Sacred 2:Book 5 - Guide for a Successful Feast

From The Art of Cooking
Book 5

Guide for a Successful Feast, or "How to not poison your guests"

Preparing a banquet can be complex Nothing can spoil a celebration more than a failed banquet and unsatisfied guests. Hosting a banquet is quite a responsibility and should not be taken lightly. But fret not! In this book, we will guide you through the process and make sure you will be able to avoid any obstacles and possible threats.

Preparation

This is where it all starts. In the first steps of planning, you need to answer a number of questions. How many people do you intend to serve at the feast! Will the kitchen hall and tables accommodate that number! Can you pie-cook anything? Can you prepare everything that day! Who is going to attend your meal! Are there any cultural or racial limitations for the food! Planning is the key to everything here. Only if you have sufficient answers to all those questions, you can safely continue with your next step. Numerous banquets have been spoiled due to lack of preparation:

"But the page said there is enough wood in the kitchen. Whatever made him say that!"
"What do you mean by, The meat looks a bit strange!"
"Did we really invite those Ore scu... those people of Orcish origin!"
"Where is my recipe book again!"

All those questions are a sure indication of bad preparation. Avoid that at any cost! Eliminate all those possible threats right from the start. Trust nobody but yourself. If you have a question, find out the answer for yourself. Don't ask anyone. And if you have found out the answers, write them down. Papyrus can't forget.

Make sure there are enough tables, benches and chairs available, as well as enough table cloths to cover the tables. Candles and proper lighting are essential as well ("I can't see the meat!").

Planning the Menu

Probably the most important step is deciding which dishes you want to serve. For a large banquet, we recommend no more than four courses. It goes without saying, that you should not try to serve dishes you have never done before. Also, keep in mind, that some ingredients might be seasonal and may not always be available.

For the courses, we recommend:

• Bread, Butter, Fruits
• Soup or Stew
• Meat course
• Dessert

For the stew, we recommend:

A chicken thyme stew with cream. This nice little recipe is highly popular in all cultured parts of Ancaria and does not require too much preparation. Yet, due to the rich flavor it is very suitable as a starter.

Chicken Thyme Stew with Cream

• 15 pieces chicken meat
• 2 tbl. olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbl. flour
• 1 1/2 mug mushrooms
• 1 mug chicken broth
• 4 tsp. parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 1/4 mug sherry
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 mug sour cream

Cut the chicken into small pieces. Warm one spoon of olive oil in a pot until it's hot, but not smoking. Add the chicken and fry until it is brown. Remove the chicken and pour all the remaining oil into the pot. Add the onion and game and cook them, stirring until the onion begins to brown. Stir in the flour and cook until the flour dissolves in the melange. Add the mushrooms, chicken broth, paisley, sherry, thyme and pepper. Boil until the mixture has thickened. Return the chicken meat to the pot and cook for a minute. Stir in the sour cream and serve the stew while it is hot.

For the meat course, we recommend

Wild Boar in Peanut Oil

• 3 tbl. peanut oil
• 1 wild boar
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 spoon ginger root
• 1/2 bunch radish
• 2 onions

Sauce:

• 2 spoons crunchy peanut butter
• 1 spoons soy oil
• 1 spoons vinegar
• 2 spoons sesame oil
• 2 chili
• 2 spoon sugar
• 1/5 mug stock

Cut the wild boar into small pieces. Soak the radishes in warm water for several minutes, then drain them and cut them into quarters. Cut the onions into pieces.

For the sauce, cream together peanut butter and soy oil, then add the remaining ingredients. Set the sauce aside.

Add oil to a frying pan. When it starts to smoke, add the boar meat and fry for a minute. Add garlic and ginger and fry for another minute. Put the boar meat into the saucepan and add the peanut sauce. Heat and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Add the onions after approx half the time. If the sauce thickens, add more stock.

Add the radish and simmer for another 5 minutes, then take it off the fire to serve it.