Guest Author - Elizabeth Bissette

The worlds' most ancient recipe collection was actually found on cuneiform tablets from Ancient Ur. These are currently at the Yale Library. Here are some adaptations.

From a literary text: "King (?)ulgi will have a banquet in his pleasant palace including this delicacy:

1 c dates
1 c rasins
Combine butter and honey and mix with the fruit and a little flour into balls. Fry lightly.

Cakes

3 c flour
1/4 c clarified butter
1 c dates
1/3 c feta cheese
1/3 c rasins

Bake (time/temp unspecified -- sounds good though -- I'd try 350 for about 20-30 min?

BREAD

14 oz. flour
1 c of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Mix water, flour, and salt together slowly. Knead the dough and form it
into flat round patties. Cover with a cloth and sit overnight. The next day, bake it at 350°F for 30 minutes. Served with raw onion.

CORNISH GAME HEN TO SERVE WITH BREAD

4 hens
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp
1 leek, thickly sliced
1 shallot, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

Garnish with: 1 clove garlic, halved, 1 bunch watercress and vinegar to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove legs from the bodies of the birds and set aside. Place in a stockpot along with 2 tbsp oil, vinegar, leek, shallot and garlic. Add water to cover. Bring to a bare boil, reduce heat and gently simmer, partially covered about 15 minutes. Remove to a dish and cover.

Place legs on roasting pan, coat with remaining tbsp of oil. Roast until browned, turning once - about 15 minutes. Rub with garnish.

ASSYRIAN BEEF

Chop 1 c each onions, shallots, garlic, chives, leeks, scallions. Fry in oil until soft. Add and brown all sides of an eye round pot roast in mixture, add salt to taste. Turn down heat, and simmer until done in a small amount of water to which a quarter to a half bottle of Honey Brown beer has been added, turning once or twice during cooking. Remove meat. Boil down onion-beer mixtures until reduced to a thick vegetable-rich gravy. Carve and serve.