Caerthe's Cooks Guild

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Caerthe's Cooks Guild

2002 archives

Caerthe's cooks guild is designed to further the art and science of cooking in the Barony of Caerthe (Denver, CO.) Usually one meeting per month is facilitated by Mistress Katherine Holford, the guild head. Meetings are based around a topic, always include discussion, often there is a hands-on activity, sometimes hand-outs are available, and we always share food. Garb is preferred, but not required. Experience is not necessary.
Newcomers are ALWAYS WELCOME!

Farspeaker contact information for Mistress Kate: 303-322-1907

E-mail may be sent to THLady Gwen at: grasse@mscd.edu
see GwenCat's Kochbuch here.

To Caerthe's Homepage Links to past years of Cooks Guild activities

.Previous months topics below To Outlands' Homepage
2001... 2000 ... 1999...

December 8, 2002
It was an intimate gathering, we listened to period music, baked cookies [including the traditional Blinkie the neon rainbow colored three eyed fish] and shared hot spiced beverages, bread, cheese, and beef and onion stew.

November 24 , 2002

We sampled period turkey recipes.

October 27, 2002
The meeting consisted of much good conversation and reminiscing about the warm hearts and cold nights of Ealdomere. Roasted chicken, root veggies and cucumbers fueled the conversation.

September 29, 2002

Seven of us met at Sushi Wave for a nice evening of miso soup, sushi, sashimi, [even teriyaki for those not fond of the fresh fish and vinegared rice] and conversations about the upcoming collegium in Ealdomere and the just past Fields of Gold.

August 17 and August 23

On the 17th Cooks guild met and prepped food and on the 23rd prepared and served the populace free feast served at Fields of Gold. The beef stew, vegetarian stew, pickles, cookies and fruit tarts were well received. Many thanks are due to William [sp?] who prebaked all the incredibly delicious bread bowls used to serve the stew.

Saturday, July 20, 2002

We met for a Japanese Moonviewing at the home of Lady Kseniya and THL Johann. Thank you for being such gracious hosts. We had lovely somen, chicken, crackers, lotus salads and other favorite Japanese dishes (and some OOP Pocky) The full moon was pretty, but it was far too hot to remain outside for long, though the company made it worthwhile.

Sunday, June 23, 2002

Caerthen Cooks' Guild met at 1:00 pm (one hour earlier than usual) for a working meeting. The subject was to be Fritters II, where we will work up more delicious fritter recipes. The unseasonal heat turned this into a plannign meeting. Those members present listened to a proposal from Sir Kronos regarding Fields of Gold. Cooks Guild has agreed to provide the Saturday evening feast for FOG.

MONDAY, May 6, 2002

A small core group met at the Little Russian Cafe in downtown Denver at 5:45 pm. The address is 1424 Larimer Street. Their web site is at: http://www.russiancafe.net/ We selected topics and dates for the rest of summer and enjoyed delicious Russian fare.

April 21, 2002

Unfortunately the collaboration with Hawks Hollow was not possible at the moment due to RL constraints, but Caerthe's Cooks Guild did FRITTERS LITE! and it was DELICIOUS!!! Parsnip fritters are great and fried cheese is period and sooooo yummy, (the brie was my favorite! ^^~)
The recipes we experimented with were:

Fryture of Pasternake

Medieval Cooking Today, Moira Buxton

Take skyrwats and pasternaks and apples, & parboile hem; make a bator of flower and ayren; caste there-to ale, saffron & salt; wete hem in the bator and frye hem in oile or in grece; do thereto Almand Mylk, & serue it forth.

parsnips - 1
carrots - 1 lg or handful of baby carrots
apples -1
flour - 1 cup
egg - 2 med
ale - 3/4 cup
saffron - pinch
salt - 1/2 tsp (I'd increase to 1 tsp)
oil or lard
Almond Milk

Peel carrots, parsnips and apples and cut into sticks. Parboil or microwave for a minute to partially cook the vegetables and fruit, if desired (the apples and carrots didn't seem to need it, but the parsnips did). Mix flour, egg, ale, saffron and salt together to make a batter. Dip sticks into batter and fry in hot oil, a few sticks at a time. Be careful not to let the oil get too hot, as the batter will burn before the fritters are cooked.

