SC - New cook's question on baking pots/pans-OOP

[LrdRas@aol.com]

This recipe wold be good for a vegeterian or fast day feast also    It is
recommended for experienced cooks.


			  *  Exported from  MasterCook  *

                      Tartys in Applis (Apple Tarts)

Recipe By     : L. J. Spencer, Jr. (copywrite 1998)
Serving Size  : 8    Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : English                          Fruit
                Pies & Pastry

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
- --------  ------------  --------------------------------
   3                    apples, peeled -- cored, chopped fine
   2                    pears, peeled -- cored, chopped fine
     1/2  cup           figs, dried -- chopped fine
     1/2  cup           Zante currants, dried -- chopped fine
     1/4  teaspoon      black pepper -- ground
   2      teaspoons     cinnamon -- ground
     1/2  teaspoon      nutmeg -- ground
     1/4  teaspoon      mace -- ground
     1/4  teaspoon      cloves -- ground
   1                    pie shell
                        sugar -- for garnish

Mix fruits and spices together thoroughly.  Spread the mixture evenly in the
bottom of a pastry shell.  Bake @ 450 deg F for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to
360 deg F for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is
bubbling.  Serve at room temperature.  Garnish with granulated sugar if
desired.

                   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

NOTES: Original: Tartys in Applies- Tak gode applys & gode spycis & figs &
reysons & perys, & wan they arn wel brayed colour wyth safroun wel & do yt in
a cofyn, & do yt forth to bake wel. -  Curye on Inglish

Although the original recipe doesn't specify seasonings, I chose to do so
based on a comparison to other tart/pastry type recipes from this manuscript.
I feel that this recipe was meant to convey the main ingredient of the tart
and was written for the pastry cook rather than any of the other myriad
specialty cooks available at the residence 

The spices I used are typical of this sort of dish and provide depths of
flavor that literally lifts the original out of the depths of insipidity.  The
spice mixture that I created is well within the acceptable range of other
similar mixtures that are listed in COE.  Sprinkling a rounded tablespoon of
granulated sugar over the top after about a half hour out of the oven makes a
nice garnish.

Mincemeat-like recipes appear to have been very popular during the middle ages
and remained so right up until the end of the Victorian era with very little
change in ingredients or method of preparation.  The popularity of mincemeat
dishes dropped dramatically throughout the first part of the 20th century C.E.
The economy of W.W.II brought about a major decline in availability of
ingredients as well as a major change in cooking styles, tools, utensils and
major product additions. Mincemeat dishes were reduced to the level the old
fashioned novelty that they are today.  

This is a good recipe for the creative period cook because of it's obvious
resemblance to similar mincemeat-like recipes. The addition of 1/4 cup finely
diced suet and 6 ounces of finely chopped raw venison to the main ingredients
would make this tart substantial enough to serve as a first course. More
importantly, IMO, it would be as period as any thing we know about and with
appropriate documentation could be entered into A & S displays or competitions
without fear of 'being out of period'. :-)

Enjoy!

al-Sayyid A'aql ibn Ras al-Zib, AoA, OSyc
Guildmaster (The Guild of St. Martha)
Kingdom of Aethelmearc
Shire of Abhain Ciach Ghlas
Mountain Confederation
Clan Ravenstar
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