[Sca-cooks] Imaginary list was Re: Irish Stew recipe

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Also sprach Cindy:
>Philip & Susan Troy wrote:
>>
>>  Phlip's Nightmare, a.k.a. Deadly Chickens, consists of undercooked,
>>  possibly overcooked, or simultaneous local instances of both,
>>  chickens. Generally the result of crowding the pan, putting the
>>  chickens in the oven frozen, and not owning a good instant-read
>>  thermometer. (And not knowing the proper temperature for cooking
>>  chickens if you do own one.)
>>
>
>Does this really happen?
>
>The first and only feast I've attended was a potluck event where
>the meat was provided.  We decided against attending a feast this
>past weekend and a lot of that was that we didn't know anything
>about the cooks.  I like to cook and I like to eat good food so I'm picky!

Fair enough, but perhaps someday you'll be cooking a feast and no one
will know anything about you, and maybe no one ever will if they
don't come to your feast because they don't know you...

Certainly I can see people being disappointed upon direct, bad
experience, and being cautious in the future, but sometimes it's nice
to take a chance, especially when a cook is donating his/her time for
your pleasure.

I mention this only because I'm seeing more of this attitude
recently. I'm fairly well-known in my kingdom, and recent 12th Night
feasts notwithstanding ;-), people usually trust my judgment and
reserve in advance.

I wonder, though, where some SCA cooks would be if, years ago, they'd
been faced with these conditions.

But in response to the question about chickens, yes, I suppose it
does happen now and again. I served a chicken once, one out of
perhaps 42 or so that I roasted for a 12th Night, and by sheer
coincidence, the one chicken I managed to miss with my otherwise
vigilant thermometer just happened to be the one that had been
semi-frozen. A gentleman brought it back to the kitchen, looking not
angry but deeply confused. It was nearly raw in and around the
thighs. I swapped it for another chicken, fully cooked, and that was
that.

I expect that under other circumstances the results could be more
painful. I haven't had the kinds of experiences that Phlip seems to
have had, though, in this regard.

Adamantius