SC - accommodating at feasts

[Micaylah]

Since i had some requests, here are the redactions that include "poached
eggs" from:
_The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy_
by Odile Redon, Francoise Sabban, & Silvano Serventi
translated by Edward Schneider
copyright 1998
The University of Chicago Press

The original recipes were in Medieval French (see end of post)

I didn't include the redactions with my original post. I don't entirely
agree with them.

For example, having spent time using a lot of oil for Southeast Asian
cooking, i don't think the eggs have to be "fried sunny-side up" in a
frying pan - they can be slipped into somewhat hot, somewhat deep oil,
which would be more like poaching in oil (i'd use a wok, but that isn't
Medieval French). But i'd have to experiment to be sure.

Here they are, including some of the modern authors' comments:

p. 179: Civet of Eggs
(from Menagier de Paris 174)

2 medium onions
olive oil
2 cups good, light bodied red wine, such as a Beaujolais or other gamay
(1/2 liter)
3 tablespoons verjuice (or substitute the juice of 1/2 a lemon plus 2
tablespoons water)
1 tablespoon good red wine vinegar
salt
4 fresh large eggs

Peel onions and cut in 1/4 inch slices. Steam or poach them for 5 to 7
minutes. Drain well.

Over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small saucepan; add
the cooked onion slices and saute' for about 10 minutes, or until lightly
golden.

Add wine, verjuice, and vinegar, bring to a boil, and cook at a gentle boil
until the mixture has reduced by 3/4 and the onions have formed a somewhat
loose "jam". Salt to taste.

When the onions are nearly done, fry the eggs in olive oil, sunny side up,
being careful not to break the yolks. Drain them well.

Place eggs on heated plates. Spoon the onion sauce over the eggs.

p. 180: Sippets in Mustard
(from Le Viandier de Taillevent 150)

There are several versions of this French recipe, but none of them
indicates whether the "eggs, poached whole in oil" are actually part of the
dish. We decided in our adaptation to set the eggs on top of the bread --
the soupes or sippets, grilled and then soaked in sauce -- even though we
are not explicitly instructed to do so. Otherwise, what are we supposed to
do with the eggs once we have used their cooking oil to make the sauce? It
is hard to imagine throwing them away and keeping only their oil as a sauce
base. But it also depends on whether this recipe is for a potage with bread
(as its title would suggest) or for an egg dish. After some indecision, we
decided that it would be more interesting amont the egg preparations, and
devised our version to yield relatively little sauce.

2 medium onions
olive oil
4 very fresh eggs
1 cup red wine (1/4 liter)
5 fluid ounces water (15 centiliters)
salt
2 slices dry country bread, toasted or grilled
1 tablespoon homemade mustard, or good Dijon or Meaux

Peel and slice onions, then saute until golden in a little olive oil. Reserve.

Fry the eggs, sunny-side up, in 3 generous tablespoons of olive oil;
reserve on a warm plate.

To the same pan, add the sauteed onions, the wine, the water, and a little
salt, and boil until the raw wine flavor has disappeared and the sauce is
somewhat reduced.

Dip both sides of the bread into this sauce; the bread should absorb some
of the liquid, but not become sodden. Place one slice of bread on each
plate.

Now stir the mustard into the sauce, bring to the boil, and remove from the
heat.

Set one fried egg on each slice of bread and top with some of the mustard
sauce.

[MY NOTE: Yes, there's a discrepancy between the number of cooked eggs and
slices of bread in the published redaction - one egg on each slice of bread
- - but there are 4 eggs and 2 slices of bread]

P. 182: Thickened Cow's Milk
(from Menagier de Paris 175)
(given in The Medieval Kitchen as: Poached Eggs in Custard Sauce)

Ingredients for Two Servings:
2 cups milk (1/2 liter)
salt
1/4-inch slice fresh ginger, peeled, or, if unavailable, 1 teaspoon ground
ginger
4 egg yolks
1 pinch saffron threads
4 very fresh eggs

Bring the milk just to the boil, and salt lightly.

Grate or puree the ginger.

Bring a pan of water to the simmer, for poaching the eggs.

Beat the four yolks and put them through a fine strainer into a bowl; salt
lightly. Whisk a little of the hot milk into the yolks, then pour the yolk
mixture into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Cook over very low heat,
stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes slightly thick. Overheating
will cause the sauce to curdle. Add the ginger and saffron, and check for
salt.

Poach the four remaining eggs in barely simmering water for about 4
minutes. Serve immediately, two per portion, in soup plates, with the sauce
poured over.


For those who can read it, here's the medieval French:

Civés d'oeufs
(Menagier de Paris 174)

Pochez oeufs a l'uille, puis aiez oignons par rouelles cuis, et les friolez
à l'uille, puis mettez bouilir en vin, vertjus et vinaigre, et faite boulir
tout ensemble; puis mettez en chascune escuelle trois ou quatre oeufs, et
gettez vostre brouet dessus, et soit non liant.

Soupe en moustarde
(Le Viandier de Taillevent, ed. Scully, Biblioteque Nationale de France, 150)

Prennés des oeufs pochiés en huille tous entiers sans esquaille, puis
prennés d'icelle huille, du vin, de l'eau, de oingnons fris en huille,
boullés tout ensemble; prennés lèches de pain halé sur le gril, puis en
faites morssiaux quarrés, et metés boulir aveques; puis hastés vostre
boullon, et ressuiés vostre soupe; puis la verssés en un plat; puis de la
moustarde dedans vostre boullon, et la boullir; puis metés vos souppes en
vos escuelles, et metés dessus.

Lait de vache lyé
(Menagier de Paris 175)
Soit pris le lait à eslite, comme dit est cy-devant ou chappitre des
potages, et soit bouly une onde, puis mis hors du feu: puis y filez par
l'estamine grant foison de moieux d'oeufs et ostez le germe, et puis broyez
une cloche de gingembre et saffren, et mettez dedans, et tenez chaudement
emprès le feu; puis ayez des oeufs pochés en eaue et mettez deux ou trois
oeufs pochés en l'escuelle, et le lait dessus.



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