JUST DESSERTS #1

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Sandie

Our dessert workshop day arrived and this would be a full day of making, baking and mixing. Everyone began with a receipt that would need some things to be prepared and readied for the bake kettle or oven.

This first blog is about Frogger Cookies, a Marblehead, Massachusetts, receipt made with peal ash, a Pound Cake receipt from Hannah Glass, and a Chocolate Tart receipt from The Whole Duty of a Woman, 1737, Guide to the Fair Sex, Virgins Wives or Widows.

In our workshop papers, I added the wonderful story about the Joe Frogger cookies, named for the patriot and tavern owner Joseph Brown of Marblehead. Heather quickly began the receipt and worked the molasses, rum and butter into the dry ingredients and rolled them out between parchment paper. The dough needed to sit in the refrigerator for two hours before she could cut them. The originals Froggers were an invention of Joe’s wife, Lucretia Brown, and were served in their tavern and sent by the barrelful off to sea with the merchant ships. If you wish to know more about the cookies, go online and you will find the whole delightful story.

Heather picked a decorative tin mold to cut large cookies and put them on a greased tin sheet ready for the bake oven.

The Hannah Glass Pound Cake receipt has a batter that needs to be beaten for an hour by hand. Paul, having the strongest arm and biggest hands, jumped right in and started off whipping the eggs and butter together.

Following Hannah’s narrative receipt, he mixed the liquids with the dry and mixed and mixed and mixed, for a whole hour, by hand. This was hot work and we had to wipe his forehead once in a while.

Thanks to Paul the batter was light and fluffy and Heather helped by buttering the patties pans and spooning the batter in. Paul deserved a rest.

The bake oven had been heating for about two hours and, after being cleaned out, into it went the pound cake and Joe Froggers.

For our chocolate tart, there were two receipts. One is for the chocolate, from The Whole Duty of a Woman, and one for a sugar paste crust, Charles Carter 1730. Tracey started by melting the American Heritage Chocolate, adding eggs, the rice flour and other ingredients and melted everything together over the coals on the hearth. It was important to stir often so the mixture would not burn. When ready, the chocolate was put to the side and the sugar paste made.

All the desserts that were made in the workshop were going home, so the sugar paste, tart crust was placed in small patties pans.

With the crust ready, Tracey filled them and baked them in the kettle. The tarts did not take long, and once they were brown, out they came.

After six weeks my arm is healing, however I’m still typing with one hand. I will try and finish the Just Desserts blog with #2 soon.

Enjoy the warm weather,

Sandie

Life is too short, eat dessert first.

Anonymous

SATTOOT OF DUCK

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Sandie

Natalie and Cathy decided to tackle the Sattoot of Duck. The receipt came from The Complete Practical Cook by Charles Carter, 1730. It called for boiling the fowl; instead Allan had steamed it the day before so it was ready for the next step. The receipt also included some things we will be leaving out like the Sweetbreads, Cocks-Combs, and Truffles however; sometimes you just have to make sacrifices.

After boiling the fowl of your choice, the receipt calls for roasting it off brown at a quick fire. Natalie did a great job of searing the duck and the skin was nice and brown.

The receipt calls for the duck to be surrounded by a forced meat of veal, beef and lamb. Cathy begins to prepare this while Natalie starts on the stuffing.

The apples, onion and sage are rough chopped for the stuffing and the orange peels that go in the forced meat are finely chopped.

Cathy shows off the bowl of ingredients for the forced meat. This is from Hananh Galsse, The Art of Cookery 1774,. To Make forced meat balls. The lard, eggs, lemon peels, chopped meat and spices are ready to be mix thoroughly with some bread crumbs she grated from stale manchets.

With the stuffing in the duck it is time to cover it with the caul fat.

