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

[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".