ANST - Stargate Steak Feast

[maddie teller-kook]

Gunnora Hallakarva wrote:

> While steaks may be good food and appealing to many, they are not a
> particularly medieval cuisine.  It is really no more difficult to prepare
> good, plentiful, tasty medieval dishes than it is to prepare modern
foods.

I do have to agree with Gunnora here.  I would like to clarify a few
points.
1.  Beef is period

    2.  Steak as we know it  was not cooked like we do it today.  Meat was
usually
    roasted as a large  roast over a fire or in an oven and served with sauces.
OR, it
    was cut up and cooked with wine or beer, onions and other seasonings to make
a
    pottage or stew.
        Meat was also ground or chopped finely to make meat balls or
    filling for pasties.  There is one recipe for steak that I have in Maggie
    Black's Medieval Cook Book, but it is for thin slices of meat that is cooked
quickly
    (like minute steaks we do today).  One reason I don't think steaks were that
common, It
    was much easier to cook a roast for a large group of people than individual
steaks.
    So, meat was  usually roasted.

    3.  Serving steak at feast:   the problem with serving a 'modern' form
    of food at a feast is ... IMHO.. it spoils the ambiance of the event.  We
work
    so hard to set up the illusion that we are at a medieval tournament, with our

    clothes, banners, decorations, etc. To sit down to a feast of modern food
just jolts
    me back to the 20th century and destroys the ambiance we try to set.

    4.  MYTH:  Medieval food tastes bad and is very difficult to cook:   I
    can attest to this personally that medieval food is no more difficult to cook
than
    modern food. As a matter of fact, in some ways it is easier because they did
not have
    some of the more complex cooking techniques that we have today.  Granted the
food
    was seasoned differently than we may do it now, but it isn't hard to learn to

    enjoy food that is different.  The only thing that can sometimes be difficult
is availability
    of ingredients.. but even that has improved.

            1. How to make a period feast taste wonderful
                a.  Plan out a menu that is consistent for the time period. Try
not to jump around
                    either by region or time period.

                b.  Don't pick foods that are  seasoned or cooked the
                    same way... BORING

                c.   If you want to serve an exotic dish: make it a side
                    dish, keep the main dish simple, example: serve roast meat
with a
                    variety of sauces on the side.

                 d.   Hold a test dinner. I recommend inviting the most
                    finicky eaters in your group. Now, they might not like all of
it, BUT, you
                    might find they will like more than you realize.


                e.  Be honest if a cook asks you 'How did you like the
                    feast'.... I don't care if it is a newby or a laurel, I would
hope someone
                    would be honest enough to tell me:  hey, I liked dish X, but
dish Y really
                    needed some seasoning, etc.  We can't improve or change
anything unless we
                    know what went wrong.  But, remember... sometimes educating
your palate
                    may take trying a dish a number of times. What you didn't
like the first time
                    you might like on the second, third or even fourth try.


> I have seen more than a few feasts in your area of the kingdom that have
> taken the modern steak, potatoes, and corn approach, so I'm not singling
> y'all out.  But the kingdom's best cook, Mistress Meadbh, comes from
> Stargate, and I imagine that she cringes to see menus like this from a
> region that she lived in for so long.

Thanks for the complement (BLUSHING)... As for cringing. I can say I didn't
necessarily cringe when I read the menu..  I am glad there isn't corn and
potatoes this year.. I can forgive the steak.   I can make a recommendation for a
name change... you might consider calling it collops of beef instead of steak.
Semantics can be really make a difference. . As for the green beans, there is a
controversy even in the
cooking community as to their appropriate time period.  IMHO, i'd appreciate fava

beans more than our modern green bean.

> I would urge you all to think about future feasts, and how to make 'em
both
> tasty and medieval.  Meadhbh will help you.  So will other noted cooks in
> our fair realm, Baroness Clarissa here in Bryn Gwlad, HL Rosario in
Carboni
> in the West, Baron Gunthar Jonsson in Steppes, and many, many others.

That is true, any one who needs any information on doing a feast, contact
any of
the people listed above, and we will be glad to help.  Clarissa and I have
even
taken our cooking and feast classes on the road (our last trip was to
Bonwicke).
If any of you would like for us to come and teach a class just ask!!! We
would
love to do it.

>
>
> There should be no reason to not strive for more authenticity for next
> year's feasts -- so start mulling the idea over.  There is so much talent
> available in the Greater Stargate Area, I'd like, for one, to see you all
> showcase some of your local talent and show us the best you can achieve.

Again, I agree, Stargate is awash with wonderful and talented people.  And some
wonderful cooks as well.

 And again, any time you guys need
help, just ask and i'd be happy to come back for a visit.

In service.....

Meadhbh
(who lived in Stargate from 1985-1996)



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