Preparing for treize (13) desserts …

Groaning holiday tables, after le «gros souper», reflect the special treats, a little something for everyone, known as treize (13) desserts, one for each of the 12 apostles and Christ. Now is the time to begin to gather the ingredients for the preparation of items such as pâte de coigns, nougats, calissons, dried fruits and nuts. Fresh fruits known as winter (meaning their flavor and texture will improve with storage) apples, pears and melons can be sat back in special boxes and nets to bring out at the last minute. Fondant stuffed dates and nutmeat farced figs and an assortment of nuts can be cured in paper-lined boxes with bay leaves which can then be used to dress they plate when serving these sweetmeats. Chocolates and fresh citrus fruits will round out the menu.

Raifort - voyez Rave

Horseradish was used in Alsace in many ways and was taken to New France. Grated fresh it is used as a preventive against food poisoning, scruvy, tuberculosis and colic; cooked it's used in sauces with meats and soups. It is considered a bitter herb and has been used medicinally for centuries. Depending upon how young your horseradish patch is, it is best gathered in Spring. If your patch is old, dig the roots in Fall, and process only the smallest and most tender. Disburbing the patch will result in smaller and more numerous roots for next Spring.***Dictionnaire Portatif de Cuisine, d'Office, et de Distillation. Chez Vincent, Paris 1767, p. 275. *****RAVE: on en distingue de plusiers sortes, sçavoir, celle qu'on appelle communément rave, ou petit rave; le grand & le petit raifort, & autres. On ne mange guère de ces trois especes, que celle qu'on appelle raves & radis. Le printems est le tems où el es sont meilleures: il faut les choisir tendres, bien nourries & faciles à rompre. Lorsqu'il fait chaud, elles deviennent trop piquantes.
OBSERVATION MÉDECINALE.
La rave est stomachique, apéitive, anti-scorbutique; mais comme elle se mange crue, elle ne convient qu'aux estomacs, & à ceux qui la mâchent bien.

Raifort - Horseradish

Cool, brisk weather means it's time to dig the raifort - horseradish roots to grind and preserve in white wine vinegar. After several weeks, the vinegar makes a wonderful liquid to deglaze fond and to flavor vinaigrette. The root itself flavors soups, sauces and roast meats.

Scrub and peel the roots; grind and store in a jar covered with vinegar--lasts virtually forever!

Calville Rouge d'Automne

Well, I finally harvested the one apple that has been hanging on my little tree. The tag said just Calville when I planted it early in 2008. This spring the flowers were double and white, not pink as the print suggests. The skin is pale red with a tinge of yellow. Its taste is sweet, slightly strawberry or tart in flavor; its flesh crisp and juicy. Its texture would make great baked apples. There were several small bumps or ribs on its blossom end. There is only one problem--I asked for a Calville Blanc d'Hiver (1598), not Rouge d'Automne (1670), from the nursery. I shall have to reorder a Calville Blanc.

World Day of Bread - 2009

… in the hands of the cook …

«The strength of the nation is in the hands of the cook. Feed a man well, he will work well, he will fight well.» Handwritten inscription, Célestine Eustis, 1911, from Cooking in old Créole days. La cuisine créole à l'usage des petits ménages. Eustis, Célestine.

When You Can't Have the Real Thing …

One of the first faience patterns produced in the French town of Luneville c. 1728 by Jacques Chambrette was «Old Strasbourg», a brilliant polychrome made possible by the pure white of the tin glaze. I have a few pieces, but not enough to set a table for more than one--and my husband shudders every time I take them to a reenactment. But the pattern was so popular that it has been copied by Spode with variations; and also by Royal Doulton, now Minton, known as «Arcadia».

As you can see, I have a few pieces of Arcadia; it was, indeed, the pattern I chose as my wedding china.

Imagine my delight when that wonderful carrier pigeon, eBay, procured Arcopal «Provincial» in milk glass from France. Now I can serve a table of ten with several courses. Now to get to those French recipes again to grace these lovely dishes!

Doll House Kitchens -Mon Plaisir, Arnstadt (1666-1751)

«Mon plaisir (My pleasure) is a miniature city of the princess Augusta Dorothea of Schwarzburg Arnstadt (1666-1751) for dolls. Thereby the reproduction of the reality at that time with aristocracy, middle class and farmer was aimed at. Is populated the doll city of over 400 dolls, which were made by the yard state of the princess in manual work. Since 1932 the entire plant is in the possession of the museum donation.»

A wonderful YouTube video of this exquisite creation. From the flamestitch tapestries to the kitchen pots and pans you are presented with intricate tableaux of 18thC life … enjoy!.

The Amadeus Award for Taste & Excellence

18thC Cuisine is among the first to be awarded the coveted Amadeus Award for Taste & Excellence, a privilege to be cherished and a great responsibility to further its continuance by nominating my own favorite 18thC blogs.

Isaac Walters, a fellow reenactor and friend whom I first met at Fort de Chartres, is a historian and teacher who is furthering living history by reenacting with his young family.

18th-Century History of American Women and her companion blogs about gardening and women of other American centuries is Barbara's marvelous contribution to the Age of Enlightenment.

Mme. du Jards Atelier is a delightful site for embroidered garments and frolics à la 18thC.

Les Portraits au Pastel du XVIIIe is Jean Paul's lovely site where portraits that might not otherwise be seen are freely shared.

Colonial Women is not a blog, but a portal into living history in the vast French Colonial interior of our wonderful country. Carol, almost single-handedly, has done much to raise the barre of women's interpretations in the Pays Illinois.

Now it is time for these wonderful sites to send us further down the road to 18thC excellence.

Vin de pêche - Peach Leaf Wine

Macerating quietly in the cold room is a crock of peach leaves [55], one small peach with its skin, sliced and its pit crushed and a bottle of white wine. I have been shaking this mixture for about 15 days. When I tasted it today, it still has not developed enough of that characteristic «almond» aroma, which comes from its genus [Prunus persica]. I will check it every two days and when it smells and tastes just right, I will strain it and bottle it with a handful of white sugar and a quarter cup of eau-de-vie or Marc. After corking and sealing with wax, the bottle will sit in the back of the cold room shelves for at least six months. In the middle of winter, when it’s cold and dreary, a small glass served with a biscuit for dessrt, or as an apéritif will delight my guests and remind us that Summer will eventually come again.

See Cherry Leaf Wine for a similar process.