cut into rings, & fry them in butter, & put all of them into a pot with the sausages, & put therein nutmeg, cinnamon, with red or white wine, sugar, & let them then all stew.
The Art of Cookery Made Plain & Easy, Hannah Glasse (1796)
FRIED SAUSAGE
Take half a pound of sausages, and six apples, slice four about as thick as a crown, cut the other two in quarters, fry them with the sausages of a fine light brown, lay the sausages in the middle of the dish, and the apples round. Garnish with the quartered apples. Stewed cabbage and sausages fried is a good dish.
Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin
TO MAKE VENISON SAUSAGE
1 lb. ground venison 6-8 oz. bacon 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. mace 1/2 tsp. cloves 1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. grains of paradise 1/2 tsp. cubebs pinch ground saffron
1 oz. water casing
To this recipe I added 1/2 tsp of juniper berries ground
Did you know that during the Middle Ages the word “venison” referred to any wild animal with edible flesh?
In the summer I don’t use the hearth often and like to keep busy with other interests. And what a summer it was! Not only record breaking heat, I co- produced an exhibit of wedding gowns with Kimberly Alexander for the Newmarket Historical Society. Along with this exhibit we had three programs.
A Wedding Tea, Gallery Talk and Wedding Foods “Talk and Taste,”
where I paired food with the gowns.
We began this project by borrowing manikins from University of New Hamshire (UNH). Here, Astrida Schaeffer, who manages the collections at the Museum of Art at UNH, and I take out a gown to be fitted for a manikin.
It took a week to set the risers, cover them and put them in place. We had plenty of help.
Kimberly,Kris, Barbara, Jeff and others all pitched in to staple the cloth on the rises, hang the walls with white fabric, steam iron gowns and dress the manikins. Then we needed to find out where they should go.
Robert Irwin said “There’s no way to really mock up or simulate what I’m doing until I’m there. An exhibition for me is not a statement but an experiment.”
This was true with our exhibit, it wasn’t until we had all the gowns ready and on the manikins did we truly have a plan for their placements.
Thirteen gowns in all, plus the display cases
We had a reproduction 1775 gown worn for a recent wedding, a Victorian turn of the century linen embroidered gown and a flapper gown with shoes and hat.
Two early 1800 farm wife’s everyday gowns that we put in the agriculture section, and a few Victorian gowns in our vignettes.
There was a dress worn in the 70s that causes quite a stir in the church, a Hot Pants number.
A stunning silk Laotian gown in gold and red that was breathtaking.
We had several cases filled with shoes and other wedding objects also.
Along with our exhibit Kimberly’s gave a Gallery Talk, one Sunday, that was well attended.
Next came the “Victorian Tea” with Kandie Carl, the Victorian Lady, who did an amazing performance dressing from chemise to stays and then into a lovely mother of the bride Victorian outfit. We sold 93 tickets and there was so much food, it was piled high.
And last but not least the Wedding Food “Talk and Taste” presented by Colonial Table. Starting with the 1770s, I made a rum punch and served it with navettes. This cookie began its life in Marseille, France, and some became popular with the English.
November, December, and January were the most popular months in which to marry as farm obligations were less pressing than during the summer. Family and friends, gathered in the morning at the minister’s home or in the bride’s parlor for the wedding,
In 1770, there were over 140 rum distilleries in the colonies cranking out 4.8 million gallons of rum every year, so for this wedding we served a punch of rum.
For 1843, I picked orange jellies as they are so festive and would show the skill of the host. Champagne began to be served as a wedding beverage in the late 1800, and in Newmarket, we had a population of French from Canada, so I thought it would be fun to make a croquembouche. This cone of pastry started being used as a French wedding cake in the early 1800s.
Along comes the 1900s and rationing, and Hello Refrigeration. However because of the war foods were rationed. This spurred homemakers to stretch their ingredients as far as possible. Savory as well as sweet food were encased in gelatin. I made aspic that encased hardboiled egg slice, ham and cornichons.
During prohibition, the speakeasies catered to the urban “upper crust,” and served small bites to their patrons, so they would not leave the building staggering down the street. These were called canapés, sometimes they were finger sandwiches or stuffed mushrooms something that could be carried in one hand and a drink in the other, while guests socialized. This was the beginning of the hors d’oeuvres.
With the popular cooking show of Julia Childs, quiche became the rage. I made my quiches of spinach, and cheese.
The late 1960s were filled with bright, psychedelic colors, and long hair. Woman wore unbelievably short skirts. To represent our Hot Pants wedding outfit I made cheese fondue, that was introduced to the United States, and really took off, in the sixties.
2000 the new millennium
Things are moving fast we have new ways to get information quickly and wedding planners are showing all the new trends, Sushi went Global and was found at a buffet station near you.
So it’s time to move over and get ready for Generation Z
Already they have food truck weddings, fresh locally sourced food and family style food stations. What next!
While wedding styles come and go, some things endure, the things that will stay are the traditional white dress, the wedding cake and a celebrating with family and friends.
This exhibit and the tea were worked on by the whole Board of Directors and its members. It was teamwork that made it so successful. A job well done! We took the gowns down packed them up and looked back at how this exhibit was so well-received. It brought in many new people to the museum some as guests and some who became members.
So after a long three months it was over. And we were all as tired as this manikin looks.
It was a fun exhibit and I enjoyed working with all the participants in making it a success.
To see more, stay tune and see.
Kimberly Alexandria’s blog , Silk Damask at http://www.silkdamask.org/
Sandie
SCHOOL SHOW
I received a call from the Wilton Historical Society. They were in need of a hearth cook who could work with children during their school program.
So off to Connecticut I went. I would be there for the week, working at the hearth in the Sloan-Raymond-Fitch house
I stayed at the very comfortable home of Lola, the museum educator the first night, Sunday. I needed to make vegetable soup and little cakes for 92 students and their teachers and parents. The way I had set up the program was to have the children divided into two groups for a hands-on experience, making 18th century food. I had two parents who stayed in the room for the whole day, helping and that was wonderful, plus there was a teacher or other parent with the group as the moved from station to station .
The students arrive at the kitchen and wipe their hands with wipes, then divide into two groups in front of the table. I gave a 5- to 10-minute discussion on the hearth, bake oven and its door, peel, toe kick toaster, butter churn and chores that boys and girls would do in the 1700s, and I had put a chicken spinning on the hearth as one of the talking points.
5 to 10 minutes was about as long as they could stay still.
One group of six did the vegetables a the other one group was divided into two to make two batches of little cakes and one student started on the butter churn.
One mother helps with the cutting of the carrots, celery, onions and field greens.
The students managed a small knife, and everything they cut went into a large bowl. With 92 students each day we were very lucky to only have two, slight, finger cuts.
The other side of the table was busy making oatmeal jumbles and butter. Students took turns with the butter, changing places as they went.
When the bell rang we put the cookies in Tupperware, stashed it in the pantry , cleaned the table cloth and set up for the next group that was already filing in and washing their hands.
This procedure was repeated for each class.
Then came lunch, however no rest for the weary. It was time to regroup and wash some of the bowls and get ready for the afternoon students.
The cookies and soup I made the night before was served to the children by a parent or teacher to have with their lunch in the big hall. That is why I made them the night before.
While we were having lunch, Mario Pedone, the maintenance man, whom I could not have done without, kept the fires going for us, and sat in from time to time, which helped keep some of the boys in order.
Then came 2:15 and everyone was back on the bus. The parents left and I cleaned up the things in the room and the best thing is that several ladies from the museum came and helped me cart thing s to the real kitchen and wash them up so I could reset for the next day.
I left and went back to Lola’s and began baking the little cakes that the students made, making sure there were 150 for the following day. I didn’t have to do the soup, as that was being done at the museum the next day by the ladies.
So it went for five days about 92 children a day and each day was different. Some classes were very well behaved and others not so, parents very helpful and other not. It’s the name of the game when doing school groups.
I enjoyed myself, and hope I instilled, in some of the students, an interest in early American life and how their ancestors worked hard, took nothing for granted, and didn’t waste anything, if possible.
Sandie
“Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.”
– W.B. Yeats