feasts-fish-msg – 6/26/06
Serving fish at SCA feasts. Menu suggestions.
NOTE: See also these files: fish-msg, seafood-msg, meat-smoked-msg, soup-msg, fried-foods-msg, feasts-msg, stockfish-msg, sausages-msg, sauces-msg.
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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
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Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 17:16:22 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Fish recipes
Kerri Canepa wrote:
> As I was browsing through the menus in Menagier, I couldn't help notice the
> preponderance of fish dishes. And that was on the meat day menus.
Le Menagier seems to be somewhat unique in containing a couple of dishes
calling for both meat and fish together; the meat tile, made of veal or
poultry sauced with a crayfish-flavored almond sauce, and garnished with
the tails, is one example, but there are others, I believe.
> I'm curious. Has anyone used fish dishes in the feasts they prepare? Even here
> in Alaska, salmon and halibut capital of the north, fish does not hit the
> feast menu very often.
>
> If you have included fish recipes in feasts, how many did you prepare? How did
> the feast attendees respond to them?
Generally rather well. Favorites include the aforementioned meat tile
(but I made it with shrimp), the cuminee de poissons from Le Menagier de
Paris, roast salmon with cameline sauce, and saumon gentil from one of
the early Forme of Cury proto-manuscripts somewhere in Curye on
Inglyshe. The last one is a sort of quenelle, we served it with a green
sauce. I've also had great success with mussels in a vinegar/butter
broth, found, IIRC, in Gervase Markham's "The English Huswife".
I serve enough for everyone to have around 3 ounces sans shell, skin,
bones, etc., on the assumption there are a few who won't eat any at all,
and those who like the stuff will pig out, more or less.
Adamantius
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 15:39:55 -0600
From: "Karen O" <kareno at lewistown.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Fish recipes
>I'm curious. Has anyone used fish dishes in the feasts they prepare? Even
here in Alaska, salmon and halibut capital of the north, fish does not hit
the feast menu very often.
>If you have included fish recipes in feasts, how many did you prepare? How
did the feast attendees respond to them?
My Dearest Cedrin,
The one memorable fish course I had was at a Loch Salann Solstice -- we
had whole salmons cooked in a steamer/commercial pressure cooker thingy.
DEE LICIOUS!!!
The event was at a National Guard Armoury, so we had a very
large/commercial kitchen and the salmon were rock hard frozen solid just
hours prior to feast, and perfectly cooked when served. I know, *I*
couldn't get enough, and there was plenty to be had ** served with a
delicate dill cream sauce** Unfortunately I wasn't involved with that
part of the feast prep, and don't know how/what was done.
Caointiarn
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 23:39:02 EDT
From: LrdRas at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Fish recipes
kerric at pobox.alaska.net writes:
<< Has anyone used fish dishes in the feasts they prepare? >>
Yes, Both myself and HTL Thorstein has prepared and included fish dishes in
at least one course of every feast for the past few years. The dishes have
ranged from simple fried fish to eel pies. They dishes were over-all well
received.
<< If you have included fish recipes in feasts, how many did you prepare? >>
How many dishes? Fish? Assuming you mean dishes here, the usual practice here
is to include only one fish dish in the menu.
<<How did the feast attendees respond to them?>>
The response is variable with those liking fish raving and those not liking
fish showing little emotion or comment.
Ras
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 09:30:54 -0400
From: Mary_HallSheahan at ademco.com
Subject: Re: SC - Fish recipes
Ostgardr regularly includes smoked whiting at late-winter feasts (partly
that's because we have access to the Brooklyn Terminal Market where many
miraculous things can be had at reasonable prices).
At the first (and so far only) feast I cooked, we served fish with an
egredouce sauce. Frozen filets for convenience, whatever they had in bulk
at the Price Club. We'd intended to fry them but due to kitchen
limitations we baked them instead. I aimed at one small filet per person,
because this was as part of a 9-dish feast and portions of each individual
dish were kept small. Egredouce is a godly sauce--it can be made ahead of
time, canned if necessary, goes well with a variety of meats, and reheats
like a dream.)
