On the table as people are seated:
The marinated mushrooms are my old recipe, from the Caer Galen Cooks' Corner, #7. They will be started first thing in the morning, but do not require cooking.
After that:
Forme of Cury, xx.iii.xvi, Salat
"Take pfel, sawge, garlec, chiboll, oynons, leek, borage, mynt, porrect,
fenel and ton tressis, rew, rosemarye, purslarye, lave and wassche hem
clene, pike hem, pluk he smalle, with thyn honde and myng hem wel with
rawe oile, lay on vyng and salt, and sue it forth."
Digbie, "To Rost Wild-Boar"
"At Franckfort, when they rost Wild-boar (or Robuck or other Venison)
they lay it to soak, six or eight or ten days (according to the
thickness and firmness of the piece and Penetrability of it) in good
Vinegar, wherein is Salt and Juniper-berries bruised (if you will, you
may add bruised Garlick or what other Haut-goust you like) the Vinegar
coming up half way the flesh, and turn it twice a day. Then if you will,
you may Lard it.
When it is rosted, it will be very mellow and tender. They do the like with
a leg or other part of Fresh-pork.
Subsequently:
Digbie, "My Lord Lumley's Pease-Porage"
"Take two quarts of Pease, and put them into an Ordinary quantity of
Water, and when they are almost boiled, take out a pint of the Pease
whole, and strain all the rest. A little before you take out the pint
of Pease, when they are all boiling together, put in almost and Ounce
of Coriander-seed beaten very small, one Onion, some Mint, Parsley,
Winter-savoury, Sweet-Marjoram, all minced very small; when you have strained
the Pease, put in the whole Pease and the strained again into the pot
and let them boil again, and a little before you take them up, put in half
a pound of Sweet-butter. You must season them in due time, and in the ordinary
proportion with Pepper and Salt.
This is a proportion to make about a Gallon of Pease-porage. The quantities
are set down by guess. The Coriander-seeds are as much as you can conveniently
take in the hollow of your hand. You may put in a great good Onion or two.
A pretty deal of Parsley, and if you will, and the season afford them,
you may add what you like of other Porage herbs, such as they use
for their Porages in France. But if you take the savoury herbs dry, you must
crumble or beat them to small Powder (as you do the Coriander-seed) and if
any part of them be too big to pass through the strainer, after they have given
their taste to the quantity, in boiling a sufficient while therein, you put
them away with the husks of the Pease. The Pint of Pease that you reserve
whole, is only to show that it is a Pease-porage. For which these proportions
will make about a Gallon."
La Varenne, 5.4 "Pasty of Gammon"
"Unsalt it well, and when it is unsalted enough, boile it a little, and
take off the skin round about. Then put it in brown paste as Venison, and
season it with pepper, clove and parsley. You may also lard it as venison.
Bake it proportionally to its bigness; if it is thick five houres,
if it less, less time will serve. After it is cold, serve it in slices."
I think I may make this for head table, and just do a round of meat pies
or sausage for the rest. I've got an old meat pie recipe which is basically
just sausage in a pie crust. I can serve it in wedges, cold.
And finally: