Day’s End

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I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Allan has been a great help at the hearth.  Having a man around to lug wood and clean out the bake oven is huge!!  We all thank you, Allan.1

Allan is also a fount of knowledge when it comes to breathing new life into old rusted iron pots.  Here he shares with Cathy how he has gone about restoring my cooking pots and such.  It is time-consuming ,yet the end results are worth it. Cathy emailed me later to say her son was going to give it a go with her old pots.  We wish you much luck in finding the gold in an old pot.  It’s there it just takes time to find.1copyWith the meal at an end, everyone pitched in and helped to put things to right. I do appreciate this kindness and it gives us all a moment more to talk and share good books and websites and the like.2 copySandie

Keeping your space clean is as much part of the end result as the dish being tasty.

Carla Hall         ____________________________________________________

I’m not ending here as usual, as I’m going to share with you our Day’s End.

Allan and I had a very small pork loin ready for dinner that night.  The fire was still going and there was left over mushroom and artichoke cream, and scalloped potatoes.  This sounded like a good combination for our meal. Allan butterflied the pork, sautéed some mushrooms and add the rest of the Morels al la cream.  He spread this on the pork, and rolled it up, and tied it with a string.  He put a bit of oil in the skillet he had just cleaned, placed it over some coals and browned all the sides of the pork loin.   He then placed a lid on it and let it roast over the coals.4I took the potatoes and put them into the small bake oven to warm them, then tossed a salad together and we were all set for an easy, quick dinner.5yA perfect end to a great day,

Sandie

“My life really began when I married my husband.”

Nancy Reagan (me too)

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About Sandie

Since I was a small child I have loved early fireplaces and the smell of smoke in an old house. However it was not until about Fifteen years ago that my journey into hearth cooking began. It all started at the Hurd House Museum in Woodbury Ct. I was the director of the Junior Docent program and among the programs each week we cooked. At about the same time a group of us started the Culinary Historians of Connecticut meeting once a month to discuss equipment used, receipt (18th century term for recipe), and anything between the late 1600 to late 1700 that had to do with hearth cooking. We were fortunate to try our hand at cooking at several Museums throughout Ct and many more private homes. We made cheese; we held a late 1600 dinner and shared our knowledge with others. Our group designrd our own tours such as the Kitchens of Old Wethersfield. In 2000 we were delighted to host the Historic Foodways group of ALFAM at the Hurd House during their conference at Mystic Seaport. We put together a great workshop of Puddings, Sausages, Brown Bread, Beverages you name it we offered it. I am now a member of the ALFAM foodways group. Then it was off to Colonial Williamsburg for the seminar The Art of 18th-Century Cooking: Farm to Hearth to Table. During the years I joined many workshops in Sturbridge Village plus their Dinner in a Country Village and breakfast at the Freeman Farm. So I was pretty much hooked on heart cooking and the 18th century way of life. I joined a wonderful group of ladies and we started the “Hive” a place to improve and grow your 18th century impression and offer research about material culture in 17070’s New England. We also travel with friends and have displays of clothing and teas at Museums in Massachusetts. Many events are held at the Hartwell Tavern at Minute Man National Park. They have been gracious enough to let us play there and entertain and share our knowledge with their visitors. Please visit our “Hive” site if the 1700 interest you. Then the move to New Hampshire and a job at Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth as the co-coordinator of the Junior Role Playing workshop and eventually cooking in front of the hearth at the Wheelwright house. Not only did I enjoy making my evening meals at the hearth to take home but also talking with the visitors. I am an entertainer after all, check out my program page. Most recently I am working at the Museum of Old York in Maine as an educator, hearth cook and organizer of the Junior Docent cooking program in the summer. See some photos in the archive file Because I do make food with the docents and serve food to the public at our Tavern Dinners I took the National Restaurant Association tests called ServSafe and now have my Certification as a Restaurant Manager. I look forward to the Museum of Old York opening again this March 2012 and getting back to the hearth and teaching, however for now I’m cooking at home and enjoying doing so.

One thought on “Day’s End”

  1. You are so fortunate to have a husband who can cook at the hearth… and to have a hearth in your home. The closest my hubby gets to hearth cooking is the smoker in our back yard!

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