By Lady Caterine de Vantier
This is for a 16th century Italian style feast. I am drawing primarily on Scappi, Castelvetro, Rosselli, Messisbugo, Lancelotti, and Nostradamus as my sources. All the recipes presented are my own redactions. How they are presented, the feast format and service is based on my own reading and research into how the typical 16th century Italian feast ran, with a lot of input and ideas from Mistress Katherina Weyssin, Master William de Cameron, and Lady Anna de Witte about what we can realistically achieve and how we can achieve this to make sure it all actually comes together.
At the moment this is still very rough as I change my ideas about what I want to serve, where, and how - so it is still a work in progress and subject to change, although I'm now about 70% of the way there with the basic menu. In designing the menu, I've tried to base it around my historical research as much as possible.
I've spent a lot of time examining the extant menus available in Scappi and Lancelotti in particular, and noticing what is served and where. Some things crop up a lot: some sort of meat paste item in the first credenza course, for example, fresh fruit and clotted cream in the penultimate (or ultimate, depending on how you look at it) credenza course. So some items in the menu have been chosen to reflect this. Other items (brains, liver, heart, anything vaguely icky by modern tastes) have been excluded due to modern sensibilities. And I've also been weighing it up to make it a more balanced feast and friendly to the wide variety of dietary requirements that we have today - which mostly means that although the Italians were big on their veges for the 16th century, there's proportionally more veges on the menu than they would have deemed necessary.
The Italian names for the items in the menu are my own translations based on what is in the sources, as Italian cooks tend to be descriptive of what they're cooking rather than providing names for dishes.
Bread, butter, salt on tables
Primo Servitio di Credenza
Formaggio - Cheese
Presciutto con zuccaro & melangoli - Prosciutto dusted with sugar & sprinkled with juice (orange or lemon/lime)
Pistacchi - Pistachios
Maraschi - Cherries
Morselletti di Pasta Fritto - Fried bread balls
Mangiar Bianco - White dish
Primo Servitio di Cucina
Zigotto d'Agnello Stuffati - Stuffed leg of lamb
Minestra di Tortelletti d'Herba alla Lombarda - Soup of Tortellini of herbs in the Lombard style
Molignane Fritto, con salsa di basilico & con pepe, sale & sugo di melangole sopra - Fried eggplants with basil, verjuice and garlic sauce, and with pepper, salt, and orange juice over
Minestra di Piselli Fresche - Thick Soup of Fresh Peas
Secondo Servitio di Credenza
Insalata di Cetrioli & Cipolle - Salad of cucumbers & onions
Insalate di Lattughette - Lettuce salad
Olive di piu sorte - An assortment of olives
Uovi con Agliata - Eggs with Garlic Sauce
Secondo Servitio di Cucina
Tomacelle di Porco - Pork Meatballs
Riso con Formaggio - Rice & Cheese
Lattuci Stufati - Stuffed Lettuce
Torte alla Ongaresca - Hungarian Pie
Terzo Servitio di Credenza
Carciofani Tagliati Crudi Serviti con Aceto, Sale, & Pepe - Sliced artichokes in vinegar with salt and pepper over
Zuccarini - Meringuesques
Torte di Mandole e Dateri - Almond and date pies
Latte di Mele - Clotted cream
Tagliati di Melloni di Piu Sorte - Slices of assorted melons
Persiche tagliati in vino - Peaches sliced in wine
Levata la tovaglia, & data l'acqua alle mani, si muteranno salviette candide lavorate in diverse foggie.
Raising of the tablecloths, & washing of the hands, with bleached white napkins in diverse shapes.
Quattro Servitio di Credenza
Scorza di Limone & Melangole - Candied lemon & orange peel
Mandorli Conditi - Candied almonds
Gengievero Conditi - Candied ginger
Confetti di Piu Sorte - A selection of candies - caraway seeds, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, dill seeds
Finocchio Dolce Verde Mondo il Gambo - Fresh fennel bulbs
Stecchi Profumati - Toothpicks
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