[Sca-cooks] advice on freezing

[Elaine Koogler]

Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise wrote:

>Greetings! I'm doing precook this weekend for my feast next weekend. I'm 
>worrying about premaking and freezing some of the things. First of all, 
>I figure making Cumin Chicken ahead (even though we will be thawing 
>frozen chicken thighs to do it) and freezing for storage should be safe.
>
>But what about thawing beef to slice, pound and stuff/roll it for aloes 
>of beef, then refreezing? Will that be ok?
>
>Also, I'm thinking of pre-making the carrot-cheese pies but not baking 
>them, just freezing them and then baking them when thawed. Or would it 
>be better to pre-bake and then freeze?
>
>Here's the Carrot Cheese Pie recipe, Brighid's translation and 
>redaction:
>
>Carrot-Cheese Pie
>
>Torta de Zanahoria (Carrot Pie)
>Wash and scrape the carrots, and remove them from the water and cook 
>them in good meat broth, and being cooked remove them and chop them 
>small with the knife, adding to them mint and marjoram, and for each two 
>pounds of chopped carrots [use] a pound of Tronchon cheese and a pound 
>and a half of buttery Pinto cheese, and six ounces of fresh cheese, and 
>one ounce of ground pepper, one ounce of cinnamon, two ounces of candied 
>orange peel cut small, one pound of sugar, eight eggs, three ounces of 
>cow's butter, and from this composition make a torta with pastry above 
>and below, and the tart pan with pastry all around, and make it cook in 
>the oven, making the crust of sugar, cinnamon, and rosewater. In this 
>manner you can make tortas of all sorts of roots, such as that of 
>parsley, having taken the core out of them.
>-- Diego Granado, Libro del Arte de Cozina, 1599
>
>Redaction by Brighid ni Chairain:
>
>1/2 lb. carrots, cooked and drained
>1/2 oz. candied orange peel
>4 oz. mozzarella, shredded
>1/4 tsp. dried marjoram
>6 oz. monterey jack, shredded
>1/2 tsp dried mint
>1-1/2 oz. ricotta cheese
>2 eggs, beaten
>1-1/2 TBS butter
>pastry for 2-crust pie (preferably made with butter)
>1/2 TBS cinnamon
>cinnamon sugar
>1/2 c. sugar
>rosewater
>
>Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine all of the filling ingredients and mix 
>thoroughly. Place in the bottom crust. Put on the top crust, and seal 
>the edges well. Brush the top crust with rosewater, and sprinkle with 
>cinnamon sugar. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the crust is brown, and 
>the filling is set.
>
>  
>
I'd be careful about refreezing meat of any sort that hasn't been 
cooked.  So far as the cheese pie is concerned, I'd becareful there as 
well....raw egg mixtures can be very tricky.  If you decide to pre-cook 
them, test one first...I'm not sure how freezing would affect the texture.

Kiri