[Sca-cooks] Le Menagier's chicken in orange sauce

[Barbara Benson]

Greetings,
>From the version translated from the French edition of Jerome Pichon
published in 1846. Footnotes marked JP are by him; those marked JH are by
Janet Hinson, the translator; those marked DDF and EGC are by David Friedman
and Elizabeth Cook, respectively.(c) Janet Hinson. Webbed by Master
Cariadoc:

I found the following mentions of oranges:

Item, partridge must be plucked dry, and cut off the claws and head, put in
boiling water, then stick with venison if you have any, or bacon, and eat
with fine salt, or in cold water and rose water and a little wine, or in
three parts rose water, orange juice and wine, the fourth part.

MULLET is called "migon" in Languedoc, and it is scaled like a carp, then
split the length of the belly, cooked in water, with parsley on it, then
cooled in its water; and then eaten with green sauce, and better with orange
sauce. Item, it is good in pie.

Item, in summer, the sauce for a roast chicken is half vinegar, half
rose-water, and chilled, etc. Item, orange-juice is good.

TO MAKE WATER TO WASH THE HANDS AT TABLE. Boil sage, then strain the water,
and let cool until it is luke-warm. Or instead you can use camomile or
marjoram, or rosemary : and cook with the peel of an orange. And also laurel
leaves [bay leaves] are good for this.

To Make Candied Orange Peel, divide the peel of one orange into five
quarters and scrape with a knife to remove the white part inside, then put
them to soak in good sweet water for nine days, and change the water every
day; then cook them in good water just till boiling, and when this happens,
spread them on a cloth and let them get thoroughly dry, then put them in a
pot with enough honey to cover them, and boil on a low fire and skim, and
when you believe the honey is cooked, (to test if it is cooked, have some
water in a bowl, and let drip into this one drop of the honey, and if it
spreads, it is not cooked; and if the drop of honey holds together in the
water without spreading out, it is cooked;) and then you must remove your
orange peel, and make one layer with it, and sprinkle with ginger powder,
then another layer, and sprinkle etc., and so on; and leave it a month or
more, then eat.

I hope this might be helpful.

Glad Tidings,
Serena da Riva

> Katherine
> Bah. I just submitted my column, and the editor's asked me for a few
> hundred more words on Le Menagier - the man, the manuscript, whatever.
> Which, of course, I don't have.  Can anyone point me at some online
> sources for information about this subject?  Also, can anyone with a
> good edition of it tell me some other recipes in the book that have
> oranges in them?