Tostees

Tostees Dorees

Original Recipe:
Pour faire Tostees dorees, prenez du pain blanc dur et le trenchiez par tostees quarrees et les rostir ung pou sur le grail; et avoir moyeulx d'oeufz batuz et les envelopez tres bien dedans iceulx moyeulx; et avoir de bon sain chault et les dorer dedans sur le feu tant qu'elles soient belles et bien dorees et puis les oster de dedans la paelle et mettez es platz, et du succre dessus.
- Le Viandier de Taillevent, written in the 14th by Guillaume Tirel, the chief cook of King Charles V of France.

Translation: (Translated by Terence Scully)
Tostees Dorees: To make Glazed Toast, slice hard white bread into squares for toast, and roast them lightly on the grill, and coat them completely with beaten egg yolks; get good hot grease and glaze them in it on the fire until they are properly glazed; then take them out of the pan and put them on plates, with sugar over top.

Interpretation:

1 pound Bread sliced 16 Egg yolks
8 tsp. Oil 8 tsp. Sugar
Toast bread slightly. Beat egg yolks. Coat toasted bread slices with egg yolk. In skillet heat oil. Fry egg coated bread about 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown and center springs back from light touch. Lay cooked slices on plate, sprinkle with sugar and serve.

Notes:

The original recipe calls for hot grease, which I would take to be any type of rendered animal fat or vegetable oil.
The original talks about using the hot grease to glaze the bread slices properly, then to take them out of the pan. This description appears to be a frying technique. There is no mention if there is to be a lot or little oil in this cooking method.

From The Master-Cook of Richard II, The Forme of Cury (c1390). These are a little like hot jelly upon toast, with a wonderful flavour.

Tostee. Take wyne and hony and found it togyder and skym it clene. and seeþ it long, do þerto powdour of gyngur. peper and salt, tost brede and lay the sew þerto. kerue pecys of gyngur and flour it þerwith and messe it forth.
- Forme of Cury, S. Pegge (ed.): Tostee. XX.IIII. XIII.

Ingredients: ¼ cup red wine; ¼ cup honey; 1 tsp fresh ginger; 1/8 tsp ground ginger; pinch salt; pinch of pepper; 2 slices toast.

Method: Peel the fresh ginger, chop very finely and set aside. Put the wine, honey, ground ginger, salt and pepper into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and simmer until bubbles begin, or until syrup thickens. Spoon over fingers of toast, sprinkle with a little fresh ginger, and serve warm.

Similar Recipes

Pokerounce - A sweetmeat consisting of toast spread with hot spiced honey and pine nuts.

Soppes pour Chamberleyne. Take wyne, Canell, powder ginger, sugur of eche a porcion; And cast all in a Streynour, And honge hit on a pyn, And late hit ren thorgh a streynour twies or thries, til hit ren clere; And then take paynmain, And kutte hit in a maner of Browes, And tost hit, And ley hit in a diss, and caste blanche pouder there-on ynog; And then cast the same licour vppon the Soppes, and serue hit forthe fore a good potage.
- Forme of Cury, S. Pegge (ed.)