[Sca-cooks] Re: Flaming Subtleties (was Piecrust revisited, was, Books for Cooks)

[Robert Downie]

I don't have many references to hand, but here are the ones I was able 
to grab right now (this includes May's gunpowder ships too)
Faerisa

.For a lofty entremet, that is a castle (De Fait de Cuisine 1420)
... And in the lower court will be at the foot of each tower: in one of 
the towers, a boar's head armed and endored spitting fire; elsewhere a 
great pike, and this pike is cooked in three ways: the part of the pike 
toward the tail is fried, the middle part is boiled, and the head part 
is roasted on the grill; and the said pike is sitting at the foot of the 
other tower looking out from the beast spitting fire... At the foot of 
the other tower an endored piglet looking out and spitting fire; and at 
the foot of the other tower a swan which has been skinned and reclothed, 
also spitting fire...

206. Lighter subtleties. (Le Viandier de Taillevent)
Make terraces of brown bread, with a damsel sitting on the terrace, and 
with the terrace covered with green tin leaf strewn with herbs in a 
likeness of green grass. You need a lion who has his 2 forefeet and head 
in the damsel's lap. For him you can make a brass mouth and a thin brass 
tongue, with paper teeth glued to the mouth. Add some camphor and a 
little cotton, and when you would like to present it before the lords, 
touch the fire to it.  If you wish to make the likeness of a wolf, bear, 
striped donkey [zebra], serpent or some other beast, tame or wild, make 
counterparts to the lion, each one in its own manner.

Redressed Peacocks which  Seem Living; and How to Make them Breathe Fire 
through their Mouth - from Cuoco Napoletano
...And to make it breathe fire through its mouth, get a little camphor 
with a little fine cotton-wool around it and put this into the peacock's 
beak and soak it with a little aqauvita or else with a little fumey old 
wine that is volatile; when you want to serve it, set fire to the 
cotton-wool: in this way it will breathe fire for a long time. To make 
it more magnificent you can cover the peacock with gold leaf and then 
cover it with its skin. The same can be done with pheasants, cranes, 
geese and other birds...

The Accomplisht Cook Robert May 1660
Triumphs and Trophies in Cookery, to be used at Festival Times, as in 
Twelfth-Day, &c.
Make the likeness of a ship in paste board, with Flags and Streamers, 
the Guns belonging to it Kickses binde them about with packthread, and 
cover them with coarse paste proportionable to the fashion of a Cannon 
with Carriages, lay them in places convenient, as you see them in Ships 
of War; with such holes and trains of Powder that they may all take 
fire; Place your ship firm in a great Charger; then make a salt round 
about it, and stick therein egg-shells full of sweet water; you may by a 
great Pin take out all the meat of the Egg by blowing, then fill it with 
rose-water.  Then in another charger have the proportion of a Stag made 
of course paste, with a broad arrow in the side of him, and his body 
filled up with claret wine.  In another Charger at the end of the Stag 
have the proportions of a Castle  with Battlements, Percullises, Gates, 
and Draw-bridges made of Paste-board, the Guns of Kickses, and covered 
with coarse paste as the former; place it at a distance from the Ship to 
fire at each other.  The Stag being plac't betwixt them with the 
egg-shells full of sweet water (as before) placed in salt.  At each side 
of the Charger wherein is the Stag, place a Pie made of course Paste, in 
which let there be some live Frogs, in the other live Birds; make these 
Pies of course paste filled with bran, and yellowed over with Saffron or 
Yolks of Eggs, gild them over in spots, as also the Stag, the Ship and 
Castle; bake them, and place them with gilt bay-leaves on the turrets 
and tunnels of the Castle and Pies; being baked, make a hole in the 
bottom of your pies, take out the bran, put in your Frogs and Birds, and 
close up the holes with the same course paste; then cut the Lids neatly 
up, to be taken off by the Tunnels (pastry funnels to let steam out and 
to use as handles): being all placed in order upon the Table, before you 
fire the trains of powder, order it that some of the Ladies may be 
perswaded to pluck the Arrow out of the Stag, then will the Claret wine 
follow as blood runing out of a wound.  This being done with admiration 
to the beholders, after some short pawse, fire the train of the Castle, 
that all the pieces all of one side may go off; then fire the trains of 
the Ship as in a battle; next turn the Chargers, and by degrees fire the 
trains of each other side as before.  This done, to sweeten the stink of 
the powder, let the Ladies take the egg shells full of sweet waters, and 
throw them at each other.  All dangers being seemingly over, by this 
time you will suppose  they will desire to see what is in the Pies; 
where lifting first the lid off one pie, out skips some Frogs, which 
makes the Ladies to skip and shreek; next after another Pie, whence 
comes out the Birds; who by a natural instinct flying at the light, will 
put out the Candles; so that what with the flying Birds, and skipping 
Frogs, the one above, the other beneath, will cause muchdelight and 
pleasure to the whole company: at length the Candles are lighted, and a 
banquet brough in, the musick sounds, and every one with much delightand 
content rehearses their actions in the former passages..  these were 
formerly the delights of the Nobility, before good Housekeeping had left 
England, and the Sword really acted that which was only counterfeited in 
such honest and laudable Exercises such as these.