SC - Serving brains...

[Mike C. Baker]

In a message dated 3/16/98 5:12:32 PM Eastern Standard Time, kat at kagan.com writes:

<< Darkwood is a difficult place to try to serve "specialty meats;" and when
you consider the fact that out here they consider VENISON a specialty meat...
I could no more serve eel or ostrich here than fly to the moon.  I was pushing
it with the goose and the salmon...   >>

Ras writes:

> I understand your feelings regarding the service of "specialty"
> meats. And, your local group's location may or may not be a factor > in serving what was in fact common fair in the MA.

Location is very much a factor; and so is current prevailing attitude.  Not to knock my native state, myself or my friends by any means; but a lot of folks out here tend to be the type who know all the Japanese names for forty-'leven kinds of sashimi but will EEEEW! in horror at the thought of putting bear, moose or elk into their mouths...

> At the very least, game animals were common
> enough among the nobility and upper class citizens of that time to
> have made an impact on the surviving corpus of recipes.

Agreed.  I always feel like I'm cheating when I read a recipe and think, "Well, I'd have to use chicken, but..."


> I have been using meats such as lamb, goat, rabbit, emu (not
> period but big and handy. :-)), bear, venison, squirrel and pigeon
> regularly at most all of my Feasts.

Where are you located again; and how long till your next feast? 


> I hastily converted the rattlesnake into a less recognizable form by
> braising it in some chicken broth, grated black pepper and a small
> onion with a clove stuck in it. After it was doned in quickly stripped
> the flesh from the bones and cut it into chunks. And immediately
> dumped it's contents into the 5 gallon pot containing 35 lbs. of
> simmerimg cubed bear meat. The assorted small game which
> included 2 rabbits, 7 squirrels and 11 pidgeons were rosted, picked
> from the bones and added to one pan of the frumenty. A Pottage of
> herbs was produced using dandelion, spinach and leaf lettuce.
> Sauted carrots sweetened slightly with a bit of sugar and served
> with fresh ground pepper and a sprinkle of ginger was another
> vegetable. Rosated onions the other.

You're trying to make me drool myself to death, aren't you?  ;-)

> Given that all the game was donated, I managed to spend less than > $75.00 on that feast. The local doomsayers were all complaining
> that no one would eat that stuff. There was even a comment from
> someone that suggested  no one was going to eat any of the food.

I get comments like that all the time.  Witnessing how fast my geese and my salmon disappeared, however; I think I'm going to start getting a little braver.  Maybe next time I'll do goat... :-)


> I creeped from the kitchen to face my punishment and as I
> appeared thunderous applause began. I cried just like a baby. And
> you know what was the best part of it all? Not a single bit of food
> was left at the end of the feast.

Somehow I'm not surprised...  From what I understand, milord, you are an incredible cook.  I just wish I could afford to hop a plane and come visit next time you do a feast... 

	- k


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