Weekend Cooking: Chicken Fricassee, White

Two Septembers ago I entered and came in third in an apple pie contest at Old Sturbridge Village (the next year I won the contest!) – and as part of my prize I received a copy of the Old Sturbridge Village Cookbook. Although I had it for almost 2 years, I still hadn’t made anything from this book, so this week I decided to change that.

This book is a different sort of historical cookbook. Each recipe typically has 3 separate recipes: the original recipe from the 1800’s from The American Frugal Housewife, a modern cooking method, and also a hearthside method. The recipes from Frugal Housewife are the types of recipes that are prepared at Old Sturbridge Village.

Chicken Fricassee, White
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
3 lb whole chicken, or parts (I just used chicken breasts)
Large onion (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 ½ cups hot water or broth (I used chicken broth)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon mace
1 tablespoon sage or marjoram
2 egg yolks
¼ cup cream (I used light cream)
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Juice of ½ a lemon

Original Directions: (from The American Frugal Housewife, 1832)

“The chickens are cut to pieces, and covered with warm water, to draw out the blood. Then put into a stew-pan, with three quarters of a pint of water, or veal broth, salt, pepper, flour, butter, mace, sweet herbs pounded and sifted; boil in half an hour. If it is too fat, skim it a little. Just before it is done, mix the yolk of two eggs with a gill of cream, grate in a little nutmeg, stir it up till it is thick and smooth, squeeze in half a lemon. If you like onions, stew some slices with the other ingredients.”

Modern Directions:
1) Cut chicken into small pieces (soak in warm water only if freshly killed). If desired, cut onion into thin slices.

2) In a large skillet or flame-proof casserole, melt butter and add flour to make a paste. Stir in hot water or broth, and continue stirring until it thickens. Add chicken, onion if desired, salt, pepper, mace, and sage or marjoram. Cook for 30-45 minutes in all. Before serving, skim fat if necessary.

3) Just before serving, beat egg yolks, and add cream and nutmeg. Pour slowly into chicken and sauce. Squeeze lemon over all and heat through, but do not boil.

I can’t even tell you how good this dish was. We had it over white rice, but it would also have been very good over a small pasta, like orzo. The spice combination was very different than what I usually have on chicken. My fiancé was the one who made this dish and he said it was very easy to prepare – the most difficult part was making the rue, which isn’t terribly difficult. It was nice to have something that tasted like it was harder to make on a week night.

I thought the part from the traditional recipe about covering the chicken in warm water to draw out the blood was an interesting touch!

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Any post remotely related to cooking can participate.

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

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Weekend Cooking–Great Depression Cooking with Clara

So I have been seeing Tweets over the past week or so from Kate Kerrigan (@katekerrigan), author of Ellis Island and the just released City of Hope, about cooking in the Great Depression.  See Tweets below:

Kerrigan’s new book is set in the 1930’s and Depression cooking must be an aspect she explores in the book (haven’t read it yet but will be in a week or so).  These Tweets made me curious and I clicked on the links to check out where this cooking was coming from.  And that is when I discovered Great Depression Cooking with Clara!

This is a series of Youtube videos featuring Clara making some of her favorite recipes her mother used to make them during the Depression.  Her grandson put the videos together as a way to remember the cooking because Clara is in her 90’s.  She also gives a little bit of personal history about what was going on during that time or memories the recipe evokes.  Not only was it interesting to see what they ate during the Depression (which was actually heartier than what I had originally been led to believe) but it actually provides us with cheap and relatively nutritious meals that could be served today when money is tight.  The below video is about pizza, but you can watch the whole Season 1 and Season 2 playlists.

With the success of the videos a cookbook was born called Clara’s Kitchen: Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes from the Great Depression.   Like her videos, her recipes tell a story as well as tell you how to cook it.  You can read an excerpt on the Amazon page.  I don’t own this book yet, but I just might pick it up!

I think I will be trying out Clara’s Egg Drop Soup this week and if I do, it will hopefully be up in next weekend’s edition of Weekend Cooking.

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

 

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Any post remotely related to cooking can participate.

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

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Weekend Cooking: Martha Washington’s Great Cake

This being President’s Day Weekend I thought it would be appropriate to do a First Family themed Weekend Cooking post. 

