Today’s meeting was based on the theme of “pie” since it was March (though we were late for March 14, popularly known as “pi day” because it is 3.14 if you use the American calendar system). I made the chicken and grape pie from the Big Buttes Book, written by my friend Michelle Enzinas (The Big Buttes Book. The original recipe is found in A Book of Cookrye (1591). It was interesting.
The pie crust was a bit frustrating as I was at the tail end of my flour supply, but had just enough to eke out a double crust. The filling had a nice mix of savory and tart. I was concerned that the chicken would be overwhelmed because the recipe called for 3 lb of chicken (or 2 1/2 cups). I went with 2 1/2 cups, which was much less than 3 lb. It made a smaller pie than Michelle had pictured in her book; it also meant I had too much of the verjus and egg yolk mixture, so the crust is yellow as a result. I wasn’t sure about the rose water and sugar topping either; Jane didn’t like it, but I thought it was actually okay.
John made a tourtiere based on a recipe from Livre fort excellent de Cuysine (with a bit of inspiration from his family tourtiere recipe), as well as two kinds of apple tart. Jane made a cherry and rose petal tart from Maestro Martino of Como.
While we chatted about recipes, I spent quality time with Google Translate and Speisen wie die Äbte und essen wie die Mönche (Dine Like the Abbots and Eat Like the Monks). This is a 15th C cookbook from the cloisters of Mondsee, in Austria. Today it is a UNESCO world heritage site, and its cathedral was used for the wedding scene in The Sound of Music. I bought the cookbook last year, despite my weak German; in fact, I needed Google Translate to negotiate the purchase and shipping to Canada, since the used book dealer only shipped in Germany.
I found seven or eight recipes for variations of stuffed eggs (most of them eggs on a stick), as well as tripe dumplings and porridge on a stick. I also found an equal number of recipes that are basically flatbreads with cheese and other ingredients (flammkuchen, or German cheesy pizzas). Plus many krapfen (doughnuts). One of these will make it into the next version of the Ealdormere cookbook – unless I decide to go with the 14th C Egyptian noodles and meatballs, or the raviolis from the same cookbook (Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table).
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