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The Myrkfaelinn Redaction Challenge: 14th Century Tart de Bry and Rice Moulds

22 Wednesday Nov 2017

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By Meadbh ni Clerigh and Elska á Fjárfelli
Dominion of Myrkfaelinn

November 12 marked our first Sunday A&S practice: “Redaction Challenge,” organized by Lady Meadbh ni Clerigh for both adults and youth. She distributed the challenge recipes, at practice and online, two weeks prior. The basic idea: interpret a medieval recipe, then taste-test the result with all in attendance. We could participate at any level, from basic follow-the-instructions cook to freestyle chef.

Our challenge:

Tart de Bry, a 14th century English cheese quiche or pie

The challenge gives the original recipe transcription, a modern translation of the recipe, and then one cook’s modern interpretation. Your challenge is to make that same recipe, which we’ll then share with all attendees. Use the modern interpretation, or go to the original and make your own version! Write down the proportions you used, and the steps, to accompany your creation. We’ll taste and compare, and share recipes.

BUT WAIT! There’s more!

Our young chefs-in-training have an option to participate as well! I have a second, simpler, concoction for the younger cooks (Rice Mould, 15th century). Encourage your mini-mes to give it a try!

With those words, we all set down to do some serious cooking!

The first Facebook post showed up Saturday evening, from Armegard: “Our interpretation of Tart de Bry is out of the oven. Can’t wait to try it tomorrow and see what everyone else comes up with!” That post was quickly followed the next day by a handful of delicious shots of sumptuous tarts, ready for the tasting. From Don Matteo Pesci: “Our Tart for the redaction challenge. Taste you soon!”

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Simon and Angelika’s Tart de Bry, as posted on Facebook. (photo by Simon) 

We brought six different Tarts de Bry (and two Rice Moulds) to practice in total. Big thanks to all who participated in our first redaction challenge! It was amazing to see, and taste, how one recipe turned into six very different tarts!

Each tart was delicious, in its own way. We loved having the two gluten-free options made by Angelika and Don Matteo Pesci. Elska loved the aged cheese version, which was by far the most savory interpretation. The bread cheese tart had a wonderful bouncy consistency, and the goat cheese version was the sweetest of all. Elska had assumed from the sugar ingredient that it was supposed to be more like cheesecake, and due to the freshness of the goat cheese it even had an otherwise unexpected delicate hint of lemon.

Same recipe, different cooks – six wonderful tarts, all wonderfully different!

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Left to right: Angelica, Armegard, Meadbh, Algirdas, Elska. (photo by Algirdas)

 

Notes on the challenge format

With the thought that not everyone in the Dominion has contemplated medieval cooking, the impetus behind the challenge is to get folks baking like a 14th century boss. To that end, Meadbh used the following rough guidelines:

  1. The recipe needs to be approachable for a medieval food newbie and average (or busy!) cook.
  2. The first few recipes shouldn’t contain too many exotic spices at one time (but those who participate will find themselves with many fancy spices to work with for future dishes).
  3. Since we lack kitchen facilities at the meeting hall, find recipes that don’t hinge on being served hot.
  4. When trying a meat-based recipe, offer a vegetarian challenge as well.
  5. Keep it economical.

For youth:

  1. Desserts (or foods) that …
  2. Don’t have too many steps/ingredients, with …
  3. Flavors that are kid-friendly.

The youth recipes are geared towards kids who are comfortable in the kitchen with no or little supervision, so as not to burden the parents with two work-intensive recipes to make. Medieval flavors can be challenging to a modern child’s palate, so our challenges might be dessert-heavy at first.

Myrkfaelinn’s challenge and results:

The original recipe

From Hieatt & Butlers’ 14th century Curye on Inglish:
174. Tart de Bry. Take a crust ynche depe in a trap. Take yolkes of ayren rawe & chese ruayn & medle it & þe yolkes togyder. Do þerto powdour gynger, sugur, safroun, and salt. Do it in a trap; bake it & serue it forth.

Gode Cookery translation: Tartee. Make a pie crust an inch deep in a pie pan. Take yolks of eggs raw & Autumn cheese & mix it & the yolks together. Do there-to powder ginger, sugar, saffron, and salt. Do it in a pie shell; bake it & serve it forth.

Ingredients suggested: One 9-inch pie shell, raw egg yolks, cheese (semi-soft, but not so soft that it can’t be grated), ginger (powder), sugar, saffron, and salt.

Learning opportunities: “Pie crust” and “cheese.” This recipe provided an opportunity for folks to research cheeses available to a 14th century cook, and to play with what “pie crust” meant and how to make it.

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Left to right: Meadbh, Marie’s rice mould, Matteo, Elska, Angelika, Simon’s rice mould, Armegard.

Myrkfaelinn variations:

 Algirdas and Aldanza Wolthus:

Filling: 6 yolks, 15 oz. basket cheese (fresh cheese made the previous morning from whole cow’s milk and cream), 1 Tbsp sugar, 8-10 strands powdered saffron, and 1 tsp salt.
Crust: butter, lard, einkorn flour, wheat flour, and water.

Result: between sweet and savory, with a smooth filling.

