SC - A Menu for your feast

[LHG, JRG]

Lord Gawin wrote:

>I am in charge of a feast for approx. 160 people that will happen in
>December and I need some ideas.

>The main problem is this: our group has bought a piece of land is we
>are currently trying to develop it, but as of yet we have to haul in
>all the water, and have purely primitive cooking conditions (ie: fire
>pit). We DO have a large pavillion to serve out of, but by and large,
>there are no tables and chairs for the feasters.

As I see it, you have more than one problem. Problem 1 is inexperience.
Problem 2 is a large feast, problem 3 is the weather in December for an
out-door cooked feast. Problem 4 is equipment (or lack thereof).

>I am trying to come up with a period feast that can be prepared in
>advance and reheated on a coleman stove or fire or one that can cooked
>entirely over the flames and doesn't require much in the way of
>utinsels to cook or eat.

Although I have never tried it for the SCA, the Rev. War group I run with
has used a local group (a butcher's) who will haul to yout site a
charcoal-fired professional stainless steeel roaster. You fire it up at the
appropriate time in the early morning, and let her go. This costs out at
only a few cents per pound more than porkchops in the supermarket. 
Alternately, they will bring it to the site and cook, carve, and serve it
for us for a slightly higher fee. It may be worth looking for something of
this order in your area. This puts you in the enviable position of  being
responsible for only the side dishes and sweets. 

>I am new to the entire feastocrat/mass cooking thing and I am sure
>that I am in over my head. Can some one PLEASE help??

First get a crew. Find out the cooking experience of your crew. Plan a menu
from there. If you lack sources for good period food, you can begin by
looking on the internet. Try my website (mostly for its links) at 
http://members.tripod.com/~AoifeFinn/index.html    . Savory Toasted Cheese
(from my website) is a great dish easy for beginners using small amounts of
brie, large amounts of cream cheese, lots o butter, and a sprinkle of 
diced crisp bacon just before serving. It can be  made ahead of time and
warmed up just before serving then spreading on round loaf halves (split
horizontally, making 1 loaf for every 2 tables!), then cut into wedges.
That's a hearty appetiser to keep them busy while you finish the other
stuff.

More suggestions:

A period salad is easily made with fresh leaf greens (not head/iceberg
lettuce) torn in small bits, and fresh dill and chives in small amounts
mixed in. Dress with oil and wine vinegar. That makes two dishes (this one
is so common there is no need to provide documentation for it).

Next: Losyns (period lasagne!) paraphrased from Pleyn Delit, which has it
from the Forme of Curye (#50)

Take good broth and do so in an earthen pot. Take flour of pandemayne and
make therof a past with water, and make therof thynne foyles as paper with
a roller; drye it harde and seeth it in broth. Take cheese ruayn grated and
lay it in disshes with powdour douce, and lay theron loseyns isode a hoole
as thou myst, and above powdour and chese; and so twyse or thryse, & serve
it forth.  (this supplied in case anyone want your source!)

Make these in foil dishes. cover with foil, and warm by the fire 1 hour
before serving. They will devour it!

1 lb square noodles *Pleyn delit has you making the noodles. This is easier
1/2 cup rich cheese (ie: good hard white cheddar)
1 tsp mixed mild ground spices (mace, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.)*real poudre
douce had sugar in it! And possibly ginger. Use your own discretion.
2 qts chicken (or meat) broth. *boullion or canned is fine

Cook the noodles in the broth. Drain, reserving the broth. Arrange the
"loseyns" on a serving dish in piles of three, with layers of grated cheese
mixed with spices above and below each layer; pour a little of the broth
over and serve.   *I would also sprinkle the cheese on top for looks!
Additionally, it would be OK to do a 3-layer pan of this for each table,
and stay away from the "three noodles piled up" thing. I don't think that's
what the original intended, anyway.


Now, with your meat added, you need a dessert.

Playn Delit gives Tartys in Applis, which can be made ahead, from Diversa
Servisia from the Curye on Inglish (as Forme of Curye is also a part of
that volume).

"Tartys in Applis
Tak gode applys & gode spycis & figs & reysons &perys, & wan they arn wel
ybrayd colour wyth safroun wel & do yt in a cofyn, & do yt forth to bake
wel.

"A similar recipe calls for prunes in place of figs, and directs that the
fruits be minced rather than ground. The quantity here is calculated for a
fairly large tart (9-10 inches).

"Apple Tarts

2 lbs. apples; 1-2 firm, ripe pears (not Bartlet pears) may be substituted
for some of the apples
1/2 cup dried figs or prunes, stones and chopped
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar (brown, white, or a combination)
1/4 tsp. each cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, salt
1/8 tsp. ground cloves

"Peel and core the apples (and pears if used) and chop, together with the
dried fruits, preferably in a food processor: pieces should be much smaller
than the slices used in apple pie today. Put the fruits in a prepared
pastry shell; mix sugar with spices and spread over fruits. Cover the tart
with a sheet of aluminium foil; bake in a 375 degree oven about 45 minutes,
removing the foil cover toward the end of the cooking time.


You can supplement the menu with candid nuts (toss almonds with sugar syrup
(equal amounts of sugar and water boiled together, and spiced if you wish)
and spread on foil to dry. Sprinkle with spices and/or sugar if you wish).
Mulled cider makes a nice beverage (2 liters/1 gallon apple cider,
2cinnamon sticks, 1-2 cloves, sliced oranges, warmed over the fire), and
bowls of fresh fruit (apples, pears, oranges, grapes) on the tables makes
the meal complete.

If you are really stuck for meats, make roast beef ahead of time with "jus"
(the juices), warm it over the fire, and serve it as "broke braun", which
means sliced meats in middle english.

Serve that with Lumbard Mustard (Forme of Curye via Pleyn Delit)

"Take mustard seed and wash it, & drye it in an ovene. Grynde it drye;
sarse it thurgh a sarse. Clarifie hony with wyne & vyneger, and stere it
wel togedre and make it thikke ynowf; &whan thou wilt spende therof make it
thynne with wyne.

"Lumbard Mustard
1/4 cup clear honey
2 oz finely ground mustard seed *I suggest you grind in a pepper mill or a
coffee grinder. Do not by already powdered mustard. Ick!
1 tbsp wine vinegar
3 tbsp red wine
optional: 1/8 tsp mixed spices

"Warm honey, then mix all ingredients together. Note that the sauce will be
far more liquid when it is still warm than it will be when it cools to room
temperature."

Hope that helps you!

Aoife

 





============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================