The Challenge:
7. Pretty As A Picture (March 25 - April 7) If you’re a fan of cooking competition shows (like I am!), you know how the saying goes: we eat first with our eyes. Make a dish that looks just as spectacular as it tastes. Extra points for historically accurate plating - and don’t forget to post pictures!
Intro
If the fellow foodies will remember, I've set an additional challenge to interpret dishes that are listed as served at the 80th Anniversary Dinner of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. This dinner included the ultimate culinary art, the
Pièces Montées. Pièces Montées are centerpieces made of confectionery bits like nougat, marzipan, fondant, and spun sugar. The most famous creator of
pièces montées of the mid 19th century was Antoine Careme, so we turn to a translation of Chef Careme's work for making a showpiece to honor a few of the brave Irish-Americans.
The Recipe:
From:
The Royal Parisian Pastrycook and Confectioner from the Original of M. A. Careme by M.A. Careme compiled by F.J. Mason, 1834
Sect. XI. (11)—Pate D'Office (confectioners' Paste.)
(pages 24)
Take one pound and a half of sifted flour, make a hole
in the centre as usual, and put therein two eggs, three yolks, a pound of
pounded sugar, and a pinch of salt; stir this for two minutes only, in order
that the sugar may be a little melted: add afterwards the flour and another
yolk if necessary, so that it may be of the same thickness as paste for making
hot and cold pies. Then give it five or six turns by working it well with your
wrists (as mentioned before) which will render it particularly sleek and
binding, otherwise you must add another yolk or the white of an egg to it. Next
cut the paste in pieces, which mould and afterwards roll out to the thickness
of one-sixth of an inch, if intended for the groundwork of a large piece
montee (mounted piece). Then put the paste on a plate lightly
buttered, and press it slightly with the ends of your fingers, in order to
expel the air, which sometimes lodges between it and the surface of the plate;
for if it be put in the oven without this precaution the heat will cause it to
blister, which not only disfigures it, but also reduces its strength very much.
After placing your paste on the plate as above stated, cut it with the point of
your knife into a round, square, or oval form, according to your fancy. You then
egg the top lightly (but by no means the edges), and prick it here and there
with the point of the knife, to facilitate the evaporation of the air; after
which put it in a moderate oven. If, notwithstanding the precautions you have
taken, it should blister (which will sometimes happen), pass the blade of a
large knife underneath, and if f it be baked enough so as to be raised, turn it
upside down and leave it some time longer, so that it may be lightly coloured
on both sides. In taking it out of the oven place it on the straightest part of
your working board, and put a baking-plate or a large board on the top of it.
When it is cold, remove the plate or board, and you will find your paste very
straight, and perfectly smooth on both sides. This paste will also succeed very
well by using only twelve ounces of sugar instead of a pound.
Preliminary Observations.
The columns which best suit pieces montees are
the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. The height of the first should be six
or eight times their diameter; that of the second, nine; and that of the third,
ten times; and the distance between the columns, in large pieces, should be two
inches and a half. The Gothic order also, on account of its lightness, may be
used with advantage.
The straight upright pieces, termed montans, used
in the construction of pieces montees, are made of
confectioner's paste (see page 24), rolled up three-quarters of an inch in
thickness, and their length proportioned to the size of the piece montee to
which they belong.
The puff-paste used for making the small ornaments—such as
rings, half-moons, &c. &c.—should have twelve turns, and be full
one-twelfth of an inch in thickness, and be covered with pounded sugar and put
into a moderate oven. As soon as their surfaces are very white and they are
firm to the touch take them out.
Lastly, the moss, which is used in ornamenting ruins, rocks,
&c. &c., is made of a softish mixture of light and dark green almond
and confectioner's paste (in equal quantities), then rubbed with a spatula
through a rather coarse horse-hair sieve, and formed into a very firm kind of
vermicelli, which, after being divided into small parcels, must be dried on a
stove. Almond paste alone would make the moss too brittle; and as regards the
colour, a red or yellow may be as easily used.
The Date/Year and Region:
1834-1870, United States
How Did You Make It:
I first needed to choose an image and plan carefully the pieces to make it up. Since several directions for military hats and helmets were included, I tried the McDowell Cap of the 28th Mass.
For the ground and the cap itself, I used Confectioner's Paste.
So, that's mix sugar, eggs, and egg yolks together. Form a hole in the flour and fill with the egg and sugar mix. Work the flour and mix together.
What I got was very crumbly and wouldn't stick together, so I added egg whites as a bonding agent.
Then I formed the pieces of the cap around a glass tumbler to bake.
I mixed the food coloring, of which I cheated utterly and used modern gel.
Meanwhile, I worked marzipan for the details like the brass numbers, buttons, and the notorious boxwood sprig.
Time to Complete:
Worth every moment and I could have used more. :-p
Total Cost:
Maybe $10.00. The almond meal for the marzipan was the most expensive part, followed by the food coloring.
How Successful Was It:
I remarked to a friend earlier that this endeavor would likely come out looking like a 3rd grader's STEM fair project. Umm... Yeah... not far off.
I need some major work on smoothing the paste out. Were I to do this again, I would try frosting the paste with a sugar paste (like fondant) for a smoother finish.
How Accurate Was It:
I gave a definite effort towards following the instructions faithfully, with modern equipment. As noted already, I used modern food coloring.
