Saumon Rosted

The title translated from the medieval English:   
"Roasted Salmon in Onion Wine Sauce"

Salmon was on sale the other day and I found a piece that looked very inviting.  Once I got it home, I knew I needed to find an historical recipe for it.  The most common recipe I found was a fruit and salmon tart -- it looked great but after the posts on mincemeat and  on fruitcake, I was surely tired of dishes with raisins, currants, dates, and figs.  I needed something different!

This recipe really sounded tasty:

6 salmon steaks for broiling
1 1/2 cups red wine
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp powdered ginger
4 small onions, finely minced
1 Tbsp vinegar

Garnish: 6 foils of parsley, wet in vinegar

I had to guess at what a "foil of parsley" was!

This recipe came out of Fabulous Feasts, Medieval Cookery and Ceremony, by Madeleine Pelner Cosman, page 172.

Pub. 1976 by George Braziller, Inc.

Method:

1.  Broil salmon steaks, or as the fifteenth-century recipe suggests, "roast on a grid iron", about 5 minutes on each side.

2.  Slowly simmer wine with spices, onions, and vinegar, about 12 minutes.

3.  Pour the hot syrup over the salmon and serve.  Wet parsley foils in vinegar to garnish the salmon steak.

This looks pretty straightforward, yes?

I changed the order a little bit.  First I used a food processor to make short work of making the onions "finely minced".  In fact, they were so finely minced they looked like coarsely made mashed potatoes.

Mashed potatoes?  Or snow?

I was happy with this because I knew the sauce wasn't strained before being poured over the salmon and I really didn't want to taste somewhat-cooked onion chunks with my fish.

Then, while the oven's broiler was heating up, I assembled the sauce ingredients.

Stirred and warming up

I used a medium heat to get it to start simmering, then I dropped the heat down to low -- just enough to barely simmer and I kept watch over it, adjusting as necessary -- while I got the salmon ready to broil.

I think the recipe would consider this one steak

Five minutes on one side, three minutes on the other was sufficient to cook the salmon without drying it out.

When the sauce and salmon were both ready,

I combined and garnished them.

Voila'!  I think it is pretty

I used three "foils" on this one piece of salmon because I thought it looked nice.

The Verdict:  I liked the flavor just fine.  It was very subtle and moistened the salmon nicely.  The onion was not strong at all and blended in with the spices.  I would say the only thing that disappointed me was I expected more of a flavor "zing".  In fact, I ended up putting some salt on the whole thing, which is a big deal because I normally don't salt my food.  I think if I did this again, I would keep out the vinegar from the simmering stage and mix it in just before serving, to give the overall flavor some of that acidic "sparkle".

This actually used only a little of the "syrup" (and it really was somewhat syrupy in thickness), so when I use the leftovers, I will add some vinegar just after reheating it.  I think it might be good on roast chicken. 

So I will call this a "success" with only a slight reservation.

Silly things I learned today:  Now I know that smoke alarm in the dining room exists to tell me I'm broiling salmon.  And I thought it was just to let me know when I was cooking bacon.  I also learned that when I am cooking over a very hot oven, I should not wear a metal necklace.  It got hot quickly and felt like it was burning my neck!

More On Mincemeat -- The Pie

A few days after I covered the mincemeat in brandy and set it into a dark, cool cabinet, I looked in on it.

Interestingly enough, all the brandy on top was gone.  The mixture itself looked like it had absorbed a lot of the liquid throughout -- it was thick and not as fluid in the jar.  I took this to be a good sign for its "ripening" and poured more brandy over the top.  I felt it was important to have a 1/4 to 1/2 inch layer of brandy to help avoid mold growth.

After a month had passed, it was time to try it in a pie.  I kept it simple, as Mrs. Leslie suggested:  "These pies are always made with covers, and should be eaten warm."  (Here is her ebook:  Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches.)

Just two ingredients

I took that to mean that I should put down a crust, fill it with mincemeat, cover it with a second crust, and bake it until done.

Crust plus filling

With its top cover

The filling was thick and a little juicy.  Not at all what I had put into the container originally and for this I was glad.  Before I used it I inspected it carefully -- there was no mold in the jar and no "off" smells, so I think it was fine to use.  I tasted a little of it and liked the overall flavor although the brandy was strong for my tastes. 

My ancient copy of "The Joy of Cooking" said to bake it at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cook it for another 30 minutes.  This was for a store-bought mincemeat filling.  I wasn't certain if my filling needed significant cooking time but I guessed that at least the suet needed a chance to melt and make the filling rich. I really didn't want to take a bite of pie and get a mouthful of uncooked beef fat, even if it had been marinating in Madeira and brandy for a month!

