SC - Palate Cleansers

[L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt]

Well, it was MY challenge, so I guess I have to come up with something good.

I choose Cambridge Pudding. Yum! Perfect for very cold, blustery days,
economical, fairly easy, and gets served in my house with single cream (not
for the artery-clog conscious folks---sorry Tibor!). Ragnar will recognise
this one---his lady wife Rowan redacted it last year. We made her do it
blind, but I've given a "professional" redaction here. Rowan chose to use an
entire stick of butter i the middle, which I musy say I preferred. Cutting
this at the table gives you a chicken-kiev-like experience, when the butter
rushes out and puddles on the platter.

A New Booke of Cookerie, J. Murrell, 1615 (Yes, for you purists it's 15
years too late. It's close enough for ME, however. In my book---as I was
taught when I joined years ago, the SCA covers to 1650).

Cambridge Pudding

Searce grated Bread through a Cullinder, mince it with flower, minct Dates,
Currins, Nutmeg, Sinamon, and Pepper, minct Suit, new Milke warme, fine
Sugar, and Egges: take away some of their whites, work all together. Take
halfe the Pudding on the one side, and the other on the other side, and make
it round like loafe. Then take Butter, and put it in the middest of the
Pudding, and the other halfe aloft. Let your Liquor boyle, and throw your
Pudding in, being tyed in a faire cloth: when it is boyled enough cut it in
the middest and so serve it in.

Cambridge Pudding--Early American Cooking, Peter Pauper Press, White Plains NY

2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flower
1 cup minced dates
1 1/2 cups currants
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
3/4 cup chopped suet (chopped very fine)
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk, warmed
2 eggs
3 tablespoons butter

Mix the breadcrumbs, flour, dried fruits, spices, and suet until well
blended. Beat the eggs and milk together, pour over the bread mixture, and
work lightly with a spoon until well combined. Seperate the mixture into 2
halves, and form them both into rounds resembling bread loaves. (Here it
leaves out the step of putting the ball or lump of butter against the bottom
of one of the dough balls). Press the bottom side of the remaining  loaf
against the first, so that the butter is now at the center of the ball.
Place the pudding ball in the center of a large round (20") cheesecloth.
Wrap the pudding loosely, binding the ends at the top with a string.
Meanwhile bring a 4 quart pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop the pudding
in the pot, cover, and cook for 1 1/4 hours. Remove from water, unwrap
immediately, slice and serve. Serves 8

NOTE: I find I'd rather have it steamed (an hour is fine), but that's not
quite a period practice. Also, we found it served rather more than 8. It is
extremely rich, and very very good.



Enjoy!


Aoife
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