Subject: Re: A Roman Feast

From: [email-masked] (Nick Maclaren)
Date: 7 Apr 93 20:22:56 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Paula Weiss) writes:
>I am planning to have an Ancient Roman Feast sometime later this month. 
>Does anyone have any authentic (and accessible)  recipes that they could
>share with me?  Or perhaps some references?

Try "The Roman Cookery of Apicius" by John Edwards (Random Century/Rider).
We have used a couple of the recipes, and they were very good indeed.

Nick Maclaren
University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street,
Cambridge CB2 3QG, England.
Email:  [email-masked]
Tel.:   +44 223 334761
Fax:    +44 223 334679

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 5 May 1993 20:48:08 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked]  
(Paula Weiss) writes:
]I am planning to have an Ancient Roman Feast sometime later this month. 
]Does anyone have any authentic (and accessible)  recipes that they could
]share with me?  Or perhaps some references?
]
]Thanks in advance,
]
]Paula

For ideas on presentation and ambience, I'd refer to Fellini's Satyricon. The  
serving of the multi-stuffed bovine has to be seen to be believed (and even  
then some people have doubts).

Dave

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From: [email-masked] (Scott Fisher)
Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 19:44:22 GMT

>]share with me?  Or perhaps some references?

The Time-Life "Cooking of..." series has an interesting book on Italian
cuisine, written by Waverly Root.  He devotes a chapter to Roman cuisine,
both the feasts (which were decidedly the exception) and the more day-to-day
cuisine of average folks and nobles alike.

One of the most dramatic, if hard to duplicate, dishes is one where a 
whole boar is roasted on one side and boiled on the other, then filled
with preserved fruits and opened with a sword at the feast.  You can't
top that for presentation!

>]Thanks in advance,
>]
>]Paula
>
>For ideas on presentation and ambience, I'd refer to Fellini's Satyricon. 

Or even the one by Petronius... :-)  Dormice rolled in honey and sesame
seeds might be a little hard to find, though.  Stick to boiled asparagus,
a favorite dish (or at least a favorite saying, "quick as boiled asparagus")
of the Emperor Augustus.  Suetonius' "The Twelve Caesars" has a little 
about the dining habits of the title subject, if I recall.  Both that 
and the Satyricon are published by Penguin among others.

--Scott

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From: [email-masked] (Tom Bruno)
Date: 13 May 1993 00:41:02 GMT

>then some people have doubts).

=)  And don't forget looking back to the source material, Petronius'
_Cena Trimalchionis_ for some good dinner conversation!  As for recipes,
you might want to look for a good translation of Apicius-- one of the few
Roman chefs who left us some written record.  Usually the translations are
accompanied by the commentary and technical explanation of ancient cooking
afficionados, who try to make sense of Apicius's ingredients and measures.
I have an old recipe for a lemon chicken broth somewhere, but it might take
some excavating (literally!) to find it.  

tom bruno
[email-masked]