is an Associate Professor of Renaissance Literature at The Pennsylvania State University – Abington College. She currently holds a Before ‘Farm to Table Margaret Hannay Virtual Fellowship at the Folger and is writing a book entitled Shakespeare in the Kitchen for Routledge’s ‘Spotlight on Shakespeare’ series. Marissa is the author of Cooking in the Archives: Updating Early Modern Recipes (1600-1800) in a Modern Kitchen where you can find even more information about historical recipes.
Love-in-idleness, Part Two: Intoxicating botanicals in 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream'
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Author
Marissa Nicosia
Love-in-idleness, a flower also called pansy or heartsease, plays an important role in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," as Marissa Nicosia explores.
Love-in-idleness, Part One: Adapting an early modern recipe for heartsease cordial
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Marissa Nicosia
Marissa Nicosia adapts an early modern recipe for heartsease cordial. This purple pansy syrup was used to “clear the heart” – to treat the chest and lungs or to reduce fever – but also for healing heartaches and other amorous ailments.
A plate of beautifully baked cookies is a wonderful thing. It is a welcoming gesture for guests, it signifies a holiday or a special meal, and it is a demonstration of a baker’s skill at making something pleasing to the…
Savoring the seasons and Lettice Pudsey’s fritters
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Author
Marissa Nicosia
Food is intimately connected to climate and season. It was for Shakespeare and his contemporaries, and it is for us today. Beautiful, local produce is once again available in the northeast now that spring is turning into early summer. In…
Citrus and sugar: Making marmalade with Hannah Woolley
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Marissa Nicosia
Hannah Woolley’s 17-century recipe for marmalade captures the flavors of exotic citrus with the preservative power of sugar, which had only recently been made widely available to upper- and middle-class British people.
British Beef, French Style: Robert May's Braised Brisket
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Author
Marissa Nicosia
British beef cooked in a French style: Marissa Nicosia shares an early modern recipe for brisket from "The Accomplisht Cook," by 17th-century English chef Robert May.
The "American Nectar": William Hughes's hot chocolate
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Author
Marissa Nicosia
The perfect post for a winter's day: Marissa Nicosia shares an early modern recipe for hot chocolate, associated with 17th-century author, botanist, and pirate William Hughes.
a Guest Post by Marissa Nicosia and Alyssa Connell Since we launched Cooking in the Archives in 2014 we’ve been looking for chocolate. We love chocolate, our friends and family who taste our recipes love chocolate, and we were pretty…
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