[Sca-cooks] My first Italian Feast

[Barbara Benson]

Saluti!

Well, it is over! Everything went well and everyone was well fed. And
as always this list was a tremendous help. I thank you for your
patience in answering all of my questions.

The final menu was:
First service from the Sideboard
Pork Cuts/Ham in an Orange Cinnamon sauce - Platina
Cucumber & Onion Salad – Recipe from Massonio, but mentioned in a menu
from Scappi
Milanese style Biscotti (I used Mistress Helewys's lovely redaction)

First Service from the Kitchen
A cup of chicken or other fowl - Anon Tuscan
To cook fresh beans in the pod - Messisbugo
Simple Pasta (no recipe just the ole put cheese and spices on pasta)

Second Service from the Kitchen
Roast Beef cooked with Onions - Scappi
Herb Ravioli - Martino
Sops (Bread Slices)

Second Service from the Sideboard
Spiced Cheese & Raisin Torta - Martino
Apple Fritters - Martino
Nucato
Sweet Wafers

I received many compliments on the feast but I had several people
especially comment on how "perfect" the spicing of all of the dishes
was. That really made my day. They said that the seasoning and spicing
on every dish was well balanced and I had several people tell me that
they did not see anyone at their tables add any salt or pepper to any
of the dishes.

My favorites on the menu were the Cucumber, Basil & Onion salad,
Ravioli and the Fritters. All of the meats went over very well and a
surprising number of people ranked the pasta dish in their top 3
favorites. That kinda made me sad because very little work went into
it. Having read enough manuscripts that tell you to cook the pasta and
serve with cheese and spices sprinkled on top I pretty much did just
that. Cooked all of the pasta and tossed it into a cooler with some
olive oil to prevent sticking. It sat in the cooler for about an hour
and when it came time to serve I pulled it out, put it into the
serving bowls, seasoned it with salt, fresh cracked pepper and a
generous amount of Parmesan cheese. We tossed it and sent it out.

I also splurged a bit out of my own pocket to purchase a case of
pomegranate juice. We served it during the beef course and I told the
servers to treat it like it was wine (it sure looks like wine). That
was also a great success, I had several comments that it complemented
the course very well and that it was very refreshing on the palate
where it fell in the feast.

Should anyone desire recipes I would be happy to provide them, but I
didn't want to make this missive too long. I am deeply indebted to
Mistress Helewyse for the information on her website - it formed the
basis for the format of the feast and provided many of the source
recipes. My Thanks go to her.

 Ciao,

--
Serena da Riva