Special classes explore cooking as it once was at the Noah Webster House in West Hartford.

Submitted 

Becky Hendricks. Courtesy photo

Want to learn what it took to be a colonial cook? Before the advent of modern kitchen conveniences like self-rising flour and the Instant Pot, preparing a meal for your family took time, effort, and culinary know-how.

The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society is offering a series of hearth cooking classes where you will slow down the pace, start from scratch, and experience historic cooking with Ms. Becky Hendricks, historic food researcher with over 20 years of experience as a living historian.

Hendricks is a Historic Foodways researcher of mid-17th through early 19th century recipes, cooking tools and techniques, and kitchen gardens. She has been actively involved in the living history community for over 20 years. Hendricks’ recipes come from diverse primary sources such as Eliza Smith’s “The Compleat Housewife: or Accommplish’d Gentlewoman’s Companion.” Whether deboning a Cornish game hen or making pie crust, you will use historically accurate tools and techniques.

You will do everything in this hands-on experience, from cooking over an open fire to cleanup. At the end of the class, sample everything and take some home with you! Choose from one or more of the following delicious options:

• On March 7, Poultry Three Ways will explore items such as Boneless Roast Game Hens with Prune-Pecan Stuffing, Chicken in Stewed Red Wine, and Chicken in a White Fricassee. Learn to bone a bird and make your own noodles.
• At Pies, Tarts & Puddings on April 4 or Nov. 7, the class will make their own crust and six dessert items choosing among treats like Apple Pye, Marlborough Pudding, Cranberry Taert, Meat Pasties, and Pompion Pye.
• Explore Sweet & Savory Treats on May 2, with items such as Almond Macaroons, Apple Charlotte, Beef Pasties, and Wafers with Red Currant Crème.
• At Bread & Soups on Oct. 3, you will prepare delicious anadama, wheaten, and pompion breads in the bake oven and enjoy them with soup, pounded cheese, and fresh churned butter.

Classes take place on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Noah Webster House, 227 South Main St., West Hartford, CT. Classes will select the exact menu with Hendricks prior to meeting. The cost is $50 per person, per class, plus a materials fee. Advance registration is required at www.noahwebster.yapsody.com For adults and children 12 and up. (Children must be accompanied by a paying adult.)

The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society is a cultural destination where citizens can learn to understand and appreciate the past. The museum preserves the birthplace of Noah Webster, the founding father, educator, author, and lexicographer who taught generations of Americans what it means to be American. This National Historic Landmark is also a repository for West Hartford history, the community that molded Noah Webster’s future and is still thriving over 250 years later. The historic house and exhibit spaces are open daily 1 until 4 p.m. For information on the museum’s extensive school and public programs, please visit www.noahwebsterhouse.org or call 860-521-5362. The museum would like to thank the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for their continued support.

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