Category: Food

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Brandied Apricot Pork (July Renaissance Magazine Article)

Below is the article Brandon and I wrote for Renaissance Magazine’s July edition.  I hope you enjoy it.   I’ve blogged previously about the process of making this dish, and you can read about it HERE.

During the Renaissance, meats and fruits were in several dishes together from various cultures.  Originally, the sweetness of the fruits were used to hide the acrid smells of spoiled meat and/or to remove the saltiness of preserved (salted) meat.  Most common used fruits in cooking include apples, pears, citrus, apricots, figs, and dates.

The brandy soaked apricots compliment the roasted pork in a way that the fussiest eater will even enjoy this dish.  This dish is one of the simplest I have to offer.  In my opinion, family time should not be spent, working in a hot kitchen, but spending time with those you love.

Apricot Brandy Stuffed Pork Roast
Ingredients
3 lbs pork roast, boneless
2 cups dried apricots
2 cups brandy
2 cups water
3 tbsp butter

Begin this recipe by soaking the apricots in brandy and water for an hour and a half or until the apricots are noticeably plump; preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Cut open pork roast so it lies open and begin to flatten the pork by pounding it with a meat tenderizer until evenly flat (approximately 1 and a half to 1 inch thick. Soak four wooden skewers in water.  Roughly chop up the reconstituted apricots and return them to the watered down brandy.  Place chopped apricots in middle of the flattened pork roast, reserving the liquid, and fold over the long ends of the pork and secure them with two wooden skewers.

Fold in open ends of roast and secure with the last two wooden skewers.  Place the 2 tbsp butter in a heated Dutch oven until melted and then add the stuffed pork roast. Sear the pork roast fat side up and add the reserved liquid.  Place the lid of the pot and place in oven. Cook for one hour.  When the roast is done, take it out of the pot and set on a cutting board covered for 5 minutes. Return the pot to a stove top and add 1 tbsp butter and begin cooking down the sauce.  Remove the skewers and slice up the roast, served with the sauce.

In the photograph, the dish was served with braised leeks and carrots as a side dish.  This recipe can be found on her cookbook “Renaissance Cooking II: Visiting the Silk Road” and on her website at http://www.alicethecook.com. You can find it by searching for “braised leeks.”

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Middle Eastern Pasta Recipe

Each year during the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, my assistant and I demonstrate pasta making. Many people may not realize that the modern Italian pasta evolved from the Arabs and not from Marco Polo’s visits to the Far East (Asia). Below is an adapted recipe from one of the original texts. This recipe was recreated out at the show. It has a very different taste than most pastas and I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients:
2 cup flour
2 eggs
2 TB olive oil
2 TB water
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground clove
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg

Blend ingredients together to form slightly rubbery dough. Knead on floured board and store for at least least an hour in the fridge before using (an entire day is better). 

If you can, use a pasta press to create spaghetti style pasta (normally this would be rolled out and hand cut). Heat water with 2 TB of salt to 2 TB of oil in the water. Bring to a high boil and drop pasta in until el dente (between 2-3 minutes). pull out of pot and let slightly cool out of bowl (clean cutting board works great). 

Once slightly cool (warmer than room temp, but not hot), begin adding the pasta to a bowl and include a 1 tsp of honey to each layer. Blend the pasta well.  This would normally be served with roast lamb or falafel.

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Braised Leeks with Carrots

Due to time and space, I could not include the side dish featured in the July issue of Renaissance Magazine.  I offer readers and opportunity to find it here on the website in case they want to prepare it for themselves.

 

Ingredients:

5 TB butter

1 and a half lbs. of carrots, thickly sliced

1 tsp honey

2 fresh bay leaves

5 TB water

1 and a half lbs. leeks, cut into 2 inch lengths

1/2 cup white wine

2 TB chopped parsley

salt and ground black pepper

 

Melt 2 TB butter in a wide, heavy pan and cook the carrots without allowing them to brown, for about 5 minutes.Add the bay leaves, seasoning, honey, and the water and cook for 10 minutes or until the carrots are tender.Uncover the pan and boil until the juices have evaporated, leaving the carrots moist and glazed.Remove the carrots from the pan and set aside.

 

Melt 2 TB of remaining butter in the pan.Add the leeks and fry them over low heat for 4 -5 minutes without allowing them to brown.Add seasoning, a couple of drops of honey, the wine, and half of the chopped herbs.Heat until simmering, then cover and cook gently for 5 – 8 minutes, until the leeks are tender, but not collapsed.

 

Uncover the leeks and turn them in the buttery juices, increase the heat and then boil the liquid rapidly until reduced to a few tablespoons.Add the carrots to the leeks and reheat them gently, stirring occasionally, then add the remaining butter.Adjust the seasoning, if necessary.Transfer to a warmed serving dish and serve sprinkled with the remaining chopped herbs.

 

Braised Leeks and Carrots
Braised Leeks and Carrots
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Potluck Food Safety

Summer time offers individuals opportunities for individuals to socialize with friends and family.  With these events, potlucks are often scheduled and offer participants a variety of dining choices.  Potlucks can also make other sick, unless you follow some food safety guidelines that will halp keep you and your loved ones from becoming ill. 

Easy Tips

  • Handle food safely
  • Always wash hands before and after handling food.
  • Keep the kitchen, dishes and utensils clean.
  • Always serve food on clean plates.  This also includes storage bins and coolers for transporting the food.
  • Trust your nose before preparing.  Do any of the ingredients smell a little “off?”  If so, avoid using.
  • Covering the food prior to serving will also keep the flies and other pests out of it.  Target, ACE Hardware, Lowes, Walmart, etc. all carry mesh covers for food.
  • Be aware of how your food is being handled.  Bring you own clean utensils to avoid cross contamination.
  • When prepping the food, don’t mix your sources.  Raw vegetables should never mix with raw meat in the preparation stages.  This also can lead to cross contamination.

Cook thoroughly:
Heating to the proper temperature kills the bacteria, parasites and viruses that may be on meat and fish. Using a meat thermometer, be sure that: whole poultry reaches 180 degrees; chicken breasts 170 degrees; ground turkey and poultry 165 degrees; ground beef hamburgers 160 degrees; all cuts of pork 160 degrees; beef, veal, lamb steaks, roasts and chops 160 degrees; all other meat and fish 160 degrees.

Keep it hot or cold

  • Divide cooked foods among shallow containers to store in the refrigerator or freezer until serving. This encourages rapid, even cooling. Reheat hot foods to 165 degrees.
  • Hot foods should be held at 140 degrees or warmer. Use a chafing dish, slow cooker or warming trays.
  • Cold foods should be kept at 40 degrees or colder by nesting dishes in bowls of ice. Otherwise, use small serving trays and replace them, as needed, with cold foods.

Mind the time

  • Food should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours
  • Replace empty plates rather than reuse them for a fresh serving.

I hope these suggestions help.  In the meantime, enjoy your summer!

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Eating on a budget

With the troubling economy and unemployment rates at a higher than average level, people are looking for ways to cut costs where ever they can.   Everyone needs to eat.  There are ways to cut back and make the most out of your food budget.  If you’re willing to work towards the cost savings, you can find rewards.  Investments that help make the most of your food budget include a Food saver or similar device that vacuum-packs food, food processor, and a deep freezer.

The deep freezer allows  you to hold more food in cold storage and saving it until  you need it for a longer time.  At our home, we have two of them (both were inherited).

The food processor, allows  you to make the most of the food products, pureeing them to use in soups and stocks and adding to their nutritional value and enhancing flavor.  For example, pureeing garlic or onions can add flavor to any dish.  Once pureed, place plastic wrap in an ice cube tray and add a tablespoon or more of each into one of the trays.   Cover with a zip lock bag so the odor doesn’t affect your other food items and freeze.  Once frozen, empty the tray to add more.  This can be done to carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, etc for instant mixing to other dishes.  The carrots and other items can be shredded or julienned and frozen to be added to other dishes.

The food saver helps in buying bulk and cutting it down to appropriate servings.  The culture in North American tends to lend itself to overeating.  By portioning out the food, you have enough for your family with out adding to the waistline.   My family and I will often visit a food warehouse such as Sam’s Club or CostCo and buy a large shoulder roast and cut it down to steaks or smaller roasts.  A $22 shoulder roast, can be cut down to about 36 steaks.  A single chicken, can be cut down  to 2 legs, 2 wings, 2 thighs, 2 breasts, and 1 back).  Depending on the size of your family (just you or more) you can determine the serving size.  The back can be boiled and used as chicken stock for future soups and stews.  Chickens are significantly cheaper whole then cut up.

For my vegetarian friends: Dried beans are an excellent source of fiber and protein.  Buying in bulk and zip locking distribution sizes so that you have enough.  It’s always a good idea when money is plentiful, to stock up on standard items – canned beans, dried bean, canned veggies, pasta, rice, etc.  S0 that when money is tight you have something to fall back on.

alicef.jpgCheap places to get food:

 

  1. I’ve mentioned before the grocery warehouses.  These places often require a membership fee and unless you go often, it may not be worth it.
  2. Local farmer’s markets.  I adore them.  You are buying locally and helping out independent farmers as well.
  3. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA):  By paying in, participants receive packages of fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs, and some ma received eggs, bread, dairy, and meat products.
  4. Community/Communal Gardening: By working the land, you can reap its rewards.  You can do it at home, if you have a yard, or by participate in neighborhood gardening projects.
  5. Larger grocery stores:  You don’t have to buy a paper to get the coupons.  Visit your store, or preview the sales online before venturing out.  The store’s home brand may be cheaper than the more familiar brands.  Generics are NOT always cheaper.  Take a close look at the cost per ounce, you might be surprised by costs savings.
  6. Aldi Z and other food wholesalers.  Many of the stores are cash only and you pay for the extras like bags and carts.  If you bring your own bag and shop wisely, their prices may afford you some of life’s luxuries.
  7. Smart shopping.  By buying what you need, you will have less waste for our landfills and more money in  your pocketbook.
  8. Don’t fill up on junk food.  By buying “real” food, you will feel better and so will your pocketbook.