[Sca-cooks] period finger/party foods

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 6:24 AM, Nancy Kiel <nancy_kiel at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> I apologize for missing your previous post.

No apology needed.  I made the initial discovery some years ago, and
have repeated the details once or twice since then, when the topic has
come up.

> This sounds like an interesting book----could you expand on its instructions
> for serving these veggies?  I'm guessing there's no ranch dip, but is there
> flavoring (other than salt on radishes as mentioned)?

No sauces or seasonings are mentioned.  This is a carving manual, and
has no recipes.  Moreover, the author was not a cook, but a nobleman,
courtier, and scholar.  His intention was to teach young men of noble
families to properly carve and serve at a noble (or even royal) table.

Here is my translation of the passage on raw carrots:

"The carrots, when eaten raw, are to be well cleaned of the dirt and
the thin hairs that they have, scraped with the knife that cuts them;
then remove their leaves with all of the green and cut it them into
four parts, removing the core from each part, if they are thick and
will allow it; [do] that upon serving them; and if they are long,
divide each quarter in two or three parts; and if they are thin, there
is very little core in them and know that you can eat everything
together."
Enrique de Villena, "Arte de Cortar", 1423

And -- because I know someone will ask -- no, there is no English
translation of this book.  I've done bits and pieces, but it's an
older and more flowery Spanish than I usually deal with.

--
Brighid ni Chiarain
My NEW email is rcarrollmann at gmail.com