Mdwntr-AS-Fst-art - 9/28/99 The feast menu and some recipes from the Midwinter Arts & Sciences Faire hosted by The Barony of the South Downs of Meridies on February 26-28, 1999. NOTE: See also the files: Martyrs-Feast-art, headcooks-msg, Fst-Menus-art, feasts-msg, feast-decor-msg, feast-menus-msg, feasts-fish-msg, feast-serving-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ This feast was served at Midwinter Arts & Sciences Faire hosted by The Barony of the South Downs of Meridies on February 26-28, 1999. It was presented by Mistress Rhiannon Cathoir-mor and fra (signore) niccolo difrancesco at Indian Springs State Park in Jackson, Georgia. The theme was a competition between the Barony and the Consortium of Southern Shires, a coalition of the groups in southern GA and AL for the purpose or mutual support and development. Sadly, the Barony lost out, causing the Baron to wear a hideous artifact: The Glove decorated with gaudy gemstones and rhinestones and mirror studs. The attendance was reported to be 402, with feast attendance at 175-180. Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 09:58:28 -0500 From: "Nick Sasso" Subject: SC - My feast menu and recipes for your use and consideration At long last, I am ready to post my menu and translations from our feast last weekend. It was well received, even with the problems that glare out at me. I have come up with cures for the flaws in a couple of the dishes, and would appreciate any comment on what you read. We prepared food for 200 in a state park Kitchen. *Fine White Bread* 1st Course Venison Frumenty Pasties in the Lombard Style Monchalet Funges 2nd Course Connynges in Cyrip A Tarte of Greens Safron Rice 3rd Course Sausages Menagier Appel Muse Flathonys ******************************** Frumenty of venison serves 150 (Two 15th Century Cookery Books: Harleian MS. 279) 15 cups cracked or whole wheat berries 45 cups venison stock (just under 3 gallons) 10 egg yolks saffron boil the stock (or water) and add the wheat and saffron. Cover and let simmer 15-20 minutes stirring frequently. Turn off heat and leave covered 30 minutes and stir. Check doneness. When just ready to serve, add the egg yolks and stir. Serve hot with meat dish. Lombard Pasties serves 150 (The Goodman of Paris c.1393; trans. Eileen Power) ITEM in the Lombard manner when the chickens be plucked and prepared, take beaten eggs (to wit yolks and whites) with verjuice and spice powder and dip your chickens therein; then set them in the pasty with strip of bacon as above [large slices of bacon on the breast] 15# boneless chicken breast Bacon or dried, cured ham 2 eggs, beaten lard Verjuice or cider vinegar flour fine spice powder (1) ice cold water As we do not enjoy eating whole chicks, I use boneless chicken breast. Since the crust is so rich, a smaller pasty is sufficient. (Simmer the chicken pieces in water until mostly done to ensure doneness of final product) Cut each breast in half and dip chicken pieces in egg wash made with eggs, a dash of verjuice/vinegar and a little spice powder. Place these pieces in pastry made of lard, flour and water. Place on each piece of chicken, a piece of lean bacon or dried ham Smithfield would be good as it seems it would approximate European bacon better). Seal pastry together and return to refrigerator to chill (15 minutes). Remove form refrigerator and bake at 400F 15 minutes or until golden and chicken is cooked. (1) FINE [SPICE] POWDER. Take of white ginger and ounce and a dram, of selected cinnamon a quarter, of cloves and grains [of paradise] eash half a quarter of an ounce, and of lump sugar a quarter and reduce them to powder. (p. 298) Monchalet serves 150 (The Forme of Cury, A Roll of Ancient English Cookery, c. 1390) XVI. Take veel or muton and smite it to gobets. Seefl it ¥ gode broth. Cast flto erbes yhewe1 gode wyne. And a qntite of Onyons mynced. Powdo fort and Safron. And ayle it w ayren and