[Sca-cooks] Pictures from my Illusion Feast

[Robert Downie]

Elaine Koogler wrote:

> The pictures are great.  It's obvious you did a lot of work on this
> one.  I was particularly impressed with the butter roses...and loved the
> whimsey of the peacock's tail!
>
> Kiri
>

I'd been planning this feast for months, and reworked various ideas about 5
times before settling on the final incarnation.

Part of my rational for doing the roses that way was for identifications sake
(it gets dark in feast halls!).  I piped the rosewater and sugar flavored
butter into roses (tinted a light pink) and molded the spice flavored butter
into walnuts.  If you have cake decorating experience, it's not too difficult
to do.  As the butter in the piping bag starts to soften up from the heat of
your hands, you need to pop it into the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes.  I doubt
this method was used in period (not to mention period roses were different
from the huge ones we're used to now), but the concept just seemed so right
for  a love feast!

As for executing the peacock tails, one word: canape cutters - gee, I guess
that's 2 words?  It also goes fairly quickly if you do it assembly line
style.  The only thing I'd change about the tails: I'd cut the celery sooner
and put in cold water to give the cuts a chance to curl properly

Faerisa