Satin Angel Cocktail

Frangelico is an Italian sweetened, hazelnut-flavored liqueur, with 20% alcohol content. Use a 10 ounce old-fashioned glass (see photos, below).

Ingredients (per cocktail):

 

1 1/2 ounce Frangelico 

1 1/2 ounce Coca-Cola

2 1/2 ounces cream (or half and half)

ice

 

To a 10 ounce old fashioned glass, add the Frangelico, Coco-Cola and cream to the glass, stir and then add a couple of ice cubes, and stir briefly again. 

WORD HISTORY: 

Pillow-The ultimate origin of "pillow" is uncertain, although there is a rather "difficult" theory (I'm not totally sold on it, but it is the best we have) that "pillow" goes back to Indo European "pel," with the general meaning "dust," which was derived from the word's original meaning of "beat, hit," with the idea that grains were "beaten" to separate out the "chaff," with both "flour" (the end result of the entire process) and "chaff" then associated with "dust,"^ and chaff has long been used by some to fill pillows (understand, these were not necessarily the big fluffy pillows we often have today). Anyway, the theory is carried further with the Indo European form giving Latin the noun "purvis," meaning "dust," also "ashes," which then produced the noun "pulvinus," meaning "pillow, cushion." West Germanic borrowed the Latin form as "pulwi," and with the meaning of "pillow," and this gave Old English "pyle" (ending 'e' pronounced 'ah/eh'), which had a number of variants bridging Old English into Middle English, some of which were: "pylwe, pile, pylow, pilowe;" with "pillow" finally emerging as the winner; although it is often, but certainly not always, pronounced as "pillah." 

 

^ See "Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages" (Volume 7 of the Leiden Indo-European Etymological Series, by Michiel de Vaan, Brill (Publishing), Leiden (Netherlands), Boston (U.S.), 2008.   

Orange Julius

This frothy and creamy drink tastes a good deal like a "creamsicle." It was developed in the 1920s and refined within a few years to be a creamier and less acidic drink. I use some heavy cream in my version, but you can replace the cream with more milk. 

 

Ingredients (5 to 8 servings, depending upon glass size):

 

12 ounce can frozen orange juice

1 can water

12 ounce can evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk)

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar, not firmly packed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

ice cubes for serving

 

Put all the ingredients, except the ice cubes, into a blender and blend until everything is well mixed and frothy. Add ice cubes to individual serving glasses and pour the Orange Julius over the ice. If serving later, you can pour the blended liquid into a pitcher and refrigerate, but don't add ice cubes, as they will melt and water down the drinks, but stir briskly before serving to give the mixture its characteristic frothiness and then add a couple of ice cubes to individual servings, if desired.  

 

 

 

 I used a bigger glass for this one ...

WORD HISTORY:

Twitch (Tweak)-These words are related to words like "two," "twin" and "twain," all of which have to do in some way with the number and idea of "two," and they are all from Germanic. The origin of the forms "twitch" and "tweak" is Indo European "dwoh/dwah/duwo," which meant "two," which gave West Germanic (seemingly NOT Old Germanic^) "twikkjon(an)," meaning "to fasten (onto), to clamp (onto)," seemingly originally, "grab or fasten onto with 2 fingers or with 2 pointed objects"), with words in the West Germanic dialects/languages derived from this form meaning "to pluck, to pull, to pick, to grab, to divide something in half (that is, into two parts), to catch or take hold of, to pinch." The Old English verb form was "twiccian" meaning "to pluck, to pick, to take hold of," and this then became "twicchen," meaning "to pluck, to pull," "totwicchen," meaning "to pull apart, to pull into pieces," and "twikken" meaning "to pluck, to pull, to tug." "Twicchen/totwicchen" became "twitch" with the meaning "a quick, usually involuntary, muscle spasm (like a pulling or tugging feeling)," and the verb form meaning "for a muscle to produce such a quick pulling, tugging feeling." "Twikken" produced "tweak" circa 1600, meaning "to pinch or tug on with a fast twisting motion (usually in reference to the nose or cheek)." Some relatives in the other West Germanic languages: German has the verb "zwicken" ("to pinch"), noun "Zwicke" ("a pinch, a tweak"), Low German had? has? verb "twicken/twikken" ("to pinch, to squeeze"), Dutch has "twikken" ((to pinch, to squeeze"). I could not find a form in Frisian. 

