A Fine Feed at the Fortress

P. McKinley

P. McKinley

Joined
Jan 27, 2008
Messages
2,010
It looks like dinner parties are the thing lately, although my menu surely can't compete with Stacy's. :thumbup::thumbup:

Last night my wife and I hosted what is sure to become an annual event at the historic Fortress of Louisbourg. I've done a bit of work for the Fortress and they had me offered the use the Engineer's Kitchen and Dinning Room.... for free.

We invited 12 of our friends over for a hands-on cooking party in the style of the time.... 1740-50s Cape Breton Colonial French cuisine. Mind you, I used turkey breast instead of what would have likely been chicken or pigeon, and I took some liberty with my interpretation of period recipes in an effort to appeal to modern taste preferences. The boneless turkey breasts were cooked on a reproduction "spit-jack" that is used daily by the Fortress during the tourist season. The Engineer's Kitchen is also equipped with a "hidden" fully outfitted modern kitchen which makes this facility perfect for this type of event.

Menu:
-Mulled Cider
-Rosemarry/Chedder Bread baked in a wood-fired oven
-Roasted Winter Squash Soup w' balsamic syrup and creme fraiche.
-Chicory, Endive and Radicchio Salad w/ fire-roasted beets, lemon, pomegranate, apple, and a simple lemon/caper dressing.
Seafood Talmousses with lobster. salmon, cod and fresh tarragon bechmel.
-Spit Roasted, Ice Wine Brined Turkey Breast, w/ spiced pear chutney
-Roasted Root vegetables with fresh thyme
-Buttered Brussel Spouts
-Heirloom French Chocolate Tart with cardamon creme.
-Tart Tartin

A few photos:

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The guy with the goofiest smile in the universe:

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Wow ! Looks great and I assume tastes great too . I wondered about the Chocolate Tart with Cardamon creme. Was chocolate that common then and there ? I thought only the Scandinavians used cardamon ?
 
Mete - To be honest, I don't know much about the use historic of cardamon. I chose it just for its flavor.

Chocolate was quite common at the time though. By the mid-1700's, it had been a favorite of the noble classes in Europe for about 100 years, the raw cocoa coming from the Caribbean and processed into confections throughout Europe. The Fortress maintains archives of some of the old ships manifests which show two grades of chocolate shipped to Louisbourg from France. The Fortress still orders these golf ball-size balls of heirloom chocolate from France, and uses it exclusively in its hot chocolate regularly served to seasonal tourists.
When I do "real" period dinner events there, I can not use potatoes or tomatoes though. :D

-Peter
 
Looks like you folks had a fine meal!!!
Your home is beautiful Peter, especially the fireplace!!!!
 
Just an incredible feast. Makes me want to move to Nova-Scotia. ;)
I like to cook a little but nothing that can compare to this. Even just the logistics of it all baffle me. I have a hard enough time getting the steak and potatoes to come out at the same time. :o

Thanks for sharing Peter and if you ever want to share some more, like a recipe or two from your obvious extensive cookbook, I would gladly add them to the BF Cookbook. :D
 
Recipes? What are "recipes"? :p

Patrice - I've been looking at the BF Cookbook and admiring some of the entries. I'll add a few of mine.

-Peter
 
Thanks for the invite, neighbor!:grumpy: Ha!:p

That looked mouthwateringly fantastic, Peter. When Michelle sees these pics, she is going to REALLY be pissed that we didn't connect when you were down last.
 
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