[Sca-cooks] Menu

[Barbara Benson]

<snippage of Brighid's Menu>

> Salsa del Zumo de Manzanas (spiced cider sauce)

Greetings,
The above recipie sounds really interesting. When you get around to it I
would love to see it.

<snipped from another message>And though I thank you for the compliment, I
*am* interested in
constructive criticism.

Not criticism, just a leading comment/question. While I know it is very
appropriate to the majority (if not all) of time periods, I find that in the
SCA, by having more than 2 - 3 major courses (not counting an opening and/or
closing course) you end up with a great deal of waste in the final courses.
What I mean by a major course is a meat/veggie/starch course that has decent
quantities. It may just be the way feasts work in my area, but most fourth
courses that I have seen end up with at least half of every dish remaining
on the table.

This could be attributed to the fact that we (in my area) almost always have
court before feast, and the first meat course that is set before those
assembled gets consumed like rabid dogs. The second course a bit more
liesurely, and then the third is just gilding the lily. It could be
attributed to the fact that most people are not used to multi-course meals
and have no idea that you are supposed to have small servings of everyting &
pace yourself. There are many reasons this could be, but the end result is
the same. If there are courses beyond the 3rd it tends to go to waste - with
people looking wistfully at the last delicious dish to come out and wishing
they had left room.

So, those are my thoughts. I am not suggesting that you should cull a
course - unless you really want to. Possibly I am suggesting you take extra
thought to your serving size and serve smaller portions that would force the
feasters to pace themselves. I think the feast looks absolutely lovely,
exceptionally so. But then again, even never having met you it is exactly
the level of excellence I would expect from you. :)

Glad Tidings,
Serena da Riva