Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Apple Tart

Recipe Source: Welserin, Sabina.  Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin, 1553.  Translation by V. Armstrong.  I found this translation online here, and reached it through a link here.

I know I've mentioned this before, but I suppose it's worth saying again.  I love apples.  At this time of year all of my taste buds turn yearningly toward apples.  If it was truly an apple in the Garden of Eden, I get Eve's sin completely because at this time of year I simply cannot resist an apple.  I'll admit it, though - I like my apples raw.  I've never been a big fan of cooked apples, but I'm working on that.  Quite a few people that I know simply adore cooked apples - baked apples, sauteed apples, whatever.  I'm sure some folks would cheerfully deep-fry an apple if they thought they could get away with it.

That brings us to another subject: pie.  We Americans like to think we invented apple pie.  In fact, we often refer to things as being "as American as apple pie."  The thing is, though, apple pies are much older than this country or even European colonies in this country.  This cookbook dates back to1553 and comes to us from somewhere in Germany.  What kind of gets me is the author of the cookbook.  When we think of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, our usual mental image of the status of women is frankly low.  We don't often think of women as authors until much later, but as I look through the list of German cookbooks on Medieval Cookery.com I'm seeing two that are specifically attributed to German women.  I don't know much about them.  What I get from these women, without going into the details of their books or doing much research at all, is that they reflect a time when women were pretty literate all things considered.  That makes sense.  Germany was the home of the first European printing press, and the Protestant reformation there depended on literacy.  What I'm really getting at is that there were enough literate women around, women of a class to be concerned with things like cooking and household management, to make publishing a book on the subject worthwhile.  Oh, I realize that women have been literate for as long as literacy has existed, but it hasn't always been common.  It was often restricted to upper-class women who would have the leisure to read, and those women would not often have been interested in or involved with the minutiae of baking pies.

Right.  Now that I'm off that historical ramble, let's get to the recipe.  I used a whole wheat crust on general principles; you're welcome to use whatever crust you want, even a storebought crust if need be.  I'm not sure why I decided to make this a double-crust recipe.  I had a double crust, and it seemed to me that a double crust was just more appropriate here given the way the apples were cut and the moisture of the ingredients.  The original did not explicitly call for a double crust, or even direct me to "seal it up" or whatever.  The type of fat in which the apples were cooked was left up to the reader.  I suspect that the appropriate fat in period would have been lard or whatever kind of rendered animal fat was available, but I used butter.  Butter wasn't excluded, they had butter, butter tastes good with apples and I can't use lard.  I used golden raisins because I like them better.

This was a phenomenal pie, if I do say so myself.  I will probably never get the crust to come out this well again.

Apple Tart (serves 8; approx. $0.65/ serving)

5 apples, diced

1 stick butter (8 tablespoons)

3/4 cup raw sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 cup golden raisins

2 1/3 cups whole wheat flour

1 stick butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup shortening

1 tablespoon raw sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

2 egg yolks, divided

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3 tablespoons ice water

Equipment:

• Pie plate
• Zip-top plastic bags
• Food processor
• Rolling pin
• Saute pan

1. Combine the flour, cut-up butter, shortening, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt, vinegar, 1 egg yolk, nutmeg and ice water in the food processor.
2. Process until the dough just comes together.
3. Divide the dough into two balls.  Flatten the dough into discs, put them into the plastic bags and refrigerate at least 2 hours.  Overnight is preferable.
4. Roll out the dough inside the plastic bags until it completely fills the flat bag.  Refrigerate another hour or so.
5. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
6. Melt the butter in the saute pan.
7. Add the apples.  Saute until softened.
8. Remove from heat.  Add the sugar, raisins and cinnamon.  Mix well and set aside.
9. Line the pie plate with one of the crusts.  Prick with a fork and brush the bottom with an egg yolk.
10. Fill the crust with the apple mixture.
11. Cut a hole in the center of the top crust, then carefully lay it over the apple mixture.  Crimp to seal.
12. You can brush the top of the pie with a little milk if you want to; this will give it a nicely browned appearance but isn't strictly necessary.
13. Bake until the crust is thoroughly cooked, about 25 minutes.
14. Cool slightly and serve.  This is also delicious at room temperature.

