[Sca-cooks] A Challenge

[Daniel Myers]

> -------- Original Message --------
> From: yaini0625 at yahoo.com
> Date: Thu, August 25, 2011 9:39 pm
> 
> To my esteem collegues-
> I am throwing the oven mitt down as a challenge.
> I need ideas on how to create a period Shakespearen chicken dish for 4-5 year olds. It is for a preschool age Shakespeare play.
> Bless Bless
> Aelina


Ok, the recipe below should be pretty easy (even in large quantities)
and still have the right flavor.  For a lot of small kids I'd serve it
in bowls with plastic flatware and lots of paper towels.  Please note
that I haven't tried it out yet, so the proportions and cooking time may
be off.  You might want to add a little salt as well.

- Doc

-=-=-

Shakespeare's Chicken

2 lbs. chicken (legs and thighs)
1 cup grapes
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sugar

Place all ingredients into a deep pie crust, cover, and bake at 350°F
until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165°F - about 50
minutes.  Serve on slices of toasted bread.

If desired, cook in a dutch oven or casserole instead of a pie crust.

Source [The Good Housewife's Jewell (1596), T. Dawson]: An other
bakemeate for Chickins. Firste season your Chickins with Suger, sinamon
and ginger, and so lay them in your pye, then put in vpon them
Gooseberies, or grapes, or Barberies, then put in some sweete Butter and
close them vp, and when they be almost baked, then put in a Cawdle made
with hard egges and white wine, and serue it.

Source [A Proper newe Booke of Cokerye (1575), A. Veale]: Chekins upon
Soppes. Take sorel sauce a good quantite and put in Cinomone and Suger,
and let it boyle and powre it upon the soppes, and then laye on the
chekins.

Source [The Treasurie of commodious Conceits (1573), J. Partridge]: To
bake Chickins. Chapter. iii. TAke and trusse your Chickins, the feete
cut off, put them in the Coffin: the for euery chickin put in euery Pye
a handfull of Gooseberies, & a quatity of butter about euery Chickin:
then take a good quantitie of Suger and Sinimon with sufficet salt, put
them into the Pye, let it bake one howre and a halfe, when it is baken
take the yolke of an egge & half a Goblet of veriuce wt sufficient suger
sodden together, put in the pye & serue it.