 

^ There doesn't seem to have been forms in North or East Germanic from this specific verb. English is West Germanic. Understand, there were other, related, forms in Old Germanic that derived from the Indo European form.   

Shrimp & Scallop Pasta with Saffron Cream Sauce

Saffron is a spice from the stigma of the crocus flower. The work needed to produce the spice saffron makes it the most expensive spice in the world, but a little saffron goes a relatively long way. If you don't have saffron and you don't care to buy it, you can substitute ground turmeric, as both spices will give a yellow/golden color to the sauce. 

Bay scallops are smaller than sea scallops and so is the bill for them, as they are cheaper.

 

Pappardelle is a type of pasta that is wide and flat, similar to many types of noodles, except that pappardelle is in long strands or ribbons. As with many types of pasta, you can get it fresh or dried. 

 

Neither Italian restaurant cooks nor Italian home cooks add cheese to sauces with seafood, nor do they sprinkle it on top of finished seafood dishes, but I'm of the feeling that a little cheese can't hurt anything, and I only put a couple of tablespoons of grated cheese in the sauce, which also helps to thicken the sauce.

 

Ingredients (4 servings):

 

To cook the shrimp:

 

2/3 pound raw shrimp, cleaned, shells saved

2 cups water

1 bay leaf

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt 

Bring 2 cups water to a boil, add 1 bay leaf, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and shrimp shells, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer for 5 minutes; then add the shrimp and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until opaque; remove the shrimp to a separate plate temporarily. Strain the broth and return it to the pan.

 

For the overall dish:

 

2/3 pound raw shrimp (prepared with the ingredients above)

2/3 pound bay scallops

1 pound pappardelle

4 tablespoons butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup shrimp broth from cooking the shrimp (see preparation above)

1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron threads in 1/4 cup dry white wine

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan cheese)

2/3 cup heavy cream

pinch of ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

In a cup or a small bowl, add the white wine, and crush the saffron threads in the palm of your hand, then add them to the wine, stir to mix, then set it aside temporarily. Melt the butter in a large skillet over low heat; add the scallops, season with a pinch of ground black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt; saute for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes, remove skillet from the heat and let scallops sit in the skillet for about 30 to 60 seconds; remove scallops individually to the separate plate with the shrimp temporarily, leaving the seasoned melted butter in the skillet. Put the skillet back on low heat, add the minced garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Sprinkle the flour over the garlicky butter and mix it in to make a roux and keep cooking the roux over the low heat for a total of about 2 minutes (it's okay if the roux acquires a little light tan/golden color, but you don't want it to be dark at all). While stirring constantly and steadily, add about 1/2 cup of the shrimp broth to the roux and as it thickens, add another 1/2 cup of broth, while continuing to stir. Add the saffron/white wine and stir to mix it through, then stir in the lemon juice and grated cheese. Continue on low heat for about 1 minute, then stir in the heavy cream. The sauce should have a nice pale yellowish tint to it. If you use fresh pappardelle, add it and gently mix it around in the creamy sauce. It only takes like 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 minutes to cook fresh pappardelle al dente. If using dried pappardelle cook it separately as per the instructions on the box/bag, drain it very well, then add it to the sauce. Add the cooked shrimp and scallops and mix them through the pasta and sauce (be sure to add any juices that may have collected on the dish). Let the shrimp and scallops come up to temperature, then remove the skillet from the heat and serve.    

