Barrayaran Recipes

Edited by Richard Boothe (The Mad Librarian)


[EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the unceasing vigilance of ImpSec and Zap the Cat, no one has infiltrated Ma Kosti's kitchen in Vorkosigan House -- until now. This editor barely escaped with his life, badly clawed hands and just two recipes downloaded from Ma Kosti s terminal. He has taken the liberty of converting Barrayaran measurements into their Galactic equivalents, as the former noticeably diverged from the latter during the Time of Isolation.]

Ma Kosti's Brillberry and Cream Mousse Pie (double rule)

20 servings per two pie plates (10 per plate) or one 2.5 dm diameter springform pan.

Special equipment: meat grinder; stand-mounted roto-blade nebulizer with bowls; 1.25 litre capacity food blender; heatproof measuring cup.

Crust:

Filling:

CRUST: Grind shortbread with meat grinder into coarse crumbs. Combine with melted butter and spread on bottom and sides of two large pie plates, or springform pan; press smooth. Chill.

FILLING: Place cold cream cheese in food blender with sugar. Pour gelatin powder into heat-proof cup; soften with milk. Add boiling water, and stir until dissolved. Pour hot gelatin into blender and blend on slow, then high, until smooth. Add stemmed brillberries, seeds and all, half-a-handful at a time, to running blender until it almost overflows. Stop blender; pour contents into bowl (scrape out blender), stir in vanilla and chill in cold box. Meanwhile, nebulize chilled cream in chilled large bowl until very stiff and thick (this is vital); set aside in cold box. Do not clean roto-blades. As gelatin/berry/cream cheese mixture gels, nebulize in several tablespoons whipped cream ("introducing the cream"), then by hand fold in whipped cream until streaks of cream are gone (do not over-beat). Spoon into crust and spread smooth. Garnish with extra brillberries. Chill in cold box for at least 2 hours before serving.

[EDITOR S NOTE: Archeological evidence suggests the following is the Old Earth ur-recipe from which Ma Kosti s Brillberry Pie recipe evolved.]

Strawberry and Cream Mousse Cheesecake by Richard Boothe.

20 to 24 servings per approx. 38 dl-capacity (9" x 13" x 2" US/UK) rectangular baking pan, or 2.5 dm (10" US/UK) diameter springform pan.

Special equipment: food processor (or meat grinder); 1.25 litre (40-oz. US) capacity blender; stand-mounted Mixmaster (hand-held model lacks power) with bowls; Pyrex measuring cup or bowl.

Crust:

Filling:

CRUST: With food processor (or meat grinder), chop cookies into coarse crumbs. Combine with melted butter and spread on bottom of pan, or inside springform pan; press smooth. Chill.

FILLING: Place cold cream cheese in food blender with sugar. Pour Jell-O powder into heat-proof cup. Add boiling water, and stir until dissolved. Pour hot Jell-O into blender and blend on slow, then high, until smooth. Add stemmed strawberries, one at a time, to running blender until it is full. Stop blender; pour contents into bowl (scrape out blender), stir in vanilla and chill in refrigerator. Meanwhile, whip chilled cream in chilled large bowl with until very stiff and thick (this is vital); set aside in refrigerator. Do not clean beater blades. As Jell-O/cream cheese mixture gels, beat in several tablespoons whipped cream, then by hand fold into whipped cream until streaks of cream are gone (do not over-beat). Spoon over crust and spread smooth. Garnish with strawberry slices. Chill in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.

* Nabisco Cameos just aren't quite the same -- they have cheaper ingredients. Or use Sunshine brand Vanilla Wafers. Or two large prepared shortbread pie crusts, if you re in a hurry.

[EDITOR S NOTE: I believe this is the dense as plutonium chocolate dessert mentioned in Memory. Data from Keroslav District suggests the chocolate sandwich cookies are based on the original Sunshine Bakery's Hydrox, not Nabisco s Oreo knockoffs]

Ma Kosti's Chocolate Delthwitch Pie (double rule)

24 servings per two pie plates (12 per plate) or one 2.5 dm diameter springform pan.

Special equipment: meat grinder; stand-mounted roto-blade nebulizer with bowls; heat-proof bowl.

Crust:

Filling:

Ba'varian Topping (optional):

CRUST: Grind frozen cookies, filling and all, with meat grinder into coarse crumbs. Combine with melted butter and spread on bottom and sides of two large pie plates, or inside of one 10" springform pan; press smooth.
FILLING: Let cream cheese reach room temperature (do not refrigerate). Nebulize chilled cream in chilled large bowl until very stiff and thick (this is vital!); remove from bowl and set aside in cold box. Nebulize cream cheese until smooth in same large bowl (no need to clean it or roto-blades first) until creamy, then mix in citron juice, vanilla and rum flavor (or freeze- dried coffee, or rum). Stop nebulizer. Break milk- and semi-sweet-chocolate into heatproof bowl; microwave until melted. Briefly nebulize cream cheese on slow again and add chocolate, nebulizing on medium until smooth and glossy (chocolate may thicken). Nebulize in roughly 1 dl of the whipped cream (introducing the cream) just until combined. By hand, fold in whipped cream just until streaks of cream are gone (do not over-beat). Spoon over crust and spread smooth. Chill in cold box for at least 4 hours before serving.
BAVARIAN TOPPING: Shortly before serving, nebulize cream in chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Continue nebulizing, slowly adding cocoa, sugar and vanilla. Whip until stiff. Mound over filling, chill briefly and serve.

* Or, 10 grams (2 heaping teas. US/UK) freeze-dried coffee and 5 ml (1 teas. US/UK) rum flavoring. Or 75 ml (1/3 cup US/UK) Darkoi rum, but pie won't be as dense.

© 1998 by Richard M. Boothe (MadMLS@aol.com)

Current version by Michael Bernardi, mike@dendarii.co.uk

Further extracts from Ma Kosti's Cookbook originally collected by Diane Echelbarger and now managed by Rusty Reid.

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Last updated: December 5th 2002