SC - Dessert Recipes

[Terry Nutter]

Hi, Katerine here.  Here are the two recipes I mentioned earlier.  Enjoy!

A bake Mete
(Two Fifteenth Century H279 Vyaundez Furnez xxxii)

This pear custard pie is simple, excellent, and nearly foolproof.  If you leave
out the pears, you have medieval pie called "Doucetez" (H279 Vyaunde Furnez 
xv).

Recipe:

Take an make fayre lytel cofyns; than take Perys, and ghif they ben lytelle,
put .iij. in a cofynne, & pare clene, & be-twyn euery pere, lay a gobet of
Marow; & yf thou haue no lytel Perys, take grete, & gobet ham, & so put hem in
the ovyn a whyle; than take thin commade lyke as thou takyst to Dowcetys, and
pore ther-on; but lat the Marow & the Pecyz ben sene; & whan it is y-now, serue
f[orth].

Modern English:

Make fair little coffins (pie crusts); then take pears, and if they are little,
put three in a coffin, and pare them clean, and between every pear, lay a chunk
of marrow.  And if you have no little pears, take big ones, and cut them into
pieces, and so put them in the oven a while.  Then take your filling like you
use for douceties, and pour it over them; but let the marrow and the pieces [of
pear] be seen.  And when it is done, serve it.

Amounts as I make it:

one 9-in deep dish pie crust	1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 bosc pears		1/4 cup sugar
2 cups cream			4 strands saffron
6 egg yolks

Step-by-step:

1.  Prebake pie shell 20 minutes at 350¡.
2.  Peel pears and slice as you would slice apples for apple pie.
3.  Arrange pear slices in the crust.
4.  Mix remaining  and pour over pears.
5.  Bake 1 hr 15 min at 350¡.
6.  Remove from oven and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes.

Notes:

"Mete" means "foodstuff", not meat.  I omit the marrow: it's hard to get, we
don't need it in our diet (they did), and it probably adds little to the taste.
I omit prebaking the fruit; modern pears are too big to put in whole, so I may
as well slice them small enough to cook while the custard does.  Be sure to use
cooking pears!  Most eating pears lose all flavor when baked.


Peeres in confyt
(Curye on Inglysch, Forme of Cury 136)

This is spiced pears stewed in wine; absolutely lovely!

Recipe:

Take peeres and pare hem clene.  Take gode rede wyne & mulberies other
saundres, and seeth the peeres therin, & whan thei buth ysode take hem up.
Make a syryp of wyne greke, other vernage [sweet italian white wine], with
blanche powdur other white sugur and powdour gynger, & do the peres therin.
Seeth it a lytel & messe it forth.

Take pears and pare them clean.  Take good red wine and mulberries or saunders,
and boil the pears in it, and when they are boiled, take them out.  Make a
syrup of Greek wine, or vernage, with blanche powder or white sugar and ginger,
and put the pears in it.  Boil it a little and serve it forth.

Amounts as I make it:

4 Bosc pears		2 cup semi-sweet Sauterne
1 1/4 cup burgundy	1 cup water
3/4 cup water		8 T sugar
2 tsp saunders		1/2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 T sugar	

Step-by-step:

1.  Peel, core, and quarter pears.
2.  Simmer in red wine, first water, saunders, and first sugar for 1 hr 5
    min (until soft), adding water as necessary to keep pears covered with 
    liquid.
3.  Drain and rinse.  Discard cooking liquid.  
4.  Combine remaining ingredients.
5.  Simmer gently for 30-45 min, letting sauce cook down (and alcohol cook
    off).
6.  Put pears in syrup and simmer another two or three minutes.

Notes:

The result is delicately flavored red pears in a yellow-white sauce; both
delicious and beautiful.

Again, cooking pears!  Always cook with cooking pears!

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