WORD HISTORY:

Arrest-This word is used as both a verb and a noun and the "rest" part of it is related to the verb "stay" (with the meaning :"to halt, to stop movement," also, "to hold back"), a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from French, to another verb "stay" (with the meaning: "to support, to secure, to steady"), also borrowed from French, which had it from Germanic Frankish, to another verb "stay" (meaning: "to halt some process, usually in legal matters, to halt legal proceedings"), and to the noun "stay" meaning "support," borrowed from French, which had it from Germanic Frankish, and which overlaps with "stay" meaning "rope or cable supporting a ship's mast," a word and meaning from the Germanic roots of English. "Arrest" goes back to Indo European "ad," which had the notion "at, to, toward" (it is also the ancient ancestor of English "at"), which gave Latin "ad," with the same meanings, but also, "having a connection to, in relation to;" thus also, "regarding, with or in regard to." The main body of the word goes back to Indo European "sta(h)/steh," which meant "to stand, to be stable, to be firm or in place," which gave Latin "stare" meaning "to stand," and with the prefix "re,"^ which meant "back, again, against," with the combined parts "re" and "stare" giving Latin the verb "restare" meaning "to halt, to stop, to stay back, to stay behind." "Restare" was then given the prefix "ad" with the shortened form "a," to produce Latin "arrestare" (yes, double 'r;' why, I don't know), meaning "to stop, to cause to stop;" thus also, "to hold back or restrain." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "arester/" with the meaning "to stop, to stay" and English borrowed this in the late 1300s as the verb "aresten" (then "arresten" under the influence of Latin spelling) meaning "to cause or to make someone or something to stop, to make stop for legal reason(s)." The noun had been formed in Old French from the verb as "areste," meaning "a stopping, a stoppage;" thus also, "a delay," which became "arest" in the Anglo-French used in England and English also borrowed this in the late 1300s as "arest," with the "stopping," "stoppage" meaning, and it then too came to be spelled "arrest," under the influence of Latin. The first part of the 1400s saw the word used for "a stopping and detaining by some legal authority to determine liability, if any, for some criminal act." That is by far the main meaning in modern times, although occasionally you might hear something like, "The doctor prescribed some medication to arrest the woman's hay fever." German has the noun "Arrest" (all German nouns are capitalized), "seemingly" from medieval Latin "arrestum," and meaning "to seize or confiscate, to take into custody (person or goods/property), the verb "arrestieren," borrowed from Dutch in the 1300s, which had it from either French or medieval Latin (from "arrestare," see above) and another noun, "Arrestant," meaning "one taken into custody, one put under arrest" (I didn't spend a lot of time on this, but one source says it came from a participle form of medieval Latin "arrestare," "apparently" used as a noun for "prisoner, one in custody"). Regardless of how German acquired these forms, the main noun, "Arrest," is pronounced very similarly to the pronunciation in English, and I have to believe English has influenced the pronunciation. I initially thought German may have borrowed the word from English, but that does not seem to be the case at all. When using "Arrest" in German (it is 'der Arrest,' by the way), the way to say "You are under arrest" is, "Sie stehen unter Arrest," literally, "You stand under arrest."        

^ The prefix "re" has an uncertain origin, although Indo European forms such as "ure," "wret" and "wurt/wert," have been suggested, all with some relationship to the meaning "to turn, to turn around."

Trout in Cream Sauce: Forellen in Rahm

This is based on some German recipes, and in German, Bavarians call it "Forellen in Rahm" (in the plural, see "Word History" below for history of "Forelle" and its English relative).* Bavaria has lots of mountainous areas and streams that provide a habitat for trout. Naturally, you can adjust the recipe for the number of trout and/or to use trout of varying sizes. 

 

Ingredients (for 1 trout cut into 2 fillets): 

1 cleaned, skin on, trout (about 8 to 10 ounces)

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon ground white or black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated carrot

1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley

1 cup cream

2 tablespoons flour

 

Heat the oven to 375 F. In a large oven proof skillet melt the butter on the top of the stove over low heat. Sprinkle the trout fillets lightly with lemon juice, then sprinkle on some salt and white pepper. Lightly sprinkle the trout with flour, then lay the fillets in the melted butter, skin side down, and spoon some of the butter over them. Now sprinkle (lots of sprinkling in this) the fillets with grated carrot and chopped parsley, then carefully add the cream to the skillet without disturbing the seasonings on the fish fillets. Cover the skillet (foil is fine) and put it in the oven until the trout is tender. After about 10 or 12 minutes, remove the lid or foil and spoon some of the cream over the fillets, cover the trout again, but repeat this procedure in about 4 or 5 minutes. Serve with boiled potatoes.    

