[isaac]

Hey ya all!!

I am doing a big muti course dinner in August and the theme is Renaissance. We are taking renaissance/viking/medieval food.

Any ideas?

Any thoughts???

[Luc_H]

Wow i would like that!!!

I would probably mash a batch of dark ale (5 gallons)
Mulled wine
baked cored apples with cinnamon
Turkish delights (very old confection)
wild boar
Rustic bread
sunchokes (vegetable from the new world)
hens on a spit
slow roasted garlic (for buttering bread)
cabbage soup
mashed turnips
very fat sausages
sauerkraut
dried fruits and nuts
salted cod

Some ideas :Medieval cuisine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I got carried away.... sorry...

Luc H

[DC Sunshine]

Luc - cook that feast and I'll be there in a flash! Yummm!

What about using those hard baked bread platter-type things for plates that were actually used in the long long ago (the word is on the tip of my tongue but can't remember it ) Maybe just for one course, but it would have great effect.

[Suzanne]

Lutefisk and lefse. Very Viking, right, Kuan?

[greyeaglem]

Any kind of game bird, deer, rabbit, lamb or mutton, fish, etc. Check the La Rousse for a description of this type of banquet. Also mince pies and various preserves.

[castironchef]

Pies.

Meat pies. Those were HUGE during the age of castles.

[bluezebra]

Party at Luc's house!!!!!

How about whole suckling pigs tableside complete with apple in mouth?

And...didn't they use "trenchers" back then? They were as I understand it like bread bowls that you put your food on and could then eat it after it's sopped up all the yummies! Also pretty much all you had back then was a knife right?

Anyway sounds like a blast. Wish I could come!

[Littlemama]

Many many years ago I did these kind of feasts on a regular basis. I got most of my recipes from the books "To The KIngs Taste" and "Plyne Delite" these are books written in the language of the time and sometimes hard to make out....But I had no problem because I did these feasts so often and I was after all the Feast Mistress.

Oh anyway, (silly silly title) how many people? What is the exact time period and country you are hoping to capture? modern kitchen or Tent side with campfire? a common feast or royal or nobleman's feast??

I do keep in contact with a few of my fellow feast mistresses so I can come up with many ideas!! let me know what you have in mind....narrow it down a bit.....and I will give you some ideas....

[isaac]

It is for a rich retirment community. It is for there anniversary of the community so it is important that everything is upscale enough.

I did some research and they used to serve dragon tail. I also noticed a lot of items wrapped up in a pastry dough so I was thinking of doing the roasted dragon tail by taking filet mignon, wrapping it in puf pastry, and roasting it.

I was also thinking of doing bacon wrapped chicken breast.

I am very open with ideas. I have a well equipped kitchen. This meal will be for the evening time.... multi course. Also need hor dourves (sp?)

[Joyfull]

Check this site out for idea's.. I sent this awhile ago to a friend that was interested in medievil food and dress.
Scroll down to the bottom and click on 'to the cooking page'. You'll find lots of links that should help with your feast!

Newcomer

[kuan]

You can do finger food and use finger bowls... just warm water and lemon.

For upscale, you can do lamb chops cut from the rack, chicken drumsticks (frenched as well) or frenched chicken wings if you wanna make it an appetizer. Frog legs do well also. Depending on how many you're doing, you could roast a steamship round, or depending on how rowdy, roast turkey legs. Huge cheese rounds on a self serve station with tear it off yourself huge loaves of bread.

If you really want Viking, then do as Suzanne says, hehe.. lutefisk and lefse.

[Blueicus]

Those bread-plates were called trenchers

[Luc_H]

You got it Bleuicus!! (the word DC was looking for)

A trencher (from Old French tranchier; "to cut") is a type of tableware, commonly used in medieval cuisine. A trencher was originally a piece of stale bread, cut into a square shape by a carver, and used as a plate, upon which the food could be placed before being eaten. At the end of the meal, the trencher could be eaten with sauce, but was more frequently given as alms to the poor. Later the trencher evolved into a small plate of metal or wood.

Trencher (tableware) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Luc

[bluedogz]

My Icelandic missus loves hangikjot and hardfiskur, and gets mad when I call the latter fish jerky and give it to the cat.

hangikjot found here Hangikjöt
and some sweet mustard to go with on flatbraud. mmmmmmmm.....

[DC Sunshine]

Originally Posted by bluezebra

Party at Luc's house!!!!!

How about whole suckling pigs tableside complete with apple in mouth?

And...didn't they use "trenchers" back then? They were as I understand it like bread bowls that you put your food on and could then eat it after it's sopped up all the yummies! Also pretty much all you had back then was a knife right?

Anyway sounds like a blast. Wish I could come!

Trenchers!!! That's the word i was looking for! Would be where the word Trencherman came from - someone who loves their food and tucks into it. Trenchers came about as a result of the lords and ladies of the house only being served the upper half of the bread, as it was softer and their tastes more "refined". The harder bottom crust was given to the servants of the house to eat. That's where the term "upper crust" as referring to the high society class comes from, the upper crust of the bread.

Yep, and forks didn't exist. The men used to have the knives, not the women, and the man would cut off pieces of food and pass them to the woman to eat. And the reason a table setting is with the knives on the right with the blade facing in - most people are right handed, and the blade turned inward so they couldn't as easily stab the person next to them. Or so legend has it hehe

P.S. Would black and white blood sausage (black and white pudding) have been around then?