Attelets Sauce - An American Civil War recipe

Do you know what an attelet is?  I didn't.  I had to look it up.  Autocorrect wanted to change the word to "athlete," but I insisted I had spelled it correctly.  That taught me that an attelet is a small, metal skewer, often decorative and made of precious metals such as gold or silver.  Attelets are used to hold food, often hors d'oeuvres, to display it elegantly.

So now you know.  An attelet is basically a small, decorative metal spit used to show off food in a fancy way.

An attelet.  Click here for attribution.

I was preparing for a Civil War reenactment and looking through the 1833 cookbook for recipes that I could make as a demonstration item.  That is, I was cooking over charcoal while wearing a period outfit and talking to the public about what I was making.  I needed to be able to fix it in front of the public, with the exception of when I walked into the tent to get items from the ice chest.

This sauce looked interesting and tasty.  I didn't have metal attelets, but hey, we were in a war setting, so wooden skewers would have to do!

My plan was to make the sauce to serve with thinly sliced, grilled beef on skewers.  I did that and then made the recipe again at home for this post.

The recipe is from Mrs. N.K.M. Lee's The Cook's Own Book, page 182, in the sauce section, which is why the "________" is in the title.  Click here to see an 1854 reprint of her book.  

My Redaction

1 to 2 tablespoons each of finely chopped parsley, mushrooms, and shallots

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup beef broth

1/4 teaspoon pepper

salt to taste

2 egg yolks, well beaten

1/2 pound thinly sliced beef

Sauce ingredients.

First, soak wooden skewers in water while preparing the sauce.  Cut the beef into 1-inch-wide strips and set aside.

Mix the mushrooms, shallots, and parsley and then sauté them in the butter over low heat until the shallots are translucent.  

Sprinkle the flour over the mixture (avoid lumps) and stir well.  Let it cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

Whisk in the broth, stirring it vigorously.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to make the mixture simmer.  Add the pepper and salt to taste. 

When the mixture thickens slightly, remove from the heat.  Add the yolks by pouring them in while stirring the broth briskly.

Once the yolks are thoroughly mixed, put the sauce back on the heat while stirring well to slightly cook the yolks.

Put the beef strips on the skewers and grill the meat.

Serve the skewers on a plate and the sauce in an open cup or bowl.  Dunk the beef in the sauce to eat.

Roughly equal parts.

The finished sauce.

Grilling the meat.

My Notes

At the reenactment, I didn't have parsley.  I aimed for roughly equal parts of shallots and mushrooms.  In both attempts, I used baby portabella mushrooms.

The idea is to make a roux with the butter and flour, then use the roux to thicken the broth.  The egg yolks make it even thicker and richer.

The broth I used had salt in it, so salt your sauce to taste.

The Verdict

Oh my, that is one good sauce.  At the reenactment, I walked around with the platter of skewers and a cup of sauce.  People used their fingers to pull the meat off the skewer and dunk it into the sauce, then pop the meat into their mouths.  You could see the sauce was thick enough to stick to the meat and not drip all over when transported to a mouth.

It was similarly thick when I made the sauce at home.  

Note the thick sauce.

The flavor was rich with shallot and mushroom flavors, enhanced by the savory umami of the beef broth.  The pepper added a nice bitter flavor, too.

Everyone in both attempts enjoyed it.  I had sauce left over from the reenactment, so I served it as a gravy over mashed potatoes, which was quite excellent.  At home, I used the extra gravy as a sauce over baked chicken thighs; this was also good.

I think the reenactment version was a bit tastier; I probably used more shallots.  I wasn't measuring except by visually comparing quantities.  I am usually moving quickly, too.  

Success!  Quite a wonderful success, really.  Make this sauce as it is easy and tasty.  

I think I would use bigger chunks of beef instead.  The very thin slices grilled quickly (a bonus, so the sauce didn't get cold or get overcooked) but they did get chewy.  I probably need to improve my grilling skills.

Eggs Bourgeoise - An American Civil War recipe

Recently I participated in a Civil War reenactment as a cook.  I did my homework and found a cookbook from 1833, which was clearly still in use 30 years later.  How did I know that?  I had been sifting through Godey's Lady's Book, a popular magazine at the time, for relevant recipes (they called them "receipts") and realized that some of them were copied directly from the 1833 book.

It is also reasonable to believe that recipes from 30 years previous could still be in use when considering how people passed cookbooks through generations and how favorite recipes are recalled even without a written reminder.  

The book I used is called The Cook's Own Book, written by Mrs. N. K. M. Lee.  Click here to see an 1854 reprint of her book.  It is quite complete with advice on food items and their health benefits (or detriments) as well as a focus on confectionery and extra recipes from Eliza Leslie, born in the late 1700s and wrote many cookbooks and other works.  Click here to see Project Gutenberg's list of her books.

