[Sca-cooks] Holiday Meal with Medieval Dishes

[Bill Fisher]

On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 17:23:05 -0800, lilinah at earthlink.net
<lilinah at earthlink.net> wrote:
> OK, so i'm planning to make Thanksgiving dinner in 2006.

Nothin like forethought and planning ahead :-p

> Our Standard Thanksgiving Menu is more or less:
> 
> -- Green Salad (real lettuce - although my now-dead Dad preferred a
> wedge of iceberg)
> -- Vinaigrette Dressing for everyone except for my mother who prefers
> chemically-thickened, corn-syrup-sweetened Kraft brand salad dressings

In this case, add some honey to the vinaigrette.   It will thicken the dressing 
somewhat  and bring it more into a balance she may like.  Some people find
oil and vinegar + herbs to be too acidic.  Even a little prepared mustard  along
with the honey can pull the whole thing together,

> -- Turkey
> -- Stuffing (usually herbed cubes from a bag, mixed with sauteed
> onion and celery)
> -- Gravy - really pan juices - we don't thicken with any kind of
> starch or cream
> 
> -- Cranberry Sauce - usually from a can - made some a few years ago,
> but my mother complained that it wasn't sweet enough.
> -- One or two Green Vegetables - broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green
> beans, asparagus, etc.
> [could sub in here one green and one other vegetable]
> -- Sweet Potatoes - usually canned candied mashed and topped with
> marshmallows, which only my mother likes, and she will heap just the
> marshmallow topping on the boys' plates, especially after my brother
> says they've eaten enough sugar and are getting hyper.
> [i don't know how "wedded" the family, other than my mother, is to
> sweet potatoes, so regular potatoes or rice or something could be
> substituted in here]
> 
> -- (Dinner Rolls) (in parens because no one actually eats them, as
> there's plenty of other food)
> 
> -- Pumpkin Pie
> -- Spray-on whipped cream (NOT cool whip! I think it's called
> Redi-Whip, which my mother likes because she can abet the boys
> playing with it)
> -- Real whipped cream for me and my daughter
> 
> --------------
> 
> The three generations of the two families involved are all pretty
> sophisticated, grew up well-to-do, and have experienced eating in
> expensive restaurants. While they are not all necessarily extremely
> experimental, their palates are moderately educated.
> 
> Then we get to individual issues.
> 
> My mother says she has lost all sense of smell and all sense of taste
> except for sweet.

Ok, that is not that uncommon.  My mother has lost a degree of hers as
well, so I shifted gears and went with aeromatics.  that have a sweeter
edge to them and fiery foods.  I'm not saying set her mouth on fire, but
a good shot of black pepper or horseradish and brown mustard in a dressing
can open a person's pallate for other flavors.  It could also be a sign of 
insulin imbalance and impending diabetes and other cardiac problems.
(which was what my Mom's was caused by) 

> My brother has told me that food doesn't really taste very good to
> him and he doesn't understand why people like to eat.

Heh, it is that thing we do so we do not die.  Might as well not die in style.
See if he has any sense of smell.  I'd say 90% of the flavor of food comes 
from its scent.  

Also from personal experience, when I was a smoker, half the food I ate
tasted like ash and mud.  I quit smoking and after a few months I could 
do things like smell and taste.  Also people on certain medications for 
sinues or metabolic problems can have their senses mucked up.

> My sister-in-law is starving herself so she can stay thin and often
> just pushes her food around her plate. She did eat a nearly whole
> piece of pumpkin pie because she thought i was giving her half a
> piece.

I have a neice that does that.  She now bugs people at family gatherings
to find out what she can eat a lot of and what she should eat a little of to
not increase in size.  Also, bear in mind that some poeple just do not
eat or need a lot of food and it may be alien to her to sit down for an 
immense meal.  I know it is for my one brother-in-law's family.  My 
neice eats like 6 times a day in different amounts, and is quite fit
(gives her Mom jealous fits sometimes too) but doesn't eat a lot in one
sitting but eats over a thousand calories a day.

