West Coast Culinary Symposium
Feb. 20th, 2023 08:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis last weekend we attended the WCCS, which was back after a pandemic break. It usually rotates up and down the coast. It was less than an hour from us in a Girl Scout camp, making it even more convenient.
We drove up Friday afternoon. For the dinner potluck, I made Chicken in sumac sauce. Due to the travel time I omitted the wheat starch and didn't thicken it on the stove; I just got it to a low boil and put it in a Thermos container. That kept it warm (as promised) but it didn't get a chance to thicken, sadly. However - the four hours marinating in the sumac sauce turned the chicken thigh cubes a lovely pink! They looked like rare roast beef or well-cooked salmon. Also, it had a nice sumac bite to it. People seemed to like it. I know I did.
We generally try to move around tables for different meals. That way we're chatting with new people and hopefully exchanging inspiration, which really is the point of the event. Most flattering comment to me from an out-of-Kingdom attendee: "I remember you from last time at this site - you're the Sausage Baron!" I chuckled. And yes, fair cop.
Attendance wasn't great. This is a continuing trend and can't be laid at the feet of the pandemic. We did have more attendees from Caid this time, but I don't believe a single person came down from An Tir. With the site cost doubling from last time (!) I am sure the event lost significant money, so we will have to do some re-thinks for next time. One option is reducing it to every other year so that the three kingdoms only host every six years. We'll have to discuss changing the format to allow for a cheaper site (i.e. fewer kitchens) and probably hold fundraisers to make up some of the difference the way we did for the Perfectly Period Feasts. Oh well, problems for Future Us.
For the first time ever, I taught a non-sausage related class. It was on the 12th century Poitevin ("from Poitou") sauces found in the Durham Priory manuscript. Since they are so early, they are relatively simple and frankly not that interesting. "Grind up parsley and add vinegar and pepper." I planned to make one that had slightly more oomph - parsley, sage, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. However, as I set up for the class I discovered I had not packed the blade for my fud processor! D'oh. Fortunately one of the people in the class had an herb chopper that we could use as an emergency substitute. Also fortunately, I had pre-made variations with alegar (malt vinegar), pomgar (cider), and white wine vinegar so we could see if it mattered. General consensus was that people liked the alegar version the best, but that may have been because alegar is a stronger flavor and less familiar to most people.
One of the out-of-Kingdom attendees is a good friend from the Midwest who is obsessed with Scappi, the late-period Italian cook for Pope Pius V. For good reason! It's a large cookbook, strikingly modern in some ways, and has a huge variation in recipes. She taught a class on crustaceans in Scappi and baked a crab dish, which was tasty. It was also next door to the "Kosher in period" class which amused me greatly.
I also took a "making pasta" class. I learned a whole lot. One, both the Midwest friend and I were really good at making dough from semolina and water. (She's a potter so she knows how to knead and I have a lifetime of bread experience.) Two, my technique for shaping said pasta is utter crap because I have no experience. It was fun and tasty, and I brought home my dough ball to make and dry out pasta for a dinner later this week. I might not try to improve my technique though - I might just make small lump dumplings. We'll see how inspired I feel.
Lastly, I took a "How to judge olive oil like a Roman" class Sunday morning. It was neat getting the history - both olive trees and the technique for making oil are largely unchanged from Roman times. We also got to slurp several varieties and discuss the differences.
Miss Beatrice told us loudly how much she missed us, and I suspect she will be glued to the wife's lap for the next couple days. She also spent some of the night on our bed, which isn't that common for her.
We drove up Friday afternoon. For the dinner potluck, I made Chicken in sumac sauce. Due to the travel time I omitted the wheat starch and didn't thicken it on the stove; I just got it to a low boil and put it in a Thermos container. That kept it warm (as promised) but it didn't get a chance to thicken, sadly. However - the four hours marinating in the sumac sauce turned the chicken thigh cubes a lovely pink! They looked like rare roast beef or well-cooked salmon. Also, it had a nice sumac bite to it. People seemed to like it. I know I did.
We generally try to move around tables for different meals. That way we're chatting with new people and hopefully exchanging inspiration, which really is the point of the event. Most flattering comment to me from an out-of-Kingdom attendee: "I remember you from last time at this site - you're the Sausage Baron!" I chuckled. And yes, fair cop.
Attendance wasn't great. This is a continuing trend and can't be laid at the feet of the pandemic. We did have more attendees from Caid this time, but I don't believe a single person came down from An Tir. With the site cost doubling from last time (!) I am sure the event lost significant money, so we will have to do some re-thinks for next time. One option is reducing it to every other year so that the three kingdoms only host every six years. We'll have to discuss changing the format to allow for a cheaper site (i.e. fewer kitchens) and probably hold fundraisers to make up some of the difference the way we did for the Perfectly Period Feasts. Oh well, problems for Future Us.
For the first time ever, I taught a non-sausage related class. It was on the 12th century Poitevin ("from Poitou") sauces found in the Durham Priory manuscript. Since they are so early, they are relatively simple and frankly not that interesting. "Grind up parsley and add vinegar and pepper." I planned to make one that had slightly more oomph - parsley, sage, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. However, as I set up for the class I discovered I had not packed the blade for my fud processor! D'oh. Fortunately one of the people in the class had an herb chopper that we could use as an emergency substitute. Also fortunately, I had pre-made variations with alegar (malt vinegar), pomgar (cider), and white wine vinegar so we could see if it mattered. General consensus was that people liked the alegar version the best, but that may have been because alegar is a stronger flavor and less familiar to most people.
One of the out-of-Kingdom attendees is a good friend from the Midwest who is obsessed with Scappi, the late-period Italian cook for Pope Pius V. For good reason! It's a large cookbook, strikingly modern in some ways, and has a huge variation in recipes. She taught a class on crustaceans in Scappi and baked a crab dish, which was tasty. It was also next door to the "Kosher in period" class which amused me greatly.
I also took a "making pasta" class. I learned a whole lot. One, both the Midwest friend and I were really good at making dough from semolina and water. (She's a potter so she knows how to knead and I have a lifetime of bread experience.) Two, my technique for shaping said pasta is utter crap because I have no experience. It was fun and tasty, and I brought home my dough ball to make and dry out pasta for a dinner later this week. I might not try to improve my technique though - I might just make small lump dumplings. We'll see how inspired I feel.
Lastly, I took a "How to judge olive oil like a Roman" class Sunday morning. It was neat getting the history - both olive trees and the technique for making oil are largely unchanged from Roman times. We also got to slurp several varieties and discuss the differences.
Miss Beatrice told us loudly how much she missed us, and I suspect she will be glued to the wife's lap for the next couple days. She also spent some of the night on our bed, which isn't that common for her.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-21 06:40 pm (UTC)