Whole-Pig-Fst-art

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Whole-Pig-Fst-art - 9/22/98

Feast menu and recipes including roasting a whole pig.

NOTE: See also the files: whole-pig-msg, roast-pork-msg, ham-msg, sauces-msg, meat-smoked-msg, feast-menus-msg, feasts-msg.

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Stefan at florilegium.org

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Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1998 03:01:36 EDT

From: korrin.daardain at juno.com (Korrin S DaArdain)

Subject: SC - Oculis Exciditis Porcus Dimidius Facti

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Feast with whole roast pig

From: Leigh Ann Hussey (leighann at sybase.com)

Greetings to the Rialto from Siobhan! And a hearty hey there to

rec.food.historic from Leigh Ann.

I'm posting this article here, because it may not be deemed

acceptable for TOURNAMENTS ILLUMINATED (to which I'm also sending it),

and I'd really like people to see it; also, people on r.f.h may not get

TI, even if the article does end up therein. I worked pretty hard on this

feast, and would like others to reap the benefits of my experience (and

errors!). I haven't yet submitted it to TI, so if you have any editorial

comments, I'll receive them gratefully. Without further ado:

Oculis Exciditis Porcus Dimidius Facti; or, How to Pig Out with 130

of Your Closest Friends.

In the Fall of 1991 I was approached by the Seneschale of

Mountain's Gate (Placerville) with a proposal: since she liked my cooking

so much, would I be willing to cook the feast for the Investiture of the

Prince of Cynagua at the end of January. Without hesitation (hah!) I

warmly agreed. After all, I didn't have to raise the money, I didn't have

to do the shopping (well, not much anyway), all I had to do was dream up

a menu, cook it, and feed it to people! Easy, yes? Well...

Assembling The Menu

First I needed a theme for the feast, so I inquired of the

incipient Prince's persona choice, which turned out to be Saxon. I

daydreamed about mead benches and antler-crowned halls, the smoking blaze

in the middle of the hall, the rushes on the floor and the dogs begging

for scraps, and said, "Well, first thing, we have to have a whole roast

pig." Luckily for me, one of the local Barons is a butcher by mundane

trade, and was able to procure said porker for me at a reasonable price.

LESSON ONE: Make friends with your butcher, share your plans with him. He

may get as enthusiastic about it as you are. He advised me to get, not a

suckling pig at 40 pounds, but a full-grown pig at closer to 100 pounds;

apparently, around here at least, the price break is substantial. When I

later found out exactly how many people I was to feed, I was heartily

glad we got the big pig. My "feastocrat" asked me, "Have you ever cooked

a whole pig before?" "No," said I, "but I have books..." I can hear you

wincing from here. I only mention it for the purpose of explaining the

title of this article; in Mrs. Child's American Frugal Housewife, from

1833, she explains how to cook a whole pig, giving the following

memorable benchmark: "When the eyes drop out, the pig is half done." What

with one bit of advice and another, we decided that it would be best to

start the pig the night before, and give it 24 hours to cook.

For the rest of the feast, I wanted to stay as early as possible --

1400 or better, and was mostly successful. Some of the recipes are from

manuscripts dated to around 1450, which I considered a reasonable margin.

I decided to be brash, bold and egotistical, and not rely on

anybody else's recipe interpretations. In the end, I did have to use a

couple, but the bulk of the recipes are my own developments. I raided

Butler and Heiatt's Cury On Inglyshe for most of the original recipes,

and vol. 2 of Take A Thousand Eggs... for the rest. I thought about what

would be available in England, in the winter, in Alden's "time", and

produced the menu that follows.

