|
Fiona,
Elspet and Callum each held a plate piled high with pastries baked by Ailen
and Mac McKenzie. They’d just finished off their main meal. Fiona held up
the menu. “This is the best food I’ve ever had in my life.”
From the Boke of Gode
Cookery:
o
Pandemayn and Butter -
Freshly baked white bread with bowls of whipped butter
o
Sugared Almonds –
o
Cucumber Hearts –
Large peeled cucumbers, sliced into thin rounds and cut into a heart-shape
using a cookie cutter. A dab of creme fraische in the center of each.
o
Honey-Mustard Eggs -
Hard-boiled eggs, cut in half, with the yolks removed ande blended with
honey & French mustard before being piped back into the hollow of the egg
halves.
o
Puff Pastry Cheese Straws -
Puff pastry blended with freshly grated Romano & Parmesan cheeses, then
rolled out & cut into long strips. Each strip twisted cork-screw fashion,
then baked.
o
Scones and Spiced Jelly -
a
traditional recipe for scones was used, and were served with bowls of
various spiced jellies.
o
Chilled Fruit Soup –Made
with strawberries, buttermilk and tapioca
o
Sallet
-
Salad
o
Pickled Carrots and Pears
o
Rys
of Mousserounes -
A
simple dish of rice cooked in broth, along with sliced sautéed mushrooms,
and colored a golden yellow with Turmeric.
o
Egurduce (Sweet & Sour Chicken) –
Chicken or rabbit served in wine-currant sauce
o
Cherry Hearts -
Small, heart-shaped tarts, filled with cherry sauce. The top of the tarts
had a small, heart-shaped opening in the center which reveal the red
cherry sauce within.
o
Rolled Pizzelles –
A
classic wafer cookie flavored with anise
o
Fresh Fruits - Strawberries,
grapes, melon and pomegranate
o
Chocolate Hearts -
Large heart-shaped cookies made with extra rich dark chocolate.
o
Croquembouche -
The
traditional French dessert; small cream puffs filled with lemon cream were
arranged into a tall cone-shape and then glazed with caramel, decorated
with cherubs made of sugar paste.
o
Mock Swan -
A
swan crafted out of an oval-shaped loaf of bread and a S-shaped loaf of
bread; the oval shape with the top cut off and the inside is hollowed out.
The body is filled with strawberries in a sugar sauce and the wings are
placed on top so that it appeared that the swan has its wings open. A beak
is made from a quartered-lemon peel and held in place on the "head" with
large cloves. The entire bird is decorated with "feathers" made by piping
on white icing in decorative patterns & swirls.
o
Chocolates and Sugar Paste
-
Various romantic shapes, such as cherubs, hearts, flowers, etc., are made
out of chocolate and sugar paste and are used liberally to decorate the
tables.
“That with all the meat that
Marlow prepared,” Callum said, patting his stomach, “filled me. I can’t eat
another bite, at least not until after I finish these marzipan fruit-shaped
things.”
“There are a lot of people
here that I don’t know very well. Some of them look familiar.” Elspet looked
around the room. “Oh no. It’s that old mean lady, Mrs. Allen and she’s
coming this way. Every time I go into town with my mum, she says rude things
about Mum’s knitting. I hope she doesn’t stop and speak to us.” Elspet
grunted when the woman stopped.
Mrs. Moira Allen from
Inverdrochit walked over to the three of them. “Fiona, I must say this is a
splendid wedding reception. I love what they’ve done to this castle. Here I
thought it was in ruins. Imagine my surprise.”
“Yes, it’s lovely,” Fiona
said.
“Your mum’s dress is one of
the loveliest I’ve ever seen. Everything is lovely and done to perfection. I
like the way you’ve got everyone dressed up like the Middle Ages time
period.”
“It is different, isn’t it,
Mrs. Allen,” Fiona said, trying to be polite.
“Those men, who are supposed
to be wizards.” The woman pointed at Zerahemna, Lehimna and some of the
others. “They could have done it a bit more realistic. They don’t really
look like wizards to me.”
“Oh? You don’t think so?”
Fiona saw Callum and Elspet giggling.
“You should go out back and
see the dragons,” Callum said.
“Dragons, you say? Are they
men dressed in costumes?” Mrs. Allen gaped.
“No. They are real dragons.
Would you like me to escort you out back? You can see for yourself. They do
breathe fire, but they don’t eat people, unless their masters command them
to.” Callum was enjoying teasing the woman.
“I think I’ll pass this
time. Thank you, Callum.” With that, Mrs. Allen went off to talk with some
of the guests.
“I think I’ll go and bring a
dragon inside. Let’s see what some of them do.” Callum rushed outside and
disappeared. He returned a while later with Cloudwaltzer. As he walked
through the main door, a hush fell over the crowd as people noticed the
giant creature. All eyes went that way. “Hello everyone. This is
Cloudwaltzer. He’s a dragon.”
One man started clapping. He
shouted, “Good job. What an illusion that is. It looks like it’s really
alive. Is it a hologram? It is. It looks three-dimensional.”
The rest of the guests
clapped, relieved it wasn’t real. Callum, Elspet and Fiona snickered. Callum
walked around the castle, chuckling as people moved out of the way of the
dragon, even though they believed it was an illusion.
“Callum, take Cloudwaltzer
back outside. His tail swinging back and forth could cause damage!” Jasper
took Callum by the arm and walked him out. “Take him back with the others.”
Callum pouted. “All right.
Be a stick in the mud.”
“I heard that,” Jasper said.
The rest of the evening went
without incident. The adults danced and the children went down to the
playroom in the bottom of the castle and entertained themselves. Fiona,
Callum and Elspet went up to the roof. “This has been a cool wedding,
Fiona,” Elspet said.
“It has,” Callum added.
Fiona looked at the stars.
“It’s been a fun time for the last few weeks, hasn’t it? We’ve seen and done
so much.”
“Wait a minute. I forgot
something. I’ll be right back. I’ve got something for you in my backpack in
the dressing room.” Elspet ran off and came back ten minutes later with her
pack. “I hope you like this. I made one for both of you.” She pulled two
albums out. “Here, Fiona. Here, Callum.”
Fiona opened hers. “Elspet!
This is a photo album of all of our trips and look, Callum, some of Elspet’s
drawings are in here.” Fiona turned one page at a time. “Oh, this is so
great. I love your drawings. Thank you, Elspet.” Fiona hugged her friend.
Callum looked through his.
There was one photo of Elspet wearing her mouse necklace. Callum nearly
cried. “I will keep this forever. It’s got all of our memories, or at least
a lot of them. The rest we’ll keep in our minds forever. Thank you, Elspet.”
He kissed her cheek. |
