Mdwntr-AS-Fst-art

This document is also available in: text or RTF formats.

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.

************************************************************************

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" <Njs at mccalla.com>

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.