Betty Bolte Shares an 18th Century Recipe

 

Dishing on Samantha’s Secret Meal – An update to an 18^th  Century Dinner Idea

In my latest release, Samantha’s Secret, the main character fixes a colonial dish called “Little Fried Birds” to serve to her parents No, not real birds! I’m not sure why it’s titled this way. I found the recipe in a cookbook called Our Founding Foods by Jane Tennant. The original recipe called for lamb kidneys with suet fat, but Ms. Tennant (wisely, in my opinion) substituted dark turkey meat. I’ve made some other changes to her recipe to make the meal a little bit healthier and a lot easier.

First, I’ll give you the Tennant version, then my update to it. The first is obviously more time consuming, too, since you have to make your own pastry dough. I don’t own a food processor for a reason… So I had to make a few adjustments. What I like about this concept is that it can be applied to other fillings with different kinds of meat and veggies. I also like the idea that I’m eating something sort of like what my character would have eaten, if she had lived in the 18^th century. See what you think!

Little Fried Birds

2 cups cooked, finely diced turkey dark meat, no skin or tendon

4 tablespoons chopped green onions

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons dry sherry

2 teaspoons mixed herbs, dried

Salt and pepper to taste

Pastry

3 cups all purpose flour

1½ tablespoons sugar

1½ teaspoons salt

3 sticks chilled unsalted butter

9 tablespoons ice water

Peanut oil for deep frying

Directions

Sauté the onions in butter until soft. Add the turkey and turn to coat and cook slightly. Add the sherry and continue cooking until almost dry. Add the herbs, stir briefly to incorporate, and remove from the heat and reserve.

To Make the Pastry: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add the diced butter and pulse 10 seconds. Add the water and pulse just until the dough is formed. Wrap and chill for one hour. Roll out the dough to ½ inch thickness, fold in thirds like a business letter, and repeat. Wrap and chill until needed.

Roll the chilled pastry to ¼ inch thickness, and cut into 6 inch squares. Put two tablespoons of filling in each square, moisten the inside edges with water, and fold to make a small parcel, sealing the edges.

Set the deep fryer with at least 3 inches of oil to 365 degrees F and fry the pasties, 3 at a time, until the pastry is brown and appealing. Remove and drain. Serves 6.

 

Betty’s Chicken Logs

(I changed the title, too!)

2 fresh chicken breasts, diced

2 tablespoons diced yellow onion

2 tablespoons diced celery

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

A dash of Sesame oil

1 can of 8 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Directions

Sauté chicken, onion, celery and garlic in the oils until done. Set aside.

Roll out the crescent rolls and separate into 4 rectangles. Press together any perforations.

Divide the chicken into the four rectangles and fold the sides over it to form a sealed log. Place on greased baking sheet and place in preheated oven as directed on the package. Bake until golden brown. Serves 4.

My hubby and I really enjoyed these and I’ll make some more before long. They are easy and tasty! What would you do to adapt this recipe to your taste?

 

Betty Bolté writes both historical and contemporary stories that feature strong, loving women and brave, compassionate men. No matter whether the stories are set in the past or the present, she loves to include a touch of the paranormal. Get to know her at www.bettybolte.com.

 

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Samantha’s Secret 

 

In 1782, the fight for independence becomes personal in the port city Charles Town, South Carolina.

Midwife and healer, Samantha McAlester returns from the front lines to find Charles Town under British siege and the town’s new doctor at war with its citizens.

Dr. Trent Cunningham intends to build a hospital staffed solely with educated doctors. What he doesn’t need is a raven-haired charlatan spooning out herbs and false promises to his patients, while tempting him at every turn.

Then a mutual friend develops a mysterious infection. Trenton is stumped. Samantha suspects the cure but knows treatment will expose her long-guarded secret, risking all she holds dear… including Trenton.

 

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