[Sca-cooks] Harvest Days - Feast Report

[Daniel Myers]

Howdy,

Now that I'm somewhat recovered from the event, I can post a detailed  
analysis of the feast.

The menu is available online at http://www.medievalcookery.com/menus/ 
hday.shtm

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Prep & pre-cook

The event is a local one, and is traditionally meat-heavy.  I was  
told that there'd be 80 guests plus head table, so I planned  
accordingly.  The feast included a half pound of beef and another  
half pound of chicken per person, along with a couple of starchy  
foods and some vegetables ('cause if there aren't any vegetables,  
then it isn't a meal).

I pre-baked and froze the bread for the feast.  Also, with some help  
from Peregrin the Lost (Fenix barony), the spinach tarts were baked  
and frozen.

I had intended to make sugared almonds flavored with rosewater, but I  
was too pressed for time to run around town looking for whole  
blanched almonds.  Instead I made sugared walnuts and flavored them  
with saffron.

Friday after work I went to Jungle Jims and loaded up two shopping  
carts full of food and supplies.  They had a fantastic sale on brie  
so I picked up three cases ($3.50 for 6 good sized wedges of decent  
brie).  The meat department gave me a decent price on both the  
chicken (boneless, skinless breasts) and beef (sirloin tip roasts).

Interestingly enough, while explaining to the woman at the bakery  
what I was going to do with a dozen loaves of decent bread (for the  
Italian Pudding), she mentioned that her grandmother used to make  
bread pudding with rosewater for some of their relatives (though  
others got vanilla).  This was the first time I'd heard of anyone of  
European descent doing this (us re-enactors aside).


The Event

The kitchen at the event site is small but sufficient, having two  
convection ovens, a four-burner cooktop, a couple of good-sized  
countertops, and an industrial dishwasher.

I had to make a quick stop at the grocery for a handful of items I'd  
missed in my Friday shopping, which delayed my start a bit.  The site  
is a little over an hour away from my home, so I ended up getting  
there at around 10:00 a.m.

Everything got unpacked and organized, and then I set some volunteers  
up to peel and chop vegetables.

I'll add a note here about sharing my brain.  Because of back and hip  
trouble, I haven't slept well for a couple of weeks.  This added to  
the stress of prepping an event had pretty much slowed my mental  
processes to a crawl.  Fortunately I had made up what my kitchen crew  
now refers to as "the brain" - a notebook containing the menu,  
recipes, prep instructions, garnishing notes, and cooking schedules.   
This notebook (along with the hard work both of Peregrin and my  
apprentice, Avelyn) kept things on track.


First Casualty - the Cheese

While cubing the bread for the Italian Pudding, I realized there was  
a problem.  I had intended to make some fresh cheese to serve before  
the first course, but apparently in my addled state during the week  
before, I failed to correctly determine how much milk I'd need to  
buy.  I had enough to make either the cheese or pudding, but not  
both.  Fortune had smiled upon me though in that sale on brie.  The  
plans for fresh cheese were scuttled and no one outside the kitchen  
was any the wiser (until now).

Not having to make the cheese also served to keep things on track, as  
the vegetable prep took substantially longer than I'd expected.


Unused (Unusable) Equipment Caused Delays

I had intended to make the Turnip Pottage in roasters, as it's a much  
easier way to do soups.  Unfortunately the kitchen did not have  
anywhere that the roasters could be plugged in.  This meant that I  
had to use large stock pots on the cooktop.  It worked well enough  
and I managed to keep the soup from burning, but it also used up pots  
that I needed for other recipes - specifically boiling the pasta for  
the Macrouns.  Everything did get done, but it was very tight.


Close Calls

We had three dishes almost go belly up.  A little of the pasta burned  
to the bottom of one of the pots, but not badly enough to make any  
difference.  Slightly worse was the Camaline Sauce which I got  
distracted from at an important point in time.  I transferred it to  
another pot and it was ok.  It had gained a slight smokey flavor, but  
not so bad that I think anyone in the dining hall noticed (heck, when  
I tasted it, I wasn't sure that it wasn't meant to taste that way).

The real damage though was to three pans of the Italian pudding.  Not  
having made this before in a convection oven, I was ill prepared for  
how quickly the top could burn.  I personally apologized to the  
tables that received them - though they seemed happy to break through  
the thin layer of carbon to the perfectly good pudding below.


Shortage

One dish that turned out fine was the Turnip Pottage, but it was so  
well liked (and the servers were so generous with it) that we ran out  
before one table could be served.  Who'd have thought that a simple  
turnip soup would be so popular?  Next time I will intentionally make  
too much, and also advise the servers to go easy on the serving  
size.  Let them ask for seconds and have it ready.


Random Notes for "Next Time"

Bring steel wool along with the dish soap.

Bake even more bread - while one loaf is probably enough, give them  
too much.

Five pounds of sugared walnuts is more than enough for 160 people.

Camaline sauce is *very* popular.

I need to get more serving spoons and bowls.

Unused wine bottles are great for serving drinks, but pitchers work  
better for water.

People go through grape juice at a ridiculous rate.

You will be thanked and complimented on the most surprising things  
(noodles & cheese, and store-bought orange marmalade both come to mind).


That's about all I can remember.

- Doc


-- 
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"English wine is more fit to be sieved rather than drunk."
   - Peter of Blois, 12th c.
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