No pictures for these...sorry!!

Thing 20 - Almond Tart
This is what I'm going to be making for NS Coronation's feast A&S competition. A couple dry runs are good things!! I got the recipe from Traveling Dysshes by Siobhan Medhbh O'Roarke & Cordelia Toser (thanks for the book ladies!!). I used the redaction by Cordelia, but I will need to work on out for myself for the competition. Here is the original recipe:

Blanch almonds & beat them , & strain them fine with good thicke Creame. Then put in Sugar & Rosewater, and boyle it thicke. Then make your paste with butter, fair water, & the yolks of 2 or 3 Egs and so soone as ye have driven your paste, cast on a little fine sugar, and rosewater, and harden your paste afore in the oven. Then take it out, & fill it, & set it in againe, & let it bake til it be wel, & so serve it.

The only thing I didn't have (and couldn't find at my local grocery store) was rosewater, but I will make a point of getting some for the next go. I took this to Lupercalia this weekend, and subjected my innocent friends to try it - to positive reviews! So looking forward to coming up with my own redaction.

Thing 21 - Focaccia bread
At Lupercalia, I took a basic breadmaking class (since it never hurts to have a simple recipe!) and made 2 loafs of herbed focaccia bread. Very fun and easy to do! We didn't use a set recipe, but just did things by "feel". I never really did this much before so I was happy to get a bit of guidance by the class's teacher. It turned out really nicely, and it was great to have fresh, warm bread at an event.

Thing 22 - Breadsticks
I made breadsticks to build on the bread class from Saturday. Used the same recipe as the class, but brushed on a bit of olive oil mixed with garlic powder. Yummy right from the oven, but a bit hard and crunchy the next day. They went great with spaghetti though!

I am looking at cookie recipes for this holiday season, and thought I'd ask ya'll what your favorites are. So...What is your favorite holiday cookie recipe? Please share the recipe here so I can try them too!

I'll start with my favorite...

Bird's Nests

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped pecans

1/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

• Separate the eggs. Chop the nuts fine.


• Cream together 1 cup softened butter and sugar. Add the yolks, and beat well. Add the flour, and mix well.


• Make small balls out of dough. Roll balls in egg white, and then in the nuts. Place balls on greased cookie sheets, and press center of cookie with thumb. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes. Press center of cookie again, bake until lightly browned 4 to 6 minutes. Cool cookies on racks.


• To make frosting, begin by blending the water, shortening, vanilla, and 1/4 cup softened butter or margarine together thoroughly. Slowly add confectioners' sugar, and mix until smooth and creamy. More water may be needed to make desired consistency.

I just got this wonderful link from the SCA-cooks list and had to pass it along. Plausably Period Peeps? Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. I may even have to make some of these bad boys. LOL

I am planning on entering my own redaction of Clarrey into An Artful Haire Affaire's A&S competition in March. This is my first A&S entry in any kind of display and/or contest and I am really exctied about it.

The Period Recipe:
Take kanel and galinga, greyns de paris, and a lytel peper, and make pouder, and temper hit wyt god wyte wyne and the þrid perte honey and ryne hit þorow a cloþ.

My Redaction:
1/8 tsp each cinnamon, galanga, grains of paradise
7 white peppercorns
Grind all spices together & put in cloth wrap.
1 1/2 c white wine
1/2 c honey
Steep spices in honeyed wine 40 minutes, the first 10 of which over medium heat. Wring out as much liquid as you can from the cloth-wrapped spices, then strain all juice through second cloth.

Of course, this is for smaller batches than I need to make for the competition. I'm planning on making 2 bottles worth just to make sure there is enough for the 20 some people who are to partake in it. We'll see how that goes. But it's really yummy!!

I tried my hand at Siobhan & Cordelia's Pyes of Chiken that I found online (http://collegium.silverdor.org/luncheon.html) for our shire's business meeting Wednesday night, and it was pretty tasty. I didn't happen to have raisins (and I don't usually like them cooked) so I left them out. Also it was too salty for me, but others in the group (men mostly) didn't think so.

It kept in the fridge uncooked overnight and all day until 6:45 when it was baked very well, so I think this might be a keeper for use in a future feast. All in all, I'm glad I made this, and may have to make it for mundane potlucks & the like.