SC - Re: Blanc Desire Again

[RuddR at aol.com]

Adamantius quotes and responds:

<<Gryphon's Moon wrote:
> 
> I've really enjoyed reading the responses to my first post regarding the
> recipes I found for Blanc Desire. The information regarding the possible
> origins of the name have been enlightening.
> 
> However, many of my other questions have not yet been addressed.

We get this way frequently. We haven't even had a week to mull over our
various arguments about the name, and that leaves a lot of the people on
the digest out of this! Puh-leeze!

Actually, in seriousness, people often ignore questions when they don't
feel they have anything to contribute, and hope someone else will.
Unfortunately, looks like no one felt they could answer the questions
properly. I'll do my best, but I should point out I've never made Blanc
Desire. 
 
> - Has anyone made this dish before, or have ideas about what the
> proportions should be?

No, as I say, I haven't. I'd suggest that a cup of almonds makes at
least a quart of almond milk, probably more, and I'd thicken it with
approximately 1 to 1 1/2 oz rice flour (4-6 Tbs) per quart, depending on
the desired thickness, and use that to bind approximately 1-2 lbs
cooked, chopped/ground/teased chicken breast or thigh meat, anywhere
from 3-5 cups, to get a thick, porridge-ey consistency. I don't really
care for these dishes to be too hardening-concrete thick, but something
more along the lines of a risotto, so you can actually spoon it down and
digest it without it sitting in your belly like a cinder-block.    
 
> - Has anyone run across similar recipes from other sources (all of mine
> came from Curye on Inglysch)?

See the Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books, ed. Austin, Early English
Text Society,>>

BLAUNDE SORRE
Chicken and Almond Cream Loaf

Take almondes, and blanche hem and stamp hem in a morter, and temper hem with 
fressh lene broth of a Capon, or beef, and wyne;  and if hit be in lenton, or 
in a fissh day, take faire broth of fressh fissh and wyne,  And boyle hem 
to-gidre a good while, and take hit vppe in a faire lynnen cloth that is 
clene wasshen, and (th)e water y-Wronge oute there-of;  And draw vnder the 
cloth, with a ladell, al the water that ye may, even as ye make colde creme;  
and then take it oute of the clothe, and cast hit in a faire potte, and lette 
boile;  and then take brawne of a capon and tese hit small, and bray hit in a 
morter (or elles in a fissh day, take a coddlyng or a haddok), and temper hit 
with almond melke, and cast sugur ynogh thereto;  and (th)en take hit oute of 
the potte al hote, and dresse hit into a dissh as ye doeth a colde creme;  
And sette ther-on rede Anneys in confite, and serue hit forth;  or elles take 
faire almondes yblanched, & set (th)eron.
Harleian MS 4016 (Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books)

1/2 C blanched almonds
1/4 C water
2 T sugar
3/4 C chicken broth
1/4 C white wine
1 pound ground chicken
1 T butter for sautéing
1/4 C unstrained almond milk 
Candied anise or blanched almonds for garnish

1.  Grind blanched almonds to a fine paste in a blender or food processor,  
adding a quarter cup of water a tablespoon at a time during grinding.

2.  In a saucepan, combine almond paste with the broth, wine, and sugar, 
stirring to blend smooth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring 
frequently, for about ten minutes. 

3.  Pour and scrape the mixture onto a large, clean white cloth, such as a 
dinner napkin or tea towel, laid on a large plater or cookie sheet with a 
rim.  Spread the mixture out and let it cool.  Then gather up the cloth by 
the corners, and gently wring it out over a cup or bowl.  Tie the cloth up 
like a bag, and hang up the mixture in the cloth over a cup or bowl for at 
least three hours.

3.  In a frying pan, sauté the ground chicken until lightly browned.  

4.  In a saucepan, over medium heat, combine the cooked chicken, almond 
cream, sugar, and almond milk, mix well, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and 
simmer for about ten minutes, stirring frequently until mixture is very thick.

5.  Dish mixture into a lightly oiled mold or bowl.  Cool, and turn out onto 
a plate for serving.  Garnish with candied anise or blanched almonds.

Serves six to eight.

Rudd Rayfield
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