Recipe: Sauce for Lords

Recipe Source: Anonymous.  An Early Northern Cookery Book.  Rudolf Grewe and Constance B. Hieatt, eds.  Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Tempe, 2001 p. 31

Okay, this one is a little strange.  I'm not entirely sure that it counts as a "fail," but I'm not exactly sure that it's a "win" either.  I think that while it is listed as a sauce it is probably more of a "marinade," and that it was just as likely to be considered as a preservative as anything else.  It is a very strongly flavored sauce and other, similar sauces have included the instruction to rinse off the meat before using it.  That said, this didn't actually taste bad.  It was actually kind of good.  I served it over roasted beef and while people didn't eat a whole lot of it they certainly ate it.

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

A combination of ground cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, black pepper and ginger adding up to 1 tablespoon

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Equipment:

• None

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2. Serve with roasted meat.

Recipe: Tomato-Basil Soup

Recipe Source: Staib, Walter. Black Forest Cuisine. Running Press, Philadelphia, 2006 p. 194

My husband was on a business trip and planned to come home rather late one night. I wanted to make a dinner that was fairly simple – something relaxing for him after a long journey, without a lot of fuss – that could be easily reheated if his plane got delayed or if he hit heavy traffic on his way home from the airport (always a possibility around here, even late at night.) This soup looked like it would fit the bill pretty well. I'm not usually a huge fan of cream-based soups but since this one was going to be the main meal I figured it was probably okay. Of course, then we heard from some friends who'd bought more salmon than they could eat by themselves and needed additional diners. We agreed to stop by and I brought this soup and the garlic bread I intended to serve with it.

There's one problem with that. When I made the soup I didn't intend for it to be consumed outside of our family, so among the changes I made was the addition of one finely chopped habanero chili. One of our hosts cannot handle spicy food. He's gotten better about it – he used to think Hamburger Helper was spicy – but I figured the habanero would be a little much for him. I thought that the cream might mitigate the problem somewhat and it did, but he still found it…. Invigorating, to say the least. I also increased both the onion and garlic, reduced the butter, omitted the crème fraiche and used all tinned tomatoes because it made more sense at the time.

I frankly loved this soup. So did my husband. One of our hosts kept the leftovers despite the effect of tomato soup on her stomach in her current state, so she loved it too. Even the spice-averse husband ate his entire bowl, despite the habanero.

Tomato-Basil Soup (serves 6; approx. $1.42/serving)

2 tablespoons butter

2 onions, finely chopped

1 habanero chili, finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, crushed

4 cups vegetable stock

3 cups white wine

6 ounces tomato paste

1 cup heavy cream

¼ bunch chopped fresh basil

¼ cup whole wheat flour

14 ounces diced canned tomatoes, in their juices

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Fresh basil leaves to garnish

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• Cooking spray
• Small saucepan

1. Heat the cooking spray in the larger saucepan.
2. Add the onion and habanero. Sauté until softened.
3. Add the garlic and sauté about 1 ½ minutes longer.
4. Add the broth, wine and tomato paste. Bring to a boil.
5. Add the cream. Return to a boil.
6. Add the basil. Reduce heat to simmer.
7. Melt the butter in the smaller saucepan.
8. Add the flour and stir constantly to form a roux. Stir until golden.
9. Add the roux to the soup. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened.
10. Season to taste and serve.

Recipe: Brandenburg Stew with Rutabaga

Recipe Source: Metzger, Christine. Culinaria Germany. H. F. Ullmann, 2007 p. 93

I know that I've mentioned this fairly frequently, but last month was a bit of a horror show in terms of scheduling and time. There simply wasn't any time. I was flat-out busy from, what, mid-April until almost the end of May. The period of extreme activity drew to a close the weekend before Memorial Day. It was like I could see the end in sight and managed to keep pushing myself. The final weekend consisted of an event on Saturday where both my husband and I were teaching classes in cookery and the start of our Sunday open houses. The week before the weekend was cold and soggy, which filled me with the urge to eat stew. I made my menu during the cold and soggy time. This was intended to be served after Saturday's event, when we would come home cold and damp and tired. Well, the event was great, but it was neither cold nor particularly damp. (There was a thunderstorm, but we tore down and got packed up just in time.) I did not want stew that night, I wanted sushi. So I saved this stew and put it out on Sunday for the open house and it was a hit.

