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!