The recipe I tried is on page 70, called Eggs Bourgeoise.  It seemed like just the right thing to cook over charcoal to add to the group breakfast menu.

For this blog post, I tried it at home in a modern kitchen.  In my notes below, I'll comment on the changes I made for the reenactment.

My Redaction

1 tablespoon butter (more is okay)

4 large slices of sourdough bread

4 slices of swiss cheese

10 eggs, beaten with

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

(I forgot to use nutmeg)

Alas, no nutmeg.

Using a 9-inch diameter cast iron skillet, warm the butter over low heat until it melts.  Coat the bottom and the sides of the pan with the butter.   Having some extra butter in the bottom of the pan is a benefit.

Arrange the bread to cover the bottom of the pan, tearing the pieces as needed to fit.

Arrange the cheese to cover the layer of bread, tearing the pieces to fit.

Pour the eggs, salt, and pepper mixture over the bread and cheese.

Set the pan over low heat (I started at 3 of 10).  Allow to cook until eggs are puffed and firm and they pull away from the pan's sides, about 25 to 30 minutes.  

If the eggs smell "done" but are not fully set, turn the heat down to finish cooking.  Tilt the pan as needed to move the liquid eggs from the center to the sides.  

The eggs might settle after removing them from the heat.

Slice and serve (or use a big spoon to scoop out what you want instead of slicing into wedges).

Bread and butter

With cheese.

And eggs.  Notice how the cheese is floating.

My Notes

At the reenactment, I removed the crusts from the bread in case someone didn't like that.  I also used shredded mozzarella cheese instead of sliced swiss.  

At first I used 8 eggs but that did not look like enough, so I added 4 more eggs.  That was too much!  At first it fit in the pan but when the eggs started to puff, they almost overflowed the pan.  That is why I used 10 eggs at home.  

My charcoal was gentle enough at the reenactment.  At home, the stove setting of 3 seemed too high after 15 minutes, so I put it down to 1 of 10 to finish cooking.  I think 1 or 2 from the beginning would have been fine, although it might have taken longer to cook.  I don't know how long it took over charcoal.

Pretty!

The Verdict

I served it for breakfast, but honestly, it can be served as a luncheon or supper dish.

In both cases, it was good.  As in, "Wow, this tastes great!  I want more!" as a reaction from all who tried it in both locations.  

I noticed the bread and cheese floated in the eggs when I poured in the eggs at home than what I recall at the reenactment.  Not that it mattered or made any difference in the final product, just an observation.

It looked like the bread formed a sort of crust, which I believe protected the eggs from overcooking.  At the least it added bulk and a lovely chewy aspect to the dish.  (Except for the very middle of the home version, where something overcooked a little and it was harder to cut through the crust.)

The mozzarella cheese melted into the eggs as they cooked.  The swiss floated on top and melted across the cooked eggs.  Both worthwhile results.  

The amount of salt and pepper was just right.  I wish I had remembered the nutmeg!

It was a robust main dish, creamy and chewy and savory.  Success, both times.

The leftovers (at home) were good reheated, too.

If I didn't want quite so much, I would use a smaller pan to achieve the same results.  Just use enough bread to cover the bottom, a generous helping of cheese (shredded was easier, I thought), and fewer eggs.  Reduce the amount of seasoning.  Leave enough room for the eggs to puff.

You could also bake it in the oven, like a fritatta.

This is clearly a good meal for camping.

I think a fresh salsa would be good over the top.  Try it!

Apple Snow-Balls - A recipe from the American Civil War

In 1830 in Philadelphia, Louis Antoine Godey began publishing Godey's Lady's Book offering advice for women regarding fashion, current events, popular culture, and more.  

In 1837, Sarah Josepha Hale took over as editor where her high standards and willingness to publish original works from women writers, as well as her advocacy for women's rights and responsibilities, helped to expand readership.  When she took over, it was at 10,000 and, by 1860, it was over 150,000.  

The most popular features of the magazine included hand-tinted fashion plates in each issues, patterns for women to use in making garments at home, sheet music for piano, and short stories by authors like Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49), Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-64), Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-94), and Washington Irving (1783-1859), among others.  It also included news and features. (click here for citation)

Godey's also contained recipes, as listed under the general heading of "Receipts, &c."  This section included advice on running and maintaining the kitchen, and sometimes on health and medicine, because often the woman of the family was responsible for treating the family's ills.

Last year I participated in a Civil War reenactment as a cook, and I was in charge of desserts.  One that I prepared was such a hit - and easy! - that I wanted to share it on my blog.  It was published in the January 1863 edition, found on page 90.

