SC - Period French Toast Recipies

[Christine A Seelye-King]

k&t Radford asks:
> 
> What in the world is redacting???????  I have seen that term many times and
> it always throws me for a loop.

Strictly speaking, redact means to edit, or to frame or arrange for
publication. It really doesn't mean what we use it to mean, but it's one
of those examples of SCA jargon that just sounds like English, but isn't.

When somebody in the SCA uses the term, it means to adapt a recipe to a
more modern format for cooks who are more comfortable with modern-style
recipes, which specify things like quantities, cooking times, and temperatures.

A medieval recipe will read something like, "Boil your chickens in water
and wine until they are enough, take them up and quarter them and then
fry them, then toast brown bread and steep it, with some powdered pepper
and cumin, in the same broth; draw it through a strainer into a pot,
boil it a little and pour over your chicken on a dish, and sprinkle
fried almonds on it, and serve."

Doesn't sound too bad, huh? For a fictional recipe, I mean.

A "redaction" of the above would be a recipe like this:

Chicken in Cumin Sauce

2 chickens
3 cups white wine
3 cups water
3 slices dark-toasted whole wheat bread
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbs. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sliced blanched almonds
2 Tbs. lard or olive oil

1. Quarter the chickens, or have the butcher do it. In a five-quart
saucepan, bring the water and wine to a boil, add the chicken, and
simmer 15 minutes over medium heat.

2. In a large deep skillet, fry the almonds briefly in the lard or oil,
until just slightly brown. Remove almonds and keep on the side,
reserving the fat in the pan. Drain the chicken quarters, reserving the
broth. Brown the chicken in the fat, turning frequently, then lower the
heat and continue to cook slowly until nearly done.

3. While the chicken is cooking, steep the toast, the pepper and the
cumin in the hot broth until soft enough to pass through a strainer.
Puree it using a strainer, food mill, food processor or blender. Return
the sauce to the pot, simmer until it reaches the desired thickness,
then season with salt to taste.

4. By this time the chicken should be done; place on a serving dish and
pour the reduced sauce over it, garnish with the fried almonds, and serve.

Serves 8 

Now, I prefer to call this adapting or reworking; using a word meaning
"to edit" implies something is wrong with the original recipe, which is
not the case. But many people use it anyway.

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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