[Sca-cooks] More from the newby

[Nicolas Steenhout]

>As long as everyone gets stuffed and your feast breaks even, don't worry
>about leftovers.  You can throw them away, donate them to the nearest
>foodbank, or cycle them to the tavern.  Leftovers are wastage and should
>have been planned for in the budget.

While the rest of the advice was good, I must object to this concept of
"don't worry about leftovers".  Of course, one must plan enough food to be
able to feed the feasters, and a little more (actually, in the
hotel/restaurant industry, it is standard practice to prepare 10% more than
needed).

Yet, I should like to think we don't promote non-necessary throwing out of
food.  There are enough hungry people in our country, and the world,
wasting food on a grand scale just doesn't sit well with me (and I'm not
being particularly PC for the sake of PC'ness).  If the advice is:  "There
will be *some* extra, and that's ok, plan for it", I'm in agreement.  If it
was, as it sounded to me: "Make lots of food, don't worry about having too
much, as long as you can feed all the feasters", then I'd be cautious.

BTW, before planning on donating prepared food to shelters and/or
foodbanks, I'd check your local and state regulations on the
matter.  Several places have laws against this, unless the food was
prepared under specific conditions, which, usualy, feast kitchens
don't/can't meet.  It's a sanitary issue.

As for scaling recipes (systematic expension of recipes as Bear pointed
out), here are a couple web site that might help:
http://www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/homekit1.html
http://www.findarticles.com/m0BGE/12_34/58544736/p1/article.jhtml

Just don't forget, there are no magick tricks, ya got to use your "nose",
your instinct.  And the more you do it, the easier it gets.

Good luck :-)


Muiredach mac Loloig
Rokkehealden Shire
aka
Nicolas Steenhout
"You must deal with me as I think of myself" J. Hockenberry