Flying Feast presented by

Ellie Markovitch and Rose Mitchell—a multi-taste experience inspired by the avian world following Theory of Flight – A Fantasia of Avian Obsession by Anna Lindemann, composer, animator, writer.

Special thank you to our helpers: Bonnie, Sena, Emma, Eric and Steve.

FLAMINGO POOL SOUP
Lemongrass, lime broth with shrimp and red chilis
A filter floats on top.

Start by preparing the Lotus– cut ends, pill and sliced very thinly. Soak, marinate in 1 cup of water, 3/4 cup vinegar, 3 tsp salt, 1 tbsp sugar, 3 scallions (white and light green part)
For the soup, Tom Yum inspired
3-4 cups chicken stock
1 stalk lemongrass, lower 1/3 finely minced
2  lime juiced
12 medium raw shrimp, shelled and chopped (food processor works well)
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 small red dried chili,  crushed (to taste)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp crushed coriander seeds            Filter feeding is a common way of eating for many aquatic birds. We wanted to invoke a flamingo feast in our soup, so we brewed up a broth of lemongrass, fish sauce, ground shrimp, chilies and lime juice, and “filtered” it with a slice of pickled lotus root. Photo by Rose Mitchell

Add lemongrass to a deep pot with stock on medium-high. Boil for 5 minutes, or until fragrant.
Add garlic, chili, lime juice. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
Add shrimp, Cook 5-6 minutes, or until shrimp changes color to pink.
Serve in bowls with floating prepared lotus root

ISLAND CHICKEN WINGS

Caribbean flavors, Upstate heat

BRANCHES & PERCHES
Nut and sun-dried tomato tacos wrapped in romaine,
drizzled with red pepper sauce

“Meat”:                                       
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup raw almonds
10 sundried tomatoes
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/8 cayenne pepper
1/4 cumim
salt to taste

Soak the walnuts for 6-8 hours and drain them. Soak sundried tomatoes , but keep the water to add it to the ‘meat’ later. Place walnuts and sundried tomatoes into the food processor and process them adding the water from sundried tomatoes soaking until meaty consistency. Stir in green onions. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
Add the ’meat’ on the top of lettuce or endive. Garnish with Mae’s “cheese” sauce
(red bell pepper, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic to taste)

BERRIES FOR BEAKS
Garlands of dried apricots and blueberries
threaded on strawberry laces

Using bamboo skewers, make holes on dry fruit and tread them with strawberry lace  licorice. Hang in tree branches in the room.

PARMESAN NESTS
Cherry tomatoes, arugula, and sprouts tossed with
balsamic vinegar fill Parmesan nests

Parmesan Nests: Preheat oven to 325. Place 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese onto a non-stick cookie sheet or Silpat; pat gently into a flat 2-inch circle. Repeat with remaining cheese, allowing 1 inch between circles. Bake for about 5 minutes or lightly golden. transfer to muffin tins and let it cool. Fill nests with sprouts, arugula, cherry tomatoes tossed with Rosemary garlic infused olive oil, balsamic vinegar and freshly cracked black pepper.

FOSSIL COOKIES
Semisweet chocolate with white chocolate chips

A rock outcropping (made of dried beans) where we will discover delicious chocolate fossil cookies. Photo by Rose Mitchell

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or your favorite bar chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (12 ounces) white chocolate chips
Oven to 350 degrees.
Over a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter until almost melted. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In another mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Add melted chocolate, mix well, add flour and stir with a spatula until just combined. Stir in white chocolate. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes or so until it hardens. Divide the dough into 3 – 8×1-inch logs, 1 1/2 inches wide. Wrap them with plastic and chill or freeze for later use. When ready to bake, transfer a log to a cutting and slice 3/4-inch thick slices.        Bake until cookies are little soft in center, 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on baking sheets; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

BIRD BATH SPONGE CAKE
Upside-down coconut cake in a warm caramel pineapple sauce
(optional splash of rum)

Sponge cakes, to mimic another feeding mechanism, and add a sweet and sinful twist to our reception, especially once soaked with a warm pineapple, caramel, coconut sauce and a shot of rum!

2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk, room temperature
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line with paper or spray cupcake mini pans.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.
In another bowl, using electric mixer, beat soften butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add 3 eggs. Beat well. eating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Alternate adding flour mixture and coconut milk.  Scoop batter with ice cream scoop into the prepared pans. Bake cupcakes 17-18 minutes. Cool completely on rack before frosting.

For the Caramel, I call it caramel, but it is doce de leite (portuguese) or dulce de leche, anyway, here it is how I make it: I empty 1 can of sweetened condensed milk in a canning jar. Close the lead and cook inside the crockpot on low for 8 hours (on high for 4 hours). Add enough water to completely cover the jar. If you do not have a crockpot, put the closed canning jar in a large pan with 4 quarts of water; bring to a boil, then simmer at low heat for 1.5 to 2 hours. Let it cool. Keep refrigerated.
For the warm sauce (bath): Once you have the caramel, mix that with 1 cup of chopped pineapple (can is fine), 1 cup of
coconut milk and a large pinch of ground clover and cook until bubbly warm and add a shot of rum to serve.

OR, add all ingredients to a crockpot for 2 hours: caramel,  pineapple and coconut milk and 1/4 tsp cloves.
I say put everything in a crockpot because it keeps warm without having to worry about it burning.

To serve, start with warm sauce, add cake upside down on top and splash with rum. Garnished with pomegranate seeds or mind leaves.

PASSION FRUIT NECTAR
Passion fruit juice and Caju juice concentrate mixed with water.

presented by Ellie Markovitch & Rose Mitchell

                                                                                                                                                                     Photos by Sena Clara Creston

Ellie Markovitch (Flying Feast designer) is an Electronic Arts MFA candidate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is a multimedia artist who explores new ways of storytelling. Some of her explorations include relational aesthetics and paths to extend sensory experiences. She uses food as a starting point for conversations. Gathering is part of who she is. She gathers people’s stories as a photojournalist. She created the website storycooking.com as a place to capture reflections on the roles of food in our lives, the impact of food on community, and explore people’s relationships with cooking and eating. She lives in Troy, New York with her husband and two children.
Rose Mitchell (Flying Feast designer) grew up in a cooking family, learning to participate in every aspect of a meal from a young age. She is now a working mother who makes every effort to feed her family a home cooked meal each night of the week. Her definition of world peace is “everyone having what they need and liking what they have”, and she believes that one of the most fundamental rights of humanity is access to good, clean and fair food. She also strongly believes that every morsel of food is a precious gift and should be treated deliciously! Rose is a native to the Capital Region and currently lives in Downtown Albany with her partner, Steve, and their wonderful little boy, Rowan.