SC - Cutting chicken into bits

[Ron and Laurene Wells]

>Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 23:34:31 -0600
>From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
>Subject: Re: SC - picky eaters
>
>At 11:51 AM -0800 2/25/00, Ron and Laurene Wells wrote:
>
>>We recently attended an SCA Shire Revel (where I actually WON the pot-luck
>>contribution award with my bread swan!!! WOW!) and the Feast-o-crat had
>>prepared a truly delicious period recipe of Chicken in Milk and Honey.  I
>>do not know what the recipe was, but the flavors were simple yet alluring,
>>and it was delightful to the palate.
>
>
>I suggest that it might have been:
>
>Douce Ame
>  Form of Cury p. 35/A20
>
>Take good cowmilk and do it in a pot. Take psel., sage, Hissop, 
>savory, and other good herbs. Hew them and do them in the milk and 
>seethe them. Take capons half y-roasted and smite them on pieces and 
>do thereto pine and honey clarified. Salt it and color it with 
>saffron and serve it forth.
>

Thank you!!!!  I will try this recipe tonight!!!  I don't have the saffron,
but I have most of the other herbs mentioned here.

>Note that Douce Ame, which may or may not be what you are describing 
>but is a period recipe, tells you to half cook the capons, then cut 
>them in pieces. Serving chicken cut up isn't particularly uncommon in 
>period recipes.
>

   I noticed in some of the recent Beef recipes how they were talking about
serving the meat already cut into bite size peices, and the discussion
about whether to serve or not to serve Chickens in the whole or portioned
form.  Thank you for adding that it CAN in fact also be served in Bite Size
form!  I do in fact serve chicken to my children with the bones still in
quite often, and they eat it, and are getting better about trying new
foods.  But there certainly seems to be less waste when I make dishes with
bite size peices of meat (in a sauce or whatever) rather than on the bones.
 For some reason, they were just really grossed out by seeing the bones
floating around separate from the meat in that dish that was served at the
Revel.  And they had the same reaction when I re-created the dish at home,
but removed the bones prior to serving (I had used chicken quarters to make
the Chicken with Milk and Honey).  Now I have Chicken Breast meat in the
freezer, so I will try it again with the recipe you just posted.  Thank you
so much for the genial conversation, rather than lashing out assuiming that
all I ever feed my kids is happy meals.  Truly the do LOVE happy meals, and
fish sticks (today's lunch in fact) and corn dogs, and peanut butter
sandwiches.  But that is not the ONLY fare I ever make for them.


>>Use the boneless-skinless chicken
>>breasts and boneless skinless thigh portions, cut them into recogniseable
>>square cubes, and cook them in the pot this way.  I know this is NOT period
>>meat preparation.
>
>
>What makes you think it is not period meat preparation? 

Just the way I have ALWAYS seen it served I guess...  I have only been to a
very few feasts though, maybe it was just coincidence.  I am a beginner in
the realm of Medival Cooking, though an accomplished modern cook I think.  

As someone else posted ont his list, Yes, I am accostomed to cooking
without measurements, and can adapt many recipes to the fire or coleman
stove, etc.  I have baked biscuits in a Dutch Oven over a fire, etc. etc. etc.

There are an 
>awful lot of period recipes using chicken, many of them tell you to 
>cut it up, and they don't generally tell you what shape the pieces 
>should or shouldn't be. Off hand I can't think of one that specifies 
>skinless portions, but I wouldn't be surprised to find one.
>

Cool!!!
>
>Speaking as a parent with kids who are often picky, I don't think I 
>can consistently predict what will or will not make my children react 
>negatively to a dish, so would be reluctant to modify a recipe in the 
>hope of getting them to eat it.

   I do know for the most part what makes my kids grumble and what they
will agree to taste one bite of.  Maybe this is why I would be willing to
adapt a recipe somewhat.  I do acknowledge that ever child is different, so
other people's children are not likely to have the same preferences and
aversions that mine have.  I was just offering a suggestion to the one
person who complained that most of their Period food gets thrown into the
trash.  I hate to see perfectly good food thrown out, just as the next person.

Thanks again for posting this response.  Sorry it took me so long to catch
up and finally read it.  I think THREE new SCA-Cooks digests have come in
today, and I have only just finished reading ONE, from about a week ago.
SIGH...

Take care and God bless!
- -Laurene
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