Publisher's description:
Fabulous Feasts: Medieval Cookery and Ceremony celebrates the close relationship between food and culture in the Middle Ages by exploring every facet of medieval life as reflected in the food and feasting habits of people from that time period. Filled with a rich selection of tempting recipes that can be prepared by the modern-day host and hostess, the book goes beyond the scope of most cookbooks by explaining the provenance and the practical reasons for certain cooking methods, ingredients, and related customs. In order to answer questions about how and why people ate what they did in the Middle Ages, Dr. Madeleine Cosman discusses topics ranging from medical nutrition, food safety, and food preparation to food service, table manners, and courtly magnificence. Leaving nothing out, from the ambiance down to the menu, Cosman transports the reader back to the Middle Ages through descriptions of humble meals among the common people as well as elaborate banquets at the King's Table.

From the back cover:
"Any even faintly literary types, be they cook or history buff, should be absolutely delighted with this book." - Julia Child, The Boston Globe
"A treasure…. Fascinating reading and exotic cookery." - Publishers Weekly
What did people who lived during the Middle Ages eat? How did they eat? Dr. Cosman proves just how endlessly intriguing the answers to these questions are in this fascinating exploration of medieval food habits in service, table manners, menu, and courtly magnificence.

Contents:
11 I FABOULOUS FEASTS: Settings, Servings, Subtleties, Menus, and Marvels
1. Feast Itinerary of Sir Gawain. 2. Two Romance Feasts. 3. The Great Hall. 4. The Table. 5. On the Table. 6. Table Manners. 7. Service of Feasts. 8. Banquet Music. 9. Courses and Menus. 10. Menus for a Coronation and a Funeral. 11. A Sample Courtly Menu. 12. Gargantuan Gorging? 13. Noble Servitors Between the Kitchen and the Hall. 14. Fumositées and Health. 15. Marvelous Entertainment. 16. Subtleties. 17. French Romance Feasts. 18. Food and Medieval Life.
39 II PEACOCKS, PARSLEY, PRINCELY PIE: The Characteristics of Medieval Food
Raw Ingredients: 1. Flesh, Fish, and Fowl. 2. Giblets, Wombs, "Garbage," and Dainties. 3. Hoofs and Feet, Animal Oil and Grease. 4. Broth, Blood, and Marrow. 5. Milks and Eggs. 6. Herbs and Spices. 7. Sugar and Honey. 8. Vegetables and Fruits. 9. Flowers and Nuts. Cooking Processes: 10. Aforcing and Alaying. 11. Almond Milk. 12. Verjuice. 13. Vinegar and Eisel. 14. Amyndoun. 15. Kitchen-bread, Flour, and Yeast. 16. Cook's Choice and the Experience Assumption. 17. Measurements. 18. Various Kitchen Utensils. 19. Multiple Cookings, Mixings, and Princely Pies. Decoration: 20. Food Painting. 21. Food Sculpture. 22. Sauces at Table.
67 III A CHICKEN FOR CHAUCER'S KITCHEN: Medieval London's Market Laws and Larcenies
1. Breads and Baked Goods. 2. Wines. 3. Beers and Ales. 4. Salt. 5. Markets and Place. 6. Markets and Time. 7. Weights and Measures.
93 IV. FOUNTAIN, RIVER, PRIVY, POT: Medieval London's Polluted Waters
The Conduit: 1. Water Waste. 2. Water Protection. 3. Conduit Improvements. The River: 4. Fisheries. 5. Butcheries. 6. Water Access. 7. The River as Sewer. 8. A Year of Great Stink. 9. Monastic Water Systems. The Brook and the Fosse: 10. Household Debris. 11. A Brewer's Stewardship. Pollution Abatement.
103 V. SEX, SMUT, SIN, AND SPIRIT: Medieval Food and Character
1. Characterization by Food Habit. 2. Food and Social Class. 3. Food and Sex. 4. Food and Smut. 5. Unnatural and Supernatural Food. 6. Food and Spirit.
125 VI MEDIEVAL FEASTS FOR THE MODERN TABLE: A Practical Prelude to the Recipes
1. The Modern Medieval Banquet Hall. 2. The Table. 3. The Table Setting and Accoutrements. 4. The Serving Board. 5. Assembling the Rare, Raw Ingredients. 6. Wines. 7. Servitors and Service. 8. Music. 9. Costumes. 10. Emboldening the Feasters. 11. Making Menus for Fabulous Feasts. 12. Modern Re-creations of the Medieval Recipes.
OVER 100 RECIPES FROM MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS
133 List of Recipes
136 I. Appetizers, Cheese, and Appetizing Aphrodisiaces
144 II. Soups, Sauces, and Spiced Wines
156 III. Breads and Cakes
163 IV. Meats
169 V. Fish
176 VI. Fowl
183 VII. Vegetables and Vegetarian Variations
190 VIII. Fruit and Flower Desserts
198 XI. Spectacle, Sculpture, and Illusion Food
205 BIBLIOGRAPHY