Angelika and Simon St. Laurent:

Filling: 6 yolks, 0.64 lb. Fontina and 0.32 lb. Bucherondin cheeses, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 cup sugar, 6 saffron threads, and 1/4 tsp salt, with the sugar sprinkled on top of the tart.
Crust: 2 cups oat flour, 1-1/2 sticks butter, 1/2 tsp salt, and 5 Tbsp cold water.

Result: savory – strong cheese flavor.

The mother and daughter team of Armegard and Emily:

Filling: 4 yolks, 32 oz. ricotta cheese, 1/2 tsp. ginger, 4 Tbsp white sugar, a few threads of saffron, and a dash of salt.
Crust: a store-bought shell.

Result: sweet – close to a modern cheesecake.

Elska á Fjárfelli:

Filling: 12 yolks, chevre (fresh goat’s cheese started Saturday and strained Sunday morning), 1 cup sugar, no saffron, and a pinch of salt.
Crust: 2 cups flour (wheat and all-purpose), 2 sticks butter, 3/4 cup sugar, and some cold water.

Result: sweet – close to a cheesecake, with notes of lemon.

Don Matteo and Alden:

Filling: 12 egg yolks, 8 oz. cheese (gouda-ish, grated); 2 tsp grated ginger; 2 Tbsp honey; 1/4 tsp saffron threads, crushed; and 1/4 tsp salt.
Crust: 1-1/2 cups oat flour, 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup water, and 1/2 tsp salt.

Result: savory – smooth texture.

And last but not least: Meadbh ni Clerigh

Filling: Wisconsin Bread cheese (grated), powder fine, and some ground saffron threads.
Crust (based on Paest Royall from A Proper New Booke of Cookery, 1545): 2 cups flour, 2 egg yolks, 2/3 cup butter, and 3-4 Tbsp cold water.

Result: savory – more spongy texture, with balance of saffron and powder fine spice notes.

Myrkfaelinn youth redaction challenge #1

 Rys (15th century), found in Seven Hundred Years of English Cooking:
Take a porcyoun of Rys & pyke hem clene, & seethe hem welle & late hem kele; then take gode Mylke of Almaundys & do ther-to, & seethe & stere hem wyle; & do ther-to sugne an hony, & seue forth.

Modern redaction: Pour the rice into the boiling water, stir, and then simmer until tender. Drain. Return the rice to a smaller saucepan, add the almond milk, sugar, and honey, and stir well. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently, stirring continually, for 10-12 minutes or until thick. Allow to cool. Pour into an oiled mold and chill. Turn out and serve.

Ingredients suggested: 1/2 cup rice, 2-1/2 cups water, 2-1⁄2 cups almond milk, 1⁄4 cup sugar, and 4 Tbsp honey.

Two of the youth participated in this challenge. Simon made his with red rice, sugar, honey, and almond milk; but the red rice would not set, so his mom ended up putting the stick blender in to get it to gel. It was yummy, but next time, no extra sugar: the honey is enough!

Mary of Harford made hers with basmati rice: double the rice and milk, but not the sugar and honey (which was a good call).

Both rice moulds were outstanding, but it was thought that maybe next time use a short-grain rice, like dessert rice, and see how much a difference that makes. They were, however, very nice dessert dishes. The mild rice flavor blended well with the sugar, honey, and almond milk flavors. These are strong contenders for economical dessert dishes at a feast. They are easy to prepare, can be made in advance, and are served cold.

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What’s next for the Dominion cooks?

Meadbh’s second challenge is dual: powder fine and powder forte. She advised us to think of these powders like curry—everyone has their own preferred blend of spices. So despite having a recipe to follow, we were encouraged to think of these recipes more as guidelines and come up with our own flavor profile! They won’t sit in our cupboards, either – Meadbh plans to bring more challenges this winter, which include using one or the other as an ingredient.

Since the adult challenge is less time intensive, she upped the youth challenge. This time, they’re charged to make a medieval mac and cheese: Makerouns from Forme of Cury (14th century).

Tart de Bry recipe can be found here at https://goo.gl/NU3v58
Rice Mould at https://goo.gl/ppS9ik
Powder fine and powder forte at https://drive.google.com/open…
Makerouns at https://drive.google.com/open…

Peach Ginger Conserve

28 Saturday Oct 2017

Posted by in Arts & Sciences, Cooking, Food

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By THL Elska á Fjárfelli
Dominion of Myrkfaelinn

Inspired by Harvest Raid’s A&S Competition theme, “The Harvest,” I decided to make something to enter in the competition with a fruit harvested from our own homestead orchard. As we were blessed with many peaches this year, I chose to make a peach ginger conserve, modernly called a jam.

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But what I found when researching jams was something I did not expect. While preserving fruits has always been a staple of the medieval kitchen, looking deeper into the subject I found that preserving fruit as a jam was not. The word “jam” began to creep into manuscript cookery books in the last quarter of the seventeenth century, and into the printed ones early in the eighteenth. It might have had a Middle Eastern origin, as there is an Arabic word—jam—which means “close-packed” or “all together.” From its more general usage in English for things that were jammed against one another, the word passed into the realm of confectionery to indicate those preserves where soft fruits cooked with sugar were crushed together, rather than sieved, and could thus be described as “jammed” or “in a jam.”