I've also seen mussels in a spiced broth served at an event, unfortunately
one mussel had a baby crab INSIDE the mussel...one of the scary-looking
crabs not a typically eaten crab--and a scientifically-fascinated server
wandered around showing it to everyone. Her presentation kind of killed my
appetite for the dish that day...
Emme
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 17:57:12 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Is Medieval Food Yucky?
THLRenata at aol.com wrote:
> I will be teaching a class at Great Western War III entitled "Is Medieval
> Food Yucky?", based in part on some discussions from this list about a year
> ago.
>
> The class is a discussion of some of the myths about medieval and
> Current-Middle-Ages food and the de-bunking thereof.
>
> I was hoping that some of the feast-mavens here would share some of their
> adventures in this area, like how they got 200 people to eat _______ and like
> it.
I had great success a few years ago with the cominee de poissons from Le
Menagier de Paris. This was at an EK Twelfth Night, and you haven't
lived until you've tried to get 400 Easterners (except perhaps for the
Carolingians and the Ostgardrians, in whose territories reside the two
big wholesale fish markets of the East Coast) to eat fish.
The cominee sauce ended up tasting a bit like a Singapore-style curry,
with ginger, saffron, pepper, almond milk, and, of course, copious
amounts of cumin. We then garnished the sauced fish (cod), pretty much
as a joke, with those awful canned fried onion rings which we happened
to have in our feast stores. I think one person complained, and the rest
pretty much inhaled the stuff with a sort of whooshing noise.
Of course the one who complained ended up as Queen a short time later;
it made things a bit interesting for me for a year or so...
Adamantius
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 1999 09:02:23 EDT
From: LrdRas at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Can medieval food be heart-smart?
ChannonM at aol.com writes:
<< However, unsauced, non breaded or [non]-deep fried
fish is not what I have seen as being welcomed at feasts and I guess that's
what I was alluding to. I >>
The first time I served fish at a feast it was plain whiting fillets deep
fried. There was none left at any of the tables although a rounded platter of
it was served at each table. King Ruslan came back to the kitchen to ask it
there was any he could take home with him. The 'no fish' at a feast thing is
simply no more than a myth.
Ras
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 1999 08:44:06 -0700
From: Anne-Marie Rousseau <acrouss at gte.net>
Subject: Let them eat fish! was Re: SC - Can medieval food be heart-smart?
hi all from Anne-Marie
You know, I was always told that "SCA people wont eat fish". And we have
two avowed piscatorially challenged individuals in our Culinary Guild. THis
not withstanding, every time we've served fish it got gobbled up. Now,
granted, we are VERY careful about the type (salmon and prawns vastly
preferred over cod and mussles, apparently), and did it in a very non
threatening way, but folks seemed to enjoy it.
For the perioide feast at Council of Crowns we had a few years back, we
served salmon and steamed mussels to great applause, and these were the
Kigns and Queens of the Known World (ie fighters and their gals). We also
served asparagus and notorious fortune cookies, but that's another story :).
But then, we get requests for seconds on salat, for gawds sake :).
So I would say that SCA people will eat fish, but I would suggest that it
not be the only meat, so those true carnivores out there can skip it and
still have a nice meal.
- --AM
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 09:27:54 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jeanne Stapleton <apiskp at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Let them eat fish! was Re: SC - Can medieval food be heart-smart?
> For the perioide feast at Council of Crowns we had a few years back, we
> served salmon and steamed mussels to great applause, and these were the
> Kings and Queens of the Known World (ie fighters and their gals). We also
> served asparagus and notorious fortune cookies, but that's another story :).
...and it was *excellent*, as this satisfied consumer
can state. The poached salmon made into a dragon
with cucumber scales was particularly fetching.
> But then, we get requests for seconds on salat, for gawds sake :).
Rorik did say, "Why are their flowers in my salad?"
but I ate all of mine and all of his. Again, excellent.
> So I would say that SCA people will eat fish, but I would suggest that it
> not be the only meat, so those true carnivores out there can skip it and
> still have a nice meal.
