Test feast

[msmemory_archive]

Test feast went well. Everything was edible -- though we identified a few tweaks to make. No psychodrama either, yay. I don't think learnedax really meant to have let himself get drafted into a full kitchen afternoon, but it was great to have his help.

Spot feedback:
Preset -- garlic needs to be kept more moist. Bake covered, probably, and likely more olive oil.

First course -- change the herbs on the carrots. Thyme and tarragon were not quite it. Oregano perhaps.
Chicken worked excellently well.
Ember day tart had too much onion, not unusual. I would put more egg/cheese and less onion, but tpau is in charge of those and I'll defer to her opinion.
Cook the frumenty just a tad longer, another 5-10 mins.

Second course -- the lamb was unevenly cooked, perhaps because I had to buy a shank roast with bone, instead of boneless, for the test feast. The people who like rare were happy, the people who like well done thought there should have been more well-done bits. Everybody liked the garlic-rosemary crust.
Mushroom tarts were just fine.
Sauces -- it would be hard to make too much garlic sauce. Eliminate the apple sauce, it's dull and modern.
Pea soup worked for those who like pea soup. Of course it would be better with a nice chunk of bacon, but we're trying for vegetarian.

Watch the timing. Because we were at home, with just one table, we got sloppy about the flow between courses.

Comments

[new-man.livejournal.com]

Were you expecting psychodrama?

Carrots -- dill? Always an herb I like on carrots.

Applesauce -- straight ahead applesauce isn't a bonus. Trader Joe's sells some interesting apple/other fruit sauces that might be a win, if you wanted to keep a fruit sauce.

Pea soup -- yes, it'd be better with bacon. You can get that "smoked" flavor through a judicious application of OOP chemicals (Hickory salt or SmokeMaster), or -- if you're not trying for vegan -- a little smoked cheese.

[tpau]

you can even get that smoked and meaty flavour by usign smoked turkey... now i apparently don'tknow what i am missing or something, but i really like pea soup this way. plus, is a Lent recipe, so is nto liek ti started outhavignbacon in it or anything...

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Is the entire feast Lenten except for the lamb?

[tpau]

no, not at all, but that recipe was, thus we know it never had meat in it (as opposed to the places i nteh feast wher ewe eliminated things liek bacon and pork fat because of my reasons)

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

See my note to elizabear below. Unfortunately, while it is vegetarian, it is not vegan or low fat. There is a substantial amount of olive oil used at multiple points.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

No decent SCA feast can or should be low fat. :-)

[new-man.livejournal.com]

Smoked turkey makes it not vegetarian, which seemed to be a requirement.

I don't understand "now i apparently don'tknow what i am missing or something, but i really like pea soup this way". By 'this way' do you mean with turkey, or the way it was prepared at the test feast?

[tpau]

the way it was at test feast (i.e. with no meat in it)

it is nto a requirement htat it is vegeterian, it is just nice. but i think ti is fine without addingthings to it...

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

We have another fruit-and-wine sauce that learnedax worked up from Martino. tpau keeps saying it tastes like the base of haroset, but that's not a bad thing.

[new-man.livejournal.com]

Sounds tasty!

[elizabear.livejournal.com]

We're signed up on board for Z's first attempt at staying for feast. The menu looks yummy, and veg pea soup is appreciated.

Let me know if you guys need a Friday-day Costco shop or use of my extra fridge/freezer.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

FYI - there are no pork products involved in the feast at all. The only meat dishes are the two mains (chicken stew, roast lamb). The rest of the dishes are vegetarian, though not vegan. It is a garlic-and-mushroom-lovers' meal.

Thanks for the offer of fridge/freezer space. I've got my freezer up and running again, but if we're short on fridge I might give you a shout.

[elizabear.livejournal.com]

w00t! on the lack of pork & byproducts - it's one of the main reasons we're giving Z his first feast try. And extra w00t! on having lamb. :)

Oh - I can also hit Costco Saturday at 9am if you need bread or such. I'm not due on site 'til opening at 11:30am.

Sorry I can't help in the kitchen. :(

[elizabear.livejournal.com]

Oh - and do you want to borrow my roaster oven for heating the soup? (I assume you're making ahead due to time constraints - my pea soup for the Scottish play was barely done in time, and I started it on Friday afternoon!)

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

I'd love to borrow your roaster oven to reheat either the soup or the chicken (if you have a non-meat constraint on it, just let me know). That would free up several burners for sauce making.

[elizabear.livejournal.com]

No prob - it's had turkey in it before, and we don't worry about kosher cookware even for Dan's folks (just meat vs dairy for the food at each mealtime). Thx for asking!

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

Speaking of reheating -- ISTR that I can make the Gauncile on Thurs or Fri and reheat it in the crockpot. Right?

[elizabear.livejournal.com]

Correctamundo! Just remember that the refigeration and reheating mellows it a lot. The last time I made it ahead, a kick-your-butt "wow, GARLIC!" gauncile became "yum, garlic".

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I'm with new_man on the dill and carrots. My charming daughter has decided that carrots sauted in EV olive oil, dill and cumin are the best thing in the world. The cumin comes from the Apicius recipe (and so does the olive oil) and dill is well known in period. Adding the pair is "plausibly period".)

If you pre-roast the garlic in too much oil, and save the oil, you can be very very very happy. :-) Too much oil might also resolve the dryness issue.

