Minced Pie of Beef

While preparing for an 18th Century event last week, I knew the weekend was going to be hot, but we needed to eat. I pre-planned a basic menu of fruit, bread, and cheese. While planning I thought of all the wonderful meat pies that the 18th Century has to offer, and how many of them are served cold. I landed in Amelia Simmon's American Cookery, since it is not a large book, it was easy to find what I wanted to cook- Minced Pie of Beef, and it didn't require a lot of ingredients.

This makes a very large pie, so I quartered the recipe, boiling a little over a pound of chopped beef ( I did cheat a little here and used "beef bites" instead of chopping the beef myself). While the beef was boiling, I peeled and chopped two apples (pink lady ones this time) and mixed the raisins in along with about a 1/4 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace. Since I do not have a local source for suet, and did not have time to order any, I used the best alternative I could find- frozen butter. I grated one stick of frozen butter over the apples. raisin, spices.

Frozen butter in with the apples & raisins.

After most of the filling was mixed together, I added the liquid. While the recipe asks for wine of cyder, I didn't have either on hand, however, I did have port! Being perfectly period appropriate, I added what I had- using about 1/2 cup of port over the mixture.

Port ready to add to the mix.

By this point the beef had been drained and cooled off a little. I sprinkled a little kitchen pepper over the beef to give it a little flavor. All of this (beef & apple mixture) was folded together and placed into a dish.

Pie filling ready for the crust!

While the recipe calls for the mix to be placed in "Paste No. 3", I used a store bought crust (yes, I know, but it was the night before the event, and I still had stuff to sew). All in the dish, top crust added, vented, and placed in 350* oven. It backed for close to an hour. 

Pie ready for the oven. 

I realized that I had absolutely no pictures of the finished pie or of it being eaten. It was eaten for lunch on Saturday. It was a very hot day and I had placed the pie in the refrigerator in the office the day before. It was good & cold, and tasted great cold. It was nice to share the pie with friends gathered around our sutler booth. Overall response was that it tasted great! Next time, mince the meat a little finer. 

*This post is made in memory of the fabulous deep pie dish I made this pie in, upon unpacking the car fell to it's end & broke when it landed on the driveway*

A fall day- and a lot of soup!

The 10 gallon soup pot

Is there a better way to spend a crisp fall day than with friends? Yes, with friends in funny clothes! This past Saturday I had the great pleasure of hosting some of the best people I know at my site (Bentonville Battlefield) for our annual Fall Festival & Living History. This year there was an added night tour component as well, which meant I was set to cooking for the 100ish people that were coming for that.
So what goes into a pot that big? A lot of soup! I used a combination of beef stew recipes from Elisa Leslies Cooking in its Various Branches. It has become a go-to for me, and when feeding a big crowd- stay with what people like.  So into the pot went 25 pounds of beef, 20 pounds of potatoes, 10 pounds of carrots, 5 pounds of onions, and bit of celery. Whew! That was a lot of cutting!

Veggies ready to be cut up

However, I was lucky to have plenty of help during the day! I am so grateful for their help!

Helping cut the never-ending veggies

The day was not all full of cutting and stewing. We did have a great picnic lunch. What a spread it was too! There was ham, bread, pickles, cake, sausages, cheese, corn fritters, biscuits, slaw, nuts, pickled cauliflower, and lemonade- I am sure that I have forgotten part of what was included- but it made for a great midday meal with friends.

Part of the picnic spread

Morning prep for the big pot of soup!

Some of the guys resting

 It was such a great day to spend with such great friends! These small events are where I really get a chance to see how much the public enjoys period demonstrations.

After hours of cooking a pig pot o' soup it was time to serve everyone! While I am still not sure how many people were served, I do know that there was almost nothing left when were done.

Serving Begins

Out of 10 loaves of bread and 10 loaves of pound cake there was only one left! It was a long day, but worth it!

Of coarse, we also have fun with the hospital props! 

A Rainy Day with Great Friends!

Saturday started gray & rainy. It was a great window into the past, since I could hardly see anything in the dark kitchen that morning, even with the fire going.  I had chosen to make Eliza Leslie's "To Stew Beef".
I had a pretty large hunk of beef too! It was put in the pot early, around 9:30am & covered with water.

It was great to have fun in the kitchen with some of my dearest friends! We mostly enjoyed watching the kids run around in the morning, in the midst of peeling potatoes & cutting carrots. 

Morning fun in the Kitchen

 The day turned out to be busy, despite the gray skies, and periods of light rain. Visitors could take wagon rides, play period games of townball, tour the Harper House, or visit with us in the demonstration area.

Speaking to visitors about period cookery. 

 The stew turned out wonderfully!! The broth was some of the best I had ever tasted, I had only seasoned the stew with salt & some kitchen pepper!  I cooked some carrots & onions on the side, but I added them into my bowl of wonderful beef!  There was also fresh bread & butter to go along with the wonderful meal!

A Stew of Beef

The girls playing

All of the toys neatly lined up on the well. 

For even more photos of the event: http://www.newsargus.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=749175

To Stew Beef

I always get excited when I get to cook on an open fire! It's something about the cool air, the crackle of the fire, the smell of cider! The fact that fall is my favorite season probably has a lot to do with it as well.  

This year for Bentonville's Fall Festival (yes, I have the best job) I will be cooking once again in our lovely kitchen. I have decided that a meal of "Stewed Beef" with some veggies is perhaps one of the most wholesome meals I could make & all of those veggies are so pretty sitting in baskets waiting to be cut up!

I have pulled a few different receipts from the books. I am sure that I will be following one of them this weekend! Stay tuned to see the finished meal! 

"Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches" Eliza Leslie, 1844

"The Frugal Housewife: or, Complete Woman Cook" Susannah Carter, 1796

"The Kentucky Housewife" Lettice Bryan, 1839