[Sca-cooks] tarts vs. pies, a bit of help

[Barbara Benson]

>>Ok, I was hoping for the small ones.  Now, the fun
> >part, how do you make them look nice for say 80-120
> >and still keep what little bit of sanity you have?  Is
> >it too inappropriate and OOP to use the little tart
> >tins-kind of what potpies come out of only shorter. 

> Anahita> > Why make hors d'oeuvre tarts? They wouldn't have done so in SCA-period.

> Cealian Of Moray> On what per chance Anahita do you base that opinion ?  I have never found a size restriction  so I am curious.   Honestly I am simply trying to learn .

Greetings,

I have never seen a recipe call for making tiny tarts, but I have read
numerous instructions to make a pie "whatever size you will". Because
of this, I have never had a difficulty justifying small tarts to
myself. I see no reason why a period cook might not have decided to do
small tarts. As we have discussed, it is much less time consuming to
make one big, or several good sized pies/tarts than it is to make many
small ones. I believe that presenting dozens and dozens of teeny pies
would be an exercise in conspicuous consumption in that you have the
labor and the ability to produce something like that.

So, I have presented small pies, but not along the lines of appetizer
sized. A suggestion to the good gentle that started this conversation.
When I make many small tarts I use standard muffin tins. You can make
a dozen or so per pan and they have high straight sides. They are also
a very non-modern size in visual appearance in contrast to both the
standard 9" size and the standard mini-quiche size.

Another option that I have been taught to use is the half sheet pan
version. In the same spirit of making something "whatever size you
will". I have made large flat pies that are then divided up and served
in individual pieces. This works best with a filling that has some
bulk and holds together on it's own, and needs some finagling for a
covered version.

I had planned to do that at my most recent feast, but when I got there
I was luck enough to find that they had some very strange sheet pans
that were long but narrow. I used those and was able to achieve some
very interesting shapes.

I hope that this may be of some use.
Glad Tidings,
--Serena da Riva