Most people I personally know will relish well-
prepared salmon. I know a few who won't touch any
kind of fish, even canned tuna, but they tend to
also be the ones who don't like any but the very
blandest of food.
Berengaria
Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 14:04:21 -0700
From: "Kathleen A. Roberts" <karobert at unm.edu>
Subject: Re: Christianity in SCA cookery. was Re: [Sca-cooks]
pre-Columbian foods
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
--On Wednesday, November 05, 2003 2:51 PM -0600 "Pixel, Goddess and Queen"
<pixel at hundred-acre-wood.com> wrote:
> Anybody who's actually served fish at a feast care to comment?
i have done salmon a number of times (when i could find it on sale for 2.99
lb... yes, it happens... or if it was a small feast) with good results.
used master huen's recipe 'to seeth fresh salmon' and it was a big hit.
once i cheated (period-wise) and used salmon pate from a local tiny bistro
as 'a little dad will do ya' on an appetizer plate. they rough chopped
the ingredients on request, i had hubby pick it up that a.m., and it cost
me less than if i would have tried to make it myself! of course, folks
were licking the plate on that one.
confession? never been brave enuf to try a white fish... tho pickled
herring might find a place on an 'appetizer' course one day.
cailte
now new mexican born in maryland
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 16:11:30 EST
From: BaronessaIlaria at aol.com
Subject: Re: Christianity in SCA cookery. was Re: [Sca-cooks]
pre-Columbian foods
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
In a message dated 11/5/2003 4:05:56 PM Eastern Standard Time,
karobert at unm.edu writes:
> Anybody who's actually served fish at a feast care to comment?
Not long ago I served the Cazuela de Salmon from de Nola that was posted on
this list and it was extremely well received. We even had a couple of folks
rumaging in the fridge during the night looking for leftovers.
I know that fish has been served here in Trimaris at other events as
well, but I don't recall any specific comments about it.
Ilaria
Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 21:18:06 +0000
From: "Olwen the Odd" <olwentheodd at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Christianity in SCA cookery. was Re: [Sca-cooks]
pre-Columbianfoods
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
> On Wed, 5 Nov 2003, Susan Fox-Davis wrote:
>> OK, steering this all back on topic: what about Christian dietary laws
>> and why don't we ever seem to bother with them in the SCA? I keep
>> trying to serve fish during Lent and all I get are complaints. O
>> Tempura, O Morays! <grin, duck, run really fast!>
>>
>> Selene Colfox
>
> Hmmm. Well, around here we've had a Princess who was deathly allergic to
> fish, thus, no fish served at feasts during her reigns. Other than that, I
> think part of the reason is that for most people, fish=tuna salad,
> fish=tuna hotdish, fish=fish sticks, or fish=hyper-expensive swordfish
> steak. Also, fish is quite expensive here in the heartland. When I
> bought
> for this last 12th night, I got pork butt for $.99/lb, but the cheapest
> fish I could get was salmon at $4.99/lb.
>
> Anybody who's actually served fish at a feast care to comment?
>
> Margaret
We made a star gazey pie for high table a while back. Not only did none of
it come back, they came to the kitchen and asked for more. When told we
only had made the one, they asked for the recipe! For this occasion I made
it with fillets of fish instead of whole fish. I wrapped the bacon to cover
the whole fillet and added a whole clove to not only act as the "eye" but to
hold that end of bacon in place.
We occasionally serve fillets of salmon and they are well recieved with
little returning to the kitchen.
I have been toying with some variations on making individual star gazey
pocket pies for buffets.
I will say that if anyone on this list is ever going to make something for
Mary Grace of Gatlain to eat, just make a star gazey pie and stand back!
Olwen
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 15:19:23 -0600
From: dailleurs at liripipe.com
Subject: Re: Christianity in SCA cookery. was Re: [Sca-cooks]
pre-Columbian foods
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>, "Cooks within
the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
hey all from Anne-Marie
we frequently serve fish in camp, especially on Fridays (Fast day and
all that ;)) but I've found in the SCA, fish tends to be snubbed,
except salmon for some reason. FOlks will inhale salmon but say "they
dont like fish".
problem is we have two of our active cooks who have such a strong
dislike for anything piscatorially inclined ;) that they cant stand to
have it cooked while they're in the kitchen.