I first came across mention of this recipe while reading The Winter of Red Snow from the Dear America diary series.  In this book the main character, Abigail learns of this cake that Martha Washington was making for the officers in the Valley Forge camp, but she didn’t know all the ingredients/directions all she remembered was that there were 40 eggs!  Now I found this interesting because in my head I was thinking 2 things: 1. That cake must have been the size of one of those cakes you see people pop out of! 2. That must have been more of a custard if it was normal size due to all those eggs!

Well with a little digging I found the recipe for this cake.  I am not making the cake because, honestly, who can afford 40 eggs just to try out a cake!  A co-worker of mine just started raising chickens, and if I could get 40 eggs off of him I might try this at some point in the future and share it with my co-workers because I’m sure it would be huge.  You have to imagine that this would likely have been something that only the wealthy could make, because as Abigail’s mother points out in the book, a common person couldn’t afford to waste 40 eggs (not to mention the other ingredients) on a cake.  According to the Mount Vernon website – this was usually made as a celebratory cake – and Martha served this at the Yuletide festivities at Mount Vernon the Christmas following Washington farewell from office. 

With regard to taste and texture: “The end result was a risen cake similar to pannetone, the Italian delicacy that lies somewhere between a cake and bread in texture and is also commonly eaten at Christmas. However Martha Washington's Great Cake would have had a denser texture than pannetone and contained greater quantities of fruit and spice than the Italian sweet” (Mount Vernon website).

However, here is the recipe for your viewing pleasure. 

Copy of the Martha’s actual recipe as penned by her granddaughter

Martha Washington’s Great Cake
Makes 1 Cake

Ingredients:
40 eggs (divide whites from yolks)
4 lbs. butter
4 lbs. sugar
5 lbs. flour
5 lbs. fruit
Half ounce mace (1 Tablespoon)
Half ounce nutmeg (1 Tablespoon)
Half pint wine (1 cup)
Fresh brandy

Directions:

1) Take 40 eggs and divide the whites from the yolks and beat them to a froth.
2) Work 4 pounds of butter to a cream and put the whites of the eggs into it a spoonful at a time until it is worked in.
3) Then put the 4 pounds of sugar into it in the same manner, then add the yolks, 5 pounds of flour, and 5 pounds of fruit.
4) Bake for 2 hours over a medium heat.
5) Add to it half an ounce of mace and nutmeg, half a pint of wine, and some fresh brandy.

Photo Credit: Mount Vernon Ladies Association for Christmas at Mount Vernon event

Some notes:

• The cake made by the Mount Vernon staff (as pictured above) follows the original recipe, however it does not specify the types and quantities of fruit.  They use: 2 pounds raisins, 1 pound currants, and 2 pounds of apples.
• The staff also bakes the cake in 2 14-inch round cake pans and bakes for 1.5 hours at 350 degrees. 
• The icing they use is a stiff egg-white icing flavored with rosewater or orange flower water.

Also, I guess the cake isn’t as large as I imagined!

 

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and any post remotely related to cooking can partake!

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

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Weekend Cooking: Vegetable Marrow Farci

This past week I made my most exciting historical cookbook purchase to date – Last Dinner on the Titanic. In the past I have seen replicas of Titanic menus and always wondered how awesome would it be to have the opportunity to try some of these foods – well now I can!

The Last Dinner on the Titanic provides a wealth of information about dining on the Titanic.  All of the recipes provided are based on the actual options available on the menu during the last dinner on board Titanic.  There is information about each of the class’s dining rooms and descriptions of the type of foods served. The food served even aboard steerage sound pretty good. They also provide information about how to pull together a recreated last dinner on board Titanic – complete with menu, beverage choices, suggestions of when to begin your cooking, linens to use etc. There also are suggestions of how you can modify the menus for modern tastes and also ease of purchasing ingredients. I will be using this cookbook for a long time.

The first recipe that I chose is from the First Class menu – Vegetable Marrow Farci – which I had no idea what that was. This would have represented a 4^th course entrée on the last dinner aboard Titanic before she struck the iceberg. In case you have never heard of vegetable marrow (which I had not), it is a relative of the zucchini. According to food.com – vegetable marrow “has a very bland flavor and can be stuffed with meat stuffing. Best when eaten young and not over boiled. Vegetable marrow has a sweet and nutty flavor”. I selected this recipe because we were looking for a meatless dish.