Everyone wants to see the caul fat go on the duck. It was not unusual to have an 18^th century receipt that called for caul fat, however, it is an item we don’t find in many of our modern cooking books. Everyone needed a good look and we discussed just where this body part came from. Caul fat is the thin membrane surrounds the stomachs internal organs of some animals. The caul I bought from my butcher came from a pig. I did not get the feeling that anyone was going to run out and try to find some soon. Once the duck was all tucked in with the fat the forced meat was circled around it like a nest.

The Sattoot of Duck sat waiting for the bake oven to cool down a bit before it went in. About an hour later, we checked it and it was a gorgeous brown. Allan took it out of the oven for us.

Mary plated the duck and forced meat. After the duck had rested it was carved in nice slices and re-plated for our meal.

With the table cleared off and set for lunch we dug in. The forced meat was somewhat over cooked however the lemon and nutmeg gave it a tantalizing, if not exotic, taste. The Sattoot of Duck was juicy and, because it had been pre-steamed, it was not oily at all. The caul fat gave it a wonderful chestnut brown color and I’m sure kept it moist. This is where the last part of the Sattoot of Duck receipt calls for gravy of sweetbreads, cocks-combs and truffles. We opted for the very end part and went with the tamer mushroom and artichoke sauce. The duck meat had such great flavor, and, all in all, this was a triumph.

So we come to an end of our Sattoot of Duck with Forced meat and I do hope you are looking forward to the next post.

Orange Pudding made in Seville oranges and boiled. Yum!

Sandie

The perils of duck hunting are great – especially for the duck.

Walter Cronkite

MOFFATT LADD HOUSE

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Sandie

MUSEUM WORKSHOP

With the museum closed for the winter months it is always nice to get-together with co-workers once and awhile to visit with each other and have some fun. There was a trip to the MFA in Boston and on Saturday a few ladies came to cook at my hearth. This was a full workshop as well as a time to talk about up-coming events. We will all be going to the “Life and Death Symposium” next Saturday in Portsmouth. However for now we are going to cook, roast and bake.

Marsh, Lisa and Sidney arrived first, followed by Sherry and Cathy. After a few house keeping things and a run-through of the receipts we were on our way to a great meal. Chicken on a string and fish on a plank were the first order of the day.

Sidney and Sherry took apples, onion, herbs and spices and put them into the cavity of the chicken, then sewed it up to keep all the goodness inside. On the other side of the table, Cathy, Lisa and Marsha stuffed the fish with lemons and herds with butter.

While the butter churned and the chicken was stitched up, a medley of vegetables were prepared to par boil. Cathy egged and breaded the outside of the fish.

With skewers pushed through the wings and highs a string was attached and the chicken hung before the fire about 4 inches above the drip pan

The girls tried their hand at everything and took turns churning the butter that we would be use for our potatoes rolls and cooking as we went along. The fish was secured to the board with string and it was placed in the fire and every so often it needed to be turned upside down

The vegetables were taken out of the water and deemed par boiled, the apples also came off the fire and had the perfect tenderness to them. Our fish needed to be re-planked. The strings were cut and the fish was gently turned over, so the other side could bake. It was washed with eggs and sprinkled with bread crumbs and salt and pepper. Tied once more to the board it went into the fireplace for more roasting

Our dessert was from Charles Carter 1730. Tort De Pomme made with a sugar paste crust. Cathy made the dough and every one pitched in and peel apples and par boil them, cut oranges rinds and made the custard. Cathy’s sugar paste came out beautiful and there was some leftover so she made a large fruit roll up with preserves fig, plumb and apple. Wastes not want not! With the softened apples in the shell Cathy put the dish by the fire to warm before adding the custard and putting it in the bake oven. One must always remember that cold crockery will break if not heated a bit before it goes into a bake oven or kettle.

Sidney the newest member of the Moffatt Ladd family, and a professed non-cook, dove right into cracking eggs and not scrambling them in the hot cream, to make the custard for the pie. With a little encouragement from Marsha she made velvety smooth custard with no lumps. Go Sidney!

This custard was poured over the apple, orange peel and citron mixture and popped into the bake oven.

