Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | February 4, 2010

From Bitter Seed to Chocolate!

Susan at the metate

Susan making chocolate liquor

 

This is one of my favorite months for food history!!!!!!!!!!  With Valentine’s Day in this month, I do many chocolate programs-workshops, power point lectures, and demonstrations.  The chocolate lecture-Chocolate-From Cacao Bean to Chocolate is fun with every audience of all ages.  I research primary references, roast cacao beans and process the different types in chocolate and try many many authentic, historic receipts (recipes) using the 100% cacao chocolate.  But in addition, I have to go to the source.  My goal was to visit cacao plantations in Mexico and I have been there.  I was part of a ten day research tour that was specifically studying the Mayan usage of cacao.  We gathered the achiote, visited cacao plantations , and participated in Mayan cacao rituals.  And most importantly I brought back many pictures and information to share with audiences. 

2/6/2010  Annual Chocolate Workshop

2/12/2020  Chocolate- if to be had  12:30 pm lecture at Stenton in Philadelphia   www.stenton.org

2/13/2020   American Heritage Chocolate Celebration at Historic Deerfield from 10 am to 4 pm.  I will be demonstrating and explaining the process of cacao to chocolate the entire day  www.historic-deerfield.org

2/20/2010  2nd Annual Chocolate Day at the Morris-Jumel House from 1 pm to 4 pm.  I again will be demonstrating chocolate with some hands-on activities. www.morrisjumel.org

And if one of these chocolate events does not fit in your schedule, you might want to consider a lecture for one of your organizations or even a workshop!  For more information, visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com and click on the lecture tab.

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Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | January 24, 2010

Baking: From Cereal Crops to Oven-Baked Goods

The book-"Over A Red-Hot Stove"

 I have attended several of the Leeds Symposia on Food History both at Leeds University and in the new location of York, England.  The twentieth Leeds Symposium in 2005 was titled “Baking: From Cereal Crops to Oven-Baked Goods” and I was honored to have been asked to speak on Baking in a Beehive Oven.  At that conference, John Letts spoke about the wheat varieties of late medieval England which he grows and tests the resultant flour in baking.  Malcolm Thick followed with a presentation on the types of bread typically used in 18th century England. And Ivan Day wowed us with pictures and  his talk on “Pies, pasties and pastry”. The last two presentations were by Laura Mason on Barms and Leavens-Medieval to Modern and mine on the beehive oven.  At the time I wrote the paper and presented, I had fired more than 26 different bake ovens and now I have far exceeded that number.

The book , pictured on the left and edited by Ivan Day,  has just been published in the Fall of 2009.  It is a compilation of papers from the nineteenth and twentieth Leeds Symposia with a few additional papers. Laura Mason’s paper on barm and mine on the beehive oven are included.  The book has been published by Tom Jaines’ Prospect Books and more information can be obtained from his website.  www.kal69.dial.pipex.com under the heading “New Titles”.

Visit my website for more information on my next classes, demonstrations, and programs: www.hearttohearthcookery.com

February 6, 2010   Chocolate Workshop

March 20, 2010      Bolton Mansion Hearth Cooking Class

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Posted in Bake oven, books, culinary history, food history, Leeds Symposia on Food History | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | January 17, 2010

Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!

If you love chocolate, than this is a list of events for you!  I am pictured above at my metate processing roasted cacao nibs into chocolate liquor.  You can try it yourself at my annual chocolate workshop on February 6, 2010 at the Johnson Ferry House.  There are still a very few openings.  More information on the workshop and Valentine gift certificates are on my web site – www.hearttohearthcookery.com.  What would be better than  100% chocolate that you made on Valentine’s Day!

If you live near Philadelphia, contact Stenton,  www.stenton.org  , about coming for a lecture and chocolate desserts.  I will be speaking on “And by all means Chocolate…” 

On Valentine’s Weekend, if you are anywhere near Historic Deerfield, do not miss the 2010 American Heritage Chocolate Celebration.  Chocolate abounds on Saturday February 13th from 10 am to 4 pm. Visit Historic Deerfield’s website at www.historic-deerfield.org

For those of you near Manhattan, from 1p to 4 pm on February 20, 2010 I will be participating in the Morris-Jumel Mansion 2nd Annual Chocolate Day.  Come and watch a demonstration with some hands on activities.  The Morris-Jumel website is www.morrisjumel.org  

I hope to see some of you at these events and if you come, please introduce yourself to me!

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Posted in 17th century foodways, chocolate, culinary history, food history, Gift certificates, Hearth cooking classes, hearth cooking demonstrations | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | January 10, 2010

Hearth Cooking Classes and Demonstrations

Susan McLellan Plaisted at the Hearth

 

My food history business, Heart to Hearth Cookery, started in 1987 with my doing demonstrations at the hearth and hearth cooking classes.  Even today with my Native American programs, my Chocolate programs and workshops, 18th century ice cream and on and on, my hearth programs and classes are dear to my heart.  I feel more comfortable cooking at a hearth than in my modern kitchen!

