My latest release, The Knight's Scarred Maiden, involves the heroine, Helissent, who is
obsessed with cooking and baking. To understand her, I tried some of her recipes. Today, I'd like to share the Medieval Feast I, and my cousin,
made (under no circumstances do I recommend trying this alone).For the guests (I actually invited people over--or should I say: people actually came!), we made:
Fish with Sauce Verte
Roast Chicken with Peynreguson (raisin paste) Fennel Soup
Rastons Bread (an egg bread, that is twice baked)
Dessert of Chardewardon (pear sauce) and Herbed Fritters
So how did it turn out?
The Sauce Verte (parsley, mint, betony, pellitory, and
bread soaked in vinegar) tasted like vinegar and herbs. To
save the day, my cousin added mayonnaise. It was yummy.
The Peynreguson (raisins, pepper, ginger, breadcrumbs, white wine), was
ugly before and after it was cooked, but it was delicious with chicken. When I wasn’t looking my cousin added butter and champagne...as you do.
Then there was the fennel soup (water, fennel,
and onions). It tasted like water, fennel, and onions. Asiago cheese was added
to that.
Raston’s bread fascinated me because after the first bake, you’re
required to slice off the top, scoop out the middle, saturate that in butter,
put it back in, and reassemble it to bake again. I didn’t know how this would
work without falling apart when you cut it. Guess what? It fell apart when I cut it. But at
no time did the extremely buttered bread not taste good.
There was the delicious Chardewardon pear sauce that was supposed to be
a burgundy broth with a jewel-like clarity. It looked and tasted liked spiced applesauce
and the kids ate it all.
As for the Herbed Fritters. Out of everything, I doubted these the most.
Flour, water, salt, herbs (thyme, sorrel, parsley, marjoram), fry, and slather
with honey. I was concerned the herbs would
make it taste soapy. But I was wrong. The little dough balls could have handled
a lot more herbs, and they were devoured by the pickiest eater.
Will I do it again? Yes, but I won’t tell my family what they’re eating
next time. Using the word Medieval made the children suspicious.
More importantly, did it give me a good idea of what Helissent shared with the hero Rhain in the story? Maybe. But I
suspect she is a better cook than me….
You can read my other misadventures on different recipes on the Harlequin Blog May 25, June 2nd and June 13th. http://harlequinblog.com. I've also shared recipes on my website. http://nicolelocke.com
Nicole
Nicole Locke is the author of Harlequin Lovers and Legends series. For more information about her and her writing, check out her website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest.
4 comments:
What fun. The Herbed Fritters actually sound quite yum.
Mary, it was a lot of fun! Maybe too much because my family thinks I've gone mad. Yesterday, I made a honey cake and I'll be making another version this morning. Do you bake?
how fun. a little cream, butter, etc... can do wonders for any food.
denise
Denise, I always think butter or garlic (or both) save the day on most dishes! I'm constantly adding to recipes...
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