Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | February 28, 2010

Think Spring-Think Food History Classes

Hearth Cooking Class Participants at Bolton Mansion

 I am pleased to announce the addition of two NEW classes to my  2010 hearth cooking class schedule.  The March 20th class at Bolton Mansion is now filled and with more requests a SECOND class on March 27th, 2010 has now been added!  The picture at the left shows a class posing for pictures with their 18th century dinner meal that they produced on the table.  The registration information is on my website www.hearttohearthcookery.com under the class section.  All registrations for the March 27th class are with Jim Snow of Bolton Mansion.

In addition, there will be Confectionery Workshop on May 22, 2010.  This workshop will include comfit making, syllabub with use of syllabub engine and more.  If registering, please let me know your interests in what you would like to learn.  For the confectionery class the fee is $50.00 per person and should be sent to Susan McLellan Plaisted, PO Box 1162, Morrisville, PA 19067.  Both of these new classes have not been added to my website yet as they are that new.

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Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | February 23, 2010

Gingerbread for George

Centuries of Gingerbread

Sunday, February 21, 2010, the Johnson Ferry House in Washington Crossing Park, New Jersey, held their annual birthday celebration for George Washington.  The house came to life with demonstrations in every room.  In the kitchen, I was telling the story of gingerbread from the earliest receipts of the 15th century to a receipt found in the manuscript receipt book of Martha Custis Washington while preparing the 1747 receipt To make Ginger-bread cakes from H. Glasse’s The Art of Cooking Made Plain and Easy.  In the picture to the left, you can see the plates of gingerbread from the different centuries.  I have a wonderful slide/lecture presentation on The Evolution of the Gingerbread Man that delights all with the geneology starting in China with a rhizome and culminating with a decorated ginger cookie man.

Visit my website for more information on my demonstrations and programs  www.hearttohearthcookery.com

Johnson Ferry House
Johnson Ferry House

The Johnson Ferry House, pictured at right, is also the location for the re-scheduled 2010 Chocolate Workshop.  There is just one opening left in the workshop if you love chocolate and are interested in attending.  More information on registering is on my website www.hearttohearthcookery.com

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Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | February 20, 2010

Hands-on Chocolate at the Morris Jumel Mansion

The Mansion February 20, 2010

The Morris Jumel Mansion February 20, 2010

This is a picture of the Morris Jumel Mansion today as I saw the picturesque historic site for the first time.  You would hardly believe that the Mansion was in Manhatten!!!  Situated on a hilltop, gives it the appearance that it is not in a city at all, and made the mansion the perfect location for General George Washington to be headquartered in the Fall of 1776.  But today the mansion held its 2nd Annual Chocolate Day and I was fortunate to be part of the program demonstrating and providing guests with hands-on opportunities to grate chocolate cakes and use a molinello to produce a frothy chocolate beverage.  Many people tasted St Disdier’s 1692 receipt (recipe) for chocolate that calls of sugar, cinnamon, Indian

Preparing for hands-on grating and mxing of chocolate

chili, cloves and vanilla.  The room was filled with the aroma of chocolate and spices.

There are a few places left in my Chocolate Workshop on March 6, 2010 where participants roast cacao beans, use the metate and try several chocolate receipts.  Visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com.

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Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | February 16, 2010

Breakfast for George Washington

George Washington's Breakfast

George Washington's Breakfast

 What fun it was on President’s Day, February 15th to debut a new Heart to Hearth Cookery program Breakfast for George Washington.  This program was hands-on and interactive and many hands both young and young-at-heart worked to produce the breakfast (pictured left) presented as if George Washington was to come and partake.

The quern (pictured below) was used and almost two pounds of Indian flour was ground and sifted as many aspects of 18th century life were discussed.  This new program will soon be added to the many other food history programs/demonstrations that are on my website- www.hearttohearthcookery.com

Grinding Indian flour

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Posted by: hearttohearthcookery | February 4, 2010

From Bitter Seed to Chocolate!

Susan at the metate

Susan making chocolate liquor

 February is one of my favorite months as it has become for me a month of chocolate demonstrations, workshops and lectures.  My power point slide presentation Chocolate: From Cacao to Chocolate is one of my most frequently requested programs.  In my research on chocolate in search of more information on the beverage favored by William Penn, I traveled to England.  I had equipment reproduced so that I could prepare chocolate in the fashion of a chocolatier.  But I had a goal, I wanted to actually visit the area in which chocolate first was produced and I did!  I was part of a research group that spent ten days studying the Mayan and chocolate in Mexico.  We gathered achiote, visited cacao plantations, participated in Mayan chocolate rituals and took many pictures.  With these pictures and experiences, I am able to bring the chocolate story to life.

Information on the chocolate lecture can be found on my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com .  Just click on the lecture tab.

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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 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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