In period, fruits were preserved in sweet, spiced syrups of wine and sugar or honey, or in the form of solid marmalades. Syrup preserves are found in sources starting with Apicius, a collection of 4th to 5th century Roman cookery recipes, and solid marmalade recipes have been found as early as the 14th century. The spreadable, soft-fruit preserve we currently know as jams and jellies are usually sealed up in preserving jars or cans of some kind, which is necessary to avoid spoilage like mold. Recipes for soft jams and jellies are mostly found from the eighteenth century up, when canning also became a possibility. A storage technique that could have been used in period, and has been used post period, is using some kind of vessel like a ceramic jar that is topped with a brandy-soaked disk of parchment and then covered with melted tallow or beeswax.

An interesting nugget is the idea that the word “marmalade” originally came from “Marie malade,” or sick Mary, because marmalade was regularly made for Mary Queen of Scots to keep her healthy. “Marmalade” actually comes via French from the Portuguese marmelada and means quince jelly. The earliest reference to marmalade is from 1524—18 years before the birth of Queen Mary—when one box of marmalade was presented to the king (it was an expensive delicacy). The French condoignac and chardequynce are antecedents of the marmalade we know today and are themselves descendants from the cidonitum of 4th-century Palladius. The medieval malomellus was a term used both for the fruit quince and for the conserve; the modern Portuguese for the fruit is still marmelo.

My recipe was a mix of “Old Fashioned Peach Preserves” and “Ginger Jam” from The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest. Because this conserve is meant to be preserved, as advised by the FDA I used a modern conserving recipe to make sure it canned safely. All ingredients, taken separately, were available in period, including the lemon juice, but due to the lack of canning technology not necessarily used in this manner. The quinces in the period recipe are used to thicken the marmalade so it is solid, as it is very high in pectin.

Even though the conserve in this form is technically not period, it was well received in the competition and many samples were tasted. Spiced peach preserves and peach ginger conserves are favorites in our household, and I was happy to be able to share our bountiful harvest with the many gentles visiting the Harvest Raid A&S Display and Competition.

PERIOD INSPIRATION RECIPES:

This 15th century Portuguese recipe indicates peaches were used in conserves:

60 – Pessegada. Cortem ao meio duas partes de pêssego e uma de marmelo, e levem-nas a cozer, em separado. Depois que estiverem cozidas, passem tudo por uma peneira fina. A seguir, ajuntem tanto açúcar quanto for o peso da massa, e levem o tacho ao fogobrando. Deixem atingir o ponto de marmelada, e coloquem o doce em caixetas.

Peach Marmalade. Cut in half two parts of peach and one of quince, and cook them separately. After they are cooked, put everything through a fine sieve. Next, add a like amount of sugar to the weight of the paste, and take the pot to a low heat. Allow it to reach the point of marmalade, and place the confection in little boxes.

From A Treatise of Portuguese Cuisine from the 15th Century.

 

This 16th – 17th century recipe indicates boiling to candy height (interpreted as sheeting):

#S112 TO MAKE A PASTE OF PEACHES

Take peaches & boyle them tender, as you did your apricocks, & strayne them.  then take as much sugar as they weigh & boyle it to candy height.  mix ym together, & make it up into paste as you doe yr other fruit.  soe dry them and use it at your pleasure. Peel and slice peaches. Bring them to a boil over medium heat in a thick pan.  Cover pan, stirring occasionally.  Add a little rosewater if desired.

From A Booke of Sweetmeats, Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery, 1550-1650.

 

This 1608 recipe indicates ginger was used in spicing conserves:

  1. To make rough-red Marmelade of Quinces, commonly called lump-Marmelade, that shall looke as red as any rubie.

Pare ripe and well coloured Peare-quinces, and cut them in pieces like dice, parboile them very tender, or rather reasonably tender in faire water, then powre them into a Colender, and let the water runne from them into a cleane Bason, then straine that water through a strainer into a Posnet [skillet], for if there be any grauell in the Quinces, it will be in that water : Then take the weight of the Quinces in double refined Sugar very fine, put halfe thereof into the Posnet, into the water with a graine of Muske, a slice or two of Ginger tied in a thrid, and let it boile couered close, vntill you see your sugar come to the colour of Claret wine, then vncouer it and take out your Ginger, and so let it boile vntill your sirupe being to consume away, then take it off the fire, and pomice it with a ladle, and so stirre it and coole it, and it will looke thick like tart-stuffe, then put in your other halfe of your Sugar, and so let it boile, always stirring it vntill it come from the bottome of the Posnet, then box it, and it will looke red like a Rubie, the putting of the last Sugar brings it to an orient colour.

A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1608.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Costenbader, Carol W. The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest. Storey Publishing, 1997.

Gomes, Fernanda (trans.). A Treatise of Portuguese Cuisine from the 15th Century.
https://web.archive.org/…/Faerisa/portuguese15thC.html

Hess, Karen (transcriber). Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery. Columbia University Press, New York, 1981.

Holloway, Johnna. A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen (1608). 2011.
http://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/1608closet.pdf

Stefan’s Florilegium:
http://www.florilegium.org/…/FOOD…/jams-jellies-msg.html
http://www.florilegium.org/…/FOOD…/marmalades-msg.html

Wilson, C. Anne. The Book of Marmalade. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999.

