October 25: Feast of Saints Crispin and Crispinian
These brother saints from the 3rd century are the patrons of
shoemakers and cobblers, which has lead to the lighthearted suggestion of a
cobbler style dessert for the memorial feast day. See Charlotte's wonderful St. Crispin's Apple Crisp from several years back.
I wanted to share this excerpt from the Feast Day Cookbook
by Katherine Burton and Helmut Ripperger, which provides some additional
background about the connection to shoemakers or cobblers. The authors also
share a basic fruit cobbler recipe following their narrative.
This is the feast of two brothers, whose names are oddly
alike. Both were bootmakers and cobblers. In France, their native land (though
"The Golden Legend" tells us that they were Romans who had migrated
to Soissons), many useful objects bear their name. A shoeshine kit is called a
"Saint-Crispin"; an awl is "Saint Crispin's lance"; and if
your shoes are too tight, you are "in Saint Crispin's prison."
Because of their refusal to sacrifice to idols, Saint
Crispin and Saint Crispinian were pierced with shoemaker's awls and suffered
other tortures. They were in popular veneration throughout the Middle Ages, and
we read in Shakespeare's "Henry the Fifth":
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
For many years there was a special Mass for the cobblers of
France on this feast and it was followed by a huge banquet. Legend says the
first celebration of this Mass so pleased the saints that they allowed cobblers
to have as reward a little preview of heaven.
In England, the same custom of a special feast on Saint
Crispin's day was observed by the shoemakers. Afterwards they burned torches on
the sand, probably as substitutes for the altar lights provided by the
shoemakers' guild in pre-Reformation times for their chantry chapel.
Just as, some months back, on Saint Anthony's Day we allowed
a recipe having as its title a pun, so we give you another for the day of the
shoemaking saints.
Fruit Cobbler
3 cups
fruit
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
biscuit dough
A cobbler may be made with the fruit on top of a biscuit
dough or with fruit under the dough. Prepare the fruit and add sugar (the
amount will vary with the sweetness of the fruit) mixed with flour or with a
well-beaten egg. Make a rich biscuit dough (or use prepared mix) and place in
the bottom of a greased baking tin; cover with fruit dotted with bits of butter
and bake at 425 degrees F. for about half an hour. Or, cover the fruit with the
dough and brush the dough with a little milk or the beaten yolk of an egg
diluted with a little water. Apples, peaches, plums, or other fruits may be
used.
~ From Feast Day Cookbook by Katherine Burton &
Helmut Ripperger, 1951
Pumpkin Cobbler
INGREDIENTS
Filling:
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
1 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping:
3/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter softened
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter softened
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons brown sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 2-3 quart baking dish with
non-stick spray or grease with butter.
Combine the pumpkin puree, evaporated
milk, and eggs in a bowl. Add in both sugars, the flour, pumpkin pie spice, and
salt. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
In another bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking
powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in the butter. Cut with pastry fork until
crumbly. Stir in the buttermilk, adding slowly until the mixture comes
together. Don't over stir.
Drop the topping mixture by dollops onto the custard. Sprinkle
with the brown sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 35-40 minutes.
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