Miscellaneous > The Sallyport

Medeival Celebrations Party

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Aiden of Oreland:
I do not in fact have those books, or medieval cook book in general. But seeing how this is a first time thing we decided to let the guests bring in their own dishes. But there will be research done by each of these guests being a family event for the most part. But Timothy I should order one of those books. I think it would be useful to give out a recipe for those who do not want to research it themselves. It would be nice to make those meals on other occasions also. That way I can practice making medieval dishes and mix things up a bit when the same old meal gets tiring :)

Thank you Baron for that recipe! I may just make it. May taste good with all that beer and wine for the guests!

After a conclusion, we decided to super simplify the decorations overall. We decided to have the proper arrangement of items, just not he authentic material. There really isn't enough time to plan for this party and get the materials needed. Next years celebration should include all of the expected items though. Having a year to prepare makes things much easier rather than planning something a just a few months.

Ian:
Getting a medieval dish right is very difficult because we don't know how they should have tasted!  Their recipe writing is quite frustrating for a modern person trying to reproduce the food.  For example, here's a medieval recipe for Pork Dumplings:

Take boiled pork and grind it small with saffron; mix it with eggs, and add dried currants, and powder fort and salt, and make a foil of dough and close the stuffing therein.  Cast the tartlets in a pan with fair water boiling and salt; take of the clean flesh without eggs and boil it in good broth.  Cast there powder douce and salt, and serve the tarts in dishes, and pour the juices thereon.

You'll notice it has some peculiar ingredients (powder douce for example is a sweet mixture of spices whose ingredients are never told explicitly), and it never gives any measurements or quantities.  So to reproduce it you have to do a lot of experimenting or find someone who already did the experimenting (as is the case in a lot of modernly available medieval recipe books).  Even then seasoning it will inevitably be to our modern palette and not necessarily how it would have been enjoyed back in the Middle Ages.  So don't beat yourself up if you can't get it exact.

Timothy:
Sir Aiden,

Please remember there are a number of cookbooks and recipes on line.

http://medievalcookery.com/recipes/

Timothy

Sir James A:
Got this in an email and has some medieval recipes, in case you want it for next time. Had a bunch of links to items that I'll post at the bottom.


--- Quote ---It has been said that there is a time for everything, and so indeed, there is a time to feast. At Medieval Collectibles, we are happy to help out, providing you with an array of fun recipes that are derived directly from historical sources. Some of these are a bit modernized in places to allow you to easily cook like a medieval chef without having to do your work in a medieval kitchen! So if you want to feast like a king, take some time to read these recipes and figure out a few new dishes to serve at your meal!

This selection of recipes consists of a two main courses, two vegetable sides, two desserts, and a complementing dessert addition to spruce up your meal with as many medieval accents as you want. Heck, you could pick and choose a few of these and put together a fantastic medieval meal on its own, with no modern dishes to speak of! But enough suggestions - let us get to the good stuff!

Beef and Red Wine Stew

This hearty stew consists of three cooking phases - preparing the almond milk, making the base stew, and finishing off the dish right before serving. However, that work is rewarded with a delectable dish that is fit for any feast.

Ingredients

1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon clear honey
1 cup hot water
2 pounds stewing beef
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup butter
1 cup red wine
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 teaspoons sugar
(another) 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, set aside
1/2 teaspoon pepper, set aside
1/2 teaspoon allspice, set aside
1 teaspoon ground mace, set aside
1 teaspoon salt, set aside
The first phase of this recipe is to make almond milk, using the first three ingredients. To start, add the honey to the hot water. When dissolved, pour into the bowl containing the ground almonds. Let steep for 15 to 30 minutes, then strain out the almonds to get a smooth, creamy milk.

Now we begin the basic stew. Begin by cutting beef into chunks. Roll beef chunks in breadcrumbs and gently fry in the butter. Keep turning until all meat is browned. Transfer the meat into a large cooking pot. In a separate pan, combine wine, cloves, and sugar, stirring over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Then, pour mixture over the meat in the main pan. Cover the pot and simmer (or bake) for 40 or so minutes. Cook until little liquid is left, but do not cook until dry!

