SC - 12th Night Platina Feast LONG

Sun Jan 28 10:08:41 PST 2001

The Shire of the Storm did a "catered performance" for
a local church's fundraising kick-off dinner.  The
church paid for the food, and we provided cooking,
serving and decorations.

Because I'd recently acquired Milham's Platina, I
wanted to do a period Italian feast, and planned a
menu accordingly.  The menu had to include vegetarian
dishes in each course, and my aim was to make a feast
that was documentable (as much as possible), delicious
and educational to boot.

To ensure the "educational" part, I made a brochure
that explained Italian 12th Night traditions, outlined
the menu and provided recipes for four of the more
unusual redacted recipes (on the idea that if they
read about it, they might feel better about eating
something unusual).  (The brochure is available in
.pdf form for anyone who wants it - email me at
magistra at tampabay.rr.com)

We held a Shire redaction class several weeks before
the event to test-run the recipes and decide, for
example, which of two soup recipes to use.

I incorporated a very few "perioid" and "non-period"
items, which are noted in the menu.

BEFORE THE MEAL

Antipasto Platters - sliced meats, cheeses, crudites,
pickles, olives (perioid)

King Cake - modern Swedish Coffee Bread recipe, chosen
because I know the recipe well, could scale it easily,
and could bake it in advance

PRIMO

Gourd Soup - from Platina, recipe and redaction below

Italian Bread - fresh baked by us without a recipe

Fruited Chicken Pies - from Platina, recipe and
redaction below

SEGUNDO

Pork Roast - from Platina, recipe and redaction below

Parsnips - from Platina, recipe and redaction below

Stewed Apples - perioid, simply cooked with sugar and
cinnamon.  Platina had a recipe for stewed apples but
it was not vegetarian.

TERTIO

Yule Log Cakes - covered in chocolate, these were not
even close to period, but were a nice subtlety - and
delicious

We served mulled spiced wine and cider to drink.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

REDACTED RECIPES

Gourd Soup - from Platina, p. 339

"With a perforated spoon, put gourd, which has been
cut up and cooked in broth or water with a bit of
onion, in a pot where there is rich broth and a bit of
verjuice and saffron.  When it has boiled a little
while, take from the hearth.  After it has been taken
out and cooled somewhat, put in two egg yolks, beaten
with a bit of aged and ground cheese, or stir
continually with a spoon so lumps do not impede the
cooking.  When it has been put in small serving
dishes, sprinkle with spices."

Ingredients:  (for 10 to 12 servings)
2 large butternut squash
2-3 cans vegetable broth
2 medium onions
verjuice
¼ package of Vigo saffron
2 egg yolks
Parmesan cheese
sprinkle of cumin
parsley

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Cut
the squash in large chunks, and boil in a large
stockpot (or two) water (or broth) with the cut-up
onions.  When the squash can be pierced through with a
fork, strain.  Let squash cool before peeling off
rind.  Place rindless squash and onions in blender
with one or two cans of vegetable broth and blend
until smooth.  Pour into large stockpot and add
remainder of vegetable broth, verjuice (if desired)
and saffron.  When soup has reduced somewhat, beat
together egg yolks, Parmesan cheese and cumin and add
to pot.  Stir to blend.

Reality Check:  We forgot to boil the onions with the
squash, and so caramelized the onions and then blended
them with the squash.  We also did not add eggs to the
recipe when we served it at the feast.  This was one
of the two most popular dishes we served.

- - - - - - - - -

Fruited Chicken Pie - Platina, p. 273 (A Crust for
Tame Animals)

"If you want a crust with chicks and any sort of bird,
first boil them.  When they are almost cooked, take
them out of the kettle, and when they are out, cut
them up in pieces, and fry in a frying pan with plenty
of lard.  Then pour them out into a pan or well-oiled
earthen pot lined with a crust.  Add plums and
cherries or sour fruit to this mixture without harm. 
Then beat with a paddle verjuice and eight eggs, if
you are having more guests, or fewer, with a few, with
a moderate amount of juice.  With this, mix parsley,
marjoram and mint chopped as fine as possible with a
knife, and place on a fire but far from the flame, for
it must boil slowly.  Meanwhile it ought to be stirred
with a spoon as long as needed until it covers the
spoon with a thick coating.  Finally, pour this juice
over the crust and put it on the fire, even if it is a
meat pie.  When it is cooked, serve to your guests. 
It will be very nourishing, digest slowly, leave
little indigestible residue, repress bile and irritate
the chest."