Sidney was a fast and efficient worker at the sink and kept us all in clean utensils and bowls. We didn’t make her do all the dishes she had help. However she was the head dishwasher for the day. Our chicken was not cooking fast enough for me so we moved it inside the fireplace and hung it from the crane. It needed to be spun often, however everyone did their share of twisting the string. In the pan under the chicken you can see the vegetables roasting, infused with garlic, sweet oil and herbs, it gave off a tantalizing aroma.

Allan dropped in to see how we were doing and took a picture of all of us having a brief respite from the days work.

Sherry made the Potato rolls. Potatoes were approves as a food fit for humans in the mid 1700 and a French pharmacist Antoine Parmentier may have written down the first receipt for potatoes bread. From there various receipts were propagated by authors I have read. However the earliest receipt I can find is one from 1794 by Madame Merigot. This receipt is a no-knead dough and very sticky. It made the loveliest browned rolls which were light in texture and made you ask, where is that home churned butter?

With all the main food preparation done it was time to make sauces for the fish and chicken. From the Cookbook of Unknown Ladies the receipt for “How to make sauce for a Fish without gravy” was made. Butter, wine, lemon juice, lobster stock, anchovies and horseradish was heated through, with thyme and parsley for a tangy sauce. I forgot to purchase the cranberries for the chicken sauce so Marsha and I improvised. I had an orange, a jar of cranberry preserves, and some sherry and into a redware pipkin they went. Add a little garlic and salt and pepper and it was ready to reduce by the fire. Now it was time to plate all our hard labor. The fish was cut down the back and plated with the bones carefully removed.

The chicken was hoisted from the fire and un-strung and the skewers removed. Sidney wanted to carve

With the table washed down and set for lunch, the plates of food were placed. First the fish and chicken was put on the table.

Then a large plate of roasted vegetables, potato rolls and two graves ready for hungry dinners.

Sherry gave a toast to the accomplished cooks, friends and a new year’s start at the Moffatt Ladd House and Garden Museum

OH and I did not forget about the Tory De Pomme. Glistening with citron that looked like gold and apples sitting on a sugar paste, all held together with custard, and was a perfect finish for a winter’s day.

I’m looking forward to the up-coming workshop just as much as I did this one. There is still room in some workshops and I hope you will join me for a day of fun and hearth cooking. Click on the Open Hearth Workshop Bar for more information.

Sandie

Food is our common ground, a universal experience.

James Beard

Scalloped Potatoes – Raffals

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Sandie

Potatoes arrived in the Colonies in 1621 when the Governor of Bermuda, Nathaniel Butler, sent two large cedar chests containing potatoes and other vegetables to Governor Francis Wyatt of Virginia at Jamestown. It is thought that these potatoes were a form of yams and or sweet potatoes, not the white Irish potatoes we know today. By the 18th century, the white potato was a startling novelty, frightening to some, bewildering to others—part of a global ecological convulsion set off by the Spanish Conquistadors that conquered Peru. In 1718 when the Reverend James MacGregor and his Scotch-Irish immigrants came to New Hampshire and settled, in what was called the Nuttfield colony, they brought with them sacks of seed potatoes. Potatoes were easy to grow, tasty and very nutritious. The also produced more food per acre than other crops. In 1772, the colony of Nuttfield applied to Royal Governor Shute to be incorporated as a town called Londonderry. A token yearly rent was included in the incorporating document this rent was paid to the governor with “one peck of potatoes, on the first day of October, yearly, forever.” The planting of potatoes in Nuttfield is believed, to be the genesis of the massive potato industry in America. Today the potato is the fifth most important crop worldwide, after wheat, corn, rice and sugar cane. So potatoes have been around in one color or another for many years. The Dutch called them earth apples. Being that a picture of a potato is not very interesting I have included this picture that was taken by Bill Gekes of his daughter, reminiscent of a Vermeer.

Searching through early cookery books, I found potatoes done mostly in pyes and or puddings. However, I also found them as cakes, cooked with apples, put in soup, mashed with almonds and butter and Richard Briggs, in “The English Art of Cooking” mentions both a potatoes pudding and a yam pudding. Elizabeth Raffald who wrote “The Experienced English House- keeper,” had a unique way of doing her potatoes. She scalloped them, meaning she put the mashed potatoes in a scallop shell. So I boiled my potatoes in a stew pan with a little salt and floured butter. When done I mashed them with a lump of butter and good cream and put them in my shells. I made a smooth top and put a dent in it for more butter, then my own touch of new spring parsley sprinkled on them. Also, in the receipt, she says to put them in a “Dutch oven,” now there’s a controversy for you. Did she own a bake kettle from Holland or is this Dutch oven a new-fangled tin thing. HMMM– very interesting side note. There has been a lot of banter about the word “Dutch Oven” and nothing conclusive that I have heard either way. Anyone out there have an idea about this? So I stuffed the shells and placed mine in the bake kettle and covered it by placing coals on top and on the bottom. This is not the first time I’ve used this receipt and it is one of my favorites, as I love mashed potatoes. They were a great accompaniment to the fish dinner and look so fancy. The receipt for this potato dish is in the Receipt file along with all the others. Sandie “We’re serious but not solemn about potatoes here. The potato has lots of eyes, but no mouth. That’s where I come in” E. Thomas Hughes, founder, Potato Museum, Washington, DC

Charles Carter – To Roast a Pike

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Sandie

This is not Charles Carter or anyone I know, yet it gives you the idea of how large a pike can get. More fish than two people can eat at one sitting. They are fished in the spring in lakes throughout New England. While going through Charles Carter’s “The Complete Practical Cook,” I found this receipt. It was interesting because he uses a spit to cook it and places planks on either side of the fish to hold all the goodies in the belly. The receipt is long and loaded with ingredients including several eels and a smaller fish. Well, right now it is hard to get eels, as they are being caught illegally here in NH and shipped to Japan for lots of money so the game wardens are out looking for anyone catching them. Also they are not my favorite.

Now I have done planked fish many times, always putting it on a single cedar plank and standing it on the side of the fireplace, near enough to get cooked from the heat while preparing other items. So Carter’s receipt piqued my interest, as he used wooden splits.

So I have the receipt and now I need a fish. Well, a pike is out of the question as I don’t fish anymore and the local grocery store does not carry them. However, I knew that I could get a pollock with its head and tail on at Seaport Fish in Rye, New Hampshire. I only needed to order it. So I did.

Along with my other hearth cooking stash in the basement I found two new cedar planks. They need to be in a water bath for at least a few hours, and best overnight. This way they won’t catch on fire and ruin my fish. I put the planks in my tin kettle and turned them every few hours of so.

Reading over Carter’s receipt I decided to omit the eels and another fish for the forcing. What I did pick were salt, nutmeg, ginger, thyme, parsley, oysters, anchovies, shallots and horseradish and butter mixed with bread crumbs and an egg and then forced them in the belly.

After filling the belly, Carter says, “Broach it on a spit and with some lathes or wooden splits, flatten it, tying them round with tape to keep it all together and lay it to a pretty good fire.”

With the fish clapped in cedar and tied on the spit, it needed to be bathed with thick butter, white wine and a little vinegar that has some onion and sweet herbs mixed in. Bathe it often and turn it. A leer was made with grated horseradish and beaten ginger, wine and some anchovies to be added to the drippings later.

This is where things started to unravel. The string caught fire and the planks were just too wide. Time to reread the receipt!!! So I read it again, and Carter says—“then broach it on a Spit, and with some Lathes or wooden Splits, faften it, tying them round with some Tape to keep it all together.”

Now had I not been concentrating on the ingredients so hard, and spent more time reading the how to, I would have known that Lathes and or wooden Splits should be only about two inches wide and spaced around the fish so the heat gets through to the flesh. My only excuse is that I was testing out three other receipts. So live and learn and take my own advice: read the receipt through and then reread it. So, off it came and placed on the table to be restrung without the wood and cooked the final minutes to doneness.

