[Sca-cooks] Yule pot luck

[Sue Clemenger]

Hi, Stefan! <maire waves, one-handed, because she's holding a Greatt Purring
Beast with the other>
Answering you all in on big clump, here.
1.  My friends (this bunch, at least) are pretty emphatically not cooks.  As
a group, it's more special for us to go out to a nice restaurant.  And I
don't have the wherewithall to hold a party (for one thing, not allowed in
my rental agreement, but also there really isn't room~it's a *small* place!)
I'm fine with that--just grumpy that I'm apparently a much lower priority to
some of my family than being seen spending copious amounts of money.
2.  Late-period fruity dishes--I was thinking in a general sense of the pies
and dishes that combine fruits and meats and spices.  My caffeine-deprived
brain keeps insisting on thinking of them as Elizabethan and Stuart in
style.  What I want is something tasty and a little unusual, but not
horribly expensive, also something that's not too difficult to transport,
since I'll need to carry it on the bus (I commute).  And not a dessert, as
we always have too many of those, anyway.  My first thought was Coneys in
Syrup (earlier, I know, but something along the same sweet/tart/meat
combination I seem to be craving), but I'd want to do it with bunny, and
haven't been able to find any.  Yes, I know it works okay with chicken,
but.....
3.  Capon Cooked in Mrs. Duffield's Way--I may have the name of the dish
slightly wrong, and I'm pretty sure I don't have the original source (my
cookbook collection is small, and hit-or-miss as far as time periods go),
but it shows up as a main dish in _To The Queen's Taste_.  Hopefully,
someone else on the list will recognize it's name and be able to give you
the name of the soutce that Sass got it from....  It's a dish of chicken
cooked in a sauce made of (I think bitter) orange juice, spices, raisins,
and prunes.  It's really nummy.  Reheats relatively easily.  There may be a
bit of wine in the sauce, but I can warn people about that (we're all over
the age of 21, but there are at least two people who choose not to *drink*
alcohol for religious reasons, so I'll let them know, and leave the actual
decision up to them).
Ah, well, the Great Purring Beast is now demanding that I use *both* hands
to pet him with (and tempting me with tummy fur), so I'll end this missive
with the hope that everyone's keeping warm and safe....
--Maire, anticipating a high today of 10 degrees *above* zero! ;o)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stefan li Rous" <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>
To: "SCA-Cooks maillist SCA-Cooks" <SCA-Cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 12:01 AM
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Yule pot luck


> Maire replied to a question about plans for Yule dinners:
>  >>>
> Christmas? Not a ding-donged thing.
>
> There's a small group of us (all SCA) without much in the way of genetic
> family that have made a nice custom of going to one particular (and
> wonderful) restaurant on Christmas Eve for several years now, but
> unfortunately, the restauranteur has retired and the restaurant has
> closed.
> <<<
>
> So, why not get your friends together and do a Yule pot luck? Or, if
> they aren't cooks, perhaps they could buy the groceries and you could
> cook the meal you are mentioning below? Or some combination of the two.
>
>  >>>
> If I were planning a purely-theoretical Christmas dinner, though, I
> Think I'd do venison with sauces.  And frumenty.  Or one of those
> lovely,
> rich, fruity dishes that show up in late-period cookbooks.
> <<<
>
> Which fruity dishes are these?
>
>  >>>
> (Hmmm....that
> gives me ideas for the work potluck in a couple of weeks....I sense
> the need
> to make Capon Cooked in Mrs Duffield's Way....mmmmmmm)
> <<<
>
> So, what is this "Capon Cooked in Mrs. Duffield's Way"? This is a
> period recipe? The name reminds me of the post-period style of recipe
> names.