[Sca-cooks] alfajores/al-hasu

[Suey]

	Luis Benavides Barajas in _Nueva-Clásica Cocina Andalusí_ page 265 provides a recipe for the what appears to him to be the most ancient alfajores containing flour, eggs, yeast and butter. They are baked and they can be make into any shape desired and served with one on top of they other with mermelade or syrup in between. Unfortunately Benvadies never gives his source but his alfajor appears to be the forefather of /alfajor carioca/ found in South America today**. Covarrubias defines alfajor as a Moorish pastry made with breadcrumbs, honey, /alegrías/ (Prince's feather seeds I think)and spices. Antonio Nebrixensis defines /alaxú/ or /alfaxú/ as preserves made with honey and bread crumbs. He does not mention that the word means stuffing and Benavides'are not stuffed.
	As per Dulces navidad.qxd <http://www.auladelafarmacia.org/docs/AULA%20delafarmacia%20N10%20-%20El%20arte%20culinario%20desde%20la%20Rebotica.pdf> at www.auladelafarmacia.org/docs/Spanish alfajores were first documented in the 14th Century where they are defined as a spice for hypocras. They are traced back to Medina Sidonia, the haven of Moorish desserts and here they are described as cylinder or croquette shaped, 11  cm high but the ingredients listed include almonds and hazelnuts which we are trying to avoid.  Too we are after a Spanish version not a South American one. Benavides recipes are ok but I sure there is a better one somewhere. 	


Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 09:45:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] alfajores/al-hasu
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Message-ID: <20060505164509.39580.qmail at web54107.mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Where did you find this information?  It doesn't match any information that
I have seen or read.  It sounds very much apocryphal to me.

The filled alfajores that I know of are only 19th century.  The Spanish
alfajores are entirely different and are a small cake make with honey
and almonds.  The only connection that they have is their name.



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>    1. mini? popovers (Stefan li Rous)
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>    4. Re: Non-feast cooking (elisabetta at klotz.org)
>    5. Re: Timely topic.....even food-related (Laura C. Minnick)
>    6. alfajores/al-hasu (Suey)
>    7. Dariole/Dariola (cldyroz at aol.com)
>    8. New Food Guide Regs re: holding food without temp	control
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>   10. Re: alfajores/al-hasu (Huette von Ahrens)
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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 01:05:38 -0500
> From: Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>
> Subject: [Sca-cooks] mini? popovers
> To: SCA-Cooks maillist SCA-Cooks <SCA-Cooks at ansteorra.org>
> Message-ID: <610CF3F2-C437-4515-87F7-E322E8A1B689 at austin.rr.com>
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> Gunthar said:
>  >>>>
> (Tomorrow I'm cooking her a Greek dish of beef browned
> in olive oil with good green olives and ripe tomatoes added.
> Covered and simmered for two hours. I"m also making
> homemade cornbread to go with it since she brought me
> a cast iron muffin tin. Or maybe I'll make mini-popovers.)
> <<<<
>
> Are you talking about doing these "mini-popovers" in this same cast  
> iron muffin tin?
>
> If so, why are you saying *mini* popovers? I thought popovers were  
> traditionally done in standard sized muffin pans. That's how I  
> remember having them in restaurants and making them once or twice  
> myself. There was a restaurant near Dallas Love Field, the old  
> airport, that I think was called Jay's Seafood Restaurant, or some  
> such. Hey, this was back in the 60s, so I'm not sure.  I think my  
> family used to simply call it "Jay's". They had wonderful popovers  
> with green onions in them which they'd bring around to the tables.
>
> Ummm. I may just have to try some pop-overs again. Maybe I can figure  
> out how to keep them from collapsing, unlike most of the ones from Jays.
>
> Stefan
> --------
> THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
>     Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
> StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
> **** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 4 May 2006 20:53:24 -0700
> From: David Friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com>
> Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Luncheon Question (Martha Oser)
> To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
> Message-ID: <p0623090ac0807c9d33c8@[192.168.0.2]>
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>   
>> elisabetta at klotz.org wrote:
>>
>>     
>>> We have a tavern event every year, I cooked it the years it had a 
>>> Scottish theme
>>> and a Persian/Syrian theme. (the place and time change, but it is always a
>>> tavern with simple fare).
>>>
>>> Scottish: I made small meat pies, soups, larger pies (steak and mushroom,
>>> chicken, leek and cheese) and Scotch eggs (hard-boiled eggs wrapped 
>>> in sausage
>>> and deep fried).
>>>
>>> Persian/Syrian: I forget the names, but there was a hard-boiled egg 
>>> wrapped in
>>> rice and beef (cooked in the oven), a lemon chicken with pasta (and spices)
>>> (this was a kid favorite), a fish in garlic and bitter orange sauce, a hot
>>> lentil dish, Turkish coffee and yummy nuts balls for dessert.
>>>       
>> Mmmm, I think I want some of those Persian recipes.  That wrapped 
>> egg sounds intriguing, kind of a Persian Scotch Egg?
>>     
>
> Do you know what the sources are? I don't recognize the recipes.
>