Before serving, add in the set aside spices to the stew, as well as the almond milk which was prepared beforehand. Heat gently until the stew is piping hot and ready to serve. Enjoy!

 Medieval Eating Spoon
Medieval
Eating Spoon
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 7 Inch Medieval Eating Bowl
7 Inch Medieval
Eating Bowl
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 Medieval Feasting Utensils
Medieval
Feasting Utensils
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Cormarye

Don't let the name fool you into thinking this is a complicated dish of kings - cormarye is a simple yet very tasty roast that is sure to please your palate.

Ingredients

2 pounds pork loin
1 and 1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 and 1/2 teaspoon caraway
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups red wine
1 cup broth
Perhaps the best part about a roast is that it takes very little attention - time is the big factor. Mix the above mentioned spices with the wine, and pour it over the pork loin in a roasting pan. Then, cover and bake at 350 degrees F until cooked through. Baste the roast regularly with wine from the pan. Then, when finished, strain drippings from the roasting pan into a saucepan, along with the broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. Serve as a sauce alongside the (darn tasty) pork roast.

Compost

Wait - like the same compost you use to help your garden grow? Luckily not, as this dish is a tasty combination of veggies and fruits, similar in nature to a cool, refreshing pickled salad.

Ingredients

2 pounds carrots, sliced
1/2 head of cabbage, in small pieces
3-4 pears, sliced thin
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons ginger
A few saffron threads
1 bottle (750mL) white wine
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon ground mustard
3/4 cup currants
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon anise seed
1/2 tablespoon fennel seed
Begin by boiling the carrots and cabbage for several minutes, then add the pears. Cook until all are tender. Drain well and lay vegetables and pears on a clean cloth, Sprinkle on the salt. Let cool and place in a large dish or container, then add the vinegar, ginger, and saffron. Cover with cloth and let stand for several hours or overnight.

After rest, mix vegetables with currents and  anise and fennel seeds. Place in non-metallic sealable container and set aside. In a separate pot, bring the honey, cinnamon, and wine to a boil, skimming off the skin that forms until clear. Remove from heat and pour over the vegetable and pear mixture. Let cool, and seal. Serve when desired.

This recipe is a slight modification to a traditional one, which also included parsley root, radishes, and white turnips. These can be added in if the cook wishes. If you do add them back in, boil them in the first step with the carrots and cabbage. Note that added ingredients will bulk up the size of the dish, making it great for serving larger parties or groups!

Wortes

Wortes is an old English dish out of the 15th century - it is rather quick and an easy vegetable dish to add on to your main course as well as a fine way to add some flavorful greens to your meal.

Ingredients

1 head of green cabbage, shredded
2 leeks, cut into roundels
1/2 cup parsley, loosely chopped
1 stick of clarified butter
3 slices of wheat bread, broken into pieces
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add cabbage, leeks, and parsley, and cook until tender (note that if you like your cabbage well-cooked, or just a bit done, you can adjust the cooking time to preference). Drain the cabbage, leeks, and parsley and put on top of the bread pieces. Pour butter over the cabbage (more or less can be used to suit each guest's taste).

Note that when boiling the cabbage, leeks, and parsley, you may wish to add the parsley after the cabbage and leeks have cooked a bit, to ensure that all three greens cook to the same level of doneness.

 Medieval Feasting Fork
Medieval
Feasting Fork
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 Simple Medieval Tankard
Simple Medieval
Tankard
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 Medieval Kitchen Knife
Medieval
Kitchen Knife
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Prince Bisket

When done properly, these cookies have a texture similar to angel food cake, which makes them a light yet tasty choice for finishing off a smaller meal or just snacking on casually because they are simply delightful!

Ingredients

3/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon anise seed
2 teaspoons rose water
Mix all ingredients together and beat for about 45 minutes. Spray your chosen baking pan well and fill with a 1/4 inch mixture (note that you can do individual molds for single servings or bake the whole mixture together as a sheet). Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture rises and turns golden brown.