 

 

* For the history of the English relative of the word "Rahm," it is in the "Word History" of this article: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/04/schnitzel-with-creamy-mushroom-gravy.html

"Trout in Cream Sauce" with boiled (and buttered) potatoes and cottage cheese ...

WORD HISTORY:

Trout-This word for a type of fish is distantly related to "drill" (the noun for a tool to make holes), "drill" (the verb meaning to make holes), "thresh" and "throw," all words from the Germanic roots of English, and to "trite," a word borrowed by English from Latin, and to "turn," a word borrowed by English from Latin, but with some French influences. "Trout" goes back to Indo European "tereh," which had the notion, "to turn, to twist, to rub or wear down during a turning process." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek the verb "trogein," meaning, "to gnaw, to chew (at, on), to munch (on)," and this produced the noun "trṓktēs," meaning, "gnawer, muncher," which was applied to the name of a fish with sharp teeth. Latin borrowed the word as "tructa" as the name for trout-type fish, and this was taken by Latin-based Old French as "truite." Old English borrowed the word from Latin as "truht," and with later influence by French, it became "troute," before the modern version. NOTE: When Old English borrowed "truht," English already had "forn" as the name for trout. It goes back to Indo European "perk," which meant, "spotted, speckled," seemingly used for fish and animals. This gave Old Germanic the noun "furhno," which was the name for the fish, "a trout." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "forn," with the same meaning. Old High German (pretty much the contemporary of Old English) had "forhana," which then became "forhen," and the pronunciation "forhel" (a colloquial diminutive form?), which then became "Forelle" in modern German. Dutch still has "voorn," which means "minnow," but Dutch has "forel" for "trout" (I didn't research it, but it's likely a borrowing from German, or Low German), Old Saxon was the Germanic dialect that remained in what is now northern Germany after some of the Saxons went to Britain, had "furhnia," which then became "vörne," although modern Low German has "Forell" for trout, which was obviously borrowed from German.^

 

^ Old Saxon is the ancestor of Low German, but Low German is not a standardized language, but rather a collection of dialects which are not necessarily mutually intelligible. Whether "vörne" (in some form) still survives in any of the component dialects of Low German, I don't know, but the influence of High German (now standard German) was very strong, and "vörne" may have been completely overtaken by "Forell" (as with standard German, Low German capitalizes all nouns in modern times).  

Galliano Hot Shot

I totally LOVE this "layered shot drink;" that is, it is 3 different ingredients, layered one on top of the other, and it is intended to be drunk all at once, not sipped. As such, you'll want to use a shot glass or a cordial glass that can hold 2 ounces or slightly less. I don't have an espresso machine, so I just used my regular black coffee. I grind my own coffee with my little coffee grinder (3 parts whole medium roast Brazilian coffee beans and 1 part whole French roast coffee beans, which are dark). 

Ingredients:

equal parts (if you want a little extra cream or whipped cream, go for it):
Galliano
hot espresso (or other hot black coffee)
heavy cream (or whipped cream)

In a small glass, as noted above, add the Galliano to make it one-third full. Next, use a teaspoon to gradually layer the hot coffee (not boiling!) on top of the Galliano. It is best to tilt the glass and then spoon the coffee down the tilted side onto the Galliano, which will naturally be near the top of the glass because of the tilt to the glass. Use enough hot coffee to add an additional one-third fullness to the glass. Lastly, spoon the heavy cream on top (you can also use whipped cream and spoon it on and even make it protrude from the top of the glass, if you'd like).  