Notes: We tried small matchsticks and larger sticks of parsnips. The hot oil cooked the fritters so quickly that the smaller matchsticks were better. Larger sticks could be parboiled slightly first (as suggested in the recipe, or microwaved). We sprinkled salt on the fresh fritters, but forgot the almond milk. However, the consensus was that the almond milk would make the nice crisp batter soggy. Used corn oil.
Very good. Mst. Kate
Loved the parsnips, the apples were yummy, not that the carrots were not but I LOVE the parsnips ^^ ~

Pipefarces
by
Arwen Southernwood
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Recipe
Pipefarces
[Le Menagier de Paris (The Goodman of Paris), 1393]
PIPEFARCES. Take egg yolks and flour and salt, and a little wine, and beat together strongly, and cheese chopped in thin slices, and then roll the slices of cheese in the batter, and then fry in an iron skillet with oil in it. This can also be made using beef marrow.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Redaction
Ingredients:
6 egg yolks
5 tablespoons white wine
1/2 cup unbleached flour
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 lb cheese (recommended cheeses include provolone, mozzarella, muenster, farmer cheese, and brie)
vegetable oil for frying
Preparation Steps
Cut the cheese into sticks approximately 1/4" x 1/4" x 3". If using brie, place it in the freezer for ten minutes before cutting to make it firmer and easier to cut. Cover cheese to keep it from drying out, and set aside; if using brie, return it to the freezer until ready to cook.
Sift the flours and the salt together. In another bowl, combine the egg yolks and white wine, and whisk together until well blended. Gradually whisk in the flour mixture, whisking until well blended. (If the mixture seems too thick, add a little more wine.)

Heat 1" of oil in a deep skillet, or use a deep fryer, filled with oil to the recommended level. Dip the individual cheese sticks into the batter, then drop gently into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on layers of paper towel to drain. Serve hot.

Yield
Approximately 36 cheese sticks.
Redaction Notes
The oil should be hot enough to sear the batter and keep the cheese from leaking out, but not so hot that the batter starts to burn before the cheese is melted through.
All of the cheeses listed above worked well with this recipe. If the brie is not kept chilled, however, it is impossible to slice and dip in batter.

The batter was very thick and yellow, and I was afraid that with so much wine in it, it would have an unpleasant flavor. However, the slight bitterness of the wine cooked out in the oil, leaving a crust that was pleasantly tasty. At some point, I plan to try this recipe again using whole eggs rather than just egg yolks, to see if there is an appreciable difference. Whole eggs would be more economical to use.

References
Anonymous, Le Menagier de Paris (The Goodman of Paris), 1393. Translated by Janet Hinson, available online at http://www.best.com/~ddfr/Medieval/Cookbooks/ Menagier/Menagier.html.
Date Of Redaction
April 21, 2002.
This was WONDERFUL!!! Medeival fried cheese!!! ^^ ~

To make French puffes with greene Hearbes

A New Booke of Cookerie, John Murrell, 1615

Take Spinage, Parsley, endife, a sprigge or two of Savory: mince them very fine: season them with nutmeg, Ginger, and Sugar. Wet hem with Egges, according to the quantitie of the Herbes, more or lesse. Then take the coare of a Lemmon, cut it in round slices very thinne: put to every slice of your Lemmon one spoonefull of the stuffe. Then frye it with sweet Lard in a Frying panne as you frye Egges, and serve them with sippets or without, sprinkle them either with white Wine or Sacke, or any other Wine, saving Rennish Wine. Serve them eyther at Dinner or Supper.
Spinage - 1 cup
Parsley - 1/4 cup
endive - 1/2 cup
Savory - 1/4 tsp
nutmeg - 1/4 tsp (fresh grated)
ginger - 1/8 tsp
sugar -1/4 tsp
eggs - 1 med
lemon - 2 small or one large
lard
white wine or sack (not rennish)

Finely chop all the greens and mix with spices. Beat an egg in a small bowl, then add to the greens. Peel the lemons and slice thinly. Top each slice with a spoonful of the greens and gently slide into big frying pan with about 1" of hot lard. Gently spoon hot lard over the top to cook the puffes completely. Be careful not to let them burn.

Notes: These definitely need more work. The puffs did not hold together well while being fried in lard. We decided they might work best as a garnish for a fish dish. (Tried this later with oven-baked catfish. I piled the leftover cooked puff mixture and some uncooked green topping on top of the fish, which was coated with parmesan seasoned-breadcrumbs and sprinkled a few more bread crumbs on top. Delicious.)

