SC - Spicing dishes

[Catherine Deville]

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Phil Anderson <phil at dev.spis.co.nz>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2000 7:08 PM
Subject: Re: SC - Spicing dishes



Edward Long-hair said:
> > > In such a context, the cook is preparing a dish for the
> > > feasters, not for themselves.

to which Lord Ras replied:
> > And I must disagree with this. I prepare all my feast dishes to MY
taste.

to which Edward responded:
> And in fact, so do I. My tastes are reasonably in line with most of
> the local populace, and I select dishes that I want to eat myself. But I
> am still preparing the feast so that _they_ will enjoy the food.

I, personally, try to reach a balance between "well prepared" and "to my
taste".   As someone who grew up primarily on Southern rural "country"
cooking, I have a relatively unsophisticated palate, so there are many
things that I simply do not care for but which I know that other people
enjoy, so when cooking for other people I will often cook with an eye
towards what other people will enjoy rather than simply what I would enjoy.
If I cooked *only* what I enjoy, I would never make anything pickled,
anything with organ meats, anything with green or red peppers (and very
little with different types of "chili" peppers), not to mention anything
"hot" or "spicy" in that way.  Oh!  or with curry (although I'm trying to
find a recipe for fresh curry powder which will not make me ill, as I
*like* the taste of curry but react badly to it.)

As a result, I've learned to tell when things which I do not like are
properly prepared so that I can cater to tastes which are more varied than
my own.  So while I agree with Lord Ras that you can't anticipate the
tastes of each feast-goer, I agree also with Edward in that, since I am not
cooking only for myself, I do not limit myself only to what I enjoy.

I remain, in service to Meridies,
Lady Celia des L'archier