And the cooks at the SCA Cooks Facebook group. Thank you!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/604657969575143/

Arts & Sciences Glories at Kingdom Twelfth Night

15 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by in Arts & Sciences, Costuming, Event Reports, Food, Music, Poetry & Prose, Scribal

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Kingdom Twelfth Night featured an amazing array of Arts & Sciences activities. Here’s a report on the highlights, submitted by Mistress Arianna of Wynthrope.

At Æthelmearc Kingdom Twelfth Night, in the morning court, the office of Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences passed from Mistress Alianor de Ravenglas to Master Fridrikr Tomasson av Knusslig Hamn, assisted by his lady, Mistress Orianna Fridrikskona. Master Fridrikr and Mistress Orianna, both from the Barony of Thescorre, have stated that their goals in the office are to promote the Arts & Sciences within Æthelmearc, expand the opportunities for artists, scientists, and artisans to practice and promote their crafts, and to support the on-going mission of the Æcademy to provide educational opportunities for all of Æthelmearc.

Master Fridrikr Tomasson swearing fealty as Kingdom Minister of A&S. Photo by Master Alaxandair O'Conchobhair

Master Fridrikr swearing fealty as Kingdom Minister of A&S. Photo by Master Alaxandair O’Conchobhair

Lady Teresa Alvarez, who made Queen Anna Leigh's garb, was inducted into the Order of the Sycamore. Photo by Mistress Hilderun Hugelmann.

Lady Teresa Alvarez with her Sycamore scroll. Photo by Mistress Hilderun Hugelmann.

Their Majesties wore some beautiful new clothing to Their Twelfth Night celebration. His Majesty, King Titus, was arrayed in an intricate German Landsknecht outfit with slashed and interlaced breeches in red, black, and white, made by Lady Madeleine de l”Este.

Her Majesty, Queen Anna Leigh, drew all eyes in a beautiful green wool German gown crafted by Lady Teresa Alvarez, who put over 120 hours into embroidering the stunning bodice and sleeves with flowers in white silk. She based the gown on a portrait of Kunigunde Stammbaum der Babenberger from the Babenberg Family Tree triptych at Klosterneuburg Monastery (Hans Part, 1489-1492), shown below. The embroidery on Her Majesty’s gown, farther below, is Lady Teresa’s own design – she used a stylized edelweiss flower because the Babenberg family was from Austria. Lady Teresa was inducted into the Order of the Sycamore at court that evening for her skill in costuming and embroidery.

Anna Leigh inspiration piece

Portrait of Kunigunde Stammbaum der Babenberger courtesy of Lady Teresa Alvarez.

Anna Leigh embroidered garb

Queen Anna Leigh’s embroidered gown. Photo by Mistress Hilderun.

The Æthelmearc Sylvan Bard Competition

After the morning court, six performers vied for the honor of becoming Sylvan Bard. Pictured below are the competitors along with our Monarchs: Lady Bugga Bilibit, Master Ruaidhri an Cu, Baroness Gwendolyn the Graceful, Her Majesty Queen Anna Leigh, Lady Cairdha Eilis O’Coileain, His Majesty King Titus, Master William de Montegilt, and Lady Aibinn Mhor Inghean Rioghbhardain.

Royals and bardic competitors

Sylvan Bard competitors with Their Majesties. Photo by Mistress Hilderun

The competition, which was hosted by the outgoing Sylvan Bard, Lady Alianora Bronhulle, and past Sylvan Bard, Don Orlando di Bene del Vinta, featured three rounds. In the first round, entrants were asked to perform a piece on the theme of Courtly Love. All of the bards chose to sing; some did period pieces, others sang filks or original compositions. Then in the second round, the performers were given an hour or two to write a new piece on a theme chosen by the Crown. The competitors gathered in a circle around Their Majesties to learn in secret what that theme would be before going on their way to scribble madly.

Baroness Gwen reciting a sonnet to Don Orlando for his birthday. Photo by Arianna of Wynthrope

Baroness Gwen reciting a sonnet for Don Orlando for his birthday. Photo by Mistress Arianna of Wynthrope

Only when the second round performances began was it revealed that the bards were told to write their new pieces on the numerous knightly virtues of… Don Orlando! His birthday had been celebrated only a few days earlier, so Their Majesties bade Don Orlando sit on the steps of the stage so that each bard could perform directly to him.

The competitors were also required to choose a different performance medium from the one they had used in the first round, so for Round 2, most recited poems or told stories, many of them humorous in nature. There was a rhyme improvised on the spot by Lady Cairdha and a “doggerel” by Master William that was greeted with much laughter:

Don Orlando comes from far away
To celebrate with us his natal day,
‘Tis of his knightly virtues I would sing,
But I must choose just one! So says the King.
He sings of courtly love and such,
And eager ladies seek his touch.
Of chastity, Orlando is sans peer,
And so no ladies his amours must fear.
But truly chaste, he does rebuff
Their pleas and sighs and even tears,
Because he knows, though it be tough,
Once a king, always a king,
But once a (k)night is enough.

