SC - Protectorate Feast 2 - No recipes

[Michael F. Gunter]

Cindy M. Renfrow wrote:

> > The topic we were discussing was the possibility of adding to the
> > food court a cookshop serving period food.<snip>
> >
>
> Yes, I think there's a market for it, and yes, I wish I could take part in
> such a project (but we're not due back in the States till after next
> Pennsic).
> I'd stick with a constant cuisine from one area for the whole week, as
> you're more likely to get repeat customers that way. And it also requires
> less work, fewer ingredients, & is in general less hassle.

Consistant product is a key to repeat business, of course, we learn this from
McDonald's.  We would not want to lose customers with a pout as they find that the
sausage roll they loved the previous day has been replaced with something
different, even better, today.

> Were you thinking of doing 3 meals a day? If so, Hanoney & Malasade are
> great breakfast dishes.

Let's hear it for 'breakfast all day'!  I've forgotten what those dishes are, but
the names are pretty.

> > Caboges (Two Fifteenth Century)
>
> I'd avoid caboges.  It's rather messy & not the most popular veggie I can
> think of.

If we describe them in terms of cole slaw or sauerkraut we can sell it.  Besides,
cabbage is still cheap after all these centuries!

> > Ember Day Tart > Crispes
>
> Tarts require pastry, which is labor-intensive unless you pre-make your
> pastry. But if you're willing to do the work, Lese fryes & Auter Tartus are
> both excellent cheese tarts.

Pye is one of the basic food groups of the Middle Ages so we'll have to make our
own pastry sometime won't we?  Can we utilize won ton skins or flour tortillas for
any of this?

> Crisps (if you're thinking of the same ones I am) require frying in a large
> pan of hot oil.  This can be dangerous in an open-fire kitchen. It's also
> hard to keep up with the demand.

I've done it, and it's no more difficult than a big pancake breakfast once you get
into the rhythm of it.  I always use several smaller vessels rather than one big
kettle for deep frying, as a fire-break in case of flame-up [Almighty forbid!]

> I'd try to keep the menu as simple and easy to manage as possible, with a
> different sauce each day (in addition to mustard sauce).
>
> Suggestions:
> fresh-baked breads & soft pretzels

At least we won't have to explain these!

> Sausages - these are really easy & very popular. (OOP note - In Vienna they
> have big cheesy sausages that are served in a long roll, similar to a
> torpedo roll.  The end of the roll is sliced off, & the roll is jammed onto
> a spike (like a broom handle), leaving a hole in the bread.  Just add
> mustard & hot sausage.)

Whooa, I love this thought!  Can we document this?  Hmmm, Platina's macaroni
involved shoving a skewer into a roll of paste to make tubes, didn't it?  Well,
that's a start.

> Have a 'carvery' - basically a meat cookshop where thin slices are cut from
> various roasted meats.  In England the meat is served in a bun with juice,
> but you could serve the bread on the side.

We could cut a hard roll as a trencher and plop on the juicy beef.  Yum.

> Sabina Welserin and Epulario both have yummy recipes for beef olives that
> would adapt well for your purpose.

I can hear the kitchen helpers now, crooning old olive-rolling chanteys, way roll
away and pass the fillet, yo ho ho me hearthies...

> Roasted chickens.  There are period drawings of poulterers selling
> spit-roasted birds.   Here in Berlin, they sell small roast chickens on the
> street corners. They usually have several spits turning with 6 or 8 birds
> on each. It's cheaper to buy a roasted bird from one of these shops,than an
> uncooked one at the grocery store.  I've got documentation here somewhere
> that the same was true in period as well, because the cookshops were able
> to buy in bulk & drive their cost down.

Shoot, supermarkets in Yuppie-Ville Los Angeles are doing that even as we speak.
I've also been known to cruise by the local Chinese BBQ and buy chickens and ducks
off the turning spit on the way to a tourney day.  I don't care that they look at
me like I'm a space alien in my garb, my money's as green as anybody's!

> Have Soup for the cold evenings.  (And of course keep a stock pot simmering
> at all times.) Pea soup or Bruette saake are both good, and with the latter
> you could serve a large piece of chicken in the broth, add a hunk of bread,
> & voila! Dinner!

I am definitely doing too much Japanese cooking.  I read this as Bruette saké,
which is also good for a cold evening <hic> but would require more licensing than
we are likely to have.

> HTH,
>
> Cindy Renfrow/Sincgiefu
> Author and Publisher of "Take a Thousand Eggs or More" and "A Sip Through Time"
> http://www.thousandeggs.com
> cindy at thousandeggs.com

Well met learned lady, I own and recommend your work frequently!

Susan Fox-Davis/Selene Colfox
selene at earthlink.net