Vegetable Marrow Farci
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 vegetable marrow (or 2 large zucchini)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped red onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 ½ cups button mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2/3 cup cooked rice
¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Fresh basil

Directions:
1) Halve the marrow lengthwise; scoop out the flesh with a spoon leaving ¼ inch shell. Discard large seeds. Chop scooped flesh into small dice and reserve.
2) In skillet, heat oil over medium heat; add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 7 to 8 minutes or until softened and lightly browned. Stir in basil, oregano, reserved marrow, and tomato paste. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes; increase heat to high and add mushrooms. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until vegetables are well browned; stir in vinegar. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Stir in rice, salt, pepper, and 3 tablespoons of cheese.
3) Spoon into hollowed vegetables, packing lightly with back of a spoon. Sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs and remaining cheese; drizzle with butter. Place in a greased baking dish in a 350°F oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until marrow is fork-tender and topping is well browned.
4) To serve, slice marrow diagonally in 3-inch slices. Garnish with fresh basil.

Traditionalists would use vegetable marrow and short-grain rice – however I followed the substitutions and used zucchinis and white rice (you can also use sushi rice or long-grain rice just fine). I eliminated the mushrooms, because neither my boyfriend nor I like them. I also would advocate using slightly less red wine vinegar. I used about 1 ½ tablespoons and it was still a little more vinegary than I would have liked.

This dish came out so delicious – my boyfriend has requested that we have this frequently when we decide to make a meatless dish. The zucchini came out so tender and the filling was delicate and tasty. If you wanted to add chicken it would easily mix in for some added protein.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Any post remotely related to cooking can participate.

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

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Weekend Cooking: War Cake

So some of you will have noticed that I have been re-reading/reading for the first time some of the Dear America diaries. Since I have been listening to them on audio book I didn’t remember that there were all kinds of extra historical content at the back of the books. Usually I peruse the Scholastic website to find the historical recipes that they have for certain books, but they didn’t cover the book I was looking for, My Secret War by Mary Pope Osborne (they primarily are only featuring the books that have been re-released since 2011). So I went over to Amazon and with their Look Inside feature I was able to access all the back pages with the historical content and found a recipe for War Cake.

As My Secret War is set on the home-front of the United States during World War II one of the aspects that is featured in the book is rationing. War Cake is a recipe that took into account the rations that were in place at the time. War Cakes came in many varieties. This version uses less sugar (because apparently sugarcane could be converted into gunpowder somehow) and also doesn’t use eggs or milk. I have heard from a co-worker whose wife makes a War Cake for her history class that her recipe uses bacon grease because that was something that was save due to rations on butter and oil.

War Cake
Makes 1 Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
1 cup raisins
2 Tbsp. butter/margarine
1Tbsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cloves
1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an 8”x4” (loaf pan).
2)  Place brown sugar, water, raisins, margarine, cinnamon, and cloves in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and cook gently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool until mixture is lukewarm.
3)  Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
4)  Add flour mixture to the cooled sugar mixture, beating until the batter is smooth. Stir in the walnuts.
5)  Spread evenly in the baking pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto the rack to cool completely.

Recipe from My Secret War by Mary Pope Osborn, pg 178.

I have to say that my boyfriend was NOT interested in me making this cake. He certainly didn’t want to eat anything that had less or none of the ingredients that make a cake the “way it should be”. So initially I gave in to make boxed Halloween Fun-Fetti cake, except guess what, we had no eggs! So War Cake it was (which because of the rationing didn’t require eggs!)

Also, apparently I read the recipe wrong and used an 8”x8” baking pan, so they came out more like bars than bread but came out good none the less. Use a little less time (about 15-20 minutes) if you use the square baking pan.

I was pleasantly surprised by this cake. I don’t typically like raisins or walnuts in deserts but it really make the cake. It had a spice cake flavor which was nice. I topped the cake with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting which enhanced the flavor. My boyfriend even liked it. He said that he wouldn’t ask for it for his birthday but would eat it if it was made. So I guess that is a decent endorsement considering how against the cake he was. An interesting experiment in wartime rationing (I would never have eaten the bacon grease one I described earlier, and I sent this War Cake recipe home with my co-worker for his wife!).

