[Sca-cooks] Virtual Cooking Contest

[Joyce]

ok, here's my entry. I decided that I would make a 'feast of warriors' 
starting with the ones you mentioned in your email. My shoebox contains:
vinegar, almonds, parsley, sugar, grated parmesan, cinnamon, oil, butter, 
cognac, wheat flour
The first course to honor King Arthur.
         IUS CUM OVIS HAPALIS: Boiled Eggs in Pine Nut Sauce [Apicius, Book 
VII, Chapter XIX, Recipe 3]
         Venison Sausage
         POLENTUM
The second course to honor San Fernando, originator of Spain
         MERLUZA QUE ES PESCADA CECIAL - dried fish, reconstituted, fried 
and served with a sweet and sour sauce.
         POTAJE DE CEBOLLAS QUE DICEN CEBOLLADA - onions, almond milk, 
cheese, broth, sugar, cinnamon
         ROAST CHICKEN
         ESPINACAS PICADAS - chopped spinach, cooked with mint and parsley
The third course will honor Joan of Arc. Because she was of peasant stock, 
and often fasting, this is a simple course that she would be comfortable with.
         PEAS POTTAGE
         CABBAGE SOUP
         FRESH FRUITS
The dessert course is in honor of the Civil War dead:
         RAMROD BISCUITS WITH BUTTER AND PEACH PRESERVES
and finally, after dinner - to honor my father, who fought in the Battle of 
the Bulge in World War II - a glass of cognac - Vive l'Americain

If I could have white wine instead of red wine, I'd use it in the boiled 
egg sauce. Otherwise I'd serve it with the chicken in the second course. 
Due to space constraints in my shoebox I'm substituting almonds and fruit 
juice (from some of the fresh fruit) for the Pine Nut Sauce.
I didn't look up a polentum recipe, but it's just porridge - spelt, water & 
salt. I'd serve it in bowls with the venison sausage sliced on top.
(I picked these recipes using the theory that King Arthur was a Romano Brit 
- hence the roman recipes. I used the venison in this course due to all the 
imagery of harts in Le Morte d'Arthur)

The recipes for the second course are all from
An English translation of Ruperto de Nola's "Libre del Coch" by Lady 
Brighid ni Chiarain. I looked up all these recipes in the Florilegium. I 
didn't include them here to save space.
I skipped all the bacon and such in the spinach recipe, and just using the 
parsley and mint, as mentioned in the last line of the chopped spinach recipe.
I also skipped the bacon and mutton broth for the almond milk, and 
substituting chicken broth in the onion recipe.
I roasted the chicken, reserving the head and feet and innards for the soup 
pot to make my broth

I didn't include recipes for the cabbage soup or peas pottage, but they're 
everywhere. I'm also serving the fruit raw, instead of cooked - not 
something that was usually done, but hey, it's a peasant course.

The ramrod biscuits are made from wheat flour, water and butter. The peach 
preserves are made using the peaches that weren't served in the third course.

I would have used the flat beer, but the cooks assistant drank it.
--
Gianetta