[Sca-cooks] Bardic Feast, was Sugar Plate/Paste; Stained Glass Sugar

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

After i made a silly remark about "accidentally on purpose" breaking
the sugar plate,
Stefan wrote:
>I think it gives a better impression for the Baron or the King or
>whomever it was presented to, to break it up and then pass out
>the pieces. Or hand it to a server (who could have been a noble
>personage themselves in period) and have them break it up and pass
>it out. Perhaps keeping a crown or baronial charge or some such for
>themselves or the other folks at the headtable.

and Cindy M. Renfrow <cindy at thousandeggs.com> responded:
>If I might make a suggestion that is more in keeping with period practice,
>make one large item & present it to the head table. Then lift it up to
>reveal several smaller items hidden inside. Serve these (and the rest from
>the kitchen because they won't all fit) to the other tables.

Well, i was joking. But i do have a tendency to the theatrical at times...

Fortunately (for the sugar plate) this is usually a smaller feast
than the Boar Hunt - Boar Hunt is assumed for 80, although it appears
i fed about 95 this year. This is a feast that more often has close
to 60 people, although possibly up to 80. And we will probably be
holding it at the same site as the Boar Hunt, which is a nice rustic
Boy Scout lodge with wood paneling and a big stone fireplace and a
pretty good kitchen - but i want to make as much as possible ahead of
time - site opens at noon and First Course starts at 2:30 with the
Fifth dessert course around 8 PM.

I was just exchanging mail with the autocrat of the feast and he
requested a sotiltie - good thing i'm thinking ahead.

This feast is in September, possibly the hottest month in our year,
and hosted by the current Bard of the Principality of the Mists, who
is also the autocrat, to select the next Bard of the Mists. So no
Barons or Kings to pass out the sugar plate, but the Prince will be
there :-) I like Cindy's idea of a large thing with smaller things
inside - and more to come out of the kitchen. Maybe i can find
someone around here who has made sugar plate before to guide me in my
first steps...

(Interkingdom anthropology comment - The West is divided into
Principalities, which are our important subdivision. We have some
Baronies, but they don't seem to be a great deal more important than
our Shires - and Court Baronies are not a big deal here. In fact, a
dog was made a Court Baron some time back. I know this is quite
different than in other Kingdoms, where Baronies are the important
subdivision.)

The traditional way this feast goes is First Course - Music - Second
Course - More Music - etc. so that there are about 4 small courses
and a dessert course all interspersed with different parts of the
competition. The Bard wants each course to be from a different
culture, as a sort of journey to the East - starting with English and
ending with Persian. He mentioned the Crusades, but the only
cookbooks that old are Arabic - or else Anthimus and Apicius and i
don't think they're what he has in mind.

Here's what we've discussed so far:

First Course - he wants "nibbles" - bread, cheese, dried fruit, nuts,
etc., and beverages. I was thinking of making some 16th c. conserves,
too. And cold meatballs with dipping sauce (mmm...mmm...mustard?)
might be good - I figure i can make them ahead, freeze them, and nuke
them on-site.

He also requested honey-butter and herb-butter. I did mention that
they are not historically accurate, but i expressed a willingness to
make them. And here i thought i'd be able to get through my life as a
Head Cook without ever making honey butter - oh, well.

Second course - he says English. I'm thinking soup, a grain dish, and
a vegetable dish from 14th & 15th c. England.

Third - he suggested Italy. This looks like my excuse to buy Scully's
Neapolitan cookbook... Since i'm serving a lamb/chicken "stew" in the
next course, i'm not sure what meat to serve here... maybe fish? I'd
love squid, but i think that's right out at an SCA feast :-) Torta
Bolognese - greens, eggs, and cheese in a crust?

Fourth - he wants Persian and Near Eastern food, including the
Bustaniyya i made for the Iron Chef (spiced chicken and lamb with
pears, peaches, and almonds) and the saffron rice. I'll add a
vegetable dish or two. Many from the Near Eastern corpus can be made
ahead and served cold or room temp.

Dessert - he requested baqlawa which, again, is not period, although
there are some recipes that aren't too far different, and two other
desserts - i'm thinking Torta Bianca. I'm also trying to find some
interesting ways to serve fruit - since California is a major
producer of fruit, we get quite a variety of good stuff... But i
don't find many references to raw or only slightly cooked fruit. I'll
look over "Medieval Arab Cookery" again. Anyone have any other ideas
on this? I'm toying with the NOT "period" Moroccan dish of sliced
oranges with cinnamon and rose water.

Anahita
wondering how armor made of sugar plate would feel...