Alice uses cast iron pots and wooden utensils and keeps the recipes as close to the traditional recipe as possible. She even utilizes a fire pit located outside her home to test authentic recipes. For more information about Alice the Cook, visit her website at http://www.alicethecook.com
In future blogs, I will offer recipes, kitchen hints, and historical cooking lessons.
This past weekend, I did a small catering event that required a lot of finger food. Below is a recipe for mushroom pâté, a vegan friendly recipe. It looked like real pâté, but tasted even better. My apologies for the lack of a photo; the guests began eating it before I could document my work.
Ingredients:
1 lb sliced portabella mushrooms
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
½ cup pine nuts
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cup water
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme
Pinch of fresh rosemary, minced
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
Sea salt to taste
Begin heating a pan on medium heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, shallots, and pine nuts and begin to sauté. After about two minutes, add the thyme, rosemary, black and cayenne pepper and continue to sauté for 2 more minutes. While stirring, add the mushrooms. Keep stirring so that everything is covered in oil and will not stick to the pan. Add 1 cup of water and cover the pan and continue to let it cook.
The goal is to let the mushrooms cook down a bit so that they are soft. If the water is evaporating too quickly, add more water. When the mushrooms are soft, drain off most of the extra water and place the cooked mushrooms and spices in a food processor or mortar and pestle and begin to mix and pulverize the cooked ingredients. Place the mixture into a mold and refrigerate for two hours until firm. Place the mold upside down, onto a plate and release it from the mold. The pâté is ready to serve. It is best served with roasted garlic or caramelized shallots on toasted bread or crackers.
2 medium red potatoes, baked
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 green onions, diced
Pinch of dried red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp of olive oil or margarine
1 rib of celery, minced
Take two baked red potatoes and cut them up and place them into a bowl. Ideally, these should be baked in the oven rather than microwaved so that the skin is not soggy.
Add the oil or margarine and the garlic and use a fork to mash them together. Add the Dijon mustard, green onions (and optional celery), black pepper, red pepper flakes and salt. Stir together and serve hot or cold.
Cheese has been traced to the Sumerians, Egyptians, and has been found throughout the world. Each culture has had its own version of cheese; in central Asia, cheese was made from yak milk. North Africans used milk from wild pigs and Europeans used milk from reindeer, water buffalo and mares. But it was the Romans who perfected the art and began to age their cheeses, preparing to send their product out to the marketplace.
Cheese pie served with fresh apple slices and blueberries
Early cheeses were made from adding milk into a container made from an animal’s stomach. The stomach contains a natural enzyme called rennin and would cause the milk to curdle. When churned, the milk would be separated from curds and whey, which could be strained to create two milk by-products. The curds would be gathered and cooked to create cheese. Softer cheeses were cooked at a lower temperature and higher temperatures results in the harder varieties. Cheese makers would drain off any additional liquid whey, and then would salt and cut the hardened curd. The processed curd would be pressed into molds and would be further aged/cured in nearby caves or holes in the ground.
During the Renaissance, cheese was served as a dessert and was reserved for the middle or wealthier classes. The merchant/middle class would enjoy softer goat cheeses with grapes or figs and the wealthy would enjoy a cheese course, which was served before or during dessert.
One of the more popular desserts was the cheese pie. This dessert is very different than the desserts for modern palates; it is not sweet and, depending on the cheese, can be pungent. To offset its strong flavor the cheese would be served with fresh grapes or figs. Traditionally, pastry crusts were very hard and were used as a container for many types of dishes. The pie crust below is a modern execution of that recipe and creates a flakier and tastier crust.
Pie Crust Recipe: 2 cups of all-purpose flour
½ tsp of finely ground sea salt
½ cup of butter or lard, softened
¼ cup of cold water
Mix the flour and salt until well combined. Cut the butter or lard up into teaspoon chips and add it to the flour mixture.
Using a large fork, begin crushing the butter or lard into the flour and salt mixture. Begin adding the water at 2 tablespoons increments until a soft, non-sticky dough forms into a ball.
Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour or more before rolling out. This will allow the fat to combine with the flour and will create a flakier crust. While the crust “cures” in the refrigerator, you can begin making the filling.
Cheese Pie Filling Recipe: 1 cup of all-purpose flour
¼ tsp of salt
Pinch of black pepper
¼ tsp powdered mustard
½ cup of grated Gouda cheese (other “white” cheeses may be used as well).
2 egg yolks
¼ cup of lard or butter
Water
Mix together the flour, salt, pepper, mustard. Add the butter or lard and begin to blend together with a fork. Add the cheese and egg yolks. If the filling seems too dry, add the water 2 tablespoons at a time until a thick cream is developed. Cover and let cool for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Roll out the pie crust into a 10” circle. You can use a plate to measure the circle. Place the pie crust into an 8” pie tin; there should be enough of the crust to go over the pie tin. Pierce the crust 6 times in the bottom of the pan; this will help the crust to cook evenly.
Move the cheese mixture from the covered bowl onto the crust and spread evenly. Roll the edges of the pie crust inward or crimp or pinch the crust; this will add a decorative element to the pie.
Set the pie into the oven to bake for approximately 12-18 minutes, depending on altitude. The crust edges should be golden brown. Let cool for 7-10 minutes before cutting. Serve with fresh figs, berries or apples and honey.
I try to find time to cook healthy meals. Mixing my sense of historical cooking, my love of ethnic foods, and the need and want to eat healthier, I challenge myself to create new recipes. Some will have a historical slant and others will have more international flair; this particular recipe is Asian influenced. It is low carb and low-fat and has plenty of protein, fruit and vegetable servings. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Asian Style Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 lb of ground chicken 1/2 cup of pineapple, minced 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated 1 egg 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder 2 tbsp of soy sauce
Combine all off the ingredients in a non-metal bowl and blend well.
Grab a heaping tablespoon of mixture and place on a greased cookie sheet. Continue until mixture is gone. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
While the meatballs are cooking gather the rest
of the ingredients:
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 cups snap pea pods Optional: 1 cup red peppers, sliced thin or more pineapple in 1/2 inch cubes
Once the meatballs are done, heat up a skillet and add the oil. Once hot, add the meatballs and vegetables together and continue cooking until the vegetables are el dente (bright green, not overcooked).
