A story, Isabella of York

Prior to coronation I met with a friend, she happened to be the event steward as well. We started talking as we sometimes do about the SCA as a whole. Our experiences and other random things. This day we touched on a the subject of influences. People who made statements and influenced us along the way, either immediately or later on in our "career" paths. So I will relate my story, don't worry it is short.

I had been in the SCA at least 5 years, I am not sure how long or when this was but I was at an event and had the chance to speak with a laurel about her beautiful garb. She wore exquisite Elizabethan. The event I was at was Pennisc a 2 week camping event where the mud and dust can and will stain your clothes. I asked her about her garb, was she not worried about ruining it under such conditions. I had seen her in fine silks, rich velvets and stunning but expensive brocades all week long. Her answer was simple but stuck with me and in recent years has filtered into my own SCA life. Her answer was, "Do you think they worried about such things? These are clothing, not costumes."  It took years for me to truly understand. It took until I found a style that i feel is clothing for me and not a costume i put on and now I wear silk to cook in a kitchen for 40+ people at a time.

Thank you Isabella of York, this small conversation. This small bit of time and advice given to me has changed me. You may not ever remember this, but I do and will be in your debt until I have changed someone the way yo have changed me.

Vegetarians are people too

I have always tried my best to accommodate people with dietary restrictions. Having 2 of my own I know what it is like to show up to a feast and find that 2/3 of what is served to everyone else will either make me sick or kill me. To be offered a "substitute" of more bread or starch instead of a protein like everyone else. I used to carry "emergency" food with me to events because I could never guarantee that there would be enough for me despite warning the cook and despite paying full price. I was never one to complain, I have never expected catered service but what I did expect was communication and consideration. 

The last 3 events I have cooked at (and all the others as well) I have tried very hard to be in constant contact with those who have dietary issues. Emails for clarifications and private messages to check on details. I have only ever once needed to tell someone I could not accommodate them. If it had been a smaller event I would have been able to do something but one of 150 people makes it impossible.

Anyway, the last 3 events my personal accomplishment has been the compliments from those that needed "special" attention. After KWDS I was complimented by a young woman with gluten issues. After AiA I was paid a very high compliment. She said that for the first time ever I managed to provide for her and she did not feel left out or hungry at the event. After this last event I had not one but 2 compliments from the vegetarians, praising me for making them feel included in the full feast experience. One was surprised (she is from out of region) about the attention I gave to the vegetarian menu substituting protein for protein and not just giving an extra helping of starch. She was much appreciated thanked me several times. This attention was not only paid to feast but to lunch as well where she was again surprised. Feast though is where it is most noticeable where one is "different" or apart from the others and to be told that they didn't notice this and they felt included and comfortable. This is an achievement I am most proud of. It was my privilege to be able to serve them and make them at ease.

Redacting on the fly

Sometimes it just has to be done. either you forget part of the recipe or you run out of time or sometimes you just want the challenge.No matter why we do it, it sometimes needs to get done. Coronation was no exception.

What was redacted on site? Quite a bit bt specifically I am referring to the chicken. Or more so the "marinade" of the chicken.

Page 199 recipe 126 Various ways to sauté a capon

More than half cook the capon in salted water, quarter it, and let it sit for eight hours in a mixture of white wine, vinegar, must syrup, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ground coriander, and crushed garlic cloves. Take it out, flour it and fry it in melted rendered fat. When it is done, serve it hot, dressed with a sauce of the same seasoning.

After it has been taken out of the mixture, you can also finish off cooking it on a grill without flouring it. 

The recipe itself is straightforward enough. It was just a matter of enough marinade and getting the taste right, so we began. Wine, vinegar and spices all into the pot. We tasted and stirred and tasted some more. Our results were thus.

2 liters of white wine

500 ml of red wine vinegar

1 liter of mst syrup (4 liters of grape juice boiled down to 1 liter)

3 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp ground cloves

4 tsp Ground nutmeg

1 Tbsp Coriander

About a dozen whole cloves

and then garlic, I believe about 2 heads. Oddly it didn't get written down.

Stir let rest, stir again. We placed it over the warm boiled chicken and then set it aside overnight.

Due to illness, instead of grilling the chicken it was done in the oven. It still tasted lovely! I think grilled it will spectacular. Quite tender and juicy. I have even tried it cold from my fridge and it is wonderful. We served it with the rest of the garlic sauce on the side. I am quite happy with the way this turned out.

Side note: we used this amount on about 100 chicken pieces. We could have made more marinade to cover them completely but they were "turned" in the morning to get coverage. I think 1/2 again to double the recipe would have been sufficient.

A menu for a Coronation

as mentioned this last weekend I did some cooking. It was a coronation feast to celebrate the up stepping of our new King and Queen, Morales and Agnes.

Shortly after they were secured as the heirs to the black dragon throne I reached out to speak with them (via her Highness) as to what their wishes, wants and restrictions might be when it comes to the food for their big day. I was given some rough guidelines and ran with it from there.

I started with a list of nearly 100 dishes planning for hot weather or cold weather and trying to plan seasonal things in there as well. The weather leading up to the event delayed the ability to acquire more of a requested item... Mushrooms, but I did manage one mushroom dish. As well as squash (zucchini).  I aimed for plenty of meat and so there were two main meats and the vegetable dishes also contained meat or meat broth. Of my 8 items on the menu, one, did not have meat or meat broth in it. No worries, my vegetarians were covered by dishes created just for them.

So follows the final menu, all recipes from The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi (1570)

Eggs in Garlic sauce
Veal in Pastry
A sop of Mushrooms
A sop of Peas
Chicken ( various ways to saute chicken)
Pasta (done as lasagne with cheese and cinnamon sugar)
A sop of fresh squash
Crema (milk pies)

The food was well received, I got good feedback on it and what was returned to the kitchen was not large quantities. I did notice and speak with a few people that next time I have 3 dishes that have meat, not to mix the meats but do a single meat for each dish. Something I thought about but only after I had begin the meat mix and match :)

The two big hit items seem to have been the Eggs at the start and the Crema for dessert,

All quiet on the western front... or not.

So, while things have been busy for me personally they are nothing of interest for my blog. On the other hand... I have cooked for 2 events in the last couple of months. Arts in April, in April and Coronation this past weekend! Vivant to our new King and Queen, Morales and Agnes!

Both weekends were successful in terms of cooking and I will detail more on that later. For now... I wanted to say hi! I'm not dead and I will have recipes and thoughts for you shortly :)