Medieval/Renaissance Cooking

I have discovered I have an affinity for cooking...I thus far have 8 books on various topics as well as 6 based on drinks. I love the idea of cooking foods of bygone eras, though admittedly, it can be a bit harder to find some of the ingredients needed. I also have to be in the mood to put in the time and effort lol. I recently added the wonderful blog Inn at the Crossroads, which is dedicated to the food mentioned in the popular "Game of Thrones" series, to the links page (so be sure to check it out!), and they have put out a cookbook that corresponds with it. I've tried only a drink from there (which proved to taste quite interesting), so I can't say how I found some of the recipes, but a majority look very good. Should you want to try your hand at a culinary time trip, I poked around Amazon and found a nice selection of cookbooks, some of which they say delve a bit more into the historical aspect of food in that era. There's probably more than I can hope to own that I've listed here, but hopefully there will be a few beneficial to folks out there, and who knows, I may be able to add some to my collection one day...per usual, should you try any of these, do share how it went!

• Cooking in Europe, 1250-1650
• Medieval Celebrations: Your Guide to Planning and Hosting Spectacular Feasts, Parties, Weddings, and Renaissance Fairs
• Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks
• Fabulous Feasts: Medieval Cookery and Ceremony
• To the King's Taste: Richard II's Book of Feasts and Recipes Adapted for Modern Cooking
• The Medieval Kitchen: A Social History with Recipes
• The Medieval Cookbook
• Food & Feast in Medieval England
• Medieval Cookery: Recipes and History
• Food and Cooking in Medieval Britain ~ History and Recipes
• Food and Cooking in 16th Century Britain: History and Recipes
• All the King's Cooks: The Tudor Kitchens of King Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace
• Food & Feast in Tudor England
• Tudor Cookery: Recipes and History
• To the Queen's Taste (Elizabethan Feasts and Recipes Adapted for Modern Cooking)
• Sallets, Humbles & Shrewsbery Cakes: A Collection of Elizabethan Recipes Adapted for the Modern Kitchen
• Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook
• The Shakespeare Cookbook
• Dining With William Shakespeare
• Cooking with Shakespeare

And, of course:

• The Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook: From Direwolf Ale to Auroch Stew - More Than 150 Recipes from Westeros and Beyond
• A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook

Happy Holidays 2012!

Huzzah and a very happy, festive, and safe holiday season to you and yours! To help keep the spirit going, here's last year's post with links for some music...enjoy!

My Story Series

Dear America goes rennie! Well, kinda...seems like the folks over at Scholastic UK were inspired by our series and have not only published a few of the ones we have, but have made their own. The series is called "My Story" and like Dear America are presented in diary style. They run from ancient Egypt to the 20th century, but here I shall present to you the ones set in the Medieval and Tudor Era...I hope to get my hands on them sometime soon as I am a big fan of the Dear America books...happy reading!

1536-1548

1547-1554

A History of Britain: Medieval and Tudor Eras

I was just alerted to this series which aired from 2000-2002 and hosted by Simon Schama. Though there are 15 parts, I have chosen to focus, of course, from 1066-1603...from the heart of medieval times through the reign of Elizabeth 1. So if you have yet to see them, or wish to see them again, here you go...each clip is about 10 minutes long. Enjoy!

Part 2-Conquest

Watch here

Part 3-Dynasty: 1087-1216

Watch here

Part 4-Nations: 1216-1348

Part 5-King Death: 1348-1500

Part 6-Burning Convictions: 1500-1558

Part 7-The Body Of The Queen: 1558-1603

New Series: A Girl For All Time

Thanks to the folks at Dolls Magazine's Book of Face page, I found a new series from the UK that while for younger readers is one that a historical fiction obsessive like myself immediately squealed over and wants to read immediately lol. As the title says, it's called A Girl for All Time which starts with Matilda: Your Tudor Girl. and according to the site's family tree page: "Matilda is the first in a family tree of Marchmont women, each of whom lives in an exciting time in English history. We can follow all of their stories in the A Girl for All Time® series. Each girl features in her own set of novels and keepsake books and they can all trace their family tree all the way back to Matilda, who lives in Tudor times during the reign of Henry VIII." I hope to get my hands on a copy of the books, and though it's highly unlikely, the doll too:

Also according to the family tree page, there will be another doll of interest to this site: Elinor: Your Elizabethan Girl...I can't wait to see her! If you're as intrigued as I am, you can check out the site and order from their US store.

The Mead Post

A wonderful way to keep the spirit alive during the off season or to indulge in because it's the season, no drink (well, maybe except a real British ale) says faire like mead. I had my first cup ever last year, and this year, I bought my own bottle, put some in one of those coffee glasses and took it with me to drink with my meal once I got there. For those who have yet to try this faire staple for yourself, or have and have no idea what's out there or where to get it (hey, it's possible lol), here's some available from Bev Mo and a local to me place called Hi-Time Wine Cellars. I hope to try them all! :-p What's your mead of choice? Any other mead brands you know of that are worth a try? What's your rating of any listed below? Do share your thoughts below, and cheers!

Bunratty (BevMo)

Bunratty (Hi-Time)

Chaucer's (BevMo)

Jadwiga (Hi-Time)

Moonlight Meadery (Flirt, Hi-Time)

Moonlight Meadery (Smitten, Hi-Time)

Mountain Meadow (Sierra Wildflower, Hi-Time)

Mountain Meadow (Honeymoon Nectar, Hi-Time)

Rabbit's Foot (Hi-Time)

Rabbit's Foot (Rasberry, Hi-Time)

Redstone (Hi-Time)

Trickster's Treat (Hi-Time)

Rugrats go to to the Faire

One of my favorite cartoons as a kid was Nickelodeon's Rugrats and last night one of the episodes shown on Teen Nick as part of their '90s Are All That segment was called "Faire Play/The Smell of Success" in which the kids attend their local faire. Things soon go haywire as only the Rugrats can do it. For your enjoyment, you can view the Rugrats episode here: