[Sca-cooks] Foods for Begining SCA Cooks

[David Friedman]

>
>>  Does anyone have any suggestions for good foods to introduce to newbies?
>>  The
>>  recipes must be able to be made the night before and served room
>>  temperature
>>  or cold.
>
>I've had a good deal of success at demos with meat pasties which are sweet
>rather than savory.

Do you have period recipes for them?

>  There used to be an introductory SCA cook book which
>had a recipe in it for "rabbit stew".

Did it give a period source? SCA publications are sometimes 
historically reliable, sometimes not.

>I adapted that for pastry filling
>using both chicken and beef (I used ground beef, not really period, but at
>the time we were on a strict enough budget for demos I couldn't use cubed or
>shredded... anyhoo...) and baked it in individual "tart" shells, so that
>they were portable individual portions and it worked quite well.  The fact
>that it was sweet and contained spices which were unfamiliar to the
>participants combined with meets gave a sufficient feel of it's being
>"different" to the participants, while it was also familiar enough (no
>really "weird" ingredients) for the participants to be comfortable with it.

The problem is that it isn't clear if you are introducing them to 
period food. You may instead be introducing them to dishes invented 
by a modern cook,  inspired by related dishes which may--or may 
not--be period. There is a serious risk that doing that will end up 
teaching them things about period food that aren't true.

>I've also made "field bread" (a heavy bread with dried fruit) for demos
>which went over well.

Do you have a period recipe for it?

>Stewed fruit can be served cold, and it's simple to make and a good recipe
>for beginners, but it's a bit messier, and requires dishes and implements to
>serve.

Again, are you referring to a specific period recipe for stewed fruit?

Or in other words, you pushed one of my buttons.
-- 
David/Cariadoc
www.daviddfriedman.com