Altogether it took about forty minutes to bake in front of the fire, and then it was placed on a plate and the spit removed and the pudding in the belly draw out. The drippings were added to the leer to make a sauce to be mingled with the pudding. To garnish I skipped the eels and placed the receipt’s broiled oysters and lemon round it.

The fish was very moist and the stuffing passable. It was a big fish and there was a lot left over so it looks like fish chowder next.

This is the first early receipt I have found that calls for planking and I will try it again, with smaller lathes.

Sandie

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

― Julia Child

HERBS AND SPICES AND EVERYTHING NICE

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Sandie

The sky was blue, and with herbs popping up everywhere, it was time to feast on a spring meal. With the fires going, our class began. Reading the instructions through is an extremely important thing to do. I give both the original narrative receipt and the modern scientific one. Getting your entire ingredients list and pans together and having a plan is the next step.

Hannah Glasse’s receipt,” To Stuff a Chine of Pork” was the first charge of the day. Bob and Vicky took sage, parsley, thyme, rosemary, spinach and cloves and chopped it into a forced meat to stuff the pork with. The collops were pounded, larded and stuffed, then tied up to roast on the fire. Dana and Barbara watched as Bob stacked the collops and tied them. There was leftover forced meat and we saved that to add to the drippings at the end. Vicky was in charge of the applesauce. I had given two receipts, Eliza Smith’s and Elizabeth Rafald’s sauce for a goose. The first extant print citation of the word “applesauce” is in Eliza Smith’s, Compleat Housewife, 1739. However, the practice of combining pork and apples dates back to ancient times. Hannah Glasse, in the mid-18th century instructs her readers to serve roast pork with “some good apple-sauce.” The receipt, Sauce for a Goose, by Raffald, is applesauce.

Fiddleheads are just coming in and no spring meal would be complete without them. They have a nutty taste and with bacon and shallots you can’t go wrong.

Asparagus is also on the rise in the fields and gardens. We put a large pot of water on so we could parboil the bundle of asparagus. Vicky was busy making manchets bread, and here we see it having a final rise by the fire.

Dana decided she would try her hand at making crepes for the Banniet Tort which will be our dessert. As always with crepes, the first one went into the fire and the next eight came out wonderful.

Barbara made the puff pastry for the tort, and with the crepes made, she began to assemble it. Dana removed the asparagus from the water and cut the tops off long and the bottoms into little pieces and put them aside.

Candied lemons and oranges, a few dates and currants sprinkled with orange flower water and sack and layered with sugar. YUM! Barbara slides it into the bake oven.

The fireplace became a busy space with Bob and Allan at the reflector oven, Dana and Barbara making a sauce for the asparagus. The applesauce Vicky made keeping warm over the fire. In the bake oven the manchets and a tort cook.

The Chine of stuffed pork was ready and Bob removes the strings and adds the extra stuffing that was fried in the drippings. I had made a Rhubarb Shrub to have with our dinner. We added ice, a luxury in the 18^th century; however we were all on the warm side.

Shrub is the name of two different, but related, acidulated beverages. One type of shrub is a fruit liqueur that was popular in 17th and 18th century England, typically made with rum or brandy mixed with sugar and the juice or rinds of citrus fruit.

A second type of shrub is a cocktail or soft drink that was popular during America’s colonial era, made by mixing drinking vinegar syrup with spirits, water, or carbonated water. The name also is applied to the sweetened vinegar-based syrup, also known as drinking vinegar, from which the latter drink is made. Drinking vinegar is infused with fruit juice (and at times herbs and spices) for use in mixed drinks.

The American version of the shrub has its origins in 17th century England where vinegar was used as an alternative to citrus juices in the preservation of berries and other fruits for the off-season. Fruit preserves made in this fashion were themselves known as shrubs and the practice carried over to colonial America.