I would also increase the amount of spices, as the flavor seemed mostly lemon. Also, fresh savory would definitely be better rather than dried, which is all I had (I would also either add salt or sprinkle salt on top as a final touch). Next time, I will try using a mortor and pestle to mix the minced greens and egg together to form more of a paste. We also forgot to sprinkle wine on top. Mst. Kate

To make Peasods in Lent

The Good Huswifes Jewell, Thomas Dawson, 1596

Take figs, Raisons, and a few Dates, and beate them very fine, and season it with Cloves, Mace, Cinamon and Ginger, and for your paste seeth faire water and oyle in a dish uppon coales, put therein saffron and salt and a little flower, fashion them then like peasecods, and when you will serve them, frye them in Oyle in a frying panne, but let the Oyle bee verie hotte, and the fire soft for buring of them, and when yee make them for fleshe dayes, take a fillet of veale and mince it fine, and put the yolkes of two or three rawe eggs to it, and season it with pepper, salt, cloves, mace, honie, sugar, cinamon, ginger, small raisons, or great minced, and for your paste, butter, the yolke of an egge, and season them, and frye them in butter as yee did the other in oyle.

I.
figs
Raisons
Dates
Cloves
Mace
Cinamon
Ginger
oyle
saffron
salt

To make Fritter Stuffe

Ibid

Take fine flower, and three or four egges, and put into the flower, and apeece of Butter, and let them boyle altogether in a dishe or a chafer, and put in suger, synamon and Ginger, and Rosewater, and in the boyling put in a little grated bread to make it bigge, and then put it into a dish and beate it well together, and so put it into your moulde, and frye it with clarified butter, but your butter may not be too hotte nor too colde.

Flour
Eggs
butter
sugar
cinnamon
ginger
rosewater
bread

March 24, 2002
The March meeting was small and calming. We nibbled on Pome d'Or (spelling?) and sipped an herbal infusion and discussed the last few and next few meetings.

February 2002
Thanks once again to THL Johann and Lady Kseniya for opening their home to cooks guild. The plan was to have a workparty for making some treats to support the War effort, but due to illness the small group who was able to attend did not have the energy to make pop tarts. We did listen to a PROPOSAL from Lord Roland to solicit a bid from cooks guild to assist with 12thnight 2003. For more information or to comment please contact Gwen Cat or Mistress Kate at the contacts above.

January 2002

The January meeting was on the Wednesday preceding 12th night. Mistress Kate and Gwen Cat made the walls for the composed Sallet Soltelie to be presented to head table at Saturdays event. The continuation of the guild meeting was on Saturday when the greens, pickles, olives, and capers were added to the structure and it was paraded to their Majesties to much ooooooing of the attendees.

