[Sca-cooks] Personal Iron Chef Challenge

[Elaine Koogler]

I agree that it is a hard thing to not be there to actually cook the feast when you've
planned it.  Phillip and I have had to do it twice.  He did it for a small local event
several years ago, when we found out that my stepmother had passed away.  I absolutely
could not stay away as my father really needed me there.  The other time was last fall
when I had planned the Festival of Kites feast.  I finally was offered a job about 3
weeks before the event.  I was told that I had to be in California for two weeks
back-to-back and couldn't come home for the weekend.  I told them about the feast, and
also about the fact that Phillip was due to have extensive surgery on his foot.  the
feast was the last weekend of September, and Phillip's surgery was Monday a week after
the event.  He would have to have someone to transport him to and from the hospital as
well as stay with him for a couple of days until he could get around on his own.  I
was given a choice of missing the event or his surgery.  Sorry, but his surgery came
first...as did keeping my job!

So, while I agree that simply walking out in a snit is a bad thing, I do feel that
there are certain mundane things that have to take precedence.  In both cases, we
located people to fill in for us, did as much of the work leading up to the event as
possible, and walked through all of the recipes with our substitutes, all of whom did
an absolutely fantastic job!

Kiri

johnna holloway wrote:

> Johnnae llyn Lewis sends "Congratulations!"
>
> Have you come down off the high of the success yet?
> Isn't that a great feeling?
>
> I don't understand bailing on a feast when the work has
> been planned, the ingredients purchased, dishes precooked??
> I cooked one feast when there was a death in the immediate
> family... I just said I couldn't go to the funeral. I had
> 250 people coming to dinner. And I did a small supper for
> 40-50 when I was on crutches from having been in a car accident.
> That I can't recommend, but I'm told they loved it and everything
> was devoured. The really serious pain killers kinda took care
> of the memory of that one though.
>
> Johnna Holloway
>
> >Kiri wrote
> > Many years ago, there was a baronial elevation scheduled for the (then) Shire of
> > Black Diamond.  We knew there was a problem when we got a call from a friend who
> > was an officer asking us to bring our aprons and knives!  Friday night, we
> > arrived at the baron-to-be's home and started work making a soup, a glaze for
> > the ham and other stuff.  Saturday morning, we discovered that the ladies who
> > were supposed to be cooking the feast had bailed.  Turned out they had never
> > cooked a feast, and their idea of planning was to look at pictures in a
> > magazine, decide what looked good, and that's what they were planning.  Of
> > course, there was nothing even remotely period.  So 4 of us had to take the
> > ingredients they had already bought and try to create a period feast out of it.
> > And, even better, they had agreed to a restriction on use of the kitchen...we
> > couldn't even get in until 3:00!!  We still had to locate a few
> > ingredients...can you imagine trying to find Brie in a small town in the
> > mountains of Virginia (remember, we're talking mid 1980's here....)??  We didn't
> > do all period stuff, but much of it was...or at least period-oid!!  And those
> > partaking of it pronounced it a great success!  I still remember that feast very
> > fondly, and probably more vividly than any other I've cooked!
> >
> > Kiri
> >
> > KarenO wrote:
> >
> > >     Hey Y'all!!
> > >
> > >     It's Sunday nite, I'm pooped, and wore out,  but proud as can be!!  I
> > > experienced the typical Kitchen Wench "worst nightmare"   and made it look
> > > easy  :) :)
> > >
> > >     I went to a weekend event I knew I'd be assisting in the kitchen for
> > > feast. {no wise crackers from the Artemisian folk on this list ;*>}  In
> > > fact,  I  was in charge of bringing friday nite supper.   I arrive early
> > > evening,  no Cook.    I set up / warm up stuff,  no Cook.   Cook arrives,
> > > has words with the  Autocrat (privately)  and leaves.  Autocrat comes to me
> > > saying: "{the Cook} quit.  Can you cook Feast?"   I had only a miniscule
> > > idea what was on the menu  -- we {the Cook & I} had discussed by e-mail that
> > > he was making sausages of various game meats,  there would be a pig on a
> > > spit,  he was making Gazpacho,  a Sallat with flowers {coz I was bringing
> > > the borage, johnny-jump-ups, & marigolds} and Paella.
> > >
> > >     Friday supper was already done & being served, so no problem there.  I
> > > inventoried what I had, and started to think up a menu.  Tho I still had
> > > hopes of speaking with the Cook, getting the Menu, & recipes.  I have never
> > > cooked Paella, knew NUTTIN about spitting & roasting a pig, and was hoping
> > > the Cook would come to his senses & return from his huff.  Nothing doing.
> > > Although he did say he was "sorry" for leaving me in this predictament.
> > > According to him, it was now the Autocrat's problem, not his;  and while he
> > > wouldn't share with me a Menu,  he did share his recipes for the Sallat,
> > > Frumenty, and Paella  {for me, the first two are a no-brainer}  and did tell
> > > me what the "mystery" meat {venison} defrosting in the fridge was  AFTER I
> > > asked.
> > >
> > >     After securing my favorite assistant, {see, I'm not the only Artemisian
> > > KW with helium hand!} and gettin her favorite troll to man the spit {he had
> > > experience roasting/bbq-ing pig} We started planning:  we had coffee,
> > > oatmeal/7grains, sausage & egg bake for breakfast, melon & orange slices,
> > > and leftover  tart of ryce for Breakfast.
> > >
> > >     LUNCH:  tarts that the Cook had made & left: mystery meat & curry(?),
> > > assorted fruits with cream cheese,   cheese slices, HB eggs,  leftover soup
> > > {friday nite supper}  green sallat,  watermelon,  and almond cookies.
> > >
> > >     FEAST:  Blood Sausage {premade by the Cook  -- over boiled by me in a
> > > pot with water & a strange  herb mixture (bay? oregno? sage?) it was all
> > > cumbled up, so I couldn't tell) with honey'd mustard; Sallat of herbs &
> > > flowers with a  garlicy vinegarette,  frumenty of cracked wheat & sweet
> > > spices, and almonds;  Venison Loaf; cukes in a mint yogurt sauce; (basmati)
> > > rice with peas;  Fowl Sausage {different kinds of turkey, pheasant, goose &
> > > duck  -- again all premade by the Cook} with an Orange-Cinnamon sauce;
> > > honey'd Figs;  caboges with apple & fennel;   Roasted Piggey with mustard &
> > > Cider Sauce (as best as I could remember);  "apples from the Italian
> > > visitors" (tomatoes with a rich balsamic vinegarette) carrots in butter;
> > > melons;  rolls & butter; and Trifle (frozen fruit, boiled creme & white cake
> > > prebaked for feast, discovered 2 hrs prior to feast)
> > >
> > >     Breakfast this morning was Coffee,  egg bake, leftover trifle,  leftover
> > > melon & orange slices;crepes (made by another volunteer who couldn't stay
> > > this weekend) we filled with whipped cream, topped with frozen fruit
> > > mixture,  a repeat of frumenty (this time with dried apricots & cream).
> > >
> > >     As I said,  I'm bushed, but VERY satisfied & just hadda CROW!   I met
> > > the challenge & everyone was impressed.   Time for sleep  -- there's work in
> > > the morning . . . .
> > >
> > > Caointiarn
> > > Kitchen Wench Extraordinaire
> > >
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