vions. But lat not seefl aft. 50# Mutton or lamb, cubed 1 gallon table wine (full red) 1 gallon stock or water 5#. minced onion 1/2 c. dried herbs (e.g. thyme, rosemary, hyssop) 3 Tbl. powder fort 10 eggs 1/2 tsp. saffron threads Braise the mutton/lamb in the stock and herbs. After 20-25 minutes, add onion and wine. Let continue to braise till done. Add powder fort and saffron. When ready to serve, add to it beaten eggs slowly and stir vigorously so as to prevent scrambled eggs. Serve forth funges (serves 150) (The Forme of Cury, A Roll of Ancient English Cookery, c. 1390) X. Take funges(1) and pare hem clene and dyce hem. Take leke and shred hym small and do hy to seefl in gode broth. Colo it with safron and do flinne powdo fort. 30# mushrooms 1/2 tsp saffron threads 20 leeks 6 Tbl. Powder forte (to taste) 3 1/2 gallons broth Take mushrooms and clean them and dice them. Clean your leaks REALLY well of dirt and slice fine. Place all in large stock pot. Boil stock and add on top of mushroom/leeks. Cover and let steep. Stir after 20 minutes and again 20 minutes later. This method allows the leeks and mushrooms to cook and still remain tender without getting mushy. Color with a couple of saffron threads and season with powder fort (1) funges mushrooms (Connyng(1)) Chykens in Cyrip serves 150 (The Forme of Cury, A Roll of Ancient English Cookery, c. 1390) XX.III.IIII. Take Conyng and seefl hem wel ¥ good broth. Take wyne greke and do flto with a porcion of vyneg abd flo of canel, hoole clow quybibes hoole. And oofl gode spices and raisons corance and gyngyn ypared and ymynced. Tkae up the couyng and smyte hem on pecyc and cst hem into the Siryppe and seefl hem a letel on the fyr and sue it forth. 50# chicken pieces on the bone 3 Tbl whole cubebs 5 gallon stock or water 1 1/2 Tbl whole cloves 6 gallons white port 4 cups Zants raisins/currants 2 cups cider vinegar 2 Tbl minced fresh ginger 10 cinnamon sticks Normally, Simmer the rabbits in the stock until done and tender. Cut up into serving pieces. Prepare syrup with remaining ingredients, adjusting to taste. Add rabbit pieces to syrup and simmer 10-15 minutes. Serve forth. (1) connyng coney or rabbit Tart (Tourte) Makes (25) 8" tarts (The Goodman of Paris c.1393; trans. Eileen Power) TO MAKE A TART (TOURTE), take four handfuls of beets, two handfuls of parsley and a handful of chervil, a sprig of fennel, and two handfuls of spinach, and pick them over and wash them in cold water, then cut them up very small; then bray two sorts of cheeses, to wit a hard and a medium, and then add two eggs thereto, yolks and whites, and bray them in with the cheese; then put the herbs into the mortar and bray all together and also put therein some fine powder. Or instead of this have ready brayed in the mortar two heads of ginger and onto this bray your cheese. Eggs and herbs and then cast ld cheese scraped or grated onto the herbs and take it to the oven anbd then have your tart made and eat it hot. 10 bunches greens (beet, chard, spinach) 6# muenster cheese 50 eggs 25 pie shells 6# romano cheese 4 Tbl. Fine spice powder (1) Wash and clean the greens in cold water, chop small. We used food processor to speed the process, but keep some to knife chop as well for texture. Add grated cheeses, eggs and 4 Tbl. (more or less) of fine spice powder1. Mix all together. Pour into pie shells and bake at 350F until set and cheese & crust golden. (1) FINE [SPICE] POWDER. Take of white ginger and ounce and a dram, of selected cinnamon a quarter, of cloves and grains [of paradise] eash half a quarter of an ounce, and of lump sugar a quarter and reduce them to powder. (p. 298) Saffron Rice serves 200 (period-like no reference) 20# white rice 2 tsp saffron 6 gallons chicken Stock 2# butter, cut in pieces salt to taste boil stock and add saffron and rice. Bring back to boil and simmer 15 minutes, stirring once. Cover tightly and let sit for 30 minutes. When tender, add