Also, we've found it can be tricky to prepare fish well in bulk (ie for
100+ diners). you dont want to over cook it, and unlike a roast that
can sit and cool a bit and still be nice, tepid fish can be rather
unhappy.
We had good results though by placing large salmon fillets (we can get
the stuff megacheap here in seattle, year round) in shallow pans with
poaching liquid, etc, cover them in foil and bake. As long as the pan
is covered they didnt tend to dry out, and gentle poaching seems to
keep them from getting rubbery. We left the covered pans on a warm
griddle to keep them warm until they were ready to serve, and they were
dished up in preheated heavy ceramic plates (we ran them through the
commercial dishwasher just before serving)
We've also done shrimp things for feasts, but that was really touchy
(over cook them and they turn VERY rubbery). We planned on a small
serving per person (like 3 large prawns) as only one small tidbit in a
much larger meal, and figured about 1/3 of our diners wouldnt eat them
(which made those of us who like seafood that much happier ;))
Its also interesting to note that when we cooked a feast for the Known
World Crowns some years ago, everyone specifically said they liked fish
and seafood EXCEPT the local royalty ;).
so yes, we can do fish for feasts but must take into account the strong
aversions of a few (especially those few who are also useful ;)), and
the sometimes touchy nature of bulk production.
--Anne-Marie
PS the ercipes we used were the stuffed salmon and buttered shrimps in
the Elizabethan Feudal Gourmet pamphlets.
hows that for a slick transition to a crass commercial plug? ;)
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 16:24:10 -0500
From: "Barbara Benson" <vox8 at mindspring.com>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Fish in Feast (was alot of things)
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
> When I bought for this last 12th night, I got pork butt for $.99/lb,
> but the cheapest fish I could get was salmon at $4.99/lb.
>
> Margaret
> Anybody who's actually served fish at a feast care to comment?
Greetings,
I have served salmon at 2 feasts, the same recipie both times. It is the
Salmon Casserole recipie from de Nola. I know it has been posted numerous
times to this list. The first time I served it was at a 3 day event where
there were 2 feasts. The main (Sat) night was cooked by Maestro Niccolo and
he also served a fish dish. I believe it was a trout in pastry. There were
several comments afterward about fish being served successfully two
nights in a row.
I managed the salmon by serving it as a small portion in the third course
along with another meat. I believe Niccolo found a really great price on
frozen trout. I think expense is a major concern, but I also think a lot of
people are afraid of the additional sanitary concerns that accompany
fish.
The perception is that fish, more so than the other meats, is sensitive to
temperature and if a person does not know what they are doing then people
could get really sick. This, I believe, can be gotten around by establishing
yourself as a good cook and getting people to trust that you will not put a
food in front of them that is going to get them sick. Of course, all of this
good-will can be set back by the next cook who sends out chicken that is
bloody at the bone. Because if you cannot even cook chicken right then there
is no way that I am gonna eat your fish (speaking as the hypothetical
feast goer).
There is a fish dish out of Geuter Spise that I really want to try:
19. This is a good salmon dish.
Take a salmon, scale it, split and cut the two halves in pieces. Chop
parsley, sage, take ground ginger, pepper, anise, and salt to taste. Make a
coarse dough according to the size of the pieces, sprinkle the pieces with
the spices, and cover them completely with the dough. If you can fit them
into a mould, then do so. In this way you can prepare pike, trout, bream,
and bake each one in its own dough. If it is a meat-day, however, you can
prepare chickens, partridges, pigeons, and pheasants, provided that you have
the noulds, and fry them in lard or cook them in their moulds. Take chicken
breast or other good meat, THis will improve your art of cooking even more,
and don't oversalt.
