SC - Re: Pennsic Tales

[ChannonM at aol.com]

As a second thought, I cross posted this message that I wrote, no sense in 
hiding from the story especially after Lainie's post!

In a message dated 8/21/00 6:02:21 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
tjconrad at earthlink.net writes:

> Well, hopefully all of us who were able to attend Pennsic have arrived home
>  safely!  Sorry that I missed the MK-cooks meeting after the SCA-cooks
>  potluck, but I was feeling woggy and felt it better to leave for a bit.
>  Would anyone who was there care to fill the rest of us in on what was
>  discussed?

Others can help fill this in, but what we talked about most was  the need to 
promote period cookery,and  creating a contact list for new cooks  to be sent 
to shires to be distributed. No phone numbers, but email addresses and 
locations. 

Papa San has the notes, I believe.
>  
>  Also, anybody out there have any "no s***, there I was"  cooking stories
>  from War?  Fernando and I jumped into action for Hauviette's feast in
>  Midrealm Royal camp , but I shall let her tell the story.
>  
>  Luveday
>  
Well...... I knew this was going to come up! Can't hide from infamy I guess. 

The tale starts when I arrived at Pennsic (several hrs late because my truck 
died, loaded with food for the feast at Midrealm Royal on Sunday night, yes I 
was about to panick). At the kitchen camp was Luveday and Fernando, who were 
cook camps for Midrealm Royal and Duke Palymar and Lord Gideon. The latter 
folk were cooking a dinner for Curia. Well, the story really starts when you 
take men with active libido's and pair them up with a toy called a laser 
thermometer. This little gadget can read to a tenth of a degree the surface 
temmp of any surface it touches- ANY SURFACE. So, the temperature taking 
began..... By sheer luck (?) I rated the highest temp in the Midrealm ( I 
guess I should mention that it was breast temperature- somewhere close to 
body temp according to the Good Duke). Living with this fact was a burden I 
assure you, as it was regularly announced that "Hauviette has the hottest 
breasts in the Middle Kingdom" (eventually I gave in and took ownership of my 
attribute)

Well, the story progresses to Sunday. The day of the feast. A very large 
feast ( 21 different dishes in 3 courses, I'll post recipes later) planned 
for 30 people. I had lined up several people to come and help throughout the 
day. Unfortunately  they all felt I had enough help from everyone else, who 
all also felt the same way. The result was that no one showed, except one 
person near to the feast, Joseph from House Argus and he I had just met that 
day. 

To the rescue came Luveday and Fernando and Lord Gideon. At about 2:30 we 
realized no one was showing to help and they just stepped up to the plate, 
and gratiously saved my sorry self.  Lord Barrett and Lady Emily came by to 
say hello and stayed 4 hrs. Lady Jasmine came to see how the feast was going 
and pitch in where needed and became an integral part of the team. We managed 
to pull off the feast half and hour later than originally planned.

Their Majesties were very pleased with the feast. I was very relieved. And 
then we started celebrating. Well, after the cleaning, the party moved to the 
fireside. Not long after sitting down with a few bottles of mead, wine and 
what have you, the fire needed tending and a log was put on the fire. The 
fire shifted and a pop ensued from the burning logs. I felt a tap on my chest 
and looked down to find a quarter sized ember lodged amongst my bosom. I was 
wearing a very snug middle eastern vest and the trouble began in earnest when 
I could not retrieved said ember. As I was dancing about the fire and 
screaming, that there was a coal down  my top, the befuddled Lord Gideon and 
Lord Fernando were unsure whether to reach down my blouse, dump a drink on 
me, roll me around on the ground or just let me fish it out myself. I managed 
to fish it out before either of them could get near enough to do any of the 
above. 

By now I was quite anaestetized and was unaware of the severity of the 
accident.  We continued to enjoy our successful feast, and eventually headed 
back to camp. The next morning I arose to find that I had mostly second 
degree and a bit of third degree burns in that most tender region. I was 
hastily sent off to Chirugen's Point where I was tended by a very generous 
lady who took me behind a curtain (and managed not to snikker throughout the 
treatment) and almost tended by a very curious lord,( who couldn't have 
offered his services in a more frequent or insistent manner).

By the time I arrived back in camp, my burn story had turned into a the 
legend of how Lady Hauviette was wandering down a wooded lane, where an acorn 
fell from a tree and landed amongst her bosom. Due to the inherent properties 
of her bosom the acorn spontaeneously burst into flame. And she has the scars 
to prove it. 

Hence I have named my cooking endeavors to be that of The House of the 
Flaming Acorn- the sigil being two oppositional cresent moons above an acorn 
proper, flaming..........

I will endeavor to serve acorns at every cooking activity I do.....

Sincerely,
and hoping you are laughing with me at this tale,

Hauviette d'Anjou