I ended up cooking it for 35 minutes at 350.  It probably could have gone a little longer to be more browned on top.

I estimate that I used about 3 cups of the filling in this pie.  It looks like I could get another 5 to 6 pies out of what was left.  This looks to be a fun holiday season.

Hot out of the oven

The Verdict:  I sliced the pie when it was cool enough to handle but still warm.  With each bite I could still taste the brandy -- it was strong enough to warm me on the way down but not so strong as to make me want to stop eating it.  The juices, sugar, and spices combined to make a lovely syrup around the dried fruit and meat.  Occasionally I got a taste of meat as it was chewier than the fruit.  The flavor overall was very, very good; hearty, rich, flavorful, and in its way, old-fashioned.  It reminded me of the mince pies I've had before but was still different.  Partly, I think, because it wasn't as sweet as regular mince.  Yes, definitely a success!  I can imagine people eating this one to two hundred years ago, savoring the rich flavor with spice, brandy, meat, and fruits.

Other thoughts about it:  This is definitely an "adult" dessert.  The brandy was too strong for children, I think.  Also, as Mrs. Leslie recommends, it is best warmed.  When cold the flavors were harsh and the suet congealed.  I really didn't like seeing cold bits of fat in my pie.

Old-fashioned delicious

Mrs. Leslie leaves us with one more piece of her wisdom:  "Whenever you take out any for use, pour some additional brandy into the jar before you cover it again, and add some more sugar."  Done!  I mixed in about 1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed the filling down to remove air bubbles, wiped the sides of the jar above the filling level, and poured in enough brandy to cover the top.  Then I cleaned the outside of the jar well and put it back in the cabinet.

In a Christmas Mood: Fruitcake

Some things in life need to be planned for.  Christmas means thinking about gifts (no C. Eve shopping for me!) and something I have always loved, fruitcake.

I know, it has a bad reputation.  Comedian Johnny Carson is reported as saying, "There is only one fruitcake in the world; people just keep passing it around."  Or something like that.  But I truly love it, in its many varied forms.  Sliced, slightly heated, with a dollop of whipped cream on top and I'm a happy person.  Add a glass of eggnog on the side and I am in ecstasy.

The really good fruitcake is made well in advance of the holiday season so it can be wrapped in cheesecloth and soaked in brandy.  And that, my friends, is what was on my mind today.

I perused a number of books and viewed a variety of recipes.  The modern ones tend to request that colorful mix of candied fruits and I was tempted because I have some of that mix in my cupboard.  But I was looking for something that was older.  How old should I go?

Here is a history of the fruitcake:   http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Cakes/Fruitcake.htm

Although the Romans talked about fruitcake, the one that is so familiar to us started in the Middle Ages and improved over the years with nuts, spices, dried fruits, sweetener.

The earliest recipe I could find that still resembled what I love at Christmas came from Elizabeth Ellicott Lea's Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers, which I found as an ebook here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9101

Published in 1845

She lists several fruitcake recipes, including the Plum Cake ("plum" is an old term for dried fruits of most any kind). I chose the one called:

A Rich Fruit Cake.

Have the following articles prepared before you begin the cake: dry and sift four pounds of flour, four pounds of butter with the salt washed out, two pounds of loaf-sugar pounded, one ounce of nutmegs grated, an ounce of mace pounded; wash four pounds of currants; dry, pick, and rub them in flour; stone and cut two pounds of raisins; slice two pounds of citron, blanch a pound of sweet almonds and cut them in very thin slices; break thirty eggs, separate the whites and yelks, and beat them till very light; work the butter with your hand till it is soft as cream; put in alternately the flour, sugar and eggs. When all are mixed in, and the cake looks very light, add the spice, fruit, almonds, and half a pint of brandy; set it in a well heated oven to bake; when it has risen, and the top is beginning to brown, cover it with paper; let it bake four hours, and when it is nearly cool, ice it. This will keep a long time in a stone pan, covered close.

Ingredients for a half recipe!

Rich? Looks pretty good. More than my poor little bowls, mixer, and oven can handle? Most certainly. I debated on doing a half recipe or a quarter recipe. The half recipe won out and I just crossed my fingers that I could make it all fit into my various mixing bowls.

Did you notice?  The only leavening is the beaten egg whites.  This is exciting! 