I made a few changes to this recipe. I couldn't get baby turnips. The closest thing I could get was a rutabaga, so that's what I used. I omitted the sugar and I think I used vegetable broth for the meat stock because I had some open. I used a combination of baby Bella mushrooms (my favorite) and shiitakes for the mushrooms, to give the dish a bit of a deeper flavor. I added a shallot because of a brain cramp and about five cloves of garlic from habit. (Everything needs more garlic.) I also substituted full-fat Greek yogurt for the sour cream, because I've just got an aversion to sour cream. I don't know why I have an aversion to sour cream but there you have it.

Brandenburg Stew with Rutabaga (serves 4; approx. $4.47/serving)

1 rutabaga, peeled and roughly chopped

1 stick butter, divided

½ cup hot vegetable stock

1 6-oz package baby Bella mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 5-oz package shiitake mushrooms, sliced

3 shallots, minced

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 pound stew beef, sliced thin

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup Greek yogurt

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• 2 sauté pans

1. Melt half of the butter in the saucepan.
2. Add the rutabaga and stock. Cook 20 minutes over low heat.
3. Melt the remaining butter in a sauté pan.
4. Add the shallots and garlic. Sauté until transparent, with a pinch of kosher salt if desired.
5. Add the mushrooms and cook 10 minutes or so, until they are very tender.
6. In the other saucepan, heat the oil.
7. Add the beef slices and brown briskly.
8. Add the flour and mix well.
9. Add the yogurt to the beef, then add this and the mushroom mixture to the turnip mixture.
10. Season and serve.

Recipe: Green Bean and Mushroom Salad

Recipe Source: Staib, Walter. Black Forest Cuisine. Running Press, Philadelphia, 2006 p. 32

Do you want to know what I liked best about this salad? I could make it well in advance, stick it in the refrigerator, pour it into a serving dish about an hour before serving and be done. That makes this a great dish for picnics, cookouts, potlucks and barbeques. It was also a pretty darned easy salad to throw together. In fact, it was so easy and such a simple recipe that I only made two changes. I omitted the oil out of deference to my husband's palate and I used a horseradish mustard in place of the Dijon. That was it. This dish went over pretty well and there were no leftovers.

Green Bean and Mushroom Salad (serves 10; approx. $0.58/serving)

2 ½ pounds green beans, trimmed

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons horseradish mustard

1 pound Baby Bella mushrooms, thinly sliced

3 shallots, peeled and chopped

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• Colander
• Small bowl

1. Fill the saucepan about ¾ of the way with salted water. Bring to a boil.
2. Cook the beans until barely tender and very bright green, about 3 minutes. Drain and cool under cold running water immediately. Drain again.
3. Put the mushroom slices in your serving vessel.
4. In the small bowl, combine the mustard, vinegar, shallots and pepper.
5. Put the beans in the serving vessel.
6. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss well and enjoy.

Recipe: Not Really a Linzertorte

Recipe Source: Medrich, Alice. Pure Dessert. Artisan, New York, 2007 pp. 204-5

I made this recipe with one goal in mind: using some of the very popular Strawberry Honey Jam I'd made. I guess that means that it was never really going to be a linzertorte, since I think that's traditionally made with raspberry instead of strawberry. I didn't care, though. I did have every intention of following the rest of the recipe pretty carefully, though, and I did. That was kind of the problem with this dish. The dough was sticky – very, very sticky. Unpleasantly sticky, even. Okay, fine. I was able to press the dough into the tart pan without a problem, but I ran into a problem with the lattice top. I followed the instructions, which basically involved making long lines of this very sticky dough and weaving these strips of dough into a lattice. The dough fell apart, but I persevered and carefully re-formed the ropes. Great – a lattice appeared. Then I followed the direction to freeze the lattice until ready to use. I didn't have parchment paper, but I've never had trouble getting anything off the surface I did use – until now.

I could have cursed and swore, or I could have carefully started again. What I did was to make a crumble topping instead, crumbling the bits of dough over the top of the preserves. This worked out quite well. It didn't look like a linzertorte, but it looked deliberate, not like a hastily-conceived solution. I did double the amount of preserves, because the amount in the pie looked insufficient when I spread it out. I also altered the proportions of spice in the crust. The resulting dessert went over remarkably well.

