Siege Cookery!

My Pelican's Shire, Shadowed Stars (up in Fort Wayne, IN), hosted a lovely little event this past weekend which had, as part of the activities, a Siege Cooking competition. We got the rules a couple of weeks in advance, but the ingredients were delivered to us on-site and we had 3.5 hours to cook and plate our creations.

 

Here are the rules (in case anybody else wants to steal this idea! It's a brilliant version of an A&S competition!!)

 

The Mistress Isabel Moundoghter Siege Cookery Contest with a Viking Twist from Meistara Thorhalla

 

The Premise: The Vikings have sieged your castle for months now and you are beginning to despair that the castle will not be able to withstand another attack. Your liege comes to you, the humble castle cook, and asks for your help. He has decided to invite the Viking leaders into the castle to parlay for peace. He is counting on you to serve up a sumptuous dinner to impress the Vikings. You look in the cupboard and find the following ingredients:

Required Ingredients (you must use at least some of these) 

• ¼ loaf of stale wheat bread
• ¼ cup hulled barley
• ¼ cup salted butter
• ¼ of a head of cabbage (a Shadowed Stars favorite!)
• 1 onion
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 cup of wheat flour
• ½ cup rye flour
• 2 carrots
• 1 cup of whole milk
• 1 cup of dried plums

Optional Ingredients (you do not have to use these but it could be helpful)

• 2 eggs
• 5 pieces of uncooked bacon
• ½ cup of cream
• 2 small apples

One of you will be lucky enough to win the random drawing for the piece of mystery meat. This is a 3 – 5 ounce piece of pork, beef or chicken. But remember, there can be only one, so don’t count on this.

  

What you will need to bring:

• Up to ¼ cup of any fresh herb, if you choose
• Up to 2 Tablespoons of any dried herb or seasoning, if you choose.
• Pots
• Pans
• Utensils, including knives and cutting board
• Towels and a dish rag (you might need them)
• Serving dishes
• Serving utensils
• Anything to add flair to your presentation, candle are permitted.

 You will be judged on:

•  Taste
•  Appearance (this includes table setting)
•  Apparent quantity of dishes (how much did you make?)
•  Number of different dishes

 All dishes must be prepared on site. You may not start any dish at home. You will receive your ingredients at the site.   You will have 3 hours and 30 minutes to prepare your entry.

 

 So... we diced for the meat, and I lost. Drat!! ;) Now, I don't really like recipes, as a rule. I've spent a good amount of time learning about spices and how food works and I prefer to cook by the seat of my... erm... kirtle, so I looked over the ingredient list a few weeks before the contest, and let the ideas sit in my head and percolate, and then I packed my spice chest.

 

The other competitor, Lady Cerridwynn, and I took very different approaches, and it was very interesting to see the variations we came up with, based on this relatively skimpy list of ingredients. You don't really realize how much we rely on oil and other fats in modern cooking! I spent quite a bit of time cooking the bacon very slowly to render as much fat out of it as possible! We DID have the luxury of almost an entire loaf of bread, though, and a HALF head of cabbage each, which completely set my preconceived plans on their head. ;)

 

My final presentation was:  

• Valkyries on Horseback (almond/breadcrumb spiced filling, stuffed in prunes, and wrapped in bacon) (recipe, as it were, to be posted in the comments)
• Cabbage soup.
• Savory barley porridge
• Stuffed cabbage rolls
• Cabbage/onion/apple cold compote
• Crispy spiced bread (like croutons? just nibbly bits)
• Apple/carrot tart with a rye streusel topping
• Bread pudding and a spiced custard sauce

 Now... cooking... and feasting... in the SCA should be fun! And to that end, in the interest of "Schtick!" I had gotten some "Swedish fish", you know? Gummy candy? Shaped like fish? And I arranged them on a HUGE platter, and I (because my persona is Norse, too, and I wasn't about to lose that opportunity for some fun and games!) mentioned that I recognized some of my kin in the forces arrayed outside and managed to get word to them, and they smuggled in a delicacy SO RARE it is hardly ever seen outside of our Homeland, and then only served to the most HONOURED guests...

 

 ...Whipped off the cover, and watched the judges almost fall off the bench with laughter.

 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! (although obviously this could not be counted towards my "official" entry... more's the pity!)

 

When it came down to the end, between us we created about 18 unique dishes. The judges sat in discussion for what seemed like *forever* (it was actually almost 45 minutes...). I won, by a bare one-point-five points, and honestly, it was an honour and a privilege to compete with Lady Cerridwynn. She's *amazing* and I would happily take my family to ANY feast she has a hand in creating!

