Category: Gluten Free

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Traditional Food Preservation Techniques With A Modern Twist – Part II

Part II: Flavored Salts and Sugars, Oils, and Extracts
In the previous issue of Renaissance Magazine, I wrote about how a well-stocked pantry or larder was essential to any kitchen.  It doesn’t matter the size of the kitchen, but food preserving helped keep food longer.  In this issue, I will focus on flavor enhancements including flavored sugars, salts, oils and vinegars as well as making your own extracts.  Although some of the enhancements were not widely used until well after the Renaissance period, they can complement any dish from any time period.  In addition, they make lovely gifts to your loved ones.

Flavored Salts and Sugars
Many of us are familiar with cinnamon sugar that topped our toast.  This is a similar process, but instead of blending powdered spices with sugars and salts, an older method is to let the sugar or salts absorb a lot of the essential oils from the fresh herbs and spices.

This is a fairly easy process.  You will need a ceramic dish such as ramekins.  Place a layer of salt or sugar at the bottom of the dish.   Sweet things should be applied to the sugar (nutmeg, ginger, vanilla, clove, citrus zest, or cinnamon) and savory things would be applied to the salt (garlic, rosemary, chilies, etc.)  Place the chosen flavor on top of the bottom layer of salt or sugar and begin layering.

Once the layering is finished, place the dish in a low heat area so the flavor infuses with the salt or sugar.  Salt requires a higher heat (200 degrees) for an hour and sugar requires a lower heat (100 – 150 degrees) for two hours.  The flavoring would need to be stirred occasionally within the sugar or salt to ensure thorough blending.  Place in an airtight container and serve as needed; it is important that the flavored sugars and salts are not cooled, as it will halt the flavor from disbursing evenly.

Extracts
Like the sugars, extracts are easy to make.  Finding a sweet spice (nutmeg, ginger, vanilla, clove, citrus zest, or cinnamon) and placing it into a clean bottle that can be sealed.  The ingredients will need to be either cracked (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, or ginger) or sliced thinly (vanilla and citrus zest.  Add a strong flavorless liquor such as Everclear or Vodka and seal shut in a dark place.  The longer the combined ingredients sit sealed with occasional shaking, the stronger the extract will become. Through this process, I have made vanilla, ginger, and various citrus extracts.

Flavored Oils & Vinegars
Flavored vinegars and oils require heating the liquid before adding the herbs or spices.  By using savory herbs such as rosemary, basil, thyme, or peppers, one can create a wonderful addition to their kitchen. To begin, slowly heat the vinegar or oil.  While it heats up, chop the herbs into large pieces and add them to the mixture.  It is important that you do not let the pot boil.  By simmering it and bottling it in small amounts, it prevents waste.  The flavored oils should be chilled as they spoil very quickly and should be used within 2 – 3 weeks.  The acids in the vinegars will keep longer than the oils and can be kept for months.  The flavored vinegars make a nice addition to olive oil for dressings and marinades.

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Bubble and Squeak – A New Recipe

This past weekend we demonstrated a couple of recipes including pasties, lemon bread pudding, and bubble and squeak.  I’ve posted the pasty and lemon bread pudding recipes before and if you click on the names, you can visit those recipes. 

Bubble and Squeak on the other hand was new.  Traditionally, the vegetables are usually sautéed in bacon fat and mashed potatoes were added later, but we decided to create small patties as it would be easier to cook and eat.  This was a typical meal in England for Sunday and Monday lunches as it would use a lot of the leftovers.  Below is our recipe for Bubble and Squeak.  I am also supplying a slight deviation from the traditional recipe by using olive oil instead of bacon fat for my vegetarian/healthy option fans.

Ingredients:
2 cups of mashed potatoes
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, cut thinly along the bias
2 leaves of kale, diced
6-8 brussel sprouts, diced
Bacon fat (olive oil may be used for a vegetarian or healthier option)
Crumbled bacon (optional)
Olive oil or butter

Directions:
Begin to thinly cut up the vegetables and combine into a single bowl.  If the vegetables are cut too large, they will not be cooked thoroughly; it is recommended that they are cut rather small.  Add the mashed potatoes and stir until well blended.  If you notice the potatoes are a bit on the dry side, add some butter or olive oil.  The potatoes should be moist, but not wet.  Begin to form the mixture into patties (slightly larger than a ¼ lb. in size). 

Take your bacon fat or olive oil and add to a hot skillet or frying pan.  Once hot enough add the patties and begin to brown.  The goal is to cook and brown the patties.  Once golden brown on one side, flip and brown the other side.  Once completed, remove them and they are ready to be served.   They are best served hot, but they are still tasty when served at room temperature.

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Chocolate Chicken

This past year, my assistants and I experimented with a variety of recipes.  During chocolate and romance weekend, we developed a recipe using chocolate.  We researched various recipes using the new world ingredient – chocolate – and this is what we came up- with.  It was a delightful dish with a unique flavor, similar to mole.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, cut up        
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon anise seed
1 cup almonds or hazelnuts, chopped
1.5 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tomatoes, chopped (optional)
2 medium onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ancho powder (to taste)
sesame seeds

Preparation
Brown chicken in a medium skillet in hot oil. Remove to a large (13x9x2) cake pan or baking dish. Pour oil from skillet and add the stock. Simmer 5 minutes. Mix cocoa with vegetable oil to form a paste. Add cloves, cinnamon, anise seed, and blend. Stir spice mixture into simmering stock and simmer 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Pour mixture over the chicken parts. Cover and bake in preheated 350-degree oven until chicken is tender (around 1 to 1 1/2 hours).

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Traditional Food Preservation Techniques With A Modern Twist – Part I

Part I: Smoking and Salting Meats

Smoked Pork Shoulder


A well-stocked pantry or larder has always been essential to any kitchen.  It doesn’t matter that the kitchen is in a castle, a manor house, or ship.  A good cook knew how to make food items last over journeys aboard ships or long winters.  Below I have offered a variety of techniques to keep your food longer.  Many of these techniques can be used to create fantastic dishes and wonderful gifts to your loved ones.

Smoking Meats
Smoking meats were another way of preserving them.  Unlike the salting process, smoking adds a tastier element to the meat. As a note, I feel safer eating smoked versus salted meats.  Smoking meats require a lot less time than the salting process, so the rewards come quicker. Basically it comes to hours versus days. Although salting has been around for centuries, I grew up with smoked meats and still enjoy them today.

The process is quite easy; obtain wood chips (found in the same location as the charcoal briquettes) and soak them overnight in water.  Once done, place the soaked wood chips in the bottom of the pot or tray.

Continue reading “Traditional Food Preservation Techniques With A Modern Twist – Part I”

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Recipe for Romance

The tales of love and romance are not a modern one. The earliest tales of romantic work can be traced to the Acritic songs from the Byzantium Empire. These songs were introduced to the French and Italian knights during the occupation after the 4th crusade and influenced their songs and stories. Similar traditions existed in Northern Europe and were in the form of great epic sagas and took place in exotic locations, usually having mythological elements and dangerous quests.

The earliest medieval romances dealt heavily with themes from folklore, which diminished over time. During the early 13th century romances were increasingly written as prose.  As these romances gained popular favor, clerical critics of the late middle ages thought that romances were harmful worldly distractions from more religious or moral works.  By the 17th century, many secular readers would agree with the religious leaders, as they felt romantic stories were trite and childish.

Continue reading “Recipe for Romance”