There should have been six...

well...
I am off pace already!

Thanksgiving was supposed to have SIX recipes that would count for this project. There were two. C'est la vie!
Puff pastry is nightmare. Confirmed French origins, pâte feuilletée or feuilletage. See also croissants and palmiers. (Just skip the yeast.) Puff pastry is made by repeatedly layering pastry dough and cold butter, this technique is called laminating. I am not a pastry chef. I am certainly not a PATIENT pastry chef. This is why we BUY puff pastry dough. I also learned why there are so many SMALL wee tiny little dishes made with puff pastry. When it is bigger the middle doesn't cook. OI.

Recipe #3 should have been a variation on the onion tarts I did for Gregoire's Vigil, which were a huge success. They were red onion sauteed in balsamic vinegar with chevre on puff pastry. Bite size and very popular. This go round I used mushrooms with brie and shallots but instead of bite size I went with one big one because frankly after wrestling with actually making the pastry dough and all the other dishes I was about done in. In a fit of lazy girl I decided to make one big one. FAIL. delicious, ugly fail. The edges of this were amazing. I plan on a re-do.

Recipe #4 Preserved Cherry Tart with chestnuts after minimal research I assured myself that cherries, while not as common as apples or pears, would not have been unknown in my time period in France. Most likely smaller than we are used to and assuredly uncultivated until the late 16th century. They would have been known. This was reassuring as I have several pints that were put up in warmer months and these coupled with roasted and chopped (who am I kidding those little fuckers are so fragile...let's just go with crumbled) chestnuts made a delightful addition to the dessert line up.

Bonus Recipe: Parsnips roasted with rosemary. This one doesn't count because the only "new" thing was slicing the parsnips on a diagonal to make pretty coin shapes. Delicious and fit the period/geographical requirements except...I have done this before. NO POINTS.

I guess that December will have five extra Medieval French Dishes. Hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew!