SC - > Feeding Gunthar and Thyra
Anne-Marie Rousseau
acrouss at gte.net
Mon Oct 26 20:05:09 PST 1998
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Hi all from Anne-Marie
For her Highness, there is are several outstanding creamy yet slightly tart
sauces in ther period and Elizabethan repetoire. Sauce Robert comes to mind
(butter, mustard, vinegar, capers and chives), as does la Varennes "white
sauce" (an egg yolk emulsion sauce with vinegar. Sound familiar?)
Then Ber sez...
> I also love beef Wellington and anything Anne-Marie cooks!=20
aw shucks :)... well, here's some recipes. The text is from my pbulications
"French Food in the Renaissance". All rights reserved, no publication with
permission, blah blah blah.
Have fun!
SAUCE ROBERT
This rich, creamy, slightly tangy sauce appears in many of the=
French
sources. There is some variation, for example le Cuisinier fran=E7ois=E7
updates his
with capers, but all use verjuice and mustard and butter. What it's served=
on
seems to vary as well, with le Menagier a Paris putting it on poached sole
(M30), le Viandier de Taillevent on poached or baked John Dory (a North
Atlantic
flat fish) (T115, T207), and le Cuisinier fran=E7ois on Poor John (another=
fish,
maybe a regional name for a John Dory?) (V80), goose (V33, p41), pork loin
(V56, p48), or wild boar (V39, p67). We've enjoyed this sauce on fish, pork,
and even veggies, though there's no documentation for the latter. Heck, it's
even good with bits of bread...
Poor John with a Sauce Robert. (V80)=20
You may put it with butter, a drop of verjuice, and some mustard, you may=
also
mixe with it some capers and chibols.
Barbe Robert [Sauce] (T207)=20
Take small onions fried in lard (or butter according to the day), verjuice,
vinegar, mustard, small spices and salt. Boil everything together. (A 1583
cookbook quoted by Pichon et al., p109)
(M30) "POLE" and SOLE are the same thing; and the "pole" are speckled on the
back. They should be scalded and gutted like plaice, washed and put in the
pan,
with salt on them and water, then put on to cook, and when nearly done, add
parsley; then cook again in the same liquid, then eat with green sauce or=
with
butter with some of the hot cooking liquid, or in a sauce of old verjuice,
mustard and butter heated together.
Our version:
1 tsp. rinsed and minced capers
2 tsp. minced green onion, just the white part
2 tsp. fine ground prepared mustard
1/2 stick butter
1 tsp. cider vinegar or verjuice, if you have it
Mix all over heat till well blended. If it separates, whip with whisk till
reblended. Makes about 1/2 cup.=20
Serve on poached fish or roast pork or goose.
LA VARENNE'S WHITE SAUCE
The primary sources considered for this work show an interesting
development in the use of thickening agents. The middle ages saw the use of
bread crumbs and almonds, as well as the technique of reduction, or=
thickening
by protracted boiling. There was an occasional use of eggs, both hard boiled
(which thickened by particulates) and raw (thickening as the proteins in the
raw egg coagulated). The work Epulario seems to rely heavily on raw eggs
rather
than the particulate thickener of the earlier works. Le Cuisinier fran=E7ois=
=E7
has
an entire chapter discussing a number of preparations that one could use to
thicken sauces and dishes. It suggests making these ahead of time and=
keeping
them "against future need=92, stating that these are "useful for all, or=
instead
of eggs".=20
Several of these preparations are familiar, as they include the
ubiquitous almond (thickening using particulates), along with the old=
standby
of bread crumbs and egg yolks. but, Lo! le Cuisinier fran=E7ois specifies=
one
method ("A Thickning of flowre", Vp120) whereby flour is cooked with fat,=
and
onion, broth, mushrooms and vinegar are added and the preparation strained
before use. It's a roux! The basic ingredient of most modern French sauces=
is
this cooked emulsion of flour and fat.=20
Another example of the burgeoning art of French sauce making is la
Varenne=92s white sauce. It's a real emulsion sauce; like hollandaise,=
bernaise
and mayonnaise. Recipes in le Cuisinier fran=E7ois=E7 call for this sauce o=
n
leeks
(V38, p157), cauliflower (V16, p84), asparagus (V77, p113), artichoke=
bottoms
(V62, p108), as well as chicken pie (V4, p126), veal breast (V11, p126) and
lamb pie (V23, p113; V26, p134). It has a delicate yellow color and is a
creamy, slightly tart accompaniment to anything you fancy.=20
I found myself incapable of producing this sauce on the stovetop
without
it curdling. With vigorous whisking, it was still presentable, but only if
eaten immediately, and would tend to curdle out again. The blender version=
of
this sauce, while not authentic in preparation method tastes the same and is
ideal for any situation where the sauce may not be served immediately, or=
the
temperature of your stove may not be gentle and steady enough (like, say,=
most
of the time?). This sauce can cool off and it won't curdle or go ropy. If=
it
starts to separate at all (we only noticed it after over an half hour),
whiz it
for a second or so more in the blender.
