Salvation

GIaNO is the best. It seems he will be taking over the cooking. This kingdom is blessed with truly cool people.

Admission

I have been reluctant to post lately. I guess that had something to do with what I am about to tell you. My husband will be getting a new job. It is a cool job with even cooler pay. BUt it will require us moving from this continent to another. It will mean moving from Drachenwald to Atlantia. And it might just require moving in December.

Now, I am a serious multi tasker, but even I have limits. It took me a while to realize it, but I finally admitted it to myself and my shire: I cannot be headcook and move to another continent at the same time. I am just not that good. I was thinnking that now, stil three full months before the event we would have the possiblity to get a new headcook. Someone willing to take over. I am sure that one or two months down the line this would not be the case.

So, the Shire of Drei EIchen is looking for a headcook, for a winter feast (though the headcook will be having all teh options of how he or she would want to do it) on the 5th of december, plus one lunch and one traveler's fare (though even that could be taken over by one of teh shire.

The shire is small, we have about 6 active people right now and two of those are moving.

HELP

The first decision

After all that vacation time, I attended our regular fighter practice this sunday and we discussed the food for traveler's fare and saturday lunch. To my immense surprise, especially those that I would have sorted into the 'picky' eaters corner were very much in favor of the sauerkraut soup, even though they had never tasted it before (I guess it does pay off when people trust your food and taste) but they also realized that maybe the lunch should be a bit more hearty and some of them agreed that the Mac and cheese might be more to the taste of many. (My guess is, that if the Schschi is as good as I think it will be, if there is some left over there will be quite a number of people opting to finish that off rather than the heavier mac 'n cheese.) So Once our lovely Queen is back from the shores of Pennsic(Oh how I envy her) I will get the recipe and post it. My ravings had some of my friends check out Schschi and they went to their Russian friends to sample it. I have been promised at least three recipes in the result of that sampling as it was as good as I promised them. We will be going to an outdoor event two weeks from now (yes directly after Pennsic, and there are those who are coming directly to it ;)) and we will be testing some cooking over wood fire. I am considering my options, since I will most likely not have such a lovely oportunity before DIW again to convince people to come for the food alone. Must make evil plans ... ;)

friends you can count on

So, I wanted to bake a pie, remember? But then it got hot. Really hot so I didn't get around to baking the cauliflower pie. But my dear friend Lady Aryanhwy did. YOu can find her actual redaction/recipe athttp://aryanhwy.livejournal.com/202311.html

She said it was very yummy, but also very crumbly. Illustrating

that fact with the picture of her *slice*.

So I have been considering giving the filling a bit more starch and egg, to solidify it. However, Aryanhwy also told me, that the tart is a lot firmer now that it has been standing in t he cooler over night. So maybe this is the one for prepping and serving cold

Serving Dishes

So far, I have had a couple of nice feasts, with good food and lovely company. But the one thing that that not one of them could deal with was the serving tableware. And teh problem is one that is difficult to solve:

Because you would need about at least 8 platters for each dish. big ones. But I always regret modern serving ware. So I would LOVE to avoid it.

I am going to buy a long piece of cheap wood, cut it into pieces and then use my FIL's magnificent tool park to make it acceptable for serving food. finishing it with food appropriate oil. NOw this is a cheap thing (relatively) but still it is an expence and after teh feast we will have to *devide* the burden or storage as here in Drachenwald, people usually live in apartments not houses, and storage space is simply hard to come by with people who already have to store their two lives within it. So, while I can make enough servingwares for a kingdom level event feast at very low costs (clay is unexpensive and I may be able to get one or two firings for free) The question is, what then. Are we keeping it in the shire? where would we keep it. Allegedly our shire had a lot of these things but they are currently rotting in somebody cellar who is either unaware of that fact or the fact that the shire is active again. So I wonder if that would be the best thing. Or if we should donate it to the kingdom, to be given to which would have the same problem....

I wish we would have a house with space for that but I am rather doubtful...How do you solve such problems?

Wintercress

Aparently there is an herb/salat which could be used fresh even in early December.

Barbarea vulgaris

maybe I could use it as a fresh salad? But how would I make sure to have enough accessable in December.

Grilling, baking, cooking

A new seating chart has come up with a possible 70 people at feast (plus servers we hope to get without seathing them In the feast hall, minimizing the cafetria effect. I will cooks omething special for the servers and serve them in the adjacent room. we are going to have to make a livrée for them...)

*70* people. OMG

I have actually cooked and served a hot meal for 40 at my daughter's christening on one stove. but this is supposed to be a feastr, not just lunch.

I am having 2 regular household stoves, that is assuming that they are both functional. We could try to get an additional use stove at ebay in time..that would cost us between 2 and 30 Euros if we picked it up but the main problem here is that nobody has the space to store such things anymore. and I wouldn't know if we could actually hook it up in that kitchen, even if we got it there. maybe a gas stove.... Still. baring a lucky windfall that way we will have to prepare it with two stoves and I am sure that is quite possible...but it will require a baking plan.

A Baking Plan.

I willa actually have to derive a reason to figure out how many chickens I can bake in one stove at one time....

I want to serve pies but those I could prebake and just reheat all at once (I hope)

I should probably also look for recipes that are more about cooking than Baking. dang.

Maybe I should consider Grilling the roast I am considering. There is an outside part which is relatively sheltered and has a roof above it....Any suggestions?