I include, where I had them, the period redactions (I've

substituted "th" for "thorn" -- my apologies to the purists), and my

translations. The recipes themselves, and the expanded ingredients to

feed about 100 are at the very end of the article. One note for the

adventurous folk who might want to derive their own recipes from the

period texts (and why shouldn't you? I wanted to...): I discovered that

much of my "armchair cooking" -- brainstorming recipes on paper -- worked

out exactly right in the kitchen, with the exception of some minimal

changes to spicery. I commented on this to a friend of mine who's done a

great deal of this sort of thing, and she said, "Well, that's not

surprising. When you're doing these things, it's more important to be

fluent in cooking than it is to be fluent in Middle English."

Feast for Cynagua's Winter Investiture, AS XXVII

First Remove

Caboches in potage. Take caboches and quarter hem, and seeth hem in

gode broth with oynouns ymynced and the whyte of lekes yslyt and ycorue

smale. And do therto safroun & salt, and force it with powdour douce.

(Forme of Cury)

[Cabbages in soup. Take cabbages and quarter them, and seethe them

in good broth with minced onions and the white of leeks slit and cut

small. Add saffron and salt, and enforce it with sweet powder.]

Divers cheses, fruytes & noteys, ayren pickle

A soteltey

Second Remove

Chicones in mose. Tak blaunched almaundes & grynde hem smale &

tempere hem with clene watere, & do hem in a pot & put therto floure of

rys & sugre & salt & safroun, & boyle hem togedere. & ley the 3elkes of

harde sothe eyren in disches, & tak rosted chikenes & tak the lemes & the

wynges & the braun, & cut that other del on lengthe, & ley it in the

disches with yolkes and take the sauche and hilde hit into the disches &

do aboue clowes & serue it forth. (Utilis Coquinario)

[Chickens in mousse. Take blanched almonds and grind them small and

mix them with clean water, and put them in a pot with rice flour and

sugar and salt and saffron and boil them together. And lay the yolks of

hardboiled egs in dishes, and take roasted chicken legs and wings and

breasts (cut lengthwise), and lay it in the dishes with the yolks, and

take the sauce and pour it into the dishes, and sprinkle cloves over, and

serve it forth.]

Elys in counfy. Tak eles & fle hem & cut hem on thynne gobetes, &

frye hem in oyle dolif, & pynes therewith; & tak bothe togedere & couche

hem in blaunche poudere, & in ceucre, & couche aboue poudere of gygere as

the quantite of thy seruise nedeth, & than take blaunched almaundes &

grynde hem smal & tempre hem with whit wyne; & streyne hem, & cast hem in

to a pot alle togeder. & tak poudere of clowes & of maces & of quybibs &

of peper, & cast therto & boyle hem in alle in fere, & salt it, & when it

is dressed florshe it aboue with myced gyngere that is fayre pared &

tryed. (Utilis Coquinario)

[Eels in confit. Take eels and flay them, and cut them in thin

pieces and fry them in olive oil with pine nuts. Take both (eels and

nuts) and roll them in white powder and sugar, and sprinkle over it

powdered ginger according to the amount of eels, and then take blanched

almonds ground small and mixed with white wine -- strain them and throw

all into a pot together. Add powdered cloves, mace, cubeb, and pepper,

and bring to a boil, add salt, and then sprinkle over it minced (fresh)

ginger peeled and chopped.]

Gos farced. Take Percely, & Swynys grece, or Sewet of a schepe, &

parboyle hem to-gederys til they ben tendyr; than take harde yolkys of

Eyroun, & choppe for-with; caste ther-to Pouder Pepir, Gyngere, Canel,

Safroun, & Salt, & grapis in tyme of yere, & clowys y-nowe; & for defawte

of grapis, Oynons, fyrst wil y-boylid, & afterward alle to-choppyd, & so

stuffe hym & roste hym, & serue hym forth. (Leche Vyaundez)

[Stuffed goose. Take parsley, and bacon grease or sheep suet, and

parboil them together until they are tender; then take chopped hardboiled

egg yolks and add powdered pepper, ginger, cinnamon, saffron and salt,

and grapes in season, and enough cloves (and for default of grapes,

chopped parboiled onions), and so stuff him and roast him and serve him

forth.]

