[Sca-cooks] Seige Cooking Competition at Grand Outlandish

[Kathleen A Roberts]

entrants were given

meat:
a whole chicken, 4 inch square of salt pork

veg:
3 onions, 3 carrots, 1 c. dried peas, one half head red 
cabbage, 3 to 4 button mushrooms and half of a portabello 
mushroom

fruit:
1 handful dried apple slices, 2 tspt.dried cherries, 
raisins (2 tbsp. gold and half cup black), 6 dates, 2 
tbsp. almonds, and half of a round watermelon

dry goods
1 cone sugar, half loaf bread, 1 stick butter, 2 eggs, 2 
cups oatmeal, 4 tbsp. yogurt, 1 bulb garlic, 2 tbsp. each 
salt and pepper, 1 tbsp. whole cloves, rosemary, marjoram, 
fennel seed, and coriander seed, 3 bay leaves, 2 cinnamon 
sticks.

They could bring any and as much liquid as they wished.

they could not supplement from their camp kit, but they 
could trade amongst each other.  however, extra points 
were given for using all of the items.

the amount of food some of these people made was 
incredible. the originality was stupendous. the four top 
people were seperated by one or two points.

the tender green thing was replaced by the red cabbage.  i 
didn't think the spinach could take three days in the 
cooler.

memorable moments: spiced rum butter on toast, watermelon 
beverage, three (!) presentations of chicken on one plate 
(kabob, pan roasted and sauted), bread pudding with dried 
fruit mounded on top, watermelon stuffed under the skin of 
a roasted chicken, merigue snow on an oatmeal/fruit 
pudding mountain, yogurt/watermelon cold soup, not getting 
8 boozy watermelon halves back, not getting 8 bowls of 
split pea soup. ;)

best soundbites: "i did make some flatbread for the dish, 
but you see, there are small children in our camp, 
and...." (knowing yet embarrased smile); "oh honey, i 
could have just gnawed on that cone sugar all afternoon, 
but i had to restrain myself!"

i thought i was going to be murder-ized for the dried 
peas, watermelon and salt pork, but everyone seemed pretty 
happy.  most were stymied by the red cabbage.  got a lot 
of lightly pickled cabbage salad.

one gent made a watermelon salad very close to the one 
listed here on the list from Apecius.  he had no idea it 
was period in style.

that was fun!   grand and outlandish time had by all!

cailte
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy which 
sustained him through temporary periods of joy."
W. B. Yeats
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Kathleen Roberts
University of New Mexico
Office of Freshman Admissions
Administrative Asst. III
505-277-6249