The first citation for shrub is 1747, in the OED, however the word was in use before that. In Martha Washington’s, Book of Cookery, written before 1709 there is a shrub receipt. (See Receipt’s- Drinks)

Vicky and Barbara put together Hanna Glasse’s asparagus forced in rolls.

Allan took a picture of our spring feast, chine of stuffed pork, apple sauce, fiddlehead ferns, asparagus forced in rolls and rhubarb shrub.

Vicky gives us a lesson on 18^th century eating habits.

The Banniet Tort came out of the oven and was delightful, with all the fruit and tender crêpes wrapped in a crisp pastry. A fitting ending for a dinner well made.

We had fun and experienced an array of receipts with many spring herbs and greens, and produced a wonderful meal.

HAPPY SPRING

Sandie

“A Receipt is but a Promise of a Dish, but the Dish is the Measure of its Cook.” John Saturnall’s Feast

EVERY DISH HAS A PAST II

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Sandie

HALL TAVERN COOK-OFF

Recap – Sunday night we had a meet-and-greet at a wonderful local tavern for those who traveled far to Sandra Oliver’s workshop in Deerfield. The next day was all work and Sandy led the pack through a course on recipe research.

After several days it was time to head over to Hall Tavern and put our research to use. Claire had purchased all our ingredients and we were off and running, in many directions, finding pots and pans, spices and flour. It was a busy scene.

I had eggs to boil, forced meatballs to make, chicken to partially fry, herbs and spices to put together and gravy to make. Then on to the coffin, and that is where the disaster began. I had all the right amounts and began working the pastry. Barbara Blumenthal was at the same table making a crust for an apple pie. I’m not sure who said it first but it looked like I was making a sand castle. The rye flour would not absorb the liquid it was like grains of sand. I pushed, beat, and molded and it continued to fall apart. I added more hot water and butter and it almost worked. I rolled it out and it cracked every time I tried to raise the pye. Well, I was determined not to let this stop me from making my coffin. Into the wastebasket it went. I got a bag of unbleached flour and started all over. As I’m working the new batch, Sandy comes over to see what might have happened. She grabbed a handful of the first pastry out of the garbage and put it in a bowl and played with it.

Sure enough she likened it to rye grain and not flour at all. I was happy to know it was not just me who thought that. So I hurried along so the coffin would cook in time for the meal.

I raised a quick pastry wall and stuffed it with all the filling and on to a peel to be placed directly on the floor in the bake oven along with the apple pie and the gingerbread.

It took about one and a half hours to bake the coffin hard. Sandie and I worked together to retrieve it from the oven and I cut the top to reveal a well-cooked coffin that tasted as good as it looked.

With all hands busy, it was hard to get photographs of everyone. However, I did manage to get some. Here we have Barbara working on the apples for the pie with Sandy looking on and Mary Lou making her gingerbread.

Here we see Elyse, who made a wonderful salmon soup, and Terri, who made a wilted salad of bacon and spinach.

Bill made a Tharîda with Lamb and Spinach, Moist Cheese and Butter, Don who spent time showing us some of his rare cookbooks at the workshop made a stuffed pudding that I want the receipt for.

Erica made scotch collops and they were not Scottish at all we learned. Fiona made sugarplum that danced in our mouths with joy.

I wish I had more pictures of the other cooks and their food; however one can’t be everywhere, although we sometimes try.

As a side note, the wonderful copper pots and some of the other equipment were donated to Historic Deerfield by a friend of mine, Paul, I know he is smiling knowing that we put them to task and they worked to our advantage in making the food come out grand. Thanks, Paul. I also would be remiss if I forget to thank Julie, who fed us three meals a day in splendid fashion. What a wonderful ending to a great workshop. I know each time I research a receipt in the future I will think back on this great group of food historians and triumphing over a challenge.

