[Sca-cooks] al-Barran Midwinter is done!

[Stefan li Rous]

Cailte replied to me with:
> On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 00:09:32 -0600
>    Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com> wrote:
> > Cailte described the recent feast she ran:
> egg 'salad' (ugly peeling
> >> necessitated the morphing of stuffed eggs)
> > Interesting recovery, even if egg salad isn't period. Or
> > is it? Anyone have any recipes or evidence for a period
> > egg salad? Was your problem with the eggs peeling them?
>
> those eggs probably came out of the chickens the morning
> before.
Uh. oh. Yes, that pretty much explains the problem. I hope you 
explained to the peeling crew, or will, that they were not the cause of 
this problem.
> got them from the local egg farm where you can
> get 30 small eggs for $1.00.  and i got 360 of them.
Yes, that sounds like a wonderful price. Hmmm. How do you hard boil 
that many eggs? Or at least how do you time them? Some of the 
recommendations I've seen talk about starting from room temperature 
water but coming up to boiling on a lot of batches could be time 
consuming. But putting them into and getting them out of boiling water 
in batches so that all the eggs in a batch have the same time seems a 
problem also. How long does it take to *peel* 360 eggs? Although I 
guess you get faster by the end of that.
> we
> just kind of took the eggs farced ingredients and mooshed
> (technical term) them all together and made a pretty ring
> of gold around the pate (chopped livah)  it was
> sooooooooooo cute...   one of my crew and three young
> ladies (8 to 14 yrs) were in a corner, peeling eggs and
> singing christmas carols. 8)
  So, what did you do with all the hard boiled whites?
> > How does this oatmeal pudding vary from oatmeal (eaten
> > as breakfast) in texture?
>
> perhaps a bit more firm, and a lot more buttery.
Okay, this makes sense. And makes it less like a big brick.
> > Do you have evidence of thyme being used to make a broth
> > in period? As a broth to be eaten as just that? How
> > "rich" was it in any tests you made (since you didn't end
> > up making it for the feast)?
>
> vegetable broth with lots of thyme in it.  very light.
Okay, it wasn't just thyme in the broth, but a vegetable broth seasoned 
with thyme.
>   nice digestif.  in period?  i don't know.  but it
> certainly can clear the palate.  after all the extra beef
> stew sent out, i didn't think they cared too much about
> 'light'. ;)
>
> >> site janitorial staff, bartenders and security (makes
> >
> > Ouch. Having to pay for staff like that seems like it
> > would really run up your hall costs. Did this mean folks
> > couldn't bring in their own alcoholic beverages for
> > instance?
>
> you got it.   cash bar, security, paid for parking.
>   certainly does run it up!  you drink your own, you are
> asked to leave.
Except for the extra cost I guess that that isn't too different from 
using a "dry" site, although I'm not real fond of that either unless 
there are other advantages to the site which out weigh that.
>
> >> now on to the 'baronial green chili stew' at estrella!
> > Not period, but it still sounds interesting. Recipe?
>
> it's tradition.  everyone makes their green chili stew
> differently, and i find it interesting that the kiddo from
> baltimore is doing the new mexican food this year. ;)
Olwen has moved to New Mexico? :-)
> just a beef or pork or chicken soup/stew with green chili.
>   my favorite is with ground beef, onion, garlic, taters
> precious, and of course green chili.  a little bay leaf,
> salt, pepper and oregano.   (proportions?  we done need no
> steenking proportions!) some people put pinto beans in it,
> others corn.   some top it with grated cheese.
Corn and pinto beans? No, thank you. I guess I can wing it from that. 
Although proportions are always nice to start from. Me, follow a recipe 
exactly? Not usually. No broth needed? What are "tators precious"? Just 
sliced or cubed white potatoes? I assume that a mild pepper might be 
preferred. Do you need to roast the peppers first? Hatch chilis might 
be nice, but they aren't available fresh around here but for a few 
weeks.

Hmmm. Sounds like a good Yule dish... :-)

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
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