In 2010, the first hearth cooking class I am offering will be at Bolton Mansion (at the hearth pictured) on Saturday, March 20, 2010.  The classes are designed for beginners, the experienced, and those that would just like to try wonderful new (but old) flavors that have been almost lost.

For anyone, that has specific techniques or receipts (recipes) that they would like to learn, please just contact me at my e-mail(foodhxsmp@gmail.com)  and I will do my best to incorporate these into the class.  To register, the information is on my website www.hearttohearthcookery.com just click on the class button.  Hope to see you at either the Chocolate Workshop (February 6, 2010) or at one of my hearth cooking classes this year.  Happy New Year!

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Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | January 3, 2010

A Valentine’s Gift

Due to SNOW on February 6th, it is NOT too late to give the chocolate workshop as a Valentine Gift.  The workshop will now be March 6th, 2010. Contact me at foodhxsmp@gmail.com if interested and/or visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com for more information.

Heart to Hearth Cookery will be having its annual chocolate workshop just in time for Valentine’s Day!  February 6th at the Johnson Ferry House, the aroma of chocolate will fill the house.  Gift cerificates are available if you want to give this unique gift as a Valentine present or perhaps you just want to make 100% pure chocolate from the raw cacao bean yourself.  In order to give participants the best hands-on experience, the class size is small. Please visit my web site at www.hearttohearthcookery.com for more specifics on the class, registration and gift certificate information.  Happy New Year!

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Posted in 17th century foodways, chocolate, culinary history, food history, Gift certificates, Hearth cooking classes | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | December 12, 2009

Great Cakes in the Oven!

Preparing Great Cakes

 There are many different receipts for “great cakes” but the one that I am preparing is A Pretty Cake from H. Glasse.  It is made with 5 pounds of flour, 22 eggs minus 6 whites and 7 pounds of currents!!  You can see the large redware bowl to my right.  The currents are plumped in brandy and the cream and butter heated over the fire and are now cooling until blood warm in the large kettle on the hearth.  The cake hoops are buttered and on the tin sheets to contain the batter.  Below the cakes are baking in the oven.

Please visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com

Baking great cakes

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Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | December 5, 2009

Coffins, Syllabub and Sweetmeats

Mince Meat Coffins, Syllabub and Sweetmeat

The four shapes of coffins filled with mince meat have been arranged in a symmetrical design in the center of the table.  I am holding one of the six hand blown reproduction glasses containing syllabub (a mixture of white wine, cream, lemon juice and rind, and sugar)  One of the two sweetmeat cones giving both symmetry and height to the table is in view to the right.   This is one of my festive holiday December programs  prepared for the public to enjoy.

Visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com

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Posted in Coffins, confectionery, culinary history, food history, Mince meat, Sweetmeats, syllabubs | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | November 29, 2009

Holiday House at Bolton Mansion

Forming a coffin

Every year the Friends of Bolton Mansion decorate the Mansion into a holiday wonderland!  This year it is complete with Santa Claus, wonderful baked goods, and an upside-down Christmas tree.

November 28, 2009, I was there with a crock of mince meat, formed coffins, and baked the mince meat pyes in the bake oven!  I will again be at Holiday House, Saturday December 5th from 10 am to 4 pm.  I will be firing the oven, baking great cakes, using a syllabub engine, and the minced pyes from yesterday will be out to view.  If you are in the Bolton Mansion (Levittown, PA), I would love to see you.  Visiting Bolton Mansion will put you in the holiday spirit!  Directions are available on the Bolton Mansion website www.boltonmansion.com.  And visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com.  The featured Chocolate Workshop makes an excellent Christmas gift!  Gift certificates are available.

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Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | November 24, 2009

Food History-Hands On!

Working the Quern

Grating and Grinding

Yesterday at Howell Living History Farm, I was at the hearth with many hands helping!  This was a day of shelling corn, using a quern for grinding, sieving the flour, mashing pumpkin and grating and grinding spices.  The pumpkin corn cakes (a flatbread) were then fried in butter in a spider.  The quern is one of several programs that I do with school groups.   Visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com

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Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | November 21, 2009

Swedish Fika

Open-faced sandwiches

The Swedish word fika was explained today at the American Swedish Historical Museum as a “play” on the word kaffi (coffee) that was done in the 19th century when syllables of words were reversed.  But Stockholm had several cafes in the early 1700’s and most served coffee with wheat bread or buns according to the French fashion. 
Margaretha Joelsson, Gullbritt Mengelbier and Birgitta Paddack demonstrated the preparation of foods served at a fika since the late 1800’s.  The “Seven Kinds of Cookies” is the tradition of how many different kinds of cookies a hostess should offer.  Below is pictured the eight “kinds of cookies” that were just simply delicious!   The beautiful open-faced sandwiches were the traditional Meatball Sandwich with red beet salad and Shrimp Sandwich!  The word fica is a verb and a noun for having coffee with sweet buns, cookies, or open-face sandwiches.           Visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com

"Seven Kinds of Cookies" plus one!

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