Ruaidhri an Cu

Master Ruaidhri. Photo by Arianna

Master Ruaidhri an Cu then followed. Although he lives in Atlantia, Master Ruaidhri had received permission from Their Sylvan Majesties to join the competition. As he began his second round entry, he said that since he did not have enough time to compose great verse (with an aside of “Damn you, William!”), he’d fallen back on the old Scottish plan of drinking heavily. He then told a story of Don Orlando having taken a vow of temperance, but being gifted with alcohol by an unnamed Baron who Master Ruaidhri admitted was, in fact, present in the room. Baron Gunnar of Endless Hills and Baron Ichijo of Blackstone Mountain, who were sitting together, looked at each other, laughed, and said “That leaves only the two of us…” In the story Master Ruaidhri recounted, the unnamed Baron repeatedly tempted Orlando by sending him gifts of various types of potables, at which the Baron’s wife complained to her husband that Orlando would do the Baron bodily harm for such insults. In the end, though, the unnamed Baron told his wife that it would be fine, as he had put Baron Ichijo’s name on the gifts.

Lady Bugga performed an interpretive dance in honor of Don Orlando’s humility while reciting verse interpersed with singing, for her Majesty Anna Leigh had informed the competitors that she would look with favor on such performances. Indeed, later during a brief intermission in the evening Court His Majesty commanded a round of interpretive dance in the middle of the hall, which was later dubbed a Mosh Pit.

Mosh Pit of interpretive dance during the intermission at evening Court

Mosh Pit of interpretive dance during the intermission at evening Court. Photo by Master Alaxandair.

Lady Aibinn told a story of a young man who sought the definition of valor, which he learned was to slay a dragon. So he went to where a dragon was reputed to be, but found only a woman. She told him the dragon was away, but demanded various things of the man before consenting to be “saved. “ This took many years, as each time the man returned the following year with the items she requested, the lady insisted on more, culminating in a requirement for his allegiance. The man then requested her name, which she told him was Valor. As the man swore his fealty, night fell and the lady transformed, revealing herself to be the dragon. The man paused, said, “A knight is sworn to Valor” and completed his oath, at which point the dragon was vanquished, and the lady reverted to human form and departed the dragon’s lair with him forever.

Baroness Gwen then recited a sonnet on the theme of honor, extolling Don Orlando’s skill with both his rapier and his voice:

In January, winter’s frost doth bite;
The wind whips cloak and cuts through woolen hose.
Yet to the season one was born who fights
With blade as sharp as any wind that blows.
It flashes, ever dancing, but fear not,
For honor guides this fencer, and no foe
Could e’er complain of one excessive shot,
But merrily unto their deaths they go.
And afterward, he’ll sing us songs most sweet
Of knights and ladies, love and chivalry,
Or something of less lofty goals, of cheats
And vagabonds, and joyful ribaldry.
Therefore, Orlando, think this no mean trick:
We honor you, and not upon you pick.

At the completion of the second round of the competition, Their Majesties selected three finalists to continue to the third and final round: Baroness Gwendolyn, Master Ruaidhri, and Master William.

Don Braennen

Don Braennan. Photo by Arianna.

Master William sang a humorous filk to the Song of Shield Wall in which a group of men struggled to erect their Pennsic camp’s sheetwall against various impediments, only to finish just as closing ceremonies began. Master Ruadhri performed an original piece called “The Wrath of the Bard” about the perils of offending bards, while Baroness Gwen sang more than twenty spellbinding verses of her own composition about the story of Tam Lin.

After the finals, Lady Alianora announced that Don Braennan MacEarnan, called the Misguided, had arrived at the event too late to compete, but still wished to sing, and Their Majesties granted his request. Don Braennen then performed “Tom O’Bedlam” about the residents of Bethlehem Hospital for the Insane in London. His singing ranged from lyrical to disturbing and creepy as he feigned a variety of mentally ill people, at one point even crawling on the floor. It was a memorable performance.

Their Majesties announced at Court that evening that They had chosen Baroness Gwendolyn the Graceful as Their Bardic Champion. Baroness Gwen was invested with the baldric of her new office.

Gwen as Champion

The new Sylvan Bard, Baroness Gwendolyn the Graceful. Photo by Arianna

Their Majesties thanked Their outgoing Bardic Champion, Lady Alianora Bronhulle, for her service, then before she could escape, They seized her and inducted her into the Order of the Fleur d’Æthelmearc for her skill in the bardic arts.

Ailianor Fleur

Lady Alianora Bronhulle, newest member of the Order of the Fleur d’Æthelmearc. Photo by Arianna

Yet More Arts and Sciences!

In addition to the Bardic competition, there was a performance by the Sylvan Singers of the Shire of Sylvan Glen, directed by Don Orlando di Bene del Vinta. They sang an array of choral pieces including We Be Three Poor Mariners and Since First I Saw Your Face, then were joined by members of the Debatable Choir in performing three Yuletide songs.

The Sylvan Singers. Photo by Arianna.

The Sylvan Singers. Photo by Arianna.

At the evening court, Baroness Ekaterina Volkova, Sylvan Signet, announced the winner of the first round of the Scroll Blank Challenge, in which the scribes of Æthelmearc were asked to submit illuminated borders to be used for Kingdom award scrolls. THLord Ishiyama Gen’tarou Yori’ie submitted the highest number of scrolls: 59 painted blanks, all on documented Japanese designs. The Scroll Blank Challenge will continue, with the next collection point happening at the Festival of the Ice Dragon in the Rhydderich Hael on March 21st.

Ishiyama

THLord Ishiyama. Photo by Arianna.

