Welcome, a birthday party- was Re: [Sca-cooks] testing what's up?

[Huette von Ahrens]

--- Finne Boonen <fboonen at vub.ac.be> wrote:


> I've found references for the desert(rice in
> milk with safron)

Hmmm.  A desert with rice ... would that be 
the Gobi Desert?  :-) [Sorry, I just couldn't
resist.]

The consept of a dessert in period is much
different than ours.  We think of most sweet
dishes or fruit based dishes as being desserts.
The medieval/renaissance cook would use these
just as we would use savory rice dishes or
vegetable dishes.  I.e. where we would serve
beef, potatoes and broccoli, it would not be
unusual for them to serve beef, rice in milk
with saffron, and apple pie.  For the medieval
cook, fruits were just the same as vegetables and
sugar was expensive and just another spice they
used to show off their wealth.

The closest thing to a dessert course would be
a subletie or a spectacle dish.

When I was looking up Saints Days, the closest
Saint Joseph would be St. Joseph the Worker
and his day is May 1st. There are a couple of
St. Josephines, but they are all 19th and 20th
Century.  

I did find this recipe associated with St.
Joseph.  It is modern because of the vanilla
and the baking powder, but fritters were made
during Medieval and Renaissance times, they just
used different leavenings, such as eggs or yeast.

Saint Joseph's rice fritters 
Frittelle Di San Giusepe

2 1/4 cups milk 
1 cup raw rice
Pinch of salt 
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons fruit brandy (optional)
Grated rind of 1 large orange 
3 tablespoons golden raisins
3 tablespoons pine nuts
Oil for deep frying
Confectioners' sugar

Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan. Add the
rice, salt, vanilla, and granulated sugar. Cover
the pan, and simmer gently until the rice is 
fully cooked.  Let rice cool.  Mix the rice
thoroughly with the eggs, flour, baking powder,
brandy, orange rind, raisins, and pine nuts. 
Heat the oil to 375° F. for deep-fat frying. Drop
the Frittelle mixture 1 tablespoon at a time into
the oil. Cook a few at a time, keeping the
Frittelle separate. Fry until golden brown. 
Drain the Frittelle on paper towels. Serve them
hot, sprinkled with confectioners' sugar. 
Yield: about 25 Frittelle

I hope that you have a happy birthday!

Huette




=====
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they 
shall never cease to be amused.


	
		
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