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and any post remotely related to cooking can partake!

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

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Weekend Cooking: Pumpkin Bread & Giveaway!!

Wow it has been quite awhile since I participated in Weekend Cooking – although I have sure been doing a lot of it! This weekend is special because besides a wonderful recipe I have a giveaway too – stay tuned to the end of the post!

One of the things I love about living near Old Sturbridge Village is that there is a large section of historical cooking recipe books. One of my favorite publishers is Bear Wallow Books. They are a publisher of old fashioned recipe books and the recipes that I have tried from them have been very good. Apparently they got their start when a University historian was doing research and collecting historical recipes. You can visit their website to see all that they offer – however they don’t sell their books directly online – you usually can find them in museum gift shops or through this gift shop online: Abel’s Apple Acres. I think I’m going to be starting a collection of all of them and will share some of the recipes here. I also really love that they are inexpensive – usually between $3-$5.

Each book either focuses on a specific ingredient, such as pumpkin, or style of cooking, such as Native American or woodstove. The introduction section gives tips and tricks to working with the ingredient and some historical background. The Pumpkin book I am using gives information about the first pumpkin pie and how to make your own pumpkin pulp.

As we speak I have a loaf of pumpkin bread in the oven. The smell is so inviting and totally embraces the season. Such a simple recipe I can imagine it being made by farmers during the fall.

Pumpkin Bread
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup cooked pumpkin, or canned pumpkin
¼ cup water

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) Sift first 4 ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
3) In a separate bowl blend sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin, and water.
4) Add to the flour mixture and mix well.
5) Pour into a greased, floured 9x5 inch loaf pan and back for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack

I’m not a fan of pumpkin typically – I definitely cannot stand pumpkin pie – but I really liked this bread. It was so simple to make. The bread came out moist and tender, with a slight crisp to the crust. There was just enough pumpkin taste to flavor it but not be over-powering and strong. It reminds me of a really good banana or zucchini bread. I would HIGHLY recommend this bread. And even better topped with a little bit of cream cheese!

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and any post remotely related to cooking can partake!

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Ok now on to the giveaway – I have a set of two recipe books from the Bear Wallow Books collection to offer as a giveaway – Old Fashioned Pumpkin Recipes and Old Fashioned Apple Recipes. I picked these up at Old Sturbridge Village and thought they would be perfect for the season and you will still have the whole month of November to make some of these wonderful recipes. Open to the USA and Canada. Ends October 27th. Just enter the Rafflecopter below to register your chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway





Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

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Weekend Cooking: Artichoke and Asiago Phyllo Cups

I haven’t posted a Weekend Cooking in quite a few weeks.  We sort of fell of the bandwagon here with our historical cooking.  It has been so crazy busy with both of us having finals for school, working on papers, going to work, etc.  But we did manage to make a little appetizer this week that I got from the Entertaining Newport cookbook. 

This recipe, Artichoke and Asiago Phyllo Cups, comes from the menu section on Wine Tasting in the Garden from The Elms.  The Newport Mansions host a Wine and Food Festival every year this year it is September 21-23, 2012 on the grounds of Marble House.  There will be a tasting of over 100 wines, appetizers, and appearances by famous chefs including Emeril.  I might think of taking a trip out here because it is the week after my birthday.  If you want more information here is the website for the Newport Food and Wine Festival.

Photo Credit

Artichoke and Asiago Phyllo Cups
Makes 30 Appetizers

Ingredients:
18 oz. marinated artichoke hearts, drained
¾ cup freshly grated asiago cheese
½ teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 oz cream cheese, softened
2 (15 count) packages of mini phyllo shells
¼ cup freshly grated asiago cheese
Fresh thyme for garnish

Directions:
1) Combine the artichokes, ¾ cup asiago cheese, garlic salt, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender.  Process until the artichokes are finely chopped.  Add the cream cheese and process until blended.
2) Fill the pyllo shells with the artichoke mixture.  Arrange on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with the remaining asiago cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. 
3) Arranges the cups on a platter and garnish cups with thyme sprig.  Serve hot.