Also if there is a lot of sweetened foods, and she doesn't eat sweets,
that would cause a lot of food pushin as well.   That can also be translated
as "I don't like the food, but I want to appear to be interested in it so my 
host isn't insulted."

> They have two kids who will be almost 15 and almost 13 in 2006. They
> eat like kids, i.e., not much and only certain foods, but are not
> insanely "picky". They have not been raised eating fast food.

I am still in that stage, no sweet potatos for me thanks!  My mom 
claims I liked them as a baby.  My commentary on the matter was
that I was tied to a high chair and fed from a spoon...of course I ate 
it.

> My bro's mother-in-law is a modest eater, usually avoiding a lot of
> fats, but has an sophisticated palate and seems to enjoy experimental
> foods.

Sounds like a good audience.

> I will eat almost anything, as long as it is well prepared and of
> quality ingredients. I am an experimental eater and i like to imagine
> i have a sophisticated and discerning palate.

I will eat anything once, unless it is alive.  Then I will kill it and eat it.

> My daughter is a vegetarian (NOT vegan) and has a sophisticated
> palate and is a good cook. She is an experimental eater, although
> eschewing animal flesh (this includes critters from the waters too).

This is not a bad thing, I know many vegitarians who have very rich 
and healthy diets that don't include things like to-furkey and  mock
foods.

> Sometimes there are other guests. I won't worry about them. They get
> what there is... unless they have life threatening food issues.

I remember that someone once tried to serve me something with pine
resin in it.  Not sure what it was.  They were rather offended even after
I told them it would probably make me violently ill.

> ---------------
> 
> I would like to serve a *good* dinner. I'm tired of the same old
> bland crap. The only ones who might complain are the boys, and who
> knows, they could be more interested in food in two years, although
> if the boys complain my mother will complain - she thinks they will
> love her if she sides with them and feeds them sugar. However, they
> aren't real complainers. David hardly eats anything anyway. He's
> quite small for his age while his younger brother is quite big for
> his age (and yes, my bro and sis-in-law taken them both to doctors).

Yeah, we had that syndrome in my family for a while.  We had a big
push away from that when my generation put our hands into the cooking
pots.  

If I am home I usually cook the turkey, and stuffing.  I stuff 
garlic,taragon and rosemary under the skin, and yes I do stuff the cavity 
of the bird with my fruit and bread for stuffing.  But that does get cooked 
again later, and I make sure the bird reaches the right temps.

I switched up sugar for herbs.  I still don't eat the sweet potatos without
the marshmallows.

> So while i was downloading "holiday" recipes from the web, it just
> dawned on me that i could work in some Medieval and Renaissance
> recipes! Doh!

Heh, I just add them to my list of recipes and methods of cooking.  I
don't file them in a special category.  I have served turnips and cheese
to my family more than once. (I add onions sometimes too, the heretic
that I am)

> We *have to have* turkey and pumpkin pie. I suspect almost everything
> else is negotiable, although i really like cranberries, so i'd like
> to keep them. And i'd like to make another dessert for those among us
> who are willing to experiment.

I'd say keep the turkey as traditional as possible, leave that as the
cornerstone.
Make a nice sweet cranberry relish or chutney,  and a punkin pie.  
(regional coal-cracker spelling) 

You could try a savory pie, like a green tart, made from spinach,
ground up hard boiled eggs and cheeses.  I mix in a good amount
of basil, parsley and cilantro in mine.  It is a thin tart and very smooth.

Armored <insert favorite root vegetable here> would probably go over well
but that would break the fat rules you put in.  

I would say you can add some spicier foods with the knowledge that you
can make it noticable without causing flames at both ends of your eaters.

I make baked oysters as a dish this season (oysters, crackers, whole milk,
butter, red pepper, black pepper, salt baked at 400 till done).

Another things you can try is a parsnip cake.  They come out real nice.

> Oh, yeah, i'm in California, where we can get darn near anything...

So you have a whole world of greens and veggies to play with before next
year. :-p

> Anahita
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Cadoc
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