Samoun fresch endored & rostyd.

A soteltey

Third Remove

Pigge ffarced. Take rawe egges, and draw hem yorgh a streynour, And

then grate faire brede; And take saffron, salt, pouder ginger, And suet

of Shepe, And do medle all togidre into a faire vessell, and put hit in

the pigge wombe Whan he is on the brocche, And then sowe the hole

togidre; or take a prik, and prik him togidur, And lete him roste.

(Harleian ms 4016)

[Stuffed pig. Take raw eggs and run them through a strainer, and

then grate nice bread, and take saffron, salt, powdered ginger, and sheep

suet, and mix all together in a bowl, and put it in the pig's cavity when

he is on the spit, and then sew the hole together, or take a spike and

spike him together, and let him roast.]

Benes yfryed. Tak benes and seeth hem almost til they bursten. Take

and wryng out the water clene. Do therto oynouns ysode and ymynced, and

garlec therwith; frye hem in oile other in grece, & do therto powdour

douce, & serue it forth. (Forme of Cury)

[Fried beans. Take beans and boil them almost until they burst,

then drain. Add minced parboiled onions, and garlic; fry them in oil or

grease and add sweet powder, and serve it forth.]

Pasternakes

To make gingerbrede. Take goode honye & clarefie it on the fere, &

take fayre paynemayn or wastel brede & grate it, & caste it into the

boylenge hony, & stere it well togyder faste with a sklyse that it bren

not to the vessell. & thanne take it doun and put therin ginger, longe

pepere & saundres, & tempere it vp with thin handes; & than put hem to a

flatt boyste & strawe theron suger, & pick therin clowes round about by

the egge and in the mydes, yf it plece you, &c. (Sloan ms. 121)

[To make gingerbread. Take good honey and clarify it on the fire,

and take good everyday bread or leftover bread and grate it, and cast it

into the boiling honey and stir it well together quickly with a spatula

(?) so it doesn't scorch. Then take it off the heat and add ginger, long

pepper and sandlewood, and knead it; and then put it in a flat box and

sprinkle sugar on it, and stick cloves around the edge and in the middle,

if it pleases you, etc.]

A soteltey

Fourth Remove

Tartys in applis. Tak gode applys & gode spycis & figys & reysons &

perys, & wan they arn wel yrayd colour wyth safroun wel & do yt in a

cofyn, & do yt forth to bake wel. (Diuersa Servicia)

[Apple tarts. Take good apples and good spices and figs and raisins

and pears, and when they are well arrayed, color well with saffron and

put it in a pie shell, and set it to bake well.]

Rysshews of fruyt. Take fyges and raisouns; pyke hem and waisshe

hem in wyne. Grynde hem with apples and peers ypared and ypiked clene. Do

therto gode powdours and hole spices; make balles therof, frye in oile,

and serue hem forth. (Forme of Cury)

[Rissoles of fruit. Take figs and raisins, pick them over and wash

them in wine. Grind them with apples and pears pared and picked clean.

Add good powders and whole spices, make balls of the mixture, fry in oil,

and serve them forth.]

Daryols. Take creme of cowe mylke, other of almaundes; do therto

ayren with sugur, safroun and salt. Medle it yfere. Do it in a coffyn of

ii ynche depe; bake it wel and serue it forth. (Forme of Cury)

[Darioles. Take cream of cow milk or of almonds; add to it eggs

with sugar, safron and salt, and mix it. Put it in a pie shell two inches

deep, bake it well and serve it forth.]