WORD HISTORY:
Viscous-This word is related to "virus" and to "virulent," Latin-based words borrowed into English. "Viscous" goes back to Indo European "weis," with the meaning, "slimy liquid." This gave Latin "viscum," meaning, "sticky matter, sticky substance made from mistletoe and used to trap birds (also known as 'birdlime'), which produced the Latin adjective "viscosus," meaning, "sticky," from the notion, "covered with birdlime." This passed to Old French as "viscos/viscous," which Anglo-Norman also had. This was borrowed by English, initially as "viscouse," in the latter part of the 1300s.

The Pussyfoot Rum Cocktail

While the recipe below is what I use, I first learned of this drink from a book I've owned for many years: "Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide" (revised), Trader Vic (Victor Bergeron), Doubleday and Company, Garden City, NY 1972 

The word "pussyfoot" naturally developed from the notion of how a cat walks; thus, "tread softly, cautiously, stealthily." It also then developed the figurative meaning, "to speak indirectly about a difficult subject, to speak cautiously," and as such, it is similar to the expression, "to beat around the bush." I don't hear it much today, but a former boss used it a lot, and that was over ... ah, 50 weeks ago? Over 50 months ago? Okay, over 50 years ago. I'm not sure why this drink was given this name. I'm not one to like tart or outright sour drinks or foods, so if you're like me, you can sweeten this a bit with some sugar, or cut the amount of lime juice. When blended, the cream will provide a fluffy kind of topping to the cocktail.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 ounces white (light-colored) rum
2 ounces heavy cream
3 ounces pineapple juice
2 ounces fresh lime juice
2 ounces cherry juice 
1/3 cup ice (or add crushed ice after blending)
maraschino cherry and partial pineapple slice or lime slice for garnish 

Add all but garnish to blender, blend for about 30 seconds. Pour into a tall glass


With lots of crushed ice ....

 Also with crushed ice ....

With crushed ice and topped with a maraschino cherry ...

Blended with ice, slice of lime garnish ...

WORD HISTORY:
Look-The ultimate origin of this common word is unknown. It "could" be a West Germanic invention, as forms are not present throughout the Germanic languages, but rather only in the West Germanic languages, where the word has only "prospered" in English. Likewise, there are no "certain" relatives outside of Germanic, although Celtic has some possible connections. This makes sense, as the West Germanic dialects were in frequent contact with Celtic, including Gaulish and Brittonic (the Celtic dialects of Britain), and for instance, Welsh "llygad" means "eye." West Germanic had "lok(i)jan," meaning "to see, to look upon." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "locian" (long 'o'), meaning, "to look, to gaze," and the extended meaning, "to take or pay heed (to someone or something)," and to this day we say, "look after someone or something;" that is, "give care or help to, to watch over." "Locian" then became "lokien," then "loken," before the modern form. Relatives in the West Germanic languages: German has "lugen" (once spelled "luogen"), it is still around, but of limited usage; Low German once had "loken," Dutch has "loeken," like the German form, it is still around, but not commonly used, West Frisian has "lôkje/lokje" (?). The noun form in English meaning "the act of looking" goes back to late Old English, and the noun form meaning, "the appearance of a person," as in, "He has that look about him," goes back to the late 1300s, with the plural "looks" also used for "a person's appearance," dating to the mid 1500s.    

Pepper Cream Gravy: German/Austrian Pfefferrahmsauce

Besides the form "Pfefferrahmsauce," I used in the title, this gravy/sauce is also called and spelled "Pfefferrahmsoße," "Pfefferrahmsosse" in German. The "rahm" part is a word for "cream" in German, and it is a close relative of English "ream," a word with that same meaning now confined to dialect,* (not related to the word of the same spelling and used for a "paper measurement"). The gravy has some "zip" from the crushed peppercorns and the ground pepper, but the "zip" is also mellowed by the cream, and the heat is nothing like the heat in dishes which have hot chilies added. This gravy is a frequent accompaniment to steak, pork or even chicken (I replace the beef stock with chicken stock in the recipe then). 
 