Ok, these were good, but not exactly what I expected and I would probably make a few changes the next time I make them.  First of all – WAY too much asiago cheese.  That was all you could taste and it is a strong cheese – I like this cheese but in smaller amounts.  I would cut the ¾ cup to probably ½ and make up the difference with parmesan.  Also, I think we blended too long so it was more whipped and I would have preferred it to be a little thicker – maybe a little more cream cheese.  They were good, but needed less asiago for sure.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Any post remotely related to cooking can participate.

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

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Weekend Cooking: Review of Entertaining Newport Style

This week for Weekend Cooking I thought I would do something a little different – review one of my historical cookbooks!  Mostly, I didn’t have any time this week to do any historical cooking.  Several of the recipes that I have made for this feature have come from Entertaining Newport Style and I have made many others from it over the years, so I feel most qualified to review this one. 

               
        Entertaining Newport Style
        The Preservation Society of Newport County
         Favorite Recipes Press
         2005
         142 pages
         93 recipes

 

This is so much more than just a cookbook. 

The pictures included inside of the Newport mansions are absolutely stunning.  A visual experience as well as a tasting experience.  

The recipes are broken down by mansions and theme.  So for example there is a tea party menu at Marble House.  The themed menus include: Lunch Inside the Great Hall; Cocktails and Canapés on the Loggia; French-Inspired Formal Dinner Party; Tea Party; Wicker Basket Picnic on a Boat; Holiday Open House; Wine Tasting in the Garden; White Ball: Dinner and Dancing; Garden Party Under the Tent; Casual Outdoor Barbecue; Housewarming; Weekend Brunch Breakfast; and Children’s Birthday Party.  As you can see, this book includes recipes you could pretty much use for all occasions you will encounter.  You have the option of making an entire menu with all of the planning work done for you or just selecting the items you want to make.  The recipes also cover appetizers, drinks, main dishes, side dishes, and deserts.

This book would be for your average experienced cook.  Some of the recipes can be quite complex, such as Pan-Seared Georges Bank Sea Scallops with White Truffle Aioli, or quite easy, such as Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Egg Salad (one of my favorites!).  But there is a nice mix and more fall toward the easy to average side. 

Aside from the recipes, themed menus, and gorgeous pictures, this book provides sidebars with tidbits of information.  As you encounter each of the mansions (and gardens) you are provided with historical information about the mansions and usually information related to that mansion and the themed menu or event included in that section.  There are also other helpful sidebars such as: Fleur de Lis napkin folding instructions; How to make easy holiday potpourri; Choosing stemware; International rules of croquet; and Buffet fold napkin folding instructions. 

As you can see, this cookbook provides an incredible experience of food, travel, and tips of all kinds.  I would highly recommend this cookbook, almost everything I have made from it has been exquisite (I would however not recommend the Smoked Salmon Mousse on Toast Points!  See my Weekend Cooking post for that experience.)

You can purchase the book at the Newport Mansions website.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Any post remotely related to cooking can participate.

 

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

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Weekend Cooking: Shepherd’s Pie

I have made a couple of recipes from Tatiana’s Table by Paullina Simons and have enjoyed them so far.  Also, one of my favorite dishes growing up was Shepherd’s Pie – however not a favorite of my boyfriend.  As I looked through the recipe included in this collection it seemed a little better put together than some of the others I have tried and couldn’t wait to make it.  The recipes in this book are inspired by The Bronze Horseman Trilogy and the little vignettes and snippets included in this “cookbook” add to the trilogy.  While I have only read book 1 in the series, I believe that the Shepherd’s Pie recipe would have been chronologically from Tatiana and Alexander, book 2.  Let me know if this is wrong!

Shepherd’s Pie
4 hearty servings

Ingredients
1/8 cup butter
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. ground beef sirloin
1/8 cup tomato paste
3 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup red wine (we used merlot)
Salt & pepper to taste
2-4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
2 lbs. prepared mashed potatoes
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
4 oz. shredded Monterey Jack (or other hard mild cheese)
1/8 cup breadcrumbs

Directions
1) In a large skillet heat butter on medium high and brown onion, then add garlic for 30 seconds.  Add ground beef and brown. 
2) Turn down heat slightly and add tomato paste and flour.  Stir until fully absorbed in the meat.  Add Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, beef stock and red wine, mix, and simmer uncovered.  Add carrots and simmer on low 10 minutes.
3) Add corn, stir, and continue cooking.  Add a small amount of water if need more liquid.  Mixture should be thick and not runny.
4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spoon mixture into a casserole dish (we used a 8x8 with deep sides).  Arrange mashed potatoes on top.  Sprinkle with cheeses and breadcrumbs.  Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

The recipe above has been cut in half from the original.  If you need to serve a larger crowd just double every ingredient.  As you can see from the photo (one hearty serving) the above recipe could easily feed 4-6 people, depending on your portioning. 

Another variation that I took was I used red wine where you could have alternatively used beer.  We happen to have wine in the house and I have always like the flavor of merlot with beef.  I frequently use it in gravy and it gave this recipe a great taste.

This really was probably the best Shepherd’s Pie I have had yet.  A nice thick layer of mashed potatoes and a wonderful gravy.  My boyfriend even approved and we left not a scrap on our plates.  I would highly recommend this recipe!

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Any post remotely related to cooking can participate.

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

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Weekend Cooking: Tea Sandwiches

We went to a tea party event about a year ago and I LOVED the tea sandwiches that they had there and have wanted to make something similar pretty much since the event ended. I finally decided that today was the day and I was going to use two recipes from the Entertaining Newport cookbook – they held teas all the time, they must have perfected the recipe!

The Tea House is in the lower left with Marble House in the background

Here is a little historical tidbit about Newport and tea parties. Marble House, one of the beautiful Newport Mansions, has a Chinese Tea House on its grounds – which I honestly don’t remember seeing when I toured it, but rest assured it is there. You can even host social or business events there today if you have the funds!

Close up of the Tea House

The Tea House was formally opened on July 25, 1914 and for the next 3 years it served as a local rallying point for the “Votes for Women” movement. Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt Belmont and her daughter Consuelo, 9th Duchess of Marlborough, were vocal supporters of the women’s suffrage movement. She even had special china ordered with the motto “Votes for Women” emblazoned on it. The tea house was closed in 1917 when Mrs. Belmont left the property to never return to the home again.

Some Votes for Women replicas in the Mansion store

Here are a couple of the recipes that accompany this section:

Cucumber Sandwiches
Makes 12 sandwiches

Ingredients
2-3 Tablespoons butter, softened
8 extra-thin slices brown bread or canned brown bread
2/3 cup goat cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1 English cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

Directions
1) Spread a thin layer of the butter over 1 side of each bread slice
2) Combine the goat cheese, cream cheese, and onion in a bowl and mix well. Spread over the butter on 4 bread slices.
3) Divide the cucumber evenly among the 4 bread slices. Top with the remaining 4 bread slices
4) Trim the crusts from the sandwiches, and cut each sandwich into 3 fingers or your desired shape.

Smoked Salmon Mousse on Toast Points
Makes 20

Ingredients
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 Tablespoons cold water
¾ cup sour cream
8 oz fresh salmon, poached and flaked
2 teaspoons grated horseradish
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Buttered toast points – white or pumpernickel bread

Directions
1) To prepare the mousse, sprinkle gelatin over water in a heavy 1 quart saucepan and let soften for 1 minute. Cook over low heat, stirring, until gelatin is dissolved.
2) Add ¼ cup sour cream and cook over low heat, whisking constantly to prevent clumping, about 3 minutes.
3) Transfer to a bowl and stir in salmon, horseradish, dill, salt, pepper, and remaining ½ cup sour cream. Chill, covered, until firm, about 1 hour.
4) Serve on buttered toast points and garnish with fresh dill

Okay, for us one of these was a hit and the other a total miss. I loved the Cucumber Sandwiches. The only change that I made to the recipe was to use a French baguette instead of brown bread as I’m not a fan of brown bread and had them as individual sandwiches. My boyfriend doesn’t like cucumbers so he had them with just the spread and we both enjoyed them immensely. The spread itself would even be good on a bagel in the morning – we have leftovers and that is what I am planning on doing with them.

The Salmon Mousse was a real miss. First of all, where is the “smoked” in the recipe? I bought smoked salmon to solve that problem. Second, it didn’t come out like a mousse at all. A mousse is supposed to be light and airy, again another problem here since it is nothing like that. The gelatin was weird, however I tried it. It tasted like sour cream and chunks of salmon – nothing like a mouse. Next time I think I will use the same spread as the cucumber sandwiches and just add the flakes of salmon on top of the spread. That would have been very good, and I should have just listened to my first impression when I saw the gelatin. Neither of us enjoyed this sandwich.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Any post remotely related to cooking can participate.




Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

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Weekend Cooking: Baked Apples

Happy weekend all! Man is it going by fast! I just wanted to throw a quick line out there that I have been EXTREMELY busy over the last week (and probably the next two weeks as well) with school and overtime at work so I may not be responding as much around here or on your blogs as I would like, but I am still reading all your comments and filling my reader with articles to go back to later!

Ok, on to the actual cooking!

This weekend I have pulled from an entirely different and unexpected historical source. I have been reading the Dear America diaries recently and found that on the Scholastic companion site for these books some of the recently re-released books have recipes to go along with the stories. Only one of the books I have read so far has recipes, but as they re-release books they have been adding to their site. You can check out all of their historical recipes here.

The book I read was Dear America: The Winter of Red Snow - The Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 and the recipe I chose was Baked Apples. According to the Scholastic site, baked apples would only have been served during late summer or autumn, when apples, were readily available, but I couldn't wait that long!

Baked Apples
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 large apples
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup currants or raisins
1 Tablespoon butter
¾ cup boiling water

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash the apples and remove the cores to 1/2 inch of the bottom of the apples. Use a spoon to dig out any seeds. Make the holes about an inch wide.

2) In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and currants/raisins. Place the apples in an 8" by 8" baking pan. Stuff each apple with the sugar mixture. Top each apple with 1/4 tablespoon of butter. Add the boiling water to the baking pan.

3) Bake the apples for 30 to 40 minutes, until tender but not mushy. Remove the apples from the oven and baste the apples several times with the pan juice.

4) Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on the side.

We used currants in our take on this and only made 2 apples.  Our batch didn't have any pan juices at the end, it was just water, so I didn't baste them afterward.  Maybe when we cut down the recipe we did too much as the mixture didn't overflow the apples and create a tasty juice, however the apples were still very good.  The currants and pecans were a nice added touch I have never had in baked apples before.  We went with the currants to try something more traditional and different from what we would normally have.

I would recommend the 40 minutes if you use large apples as at 30 minutes they were only soft for about half of the apples.  I also have always been taught to remove a peel of skin from around the entire apple to prevent them from exploding when they expand, and although this recipe didn't say to do that, their picture on the site looked like they did, so I did anyway.  And of course I forgot to buy ice cream so I was a little disappointed, but the apples were still great themselves.

A great quick and relatively healthy snack option for you and your family.


Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Any post remotely related to cooking can participate.





Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

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Weekend Cooking: Grilled Marinated Lime Chicken

Welcome to Weekend Cooking everyone. Hope you have had an enjoyable one so far. I have a wonderful chicken recipe to share with you to day from Provisions and Politics: Recipes Honoring First Lady Sarah Childress Polk.

This would be a wonderful recipe to cook out on the grill during the summer months, but it cooked up just as well on the grilling pan in our kitchen.

Polk White House Dessert Plate

First, a little historical tidbit about Sarah Polk – did you know that she curbed drinking at White House dinners? Many people mistakenly believe that drinking was banned, but this isn’t quite correct. She prohibited the drinking of hard spirits but wine was still allowed with dinner – and they kept quite the stocked wine cellar too!

Grilled Marinated Lime Chicken
Serves 6

Ingredients:
6 small chicken breasts
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup cider vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of ½ large lemon
3 Tablespoons sweet course grain mustard
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 medium garlic cloves, crushed
6 Tablespoons olive oil
Pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Mix brown sugar, vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and garlic in bowl. Whisk in the olive oil and pepper. Place marinade and chicken breasts in a large zipper bag or bowl, turn to coat, cover, and refrigerate overnight or 8-12 hours.
2) Drain marinade from chicken and let stand at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes. Grill the chicken until cooked through, turning once.

This chicken came out perfect. Since we were cooking our chicken indoors, we hammered it out thin so it would cook a little faster. The taste was just slightly sweet and it made a nice glazed outside to the chicken. We served it over rice and garnished with a little oregano. Wonderful chicken marinade that I would make again and again.


Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Any post remotely related to cooking can participate.





Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

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