Not Really a Linzertorte (serves 10; approx. $0.36/serving)

3 ¾ ounces almonds

4 ½ ounces flour

¾ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

11 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks

1 egg yolk

Grated zest of ½ lemon

Grated zest of ½ orange

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 1/3 cups raspberry preserves

Equipment:

• Food processor
• 9 1/2 " fluted tart pan with removable bottom
• Foil

1. Combine the almonds, flour, sugar, salt and spices in the food processor. Process until the almonds are finely ground.
2. Add the butter, egg yolk, zests and extract. Pulse until blended.
3. Preheat your oven to 350 ̊.
4. Grease up your tart pan with your lubricant of choice – I like cooking spray. Be generous.
5. Press about half the dough into the bottom of the tart pan and up the sides.
6. Spread the preserves over the bottom of the pan, making sure that they are evenly spread.
7. Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the preserves.
8. Bake 30 minutes.
9. Tent loosely with foil and bake another 5 – 10 minutes.
10. Cool completely.

Recipe: Beef with Mushrooms

Recipe Source: Metzger, Christine (ed.).  Culinaria Germany.  H. F. Ullmann, 2007 p. 20

I made this dish for a friend whose husband had gone away on a business trip.  He cannot eat mushroom and his wife loves them, so she wanted to indulge in this ingredient while he was away.  I probably made it a little spicier than was originally intended (the original called for a chili powder of medium heat, which of course I don't have), but that was okay.  The husband has a hard time tolerating spicy foods as well, so the wife got to enjoy that too.  Other changes that I made include using olive oil instead of clarified butter (personal preference) and omitting both the sugar and creme fraiche (also personal preference). 

Beef with Mushrooms (serves 4; approx. $5.13/serving)

1 1/2 pounds stewing beef, cut into thin slices

2 tablespoons olive oil

14 ounces onions, diced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup beer - the original called for lager, but we used a brown ale because that's what we had

1 tablespoon chili powder (I used Chili Powder Extra Hot)

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 pound mixed mushrooms (I used one of those Chef's Sampler Packs, which had some really interesting looking mushrooms in it), chopped

A handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Equipment:

• Large, deep saute or saucepan

1. Heat the oil in the saucepan.
2. Add the beef and quickly brown.
3. Add the onions.  Saute until translucent.
4. Add the tomato paste and cook quickly.
5. Deglaze with the beer.  Drink the remaining beer.
6. Add the chili powder, kosher salt, black pepper and thyme. 
7. Cover and simmer over low heat for about an hour. 
8. Add the mushrooms.  Cover and simmer another 10 minutes.
9. Sprinkle the parsley over the stew and serve. 

Recipe: Bacon and Pecorino Quiche

Recipe Source: Staib, Walter.  Black Forest Cuisine.  Running Press, Philadelphia, 2006 p. 87

For those of you who have not yet experimented with this for yourselves, allow me to save you the trouble: beef bacon smokes up much, much faster than pork bacon.  We're talking some serious smoke here.  This doesn't mean that you shouldn't use beef bacon.  It just means that you should probably put your vent hood on before you start and should probably consider using two frying pans. 

You may be wondering why there is bacon at all.  After our Pork Fest back in April, where this was only one of the many bacon dishes served, I was pretty adamant that there would be no bacon in my home for a very, very long time.  Does six months count?  And I can't eat pork anymore - apparently the Fearless Fetus has some strong objections to the stuff and as long as we're sharing a digestive system, I have to yield to her tyrannical will.  But there are so many tasty-looking recipes that require bacon, and they're so perfect and seasonal for fall!  I decided that I would try a substitute for pork bacon.  Bacon at all was a substitution in this recipe, which originally called for Black Forest Ham.  Since I'm pretty sure that Black Forest Ham is made from pig (I could be wrong here, this isn't a part of the world I know much about) I was going to have to substitute anyway.  I also switched pecorino for the gruyere, because I had it on hand, and some whole milk when there wasn't enough heavy cream in the container. 

Bacon and Pecorino Quiche (serves 8 - 10; approx. $1.78/serving)

1 1/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening

5 tablespoons ice water

7 eggs

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

3/4 cups whole milk

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 bunch chives, chopped

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup grated pecorino

1 cup chopped beef bacon, crisped

Equipment:

• Tart pan with removable bottom
• Bowl
• Whisk
• Aluminum foil
• Pie weights (I use dried beans)
• Food processor

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, 1 t salt, butter, shortening and ice water in your food processor.  Process to a dough. 
3. Press the dough up the sides of a greased tart pan.  You will have just about enough. 
4. Dock the dough in a few places with a fork.
5. Line the crust shell with aluminum foil, then fill with pie weights.  Bake blind 15 minutes.
6. Remove the crust from the oven.  Reduce heat to 375, remove the pie weights and foil, and set aside. 
7. Combine the milk, eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt, pepper and chives in the bowl.  Whisk well.
8. Spread the pecorino over the bottom of the crust. 
9. Sprinkle the bacon bits on top. 
10. Pour the egg mixture on top. 
11. Bake 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. 
12. Serve.   

Recipe: Roasted Carrots with "Sauce of Minimal Cost"

Recipe Source (sauce): Grewe, Rudolf and Constance B. Hieatt (eds.)  Libellus de Arte Coquinaria: An Early Northern Cookery Book.  Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Tempe, 2001 p. 33

When you see a recipe for a "Sauce of Minimal Cost," how is it possible to not find an excuse to make it?  I found this one in a collection of medieval recipes that has been found, in slightly different variations, in four different libraries in (I believe) three different languages.  The Danish version is thought to be the earliest of the four, although it is thought that the recipes have been translated from an earlier German text that has not been found yet.  I decided to make it for the medieval dinner we gave on a recent camping trip, although I was kind of stumped.  What would I serve it with?  Meat would be unwieldy, as I was unsure if I would get any cooking time and I didn't want to store meat for two days in a cooler without cooking it.  But what kind of vegetable would stand up to such a (frankly) strongly-flavored sauce?  I decided to roast some carrots, mostly on a whim. 

Roasted Carrots with "Sauce of Minimal Cost" (Serves 20; approx. $0.63/serving)

5 lb carrots, peeled and cut into serving-sized pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

4 onions, very finely diced (by hand, not in the food processor.  The original specified "chop as small as peas.) 

3 bunches parsley, finely chopped

2 cups Lemony Vegetable Broth

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

Equipment:

• Roasting pan
• Bowl
• Immersion blender

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
2. Put the carrots into the roasting pan.  Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and mix to ensure that all of the carrots have some of this mixture. 
3. Roast 40 minutes or until the carrots are reasonably tender.
4. Meanwhile, combine the parsley, broth and vinegar in a bowl. 
5. Using the immersion blender, mix well. 
6. Add the onions and stir with a spoon. 
7. Serve the carrots topped with some of the sauce. 

Recipe: Asparagus Salad

Recipe Source: Metzger, Christine.  Culinaria Germany.  H. F. Ullmann, 2007 p. 339

Asparagus is a wonderful vegetable.  First, it is a spring vegetable.  Its arrival signals an end to winter and a return to pleasant days.  Second, it is a healthy vegetable.  Third, and most important from my perspective as I planned our Easter menu this year, it is a flexible vegetable.  It can be used in any number of interesting dishes.  It's very difficult to screw up asparagus.  It can be served hot or cold.  It can be served on its own or as part of a larger dish, like a frittata or a stir-fry.  In my case, I decided to serve it as a salad. 

I made a few minor changes.  Not being sure what the "basic recipe" mentioned in the original was, I decided to just go ahead and steam it.  (Yes, I could have looked it up, but that would have taken time I just didn't have.)  I also omitted the shallot - my allergies were particularly severe that morning, and I just did not need the "help" of my eyes swelling shut from the shallot.  Finally, I couldn't find chervil at the market, so I used tarragon.  The result was a delicious, refreshing side dish that brightened up the table.

Asparagus Salad (serves 8 as a side dish; approx. $1.41/serving)

2 bunches asparagus

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 bunch chives

1 bunch tarragon

1 tablespoon olive oil

Kosher salt and grains of paradise, to taste

Equipment:

• Steamer baskets
• Saucepan
• Bowl
• Whisk

1. Trim the woody ends off the asparagus and arrange them in your steamer baskets.
2. Bring a saucepan partially filled with water to a boil.
3. When the water is boiling, put the steamer baskets on top of the saucepan and steam 5 - 7 minutes (depending on the thickness of your asparagus, of course.)
4. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining ingredients together in the bowl.
5. When the asparagus is tender, arrange it on your serving platter.  Pour the vinaigrette over it and serve.