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, pretty finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour 
2/3 cup beef stock
2 ounces brandy
3 tablespoons green peppercorns, crushed, but not obliterated
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream (or canned milk), keep 4 tablespoons separate
salt (if the beef stock is salty, you can leave this out or just use a small amount)

Melt the butter in a skillet over low heat. Add the onion and saute until the onion softens a bit. Add the crushed green peppercorns,** the ground black pepper, the lemon juice, the brandy and the beef stock. Increase the temperature to medium high and let the mixture come to a simmer. Stir in the heavy cream and turn the heat to high. Let the mixture well up/bubble up, stirring "almost" constantly. Have the 4 tablespoons of heavy cream well mixed with the 2 tablespoons of flour; gradually add this to the hot liquid, stirring constantly, until the gravy thickens. Turn down the heat to low and let the gravy simmer for just a minute. Served over steak or chopped steak, along with mashed potatoes. 

* For the history of the word "ream," here is the link to the article with that word: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/04/schnitzel-with-creamy-mushroom-gravy.html

** I wrap the whole peppercorns in a napkin or paper towel, then I use a kitchen mallet to tap and crush them. I've also used a rolling pin to roll over the wrapped peppercorns to crush them, and I have also crushed them by using a mortar and pestle.   

Pepper Cream Gravy with chopped sirloin steak, mashed potatoes and buttered corn... 

WORD HISTORY:
Vial-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, and the beginning has been spelled with an "f," "ph," or "v" in a number of languages, including German, a close relative of English, in which its version was initially spelled with an "f," then a "v" and then a "ph" (modern "Phiole"). It goes back to transliterated Ancient Greek "phiále," meaning, "a shallow bowl for drinking," which was borrowed by Latin as "phiala," with the same meaning, and which later altered to "phiola." This passed to Old French as "fiole," but by then with the meaning, "bottle or small flask." This was borrowed by English circa 1400, initially as "fiole," then as "viole," then as "phial," and then as "vial," although some still spell it with the "ph," which returned the spelling to the old Latin and Greek forms (seemingly the same in German, as noted above).  

North German Rum Drink: Hoppelpoppel

The name of this North German and Frisian drink is the same as a famous dish from Berlin, but the two have absolutely nothing in common, as the Berlin dish is typically potatoes fried with bacon or ham, onions and eggs (the name is also written as two words by some, "Hoppel Poppel"). Rum became a fairly popular alcoholic beverage in Germany, as rum was brought into north German ports from the Caribbean. This is an easy drink to make, but it does require you to heat the mixture, and to be attentive, as it has raw egg. It is actually like making custard, but it shouldn't be allowed to thicken too much. You can enjoy this while it is still warm or you can put the glasses into the freezer for a little while before filling them. The whipped cream will help to cool the prepared mixture enough so as not to break the chilled glasses, but to be safe, let the mixture sit for a couple of minutes before dispensing it to the glasses. Don't blame me if you find yourself making this over and over.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

5 egg yolks
3 cups milk
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending upon how sweet you want it)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup Puerto Rican or other Caribbean rum
8 ounces heavy cream, whipped

Get a bowl that will fit over a pan of hot water. The bowl should not touch the hot water. Heat some water in the pan so that it barely simmers. Put the bowl over the pan and add the eggs and sugar; mix well and continue to stir until the egg mix begins to tighten up. Gradually whisk in the milk (whisk constantly to prevent the eggs from actually coming out like scrambled eggs, and don't be afraid to lift the bowel off of the pan, if need be), the vanilla and the nutmeg. Continue to gently whisk as the mixture heats and thickens. Take care not to let the mixture boil, and also, take care not to let it thicken to pudding status (custard), but you can add a little more milk to thin it out, if needed. When the mixture has heated and thickened somewhat, remove it from the heat and gradually fold in all but a couple of tablespoons of the whipped cream. Fill the glasses and top each drink with a little of the remaining whipped cream.   

