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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Videos: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message Icon:                             Message: Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by Kay[/i] [br]A couple weekends ago I was down in Middletown, VA for the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Cedar Creek. The living history group I am with always takes over a mansion house located in the middle of the battlefield that is called Belle Grove Plantation. It was built by a Major Isaac Hite in the 1790s for his wife Nelly Madison Hite. Nelly was the sister of our President James Madison. It is a beautiful house and continues to become even more amazing as it is restored to it's original glory ( they've installed reproduction wall to wall carpeting in the parlor and dining room, painted the walls, gotten new drapes, and the original faux wood graining is being reproduced on all the woodwork). I'll try to post some pics if I can. Anyway- our group spends this weekend "living" in the mansion and sharing with the public life in the mid-victorian household. I had the privilege of working in the large winter kitchen this year. I am not a cook at home so I don't know much of anything cooking wise but, along with a great friend who knows lots about hearth cooking, I prepared meals to be enjoyed by our fellow group members over the expansive open hearth. I was soar and filthy by the end of the day but it was a blast! The meals came out great! We had a roast that was cooked in one of our dutch ovens, green beans, fried potato balls, onion custard, fried sausage and apples, glazed carrots, and squash. All of it prepared by us over the hearth. It was tough keeping the fires going on Sat because it was very wet outside and the air flow wasn't great but I learned how to maintain a good hot fire, create coals for cooking in the dutch oven, and create mini fires on the hearth for frying- I fried lots of onions for that custard! Since many of you are very enthusiastic about period cooking and sound like really great cooks I thought I'd share my experience as a "newbie" I'd like to post some period recipes for you guys soon too. I know you guys will enjoy them as much as we do! Kay [/quote]    Upload an Image File From Your PC For Insertion in Your Post    -  HTML is OFF | Forum Code is ON   Check here to include your profile signature. Check here to subscribe to this topic.