Baron Rauthbjorn Lothbroke won both the Queen’s Choice and the Period Brewing competitions at Twelfth Night. He also contributed to the Taster’s Tavern organized by THLord Madoc Arundel and Lord Kyoshiro Kumagai, working with the Kingdom Brewers’ Guild. The Tavern offered gentles over the age of 21 with ID the opportunity to partake of potables donated by the brewers of the Kingdom. The Tavern was a big hit, and many gentles are looking forward to Debatable Lands Twelfth Night on the 17th when THLord Madoc will host a second such tavern.

Baron Rauthbjorn with his prize scrolls, both calligraphed by Lady Lara Sukhadrev. Photo by Mistress Hilderun.

Baron Rauthbjorn with his prize scrolls, both calligraphed by Lady Lara Sukhadrev. Photo by Mistress Hilderun.

Event goers then retired to an elaborate and tasty feast prepared under the direction of three different cooks:
— Master Gille MacDhomnuill was responsible for the First Course (lunchtime);
— THL Byrghida Zajacszowa was in charge of the Second Course (mid-afternoon); and
— Master Thorsten Christiansen Ronnow directed the preparation of the Third Course (evening).
The host of servers needed to serve all this food was ably managed by Baron Meszaros Janos. As the kitchen’s “point person,” Dame Bronwyn MacFhionghuin was responsible for non-cooking duties: keeping track of guests’ food allergies, preparing the feast booklet and table menus, and ensuring the kitchen ran smoothly.
The Children’s Feast was prepared by Lady Maacah Sitt al Galb. For more information on how the feast was designed, see the article “Q&A: Savor the Feast at Twelfth Night, No Waiting!”

Another amazing item that debuted at the Twelfth Night feast was a baldequin designed and built by Baron Robert of Sugar Grove with furnishings by THLady Jacqueline de Molieres.

baldequin

Baldequin by Baron Robert and THL Jacqueline. Photo by Mistress Hilderun

Congratulations to the Autocrat, Mistress Alicia Langland, and the Shire of Abhainn Ciach Ghlais, for hosting a truly wondrous Twelfth Night!

Q&A: Savor the Food at Twelfth Night—No Waiting!

10 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Event Announcements & Updates, Food, Interviews

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By Baroness Katja Davidova Orlova Khazarina (Chris Adler-France).

Looking forward to showing off your latest court garb at Æ Twelfth Night, but not to once again standing in line for an hour at lunch?
Tired of bringing food for your children to eat because they don’t usually like what’s offered at dinner?
Planning on not signing up for onboard because you want to get on the road earlier in the evening?

We think Kingdom Twelfth Night should be the high point in the feasting year. We want this one to be extra special.

If you’ve read the event announcement for the kingdom celebration on January 10th in the Shire of Abhainn Ciach Ghlais, you may have noticed that the group has several different plans in mind for the day’s food—plans that it hopes will address these common concerns and make the dining experience far more relaxed and enjoyable.

(See announcement at http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~acg/Events/TwelfthNight2015.shtm.)

The autocrat (Mistress Alicia Langland) and head cook (Baroness Bronwyn MacFhionghuin) graciously agreed to chat about these plans with The Gazette: [Editorial clarifications are in brackets]

Q: The dinner plan for Kingdom Twelfth Night is different from the standard feast service at most Æthelmearc events (a two- or three-course meal served at night). Please explain your plan and what inspired it?

Feast_table2

A lady’s feast, courtesy of http://www.Godecookery.com

 

A: Bronwyn: We’re offering two feast options, which is one or three meals. The first meal [at lunchtime] is provided to all those attending and is included in the site fee. The second and third meals [mid-afternoon and early evening] have an additional fee and will be served approximately two to two-and-a-half hours apart.

Alicia: ACG’s cooks often provide so much food that our feast guests complain they’ve run out of room (in their stomachs) before they run out of dishes! To combat this, we decided to borrow an idea from a Thescorre Twelfth Night feast many years ago — to serve the feast throughout the day, with time to socialize, participate in activities, and digest between each course. Because not every SCAdian wants to — or is able to — stay for all three courses, I decided to offer two pricing options. The first course would be included in the site fee and thus provided to all, and the second and third courses would be available for an additional fee for those who wish.

Bronwyn: The original idea came from Master Gille. Also, from my point of view doing tablesetting research, big elaborate meals did not take place in the evening by candlelight. When you look at the lists of items needed for a historical feast in various account books, there was a heck of a lot of food prepared. Now, did they eat it all at one sitting? It takes time to prepare, make, and serve all that.

So…why not create a day for the kingdom for everyone to go out & have a grand day dressed in their finery, socializing, eating, being festive, happy & relaxed. That’s how we created an event where one of the big showcases is the feast.

Alicia: One big benefit of serving the three courses separately will be evident at the end of the day. Typically, feasts are served late afternoon/early evening and can last up to two hours, depending on the number of courses served. By this point, folks are generally anxious to get on the road and don’t care to linger for dancing. By serving two of our three courses earlier in the day, we’ll have only one course remaining to serve later, which means there will be plenty of time for dancing. Or, if folks don’t wish to remain, they’ll be able to get started on their homeward journey sooner.

Q: In addition to earlier, spaced-out dinner timing, you’re also planning to serve lunch “family style” (a table’s worth of food served to each table, as is common at dinner) rather than offer the standard stand-in-line sideboard. Why did you decide to serve lunch that way?

