[Sca-cooks] A small feast (long)
Lonnie D. Harvel
ldh at ece.gatech.edu
Tue Nov 2 05:58:15 PST 2004
Greetings,
David Friedman (actually Elizabeth) wrote:
> Feasts aren't very common out here....
How fascinating! Small dinners (in reference to courses) are not common
here in Meridies, from my experience, but I have only recently resumed
attending events regularly. I did a Damascus feast many years ago for
about 60 folks, but even that had a larger number of dishes. (The lamb
with leek cakes was the big hit.) I think it would be wonderful to
prepare a meal like the one described in the note by Elizabeth; being
able to focus on several dishes instead of dozens. That was one reason
for doing the Traveler's Fare at our upcoming event, but the budgets for
these meals is always low. An idea to explore... (We do have "pot luck"
dinners where everyone brings a dish. This is common at one day events
or evening events.)
Given the large number of dishes normally served at a Meridian feast,
there is always too much food. A goodly number of folks come prepared
with their own containers to take the leftovers away the following day.
As for the torta with excess grease, it could indeed have been the
cheese quality. I have also found that if I slow down the cooking of any
tart with cheese (or significant butter) in it, that some grease will
rise. I am not a biochemist, but I believe it has to do with the
separation that occurs with the longer cooking time. Since putting more
tarts into an oven can increase the cooking time (at the same
temperature), it is something to look out for. I have had some success
in starting my oven about 50 degrees above the cooking temperature, and
cutting it back to the correct temperature after loading. This seems to
keep the cooking time the same as a single tart. (Of course, I have also
burnt a few tart shells this way, when dealing with an uneven oven.)
Aoghann
More information about the Sca-cooks
mailing list