[Sca-cooks] New novel with medieval cook as lead character

[Sharon Gordon]

Sir Axel and Sir Greeve taste Julia's food for the first time:

"On the table between them sat a golden pie. Yellow golden. [...] In the
vapors wafting through their heads came the unmistakkable scents of
saffron...and pork...and apples and plums...and cinnamon...and a peppery
five-spice.  Their mouths watered.  The stared in amazement at each other
for a moment, then dove into that beautiful, flaky, golden crust."
[...as the knights continued eating...]]The abbess and old sisters watched
in growing concern as the men closed their eyes and turned their faces
Heavenward.  From low in their throats came guttural, animal sounds that
caused one of the sisters to cross herself.
[...] The second mouthful softened the groans and gave them a rising and
falling vibrato that was almost melodious.   the third bite turned the
musical groans to sighs, and by  the fourth the sighs had become helpless
whimpers."

She serves hedgehogs for a feast finale.

Other things she makes include:
Herbed Chard and Cheese Pie
Frumenty
Whole Pear Tart
Leek and Mushroom Torte
Meats in Aspic
Poree of Greens
Cherry Almond Pudding
Parsley-studded Lamb with Pink Garlic Sauce
Sweet and Savory King's Fritters
and dozens more.

"But I think [Julia] may really be a cook," Sophie said to Sir Martin as she
trotted to keep up with him across the bustling side yard of Verdun's great
redoubt.  "She talks about food constantly and can recite recipes until she
puts you to sleep."

Julia participates in a tart contest with another cook with cherry custard
tart as her offering.

"The  next course--it being a fast day-- was fish in cases of dough.  Each
packet of dough was cut in the shape of a fish and pinched together around a
trout such that a fin stuck out of the top.  When she broke open the first
of the hard pastry shells, there was a tender succulent trout on a bed of
savory rice...to which she added Old Mae's Walnut Garlic Sauce."

From
The Marriage Test
by Betina Krahn
2004
isbn 0-425-19645-3

Sharon
gordonse at one.net