[Sca-cooks] Twelfth Night Gifts

[LordGrise at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/24/05 10:34:56 A.M. Central Daylight Time,  
gordonse at one.net writes:

With the  weather becoming a bit cooler, I've started  thinking more about 
upcoming  holiday events? What are some of your favorite gifts to give (or 
receive) for  Twelfth Night that are food or broadly food related?  What's on your  
holiday wish list or dream holiday wish list :-)?

Foods that keep  well?
Foods that are best eaten soon?
Medieval versions of gifts in a  jar?
Specialty ingredients?
Promisories for special meals?
What would  your ideal meal for 8 consist of?
What sort of beverages would round out  your meals?

How about dishes or cooking tools or outdoor cooking  apparatus? Dream camp 
kitchens? Modern tools to help with large feasts? Tools  for food art? Table 
decor? Baskets? Picnic baskets or chests? Spiffy folding  tables and chairs?

Personal and table linens? Ideal garb for cooking?  Garb you'd most like to 
dine in (and what meal would it go well with  it?)?

Herbs and Spices or mixtures? Herbal plants? Herbal preparations?  Soaps? 
Heirloom trees, shrubs or seeds? Period growing containers? Garden  tools?

Books of recipes or food history? Translations you'd like to see  done?  Herb 
books? Medical nutrition or herbal medicine books?   Brewing or other 
stillroom arts? Garden books?  Collections of food  art?


<<snip>>
 
What I would like, mostly, is preserved foods - esp oddball cheeses  (no 
fungus, please!) and pickled stuff that you don't find  everywhere.  A buddy of 
mine one year made me up a gallon  jar of pickled carrots and small onions - 
thoughtfully loaded in with a center  core of  jalapenos and a single habanero.  
He told me to  hang onto it for at least three months before opening.  I put 
it  up on the top shelf of the pantry (at the back, of course)  and found  it 
the next Christmas - so I had ready-made Texas-hhhhot munchies for my  
christmas party that year...  
 
Drink-wise...  I have this thing for single malt scotches?  I  want to try 
them all.  _Not_ at the same time.  Of course, I  happen to like Laphroaig, so 
I've been told I ought to be  perfectly happy with a bottle of Pine-Sol...  
 
The ideal meal for eight...  ::grin::  My family was a bit  non-traditional, 
at least for the US;  we usually had beef for  Christmas dinner, because my 
Dad liked beef roasts.  My Lady and Wife, all  praises to her, goes along with 
me on this because we go with her family  traditions at Thanksgiving (Turkey, 
sweet potatoes, cranberry  dressing...).  Thanks to Food Network and a 
gentleman name of Alton  Brown, I have a favorite cut for large gatherings...  the 
standing rib  roast.  The heck with a twenty pound turkey;  I want twenty pounds 
of  this.  With potatoes and rutabagas done round the meat.  And winter  mix.  
With a really nice herbed bechamel sauce.  And Homemade  Bread from Scratch.  
With butter and cheese.  Eat until you just  can't;  there'll be plenty - as 
in plenty-  for later.   Dessert?  Non-traditional, again, but definitely 
practical -  Tiramisu.  with ice cream.  As for beverages...?  I don't care  for 
red wines in general;  me and tannins don't get along so well.   Last year we 
had a really good liebfraumilch (I hope I spelled  that right) and it went 
excellently with the main meal;  not  overpowered at all.  I don't recall the 
label.  With dessert we  had mead and coffee.  Don't laugh;  it's what we had, and 
 everybody went home fat and happy...
 
Book-wise, I'm a total noob when it comes to SCA cookery, so mostly I'm  
working on the reference library.  I want A Gode Book of  Cookerie , my own copy 
of Chiquarts, Take A Thousand Eggs or  More, and just a few others...  
Something I would like to see, and  will probably work towards if it isn't out there 
already, is a directory of  period vegetables, by decade and by area.  What is 
period here is  a novelty there, and is definitely, definitely not period over 
there.  Of  course, I need to build up the library first...  
 
In service,
 
Grise