Sparagas with White Sauce (V77 p113)
Choose the biggest, scrape the foot of them, and wash them, and seeth them=
in
water, salt them well, and let them not seeth too much; after they are sod,
draine them and make a sauce with very fresh butter, a little vinegar, salt,
nutmegg, and the yolk of an egg to thicken the sauce, and have a care that=
it
doe not curd or (turne) and serve them garnisht with what you will.
Our version:
In a small pan, melt 1/4 lb. butter till it's all bubbly hot.
To the blender, put 3 egg yolks
2 T. vinegar (cider or balsamic or white wine)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. nutmeg
Cover, flick on and off at high speed. Remove cover, turn on high and
gradually
add the hot butter. Blend on high for 4 seconds or so. Serve on anything=
that
doesn't move.
Makes about 1/2 c. sauce.
Optional modern variation:
1 shallot minced
2 T white wine vinegar
1 T water
1/4 t. fresh ground pepper
boil till dry in a small pan (i.e. the shallots have soaked up all the
liquid),
and add the butter and melt as described above. Continue with rest of
instructions.
- --Anne-Marie
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Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<html>
Hi all from Anne-Marie<br>
<br>
For her Highness, there is are several outstanding creamy yet slightly
tart sauces in ther period and Elizabethan repetoire. Sauce Robert comes
to mind (butter, mustard, vinegar, capers and chives), as does la
Varennes "white sauce" (an egg yolk emulsion sauce with
vinegar. Sound familiar?)<br>
<br>
Then Ber sez...<br>
><x-tab> </x-tab>I also love
beef Wellington and anything Anne-Marie cooks! <br>
<br>
aw shucks :)... well, here's some recipes. The text is from my
pbulications "French Food in the Renaissance". All rights
reserved, no publication with permission, blah blah blah.<br>
<br>
Have fun!<br>
<font face=3D"Geneva"><b><div align=3D"center">
SAUCE ROBERT<br>
</b></div>
<x-tab> </x-tab>This rich,
creamy, slightly tangy sauce appears in many of the French sources. There
is some variation, for example <i>le Cuisinier fran=E7ois=E7</i> updates his
with capers, but all use verjuice and mustard and butter. What it's
served on seems to vary as well, with <i>le Menagier a Paris</i> putting
it on poached sole (M30), <i>le Viandier de Taillevent</i> on poached or
baked John Dory (a North Atlantic flat fish) (T115, T207), and <i>le
Cuisinier fran=E7ois</i> on Poor John (another fish, maybe a regional name
for a John Dory?) (V80), goose (V33, p41), pork loin (V56, p48), or wild
boar (V39, p67). We've enjoyed this sauce on fish, pork, and even
veggies, though there's no documentation for the latter. Heck, it's even
good with bits of bread...<br>
<i>Poor John with a Sauce Robert. </i>(V80) <br>
<i>You may put it with butter, a drop of verjuice, and some mustard, you
may also mixe with it some capers and chibols.<br>
<br>
Barbe Robert [Sauce]</i> (T207) <br>
<i>Take small onions fried in lard (or butter according to the day),
verjuice, vinegar, mustard, small spices and salt. Boil everything
together. (A 1583 cookbook quoted by Pichon et al., p109)<br>
<br>
</i>(M30) <i>"POLE" and SOLE are the same thing; and the
"pole" are speckled on the back. They should be scalded and
gutted like plaice, washed and put in the pan, with salt on them and
water, then put on to cook, and when nearly done, add parsley; then cook
again in the same liquid, then eat with green sauce or with butter with
some of the hot cooking liquid, or in a sauce of old verjuice, mustard
and butter heated together.<br>
</i>Our version:<br>
1 tsp. rinsed and minced capers<br>
2 tsp. minced green onion, just the white part<br>
2 tsp. fine ground prepared mustard<br>
1/2 stick butter<br>
1 tsp. cider vinegar or verjuice, if you have it<br>
Mix all over heat till well blended. If it separates, whip with whisk
till reblended. Makes about 1/2 cup. <br>
Serve on poached fish or roast pork or goose.<br>
<div align=3D"center">
<b>LA VARENNE'S WHITE SAUCE<br>
</b></div>
<x-tab> </x-tab>The
primary sources considered for this work show an interesting development
in the use of thickening agents. The middle ages saw the use of bread
crumbs and almonds, as well as the technique of reduction, or thickening
by protracted boiling. There was an occasional use of eggs, both hard
boiled (which thickened by particulates) and raw (thickening as the
proteins in the raw egg coagulated). The work Epulario seems to rely
heavily on raw eggs rather than the particulate thickener of the earlier
works. <i>Le Cuisinier fran=E7ois=E7</i> has an entire chapter discussing a
number of preparations that one could use to thicken sauces and dishes.