I have no period documentation for it, but plausiby period - my best pea soup is made not with onions, but with leeks. It is much better, by far. If you want some of the flavor of ham in the soup, you can use one of the Liquid Smoke variants. I have found they taste poisonous in pea soups unless used in microscopic quantities - aim to go very lightly and you should be fine. Thyme in the pea soup helps as well.

[tpau]

dill is a good idea. esp fresh dill.

[mermaidlady]

Old Marian's pea soup recipe from the Menagier is really good and I'm not a fan of pea soup. I think it's the fried onions... What recipe are you using?

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

That's the one! (We weren't sure how long to fry the onions. Did Marian fry them til crisp, or just til starting to get golden, or what?)

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I do not know what madamebuttery did, but I make pea soup often. The flavor difference between raw onions boiled, and onions sauted until transluscent, and onions sauted until brown - is magnificent.

Go for the darker.

(When I am in "hurried father" mode, I will sometimes just throw soaked peas and chopped onions in the crock pot in the AM - and eat in the PM. When I have time, I saute the onions first.)

[rickthefightguy.livejournal.com]

There is a burger place in the Detroit area that has the best burgers I've ever had (and I have made an effort in that direction). One of the toppings they have of course are onions: raw, fried ... and burnt! The burnt are the best.

[tpau]

garlick may wnat tobe tinfoiled to get moremoist

carrots - oregano, OR dill. fresh dill possibly a bit of dill seed. we shoudlahve dill from the mushrooms leftover if we want.

ember day tart - hm. i thoughtit was ok, but i am strange. i think maybe 12oz rather then 16 of onion but i wouldn't raise the other thigns lowerignthe oonions wil lahve the smae effect.

frumenty wants a parsley o ntop of it for pretty.

pea soup - onions need to be fried mroe i believe.

that was too much plum sauce for ne table, i think half is good.

seemed to be about hte right amountof mushrooms and of green sauce. also of lamb. caue ther ewould have been less leftovers if i could eat mroe of it :)

abutthe right amount of chicken, but maybe more bread for sops?

too much butter for a table.

i think mushroom tart could have used more salt and meber daytart could have used mroe cinnamon...

lemonade definitly needs lemons floating in it

[dreda.livejournal.com]

Mmm...tasty!

I am reminded that Brasserie Jo does a really yummy herbal marinade on their raw carrots. Sadly, I will not be able to do a research trip to refresh my memory before the event, but if you'd like to, I recommend their lunch menu. Also their Croque Monsieur.

I wasn't thinking about presentation until I saw the beautifully presented lamb, and then I thought the frumenty looked a little...frumpy. Tasty, though. I think you're right, too - a boneless lamb will mean no one frets about carving.

I'm looking forward to eating it all again! (And so, so pleased that I feel like we can check this off our list and free up the brain space to worry about other things. ;)

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

"Beautifully presented lamb" -- thanks, all I actually did was plop it onto the platter and pour a little of the remaining pan juices on it :)

tpau is right that the frumenty needs a little parsley or something on it for spiff.

[dreda.livejournal.com]

Hey - lack of effort doesn't detract from final effect. I won't tell. ;)

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

(finally connects name to face to LJ)

[dreda.livejournal.com]

*waves* ;)

[rising-moon.livejournal.com]

Ah. Hi there.

*waves*

[rising-moon.livejournal.com]

I'll echo dreda (big surprise) and report that the meal was delightful. Thank you for the delicious walk-through!

What was in the garlicky white sauce, again, besides the obvious? It was very tasty.

Also: I'm with the dill crowd. Carrots are one of the few places I enjoy it.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

The milky garlic sauce:
http://net.indra.com/~eliz/Recipes/SCA/gauncile.html
I think we forgot the saffron yesterday.

[rising-moon.livejournal.com]

Mm, saffron! I look forward to tasting the sauce with that addition.

Also, I forgot to add that the frumenty was a good base note. It went well in combination with the "live" dishes, those that had more zing. (Though I did have to ask my Lady what frumenty is. Sounds like it ought to be a compote, don't you think? At any rate it was quite nice.)

Frumenty

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

The original, in Curye on Inglysch, calls for cracked wheat, but I have seen it done with various grains. Sunday's was barley.

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

Actually, I did put saffron in the garlic sauce, but only a modest amount. It's really only there for color, since you'd have to put in quite a lot to be noticable past the garlic.

[tpau]

we shopuld also remember that the pea soup was twice hte amount needed per table

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

Which means it's a terrifically cheap dish, since that was just a pound each of peas (50 cents/lb) and onions (30 cents/lb), and enough olive oil to fry up the onions.

[gardenfey.livejournal.com]

I would put more egg/cheese and less onion

Or use a sweeter onion? I'm not sure what would be period, though.

I've recently made an interesting discovery that any beef product cooked with goat cheese comes out tasting like lamb.

[hfcougar.livejournal.com]

I liked the carrots as they were, but dill would make a fine replacement.

I actually thought the ember day tart was great as it was, and I usually hate ember day tart. So much that I almost didn't even try it.

I agree that the garlic was a little dry and the lamb was underdone (or unevenly done). I tend to prefer rare meat, and the inside slices were a bit much even for me. All of the non-applesauce sauces were great.

This may be the first SCA feast I've ever had where there was absolutely nothing on the menu that I didn't like.