Breakfast Oatmeal Scones

3/4 cup cold buttermilk
2 Tbls honey
1 egg
2 cups flour (white wheat, whole wheat, or whole wheat pastry)
1 cup cooked oatmeal*
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
sugar
cinnamon or nutmeg

*the point of this is to use leftover oatmeal, so it's okay if there's stuff in the oatmeal (nuts, fruit, spices, sweetener). Reduce the amount of sweetener in the recipe if the oatmeal had enough in it already. You can add nuts, fruit, or spices to the recipe if you are using plain oatmeal. Or leave it plain. Whatever you like.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter and honey until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the oatmeal. Add milk and egg, stirring just until moist.

Place dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly until the dough is all together.

Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment.

Form the dough into little balls, place on the baking sheet, and gently press into circles.  Sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg, and sugar on top. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.

Baked Salsa Chicken

Chicken pieces (boneless and skinless is easiest)
salsa
shredded cheese (such as cheddar, mozzarella, colby jack, pepper jack, monterey jack)
oil or butter
spices (Mexican style, such as cayenne, cumin, cilantro)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Warm the oil/butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add in the chicken pieces. Sprinkle the tops of the chicken with spices. Let brown on the bottom side until the chicken seems cooked about halfway through.

Transfer chicken and all drippings from the pan into a baking pan. Cover the chicken with salsa, then cover with shredded cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. (Check with a thermometer for larger pieces like breasts. Chicken needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 F.)

Carrot and Turnip Bake

1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup half-and-half
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. hotroot pepper (or a mix of cayenne and black pepper)
1 tsp. salt
1 lb carrots
1 lb turnips
1 cup grated cheese (I used a mix of cheddar, mozzarella, and pecorino)
1 Tbls fennel leaves
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 Tbls. butter

Preheat the oven to 375 F and butter a 9"x13" baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the milk, half-and-half, garlic, hotroot pepper, and salt.

Cut the carrots and turnips into thin slices, no more than 1/8" thick. Put half the slices in the baking pan, then pour over half the milk mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese over it. Layer the remaining vegetable slices on top and pour over the remaining milk mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.

Mix together the flour and fennel. Cut in the butter until it is crumbly and there are no more chunks of butter. Stir in the cheese.

Remove dish from oven. Sprinkle on the topping and bake again, uncoveres, for 20-25 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.

Cabbage and Fennel Bake & Pasties

1 lb cabbage ( about 1/2 head)
1 lb. fennel bulb (about 2 bulbs)
1 Tbls. butter
1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried thyme leaves, or 1 Tbls. fresh
1/2 tsp. hotroot pepper (or to taste)
1/4 cup vegetable stock
1 Tbls. vinegar
1 cup milk
1/4 cup corn meal
1/2 tsp salt


Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Chop the cabbage and fennel bulbs into thin slices.

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion, cabbage, and fennel, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Pour into a 9"x13" baking pan, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.

Ingredient notes: I used green cabbage, yellow onion, balsamic vinegar, and 2% milk. I think you could switch the cabbage, onion, and vinegar, to whatever varieties you like. I would suggest using 2% milk at the lowest. Whole milk, half-and-half, or even cream would work. I haven't perfected my blend for hotroot pepper, so in the meantime, use cayenne or what you like. It shouldn't be too spicy; just have a bit of zing.

Use leftover cabbage and fennel bake to make pasties.

Take pie crust dough, roll into small circles, and fill each one with cabbage and fennel bake. Fold each circle in half and pinch the edges closed. Bake them at 350 F for 20-30 minutes.

Medieval Chicken Pie

This is not a redaction, nor is it based on any specific, documentable, medieval recipe. I was inspired by a couple of different recipes, and all the ingredients are period.

Use a 9" deep dish pie tin. You also want a meat thermometer.

Pie crust:

3/4 cup butter
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or semola flour
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt (if using unsalted butter)
beaten egg whites

Filling:

2 Tbls. honey
1/2 cup dried fruits, minced (I used fancy raisins, blueberries, prunes, cherries)
1 Tbls. ground cinnamon
2-3 egg yolks, depending on the size of eggs (I used 3 "medium")
2 Tbls. minced nuts (I used pecans)
1 cup carrots, finely chopped
3/4 cup fennel bulb, finely chopped
2 cups chicken, cut into about 1" cubes (I used the dark meat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. mace

Crust:
Cut the butter into the flour until it is crumbly and there is no more dry powder. Dissolve the salt (if using) in the water, and stir into the flour to make a soft dough. Knead it a bit to get it all together. Form a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in fridge to chill until hard.

Mix the chicken pieces, salt, pepper, thyme, and mace. Set aside, let chill.

Stir together the rest of the filling ingredients.

When the crust dough is hard, divide it in half. Place a piece of waxed paper on the counter, and sprinkle with flour. Roll out half the dough to a circle big enough to fit in the pie tin. It should be somewhat thick crust. Place the tin upside-down on the dough, and flip it over with the dough and waxed paper to get the dough inside. Remove the waxed paper and press the dough down into the tin.

Around this time, set the oven to preheat to 350 F.

Stir the chicken mix into the rest of the filling. Spread the filling into the pie tin.

Roll out the rest of the crust in the same way, using the waxed paper to lift it and place it on the top of the pie. Trim the edge of the crust and pinch the top and bottom together.

Brush the beaten egg whites onto the crust. Make a cool design on the top crust with the remaining dough! Make sure there are some cuts in the top crust. Brush the design with egg whites as well.

Bake for about 1 hour, until the internal temperature reaches or exceeds 165 F.