Cooking Midievel Menu ideas?

[Katy Belle]

My DS is turning 11 and is planning a Midievel/Knight Birthday Party. I'd like to do a fun meal, where they eat with their hands, etc. Any ideas?

I'm thinking about roasting small chickens, but should I just do legs? I may do the "home fries" recipe posted here recently. What else? We will have apple juice and grape juice in wine goblets and probably a fancy over-the-top cake for dessert.

Any other fun or creative ideas for me???

Thanks!
Katy

 

[greeneeyes]

I just looked up the menu for the one near here and its fairly simple...

roasted half chicken, spare ribs, vegetable soup, garlic bread and herb roasted potatoes. Maybe some small apples and bunches of grapes?

 

[Sorsha]

Here are some resources I found online...

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Here is a pdf file used by a library for their Reading Program, including suitably named medieval treats for kids... very cute, and easy to do!
http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/wapl/conferences/2005/05Med_menu.pdf

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Another more "authentic" menu is below. Of course, most of these things are WAY too out there for a kid's party, but I found the list of "foods to avoid as they hadn't been discovered yet" interesting!

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The following is an example of a menu of a medieval feast. Each course included a soup, followed by a wide range of baked, roasted, and boiled dishes, and finally an elaborate 'sotelty', a lifelike (often edible) scene sculpted in colored marzipan or dough. The bounty of medieval feasts is legendary. One early historian noted that in 1398, King Richard II [presided over a feast]. A variety of choice morsels was set out to satisfy a trenchman's every whim ... gilded peacock and festooned boar's head were highlights of the menu."

Oystres en Grauey--oysters steamed in almond milk (15th c.)

Brede--bread flavored with ale (15th c.)

Chawettys--tarts filled with spicy pork or veal & dates (15th c)

Pigge Ffarced--stuffed roast suckling pig (15th c.)

Goos in Sawse Madame--goose in a sauce of grapes and garlic (14th c.)

Caboches in Potage--stewed Cabbage flavored with cinnamon and cloves (14th c.)

Crustade Lombarde--fruited custard in a pie (15th c.)

Hippocras--spicy mulled wine (14th c.)

Things to include/exclude in a meal:
There are some foods that should not be on a Medieval menu because they were discovered in the New World and European medievals didn't have them.


To include:
Pigeon/squab
Fennel
Leeks, shallots
Apples, Plums
Parsnips, turnips

To avoid:
Squash, incl. pumpkins
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Chocolate
Yams, sweet potatoes

 

[Katy Belle]

Thanks! I can't do ribs, no pork here, but I can easily do the rest. I love the link with all of the clever names for things! This is going to be a fun project.
Thanks for your help!
Katy

 

[Katy Belle]

The party was a success! The kids LOVED their five course dinner We did veg soup, then bread, then 1/2 roast chicken and sliced roast beef, potatoe wedges, corn on the cob, followed by cherries, strawberries and grapes, ending with two kinds of cake. They loved it. Thanks for your help!
Katy

 

[greeneeyes]

Glad it was a success!! Any pictures?