Vegetable shortening has high smoke point of around 500F, which means if you’re not paying attention, it can reach a near molten temperature without any obvious sign. And when you crack a goppy, raw egg into a hellishly hot pot of shortening….
Read MoreThis week, we’re cooking a simple, classic chicken salad. What’s that? Fresh out of mayonnaise? No worries, because (as Cook Off fans will know by now) when we say “classic” we’re talking 17th-century classic.
Read MoreYes, for a second week, we’re offering you a choice of two slightly different versions of the same dish - an Excellent Cake and Spiced Bread. What’s that you say? Cake and bread AREN’T the same thing?
Read MoreIn keeping with tradition, we’re starting the 2019 season off with a beverage. And since summer recently arrived here, on Newfoundland’s southern Avalon (like, arrived literally yesterday), We thought we’d kick things off with the quintessential summer drink - lemonade.
Read MoreOur original plans for this week called for a whole stuffed, roasted cod. Delicious right? We thought so too. But that was last February, when spending the day standing in front of a roaring fire seemed like a perfectly sensible (even desirable) thing to do. But now? Not so much.
Read MoreBefore we get to the recipes, let’s be clear that this week’s dishes do not involve any illegal distillation of alcohol or animal butchery. Moonshine is actually a super refreshing lemon jelly, while cat’s tongues are a classic biscuit. Both these recipes should be fairly simple to execute. Then again, we thought the Burnt Creame would be a breeze and you all know how that turned out!
Read MoreWelcome to Week 5 (already!) of the Great Colonial Cook Off. Each year there’s one dish that visitors to the Colony’s Kitchen totally flip over. Not suprisingly, last week’s chicken jello did not make the short list. But this week’s? I’m putting money on it.
Read MoreIt’s Week 4 and we’re halfway through this season’s Great Colonial Cook Off. After an exhausting week staving off attempts by our resident crew of hungry archaeologists to devour every scrap of fire roasted chicken they could get their hands on, Lori and Krista are ready for some quiet time. The first part of this week’s challenge will definitely give them the break they deserve. The second part? Maybe not so much.
Read MoreOur 17th century ancestors can teach us a lot about reducing our food waste. And to prove it, this week and next, the Great Colonial Cook Off is challenging you to re-create two super frugal recipes that are also nutritious and delicious. For our first dish, we’re returning to one of our favorite 17th century cookbooks - Gervase Markham’s The English Huswife (1615) - for a recipe for whole roasted capon.
Read MoreBaked, stuffed apples have likely been around for as long as there has been fire and apples. It’s said the Vikings ate them, and Medieval recipe collections contain plenty of examples. They appear in 18th century cookbooks under the name “Blackcaps”, likely due to their final appearance - blackened and looking like they’ve been beaten with a stick ... but delicious!
Read MoreWelcome to Week 1 of the Colony of Avalon's 2018 Great Colonial Cook Off (cue the trumpets and angel choir!) Keeping with tradition, we're kicking things off with a beverage .... ummm .... well, at least it's supposed to be drunk from a glass ... or a bowl.
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