Sandie

OPEN HEARTH COOKING CLASSES

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Sandie

I have just posted my up-coming classes for April – May

Look for them in the gray box on the right side of the site –

OPEN HEARTH COOKING CLASSES

Hope you can join us

Sandie

LOBSTER PIE

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Sandie

According to Mark Strauss at the Smithsonian, we have celebrated Valentine’s Day since Roman Times. I like this passage he writes of a traveler’s diary from the early 18th century that notes: “On the eve of St. Valentine’s Day . . . An equal number of maids and bachelors get together; each writes his or her true or some feigned name upon separate billets, which they roll up, and draw by way of lots, the maids taking the men’s billets, and the men the maids’ . . . Fortune having thus divided the company into so many couples, the Valentines give balls and treats to their mistresses [and] wear their billets several days upon their bosoms or sleeves.”

I’ve also read that gift-giving and exchanging handmade cards on Valentine’s Day had become common and handmade Valentine cards made of lace, ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts began to be created on this day and handed over to the man or woman one loved. This tradition eventually spread to the American colonies due to the import from England of booklets, or “writers,” which had “be my Valentine” verses and messages which could be copied into cards or letters.

It was not until 1843 that Valentine’s Day greeting cards began to be commercially produced, the first one created by Esther A. Howland, a native of Worcester, Massachusetts.

So I find that Valentine’s Day has come around again, and last year I made Allan a cheesecake. (See February 2012 Post) This year I decided on a Lobster and Scallop Pie. Looking at several cookery books, I found first a receipt from Hannah Glasse called “To Make a Lobster Pie.”

This is a rather simple receipt with few ingredients and seemed a bit bland, so I continued to look to find something a bit special for this Valentine’s Day treat. In Charles Carter’s 1730 cookery book I found one that I also liked yet it had too many sweet seasonings. Hannah uses vinegar in her lobster, Carter uses sack (sherry or a red wine) and this sounds more interesting. He also uses a leer (sauce or gravy) in the pie. So I will combine the two receipts to satisfy our taste in seafood.

I had two small lobsters and a few scallops for the pie. I started by cooking the lobster about 10 minutes, just enough so the meat could be removed from the shell. Next a puff paste as per Hannah. She does not mention blind baking the crust and it may be just something they did or did not do and did not write down. I wanted to try it without baking the bottom first. I think the heat under the kettle will brown it up nicely. I had already put the kettle by the fire to warm up, as I wanted a high heat.

I lined the pie tin with the puff paste and filled it with lobster and scallops. For a sauce, Allan heated cream in a sauce pan, then added some to, two whipped egg yolks to temper them. After he whisked the egg mixture back into the cream he added anchovy paste, salt and pepper, butter and sherry, to round off the sauce. This became our leer and we poured it over the lobster and scallops.

I rolled out the top paste and cut some hearts out from the sides. With the top in place and decorated with the hearts, into the kettle it went. I turned it every 10 minutes or so and took a look half-way through. It was not cooking as fast as I would have liked, so I put more coals under and over the kettle.

The added coals worked, and the hearts puffed up and the sides pulled away from the pan. It took about 45 minutes total. I scooped it out onto the plates. It lacked presentation as it flowed out of the crust onto the dish, however, it tasted wonderful. There were some leftovers and they will make a nice starter for our next meal.

We will celebrate Valentine’s Day, on the 14th of February by going off to lunch at one of our favorite resturants in Portsmouth. I doubt they will have a seafood pie as great as this, however.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Sandie

ROAST LAMB

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Sandie

I have never cooked a lamb roast before. For most of my life a disliked the smell of lamb, and could not be in a house that was cooking it. I just recently, for some unknown reasons have fallen in love with lamb chops, which my husband roasts in the oven. For several months I’ve been thinking of other ways to use lamb. Greek shish kabobs came to mind, however, I haven’t found a receipt I like yet. While shopping at the store, I saw they had a lamb roast on sale, and into the basket it went.

