Please sir may I have some more?

October was one really busy month.  Miki and I cooked and cooked and cooked and eventually fed 120 of our friends at Silver Hammer. We had lots of help from Amya, Aribella (Amanda), Demitri (Taylor), Ginger, Mao, Leon, Gia, Mad Dog, Sean, Solvieg, and Master William and a host of others who came by and cheered us on and ate lots and lots and lots of food.   The soft pretzels that we made Saturday morning were the hit of the feast (and of the kitchen crew, they got to sample them hot out of the oven… perks of toiling away in the kitchens).  This was Miki’s first time as head feastcrat and he did a terrific job.  I’ve ridden this rollercoaster before but it’s always fun, challenging and different every time.  Here is a copy of the Menu:

1^st Remove (or Course)
Bratwurst –Beef and pork are ground and mixed with eggs. Then seasoned with salt, pepper, marjoram, parsley, caraway, lemon zest, and powdered onion.
Soft Pretzels – Cooked this morning.
Mustard – Brown and Yellow mustard seeds are mixed with red wine vinegar, and ground with honey and thyme. (Try with the Bratwurst and Soft Pretzels.)
Apple Sauce – Apples cooked with ground almonds, ginger and cinnamon.
Cabbage – Cabbage cooked in vegetable stock. (“Cooked till tasty” was my favorite comment from the feast.)
Spinach tart – Spinach mixed with parsley and chervil. seasoned with ground fennel, ginger and salt. Eggs, cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese cooked are then mixed and added to the Spinach mixture and it is all baked in a crust.

2^nd Remove
Saracen Chicken – Chicken slow cooked in white wine, lemon and orange juice with almonds, raisins, dates, apples, and pears. Seasoned  with salt, nutmeg, black pepper, ginger, cloves, and bread crumbs.
Fried Zucchini with raisins – Zucchini is first par-boiled then sautéed in olive oil with raisins and pine nuts.
Mushrooms in hazelnut sauce – Mushrooms and onions are cooked with a pesto made of garlic, hazelnuts and parsley.
Manchet Bread – is a fine sifted flour bread.
Honey butter- Butter sweetened with honey.
Quinoa – (Keen-wa) – Known to the conquistadors as Food for the Indians. Quinoa has been cultivated for thousands of years in the Andes Mountains of South America.  It has a slightly nutty flavor similar to couscous. Try it with sauce from the chicken or sauce from the mushrooms.

3^rd Remove
Beef Brisket – Beef cooked in Red wine seasoned with ginger, salt, black pepper.
Roasted Root Vegetables – Carrots, turnips, parsnips and onions drizzled with olive oil and  seasoned with tarragon, and salt the roasted.
Dyett Bread – Wheat bread seasoned with sage and ground fennel.
Fresh Cheese – Yoghurt, fennel fronds, scallions
Salad with oil/vinegar – Mixed greens, drizzled with olive oil, salt, red wine vinegar.
Plum tart – Plums and sugar baked in a crust. So simple, yet so good.

The crowd favorites were the pretzels and the plum tart.  The opinion of the mustard was you either loved it or don’t like mustard.  The brisket went over really well and the Dyette Bread I thought was really nummy.  The biggest taste surprise was the mushroom with the hazelnut pesto it was really good. I just couldn’t envision what it would taste like until we made up the test dish.  We liked it so much we are tweaking it for dinner this week by cooking it with the addition of some boneless skinless chicken thighs and balsamic vinegar. Mmmm mushroom, onions, garlic, parsley and hazelnuts.  If you all want I can post up any of the recipes for these dishes just post a reply and let me know.

Advertisement