Cook Until Done

It was a marvelous pig roaster. It had a bed for coals, and an

automatic spit-turner, and when we had spitted the pig and set it

turning, it looked like all would go stupendously. But the wind blew a

gale all night, and while it didn't put the coals out, it did slow the

cooking such that the next day at 2:30 pm, while the skin had cracked off

the back, the spine of the pig had separated in several spots, and grease

continued to drip appetizingly into the fire, the meat was still cool

inside. LESSON TWO: If you're not roasting in a pit, or in a massive

indoor fireplace, make sure your roaster has a cover. LESSON THREE: When

faced with the possibility of serving your guests uncooked pig, act

decisively. I directed the men to hoist our half-roasted friend off the

stand, bring her inside and take the spit out. I then took a cleaver, cut

her in three pieces (just behind the shoulders and just ahead of the

hams), and we stuffed the pieces in the oven. We had chicken pieces still

to roast, so instead of roasting them, we grilled them over the coals in

the pig roaster. Ditto the salmon, wrapped in foil.

After three hours at 350 F, the meat thermometer rose with

gratifying speed when Ernie slid it into the haunch, and we knew we'd

won. Now we only had to figure out how to present what the people had

expected to be a whole roast pig.

And Serve It Forth

In the long run, it worked out perfectly. I had fancied the idea of

the Princess's Champion carving the hero's portion -- there turned out to

be two co-Champions. We were provided with a litter on which to bear the

pig to the hall: a 1/4" piece of plywood supplied with 1x1s to give it a

"lip", supported by a sort of St. Andrews cross (2x4s going diagonally

across under the board, with the ends carved for handles). We arranged

the three parts of the pig, covered the seams with greens and strewed

greens and apples liberally around her, and marched her into the hall to

general acclaim. The two champions, having had a dramatic argument over

who got to carve the pig, both drew swords and gave hacks at the pig --

Miracle! it came right apart, they must be true heroes! Well, you get the

point. A little bit of "business" can go a long way toward covering up

potential embarassment.

Recipes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caboches in potage

1 head cabbage, cored and quartered

2 qts chicken broth

2 onions, chopped

whites of 4 leeks, chopped

1/4 t each saffron or turmeric, cinnamon, sugar, cardamom, galangal

1 t salt

Heat a little oil in the soup pot and cook the onions until they're

translucent, then add the broth, bring to a boil, add the cabbage, leeks

and spices, and cook until the cabbage is as done as desired.

Expansion: 14 heads cabbage, 28 onions, 7 gallons broth, 28 leeks,

5 T salt, 3.5 t each of other spices.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ayren pickle

Note: I got this recipe from The Craft Of The Country Cook

1 doz hardboiled eggs, shelled

1/2 lb whole pearl onions, peeled

2.5c cider vinegar

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

1t salt

4T honey

1/4t each: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, mace, dill, tarragon, grains

of paradise; a shake of turmeric

Put eggs in hot, sterilized canning jars. Boil all the other

ingredients in a saucepan, simmer 5 min. Pour the hot liquid over the

eggs in jars, covering eggs completely. Seal jars, cool, and store in a

cool place.

Expansion: 9 doz eggs, 4.5 lb onions, 11 pints + .5 c vinegar, 1

head garlic, 3 T salt, 2.25 c honey, 2.25 t spices

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Samoun fresch endored & rosted

Note: this dish is listed in one of the menus from Cosin ms

V.III.11-, from the 14th century (as I found it in Curye On Inglysch),

but no recipe is given, so I made one up based in part on a similar glaze

for chicken described in Take A Thousand Eggs... In the case of this

feast, as I mentioned, we had to cook the salmon in foil over coals, so

when the oven was clear of pork, we set the salmon in the oven for a

little bit longer, glazing it then rather than before.

1 whole salmon

stuffing: 2 c ground hazelnuts in 1/4 c honey melted with 1/4 c

butter glaze: 4 egg yolks, beaten with 1T flour, 1t ginger, 1/2 t pepper,

pinch saffron, 1t salt

Stuff the salmon, then glaze and roast at 350deg F for 15 min per

inch of width (1/2 hour for a 2" thick salmon); baste occasionally with

leftover glaze.

