Friday, February 5th: The Re-enactor's Cookbook
Historic recipes that taste good.
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Updated: 8:00 PM EST Feb 5, 2021
Friday, February 5th: The Re-enactor's Cookbook
Historic recipes that taste good.
Share
Updated: 8:00 PM EST Feb 5, 2021
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COOKING A MILE AWAY. ERIN: KAREN MEYERS CATCHES UP WITH A RENAISSANCE REENACTOR FROM JAFFREY WHO HAS JUST COME OUT WITH A COOKBOOK, SO YOU, TOO, CAN FEAST LIKE HENRY THE VIII. ♪ KAREN: STROLL THROUGH A RENAISSANCE FAIRE, AND YOU ARE TRANSPORTED TO A DIFFERENT TIME. COLORFUL COSTUMES, LIVELY ENTERTAINMENT, AND MOUTHWATERING SMELLS. ALLYSON: YOU KNOW YOU’VE DONE A GOOD JOB WHEN SOMEBODY COMES BY, JUST A RANDOM PATRON, AND SAYS, "YOU KNOW, THE SMELL OF YOUR STEW OVERWHELMED THE FRIED OREO CART." KAREN: ALLYSON SZABO MAKES THE ROUNDS AT AREA REN FAIRES AS A RE-ENACTOR AND COOK, TOILING OVER AN OPEN FIRE, WHIPPING UP A FEAST THAT WOULD MAKE KING HENRY THE VIII DROOL. ALLYSON: ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD THINK OF, LIKE ROASTED CHICKEN, ROASTED GOOSE. OATMEAL WAS ACTUALLY WAS RELATIVELY POPULAR. [LAUGHS] IT WAS KNOWN AS PORRIDGE. KAREN: AFTER REPEATED REQUESTS FOR HER RECIPES, ALLYSON, A FICTION AUTHOR, DECIDED TO WRITE A COOKBOOK. "THE RE-ENACTOR’S COOKBOOK: HISTORICAL AND MODERN RECIPES FOR COOKING OVER AN OPEN FIRE." ALLYSON: MEDIEVAL COOKING HAS SOME WICKED, CRAZY COMPLEX STUFF, BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT’S IN THIS COOKBOOK. THIS COOKBOOK WAS MEANT TO APPEAL TO THE AVERAGE PERSON WHO MIGHT JUST WANT TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT. KAREN: 100 RECIPES -- BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER, DESSERTS, AND DRINKS, WITH THE HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL COOKING SPRINKLED THROUGHOUT. ALLYSON: THE MEDIEVAL PALETTE IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE MODERN ONE. YOU GET A LOT OF SWEETS AND SAVORIES MIXED TOGETHER THAT YOU WOULDN’T GET IN A NORMAL MODERN MEAL KAREN: DISHES THAT CALL FOR UNUSUAL COMBINATIONS. ALLYSON: THINGS THAT WE WOULD NEVER THINK OF PUTTING TOGETHER. CINNAMON AND GARLIC. REALLY? [LAUGHS] BUT I HAVE A LAMB STEW IN HERE THAT USES CINNAMON AND GARLIC, AND OH MY GOODNESS. IT’S SO GOOD. [LAUGHS] KAREN: SPICES USED MORE LIBERALLY THAN THEY ARE TODAY. ALLYSON: IN THE MIDDLE AGES, WE USED SAFFRON, MACE, NUTMEG, HYSSOP. WHEN YOU HAND GRIND THEM, ESPECIALLY, THE AROMAS AND THE OILS AND THE SPICES AND HERBS INTERMINGL KAREN: MANY OF THE RECIPES DATE BACK TO THE 14TH AND 15TH CENTURIES. ALLYSON UNCOVERED THEM IN MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS. ALLYSON: THEY’RE WRITTEN IN MIDDLE ENGLISH, SO THEY’RE NOT