[Sca-cooks] Pinch-hitting (was pasties)

[Lonnie D. Harvel]

mollirose at bellsouth.net wrote:

>Serena is awesome, I understand she stepped up at an event this weekend?
>  
>
Indeed she is, and indeed she did. Serena had to pinch-hit for me this 
past weekend at Danelaw. On Friday, while trying to finish the shopping, 
my back went out. (Lifted too many 40lb bags of donated bread.) I spent 
the weekend laid out in state. From all accounts, she delivered a 
magnificent meal to the tables and handled the kitchen as if nothing 
unusual had transpired.

She was able to work with 14 period recipes that were new to her, sort 
out the pile of ingredients, identify mistakes in my calculations, adapt 
to ingredients magically disappearing, ovens that kept increasing in 
temperature, a grill that dumped rust from the lid all over the chicken, 
all dropped in her lap with less than 24 hours before serving time. This 
she did not only well, but with grace and humor.

In a moment that could have been a disaster, she exhibited a mastery of 
medieval cookery and the wherewithal to manage both the kitchen and the 
situation. I am grateful for both her skill and her willingness to serve.

Cheers!
Aoghann
(btw: I passed my doctoral defense yesterday. I was able to stand 
through my presentation, but had to sit for the rest of it. I am mobile 
now, but moving slow.  I hate growing old, but it beats the alternative.)