I did not have the room in my kettle at the reenactment or at my home to make six of these.  My recommendation is to make up to as many apples as will fit in the pan that can hold the boiling water.  Think 2 to 3 servings per apple to help you plan for your meal.  

My Redaction

Per apple:

1 apple

1 long slice of lemon zest

1 to 2 inch long piece of cinnamon bark or 1 to 2 whole cloves

1/4 to 1/2 cup rice

1 large cloth napkin, big enough to wrap around the apple and still have some room

1 piece of string long enough to tie up the napkin

One big kettle of hot water

Don't forget the cloth!

Get the water to boiling (it takes a while), then keep it at a simmer until you put the apples in.

Dampen the cloth and spread it out on the counter.  It should be moist, not dripping.  Set the string nearby.

Cut each apple into fourths, cutting from the top down.  Remove the core, stem, and flower end.  Start reassembling the apple, placing the zest and spice into the space left from the core.

Pour the rice into the middle of the cloth, then spread it around in a circle with a radius about the same as the height of the apple.

Holding the parts of the apple together with one hand, set the apple in the middle of the rice layer.  Use your free hand to start pulling the corners and sides of the cloth up over the apple.  Work around the cloth; after doing half the cloth, use the free hand to hold the apple and cloth together and the other hand to pull up the rest of the cloth.

Bring the corners and edges together over the top of the apple.  Do not pull them snugly around the apple, but don't make them too loose.  Tie them with the string.  Make sure all the edges are above the string.

Set the bundle into the simmering water.  After all the bundles are in, make sure the water reaches to the top of the apples (where the tie is).  

Bring the water to a gentle boil and set the timer for 45 minutes.  About halfway through, turn the bundles over.

They are done when you poke the side with your finger and you can feel that the rice is soft.

Pull a bundle out of the water, letting it drain for a few seconds.  Place on a plate and remove the tie.  Open the cloth about halfway off the apple, then place another plate or bowl on top.  Flip the two and then remove the cloth.

With luck, the result will look just like a snow ball.

Quartered.

Cored.

Nice long lemon zest.  Use more cinnamon.

Spread that rice.

Reassembling the apple.

Hold it while bringing up the sides of the cloth.

A nice bundle.  

Get the water up to the ties, if possible.

Put the entire bundle in the water!

My Notes

It does take a while to heat up the large amount of water, so start early.  I recommend filling it to a bit less than you think you'll need to cover the bundles, because the level will rise when they go in.  Then add more hot water as needed when starting to cook.

I used one red (Gala) and one green (Granny Smith) apple.  Green apples tend to be tart.

The first time I did this, I just used zest as I didn't have whole cinnamon quills and not everyone likes the bold taste of cloves.  This time I used zest and cinnamon.

The amount of rice is up to you.  I didn't measure it the first time; for a reenactment, I just scooped and poured until it looked "right".  This time I used 1/2 cup.

Make sure the cloths are completely inside the kettle in the water, not hanging over the edge as one picture shows.  You don't want to set the cloth on fire.

I used my hand to pull the bundle out of the water.  It is hot.  You could use tongs or a slotted spoon instead.  

Out of the pot.

Start opening it up.

Flipped!

The Verdict

I served them with these garnishes:  butter, cream, maple syrup, and a cardamom-sugar mix.  My guest taster and I could put any or all of these on our servings.

At the reenactment, they looked just like perfect snowballs.  At home, they were close but had broken open around the apple.

Not perfect, but so what?

The rice was cooked through and the apples were tender.  It was easy to use a serving spoon to scoop up a piece of apple and some rice.  Then we added toppings as we liked.

One serving (of many)

We both tried both apple bundles separately.  My guest liked the tartness of the green apple best, and I liked the sweetness of the red apple.

The first thing I noted was that if you don't put the butter on right away, it won't melt into the rice.  We both agreed that it didn't need butter anyway.  We liked adding a little cream, and we especially liked the maple syrup.  The cardamom-sugar mix was also very tasty.

We loved the texture and the flavor of apple mixed with rice.  The lemon was lightly persistent throughout, as was the cinnamon.  Adding more toppings just made it better.

Success!

At the reenactment, people enjoyed it very much.  One person came back for seconds and then for another helping for a family member.  

We found it to be a "wholesome and satisfactory food" for everyone!

A thought I had later was that you could season it differently - using more savory spices such as black pepper - and serve it as a side dish to roast meat.  

Final note:  I have been going through Godey's to collect the recipes in one place.  Then I discovered that many of their recipes are word-for-word copies of recipes from N.K.M. Lee's The Cook's Own Book, published in 1832/1833.  That is another good source of period recipes.  Lee's book has several versions of snow balls.

