An Evening in Alsace

Jan. 17-18, 1997

Lady Andrea MacIntire

Afternoon Repast

• Soupes Dorry
• Tarte aux Brie
• Tarte aux Pommes
• Rys

Evening Repast

• Chiconeys en pynes
• Tarte aux Espinards
• Makerouns

• Tartes aux Poisson
• Cariota
• Pates aux Herbes
• Boursin

• Bruet de Sarcynesse
• Syseros
• Chebolace

Morning Fare

• Pain d'Or
• Lost Eggs

Welcome to An Evening In Alsace. I have committed to creating an affordable and tasty menu, from period sources. I hope that this menu is to your liking. Please don't hesitate to make me aware of any comments you may hear about the food, good or bad, for in constructive criticism comes learning. If you find this meal pleasant, please remember, "It is fitting for all good men of great sense to render great thanks to those from whom they receive good, otherwise they are ingrates." - Master Chiquart, 1420, Chief Cook to the Duke of Savoy

The Recipes

Pain d'Or (Golden Toast)

To make golden toast, take white stale bread and cut into square slices, and toast on a grill, and take beaten egg yolks, and soak the toast in the eggs. And have good hot lard and brown them over the fire until they are well browned, and then take them out of the frying pan, and serve on a plate, with sugar.
Le Viandier de Taillevent, 14th century

Lost Eggs

Take four egg yolks and beat them and rock and powdered sugar, and let it all be beaten together well, then poured through a strainer, then fried on an iron skillet and after cut into lozenges; then let these lozenges be put upon a dish.
Le Menagier De Paris, 1395

Syseros

And to give understanding to him who will prepare the syseros, let him take chickpeas and pick them over grain by grain such that there remains but the chickpeas themselves, and then wash then in 3-4 changes of lukewarm water and put them to boil; and, being boiled, let him remove them from this water and put in other fresh water and put back to boil and being boiled put them to rest in said pot until the next day; and when the next day comes drain the water off them and put in again other fresh water and put to boil with a very little salt, almond oil, and parsley together with its roots well picked over and cleaned, and these roots should be scraped and very well washed, and a little sage. And do not put in anything else without the doctor's orders, and if he tells you to put in a little cinnamon and a little verjuice to give it a little flavor, put them in;otherwise not.
Du Fait de Cuisine, 1420

Chiconeys en pynes

Take gode cow milke and do it in a pot, take parsley, sauge, ysop, savory, and other good herbs, hew them and do them in the mylke and seeth them. Take capon half roasted and smyte them in pieces and do thereto pynnes and honey clarified, salt it and colour with safron and serve it forth.
The Forme of Curye,1378

Bruet of Sarcynesse

þe lyre of þe fresch buf & ket it al in pecis, & bred, & fry it in fresch gres. Tak it up & drye it, & do yt in a vessel wyþ wyn & sugur & powdre of clowys. Boyl yt togedere tyl þe flesch have drong þe lycoure, & tak almande mylk & quibibz, macis, & clowys, and boyle hem togedere. Tak þe flesch & do þerto & messe it forth.
"Diversa Servicia", 1379, in Curye on Inglysch

Tarte aux Espinards (Spinage)

Take Spinage and perboyle it tender, then take it up and wrynge oute the watyer cleane, and chop it very small, and set it uppen the fyre wyth swete butter in a frying panne and season it, and set it in a platter to cool, then fyll your tart and bake it.
A Noble Boke of Cookry Ffor a Prynce Houssolde, 1470

Tartes aux Poisson (Tartys of Fysch)

Make the cowche of fat chese and gyngener and canel and pur' crym of mylk of a kow and of Helysybodyn and grind hem well with safron and make the cowche of canel and of clowys and of rys and of gode Spycys as other Tartyrs fallyth to be.
Ancient Cookery, 1381

Tarte aux Pommes (Apple pye)

Take gode applys and gode spyces and figys and reysons and perys and wan they are well ybrayed colourd wyth safron wel and do yt in a coffyn and do yt forth to bake wel.
Ancient Cookery, 1381

Tarte aux Brie

Take a crust ynch depe in a trap. take zolkes of ayren rawe and chese ruayn and middle it and þ zolkes togyd and do þto powdo gyng, sug. safron. and salt. do it in a trap. bake it and sue it forth.
The Forme of Cury, 1390

Chebolace

Take oynouns and erbes and hewe hem small, and do þerto gode broth; and array it as þou didst caboches... if it not be in lent, alye it with 3olkes of eryen; and dress it forth
The Forme of Cury, 1390

Soupes Dorry

For to make soupes dorry: Nym onions and mince them small and fry them in oil d'olef - Nym wine and boil it with the onions, toast white bread and do it in dishes and good almond milk also and do them and serve it forth.
Two Fifteenth Century Cookbooks

Makerouns

Take and make a thynne foyle of dough and kerve it on peces, and cast hem on boillyng water &seep it wele. Take chese and grate it; and butter imelte, cast bynethen and aboven as losyns; and serve forth.
The Forme of Cury, 1390

Cariota

Roast carrots in the coals, then peel them, cleaning off the ashes, and cut them up. Put in a dish with oil, vinegar and a bit of wine; scatter a few mild herbs on the top.
De Honesta Voluptate (On Honest Indulgence and Good Health), Bartolomeo Platina, 15th Century

Rys

Take a porcyoun of rys & pyke hem clene,& seethe hem welle,& late hem kele; þen tak gode mylke of almaundys & do þerto sugre an honey,&serve forth.
Two Fifteenth Century Cookbooks

"Who wishes to maintain his body in health and resist the epidemic should have joy, flee sadness, leave the place where the sickness is, and frequent joyous company, drink good wine, use clean food, make good odours to oppose the foul smell, and not go out if it is not fair and clean."
Master Chiquart, 1420

This feast has been prepared for and overseen by the Household of The Dawn Mooseguard, and myself, Lady Andrea Caitlin MacIntire . Your comments and assistance are always welcome.

Comments from the Cook

Last modified: Wed Jan 21 14:29:20 EST 1998

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