Historic Cookery

I love using the little bon mot “Huzzah” in my posts, and I use it quite often.  But what does it mean? “Huzzah” is the 18th and early 19th century equivalent of “Hooray” or “Yippee or “Right On” (for us older folks) or “You Go Girl” (for the younger set).  It was often used as [...]

Read Full Post »

On the subway this morning, I was reading the freebie paper metro. In it, there’s a short interview with this week’s “Hot Chef” designate, Sebastiaan Zijp (yes, you read that correctly, Zijp) of Bar Blanc Bistro. Apparently, he’s made it his personal mission to reinstate head cheese to the top of restaurant menus city-wide. HUZZAH! [...]

Read Full Post »

In honor of the legendary singer/songwriter Pete Seeger’s wish for a cod cake for his 90th birthday, here’s what Mrs. Lydia Child, a New Englander herself (albeit during the early 19th Century) and the author of numerous books, including The American Frugal Housewife (Boston, 1833), said about preparing such treats: Salt fish mashed with potatoes, [...]

Read Full Post »

I  thought I’d discuss the “how to” aspects of the receipt (recipe) that I recently posted.  As you may recall it was “To Broil Chickens,” from Hannah Glasse’s mid-eighteenth century work, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy.  Let’s go through it line by line: “Slit them down the Back…” Remember, this receipt was [...]

Read Full Post »

Now, if you read my most recent post, you’re probably wondering,  “Where’s the receipt?  It can’t be that paragraph at the end.  Where’s the list of ingredients?  What is the cooking temperature?  Or golly, the cooking time?!  That’s not a receipt.  Or even a recipe!” Au contraire, mes amis!  That little paragraph is, indeed, a [...]

Read Full Post »

I think perhaps it’s time to post a receipt (recipe).  I mean, golly, this IS a blog about food, albeit one with an historical slant.  In any case, here’s one that I enjoy and have done many times at the hearth.  It’s from one of my favorite 18th Century cookbooks, The Art of Cookery Made [...]

Read Full Post »

In a recent post I admitted that I don’t cook.   There are, however, occasional exceptions to this.  For instance, I serve on the Program Planning Committee of the Culinary Historians of New York (www.culinaryhistoriansny.org), which makes any and all arrangements for the organization’s monthly meetings.  As Committee members, we also provide the refreshments served [...]

Read Full Post »

You may’ve noticed that each time I write “receipts,” I also put “recipes” in parenthesis next to it.  You probably also wonder each time you read this coosome twosome, “What’s up with that?  Gee, can’t she decide which word to use?”  The reason I do this is really pretty simple.  As you know, I always [...]

Read Full Post »

When I do any historic open-fire cooking, I can deftly mix up a batch of biscuits, experiment with herbs ‘n spices, scale ‘n gut fish, create yummy cakes ‘n cookies, and do wonders with various vegetables and meats, all while hoisting a hot ‘n heavy pot or two.  And for some reason, because I do this well and enjoy it, [...]

Read Full Post »