Courses for Romeo and Juliet's Wedding Feast

Bread

Cheese and Egg

Soup and Meat

Vegetables

Staples and Seasoning

Desserts

Breads

1. Bread was important to the diet.

2. Basic prices for a loaf of bread were a penny, half- penny, or farthing.

3. Large loaves were cooked in ovens, small loaves were baked on  hearths in the home.

4. White bread the most expensive bread.

Types of Bread:

Cheese bread

White bread

Rye bread

Oat bread

Wheat bread

Mirause of Catelonia

The Catelans of Spain have a dish like the Italians which they call mirause and prepare it with chickens 

or pigeons well cleaned. 

  3 1/4 lb chicken  3/4 c roasted almonds, chopped fine  1/4 c breadcrumbs  "Juice": juice from roasting + 10.5 oz can concentrated chicken broth  1 T vinegar  1/2 t cinnamon  1/2 t ginger  1 T sugar    Preheat oven to 450deg. . Put in chicken, reduce temperature to 350deg.,   bake about 45 minutes.  Mix chopped almonds, breadcrumbs, vinegar, and   a little of the chicken broth and run through a food processor until   smooth (or squish through a strainer, grind the residue with a   mortar and pestle, and then put it through the strainer). Cut up   chicken into large pieces, put in pot with sauce, spices, sugar,   and the rest of the chicken broth and cook about 15 minutes,   stirring almost constantly.    

VEGETABLES

Roots

Beans and Peas

Peas

Split peas

White beans

Fava beans

Lentils

Chickpeas

Greens (Wortes)

Stalks 

Olives

Apple Tarts

• 3 lbs apples, peeled, cored and quartered
• 1 pie shell
• 1/3 of a 1 lb jar of honey
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves

Custard Tart

• 4 egg yolks
  2 cups milk
  1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  1/2 cup sugar
  9" pie crust

Food Colorings

• Reddish-brown – alkanet root
• Yellow – saffron
• Yellow/brown – saunders (flowery plant, gladiolas)
• Blue – lapis lazuli (for very wealthy only)
• Metallic – silver or gold leaf, finely beaten
• Blue – orchil lichen (alkaline food)
• Red – orchil lichen (acidic food)
• Green – parsley
• Yellow – egg yolk
• To darken a dish – burnt toast, blood

Seasonings:

Salt

Mustard

Parsley

Basil

Thyme

Wealthy people also used:

Pepper

Sugar

Cinnamon

Saffron

Drinks

Mead - wine made from fermenting honey and water

Ginger beer - made from ginger root

Apple cider or apple wine

Almond milk

Tea

1. Milk was from a cow, goat or ewe.

2. Popular milk dishes included frumenty (craked wheat) and sweet  curds and cheeses.

3. Most milk that was drunk was partly skimmed, so that the cream

   could be used in cooking.

4. Buttermilk, whey and watered milk were also drunk.

Cheeses were classified by texture.

New or green cheese was a curd cheese and was made for quick eating,

while soft cheese had undergone some maturation.

Hard cheese was made with skim milk and had a longer maturation. 

Some were flavoured, some used different types of milk or different ingredients to set the cheese.

Cut pieces of quick, fat, rich, well tasted cheese, (as the best of Brye Cheshire, &c, or sharp thick Cream-Cheese) into a dish of thick beaten melted Butter, that hath served for Sparages or the like, or pease, or other boiled sallet, or ragour of meat, or gravy of Mutton: and if you will, chop some of the Asparages among it, or slices of Gambon of Bacon, or fresh=callops, or Onions, or Sibboulets, or Anchovis, and set all this to melt upon a Chafing-dish of Coals, and stire all well together, to Incorporate them; and when all is lf an equal consistence, strew some gross White_Pepper on it, and eat it with tosts or crusts of White-bread. You may scorch it at the top with a hot Fire-Shovel.

Makes 1 cup -- appoximately 8 servings

Modern

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 lb Brie or other strongly flavored cheese (I use farmers)
2 Tbsp whole milk (though not in the original recipe, I find that a bit of milk helps gives this a better consistency, and helps the whole thing hang together better)
1/4 t white pepper

Melt butter. Melt cream cheese in butter. Add milk. Cut up the farmer's cheese and stir it into the mixture over low heat. You may want to use a whisk to blend the two together, though a spoon will do. When you have a uniform, creamy sauce you are done. Serve over toast, put on toast and broil for 30 seconds-1 minute, mix in (or serve over) things like asparagus, bacon, sauted onions, etc.