butter and stir gently to incorporate. Sausages (Le Menagier) serves 175 in a feast setting/100 as a single meal, (The Goodman of Paris c.1393; trans. Eileen Power) TO MAKE SAUSAGES. When you have killed your pig, take flesh of the ribs. . . and the best fat, as much of the one as of the other, in such quantity as you would make sausages; and cause it to be minced up and hashed up very small by a pastrycook. Then bray fennel with a little fine salt, and afterwards, take your brayed fennel and mix it very well with a quarter as much [fine] spice powder; then mix it thoroughly your meat, your spices and your fennel and afterwards fill the intestines, to wit small ones. (And know that the intestines of an old pig be better for this than those of a young one because they be larger.) And afterwards put them to smoke for four days or more and when you would eat them, put them in hot water and boil them once and then put them on the grill. (p. 308) Redaction: 30# ground pork (65% lean) 1/2 c. salt 2 cups ground fennel seed natural sausage casing 1/4 c. fine spice powder (1) Grind pork and fat together to yield 35-50% fat (original specifies 50%). Combine spices at 4 parts ground fennel seed to 1 part fine spice powder. Mix into ground pork salt to taste. (Unfortunately, Non-fat dry milk was added as a binder by the professional sausage maker who produced our sausage) Stuff into casings and twist into links approx 4 inches long. Cold smoke for 8 hours to 4 days. To cook, put in hot water and bring to a boil (30-45 minutes) then grill (or roast) till golden. (1) FINE [SPICE] POWDER. Take of white ginger and ounce and a dram, of selected cinnamon a quarter, of cloves and grains [of paradise] eash half a quarter of an ounce, and of lump sugar a quarter and reduce them to powder. (p. 298) Apple Muse serves 150 (Two 15th Century Cookery Books: Harleian MS. 279) ixxxix. Apple Muse.--Take Applelys an sethe hem, an Serge1 hem florwe a Sefe in-to a potte; flanne take Almmaunde Mylke & Hony, an caste fler-to, an flan take Pepyr, Gyngere, & Brede, y-grounde y-fere and temper it vppe with fle same brothe, or ale draft, & coloure it with Safroun, & Sefle it to-gederys, & serue it forthe. Redaction: 3 gallons apple sauce (apples, 1/8 tsp. saffron threads water, corn syrup) 2 quarts (US) Almond Milk 2 cups +/- fine bread crumbs 3 Tbl. ground black pepper 24 oz. Sam Adams Ale 1 1/2 tbl. Minced ginger Combine all ingredients and boil together. Adjust texture with bread crumbs as needed. Honey may be added to adjust sweetness. (We used apple sauce from a jar for conveniece sake in this feast due to time and space constraints. To accomplish from apples: cut into pieces and boil 35# apples. Pass through a sieve or food mill into a pot. Proceed as above.) Flathonys makes 25 pies (Two 15th Century Cookery Books: Harleian MS. 279) Flathonys. Take mylke, and yolks of egges and ale, and draw hem thorgh a straynour, with white sugur or black; and melt faire butter, and put thereto salt, and make faire coffyns, and put hem into a Nowne till flei be a little hard; flen take a pile, and a dish fastened there-on, and fill fle coffyns therewith of the seid stuffs and late hem bake while. And Ven take hem oute and serue hem forthe, and caste Sugur ynough on hem. 100 egg yolks 14 Tbl melted, unsalted butter 3 1/2 gallons milk (or cream) 3 tsp salt 5 1/2 (12 oz) beer or ale 25 pastry shell (or coffin(1) ) 12 1/2 cup sugar sugar to sprinkle on top. Prepare pastry/pie shell before beginning custard. Beat lightly the egg yolks, add milk and ale and whisk together till mixed. Add sugar, melted butter and salt. Combine and add to shell. Bake at 350F 30 minutes until set and crust golden. (1) Coffins were very tough, almost inedible crusts made of flour and water. They were intended, it seems to be a holder for the filling rather than a part of the consumed tart. Edited by Mark S. Harris Mdwntr-AS-Fst-art Page 6 of 7