Glad Tidings,
Serena da Riva
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 18:29:36 -0500
From: Morgana Abbey <morgana.abbey at juno.com>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Fish at feasts
To: Sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
I've noticed that the biggest problem (at least in these parts) is that,
too often, the cooks try to serve a delicate hot fish in the first
course. Now if, as is usual, things run late and feast gets pushed back,
you have fish-flavored shingles. I got around this by serving a cold
dish 2 years ago when I cooked Twelfth Night. [Trout in Orange
Marinade--adapted from Marcella Hazan.]
So I advise people to serve fish cold in the first course and save the
hot dishes for later courses when you know you have control over the
serving time.
Morgana
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 19:00:48 -0600
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: Christianity in SCA cookery. was Re: [Sca-cooks]
pre-Columbianfoods
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
In Oklahoma, frozen whiting is about the cheapest, $1.50-2/poundin bulk.
I've served it pickled and as floured and fried fillets with an apple/wine
sauce. In all cases, the fish has disappeared.
I've steered clear of the pickled fish in recent years because I don't have
a period recipe. I did the fried fillets as a mixed fish and chicken course
to handle some of the dietary problems of the local baron and baroness. He
is allergic to chicken, she detests fish. The chicken was served with an
orange sauce, which led to people experimenting with the sauces on various
things all through the feast.
Bear
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 19:10:02 -0600
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Fish was Christianity in SCA cookery.
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
> confession? never been brave enuf to try a white fish... tho pickled
> herring might find a place on an 'appetizer' course one day.
>
> cailte
Years ago, I did a Scandinavian feast (back before I was seriously working
with period recipes) and sent the pickled whiting out with the first course.
The Queen had three helpings of it before the Baroness leaned over and
suggested that she might want to save room for the next two courses.
The Queen, having had as much food presented as most feasts of the day,
hadn't realized just how extensive the meal was.
Do try white fish some day. The whiting fillets with the apple wine sauce
beats pickled fish hands down, if you have a grill surface big enough to
push the batches through quickly and serve straight from the grill to
the platter to the table.
Bear
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 12:18:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Fish at feast
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-coks at ansteorra.org>
From: Ruth Tannahill <rtanhil at fast.net>
> Lady Brighid ni Chiarran (spelling--I'msorry)
That's okay -- I can't spell your patronymic, either. :-)
> served a fish in bitter orange sauce that was out of this world.
::blush:; Thank you. That was the Cazuela de Salmon (Casserole of
Salmon) from de Nola.
My redaction and several others are in the Florilegium:
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MEATS/salmon-msg.text
> Berelinde
Brighid ni Chiarain
Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 09:49:46 -0500
From: johnna holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Whole Fish was Christianity
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
> oh, and the reproving looks
> they have gotten from a baked fish with its head still on.
The problem that I encountered with whole fish as a diner is that
very few people know what to do when presented with a large whole
bone in fish that is supposed to serve the entire table.
The fish arrives and sits there on the platter because few people
know how to debone and then serve pieces from a whole fish. Also
few diners have the proper sort of knife at hand to handle a whole
fish.
I went up and down a row of tables one evening at a feast, deboning
several platters worth, so that people could or would eat the fish
course.
My feeling was that it would have gone back to the kitchen untouched had
someone not done it.
Johnnae llyn Lewis
Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2005 05:22:25 -0700 (PDT)
From: Marcus Loidolt <mjloidolt at yahoo.com>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Sca-cooks Digest, Vol 27, Issue 25
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Benedicte,
Abot Johann from the middle of the Middle here,
There is a good rule of thumb, according to a number
of period sources, to have three 'meats' Fish, Fowl,
Field. If a guest can't eat from one, they can from
another. Granted the Fish might be preserved as salted
or kippered (Herring seems to be the favorite
here...long story inserted, long ago I was doing my
second?? Feast, and was determined to serve some sort
of fish, indeed kippered herring. I was warned that no
one would eat it and that the barony would not pay for
it! Okay says I, it'll be served as on table with the
crudites and I'll pay for it from my own pocket!
So it happened, the feeding frenzy and piracy that
occurred is still talked about, those tables that
liked it (and there were three that were really hooked
on it) stole from those that either didn't like it,
which is fine, and from those that were just a little
to slow to recognize what they had in front of them!!