Reading through the recipe told me that I needed to pay attention to the order of things if I was going to use my mixer. First I separated the eggs (15 yolks is about 1 1/4 cups when using large eggs). Then following the "beat them till very light" direction, I had the mixer beat the whites while I used a whisk to beat the yolks.  I stopped when the whites stopped expanding (they fit in the bowl!) -- they were stiff like a meringue but not dry.  The yolks were "lemon yellow" and foamy.

Yolks just beginning to be whisked.

Yolks after a lot of whisking.

I transferred the whites to another bowl so I could use the mixer for the batter and laughed when I saw them hold the shape of the mixer bowl.

Whites shaped like the bottom of the mixer's bowl

Next I put the butter, cut into smallish chunks, into the mixer's bowl and started beating them.  Recommendation:  Have the butter softened to room temperature before doing this so the chunks are less likely to climb out of the bowl!  When finished, I don't think the butter was truly "as soft as cream" but it was very soft.

I then alternated adding the flour, sugar, and yolks.  I was reluctant to mix in the whites because I kept thinking they should be folded in, despite no sign of that in the directions.  Once I got the other ingredients in, the whites went into the mixer bowl and I was pleased to see them incorporated and still make the batter fluffy.  Then I added the spices so the mixer could get them well blended.  It took 3 1/2 "nuts" of nutmeg to get one half ounce!  That is a lot of grating, even with some help from the spice grinder.

Batter out of the mixer.  Not enough room!

The batter had to go into my giant steel mixing bowl in order to have room for the fruit and almonds plus leave room for mixing by hand.  I was so relieved I did only a half recipe. 

As with the Mincemeat recipe (Aug 15, 2012), I couldn't get citron.  I didn't want to use one pound of peel so I did what any cook from history would have done:  I improvised! I used dried cranberries.  I think they will be a fantastic substitution, adding a bit of tart to the sweet currants and raisins.

Then in went the fruit, nuts, and brandy.

Before stirring

After a good stirring, I tasted the batter and declared it:  delicious!  It was light, fluffy, and had a wonderful flavor.  The mace/nutmeg/brandy combination was great.  I wanted to keep eating batter.

All mixed up!

This half recipe filled five of my loaf pans (four glass, one metal) to about 3/4 full.

I got them to fit in the oven on one rack and baked them for an hour at 350 degrees F.  At this point I covered them with parchment paper and set the timer for 30 minutes.  I really hoped it wouldn't take them another 4 hours of cooking to be done as it was already 9pm.

As it turned out, another 30 minutes at 300 degrees F and they were ready.  Perhaps they were ready earlier -- they looked just a tad dry -- but I was happy with 30 minutes.  The "stick test" showed they were cooked all the way through.

The Verdict:  The loaf I chose for the taste test was solid (not fluffy) but pretty light weight.  The inside was still moist although the outside was a touch dry and the bottom had one area that was lightly scorched.

The flavor was just as I expected it!  The mace/nutmeg/brandy combination was classic and the fruits were moist and flavorful.  Overall I would say it was a success.

Final notes:  Modern ovens maintain a level temperature as compared to the wood-fired ovens of 1845.  Next time I would bake the loaves at 325 degrees F for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until they were done (barely).  No parchment is necessary.  I'm so glad I checked them often because I was really worried I would end up with blackened fruit bricks and I don't need any more doorstops.

The other four loaves will be wrapped in cheesecloth and soaked in brandy.  I'll get back to you on that to see how the flavors change over time.

Taking the Challenge -- Mincemeat!

One day I was thinking about Christmas desserts and recalled a conversation in a restaurant years ago:

ME: Do you have any mincemeat pie?

WAITER: Mince. We serve mince pie, which is made from fruit. Mincemeat pie actually has meat in it. We don't serve mincemeat. And we don't have any mince pie left today.

This got me to thinking how much I enjoyed the mince pie my grandmother made when I was a child and also wondering how mincemeat pie would taste. Well, since I have a nice collection of historical cookbooks, I thought it would be a perfect addition to this blog. I accepted the challenge I posed to myself!

A leisurely cruise through the books turned up a variety of recipes. Some I rejected out of practicality -- I don't like beef heart and I didn't want to mess with beef tongue. (Though I like it pickled and thinly sliced on sandwiches!)

I was looking for one that appeared authentic as well as old enough to really feel historical. I decided on one from an ebook (free!) by Mrs. Eliza Leslie entitled Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches.
 

