Antique Cuisine

The idea of recreating dishes rarely eaten these days compels many, I believe. I have been daydreaming of making Blancmange since I read about it in my Joy of Cooking. Now I see that Old First will be serving vintage Dutch, and the menu includes personal favorites, endive and leeks. Pumpkin cornmeal cakes? Hello! I'm not a member of the congregation but I'd hate to miss this authentic Amsterdam dinner following the service on Nov. 15. Here's the information from Daniel Meeter's blog:

On Sunday, November 15, after church, is our Colonial style dinner, as our congregation might have eaten it centuries ago. We will eat it in that style—entirely with wooden spoons!

The menu is based on recipes from an authentic cookbook of the period, De Verstandige Kok, (The Sensible Cook)

Spÿskaart (menu)
Gerecht schotel (main course) Beef with Ginger, Chicken with Orange
Groenten (vegetables): Stewed Cabbage, Belgian Endive, Leeks
Brood (bread): Pumpkin Cornmeal Cakes, Rye and Wheat Bread
Nagerecht (dessert): Almond Tart, Pear Tart, Spanish Porridge, Zoete Koek
Eet smakelÿk (bon appetite)

I wonder what some Brooklyn Buddhist congregations might serve if they followed suit, the menus would vary as widely as the regions that imported the religion from India. I guess Vajradhara would serve Tibetan, but the Zen Center, Japanese. As for the dinner at Old First, here's more info. I wonder if there's a book that presents historic menus of various creeds, because, whatever you believe in, you must eat.