OLD FORT WESTERN WORKSHOP

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Sandie

DAY TWO

Col. Rueben Colburn House Museum

This is a lovely museum and a great place to visit in the summer. The history of the expedition and the building of the Bateaux are well described and showcased in the house and barn. Visit someday; you’ll enjoy it.

The fish monger gave us two wonderful fresh salmon for our workshop. Zack gutted them and took the scales off outdoors in the camp. As you can see the fish are real beauties.
Zack and I stuffed each fish with thyme, dill, parsley and sliced lemons. We took twine and made sure to secure all the herbs and lemons so they would stay inside the fish. For a board we used a long split log we found outside in the pile of fire wood. Zack placed the fish on the side of the fire to roast as we made other dishes.

Roger, the regiment’s parson, was in charge of deflowering the cabbage so it could be stuffed with a forced meat. We needed a very big pot to dip it in. It was a hot job and he was able to get down to the center section and cut it out for the forcing. The ladies pitched in and made the forced meat for him. He then wrapped the cabbage into a pudding cloth and boiled it for an hour. He was very diligent and kept the water boiling at all times.

Melissa took all the marrow out of the bones. Some was used for the marrow pasties and some went into a sauce that Roger made for the forced cabbage. Stephanie looks on from as far away as she can get. Marrow and cocks’ combs were not her favorite things on the menu.
Perry shared with me her copy of a rare book called Mrs Gardner’s Receipt Book 1763. Mrs. Gardiner husband, Doc Gardner, traveled to Old Fort Western as he was one of the large landholders in Maine. So we thought it would be fitting to use her receipt for Marrow Pasties. Pasties were easy to carry with you and could be eaten anytime you were hungry. She also had a receipt for portable soup which I’m sure she sent along with her husband when he left for the Fort. So it only seemed fitting that we should use a few of her receipts. Susan and Perry made the puff paste for the marrow pasties and everyone pitched in to make them. The beets that are on the table were baked, peeled and cut by Stephanie to be fried later in a batter.
The last thing that was done on Saturday before we cleaned up was to make the starter for the French bread the next day. Stan took care of this. On Sunday, the dough had risen and smelled of wonderful yeast and beer. Desiree came to join us on Sunday and took over the bread making. As you can see her efforts paid off with a great rise on the dough.

Linda’s task was to make the winter squash pudding. Paring and grating the large squash took a good part of the morning. When done, she poured it into a pudding cloth and tied it up ready to be boiled.
The cabbage was boiled on the hearth right next to our vermicelli soup. The soup was made with the leftover chicken bones from the day before and some chicken meat. Stan made super vermicelli noodles but we never got a picture of them, darn. Linda’s pudding came out great. It is so important to prep the pudding cloth and keep the water boiling at all times.
Stan is an expert with flour and water. He made the vermicelli for the soup, He also made the crust for the lemon pudding Stephanie made. Both receipts are from Mr. Gardner’s receipt book.
So we made Vermicelli soup, planked fish, forced cabbage, marrow pasties, fried beets, winter squash pudding, cranberry sauce, gravy, French bread, and lemon pudding all from scratch. Plus we put figs on the lemon pie and had a bowl of preserved walnuts, and cider to drink. It was a busy day and all the time we had visitors asking questions and wanting to taste the food. This is not the best picture; however, you can see that all day we were having visitors in and out of the kitchen.
The last 15 minutes was hectic with everyone scurrying around with their last minute touches. I sat down and reviewed the receipt to make sure we had not forgotten anything.

All looked well and the weather was lovely out of doors. There were so many of us we decided to move the feast out to the encampment. The men put up tables and brought chairs out and we all had our plates, cups and utensils ready. Everything was placed on the table, given a spoon or fork, and was ready to serve.
Peter Morrissey, the regiment captain, took a moment to read a bit about the important contributions that Benedict Arnold had made in the beginning of his career, then Pastor Dough said a prayer for health, and happiness. We all dug into a tasty Sunday repast that was done to perfection.
We were busy each day and, because of that, we didn’t get as many pictures as I would have liked. Missing in the round of day two is Tess, she ran back and forth from camp to kitchen keeping things clean and helping everyone chop or mix when needed. However, with the pictures we do have, I think you’ll get the gist of what was accomplished over the weekend.

Now, if you remember I had said that the day before, we ran the well dry. Thanks to everyone bringing water we made it through the day. Also Tessa and Melissa washed everything out doors in camp and we could not have gone home without their help. We all took what was ours and packed it into our cars and said our goodbyes. So the workshops came to a close.

Our goal was to use the hearth as an educational tool and cook with seasonally available foods from the months of May to October in Maine to interpret the Floodways of the Fort. However it is not the food alone that will leave a lasting impression on the visitor, it is the performance at the earth. Our task was to find things to cook that would engage the visitor in a sensory experience and share the simple technology of a chicken cooked on a string, puddings boiled in a bag, the smell the yeasty bread fresh from the bake kettle. This did indeed keep our visitors asking questions and wanting to learn more. I think we accomplished our goal.

The camaraderie and joy shared by everyone at the workshop and encampment was phenomenal, I had such a great time and made lifelong friends along the way.

Sandie,
“We had grown into one another somewhere along the way. We were officially a team.”
― Shannon A. Thompson, Take Me Tomorrow

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

Open Hearth Cooking

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

Tag Archives: Planked Fish

OLD FORT WESTERN WORKSHOP

MOFFATT LADD HOUSE