For the feast we made three such salmon, so the proportions should

be easy to figure out...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gos farced

I used the recipe inRenfrow's Take A Thousand Eggs Or More, vol. 1.

For the feast, we only roasted one goose, for the high table.

Chicones in mose

16 chicken parts -- legs, thighs, half breasts

1 doz hardboiled eggs

2.5 c water

1/2 c rice flour

1 c blanched almonds

1T sugar, 1/2t salt, pinch saffron, ground cloves

Roast chicken parts at 425deg F for 15-20 min, or till the skins

are golden brown. Remove egg yolks (discard whites), and chop coarsely,

then put them in the serving dish. When the chicken is done, lay it on

top of the egg yolks.

Chop up the almonds in a blender/food processor until they're

pretty small, but not yet powdery. Add 1c of the water, and process

again. Then add saffron, sugar, salt, and flour and process, adding the

remaining water gradually. Pour the mixture into a pot, bring to a low

boil, stirring frequently. Don't let burn! Let sit for at least 10 min,

for the saffron to come to full flavor -- it will continue to strengthen

(up to a point). If need be, the sauce can be reheated. Just before

serving, pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle clove over the top,

and "serve it forth"!

Expansion: 100 pieces of chicken, 7 doz hardboiled eggs, 7 c

blanched almonds, 4qts + 1.5 c water, 6.5 c rice flour, 1/2 c sugar, 1 T

salt, saffron and cloves to taste.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elys in counfy

2 eels, skinned and sliced crosswise

1 T ginger mixed with 1 T sugar

1/2 c pine nuts

1 c blanched almonds

1 T olive oil

1 c white wine

1/2 t each: cloves, mace, pepper

a little fresh grated ginger

Heat olive oil in a pot and fry the eel slices with the pine nuts.

Grind the almonds together with the wine. Put the ginger/sugar mixture in

the pot and stir around 'til each eel slice is coated. Add the almond

milk and other spices, cook just until hot through, sprinkle with salt to

taste and just before serving top with grated fresh ginger.

If folks don't find this appetizing (no comments about Lord

Randall, thanks), feed them roast eels with the following white garlic

sauce from Le Viandier de Taillevent: 3 cloves crushed garlic mixed with

3 slices worth of bread crumbs, moistened to whatever seems like the

right consistency (about that of Mexican salsa) with a mixture of 1/2

white grape juice and 1/2 vinegar.

For the feast, we went light on the eels, for fear of there being

not much enthusiasm for them, but to our astonishment, they were eaten

all up.

Expansion: 6 eels, 1.5 c pine nuts, 3 T oil, 1.5 t

cloves/mace/pepper, 3 T sugar/ginger, 1 c almonds, 3 c wine...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pasternakes

Note: this dish is also in one of the Cosin ms. menus, though no

recipe is provided...

1 lb chopped parsnips

1t cinnamon, 1/2t nutmeg

1 lb chopped carrots

2T butter

Boil the vegetables until soft, drain off the water. Mash them

together with the spices and butter, serve hot.

Expansion: 7 lb parsnips, 7 lb carrots, 2 T + 1 t cinnamon, 3.5 t

nutmeg, 1 and 2/3 cubes butter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Benes yfryed

Note: I chose favas for this dish, because as far as I know they

are among the few shell beans native to the old world. The dried ones

soak up a phenomenal amount of water, as we discovered (we used the small

variety of dried favas -- about the size of a garbanzo/chickpea -- rather

than the lima bean size), so don't be surprised if there are leftovers.

3c fava beans (if dried, soak overnight first; if canned, rinse the

salt away) 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped cloves garlic 1/2t each sugar, and

powders of: cinnamon, cardamom, galangal

Boil favas until the skins curl up when blown upon (if they were

dried); drain them well.

Heat 2T oil in a pan, throw in onions and spices first, then the

beans, stir the mess around 'til hot through.