Indian Cake, a frugal recipe from 1800s US

I own a reprint of Lydia Maria Child's The American Frugal Housewife, 12th edition, originally published in 1833.  You can view a digital copy of the 1832 edition through Project Gutenberg by clicking here. What's impressive is that the book was originally published in 1828 - yes, it was that popular.  I also found the 27th edition, published in 1841 at archive.org.

ISBN 978-0-918222-98-5

Mrs. Child was, according to Wikipedia, "an American abolitionist, women's rights activist, Native American rights activist, novelist, journalist, and opponent of American expansionism."  She was a prolific author and kept busy until the end of her life in 1880.  Truly an accomplished woman, especially for that century.

I recently participated in a Civil War Reenactment where I was cooking period-appropriate recipes from both the North and the South.  Mrs. Child's book was a valuable resource for me, considering that wartime often requires frugality.  I had several of her receipts (recipes) ready to prepare if the timing allowed.

One that I had hoped to do but didn't get to (this happens often in historical cooking -- I always overprepare just in case) was from page 75:

Indian meal is corn meal, and the first recipe is frugal in that it does not call for eggs, milk, or leavening of any sort.  In my mind, not having eggs or milk could be expected when you are traveling with the armies as it is hard to keep eggs whole during bumpy travels and keep milk fresh without refrigeration.  

At first glance, the frugal version looks like it could be cornbread.  However, since it doesn't have leavening, you can't expect it to be puffed and soft like a typical cornbread.  Also, in the South, white corn meal is preferred, and yellow in the North.  I couldn't acquire white corn meal.

My Frugal Redaction

4 cups cornmeal

2 tablespoons molasses

2 tablespoons solid shortening

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup cooked pumpkin (from a can)

3 cups boiling water

The water was boiling while the picture was taken.

Put all the ingredients except the water in a bowl.  Add the boiling water and stir until well-blended, especially watch to have the shortening melted and mixed thoroughly.  I found it easiest to stir with a spoon.  

You might need to adjust the amount of water depending on how the cornmeal absorbs it.  My mix was moist but not wet or runny.  

At the reenactment, I had planned on cooking the cake in a frypan over the fire or frying it in small patties.  At home I baked half of it in the oven and the fried the rest as patties.

Just add boiling water, and stir.

The batter:  moist but still thick, not runny.

Method 1 - In the oven.

The oven was preheated to 350 degrees F.  I greased a cast iron skillet with shortening.  Half of the batter was spread in the skillet and baked for 20 minutes, uncovered.  I noticed that the layer was about 1/2 inch thick or a little less.  After 20 minutes, it looked baked on the top and was firm to the touch.

Ready to bake.

Baked.

Method 2 - Fried patties

I preheated the greased cast iron skillet over medium heat (4 or 5 out of 10).  I spooned enough batter to spread into a patty about 3 to 4 inches in diameter and patted it to about 1/2 inch thickness or less.  After about 5 minutes of cooking on one side, I flipped it to brown the other side.  I removed the patty when it looked toasted, was a golden yellow (not bright yellow like the meal), and was firm to the touch.  I cooked them in batches, regreasing the pan as needed to keep them from sticking.

You can see the color difference between cooked and raw.

The Verdict

The baked didn't get toasted golden but it was cooked all the way through.  It easily came out of the pan to be served on a plate.  I cut it in wedges to serve.  

Wedge on edge to show that it is cooked through.

The patties were served as a pile on a plate.  They were cooked all the way through, too.

Visually more interesting than the baked version.

Also cooked through.

Both types were thin, dense pieces of bread, but not too chewy or hard.  I saw moisture in the middle of both.

My guest taster and I liked both versions.  The flavor was mild, which didn't conflict with the sausage and veggie stew I served with them.  In fact, they were a good accompaniment to the stew, both plain and buttered.  We also had a piece with butter and mulberry jam on it for dessert.

I could not taste the pumpkin but my guest taster thought he could.  There was a slight bitter flavor, not unpleasant, which I attributed to the molasses.  It had enough salt, was only mildly sweet, and the corn flavor was pleasing.  

My guest taster liked them both equally.  I preferred the fried patties because they had a bit of cornmeal crunch that the baked version didn't offer.  

Success!

It felt like the fried patties were cornmeal pancakes or something from my childhood, fried mush.  This was a good thing!  I used to put butter and maple syrup on the fried mush, which would be good here, too.

Keep in mind that if you do this and bake the entire amount of batter, you will get a thicker cake that will take longer to bake.  You will want to add more boiling water to make a pourable batter.  Adjust accordingly.

Mrs. Child suggested ways to be less frugal by adding milk or buttermilk, eggs, more sweetener, leavening, and spices.  I would suggest adding bacon bits, chives, or maybe topping it with shredded cheese once it is cooked. 

I have since found that the leftovers are good reheated.  Once I broke up a patty into pieces and mixed them into the stew.  That was good, too.