[Sca-cooks] A Feast Menu for Commentary

[Elaine Koogler]

Have you consulted Dame Hauviette's Celebration at the Serayi CD?  If not,
you should.  She has all sorts of wonderful 16th c. Turkish recipes...many
of which would work very well for something like this.  They are all
thoroughly documented and are a wide enough variety that you should be able
to find some that would work for you.

Can you tell us what fruits he cannot have?  That would help in figuring out
what dishes to serve.  Also, what do your numbers mean?  I'm not sure I
follow.

Kiri

On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 3:16 PM, Barbara Benson <voxeight at gmail.com> wrote:

> Saluti,
>
> Pennsic is starting up so the list should be a little, um, dead, so I
> thought I might post something for the rest of us to talk about. I
> have a bit of reservation about posting this - I am really out of my
> depth with this one. I feel like a newbie posting something and
> wondering if I am going to get shredded - but might as well put on my
> big girl panties and get it over with.
>
> This is for our upcoming Baronial Investiture celebrating the
> investing of a lovely couple with 16th century Turkish personas. The
> goal is to present a feast that is a mixture of Turkish, Arabic and
> Italian foods so that all of their guests have food that they are
> comfortable with. To this end they have hired a Venetian cook (me) to
> plan and prepare this feast.
>
> This list and many of the individuals on it has been (as always) an
> invaluable source for my research. For once I am actually about a
> month ahead of schedule - so if major changes need to be made they can
> be. Another issue I am working around is that the Baron to be is
> allergic to many fruits and - help me now - almonds. The menu reflects
> choices made around his allergies.
>
> Menu in Presentation Groupings:
> Flat Bread, Baid Mutajjan (1), Cariota (7)
> Sanbusaj (2), Cucumber & Onion Salad (6), Tutmash (3)
> Mutajjana (8), Mersmuye (3)
> Roast Beef (5), Flavored Turnips (1)
> Bananas in Honey (4), Helva (3), Coffee
>
> And because that is going to mean pretty much squat to you:
>
> Description of dishes:
> Flat Bread: Purchased
> Baid Mutajjan: Eggs hard boiled, sliced then fried in Sesame oil,
> tossed with Murri and spices.
> Cariota: Carrots sliced into batons and roasted then soaked in
> vinegar, coriander and spices.
>
> Samosas: Spiced lamb mixed with walnuts and stuffed into a wrapper
> then deep fried
> Cucumbers: Cucumbers, Onions and basil in vinaigrette
> Tutmash: Pasta in a Yougurt, Garlic and Mint sauce.
>
> Mutajjana: Chicken breast fried and served in a Murri, cilantro sauce
> Mersmuye: Onions, Chickpeas and Apples cooked with spiced rice
>
> Roast Beef: braised with Fennel, Garlic, Rosemary, Onions and Grape Juice
> Turnips in mustard sauce: Soft turnips simmered in a Mustard, Cumin
> and cheese sauce
>
> Bananas: sliced bananas drizzled with Honey and Coarse Sugar
> Helva: a confection made with butter, honey, pistachios and poppy seeds
> Coffee: served with sugar and spices
>
> Sources:
> (1) Kitab Wasf al-At'ima al-Mu'tada (The Description of Familiar Foods)
> (2) Kitab al-Tabika (The Book of Dishes commonly referred to as
> al-Baghdadi)
> (3) Shirvânî version of al-Baghdadi (from At the Table of the Grand Turc)
> (4) Tacinum Sanitatis
> (5) Opera, Scappi
> (6) Archidipno overo dell'insalata e dell'vso di essa, Salvatore Massonio
> (7) De Honesta Voluptate et Valetudine, Platina
> (8) Kitab al-Tibikh (Annals of the Caliph's Kitchen)
>
> I am really feeling all over the place with this feast. The last
> several feasts I have done have been from one, maybe two sources - I
> guess this feeling is coming from pulling from so many different
> sources (time periods and regions).
>
> I also feel like I am not presenting enough dishes - again, I don't
> know why I have this feeling. Does this menu seem varied and gracious
> enough? Any thoughts, comments, suggestions are very welcome.
> Great thanks for your time,
>
> Ciao,
>
> --
> Serena da Riva
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