From: jtn@nutter.cs.vt.edu (Terry Nutter)
Newsgroups: rec.food.historic
Subject: Re: Lamprey sauce
Date: 4 Sep 92 04:54:29 GMT
Followup-To: rec.food.historic

Hi, Gretchen!

The best way to work up a recipe is actually to make a little of it.  But here
are a few of my instincts.

>For 2 lbs of roasted beef:
>
>Take 2 slices of white bread (grocery store bakery Italian or
>homestyle) and stick in a 200 F over until dry.  Put the toast in a

Hmmm.  You probably want something more like a heavy bodied white.  My
standby is Pepperidge Farm white.  The Italian has a sourish flavor you
don't want, and the homestyle is lighter.

Also: Chiquart says,

>                                     roast it on the grill until it is
>thoroughly toasted,

which sounds more to me like putting it under the broiler, turning after
a bit -- or putting it in the toaster -- than like putting it in the oven.
(He had an oven to put it in, if that was the effect he wanted.)

>single layer in a cake pan.  Take a sweetish red wine, (if you don't

Why sweetish?  I don't think French wines were particularly sweetish in
this era.  In English recipes, when they want a sweetish wine, they specify
one.  Also, he makes a point of the quality:

>                    he should have a barrel of very good red wine

So I would _not_ shave corners here: we have no reason to believe that very
good 15th C wine was like modern cheap wine.  I would go with at least 
something like a Mondavi table red.  The point of the wine is the flavor,
and I've found that it can really make a whale of a difference.

>mind spending money, perhaps a Gamay Beaujelois, though Gallo Hearty
>Burgundy would probably do) and pour a little into the bottom of the
>pan.  Let the bread soak up the wine.  Repeat until the bread won't soak
>up any more. (then measure and see how much you used).  Add a 12 oz cans
>of beef broth (College Inn is really good) or instant bouillon,  a 

Since he makes a point that it not be strong, I'd be inclined to add extra
water.  Also, I'd prefer canned to instant, as the instant is _so_ salty.

>tablespoon or so of red wine vinegar, a bit less white wine vinegar, and
>spices to taste (personally, I'd go easy on the cloves, nutmeg and mace,
>and add a little more cinnamon, GofP, pepper, and ginger, but that's
>just my tastes.  By the way, is galingale available, and if not, what's
>a good substitute?).  

Some oriental food stores sell it as galingas; you might check for the
powder.  Otherwise, you have to special order it.  As the proud (???)
possessor of a pound of the stuff (the normal consequence of special
ordering a spice), if you'll send me an SASE to

	Terry Nutter
	2511 Manchester St.
	Blacksburg, VA 24060

I'll mail you a baggie of it (I'll even grind it, having found a grinder
it won't break ;^).  There is no good substitute; the closest thing I know
of is ginger.

>                      Stick the whole mess in a blender and blend until
>smooth (or run it through the food processor a couple of times).  Cut up
>your beef into bitesized chunks, and heat in the sauce.
>
Blender tends to work better for me than the food processor.  If it's 
stubborn, running it through a seive afterwards can help.

As to amounts: I would be flexible as I went through the process, tasting
often and altering as I saw fit, but being sure to write it all down.  (I've
done this with more than 100 recipes; it's easier -- and more fun -- than
it sounds.)

It's also a lot of fun to share the results with a friend.

>So?  By the way, I'll be testing this next week, and if anyone's
>interested, I'll let you know how it turned out.
>
Very interested!  Good luck, and enjoy!

Cheers,

Terry Nutter     Blacksburg, VA     jtn@vtopus.cs.vt.edu     (703)552-1598