Expansion: 5 lb favas, 3 onions, 1.5 t spices, 6 T oil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pigge farced

100lb dressed pig

basting sauce: garlic, rosemary and sage in about 1c olive oil

stuffing: 1 loaf's worth of DRIED (this is important! we used fresh

bread, and the stuffing turned into an unappetizing brown mess which we

had to throw away and rinse from the cavity before I could chop up the

pig and put the parts in the oven) bread crumbs mixed with 6 beaten eggs,

1 big pinch saffron, 1 T ginger, 2 t salt.

Wash the pig and dry it -- prop open the jaws with a block of wood

or a rock. Brush the sauce all over the skin, stuff with the stuffing and

sew or skewer the cavity closed. Cook at preheated (!) 350deg F for ~15

min/pound -- about 30 hours should do it, so start the night before. To

be sure, stick a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the haunch, and

accept it as cooked if the thermometer reads 160deg F.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coffyns, Hot water pastry for

Note: this is a classic recipe. I derived mine from a variety of

(admittedly late) historic sources, among them Mrs. Beeton's household

management book, and Mrs. (not Julia) Child's American Frugal Housewife.

1 lb butter

1 c water

2 lb flour

2 T salt

Boil water & butter together; mix flour & salt; let the water cool

a bit, then pour and work it into the flour, until the dough is soft but

not sticky. Chill at least 30 min. Shape the dough into boxes (or

whatever shape), and let sit before filling.

Expansion: 30 lb flour, 15 lb butter, 2 qts water, 2 c less 2 T

salt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tartys in applis

2 apples, chopped

2 pears, chopped

1/2 c figs, chopped

spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, pinch of saffron

1 c raisins

Chop and mix together the fruits and spices, and put them in small

tart shells. Bake at preheated 350deg F for 30 min.

Expansion: 25 lb apples (we used 2 no.10 cans' worth), 25 lb pears,

5 lb figs, 10 lb raisins.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rysshews of fruyt

1 c figs

1 pear, pared & chopped

2 c raisins

white wine

2 apples, pared & chopped

1/2c flour

Soak the figs & raisins in wine to cover for about 1/2 hour, then

drain and chop all the fruits fine -- mash the raisins first, they'll

make a paste to hold the stuff together. Add allspice, nutmeg, sugar,

cardamom and galangal to taste, drop by spoonfuls into hot oil and fry

they'll be crunchy and caramelized on the outside, still soft on the

inside.

Expansion: 5 lb figs, 20 lb raisins, 25 lb apples, 12.5 lb pears, 2

gal wine, 12.5 c flour.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daryols

I used a mixture of cream and thick almond milk for my kitchen

test; at the actual feast, we ran low on almonds, so used less almond

milk, and it worked fine anyway.

1.5c cream

1/2c sugar

3 eggs + 1 yolk

1/8t saffron powder

1/2 c blanched almonds, blended fine with 1/2c water

1/4t salt

Bake in little coffyns 2" deep bake the shells first at 425deg F

until they just begin to brown, then reduce the heat to 325deg F, fill

the shells with the custard and bake again for 30-35 min until the

custard is set and the shells are golden brown.

Expansion: 1 gal cream, 5 c sugar, 5 c almonds, 33 eggs (24 + 9

yolks), 4 c water, 1 t saffron, 2 t salt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gingerbread, Cake-style, for the Royal Arms Soteltie

Note: I chose to leave out the sandalwood (saundres) which, Leche

Vyaundez indicates, is only to make it red, since I want to use red in

the decoration -- I found red sandalwood, incidentally, at my local

occult bookshop... LV also suggested the cinnamon.)

4 c honey

1 t white pepper

1 lb breadcrumbs (a loaf's worth - use cheap bread)

sugar to sprinkle on top

1 T ginger

whole cloves

2 t cinnamon

If you plan to draw with the sugar, mix it up with powdered

spices/herbs: Gules - cinnamon or sandalwood; Vert - dried parsley or

mint; Or - turmeric; etc.