ALWAYS EASY TO TRANSLATE. [LAUGHS] AND MEDIEVAL COOKBOOKS, FOR THE MOST PART, DON’T INCLUDE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD RECOGNIZE AS BEING A RECIPE TODAY. KAREN: AND FORGET MEASUREMENTS. NO SUCH THING AS A CUP OR A TABLESPOON. ALLYSON: THERE’S ONE RECIPE THAT SAYS "HUE INTO GOBET." AND THAT’S KIND OF THE DIRECTION YOU GET. KAREN: WHAT WAS THAT? HUBA DE WHAT? ALLYSON: [LAUGHS ALLYSON: "HUE INTO GOBET." AS IN HUE, TO CUT IT UP. AND GOBETS. LIKE HANDFULS. [LAUGHS] KAREN: OH, OK. ALLYSON: IT’S ACTUALLY A RECIPE FOR STEW. ♪ KAREN: ONCE ALLYSON FEELS SHE HAS CONQUERED THE RECIPE, SHE LOOKS FOR AFFIRMATION IN PAINTINGS AND TAPESTRIES. ALLYSON: YOU CAN SEE THE FOOD SET OUT ON THE TABLES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, SO YOU ARE TRYING TO MATCH WHAT’S WRITTEN HISTORICALLY WITH WHAT’S PICTURED HISTORICALLY. KAREN: ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR MEALS POTAGE, WHICH WE KNOW AS STEW. IN THE MIDDLE AGES, IT WAS SOUPY. TODAY, WE MAKE IT WITH A THICK GRAVY. ALLYSON PREPARES IT HERE WITH CHICKE ALLYSON: YOU TAKE A SLICE OF BACON, AND YOU RUN IT OVER THE HOT CAST IRON, AND IT SORT OF GLAZES THE BOTTOM VERY NICELY. AND THEN YOU PUT IN YOUR MEAT AND YOUR ONIONS, AND YOU SAUTÉ THAT UNTIL IT’S BROWN, AND THEN YOU ADD IN EVERYTHING ELSE, YOUR LIQUID, YOUR VEGETABLES. KAREN: DO NOT THROW OUT THE LIQUID WHEN YOU ARE DONE IT IS REUSED FOR RICE, BARLEY, OR A HOST OF OTHER FOODS. AND IF YOU FIND ALL THIS TOO TIME-CONSUMING, THE COOKBOOK INCLUDES THE MEDIEVAL VERSION OF FAST FOOD. ALLYSON: BASICALLY ANYTHING THAT YOU ATE, YOU COULD STUFF INTO PASTRY AND MAKE IT INTO A PORTABLE MEAL. AND I HAVE A FEW FAVORITES. I HAVE A CHICKEN AND LEEK, MINCED BEEF WITH VEGETABLE AND THEN CHICKEN, APPLE, AND CHEESE, WHICH SOUNDS BIZARRE BUT IS VERY TASTY. KAREN: IN ORDER TO MAKE ALL THESE DISHES, YOU MUST FIRST BUILD A FIRE AND LEARN TO COOK OVER A FLAME. THE COOKBOOK TEACHES YOU HOW, EVEN TELLS YOU WHICH TYPE OF WOOD WORKS BEST FOR A GIVEN DISH, LIKE BAKING A PIE. ALLYSON: YOU NEED A HOT, EVEN HEAT THAT’S GOING TO GO FOR A LONG TIME. YOU DON’T WANT THAT BURST OF HEAT THAT THEN DIES DOWN. AND SO YOU WANT TO LOOK FOR OAK OR WALNU HEAVIER, HARD WOODS THAT HAVE THAT SLOW BURN. KAREN: ALLYSON TAILORED THE BOOK FOR BOTH NOVICE AND EXPERIENCED COOKS. YOU CAN SKIP OVER THE HOW-TO’S AND FLIP RIGHT TO THE RECIPES. ALLYSON: BUT SOMEONE PICKING UP THIS BOOK MIGHT BE A HISTORY NERD, WHO HAS NEVER PICKED UP A BOOK, YOU KNOW, NEVER TRIED A RECIPE IN THEIR LIFE, AND SO I TRIED TO MAKE THE RECIPES VERY CONVERSATIONAL AND VERY SIMPLE IN THEIR DIRECTION, SO THAT ANYBODY COULD PICK UP THE BOOK AND FIND A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT THEY COULD MAKE AT HOME AND ENJOY. ♪