Apple-pear cider

1 1/2 apples, separated
2 pears
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cups apple juice
1/4 cup rum

1. Puree chunks of 1 apple and pears in blender with apple juice.
2. Strain froth from juice into large saucepan using a cheesecloth and add sugar, ginger and cinnamon.
3. Set on high to boil.
4. After boiling,  simmer for 20 minutes.
5. While the cider simmers, slice 1/2 apple with mandolin on thinest setting.
6. Transfer cider to punch bowl, add apple slices and rum.

ANCIENT. GREEK. COOKBOOK.

Ok... It's really hard to write this. How can I express the extent of my glee? This is cooking. This is ancient. This is archaeology.This is science!

This is in German and Greek, so I'm confused.

However, this is the confused joy with which every artifact is found on-site. Whether it be in the ground, or on the internet. From what I gather, this is a record of the proceedings of a meeting at the German Academy of Sciences analyzing four fragments of ancient Greek papyri, which apparently was a rather early cookbook.

More Medieval Cookbooks

http://www.3owls.org/sca/cook/bib.htm

Start Young

My colleagues and I were talking about food recently. One co-worker was talking about being brought up on pate. Other was talking about arriving home when his 3-year-old was eating ox-tongue. Anthony starts Kitchen Confidential by regaling us with a story about going to France when he was young. He made his parents eyes roll when he ordered hamburgers and fries.We they finally decided to leave him in the car when they arrived at foodie mecca, he decided to eat everything unusual in sight- both because he realized food is more than just fuel, and because he wanted to gross-out his little brother. And I think I already told you the shrimp story. My grandpa went for 50 years without trying shrimp. When he finally did, he couldn't get enough.There's also the Mrs. Brown rule. You have to try something three times before you banish it forever.


SO TRY EVERYTHING NOW!

Non-stick pans

Tony's giving a lot of useful information in Kitchen Confidential,  so go out and obtain it right now! However,  there is one bit of info I put the book down to write about.
If you don't have a non-stick pan, please get one. If u have a non-stick pan, please get a new one (unless you no the secret.) I too will not read instructions, usually I figure things out. Or at least that's what I tell myself. Or a belif that I am slowly letting go of. Also, my eyes don't always track together.
If you get a non-stick pan, don't think wash it, just wipe it down. And don't use metal for gods sake, use wood or ceramic. And make sure it has a thick bottom.
If you are our age and can't afford a lot, that's fine. Spend $100-300 on your kitchen.  A chef's knife, mandolin, offset sarrated knife, thick bottom saute pan and a blender. Tony reccomends Global knifes. Oh, get a sharpener.
Learn knife skills. Tony reccomends Jacque Pepin's La Technique. You should also have good food. If you want that, get a crockpot. Then you can buy cheap, tough meat and just cook it all day. Now go fourth and cook like a pro of the cheap.