From the May 2010 Renaissance Magazine by Alice the Cook Over the past year, I have presented readers with various period appropriate entree and side dish recipes ranging from stews, roasts, soups, and pasties. I have used most meats and through in some vegetarian options as well. These recipes encourage you, the reader, to create the recipes in your own home and to share them with family and friends. Fans have approached me and asked about desserts. They want to go to a dinner or a potluck and want to bring something unexpected and yet tasty.
My assistant, Nicholas, and I thought long and hard about what to make. Many of the desserts during the Renaissance required a lot more work as many of the ingredients are not readily available in modern markets or even culinary specialty shops. Items like almond milk (milk boiled with hand-ground almonds) and rosewater were used to either sweeten or enhance the flavors of the dish being made. Liqueurs were added as well, but we wanted to keep this recipe somewhat simple, yet different, and that won’t scare your friends too much. I’ve included a brief overview of the history of desserts along with a recipe that Nicholas and I have enjoyed for years.
This is the latest article from Renaissance Magazine. It offers a great recipe for a side dish that is perfect for Thanksgiving that can be altered for the vegetarian family members. Don’t let the name fool you, the vegetarian version is just as tasty.
Autumn is in full swing and soon the weather will cool and summon winter to come forth. The fall and winter months herald several holidays that celebrate family, togetherness, and love. The holidays also bring forth family feasts that help solidify relationships with family and friends.
As a child, my family’s holiday dinners usually consisted of the standard roast turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, and stuffing. As an adult who likes to show off their culinary skills, I tend to cook less 20th century traditional recipes and cook more historical dishes; one of which is Sausage Hash.
Food image is credited to: Bill Moss, Moss Fotografica
This particular dish is a favorite among my family and friends and is extremely versatile and easy to make. It can be used as a breakfast dish, a side item for a holiday dinner, or as an entrée. During the holidays, I have been known to prepare this dish in mass quantities, package them up, and give them as gifts to my close friends, one of whom has been known to eat several pounds of this tasty treat in one setting.
This dish can also be altered for vegetarians or those who keep Kosher or Halal, as you will see from the recipe.
Ingredients:
Approximately 2 lbs of course ground country-style pork sausage or vegetarian sausage crumbles (Morning Star Farms has a great product – if using the vegetarian sausage, 3 TB of olive oil will be needed)
1 large onion or 3 leeks (a mild onion flavored vegetable), diced
2 lbs of carrots, thick julienned (size of twig or finger, but not matchstick sized)
1 lb of sweet potatoes, peeled and thick julienned
3 lbs of red potatoes, thick julienned
4 gloved of garlic, minced
2 sprigs of rosemary
Fistful of fresh chives, minced and divided
Kosher or sea salt (to taste)
Black pepper (to taste)
Using a large pot, begin to sauté the sausage on medium heat to brown. While sautéing, break the sausage up into smaller pieces and add the onions and the garlic. The higher end sausage such as farm made, Amish made, or home made sausage is best, but standard course ground sausage may be used as well. Avoid using Italian or spicy sausage blends as it alters the flavor. Additional spices or hot sauces can be added after serving to suit individual tastes. Instead of the pork-based sausage, vegetarians or those trying to cut back the fat content, can sauté the vegetarian sausage in the olive oil to brown.
When the sausage with the onions and garlic has begun to brown, add the carrots and potatoes, stirring occasionally. If you notice the pan has a low fat content, add a cup of water to assist in the cooking process. When the potatoes and the carrots are nearly tender, remove the rosemary from the stems and add half of the chives. Continue stirring to blend the ingredients. Add a couple of pinches of salt and pepper to taste. It is important that table salt is not used in this dish and only sea or Kosher salt is used.
When the vegetables are fork tender, pull off the heat while continuing to stir. The left over chives should be used as a garnish sprinkled on top of the hash after serving.
This recipe can be duplicated as a vegetable hash by leaving out the meat or vegetarian sausage, and sautéing the same vegetables in the olive oil until fork tender. This makes a colorful side dish for any family dinner or special event.
This past season and year have been amazing. First, I became the official food writer for “Renaissance Magazine.”
Second, despite the weather, the appearance at Siouxland was well worth it between the demonstrations and cookbook sales. The cold and rainy weather did not diminish our spirits!
Third, we experienced some amazing weather at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. There was no rain until final weekend. The demos went well, fed an average of 100 people each day, amd sold more cookbooks. Also, the community kitchen in which we help feed the cast members, were nominated and received the “Best Group Award” in 2009 at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. We were touched by everyone’s generosity and kindness; we couldn’t have done it without your help.
I almost forgot to add that I also won a $100 gift certificate for my website as part of a Passion and Quality campaign.
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.
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.”
Below is the recipe as it appears in the May issue of Renaissance Magazine.
Oxtail dishes are found across cultures. From Northern Europe, across the British Isles, Ottoman Empire, Mediterranean, Arabic, and Far Eastern cultures have all used oxtail in a variety of dishes. Some dishes were primarily delicacies, but secondarily offered homeopathic cures to various ailments including back and hip pain.
The Chinese added shredded cabbage mushrooms, and carrots, among other vegetables to provide a heart stew. Arabic and Mediterranean cultures added tomatoes and chickpeas, while European cultures, including Italy even added wine or brandy to the dish during the post-Restoration period.
Oxtails were once inexpensive, but with their increased use in many cuisines, the price of oxtails has become expensive. Asian grocery stores offer oxtails at about a third of the cost of main stream grocery stores.
The dish below is hearty and alcohol was not added as I wanted to keep the dish true to its original roots in Britannia. This is a favorite among my male friends as oxtails, when cooked properly, can take on a prime rib flavor and texture.
Oxtail Soup
Oxtail Soup
Ingredients: 3 lbs of oxtails
1 lbs of beef shoulder soup bones.
2 lbs red potatoes, thinly sliced
3 parsnips, peeled and shredded
1 lbs of leeks, cut into rings
3 sprigs of rosemary
1/4 cup of butter or oil
2 lbs carrots, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small can of tomato paste (optional)
Kosher or sea salt
Black pepper
Begin preparing the dish by adding the beef shoulder bones in a large pot with enough water to cover the bones and add 1 tsp of sea or kosher salt. Bring items to a boil for a half an hour. Remove and dispose of the bones and reserve the broth.
Heat oil or melt butter in a different soup pot. Once heated, add the oxtails to brown and slowly add the leeks and garlic; continuing to cook. Once browned, add enough of the new broth to cover the cover the oxtails by an additional 3 inches, water may be added to increase the amount of liquid. At this moment, one may add optional tomato paste. Let cook for 1 hour and stir occasionally. After an hour, remove the soup bones, but leave in the oxtails. Begin adding the potatoes, carrots and rosemary. Cook for an additional 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
This dish is very rich and if one’s constitution prefers a less rich version, one may choose to put the soup in a cooler and remove the excess fat from the top before reheating. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 6-8.
The photograph, prepared by Chris Olsen, was presented this way as it was more appealing than a bowl of soup. Traditionally, this dish is served in a bowl with vegetables, broth, and all.
in some vegetarian options as well. These recipes encourage you, the reader, to create the recipes in your own home and to share them with family and friends. Fans have approached me and asked about desserts. They want to go to a dinner or a potluck and want to bring something unexpected and yet tasty.
orth it between the demonstrations and cookbook sales. The cold and rainy weather did not diminish our spirits!
