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| Hannah Glasse's Brown Fricasey. Photo: Elizabeth Urbach. |
Have you ever looked through a cookbook from another era
and been surprised at the modern dishes you find? Have you ever been surprised
at just how much they differ from their modern counterparts? Recreate a dish
which is still around today, even if it may look a little - or a lot -
different!
The Recipe: Although
we don't generally see fricasees on menus today, in reading the recipes for
them, I saw that they are essentially the same (at least, as some traditional
recipes have it) as a very common menu item today: Chicken a la Marsala! Having made Chicken Marsala at least once
before, I was surprised to find that it is a fairly simple dish to make; when
using this recipe, use flour or very fine breadcrumbs instead of the grated
bread, substitute Marsala wine for the red wine, and use fresh mushrooms intead
of the pickled mushrooms, and you have an almost identical dish!
To make a brown
fricasey. You must take your rabbits or chickens and skin then, then cut
them into small pieces, and rub them over with yolks of eggs. Have ready some grated bread, a little beaten
mace, and a little grated nutmeg mixt together, and then roll them in it; put a
little butter into your stew-pan, and when it is melted put in your meat. Fry it of a fine brown, and take care they
don't stick to the bottom of the pan, then pour the butter from them, and pour in
half a pint of gravy, a glass of red wine, a few mushrooms, or two spoonfuls of
the pickle, a little salt (if wanted) and a piece of butter rolled in
flour. When it is of a fine thickness
dish it up, and send it to table. -- from The Art of Cookery Made Plain
& Easy, Hannah Glasse, 1774.
The Date/Year and
Region: Eastern Coast of U.S., 1774.
