[SCA-BMDL] Agincourt Cooking Thanks -- Must Read!

[Elss_of_Augsburg]

Greetings!

It took every one of twelve talented cooks to produce the filling, warming, and above all, tasty sideboard that was enjoyed during Agincourt this weekend, and to produce the fabulous Middle Eastern banquet of amazing delights that was our feast. It was a marvel!

Many of these also took on the brand new challenge of finding and choosing a period recipe for lunch, and then cooking it!

Katla Ulfhedinn – made sixteen beautiful lovely rounds of delicious wonderful bread and I don’t think there were even crumbs left at closing time.

Elsa Talliard – who chose her recipe because she loves leeks and mushrooms, and put together a potage that kept everyone warm and full on a cold day.

Elizabeth Arrowsmith – who made two variations on the period recipe she cooked; alas, the rabbit was gone before I had any, and the chicken was nearly gone before I snapped up a piece.

Violante de Luna – who made six apple pies, slices of which people put onto bread and ate like sandwiches, and then came back to scrape the bits out of the pie pans so they wouldn’t miss a bite.

Abbatissa Dreye de Banneberi – who made the bright and refreshing sakajabin that we drank throughout the day and during the feast.

Ann Bateman – new to the SCA, new to period cooking, produced that velvety butternut squash soup with crushed walnuts for on top. Ann, Abbatissa and I made a lovely poudour douce to sprinkle on top – which went on the apple pie, the bread and honey, the soup, the chicken and practically everything else.

Tegrinus de Rhina – chose a simple beef and pork stew, with onion and garlic, cooked long and slow, to bring out all the mellow meaty flavors.

Erik of the Debatable Lands – whose favorite dish is rice, chose to cook (surprise!) rice! But made this time with almond milk and vegetable broth, which made it perfect with this next dish.

Jorundr hinn Rotinn – who made perfectly roasted chickpeas, brown and nutty in flavor, yummy and warm with pepper and cloves and other rare and costly spices.

But wait, there’s more. Not only did everyone cook their own dish, but they helped each other cook, washed dishes, emptied trash, organized, brought spices and cooking gear, just in case. Some didn’t choose a recipe, but helped out when not killing warlords, or marshaling, or heralding, or fighting, or fencing:

Zoe Akropolitina – whose teas kept us awake and warm all day, who served tea at the evening feast to accompany our desserts, who made pita, and most importantly, brought the cooking gear to the site.

Elizabeth Talliard – who dried dishes, fetched and carried, and stirred, and checked on stuff in the oven, and found lost things, and sorted, and packed things away, and was always ready to run and do something.

Raven Whitehart – who made devilled eggs, and chopped, and stirred, and at the end of the day, helped to sort all the cooking gear.

Vladimir Mechnik – who served feast, washed dishes even faster than Elsa, carried gear, packed cars, and was always good for an encouraging word and a hug.

Fiachna – who kindly washed dishes at the end of the evening when we really needed a little help.

Violante de Luna – car-packing queen, who not only can get all that stuff into the car in the morning, but can find it, re-organize it, account for it, pack it all back up, and then get it into the right vehicle to go home again.

Elsa Talliard – who will NOT stop washing dishes, and helping with all the things, and who took all the cooking gear away with her and back to the larder. You are my strong left arm.

Katla Ulfhedinn – who is as always my strong right arm, right there at 8 AM, cleaning the kitchen, helping to organize the supplies and equipment, planning the flow of work, and the best use of the people, and making the day fun.

Thank you to all of the volunteers who make up the best kitchen minions in the Known World. Thank you for the hard work, the effort, the thought and planning, the smiles. I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Good people, I am your servant,
Elss of Augsburg