It suggests making these ahead of time and keeping them "against
future need=92, stating that these are "useful for all, or instead of
eggs". <br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>Several of
these preparations are familiar, as they include the ubiquitous almond
(thickening using particulates), along with the old standby of bread
crumbs and egg yolks. but, Lo! <i>le Cuisinier fran=E7ois</i>
specifies one method ("A Thickning of flowre", Vp120)
whereby flour is cooked with fat, and onion, broth, mushrooms and vinegar
are added and the preparation strained before use. It's a roux! The basic
ingredient of most modern French sauces is this cooked emulsion of
flour and fat. <br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>Another
example of the burgeoning art of French sauce making is la Varenne=92s
white sauce. It's a real emulsion sauce; like hollandaise, bernaise and
mayonnaise. Recipes in <i>le Cuisinier fran=E7ois=E7</i> call for this
sauce on leeks (V38, p157), cauliflower (V16, p84), asparagus (V77,
p113), artichoke bottoms (V62, p108), as well as chicken pie (V4, p126),
veal breast (V11, p126) and lamb pie (V23, p113; V26, p134). It has a
delicate yellow color and is a creamy, slightly tart accompaniment to
anything you fancy. <br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>I found
myself incapable of producing this sauce on the stovetop without it
curdling. With vigorous whisking, it was still presentable, but only if
eaten immediately, and would tend to curdle out again. The blender
version of this sauce, while not authentic in preparation method tastes
the same and is ideal for any situation where the sauce may not be served
immediately, or the temperature of your stove may not be gentle and
steady enough (like, say, most of the time?). This sauce can cool off and
it won't curdle or go ropy. If it starts to separate at all (we
only noticed it after over an half hour), whiz it for a second or so more
in the blender.<br>
<i>Sparagas with White Sauce</i> (V77 p113)<br>
<i>Choose the biggest, scrape the foot of them, and wash them, and seeth
them in water, salt them well, and let them not seeth too much; after
they are sod, draine them and make a sauce with very fresh butter, a
little vinegar, salt, nutmegg, and the yolk of an egg to thicken the
sauce, and have a care that it doe not curd or (turne) and serve them
garnisht with what you will.<br>
</i>Our version:<br>
In a small pan, melt 1/4 lb. butter till it's all bubbly hot.<br>
To the blender, put 3 egg yolks<br>
2 T. vinegar (cider or balsamic or white wine)<br>
1/4 t. salt<br>
1/4 t. nutmeg<br>
Cover, flick on and off at high speed. Remove cover, turn on high and
gradually add the hot butter. Blend on high for 4 seconds or so.
Serve on anything that doesn't move.<br>
Makes about 1/2 c. sauce.<br>
Optional modern variation:<br>
1 shallot minced<br>
2 T white wine vinegar<br>
1 T water<br>
1/4 t. fresh ground pepper<br>
boil till dry in a small pan (i.e. the shallots have soaked up all the
liquid), and add the butter and melt as described above. Continue with
rest of instructions.<br>
<br>
</font>--Anne-Marie<br>
</html>
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