Ingredients (makes 1 pie, serves 6 to 8)
1 chicken breast, 2 chicken thies
1 pie crust (not prebaked)
1 packages dried cherries, soaked in white wine
verjuice
6 eggs
1/8 cup fine chopped fresh parsley
1/8 cup fine chopped fresh mint
1/8 cup fine chopped marjoram

Boil and debone the chicken (reserve broth for use in
pork roast). Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Mix the
chicken, wine-soaked cherries and herbs in a large
bowl.  Pour the chicken-herb-fruit mixture into three
pie shells.  Beat the eggs well with about half a cup
of verjuice, and pour over the chicken mixture in each
pie.  Bake at 350ºF for an hour and a half, or until
toothpick inserted in center of pie comes out clean.

Reality Check:  I ordered verjuice far in advance, but
UPS broke the bottles in transit, so I had no
verjuice.  We used red wine vinegar instead.  Also,
next time around we might make it more quiche-like by
increasing the egg mixture and decreasing the chicken.

- - - - - - - - -

Pork Roast - Platina p. 283 (Haedus in Allio -
actually a recipe for Kid, but worked well for pork)

On a spit over a fire turn the kid with bits of lard
and cloves of clean garlic stuck all around it. 
Moisten frequently with sprigs of bay or rosemary,
with the seasoning, which I shall now describe.  With
verjuice and a rich sauce, mix two well-beaten egg
yolks, two well-pounded cloves of garlic, a bit of
saffron, and a little pepper and put in a pan.  Then,
as I have said, sprinkle it on what is cooking, and
when it is cooked, put in a dish and pour in part of
the sauce, then sprinkle with finely cut parsley.

Ingredients:
Pork Shoulder Butt Roast (1/4 lb. per person)
Egg yolks, beaten (1 per pound of meat)
Verjuice (1/8 cup per pound of meat)
Chicken broth (1 cup per pound of meat)
Pepper
Saffron
Sprigs of rosemary
Several cloves garlic, slivered
Parsley

Preheat the oven to 500ºF.  "Stud" the pork roast with
slivers of garlic all over and place it in a roasting
pan.  Mix the remainder of the ingredients and pour
them over the roast.  Place the pan in the oven and
reduce the temperature to 350ºF.  Roast for 30-45
minutes per pound.  (We used the parsley to garnish
the trays of meat.)

Reality Check:  Again, no verjuice, so we used red
wine vinegar instead.  The pork didn't slice as much
as fall apart like pulled pork - and tasted fabulous. 
This was the other most popular dish we served.

- - - - - - - - -

Parsnips - Platina, p. 227

The parsnip should be boiled twice, with the first
water thrown away, and cooked with lettuce the second
time.  Transferred from there to a dish and seasoned
with salt, vinegar, coriander and pepper, it is
suitable to eat, for it settles cough, pleurisy and
dropsy, and arouses passion.

Ingredients:
Parsnips (peeled and cut in slices)
Salt, pepper, coriander
Vinegar (organic red wine)

Boil parsnips in water; drain.  Boil again with fresh
water and lettuce in pot.  Season with vinegar, salt,
pepper and coriander to taste. 

Reality Check:  not enough pans or time to boil again
- - and parsnips tasted fine with one boiling.  The
coriander and vinegar combined to make a nice sharp
taste that was great with the parsnips, and nicely
complemented the pork roast.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If anyone's tried these recipes before or has a
different redaction, I'd love to see it.  :)

- - Lady Clotild

=====
Clotilda Suessionensis
Shire of the Storm
Kingdom of Trimaris

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