Archive for December, 2010

The Queen is well aware that when it comes to the winter months, that her subjects enjoy nice warm meals to take away the chill in the air.  Therefore, she has ordered her cooks to provide you all with her favorite winter stew recipe.

Ingredients

-4 slices turkey bacon, coarsely chopped

-1 ½ cups finely chopped onion (2 medium)

-1 ½ cups diced carrots (2 medium)

-½ cup diced celery (1 stalk)

-3 cups reduced-sodium beef broth

-2 cups dry red wine, ie: Merlot or Zinfandel

-1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ teaspoon dried leaves

-2 bay leaves

-2  2 ½-inch-long strips of orange zest

-3 ½ pounds of sliced shank, or cubed stewing beef, that is already trimmed

-½ cup chopped watercress or parsley

-Fresh ground pepper for seasoning

1)      Heat oil in a 4 to 5 quart Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add in bacon and cook, stirring often until the bacon is lightly browned, which should take about 3 to 5 minutes.  Into the Dutch oven put the carrots, celery, and onion and stir until they are all lightly browned and softened which should take about 8 to 10 minutes.  Add broth, wine, thyme, orange zest, and bay leaves and bring them to a boil.

2)      Rinse the beef under cool water then place into a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker set to high.  Add the mixture from step one into the cooker. Put the lid on the cooker and allow the beef to cook for 6 to 7 hours, or until the beef is very tender.

3)      Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and using a slotted spoon, place the cooked beef into a bowl. Remove the bones.  If desired, scoop the marrow from the bones and add to the meat.  Use the spoon to break the meat into small bite-sized pieces.  Cover and keep warm.

4)      Remove orange zest and bay leaves from the sauce and skim out the fat.  Then pour the remainder of the sauce into a large skillet.  Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat, occasionally removing the foam for about 20 minutes.  Season with pepper.  Return the beef to the broth and heat through.

5)      Ladle the stew into bowls and sprinkle with watercress or parsley.

At winter Renaissance Faires or Medieval events, this delicious stew can be dished out by those wearing serving wench costumes.  The Queen hopes you enjoy!

Because the winter has set in and days can become cold and bleak, the Queen has ordered the Court Jester to go around and collect humorous LARPing stories so that we all may enjoy a good laugh.  Here are some of the tales:

At one LARP, there is a prayer that forces the target to answer the next “yes” or “no” question truthfully.  In order to “cast” the prayer, the cleric must place their hand on the target and call “Truth Light.”  One particular, yet clever, cleric was only able to use this prayer twice per day.  A suspected criminal was brought before the cleric, but the cleric had already used the prayer twice.  Thinking quickly he asked the criminal if he was guilty then shouted, “Tell me the truth!”  Shocked by the cleric’s vigor and assuming the prayer had been cast, the criminal admitted his guilt, even though he was not bound by the rules of the game to do so.  Quite an interrogator that cleric was.

At another LARP, the players were confronted with battling a very ferocious and powerful villain.  This villain was known as a Bone Lord, who was capable of causing a lot of damage while requiring special materials to defeat.  Before the players could gather the correct components, the Bone Lord assaulted the town, forcing the players to all take refuge in the Abbey.  The scribes say that the Bone Lord taunted the town threatening to destroy the citizens, their children, and their children’s children.  One daring and defiant rogue shouted back, “How will our children have children if you’ve already destroyed them?”  That rogue was either very brave—or very stupid.  Whichever it was, we hope that he was wearing Medieval armor to help protect him from the battle that surely followed his untimely remarks.

Come back and visit the Jester often as he will provide more of these tales.  Do you have your own amusing stories?  Let the Jester know by leaving a comment.

Like something out of a fantasy...

The Medieval and Renaissance time periods are very alluring to a large number of people.  This is made evident with the large number of Renaissance faires or Medieval reenactments that are conducted throughout the world and the attendance that they receive.  It is difficult to deny the popularity these time periods create within the historic community.

But there is another group of individuals who also enjoy the times of yore:  Fantasy fans.  For the fantasy fan, you still have many elements of Medieval times, such as knights, castles, and princesses.  But you also have a number of other unique aspects, such as magic, dragons, elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, and many other supernatural creatures.

For those fantasy enthusiasts who enjoy dressing in the same outfits of the characters they read about or watch, Pearsons can help.  We have many fantasy themed costumes such as this woodland elf cincher set.  Make sure to browse through our entire selection to find the costume that works for you.

What is your favorite fantasy story or movie?  Let us know in the comments section.

The Queen knows that this is the time of year when many Lords and Nobles start to host their Christmas celebrations.  The Queen has been receiving many invitations and she thanks you all for your kindness.  She regrets that she will be unable to attend all of the festivities.

However, she did want to provide to her loyal subjects one of her favorite recipes for a Christmas punch that can be served at all of the receptions.

Christmas Punch

4 Cups Cranberry Juice
2 32oz Cans Pineapple Juice
1 Cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
3 Cups Water
3 Cups Sugar
2 2-Liter Bottles Ginger Ale
Red Food Coloring (Optional)
12 Oz. Frozen Strawberries

Combine all ingredients together except for the ginger ale and the strawberries.  Refrigerate the mixture until it is almost time to be served.  Once taken out of the refrigerator, slowly stir in ginger ale and strawberries.  This makes approximately 20 servings.

If you are having a Medieval themed party, then perhaps you can have your Christmas punch served by someone in a Medieval wench costume to help maintain the atmosphere.  Happy holidays!