SC - Nasturtiums in sala

[DianaFiona]

Greetings All:

Thanks for the comments on rashers of bacon and how many cornish game hens
substitute for pigeons/etc. As requested, this is the information I have
about the recipe: it's apparently from The British Museum Cookbook by
Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, published by British Museum Publications,
copyright 1987. My friend found it through a search for recipes, which led
to collections, which led to medieval (or maybe medieval-collections),
which led to what sounds like the web page of one Jennifer Newbury, where
the following was posted (if I'm a little vague, it's because my friend is
pretty new to web-browsing and not sure what she's looking at sometimes). I
have the email address of Ms. Newbury if anyone wants it -- I just don't
want to post it openly. As I stated earlier, the original recipe was not
posted, just the modern version.

- -------------------------------------
Small Bird and Bacon Stew with Walnuts or Hazelnuts
Serves 6

6 fatty rashers of bacon, chopped roughly
3 cloves garlic
4 pigeons or other small game birds (6 if very small)
225 g (8 oz) mushrooms, whatever variety, chopped roughly
75 g (3 oz) roughly chopped roasted hazelnuts or walnuts
300 ml (5 fl oz, 1-1/4 cups) real ale
150 ml (5 fl oz, 3/4 cup) water
2-3 bay leaves
a little salt and freshly ground pepper
6 coarse slices brown bread

Fry the bacon, with the garlic, till it is lightly browned in a
heavy-bottomed casserole. Add birds and brown on all sides. Add the
mushrooms and nuts, continue to cook for a couple of minutes, then add the
ale and water with the bay leaves.

Bring to the boil, cover and simmer very gently for 2-2.5 hours -- the
birds should be falling off the bone. Remove the birds from the juices,
cool juices completely and remove any excess fat. The birds can be served
whole or off the bone. If the latter, carve them while they are cold then
returned to the skimmed juices and reheat gently. Adjust the seasoning to
taste and serve either the whole birds or the slices/pieces on the bread
slices, with plenty of the juices and "bits." A good greeen salad to follow
is the best accompaniment.
- ---------------------------

I thought I'd try this for a local potluck because I needed something quick
and easy to fix Friday night as I'll be in the kitchen Saturday with a
cooking class where we'll be making Brie Tarts (from To the Kings Taste)
and Capon in Orange Sauce (from To the Queens Taste) and I didn't want to
mess with anything complicated.

I'm going to make some barley to serve with it, because it's hard to show
people to use the bread slices properly at a potluck. I'm substituting
cornish hens because that's what I can find locally. I'll use walnuts
because they're cheaper. And I'll be doubling the recipe and deboning the
birds to make it go farther at the meal. It reads like it ought to taste
good.

One other question: how is "real" ale different from ale you buy in a
liquor store. A local microbrewery here makes a dandy pale ale I thought
I'd use.

And in reply to one response to my initial question: obviously the bacon
isn't being used to wrap a dry game bird in order to add juiceyness (how do
you spell that word?), but seems to be there for flavor and browning fat.

Any comments welcome.

Morgana

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Morgana yr Oerfa, Baroness      *     Sharron Albert
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Per saltire gules and sable,    *     Babylon 5/science fiction
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and a decrescent argent.        *          faculty. --Bart Simpson
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