Last updated 07/30/02

	To Caerthe's Homepage	Links to past years of Cooks Guild activities
.Previous months topics below	To Outlands' Homepage	2001... 2000 ... 1999...
December 8, 2002 It was an intimate gathering, we listened to period music, baked cookies [including the traditional Blinkie the neon rainbow colored three eyed fish] and shared hot spiced beverages, bread, cheese, and beef and onion stew.
November 24 , 2002 We sampled period turkey recipes.
October 27, 2002 The meeting consisted of much good conversation and reminiscing about the warm hearts and cold nights of Ealdomere. Roasted chicken, root veggies and cucumbers fueled the conversation.
September 29, 2002 Seven of us met at Sushi Wave for a nice evening of miso soup, sushi, sashimi, [even teriyaki for those not fond of the fresh fish and vinegared rice] and conversations about the upcoming collegium in Ealdomere and the just past Fields of Gold.
August 17 and August 23 On the 17th Cooks guild met and prepped food and on the 23rd prepared and served the populace free feast served at Fields of Gold. The beef stew, vegetarian stew, pickles, cookies and fruit tarts were well received. Many thanks are due to William [sp?] who prebaked all the incredibly delicious bread bowls used to serve the stew.
Saturday, July 20, 2002 We met for a Japanese Moonviewing at the home of Lady Kseniya and THL Johann. Thank you for being such gracious hosts. We had lovely somen, chicken, crackers, lotus salads and other favorite Japanese dishes (and some OOP Pocky) The full moon was pretty, but it was far too hot to remain outside for long, though the company made it worthwhile.
Sunday, June 23, 2002 Caerthen Cooks' Guild met at 1:00 pm (one hour earlier than usual) for a working meeting. The subject was to be Fritters II, where we will work up more delicious fritter recipes. The unseasonal heat turned this into a plannign meeting. Those members present listened to a proposal from Sir Kronos regarding Fields of Gold. Cooks Guild has agreed to provide the Saturday evening feast for FOG.
MONDAY, May 6, 2002 A small core group met at the Little Russian Cafe in downtown Denver at 5:45 pm. The address is 1424 Larimer Street. Their web site is at: http://www.russiancafe.net/ We selected topics and dates for the rest of summer and enjoyed delicious Russian fare.
April 21, 2002 Unfortunately the collaboration with Hawks Hollow was not possible at the moment due to RL constraints, but Caerthe's Cooks Guild did FRITTERS LITE! and it was DELICIOUS!!! Parsnip fritters are great and fried cheese is period and sooooo yummy, (the brie was my favorite! ^^~) The recipes we experimented with were: Fryture of Pasternake Medieval Cooking Today, Moira Buxton Take skyrwats and pasternaks and apples, & parboile hem; make a bator of flower and ayren; caste there-to ale, saffron & salt; wete hem in the bator and frye hem in oile or in grece; do thereto Almand Mylk, & serue it forth. parsnips - 1 carrots - 1 lg or handful of baby carrots apples -1 flour - 1 cup egg - 2 med ale - 3/4 cup saffron - pinch salt - 1/2 tsp (I'd increase to 1 tsp) oil or lard Almond Milk Peel carrots, parsnips and apples and cut into sticks. Parboil or microwave for a minute to partially cook the vegetables and fruit, if desired (the apples and carrots didn't seem to need it, but the parsnips did). Mix flour, egg, ale, saffron and salt together to make a batter. Dip sticks into batter and fry in hot oil, a few sticks at a time. Be careful not to let the oil get too hot, as the batter will burn before the fritters are cooked. Notes: We tried small matchsticks and larger sticks of parsnips. The hot oil cooked the fritters so quickly that the smaller matchsticks were better. Larger sticks could be parboiled slightly first (as suggested in the recipe, or microwaved). We sprinkled salt on the fresh fritters, but forgot the almond milk. However, the consensus was that the almond milk would make the nice crisp batter soggy. Used corn oil. Very good. Mst. Kate Loved the parsnips, the apples were yummy, not that the carrots were not but I LOVE the parsnips ^^ ~ Pipefarces by Arwen Southernwood -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Recipe Pipefarces [Le Menagier de Paris (The Goodman of Paris), 1393] PIPEFARCES. Take egg yolks and flour and salt, and a little wine, and beat together strongly, and cheese chopped in thin slices, and then roll the slices of cheese in the batter, and then fry in an iron skillet with oil in it. This can also be made using beef marrow. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redaction Ingredients: 6 egg yolks 5 tablespoons white wine 1/2 cup unbleached flour 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 lb cheese (recommended cheeses include provolone, mozzarella, muenster, farmer cheese, and brie) vegetable oil for frying Preparation Steps Cut the cheese into sticks approximately 1/4" x 1/4" x 3". If using brie, place it in the freezer for ten minutes before cutting to make it firmer and easier to cut. Cover cheese to keep it from drying out, and set aside; if using brie, return it to the freezer until ready to cook. Sift the flours and the salt together. In another bowl, combine the egg yolks and white wine, and whisk together until well blended. Gradually whisk in the flour mixture, whisking until well blended. (If the mixture seems too thick, add a little more wine.) Heat 1" of oil in a deep skillet, or use a deep fryer, filled with oil to the recommended level. Dip the individual cheese sticks into the batter, then drop gently into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on