Medieval Meatpies

Last weekend I experimented in the kitchen after reading the website Gode Cookery. I made 2 large medieval meatpies drawing from the basic recipie. I cheated using store bought deep dish crusts, but the rest was fairly authentic.

These are the ingredients I used:

1 1/2 lb beef stew meat
1/2 lb pork
1/4 lb chicken breast
6 dried figs
12 dried dates
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped nuts (mixed)
8 egg yolks
1 cup red wine
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp nutmeg


I boiled all the meat first in a 2 qt pot with just enough water to cover it. After the meat cooled, I ran it all through a food processor to grind it down to almost paste. (there were still some shredded bits in it) I transfered the meat mush to a very large bowl, then ran the dried fruit in the processor to coarsely chop it. I then mixed the dried fruit and meat with the egg yolks, wine, and nuts. It still seemed too dry, so I reduced the broth from boiling the meat down to about 1/2 cup and mixed it in too. The pie crusts were pre-baked and cooled, then filled to the top will the meat mixture. I didn't put top crusts on the pies so they are a bit dry. The pies cooked at 400 for about an hour, the last 15 minutes I put them on the top rack to brown a little.

They turned out fairly well, sort of like sweet meatloaf. One of my coworkers said the presentation needed work, as the filling looked like Alpo. They tasted better with a bit of mustard when hot, but were ok when cold. I wouldn't add figs next time, the seeds made it taste gritty.

Mental/Social Hygiene

I love the Prelinger Archives at Archive.org. I just have a facination with old school filmstrips, especially the mental hygiene films. Mental hygiene, also called social hygiene, wasn't just preventing venereal diseases, it was also about teaching kids about how to be good little productive members of society. They covered how-to's on dating, grooming, manners, social interaction and the dangers of drugs and drinking.

A hilarious example of this is "A Date with your Family" from 1950. The women are perfect smiling Barbie dolls in high heels and aprons as they do all the housework, while the men are left to solitary pursuits. The son does his homework while his sister cleans up (when does she do her homework?) The most sickening part is the acknowledged fake emotions: "These boys treat their dad as though they were genuinely glad to see him, as though they really missed him..."



Recommended reading:
Mental Hygiene: Classroom Films 1945-1970 by Ken Smith

Threadless

Threadless is one of my favorite sites to visit on a regular basis. Instead of buying the next lousy saying t-shirt that comes along, you can vote on different designs. The most popular get printed. It isn't that much of a high school-ish popularity contest, although it has a "trendier than thou" hipster feel sometimes. It all depends who is currently voting. I don't get the Tarantino obsessed crowd on there, but at least the gun themed tees have died off for a bit.
Sometimes some really creative stuff shows up.

The "loves threadless" contests are great too. The IFC one set off the gun tee takeover. My favorite design was cement shoes.


Here are a few more of my faves:
Chance
Well, this just really sucks...
Operation Needed

a face an owner could love

Meet Sam, the world's ugliest dog. His owner loves him in spite of (because of?) his looks. Have you loved someone/something irregardless of what he/she/it looks like? I won't name names (since beauty is in the eye of the beholder) but there are some people out there that do not fit my beauty ideal, even stars in Hollywood. They have family, friends, and spouses who love them. Unfortunately there are others who are cruel, who cross the street when they see someone different. I'm not saying marry someone deformed just to prove you have a heart, but show a little kindness. Talk to that man at the party who limps, or the woman with scars, or whatever their imperfection might be. We make unexpected friends when we take a chance.

That's enough glurge for the day, sorry about that. I'm a sucker for animals.