[Shut Up And Cook]

Our Farmers Market started up this week and I couldn't be happier for spring vegetables having arrived.

Don't know why but lately I've been craving anchovies in everything. Bucatini pasta with anchovy and garlic...caesar salad with anchovies...and this...a super yummy Beet Salad tossed in Anchovy Dressing.

Beet Salad tossed in an Anchovy Infused Balsamic Dressing, served on a Bed of Baby Arugula and topped with a Farm Fresh Soft Boiled Egg

Recipe and pix here: http://wp.me/puWta-cZ

Happy Spring!!!
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The life, trials, tribulations, and adventures of the every woman in the kitchen; the Attainable Gourmet.

www.TheAttainableGourmet.com

[David]

very very nice! and we get beets in about 3 months!
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Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

[KYHeirloomer]

Sounds pretty good. For my taste the balsomic might make it too sweet, so I'd likely use Sherry vinegar instead.

BTW, where do I get one of those "medium bolls?"

[Shut Up And Cook]

You know...I thought balsamic would be too sweet also...but it worked. Although red wine vinegar would probably also be good.

The beets are pretty common occurrence at our local market and in CSA boxes (community supported agriculture), but I hear from horticulturally inclined people that they're also pretty easy to grow.

Let me know what you think if you try it out!

What have you been making lately? My meal plan needs a few additions this week.


_________________
The life, trials, tribulations, and adventures of the every woman in the kitchen; the Attainable Gourmet.

www.TheAttainableGourmet.com

[Shut Up And Cook]

Oh...medium "bolls".

I thought you were asking where to get medium beets.

Thanks for catching that...ooops!
_________________
The life, trials, tribulations, and adventures of the every woman in the kitchen; the Attainable Gourmet.

www.TheAttainableGourmet.com

[KYHeirloomer]

Erin, thanks to our new job we've been cooking mostly from the 18th century, and not working to the normal meal-plan cycles we usually do.

It occurs to me, too, that much of the appeal of a dish can be found in it's name, rather than it's actual flavor profile.

For instance, in 1745, Hannah Glasse gave us a recipe for barbecued leg of pork. Sounds pretty good, if a bit pedestrian. But I bet I could put it on a menu as "Roasted Shoulder of Pork with Cambernet/Anchovy Butter Sauce," and charge 30 bucks for what is, essentially, pulled pork made with a wine sauce rather than a tomato-based one. Served that one with a carrot pudding and stewed tomatoes as sides (which is a made dish, not just tomatoes that have been cooked down).

Been having fun with some of the kitchen tools, too. Such as the waffle maker. That's a cast-iron clamshell-like device, mounted on long handles. Each side has an engraving. You preheat it in the fire, pour in the batter, and voila! Patterned waffles. Served those topped with a chicken hash, also from the 18th century.

Tonight we're moving back into the modern world, though, with Grilled Zanzibar Tuna accompanied by a farrow salad.

[Arthur]

If you haven't grown tired of the anchovies yet, I can recommend this river cafe recipe, broccoli and anchovy bruschetta. Purple sprouting or tenderstem broccoli work best (and look better), in my experience.

broccoli with anchovy
Broccoli con acciughe
italian
river cafe cook book

900g broccoli trimmed and cut lengthways keeping as many leaves as possible.
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves peeled and thinly sliced
2 small dried chillies crumbled
12 whole salted anchovies prepared (anchovies info)
juice of 1 lemon

Bruschetta
6 slices pugliese bread cut at an angle
1 garlic clove peeled and halved
extra virgin olive oil
3 lemons

Briefly blanch the broccoli in a generous amount of boiling salted water.
Drain well.
Heat the oil in a large pan and gently fry the garlic until it begins to colour.
Add the chilli turn off the heat add the anchovies and stir until the anchovies have dissolved.
Add the blanched broccoli and season with black pepper.
Return to the heat and add a small amount of boiling water to release the anchovy and make a sauce.
Stir and cook for 5 to 10 minutes; the broccoli should be soft.
Add the lemon juice.
Make the bruschetta by toasting the bread on both sides and then rubbing with the garlic.
Pile the broccoli mixture on to the bruschetta and pour over some extra virgin olive oil.
Serve with lemon quarters.
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Arthur

http://www.bellyhungry.com

[Shut Up And Cook]

All sounds delicious...thanks very much!

Incidentally, had AMAZING bruschetta when I was in Denver at Rioja, so am going to try and recreate and will post recipe if it's anything close.


_________________
The life, trials, tribulations, and adventures of the every woman in the kitchen; the Attainable Gourmet.

www.TheAttainableGourmet.com

[dory]

Hi Brook,

What is your new job? It sounds exciting and interesting. Are you writing an 18th century cookbook, or are you doing historical recreation work?

I have seen a LOT of manual waffle irons, but, of course modern ones are designed to put on top of a stove, and thus have short handles. Are you cooking over an open fire? Can you give us any recipes? Carrot pudding sounds interesting as does chicken hash.

Dory

[KYHeirloomer]

I thought I'd mentioned the new job, Dory, but, apparently, not.

We're working at Fort Boonesboro, a recreation of the original fort established by Daniel Boone in 1775. I'm handling the agriculture and gardening while Friend Wife handles the cookery.

In short, we're running the entire foodways projects.

We've been historical reenactors for more than 20 years, and had developed quite a bit of expertise in those areas. In fact, we used to write a column, Historic Foodways, for a magazine serving that group.

We had writting a colonial cooking primer back in 1999, and are in the process of revising and expanding it.

