Notes on the Feast:

Apple Muse. An apple & almond milk soup. From Potage Dyvers, Harleian MS 279 (15th c.):

Take Appelys an sethe hem, an Serge hem þorwe a Sefe in-to a potte; þanne take Almaunde Mylke & Hony, an caste þer-to, an gratid Brede, Safroun, Saunderys, & Salt a lytil, & caste all in þe potte & lete hem sethe; & loke þat þou stere it wyl, & serue it forth.

Take apples an boil them, and pass it through a strainer into a pot; than take almond milk & honey, and add, and grated bread, saffron, sandalwood, & a little salt, & put all in a pot & let it boil; & see that you stir it well, & serve it forth.

This a soup made by pureeing cooked apples and blending with almond milk, honey, bread crumbs, saffron, & salt. The final product should be dyed red. To be served with Pouder Douce, a mixture of sugar and spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, etc.

SEE ALSO: Apple Muse

Chese. Modern cheeses that are similar in both taste and texture to period cheeses include Beaufort, Brie, Camembert, Comté, Cottage, Emmenthal, Farmer's, Gorgonzola, Gouda, Gruyére, Maroilles, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Port-Salut, Reblochon, Ricotta, Romano, Roquefort, Stilton, and Cheddar.

I will be serving several of these cheeses, depending on cost and availability, including a Ricotta & honey blend.

Tart de ffruyte. A salmon & fruit pie. From A Boke of Kokery, Harleian MS 4016 (15th c.):

¶ Take figges, and seth hem in wyne, and grinde hem smale, And take hem vppe into a vessell; And take pouder peper, Canell, Clowes, Maces, pouder ginger, pynes, grete reysouns of couraunce, saffroñ, and salte, and cast thereto; and þeñ make faire lowe coffyns, and couche þis stuff there-iñ, and plonte pynes aboue; and kut dates and fressh salmoñ in faire peces, or elles fressh eles, and parboyle hem a litull in wyne, and couche thereoñ; And couche the coffyns faire with þe same paaste, and endore the coffyñ withoute with saffron & almond mylke; and set hem in þe oveñ and lete bake.

Take figs, and boil them in wine, and grind them small, and put into a vessel; and take pepper, cinnamon, cloves, mace, ginger, pine nuts, Zante raisins, saffron, & salt, and add; and then make fine shallow pie shells, and put this stuff therein, and plant pine nuts on top; and cut dates and fesh salmon in nice pieces, or else fresh eels, and parboil it in a little wine, and place on top of the filling; and place on top of the pie shells a lid made of the same pastry, and endore the pie shells on the outside with saffron & almond milk; and set them in the oven and let bake.

This is a pie made of dried fruit and salmon. Figs are boiled in wine then mashed and seasoned with pepper, cinnamon, cloves, mace, ginger, saffron, & salt. Pine nuts and Zante raisins are added, and the mixture is placed in the bottom of a pie shell. Pine nuts are laid on top of this, then on top of the nuts are placed sliced dates and pieces of salmon that have been cooked in wine. A lid is added to the pie, which is glazed with almond milk and baked.

SEE ALSO: Tart de ffruyte

Stwed Beeff. Beef in a currant & red wine sauce. From A Boke of Kokery, Harleian MS 4016. 15th c.):

¶ Take faire Ribbes of ffresh beef, And (if thou wilt) roste hit til hit be nygh ynowe; theñ put hit in a faire possenet; caste þer-to parcely and oynons mynced, reysons of corauns, powder peper, canel, clowes, saundres, safferoñ, and salt; theñ caste there-to wyñ and a litull vynegre; sette a lyd oñ þe potte, and lete hit boile sokingly on a faire charcole til hit be ynogh; þeñ lay the fflessh, in disshes, and the sirippe there-vppoñ, And serve it forth.

Take fair ribs of beef, and if you will roast it until nearly done; then put it in a fair pot; add parsley and onions minced, Zante raisins, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, sandalwood, saffron, and salt; then add to this wine and a little vinegar; set a lid on the pot, and let it boil well on a fair charcoal until done; then lay the flesh in disshes, and the syrup on top, and serve forth.

This dish is beef ribs in a sort of sweet & sour sauce. I'll be making one change to the original recipe: the reysons of corauns, which are Zante raisins, will be replaced by Zante currants, as raisins are in the Tart. The beef will be roasted until done; it will then be baked in a sauce made of onions, parsley, currants, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, wine, vinegar, saffron, & salt.

SEE ALSO: Stwed Beeff

Fresh fruit, small cakes, & spiced drinks. We served wafer-like cookies, flan-shaped cakes with fresh grapes on top, and mulled cider.

Master Huen Damebrigge of Wychwood has been cooking feasts for the SCA since 1980; he still cooks for approximately 2-3 official events a year. Master Huen currently resides in the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands in AEthelmearc. Lord Cydifor ap Manogan has been Master Huen's primary feast assistant since 1990.

The Defenders of Sherwood II ©1999 James L. Matterer