The Mince Pie Antidote
The appearance of the first mince pies in our shops seems to get earlier every year. I spied a small display in my local supermarket in...
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sjfbilton
Nov 15, 20172 min read
Carrot Pudding with Caramel Sauce and Buttermilk Ice Cream
Despite living in the intense heat the Victorians who had settled in India were still partial to a traditional British pudding after...
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sjfbilton
Oct 5, 20172 min read
Tafferty Tarts with Earl Grey Ice Cream
The Accomplisht Cook by Robert May (1660/85) is rather like those ‘antique’ shops you find in towns like Lewes stuffed with a fascinating...
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sjfbilton
Sep 21, 20173 min read
Pumpkin, Apple & Hazelnut Crumble Tart
Robert May’s Pompion Pie (The Accomplisht Cook c.1660) Take a pound of pumpkin and slice it, a handful of thyme, a little rosemary, and...
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sjfbilton
Sep 15, 20172 min read
Spiced Ale Pancakes with Applemuse & Sherry Sauce
This recipe is adapted from the early 17th century recipe notebook kept by Elinor Fettiplace. Spiced Ale Pancakes Ingredients (makes...
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sjfbilton
Aug 31, 20171 min read
Spiced Courgette Marmalade
This recipe is based on one provided by Mrs Beeton for vegetable marrow jam. The only changes I have made to the original are the...
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sjfbilton
Jun 8, 20172 min read
Elderflower & Pistachio Cheesecake
Cheesecakes are something of a stalwart in the dessert stakes. In their various guises they have graced culinary manuals for centuries....
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sjfbilton
Mar 24, 20172 min read
Feeling Frumenty – Part 2
This version of the classic frumenty takes on a sweeter guise than my previous offering. Frumenty could be made with stock or almond...
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sjfbilton
Mar 17, 20174 min read
Feeling Frumenty – Part 1
Frumenty or fermity is an ancient form of wheat pottage (it appears in the Form of Cury from 1390 but probably has much earlier origins)....
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sjfbilton
Feb 24, 20172 min read
Pancakes of Sorts
Pancakes and fritters must surely be amongst the most ancient recipes going. Nor should they be restricted to Shrove Tuesday (neither are...
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sjfbilton
Dec 12, 20162 min read
Potage à la Saxe-Coburg
It’s been a while since my last post. I’ve been rather preoccupied with my supper club, Repast. But whilst my blogging may have been lax...
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sjfbilton
Sep 22, 20165 min read
Rice Bread
Bread has taken a battering in recent years. A host of ‘experts’ have been encouraging us to eschew the yeasty stuff in order to cleanse...
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sjfbilton
May 20, 20162 min read
Erbolate
Baked Parmesan Custard (Serves 1 or more if you multiply the ingredients) Take parsel, myntes, sauery, & sauge, tansey, veruayn, clarry,...
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sjfbilton
May 13, 20163 min read
Apple & Date Bread
Adapted from The Great War Cookbook (1918) by May Byron I made this bread as part of a food demonstration I gave at Arundel Museum for...
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sjfbilton
Mar 5, 20162 min read
Hodge Podge of Duck
It’s a little unfair to label this most ancient of stews as ‘confused’. When you read the recipe from the fourteenth century Form of Cury...
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sjfbilton
Dec 2, 20123 min read
Christmas is coming...Medlar Mincemeat
Last weekend The Observer reported that only 7% of people who took part in a recent survey said they would make a Christmas pudding from...
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sjfbilton
Nov 27, 20123 min read
Let the bletting begin
Some food stuffs are are fiddly to prepare but are well worth the effort. One such food is the medlar, a fruit which is in danger of...
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sjfbilton
May 30, 20123 min read
Coconut Poached Chicken in a Creamy Curry Dressing
“One would not venture to serve, to a large number of guests of varying and unknown tastes, a curry dish in the generally accepted sense...
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sjfbilton
Apr 3, 20124 min read
Earl Grey Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns! One a penny, two a penny! Hot cross buns! This is a familiar rhyme at Easter although it has been decades since you could...
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