SC - German potato salad dressing

[Bonne]

> Has anyone ever tried a feast where people bring a
> certain alotment of food...
> to you the night before a meal and then you created
> an interesting meal out of it adding herbs and spices, etc?

I held a "Stone Soup Kitchen" at a day event this past winter.  Some people I
invited in particular to share soup since we were so very far down the waiting
list and I posted a flyer to the baronial and I think Kingdom e-mail lists. 
My family was eating soup in any case.  The whole idea was just to get some
company.  

> If so what do you think would be the most equitable way
> to set up the food catgories, 

I requested each person bring "a bowl full" of either
- -cleaned chopped vegetables (suggestions given on flyer)
- -a loaf of bread (preferable good bakery loaves since that is as easily gotten
here as foamy bread in a wrapper)
- -dessert (to serve 6 or so)
- -butter, jam, or cheese

Bringing meat wasn't an option because I didn't want to deal with other
peoples storage mistakes.  Besides, I wanted to make the soup accessible to
vegetarian friends as well.  Those with large appetites were requested to
bring as many "bowl full" as they might eat, but please bring a variety of
things so as not to overwhelm the soup pot.  Those wishing to make a monetary
contribution could, but would be at the end of the line, behind food
contributors. 

About 6 of us met at the baronial pavilion after court, while the feasters
went off to the hall.  There had been a several more expected, but came last
minute openings for servers and off they went.  I'd brought a few quarts of a
basic veggie soup, and I had 1 loaf of bread and a gallon of cider. We added
the donated veggies to my soup with some water & some herbs I had brought. 
Brought that to a boil then let it simmer till done. While waiting, we drank
warm cider and ate cheese, bread, jam.  finally, the soup was ready and we
gobbled it down, dunking the bread in.  

To do over, I'd start the soup between fighting and court instead of after
court.  Everything was cooked, but not really soup yet. Having my pre-cooked
soup helped, without that we would have had plain boiled vegetables!  If I did
this in winter again, I'd find a better spot.  We were under a pavilion
without the walls set up--c-o-l-d!  I'd never been to the site before, we
could have done this in an unassigned cabin, or on the porch of the hall. 
Perhaps their Magesties and Excellencies would have seen fit to send us poor
peasants some charity if they'd known we were out there!  Or at least we could
have stepped into the hall for warmth!


Bonne
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