Off to the office and to the bookshelf with my early Cookery Booke’s. I spent several days hemming and hawing over the different receipts in my books. I went online to Project Gutenberg’s and found what I wanted, “Leg of Mutton with Oysters.” This receipt is from the The English Art of Cookery, by Richard Briggs, 1788. I liked it because it would give me the opportunity to try wrapping a roast with paper and then frothing it. Also it had oyster stuffed inside and, in this household, we all love oysters.

While looking for the receipt, I received a call from the blacksmith, he had my antique andirons fixed and ready to be picked up. I found these andirons in Connecticut, thanks to good friends, and they had hooks in the front for a spit so one could roast in front of the fire. They needed to be repaired and the hooks were in bad shape.

Russell Pope did a great job of fixing them and I cannot wait to use them. You see them here, on the right, in front of the beams and wood floor that will go into the new kitchen. I bought the andirons for the new cooking fireplace. However, it won’t be done for a month (OH, PLEASE!) so why not use them in the small fireplace? Well, it turned out that there was a very good reason to not use them. My daughter was coming for dinner and she was bringing her black lab. Visions of a dog with a burnt tongue and half a roast missing ran through my head. The tin kitchen will have to do.

In many of the cookbooks, they have receipts of sauces, so I quickly looked for something to use for the lamb. I came up with To make Roasted Gravy from The Complete Practical Cook by Charles Carter, 1730. Now when it comes to gravy, Allan is the gravy master. I handed him the job. First he had to shuck the oysters for the roast, and to halve them, while we were preparing. The freezer and shelf are well-stocked with stock and anything else he might need. While I was at it, I let my daughter be in charge of the roasted asparagus.

With everyone busy, I began working on the roast. It came tied up and had fat on one side, so I larded the other side with bacon lard. I love it when I can use my larding pin; it is such a nifty kitchen tool.

With the larding complete, I cut holes into the roast to stuff the oysters in. Holey moley, oysters are slippery. Trying to push them in was a struggle. I ended up using a small melon baller to scoop them up and in then quickly wrapped the roast in paper before they slid out. I had given much thought to the paper I would use to wrap the roast. Back in the 17^th and 18^th Centuries, they would use something like our watercolor paper. Well, I don’t have a piece of paper that large, so I could use a brown paper bag or parchment paper. Again I had a vision; this time of a paper page in flames. Okay, parchment paper. I know that will work, and I’ll have no worries with it going up in flames. One of the reasons you use paper on a roast is to have it act like a pressure cooker to speed up cooking. Now most receipts are feeding a large amount of people, not so in my house. However, I wanted to try the technique.

Once again I enlisted Allan, as he is very good at tying a roast together. And I wanted to make sure the oysters stayed in. After it was tied we put it on the skewer in the tin oven. The fire was ready and throwing plenty of heat.

The roast was just over 2 ½ pounds and I knew it would cook quickly, I turned it every five minutes, and each time the juice poured into the bottom of the tin oven. I had a container underneath to save all the juices for adding to the sauce Allan made. After 20 minutes, we took off the paper and I began basting every few minutes as I turned the roast. By now the oysters were baked inside and not falling out. Then came the fun part, frothing. Would it work? I filled a shaker with flour and spices and put it on as I once more turned the roast. (Oh, for a spit jack.)

Yes, it did work. If I had a bigger roast I would have had more frothing. However, I was really afraid I’d ruin the roast by overcooking. Everyone here wants rare meat. You can see just a hint of froth starting on the left.

I will try this again when I have cooking classes and many more mouths to feed.

With Allan’s sauce mixed with the drippings, he carved the roast. It was done to perfection. Now, how would it taste? Well, it was spectacular; the oysters added a wonderful depth of flavor, and the basting gave crispness to the edges.

My family was delighted with the meal, and I could not have been happier with the experience of frothing.

I wonder if I can find an 18^th Century receipt for shish kabobs?

Sandie

Open Hearth Cooking

17th and 18th century open hearth cooking recipes, life around the colonial table and hearth cooking classes.

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