A: Bronwyn: Two things—

  1. The layout of the facilities — we designed the rooms for sit-down meals.
  2. This is the Kingdom’s big holiday party. We want people to have an enjoyable time and feel festive. Think sitting down to holiday dinner with your family (for those that celebrate that way) or dressing up for a night out & going out to dinner.

Alicia: One of the things we enjoy most about events is socializing with friends. At lunch, this can be hard to do, either because there is no set time for lunch and thus everyone eats catch-as-catch-can or because there’s not enough space at tables for larger groups to be seated together.

In the SCA, lunches tend to be served in a modern style.
With our Twelfth Night feast, everyone gets to enjoy at least one course based on period recipes, served in a way that will allow plenty of time for socializing with friends at your table.

Three_servers

Detail of three servers from King Arthur and his Knights at the Round Table, from Walter Map, Le Livre des vertueux faix de plusiers nobles chevaliers, Rouen 1488, courtesy of http://www.Godecookery.com.

 

When we hosted Timothy and Gabrielle’s Coronation, it took almost an hour for all of our guests to be served lunch (buffet-style). (I think we had over 300 attendees.) That’s just too much time waiting. And with all the activities we have planned for Twelfth Night, we’d rather our guests spent their time having fun than waiting on line.

Q: You’re also preparing a feast specifically for children. How is that different from the adult meal?

A: Bronwyn: That is my protégé’s idea, Lady Macaah Sitt al Galb. She tried this out at our Shire birthday event and it was a great success. Her own children are picky eaters, so she looks for children-friendly medieval recipes (using her children as taste testers) and creates a menu that also becomes an instructional coloring book.

The food is milder in flavor and subtly differs from food they would normally eat. The meal is very interactive; the menu doesn’t overwhelm the children’s appetites and it gives them the chance to play with subtle teaching. It is definitely geared to the younger child or the smaller appetite. We actually have a few pre-teen/teen girls here in ACG who are not adventurous eaters. Last time, they assisted Macaah with the younger children, as well as eating with them. (Also, prior to the feast, there will be a butter making class where the children will make the butter for their meal.)
A plus here is parents do not have to pay for an adult feast seat when their child may only eat bread, butter, and carrots.

Alicia: One thing I love about the children’s feast is that it introduces children to period food… which they will enjoy eating! (How many times have we heard adults say they don’t like period food? If we win them over when they’re young, these young diners might be more open to eating at feasts when they’re adults.)

Another plus is that since children participating in the children’s feast will be seated at a special table, this frees up those spaces for other guests at the other tables. It also means we’re not serving adult-size portions to someone who’s unlikely to eat it all. This is more economical and efficient.
The children’s feast menu is:

  • First course: cheese, spiced applesauce, rolls with butter
  • Second course: meatballs, Parmesan noodles, honeyed carrots
  • Third course: Fruit, “Food for Angels” (a cream cheese dip), and of course King’s Cake… with the chance to get the “bean” and be King of the day!

I would like to note that the children’s feast is limited to 12 children, aged five to 12. [Children who are not signed up for the special children’s feast table can be signed up for the regular feast, sitting with their parents and eating the normal feast with them.]

Q: You’re also offering pre-seating registration for dinner. Please explain how that will work?

A: Alicia: As an autocrat, one of my biggest headaches has been the feast seating chart. I’ve had guests come to me in tears because they couldn’t sit with their friends at feast because someone forgot to sign them up on the seating chart and all the seats at the table were filled.

Most feast-goers don’t understand what goes into table portioning in the kitchen. Tables often end up not being filled or being over-filled, which means folks are either served too much or too little food.

In addition, people might mistakenly be signed up a two different tables. People who pay to eat on-board sometimes don’t sign up on the feast chart, making it difficult to determine how many on-board spots are available for waiting-list folks to fill.  Sometimes, people sign up, but their names are illegible, making it hard to tell if everyone who’s on-board actually has a seat. Large groups might wait so long to sign up that there aren’t enough spaces at any one table for them to sit together …. The list of problems goes on and on.

I wanted to find a way to avoid some of these issues. Pre-seating is one part of the overall plan. This fall, in a post to the Æthelmearc listserve, Her Grace Dorinda mentioned that Stormsport wanted to try pre-seating at its event. Afterward the event, I wrote to her and asked how it went. Based on her comments, I decided it was worth trying at Twelfth Night.

Here’s how pre-seating will work at Twelfth Night (I hope!):

When they send their reservation, guests should include names of and payment for everyone in the group (up to 12). Prior to the event, the reservations clerk will print the pre-seated names on the seating chart. When pre-registered guests troll in, they will be given a sticker to place on the chart. (This will help event staff identify which seats are “unclaimed” prior to serving the first course.) Guests must place their sticker on the chart prior to the start of the first course in order to keep their seat.
By pre-seating folks, we can hopefully avoid the problems I mentioned. It should save our guests time because they won’t have to search for a table that can accommodate them and their friends. I’m hoping folks will take advantage of this opportunity.

Feast_table

Illumination from Les Tres Riche Heures – the Duc de Berry at feast, courtesy of http://www.Godecookery.com

 

Q: Has your group tried any of these meal ideas before at your events and, if so, how did they work out?

A: Bronwyn: We did the children’s feast before. It was very well received by the children as well as their parents.

