SC - Looking for guidance

[Kerri Canepa]

Greetings Perry!

>Since I know for sure that I'm interested in pursuing this and can commit  
>now to acquiring things I need, what books and equipment does everyone 
>consider to be a "must have" item to use themselves. Conversely, what should 
>I stay away from so I don't waste my time or money heading in the wrong 
>direction(yes, I have a copy of "Fabulous Feasts" but it was a gift!).If I'm 
>going to do this at all, I'd rather start out right and not do it over........

Besides the knives, morters and pestles, and a variety of kitchen equipment,
find yourself a good source for spices. If you're lucky (and you live in the DC
area) you might find some of them locally - Mistress Kiri may be able to help
you with that. Otherwise, there are spice merchants and companies who sell good
quality spices online or through mail order. Personally, I've been very happy
with the spices I've purchased from Francesco Sirene (a member of this list) but
there are other SCA merchants who are closer to you so you could check out the
spices to see what they look like, smell like, taste like before purchasing. I
live in Alaska so all my medieval spices are mail ordered from far flung places.

>Also, what would everyone recommend as starting recipes to get my feet wet 
>actually cooking this type of food to get a feel for how to combine things, 
>etc.? I'm thinking that offering to be a kitchen helper to some of the head 
>cooks already planning feasts might also be a good place to start. At the 
>very least, I'm a good dishwasher....

Definitely track down a copy of _The Miscellany_ available from a few places but
always available from His Grace, Duke Cariadoc, a long time member of this list.
There's a wide variety of different recipes both from Europe and the Middle East
that aren't very difficult and can get you started understanding what went with
what and how. All the sources are cited so that if you want to follow up on them
(and I'm betting you will), you'll know where to go next.

You live in Ponte Alto? I was a Pontoon back in them thar days. I really enjoyed
the group as their humor was quite infectious and they enjoyed learning period
things and having fun doing it. Do connect with them, they'll enjoy welcoming
you.

Cedrin
Princess of Oertha and working on the Bukkenade challenge