layers of paper towel to drain. Serve hot. Yield Approximately 36 cheese sticks. Redaction Notes The oil should be hot enough to sear the batter and keep the cheese from leaking out, but not so hot that the batter starts to burn before the cheese is melted through. All of the cheeses listed above worked well with this recipe. If the brie is not kept chilled, however, it is impossible to slice and dip in batter. The batter was very thick and yellow, and I was afraid that with so much wine in it, it would have an unpleasant flavor. However, the slight bitterness of the wine cooked out in the oil, leaving a crust that was pleasantly tasty. At some point, I plan to try this recipe again using whole eggs rather than just egg yolks, to see if there is an appreciable difference. Whole eggs would be more economical to use. References Anonymous, Le Menagier de Paris (The Goodman of Paris), 1393. Translated by Janet Hinson, available online at http://www.best.com/~ddfr/Medieval/Cookbooks/ Menagier/Menagier.html. Date Of Redaction April 21, 2002. This was WONDERFUL!!! Medeival fried cheese!!! ^^ ~ To make French puffes with greene Hearbes A New Booke of Cookerie, John Murrell, 1615 Take Spinage, Parsley, endife, a sprigge or two of Savory: mince them very fine: season them with nutmeg, Ginger, and Sugar. Wet hem with Egges, according to the quantitie of the Herbes, more or lesse. Then take the coare of a Lemmon, cut it in round slices very thinne: put to every slice of your Lemmon one spoonefull of the stuffe. Then frye it with sweet Lard in a Frying panne as you frye Egges, and serve them with sippets or without, sprinkle them either with white Wine or Sacke, or any other Wine, saving Rennish Wine. Serve them eyther at Dinner or Supper. Spinage - 1 cup Parsley - 1/4 cup endive - 1/2 cup Savory - 1/4 tsp nutmeg - 1/4 tsp (fresh grated) ginger - 1/8 tsp sugar -1/4 tsp eggs - 1 med lemon - 2 small or one large lard white wine or sack (not rennish) Finely chop all the greens and mix with spices. Beat an egg in a small bowl, then add to the greens. Peel the lemons and slice thinly. Top each slice with a spoonful of the greens and gently slide into big frying pan with about 1" of hot lard. Gently spoon hot lard over the top to cook the puffes completely. Be careful not to let them burn. Notes: These definitely need more work. The puffs did not hold together well while being fried in lard. We decided they might work best as a garnish for a fish dish. (Tried this later with oven-baked catfish. I piled the leftover cooked puff mixture and some uncooked green topping on top of the fish, which was coated with parmesan seasoned-breadcrumbs and sprinkled a few more bread crumbs on top. Delicious.) I would also increase the amount of spices, as the flavor seemed mostly lemon. Also, fresh savory would definitely be better rather than dried, which is all I had (I would also either add salt or sprinkle salt on top as a final touch). Next time, I will try using a mortor and pestle to mix the minced greens and egg together to form more of a paste. We also forgot to sprinkle wine on top. Mst. Kate To make Peasods in Lent The Good Huswifes Jewell, Thomas Dawson, 1596 Take figs, Raisons, and a few Dates, and beate them very fine, and season it with Cloves, Mace, Cinamon and Ginger, and for your paste seeth faire water and oyle in a dish uppon coales, put therein saffron and salt and a little flower, fashion them then like peasecods, and when you will serve them, frye them in Oyle in a frying panne, but let the Oyle bee verie hotte, and the fire soft for buring of them, and when yee make them for fleshe dayes, take a fillet of veale and mince it fine, and put the yolkes of two or three rawe eggs to it, and season it with pepper, salt, cloves, mace, honie, sugar, cinamon, ginger, small raisons, or great minced, and for your paste, butter, the yolke of an egge, and season them, and frye them in butter as yee did the other in oyle. I. figs Raisons Dates Cloves Mace Cinamon Ginger oyle saffron salt To make Fritter Stuffe Ibid Take fine flower, and three or four egges, and put into the flower, and apeece of Butter, and let them boyle altogether in a dishe or a chafer, and put in suger, synamon and Ginger, and Rosewater, and in the boyling put in a little grated bread to make it bigge, and then put it into a dish and beate it well together, and so put it into your moulde, and frye it with clarified butter, but your butter may not be too hotte nor too colde. Flour Eggs butter sugar cinnamon ginger rosewater bread
March 24, 2002 The March meeting was small and calming. We nibbled on Pome d'Or (spelling?) and sipped an herbal infusion and discussed the last few and next few meetings.
February 2002 Thanks once again to THL Johann and Lady Kseniya for opening their home to cooks guild. The plan was to have a workparty for making some treats to support the War effort, but due to illness the small group who was able to attend did not have the energy to make pop tarts. We did listen to a PROPOSAL from Lord Roland to solicit a bid from cooks guild to assist with 12thnight 2003. For more information or to comment please contact Gwen Cat or Mistress Kate at the contacts above.
January 2002 The January meeting was on the Wednesday preceding 12th night. Mistress Kate and Gwen Cat made the walls for the composed Sallet Soltelie to be presented to head table at Saturdays event. The continuation of the guild meeting was on Saturday when the greens, pickles, olives, and capers were added to the structure and it was paraded to their Majesties to much ooooooing of the attendees.