SC - Period cookshop at Pennsic?

[Cindy M. Renfrow]

> 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.

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

> Caboges (Two Fifteenth Century)

I'd avoid caboges.  It's rather messy & not the most popular veggie I can
think of. Spiced onions (pikkyll pour le mallard) are quite yummy.

> 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. But, in general, I'd avoid custard-based
dishes, due to the heat at Pennsic.  IIRC the Sated Tyger had a rather
obvious refrigerator.

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'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

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.)

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.

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

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.

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!

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