Boil the honey, skimming any foam that forms. Throw in the

breadcrumbs and stir constantly, until the bread has soaked up all the

honey. Stir in the ginger, cinnamon and pepper. Turn it out and knead it

until it is smooth, adding a little flour if necessary if the dough is

too sticky. Then put it in a square pan. Set whole cloves in the top in a

pattern (in this case, we used them to outline the armorial charges),

then sprinkle the colored sugars where desired -- think of

sandpainting...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gingerbread, Stiff, for the Heorot Soteltie

Note: this recipe comes from (this time) Julia Child. I don't

presume that the idea of gingerbread houses is period, but I wanted all

my sotelties to be edible, and I was trying to keep to the Saxon theme.

Alas, the gingerbread Grendel didn't hold up in the oven, so we painted

him on the side of the house with royal icing.

2 sticks butter

1 t ground cloves

1 c dark brown sugar

1 t nutmeg

1 c white sugar

2 t ginger

4 eggs

2 t cardamom

1/4 t salt

4-5 c all-purpose flour

2 t cinnamon

Cream butter and sugars together; beat in eggs and seasonings and

beat for 2 minutes more. Gradually beat in as much flour as possible,

until the mixer clogs (or your spoon threatens to break...). Turn out

onto a floured board, vigorously knead in more flour until dough is VERY

stiff, then wrap airtight and refrigerate at least 12 hours. To shape,

roll chilled dough to 1/4 in. and cut shapes as desired keep the dough

cold. Preheat oven to 350deg F, bake the pieces 12-18 min or until they

feel dry and firm to the touch and the edges are just browning. Cool on a

rack, and assemble.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Icing, Royal, Arielle's recipe for, to hold the house together

3 egg whites

1/2 t cream of tartar

1 lb confectioner's sugar, sifted

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a small bowl until foamy;

slowly beat in sugar until frosting stands in firm peaks and is stiff

enough to hold a sharp line when cut through with a knife. Keep bowl of

icing covered with damp paper towelling while working, to keep it from

drying out and getting too stiff. Store leftover frosting in a tightly

covered jar in the fridge.

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Marzipan, Arielle's, for Black Swan Soteltie

2 c almonds (not blanched), ground

1-2/3 c sifted powdered sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 t lemon juice or orange flower water

Mix together & knead into a smooth dough. Wrap and keep in a cool

place until ready to shape. (You may need, as we did for the swan's neck,

to use a dowel or two to keep some of the shapes in place)

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Bibliographical Notes: my source for the recipe texts is mainly

Heiatt and Butler's redaction Curye On Inglysch. The stuffings for the

goose and pig come from Cindy Renfrow's Take A Thousand Eggs Or More. The

original manuscripts date as follows:

Diuersa Servicia: c. 1381

Utilis Coquinario: c. 1425

The Forme of Cury: c. 1400

Leche Vyaundez: c. 1420

Harleian 4016: c. 1450

Sloan 121: c. 1450

Child, Lydia Marie. The American Frugal Housewife, 12th ed. (1833).

Facsimile edition published by Applewood Books, Cambridge MA in

cooperation with Old Sturbridge Village (date not recorded, but ISBN

0-918222-98-2)

Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye On Inglysch. Oxford

University Press (English Text Society), 1985.

Katz, Pat. The Craft Of The Country Cook. Point Roberts, WA:

Hartley & Marks, 1988.

Prescott, James, trans. Le Viandier de Taillevent. Eugene, OR:

Alfarhaugr Publishing Society, 1989.

Renfrow, Cindy. Take A Thousand Eggs Or More. (both volumes)

Published by the author, 1990. Now available from the SCA Stock Clerk.

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Korrin S. DaArdain

One of many under the rock.

Kingdom of An Tir.

Korrin.DaArdain at Juno.com