Mrs. Leslie was a popular author of cookbooks and manners guides in the 19th century. Here is a little about her: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Leslie


This recipe is found under the section of "Pastry, Puddings, Etc.". She has a short discussion on mince pies (she means mincemeat) in general: "These pies are always made with covers, and should be eaten warm. If baked the day before, heat them on the stove or before the fire."

Mrs. Leslie includes several recipes which she ranks as Good Mince-Meat, The Best Mince-Meat, Very Plain Mince-Meat, and Mince-Meat for Lent. I chose Good because it seemed rich and exciting while not having to obtain the tongue, rose water, bitter almonds, and sweet almonds required by the Best. Very Plain had no alcohol and not as much meat or fat, and the Lenten version used hard-boiled eggs instead of meat.

GOOD MINCE-MEAT. 

Take a bullock's heart and boil it, or two pounds of the lean of fresh beef. When it is quite cold, chop it very fine. Chop three pounds of beef suet (first removing the skin and strings) and six pounds of large juicy apples that have been pared and cored. Then, stone six pounds of the best raisins, (or take sultana raisins that are without stones,) and chop them also. Wash and dry three pounds of currants. Mix all together; adding to them the grated peel and the juice of two or three large oranges, two table-spoonfuls of powdered cinnamon, two powdered nutmegs, and three dozen powdered cloves, a tea-spoonful of beaten mace, one pound of fine  brown sugar, one quart of Madeira wine, one pint of French brandy, and half a pound of citron cut into large slips. Having thoroughly mixed the whole, put it into a stone jar, and tie it up with brandy paper.

This struck me as an awful lot of food that I wasn't sure I could store properly or even use up in a reasonable time, so I decided to make a half recipe. I still bought the full quantity of brandy and Madeira wine (heh!) since Mrs. Leslie says, "Whenever you take out any for use, pour some additional brandy into the jar before you cover it again, and add some more sugar." Hey, I can always drink the extra wine!

Ingredients for a half recipe

It is important to recognize that everyone recommends taking two days to make this. The first is to cook the beef and the second is to pare, core, and chop everything up then mix it. So here goes....

DAY 1 Boiling the Beef 

Mrs. Leslie assumes you know how to do this as she does not include directions for it anywhere in the book. Various sources say to put the meat in a heavy pan, cover it with water, bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, then put on the lid and simmer it over reduced heat until it is tender. You can add herbs and spices as you see fit but I didn't so I didn't change the flavor of the mincemeat recipe.

Boiling the beef

To simmer it required a very low heat; the idea is to cook it slowly so it gets tender. I allotted one hour and that was plenty of time for my thin, one pound slab of beef.  It could have come out in less than an hour.

Cooked and cooling

I think the broth will make a good start for a soup base or useful for boiling pasta. After the meat cooled on the plate, I put it in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

DAY 2 Mixing It Up 

Just so you know, finding citron during the summer is quite a challenge. I ended up using candied lemon peel. If, by the time the mincemeat is ready for use, I can find citron it can still be used via Mrs. Leslie's directions, "You may reserve the citron to put in when you make the pies. Do not cut the slips too small, or the taste will be almost imperceptible." Several other sources suggest filling the pie crust with layers that alternate between mincemeat and citron.

It took a long time to chop everything, as I expected.  I used the food processor to chop the raisins and make them about the same size as the currants.  The meat and suet I chopped finely by hand.

A note on the suet:  I asked the butcher for suet and he sold me a bag of beef fat trimmings.  I had to go through and cut out the extra meat and also the remove the "skin and strings" mentioned by Mrs. Leslie.  I should have asked for parts that were thick chunks of fat because a lot of what I bought was connective tissue.  It was white like the fat but thin and slick and put the mincemeat at risk for being chewy.  It took a while to cut all that out. 

Mixed up chopped stuff without spices

I grated the whole nutmeg by hand and used a dedicated coffee bean grinder to powder the 1 1/2 dozen cloves. 

Mixed up chopped stuff with spices

It really helped to mix the ingredients three times.  Once before the spices went in, once after the spices were added, and once again after the liquids were poured over it.  Mrs. Leslie tells you to "thoroughly mix the whole" and I found the three mixing sessions broke up the sticky gobs of raisins, currants, and suet.  Everything looked uniformly distributed once "the whole" was stirred.

The final product

Now keep in mind that this is my largest bowl -- 16 inches across and 6 inches deep -- and it is half full.  Even at the half recipe, it is a lot of mincemeat!  I'm guessing it is about a gallon and a half in volume.