Sambocade

This fine dessert is basically an elderflower cheesecake made in a more traditional manner. It is not quite your modern cheesecake, but still a delightful way to serve something tasty to end your meal.

Ingredients

1 nine-inch pie shell
1 and 1/2 lb cottage cheese
1/3 cup sugar
Whites of 3 eggs
2 tablespoons dried elderflowers
1 tablespoon rosewater
Combine all the ingredients (except for the pie shell) and blend thoroughly. You can do this by hand, or for a quicker solution, you can also use a food processor or blender. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to an hour, or until filling has set and crust is a golden brown. Let cool, and serve.

A note on the ingredients: elderflower can often be found at natural food stores, exotic tea shops, or herb and spice specialties stores. Do not attempt to substitute or replace the ingredient! The flavor of the final product depends on having the real deal present in the dish!

Caudell

Consider this intriguing dish a catch-all that is good for a variety of things. Thick and fluffy, it makes a great sauce for serving with desserts or on its own as a dessert shot!

Ingredients

5 egg yolks
2/3 cup of white wine
Sugar to taste
Pinch of saffron
This recipe is simple but requires constant attention. In a pot, beat the yolks, wine, sugar, and saffron together. Heat the mixture over a medium flame (or medium heat), stirring continually until the caudell is hot, thick, and fluffy. Serve immediately in your method of choice.

When preparing caudell, be especially careful not to let the mixture burn or scorch - keep it moving and you should be fine.

A recommendation about the wine: an inexpensive sweet wine has been shown to give some of the best results, as the taste of finer vintages is lost in the cooking.
--- End quote ---

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-27832-antler-handled-serving-tray.aspx

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-8005-7-inch-medieval-eating-bowl.aspx

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-8002-medieval-eating-spoon.aspx

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-3412-medieval-feasting-utensils.aspx

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-21821-medieval-kitchen-knife.aspx

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-3629-simple-medieval-tankard.aspx

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-21802-medieval-feasting-fork.aspx

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-27936-medici-oval-tray.aspx

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-27934-medici-serving-bowl.aspx

Sir Nate:
Wow james, thank you!



--- Quote from: Ian on 2014-07-17, 12:11:12 ---Getting a medieval dish right is very difficult because we don't know how they should have tasted!  Their recipe writing is quite frustrating for a modern person trying to reproduce the food.  For example, here's a medieval recipe for Pork Dumplings:

Take boiled pork and grind it small with saffron; mix it with eggs, and add dried currants, and powder fort and salt, and make a foil of dough and close the stuffing therein.  Cast the tartlets in a pan with fair water boiling and salt; take of the clean flesh without eggs and boil it in good broth.  Cast there powder douce and salt, and serve the tarts in dishes, and pour the juices thereon.

You'll notice it has some peculiar ingredients (powder douce for example is a sweet mixture of spices whose ingredients are never told explicitly), and it never gives any measurements or quantities.  So to reproduce it you have to do a lot of experimenting or find someone who already did the experimenting (as is the case in a lot of modernly available medieval recipe books).  Even then seasoning it will inevitably be to our modern palette and not necessarily how it would have been enjoyed back in the Middle Ages.  So don't beat yourself up if you can't get it exact.

--- End quote ---

Ive never seen a recipe like that, and have never looked at it from that standpoint. It doesn't even use the terminology a hint, or pinch of salt.
Could you imagine a whole cookbook like that? it would be like trying to take all of the colors of a rubix cube, mix them together, and try to get all the colors to match up. But the only downside is that there is an uneven amount of colored pieces. So you couldn't even make a cube shape if you tried. only something close to a cube shape.


--- Quote from: Timothy on 2014-07-18, 21:04:08 ---Sir Aiden,

Please remember there are a number of cookbooks and recipes on line.

http://medievalcookery.com/recipes/

Timothy

--- End quote ---
Wow. We could probably do different country themes with this site.

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