



The last proposal, French, because our lovely princess has a French persona. This is based on Le Menagier.





Proposal #3 - French Feast based on menus from Le Menagier de Paris ~1393

Premier plateau - First Platter

Pastez de champignons - Mushroom Pies Parma Tartes- Meat Pies Viandes tranchées froides avec leurs sauces - Cold sliced chicken and pork with two sauces Calaminee- Calaminee Froide sauge - Cold Sage Saucisse avec calimafrey - Sausages with Calimafrey sauce (Mustard Jance) Salade au vinaigre- Salad with Vinegar Olives et câpres Olives and Capers



Deuxième plateau - Second platter



Cretonne de Pois Nouveaux - Cretonnee of peas Viande salée et grossière composée de bœuf et de jambon - Salted and coarse meat that is to say beef and ham Boulettes de viande - Meatballs Moutarde- Mustard Tarte aux herbes, œufs et fromage - A tart of herbs, cheese and eggs Bourbelier de sanglier à la sauce épicée - Bourbelier of wild boar in spiced sauce La maniere de faire composte - The way to make composte (honeyed vegetables) Gelées pour un jour de viande - Jellies for a meat day



Troisième plateau - Third platter



Poires d’angoisse - Pears in Syrup Tailliz de karesme - Lenten Slices Flaons de cresme de lait - Cream Flans

Boute Hors



Epices de chambre - Chamber spices Fruit Confit - candied fruit Noix sucrées- Sugared nuts





All three menus can be prepared with the challenges presented at site. The Japanese style feast was chosen. The food is food that was available in the Muromachi period (1336–1573). Most of the recipes are from a partially translated 17th-century Japanese cookbook --which is the earliest cookbook currently available. There are a couple of additions that are out of period, namely soy sauce in favor of the more period Sho no Irizake, because of its familiar flavor, and ice cream, which is an 18th century invention...but...ICE CREAM? This is one of the times I'm happy to fall out of period...I'm an ice cream junkie. As I work out the recipes I will be posting them on the blog. My project is set aside for a few more months I think.



Enjoy!



Update: 7/102019 Challenge 4--No cooking surface on site (stove, oven, etc.) Grill time baby!! :-) This is not my first rodeo cooking without a kitchen. My very first feast was done at a site that had forgotten we had rented the kitchen and tore it out the week of the event. The sink was two brand new trashcans and a hose, the site generously provided a very nice outdoor grill, and guests donated camp stoves. Feast was tasty--venison pie, grilled duck with sauce, and coney in cive, cooked in broth made from boiling the duck prior to grilling it....YUM YUM!