All our period cooking is always done with live fire. But not always over it. We simulate a hearth using square pavers at home and in camp, and with an apron made of flat stones at the Fort. Much (probably most) cooking then was done by racking coals onto the hearth and setting various cooking containers over them, or by cooking in front of the fire, using indirect heat and appropriate techniques, including vertical roasting. Ron Popiel had nothing on the colonial housewife. :>)

Time is pressing, so I'll skip recipes for now, but will post a few asap.

[KYHeirloomer]

Carrot Pudding

1 cup finely grated carrots
1/2 lb bread crumbs
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Sherry
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbls melted butter

Mix first five ingredients in a bowl. Stir in the Sherry.

Beat eggs lightly with the sugar and add to carrot mixture. Add melted butter.

Bake in a moderate (350F) oven in a buttered dish about 45 minutes

adapted from a 1742 cookery manuscript

Chicken Hash

This is Miss Dandrige's recipe from 1753, as it appears in "The Williamsburg Art of Cookery."

Cut in small pieces the meat from a boiled or roasted chicken. Take the carcass and put it in a stew pan with a good broth, an onion cut in slices, some parsley and sweet berbs. Simmer slowly then strain. Melt 4 spoonfuls of butter, thicken with flour. Add several cups of broth and the chicken and beat well. This may be served on waffles as a supper dish.

Finally, here's the Fire Roasted Shoulder of Pork with Cabernet/Anchovy Butter Sauce. Actually, in her The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy," first published in 1745, Hannah Glasse instructs how

To Barbecue A Leg of Pork

Lay down your leg to a good fire. Put into the dripping pan 2 bottles of red wine, baste your pork with it all the time it is roasting; when it is enough take up what is left in the pan, put to it 2 anchovies, the yolks of 3 eggs boiled hard & pounded fine with a quarter of a pound of butter and half a lemon, a bunch of sweet herbs, a teaspoonful of lemon pickle, a spoonful of catchup, and 1 of tarragon vinegar. Boil them a few minutes. Strain your sauce & pour it on boiling hot; lay oyster patties all round the pork.

[dory]

Your new job sounds FASCINATING!!! I am also fascinated by your book project. I am going to build a fire pit this summer and will try cooking over an open fire. The carrot pudding I am going to try this weekend.

Dory

[KYHeirloomer]

Hope you like the pudding, Dory. Let us know how it works out for you.

Open fire cooking is a whole nuther world, but the results can be fantastic. Keep in mind, as you experiment, that most open-fire cooking is done over hot coals, rather than over actual flames.

One resource you might want to look at is Steven Raichlen's book, "Planet Barbecue!" In it he explores the nature of open-fire cookery, and presents more than 300 recipes he collected all over the world.

For specifically 18th century cookery we've finished revising and updating "A Colonial Virginia Book of Cookery." It discusses the nature of colonial cookery, with an emphasis on sourthern approaches, and contains nearly 40 recipes adapted from original sources dating back to the late 17th century. We're selling it for $9.50 plus shipping. For details, contact me directly at, brookbarb@att.net.

A more extensive look at colonial cookery can be found in Nancy Carter Crump's "Hearthside Cooking, which also deals with early American southern cuisine.

There are many others, both modern and antique. But these should get you started.

[dory]

Ok. I'll be contacting you. I am going to make a fire pit in my yard soon, so I can try some camp type cooking on top. It will be fun. I love the idea of your project.

Dory

[KYHeirloomer]

Sounds like a plan, Dory.

It didn't sink in that you're new to this. I should have mentioned How To Grill, , also by Steven Raichlen. It's the best how-to book on the subject, and you'll learn a lot from it.

Speaking of books, I recently reviewed Planet Barbecue!, and you can see it at Cheftalk.com if interested.

If you're actually talking about a fire pit, there are a few things to consider. Many of them can be found at flea markets and antique malls, rather than buying new. Or you can track down some period events in your area and see what the vendors there have to offer. And don't forget yard sales. An incredible number of grilling tools show up at those things.

First off, you'll likely need a grill, for direct cooking over the fire. There are some great designs out there. Make sure you choose one that is either adjustible, as to height, or which has legs at least 8 or 9 inches tall.

The grill will serve as a rest for other cooking items as well.

Next, check the grilling sections of box stores and similar places. There's an incredible array of gadgets available; various grilling baskets, skewers, griddles, etc. Don't go too crazy at first. Instead, pick and choose those you think you'll be likely to use. I do like a square grilling basket, myself, for things like fish, and so I don't have to go chasing sausages and such all over the place.

I would recommend against a utensils kit. Most of them have too many things, most of which you'll never use. For instance, Friend Wife was once given a corporate gift of such a kit. It included 8 corn holders (never used), 4 poorly designed skewers (never used), a brass cleaning brush (never used---I prefer steel), a carving knife (never used), a long-handled fork (never used) a set of long tongs, and an overly thick spatula.

Pick and choose what you will use, in the line of tools, and buy them individually so you get exactly the configuration you want.

For cookware, cast iron is the way to go. Again, pick and choose, because it's easy to go overboard. I would start with a skillet at least 10 inches (12 is even better), and a chicken fryer. If you're going to do any baking, or slow cooking, a real Dutch oven can't be beat---the ones with the legs and recessed lids. I'd suggest a 12 inch minimum for that.

Well, there are dozens of other possibilities. But these should get you started.

One final note: For starters, I would recommend that you use charcoal instead of wood. It's a lot easier to control. Then, as you get so experience under your apron, you can go on to wood.

BTW, did you make that carrot pudding?