WORD HISTORY:
Duck (#2)-This is not the word for the bird, but rather a word meaning "sailcloth, sackcloth." It goes back to Indo European "dwok," which meant, "cloth, fabric." This gave West Germanic "dokaz" (see the other Germanic languages below), with the same meaning. I could not find a form in Old English, which seems odd, in that the other West  Germanic languages had forms, but it is possible that the West Germanic form didn't spread to Anglo-Saxon before it left the Continent and became established in Briton as English. It's always possible, too, that an Old English form went unrecorded and that it then died out. Anyway, Dutch had "doec" (now spelled, "doek"), and this was borrowed by English circa 1600. The other Germanic languages have: German "Tuch" (cloth, fabric, towel, neckerchief), Low German Saxon "Dook" (cloth, fabric, woven material), Dutch "doek" (cloth, rag, canvas, sail), some Frisian dialect has "douk" (cloth) and West Frisian has "doek," but that "might be" from Dutch, although Frisian once had "dok." It "seems" the North Germanic languages, initially represented by Old Norse, borrowed a form of the word from Low German or German, as "dukr," meaning, "cloth, curtain, veil, sail," which was passed down to Icelandic as "dúkur," meaning, "fabric, cloth," and to Swedish as "duker," but it "seems" Swedish later borrowed from Low German a form rendered as "duk" (cloth, then tablecloth). and perhaps the same is true of Danish "dug" (canvas, cloth, later tablecloth and cloth material for a banner), as well as Norwegian "duk" (cloth, canvas, later tablecloth and cloth used in religious ceremony).   

Blueberries & Cream Pie

I've known and used this recipe for more than 25 years, but how I got it, I don't recall, and I don't even have it written down. Over the years, besides blueberries, I've done this pie with strawberries, peaches, blackberries, and one time, I even used pineapple. It was good! I've simply chosen to use blueberries this time, because that's what I just bought at the market. The pie has no crust for the top. Very simple to make.

Ingredients:

2 cups blueberries, well rinsed and drained
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup heavy cream + 1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
9 inch pie shell (homemade or store bought)

Heat the oven to 375 F. Place the pie shell in the oven for about 6 or 8 minutes, to firm it up for the cream/milk component that will be added. Remove the crust from the oven and add the blueberries. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the blueberries, then do the same with the cinnamon. One more time, sprinkle the flour evenly over the top. Mix the cream and milk and then gradually pour it over the pie. Some berries may not be fully covered, but do not fear, civilization has never ended over such trivial things. Bake the pie at 400 F for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the cream has essentially set (it should not be runny). Let the pie cool a bit, then place in the refrigerator to chill it, before serving, as it will set further as it cools/chills. 

 WORD HISTORY:
Bramble-This word, related to "broom," goes back to Indo European "bhrem," which meant, "bristle, thorn, sharp-pointed object." This gave Old Germanic "breme," meaning, "bush with thorns (often specifically used in reference to the blackberry bush)," and the extended, "bremel," as a diminutive form.^ This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "bræmel," with the same meaning. The "b" appeared to make the word, "bræmbel," but still with the "thorny bush" meaning, including the reference to "blackberry bush," and the derived word "bremel" was compounded with "berie," the then form of "berry," to make the Old English word for "blackberry."^^ "Bræmbel" then became "brembel," before the modern version. Forms in other Germanic languages have tended to remain connected to words for "blackberry" in modern times: German "Brombeere," Low German Saxon "Brummelbeer," West Frisian has "brommel" ("seems" little used nowadays), Dutch "braam" (meaning, "blackberry"), Danish "brombær," Icelandic "brómber."   

^ A diminutive is a form that conveys a sense of something as smaller or dearer.

^^ Besides "bremelberie," the color of the berry brought about the development of "blaceberian," also, "blæcberie," both of which are forms of modern "blackberry," but "bramble berry" also developed. German too has had various names for the blackberry, with "Brombeere" being proper, but there are many dialectal forms, a few of which are: "Schwarzbeere" (literally "blackberry"), "Dornbeere" (literally "thornberry"), "Brommelbeere" ("brambleberry") and "Kratzbier/Kratzbeer" (barb berry, after the thorns/barbs. "Kratz" is related to English "scratch").