What have I been up to lately? I know the blog gets "quiet" so I thought I would share some of the newer things I have been learning. I have put together three proposals because menu planning is something I do for fun. The site has a few challenges, the first of which is very primitive (which is polite for non-existent) kitchen facilities.Challenge 1: Put together a meal that can be served cool, room temperature or warm at best-no hot food.Challenge 2: Clean up after the fact is going to be a challenge --wherever possible use disposable dishwear.Challenge 3: Distance to site -- the facilities are about an hour away and I have a smallish car which will make transporting food to site interesting without multiple trips.Challenge 3 was the easiest to resolve..I'm borrowing a truck..look out world. For food transport I am getting multiple coolers. Ta-Dah.So the menu. Italian & Roman menus lend themselves best to this kind of cooking. Italian cooking specifies food "on the table", "from the credenza" and "from the kitchen". So my first proposal was based on Scappi and La Singolare Dottrina di M. Domenico, where some of the terms I used in the proposal come from.Servitio di credenza posto in Tavola (on the table)Capi di latte serviti con zuccharo sopra - Head of milk served with sugar aboveMorselletti di biscotti - morselletti of biscuitsUva bianchi i neve - black and white grapesComer Higos a la Francesa - To eat figs in the French FashionBiscottini alla savoiarda -Savoyard BiscuitsBiscottini di zuccaro - Sugar BiscuitsPrimo servito di Credenza - First service from the side boardInsalata di mele crude - Salad of Apples and OnionsInsalata di arance tagliate a fette, servite con zucchero e acqua di rose - Sliced orange salad with rosewater and sugarPreparare una crostata di funghi per un giorno in prestito - To prepare a crostata of mushrooms for a day in LentPer far crostate cioe pan ghiotto con barbaglia de porco, o presciutto - To prepare crostate -- that is, gourmand bread - with salted pork jowl or proscuittoSecondo servizio di credenzaSalciccione cott'in vino - pork sausage cooked in a red wine broth, served cold and slicedlingua di manzo salata e affumicata servita fredda- salted and smoked beef tongue served coldCapponi Sopramentati serviti freddo con capparetto sopra - Chicken "Sopramentato"Vaccina salpresa alessata, servito con petrosemolo Salted pressed beef, boiled served with parsleyUna torta di farro - A rice tartMustardo amabile - sweet mustardSalsa viridis - Green SauceSapor de prugne - dried plum sauceCarciofi cotti serviti con sale e pepe all'aceto- cooked artichokes with vinegar, salt and pepperCapperi e olive assortite - capers and assorted olivesComposto di rape, carote, cetriolo e finocchio - Pickled turnips, carrots, cucumber and fennelTerzo servizio di credenzaPer fare la pizza di molti strati, comunemente freddi pasta secca a strati- To make pizza of many layers, commonly called a cold dry layered pastry.Mandorle e noci fresche -Fresh walnuts and almondsPere e mele - Pears and ApplesCascio- cheeseNeve di latte, servita con zuccaro - Snow of milkCialdoni fatti a scartocci - Wafers made like paperLevata la tovaglia-Raise the tableclothFinnocchio dolce verde- Sweet Green Fennel (Candied Fennel Stalks)Stecchi in piatti con acqua rosa Toothpicks in plates with rose waterConditi, & confettioni a beneplacito Confits and candies to one's tasteProposal number two is based on one of the personas of the current prince/princess. This is a Japanese style feast. I will be the very first to admit there is NOT a lot out there on pre-Edo period food. Edo period is late for us, so the first challenge was to come to an understanding of what was and what was not available in period, including cooking methods. While the methods and foods are plausible, and some of the recipes can be traced to sources in period--not all of the dishes you find here have historic roots. The saving grace is that Japanese cooking is very traditional.This is at best a guess of what would have been served.Seasonings on the table include: Shoyu, Pickled Ginger, Rice Vinegar and SaltHon-Zen-first tray:Namazu kabayaki (catfish kabayaki--catfish in lieu of unagi or eel--pan fried catfish, with a sweet and spicy sauce made of soy, mirin, sake and sugar)Gohan - RiceMikawa ae (cucumber, wakame salad with imitation crab)Namasu (daikon and carrot salad)Crane broth (roasted duck or chicken, udon noodles and mushrooms in broth)Edamame (lightly steamed and salted soybeans)Nino-zen - Second TrayShimofuri (lightly steamed fish) served with Sho no Irizake (a sauce made with sake, komgu, umeboshi and bonito flakes)Ebi No Umani (Shrimp simmered in Sake serve with a sauce of sake, mirin, dashi and soy)Sumashi-Jiru (clear clam soup)Kikka Kabu (pickled turnips cut into the shape of chrysanthemum flowers)Gohan - RiceSanno-zen - Third TrayKuri Gohan (chestnut rice)Kabocha no Nimonao (simmered squash or pumpkinMatsutake soup (clear mushroom soup)Shōga pōku-maki nasu (ginger pork rolls stuffed with eggplant)Kakuni (braised pork belly)Okashi お菓子 (Sweets)Anmitsu- a selection of fruits, agar agar jelly, green tea with jasmine and lLychee ice cream, mochi, red bean paste drizzled with a sweet sugar syrup