[Sca-cooks] Italian Feast & review commentary

[caointiarn]

Last Night was Twelfth Night in Bronzehelm {Billings MT}and  I was the Head
Cook.  As my kitchen help summarized:  "(I) kicked Butt!"   I think
everything went well,  we fed about 60(ish) people, I was expecting 80-ish.
However, the bad roads & weather kept many from other areas from attending.
{Our groups are very spread out  -- the closest branch is 2.5 hours away at
75 mph}

     I used as references:  Sully's  _The Neapolitan Recipe Collection_,
Santich's  _The Original Mediterranean Cuisine_,  and Redon's _ The Medieval
Kitchen_.    I did use _Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian_  for the semolina
Gnocchi recipe & Focaccia, and  _The Renaissance  of Italian Cooking_ by
Lorenza De`Medici and Giuliano Bugialli's _Classic Techniques of Italian
Cooking_ for tips & to get a feel for the recipes I was using from the
historical sources.

The Menu:
Antipasti:  Roasted Garlic, Gorgonzola spread,  Pate`, olives and dilled
asparagus, oil & balsamic vinegar

Primi:  Pork Pie,  Siennese Almond tart, {butternut} Squash Soup, Focaccia

Pesce:  (Fish) Escabeche, chickpeas, Spinach with garlic,  almond junket
cheese

Carne:  Chicken with Pomegranate Sauce, Gnocchi, Grilled Porobello
Mushrooms,

Dolce:  Whole Pear Pie and almond cookies (with whipped cream coz I had
"leftover" heavy cream}

a nice Tuscany Bean soup for a luncheon repast for early arrivals

    Surprisingly, not a lot of leftovers  -- maybe if I had the 80+ turnout,
I may have had to make something more/stretch,  or that which was leftover
would have been consumed.    MUCH leftovers of the soup, chickpeas, fish,
gorgonzola,  and pear pie.   The soup was very cheap because the squash was
given to me  -- all I had to pay for was the cream & a couple onions.  The
chickpeas was my own fault because I just dumped all I had into the pot, and
didn't think about "servings"  {I had bought enough for 80 - 100 people}.
Moreover, I hadn't tended to it/made sure they were properly seasoned   -- 
they were very bland.    Same with the fish,  I should have stopped &
considered the serving & poundage before preparing it.  Those that
ate/tasted the fish said it was "awesome."   Had I done this, both would
have had less cooked, and "groceries" to save instead of "leftovers."   The
leftover pear pie was more because most people were too full to eat more.  I
had planned a half pear per person, and had made "dumpling" whole pear pies,
so people  *could* have taken them to good homes for later consuming . . . .
.

    I was surprised the Pate was eaten {not being a chicken liver fan,  but
I thought it would "fancy up" the antipasti course}  For that I just used
the recipe out of _Joy of Cooking_ having never made it before.   The
Gorgonzola was stretched by adding it to an equal amount of cream cheese,
making it spreadable & not to pungent. The asparagus & olives was just
opening a jar.  And yet someone came up after & RAVED about the asparagus.
I showed him the jar.  He still thought I was a cooking genius.

    I baked the bread beforehand (16 loaves) & Focaccia that morning.  The
Focaccia was wonderful!  I was surprised,  because what I had done for the
tasting party sure wasn't as nice.   Maybe it was making all those batches
together . . . .having a really warm place  {professional kitchen}for the
bread to rise . . . . I dunno.  It was wonderful .

    Having experimented with brining, I knew that was the way to go for the
chickens.  I had cleaned & taken out the backbones {for stock} and placed
them in brine overnight.  They stayed so very moist and flavorful,
especially since I had overestimated the time for cooking them & they wound
up sitting in the ovens on warm for almost an hour.

    This was my biggest bottleneck, because I planned the fish & vegs wrong.
I roasted the chickens, and then thought the Gnocchi, then the fish while
sautéing the spinach, then broil the Portabellos.   Too many last minute
dishes.   Or not enough oven space.  I was "too early" with the chickens,
had to bake the pears, and didn't dare bake the fish until the first course
went out, and the gnocchi I wanted to stay in squares & not "glop" together.
So, things had to wait, and I was panicking.  The solution made for a better
feast presentation, because  *instead* of serving the pears with the fish as
originally planned, I dished out the almond junket.  That gave me time to
"discover" the leftover cream to whip, and place into bowls and have a nicer
dessert presentation of pear dumplings, cookies around a bowl of whipped
cream.

    One last thing.  After asking about my gnocchi experiment/glop  that
went awry, it was that I had not let the pasta have time enough to dry & set
up.   Yesterday the batches were made early in the day, left on a stainless
steel counter & dried nicely to stay in the little squares.  Nice buttery
cream sauce with sharp cheese . . . .Very yummy.

Gosh that was fun!  What to plan next?
Caointiarn, Kitchen Wench  Legend