LOL, Then they tried to bribe head table out of their
fish too!! Since then no one ever really complains
about me serving kippered herring (or any other fish)
at my feasts.
Johann von Metten
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 17:08:58 +1200
From: Adele de Maisieres <ladyadele at paradise.net.nz>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] fish at SCA feasts
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Stefan li Rous wrote:
> I keep hearing this phrase about not eating fish, but I've heard many
> other comments to the contrary. Me? I'd love to see a lot more, well-
> prepared fish at SCA feasts.
I served escabeche (fish poached in wine and vinegar and allowed to cool
and jelly in it's cooking liquid-- delicious) at a feast once. A third
of the dishes (I serve in messes) were essentially untouched (from the
tables with the youngest and least adventurous eaters, I guess). The
other two-thirds were scraped (and in one or two cases licked, I
suspect) clean. I'd certainly serve it again. I've also had salmon,
trout, mussels, and plain fried fish at feasts and I don't remember
anyone complaining. I'd go so far as to say that fish is quite popular.
> So, has anyone served eel? How well did it go over? So far, I've only
> had eel out of a can.
I don't think I have, but it would probably go down just fine-- smoked
freshwater eel tends to be seen as a treat here (New Zealand). I don't
think I've seen unsmoked eel for sale, but you can fish them out of any
stream anyway.
--
Adele de Maisieres
Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 20:48:49 -0400
From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius"
<adamantius.magister at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] fish at SCA feasts
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
On Aug 12, 2005, at 12:50 AM, Stefan li Rous wrote:
>> I was warned that no
>> one would eat it and that the barony would not pay for it!
>
> I keep hearing this phrase about not eating fish, but I've heard
> many other comments to the contrary. Me? I'd love to see a lot
> more, well-prepared fish at SCA feasts.
We serve fish pretty frequently at our feasts, but we live near the
ocean, which makes seafood readily available and also probably helps
provide a receptive crowd. Favorite period fish dishes include
cuminade de poissons from Taillevent and/or Le menagier, any of
several egredouce recipes, saumon gentil from, IIRC, The Forme of
Cury, and a 17th-century English mussel recipe whose source I forget
(but can probably locate) whose product is virtually
indistinguishable from modern moules mariniere.
> So, has anyone served eel? How well did it go over? So far, I've
> only had eel out of a can.
Smoked eel is exceptional. I've never served eel at an event, but I
vaguely recall that al-Sayyid Ras al Zib served some kind of
crustades for a fish day that involved salmon and eels, on at least
one occasion.
Adamantius
Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 18:50:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Alexa <mysticgypsy1008 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] fish at SCA feasts
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
I helped with a feast over in Caid that served Mussels
and also had a smoked salmon dish that had a mustard
sauce on it. I am not one for most seafood.
(occasionally shrimp, scallops and very picky about
regular fish). I did not try the mussels, but many
people enjoyed them. The salmon, I tried that, and
for fish, it was pretty yummy. I donšt think we had
much left over.
Alexa
Now in VA
Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 20:54:27 -0700
From: "Nick Sasso" <grizly at mindspring.com>
Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] fish at SCA feasts
To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
-----Original Message-----
<<<<Smoked eel is exceptional. I've never served eel at an event, but I
vaguely recall that al-Sayyid Ras al Zib served some kind of
crustades for a fish day that involved salmon and eels, on at least
one occasion.
Adamantius>>>>
Did grilled, stuffed eels at my last feast in Meridies a couple of years
ago, as a sort of taster dish. Those who tried it were pleased and calling
for more. Some adventurous folks who never tried it, gave it a go. It was a
pleasant way to introduce the dish, and have me interact with my guests
while my expert kitchen hands kept the feast moving.
Weird food as a 'try if you'd like' can be inviting and less pressure
For the curious.
Then there was the roasted orange salmon Serena de Riva foisted off to huge
success at the 'feast of the twice-cooked dishes' :o)
niccolo difrancesco
<the end>