[Sca-cooks] A Feast Menu for Commentary

[Barbara Benson]

The numbers reference the sources (I have lifted below the menu) so
that you can see where things came from.

I purchased and downloaded Dame Hauviette's CD and it was very useful.
I have 3 recipes from Shirvânî - which is (I believe) where she pulled
many of her recipes in addition to the travelogues and stuff. I will
be using her charbat recipe to make a peach syrup to serve as a
beverage during the feast.

He is allergic to cherries, grapes (but I checked and the cooked grape
juice is OK), cantaloupe & watermelon as well as almonds, pecans (not
a problem) and one other nut I cannot remember. The pistachios and
walnuts are OK.

Ciao,

--
Serena

On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 3:24 PM, Elaine Koogler <kiridono at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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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>
>
>
> --
> "It is only with the heart that one can see clearly; what is essential is
> invisible to the eye."
> --Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
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