Alicia: At Timothy and Gabrielle’s Coronation feast, we had a server — wearing a spiffy shire tabard — assigned to each table. Having assigned servers worked out really well, and I thought was much more classy than the typical all-call for someone from each table. At a pre-arranged signal, the servers came back to the serving table, received instructions about what to say when they served the dishes, and then took the dishes to their assigned table. At that point, the servers were free to sit with their friends and enjoy the meal. (They were responsible for periodically checking with their assigned table to refill beverage pitchers and returning emptied dishes to the kitchen for washing.)

Q: For cooks in other groups who may want to try out these ideas, what kind of scheduling or planning concerns have you had to address to accomplish these?

A: Bronwyn: So far we have had to work the schedule to give enough time to eat as well as have the other activities throughout the day. We also need more servers than usual, since the feast will take place in two rooms and have two shifts of servers at lunch. Plus, we also need to provide washing stations twice for the three meals. In addition, there will be two sign-up boards for seating, as well as two different site tokens.

Alicia: Logistically, a LOT of planning went into this event! Starting with the projected attendance (between 200 to 250), I needed to make sure there would be enough seats for everyone to be served at the same time. I used a scale drawing to experiment with various layouts to find what would work best. (It is much easier to move rectangles in a computer screen than to lug tables about!)

As for the head cook’s job at this event, serving three separate courses — with a different cook heading up each course — has added additional levels of complexity. To manage this, Dame Bronwyn is tasked with the job of ensuring continuity among the three cooks and their courses. Unlike head cooks for most feasts, she will not plan a menu, shop for ingredients, or prepare dishes. What she will do is manage the kitchen, to make sure it runs efficiently and that the cooks have what they need.

Q: One potential issue I foresee is that, for a normal sideboard, the lunch cook only needs one or two table’s worth of serving equipment. However, since you’re serving eight portions to each table, you’ll need enough serving equipment for each table, just as you will hours later for dinner.

A: Bronwyn: Correct, plus the first meal serves the largest amount of diners. So, we will be washing dishes, pots, etc. three times. That means we’ll need more serving-ware than we normally would for a first course. But we will have a longer time to accomplish the washing-up. And the second and third courses will be served to a limited number of guests, so there will be fewer dishes to wash after these courses. Also, the recipes we chose are not too elaborate in prep or execution, so that will keep the kitchen moving. Finally, we will bus the great hall tables between courses to keep them tidy.

Q: You’re planning to serve the feast in two rooms at the same time? What inspired that decision and how do you envision that will work out?

A: Bronwyn: The front room will be the Æthelmearc Winter Market. We are designing the room to look like an outdoor medieval winter market complete with merchants, a tavern, and a dining area (think: beer garden). We hope the choice of decor will give that feeling.

Traveling through the market, you will see the entrance to the great hall. This is where the diners partaking of the three meals will be. Royalty will be here as well as the children’s feast. We hope the decor in this room will provide the ambiance of a great hall adorned for the winter holiday.

Alicia: We are fortunate to have a site with two large banquet rooms. Based on my layout experiments, I determined that, to accommodate everyone comfortably, we needed to seat people in both rooms.

From this came the idea for the “Great Hall” and the “Marketplace.” Those diners who pay the additional fee for the second and third Courses will be served in the “Great Hall” and will receive a hand-cast pewter feast token. Those who pay only the site fee will be served in the “Marketplace”; their site token will be more rustic.

Seating in two different rooms is not common in the SCA and will involve extra planning as well as lots of pre-event publicity so folks aren’t so baffled when they arrive.

When they troll in, guests will be given a color-coded sticker with their name on it to place on the seating chart. The stickers for those eating only the first course will be a different color from those who pay to enjoy the second and third courses. They will then place their stickers on the seating chart that is color-coded to match their sticker.

To emphasize the differences between the two rooms, the decoration and layout will be very different. The Great Hall will be more open and formal, with High Table and the Great Throne at one end. The Marketplace will be bustling with activity throughout the day, with merchants lining two sides of the room and a Tasters’ Tavern, with potables supplied by the Æthelmearc Brewers’ Guild, at one end. We hope musicians, jugglers, and bards will add to the lively atmosphere in this room. In the center of it all will be the tables for our guests. A masked ball with live music will round out the day’s festivities.

In addition to the activities going on in the marketplace, court and bardic activities will be take place in the auditorium on the second floor. A vigil, children’s activities, and dancing instruction for the masked ball will be held in the basement. Trying to schedule all of these activities plus three separate sit-down services has been quite a challenge!

All of this is made possible by the hard work of a number of people and a LOT of communication. I am extremely grateful to the event staff, who have worked so hard to make this event happen.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add about the event?

A: Alicia:  We think Kingdom Twelfth Night should be the high point in the feasting year. We want this one to be extra special.

Although ACG is centrally located in the Kingdom (four hours from almost everywhere) and conveniently located at the nexus of two major interstates, many folks think it’s too far to travel to.

Hopefully, with the promise of a delicious feast, the Tasters’ Tavern, merchants, an amazing auditorium for bardic activities, and a masked ball, folks will find something to entice them to come!

I feel very lucky that our cooks (and shire members) are willing to try something new. I just hope it works the way I’ve planned it in my head!

—submitted by Baroness Katja Davidova Orlova Khazarina