Chike endored
PERIOD: England, 15th century | SOURCE: Harleian MS 4016 | CLASS: Authentic
DESCRIPTION: Chicken glazed with a golden batter

ORIGINAL RECIPE:
Chike endored. Take a chike, and drawe him, and roste him, And lete the fete be on, and take awey the hede; then make batur of yolkes of eyron and floure, and caste there-to pouder of ginger, and peper, saffron and salt, and pouder hit faire til hit be rosted ynogh.
- Austin, Thomas. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books. Harleian MS. 279 & Harl. MS. 4016, with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1429, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS 55. London: for The Early English Text Society by N. Trübner & Co., 1888.

Then that is turned into this .....

GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:
Take a chicken, and eviscerate him, and roast him, And let the feet be on, and take away the head; then make batter of yolks of eggs and flour, and cast there-to powder of ginger, pepper, saffron and salt, and powder it fair til it be roasted enough.

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 whole chicken
• Egg yolks
• Flour
• Ginger
• Pepper
• Saffron
• Salt
DIRECTIONS:
Roast the chicken until done; remove from oven. Have ready a thin batter made of the egg yolks and flour and seasoned with the ginger, pepper, saffron, & salt. Brush this over the entire chicken. Return to the hot oven and allow to cook for approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute, then remove from oven. Brush the chicken once again with batter and repeated the previous procedure. Do this several times until the chicken is well covered in a yellow batter-glaze. Do not over cook this glaze as it will quickly turn brown.
Why the head is removed from the chicken in the original recipe and not the feet is a bit curious; it could be that this instruction insured that the Medieval cook did not remove what we now call the drumsticks, or perhaps the feet were left on for decoration.

Reconciliation

I’m sure, like many of you, I was so concerned to see the start of the new year with the continued news of conflict around the globe; with Kenya been added to the many areas of discord. I was given for Christmas a book, which as a child I had enjoyed my father reading to me, the musical way in which the story is told was, and still is magical. The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and in particular the first chapter “The Peace-Pipe” is the piece I would like to share with you, he is writing about the various warring tribes and nations coming together at the sign of the ‘smoke ascending’

Gitche Manito, the mighty,
The creator of the nations,
Looked upon them with compassion,
With Paternal Love and pity;
Looked upon their wrath and wrangling
But as quarrels among children!
But as feuds and fights of children!
Over them he stretched his right hand,
To subdue their stubborn natures,
To allay their thirst and fever,
By the shadow of his right hand;
Spake to them with voice majestic
As the sound of far-off waters,
Falling into deep abysses,
Warning, chiding, spake in this wise:-
“O my children! My poor children!
Listen to the words of wisdom,
Listen to the words of warning,
From the lips of the Great Spirit,
From the Master of Life, who made you!
“I have given you lands to hunt in,
I have given you streams to fish in,
I have given you bear and bison,
I have given you roe and reindeer,
I have given you brant and beaver,
Filled the marshes full of wild-fowl,
Filled the rivers full of fishes,
Why then are you not contented?
Why then will you hunt each other?
“I am weary of your quarrels,
Weary of your wars and bloodshed,
Weary of your prayers for vengeance,
Of your wranglings and dissensions;
All your strength is in your union
All your danger is in discord;
Therefore be at peace henceforward,
And as brothers live together.
“I will send a Prophet to you,
A Deliverer of the nations,
Who shall guide you and shall teach you,
Who shall toil and suffer with you.
If you listen to his counsels,
You will multiply and prosper;
If his warnings pass unheeded,
You will fade away perish!

If you can manage to get hold of a copy of the book I would heartedly recommend it.