I have a stone jar (ceramic crock) but it isn't big enough to hold all of this.  Fortunately I found a glass jar with a clamp-on "lightning lid" that could do the trick.  Once all the mincemeat was in the jar, I tamped it down with the bottom of a ladle to push out the air bubbles.  It also helped to get the liquid up to the top.

Instead of covering it with brandy paper (which I assume is parchment paper soaked in brandy), I poured a thin layer of brandy on top of it, enough to cover the surface entirely.

Mrs. Leslie doesn't mention it but other sources say to let this sit in a cool place and "ripen" for about a month before you use it.  I suspect you can use it right away if you want to but I chose to tuck this jar away into a cupboard that I know stays cool.  I'll get back to it in a month and let you know the results.

The Verdict:  Success!  I thought it was reasonably easy to make if you are patient when it comes to paring, coring, and chopping up all those apples.   It makes a lot so it helps to have a container for it picked out ahead of time.  The part I tasted before packing it away was very good.  I just don't think you can go wrong with the brandy, Madeira, and all those spices.  And I look forward to seeing what it is like once it has a chance to soak and blend the flavors. 

Final notes:  You could do it all in one day for a half recipe.  It didn't take that long to boil the meat so if you did that in the morning it would be cool enough to use by the afternoon or evening.  Chopping does take a long time so plan ahead on that.

Cornish Pasties and a Bonus

I spent a week exploring California's Gold Country -- seeing towns like Ione, Sutter Creek, Nevada City, Grass Valley, and Jackson.  What fun!  I learned a lot about mining technology, the history of the towns (most burned down at least once), the personalities of the prominent people, and the various cultures that were imported from around the world.  The primary time period is from 1849 (when gold was discovered) to about 1900.

One group that contributed much to the advancement of gold mining technology was the Cornish miners.  They were particularly good at mining underground!  Here's a little bit about them:  http://www.nevadacountygold.com/about/gold-rush-stories/159  They brought with them their traditions, their songs, and their recipes for pasties (pronounced "past - ees", not "paste - ees").

    Picture from http://kenanderson.net/pasties/cornish.html

This traditional lunch was designed to be hearty and easy to eat. One source even claimed the miners held the fancy crust border with their dirty hands, ate the part with the filling, and then threw away the border so as to keep their food clean.

Upon visiting the Empire Mine, I picked up a flyer they published called "The Cornish Miner and His Pasty".  It, of course, contained a recipe which I decided to try.

Cornish Pasties

3 cups flour
1 cup shortening
1 tsp. salt
8 tbs. cold water (approx.)
4 tsp butter
5 potatoes, sliced thin
2 lb round stead, diced
3 onions, cut thin
minced parsley
salt, pepper to taste

Make a rich dough by mixing flour, salt, shortening, water.

I used my Kitchenaid mixer with the wire attachment to first cut the shortening into the flour and salt mixture.  It resembles cornmeal when you get it right.

Then I used the mixer again to blend in just enough water to make the dough stick together.  Use very cold water so the shortening doesn't melt during the mixing process.

It was a hot day and my kitchen matched that, so after I scrunched the dough into a ball, I covered it and popped it into the refrigerator while I made the filling.

The recipe continues with...

Divide into six parts and roll out each part about 1/4 inch thick.

I waited until the filling was made before doing this.

Combine remaining ingredients...

Now this picture doesn't show it, but this is a large bowl (5 inches high and 10 inches wide) and it is pretty full.  How am I going to fit all this into the six parts of the dough???

I had promised myself to do the recipe as it was written, so I bravely continued.

Here is one piece of the dough rolled out:

It is the requested 1/4 inch thick and turned out to be about 8 inches in diameter.

... and place filling on each section of pastry.  Fold over half and pinch edges together so that juices will not run out.

After a bit of practice, I found what seemed to be a good quantity of filling and still leave enough dough to cover it.  I didn't even try for the fancy border!  

I worked with my hands to press out the air and compress the filling so I could make a pinched border around it.  The dough did break in a few places so I expected leakage.

Cut hole in top of pastry and in this hole put a chunk of butter.  

I used a small spoon to twist a hole in the top, making nearly a complete circle and leaving the flap of dough attached.

The white stuff is the butter

The amount of butter listed in the recipe was too much for these six pasties, so I used half of it here and the other half about 30 minutes later.

Place in baking pan and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes; then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 45 - 50 minutes.  When pasties are baking good, put a little hot water through the hole of each one to keep them from becoming too dry.  May be served hot, or cold on a picnic.

"Baking good" to me meant about 30 minutes into the cycle, so that is when I poured in some hot water from my kettle and dropped in the second batch of butter.  There was leakage of juices from the breaks but not in a bad way.

So how did they turn out?

The Verdict:  Oh my, they were yummy and filling, too.  Moist and rich and flavorful.  They even made my house smell good.  I declare it a success!

I loved this quote from the flyer:

"Remember, pizza delivery and quick hamburgers were not even conceived at this early time and what you brought from home had to serve you throughout your 12 hour work day.  (While you shoveled rocks.)"

I think I would have brought all six pasties with me in order to accomplish that task!

***

Now let's return to the giant bowl of filling, shall we?

This is what was left over after I made the six pasties:

The level was only dropped down by about an inch or so.  This is a lot of leftover filling!  I figured that I could have made 3 to 4 more batches of dough to use all this up.  So I would recommend that you either reduce the filling quantities to 1/4 of what was listed or make four batches of dough.  This would get you 24 pasties.

I wasn't up to making more pasties -- did I mention it was hot? -- so I took the remaining filling and added some flour, some spices and herbs (pepper, marjoram, savory, and powdered garlic), diced carrots, and 28 ounces of chicken broth.  This turned it into a large bowl of stew.

Before cooking

I baked it, covered, for about an hour at the same 350 degrees as the pasties.  The stew also turned out delicious and so I got a bonus from my pasty recipe.

Final Note:   A quick look around the Internet shows me that there is no limit to pasty fillings except in your imagination.  Ham-and-cheese, chicken-and-vegetables; even dessert pasties with Nutella-and-strawberries or pumpkin pie filling exist.  Basically, if you have a tasty filling, wrap it up in a pastry and you have something fun to eat.  I particularly liked that the crust was thick and rich because it added to the heartiness of the taste. 

To Boil a Capon with Oranges and Lemons

This was an attempt at reading a period receipt (recipe) and interpreting it correctly despite the lack of measurements and explicit directions.  As with anything you try for the first time, there are parts you do well and parts that don't always turn out the way you want them to.

A capon is a "male chicken castrated when young to improve the quality of its flesh for food."  (www.thefreedictionary.com/capon)

The receipt came from The Good Housewife's Jewel, by Thomas Dawson, originally published around 1596.

Published by Southover Press, 1996

The directions are as follows (page 13):

Take oranges or lemons peeled, and cut them the long way.  If you can keep your cloves whole put them into your best broth of mutton or capon, with prunes or currants and three or four dates.  When these have been well sodden put whole pepper, great mace, a good piece of sugar, some rose water and either white or claret wine.  And let all these seethe together a while.  And so serve it upon sops with your capon.

 
Did you notice that he never says when to put in the capon?  I assumed it was in the beginning with the broth, citrus, cloves, prunes, currants, and dates.  Note that I used lemons, I didn't have any dates, and I have no idea if my chicken was a capon or not.  I didn't ask it...  or check it or even really care.  Our modern birds are bred to be tender and we don't need to go out of our way to get a capon.

Chicken, lemons, cloves, currants, and prunes

And then with the broth

I deemed the mix "well sodden" after it had simmered gently for about an hour.  Then I added the Grains of Paradise (a black pepper substitute, ground), mace, sugar (about 2 tablespoons), some orange water because I had no rose water (just a splash), and a few cups of white wine.  For all of the spices I just guessed at the amount and can't really tell you how much that was.  Certainly no more than a teaspoon of any type, keeping in mind that I wasn't that familiar with the strength of the Grains of Paradise and I didn't want to over-spice the broth.

Here it is all together

Now is where I think I went astray with my preparation.  His directions say to "let all these seethe together a while", which I took to mean about 30 minutes.  I think this was far too long.  The flavors blended but weakened considerably and I think the meat was over-cooked.

Here is what the chicken looked like when I pulled it out of the broth.  I think it looks over-cooked although it was certainly tender.

It looked nice sliced on the platter with some parsley and a few of the currants:

My overall impression was that the meat was over-cooked.  Not dry but not as flavorful as I wanted and had that sort of mealy texture.  However my dinner guests did not agree with me and said it tasted great.

The Verdict:  Success?  It made a nice main course for dinner with the slices served over toast (called "sops") and some of the juice it was cooked in spooned over that.   (The sops soak up some of the juice.)

I'm not giving this a complete success rating because I felt it was cooked too long.  That didn't stop me from eating it, though!

This requires another test drive, I believe.