 

The moral of the story? Ingredients are less important than learning how to cook. I encourage people to get into the kitchen and experiment with flavour combinations and see what you can come up with! I think you'll be surprised!

 

 

Lady Solveig in kyrra Sveinsdottir, and her Pelican, Meistara Thorhalla Carlsdottir af Broberg (AKA Mama T of House Roaring Valknuts, bringing you the BEST in Creative Mayhem since AS. XXXI!!!)

 

 

Kitchen Safety - SCA style!

Within our Society, safety is a frequent discussion.  When it comes to combat, there are people who are specifically charged with ensuring that the rules are followed and safe practices are followed.  These individuals are called "Marshals", and they are easily recognizable on the field.  They will often wear a tabard with the badge of their office prominently displayed, and they carry a staff which has a black and yellow spiral pattern that is very distinctive, so they can be quickly spotted.  (Here's a quick look at Combat Marshals and their role in Society.)

So, this is a VERY GOOD THING.  Safety is important.  We want to keep playing with our friends, and if we break them, that tends to put a damper on things!  And, as part of their job, Marshals "Authorize" people to participate in combat.  Think of it as a "Fighter License".  They get a card that shows what things they're permitted to do, and it keeps everybody within safe parameters.  Huzzah!  We Like Safe!!

I would suggest, however, that there is as much, if not more, risk of actual harm in the *kitchen* as there is on the battle field.  We have sharp (or... sometimes... sadly... not so sharp) knives.  We have water and slick floors.  Flames... hot oil.... Salmonella... the risk factors in a kitchen are (as with any food prep space) real and present concerns.  However, just as Fighters wear protective gear and discuss safe combat methods, a responsible kitchen staff will use protective gear and discuss safe food handling methods.

So, enough of the dry boring stuff. ;)  My Shire is small, but we make up for it with a sense of humour big enough to compete with any Barony!  As the head of my local cooking guild, I took the liberty of instituting "Kitchen Authorizations"!  But, to have Authorizations, you have to have a Marshal... So I took some more liberty (I am a Norsewoman!  Bold and True!) and styled myself "KITCHEN MARSHAL".  But lo... I needed a Staff Of Office!

Now, Fighter Marshals have options here.  Heavy Combat marshals often carry these long poles with yellow and black spiraled stripes.  Rapier Marshals are a little more varied, and I've seen everything from a telescope to a striped bullwhip to a Lady Marshal of my acquaintance (my foster-daughter, actually) who carries a Flag Fan with the requisite markings.

I cook.  And so, what better symbol than a wooden spoon!  Lo, the joke was born.  I found the largest *functional* wooden spoon I could find in my local Large MarketPlace... bought some acrylic paint... girded my creative loins (as it were...) and set to work.

I am not, frankly, the most skilled visual artist in the Middle Kingdom. HA!  But this was a labour of love, with a heavy undercurrent of amusement (which is usually the case, when it comes to love, I've found....) and so with some determination, and a lot of patience, I was able to create....  THE SPOON. :)

You'll note the distinctive stripes (in Blue and Gold, the colours of my Shire) and the Crossed Weapons (in this case a spoon and fork....) and I've personalized this one with my name and a seeblatt, which is that heart-shaped doodad (It's part of my Shire's official Arms and my non-official personal arms.).

In addition to the spoon, we have Authorization Cards (just like the fighters!!!).  The cards distinguish between four categories: Feast Serving, Wooden Spoons/Other Blunt, Knives/Other Sharp, and Flame/Fire/Heat.  These are given to the Kitchen Staff and each category is signed off as the person reaches basic competency levels in each category.

Now, I should probably pause here.  This is IN NO WAY intended to suggest that there is a rash of food poisoning or finger amputations going on in my Kingdom.  Quite the opposite, actually.  The Feast Kitchens I've worked in have been very, very well run.  And we're not creating some Bureaucratic Nightmare Process that sends people screaming in panic from the kitchen.   In ~practice~ this is more of an attempt to make Kitchen Staff feel like they MATTER to the PROCESS of "creating the Dream".  Being an Authorized ~whatever~ adds a sense of accomplishment.  And, honestly?  It's just darn FUN, and if that's not why we play this game, I don't know what is.  (The food/kitchen safety stuff is really just a little bit of a bonus!)

(Sidenote:  I have only had to whack one Peer on the knuckles with this spoon - he tried to enter my kitchen and had muddy boots on.  Unacceptable.  However, it was proven that this spoon is quite substantial and suitable for repelling invaders... if for no other reason than an Angry Norsewoman with a Wooden Spoon triggers a visceral level of fear that the East Kingdom would probably pay highly for!)