At Shakespeare's Table

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This week's show is dedicated to eating and celebrating like a Renaissance man or woman. We take a closer look at two excuses for some Elizabethan entertainments: Twelfth Night and Pancake Day.

Traveling back to sixteenth-century England, we cook up a merry Twelfth Night feast for the last night of the twelve days of Christmas. For a dinner party, consider making a large rib roast for your beef of Olde England centerpiece. Or fashion a feasting buffet with our venison pasties and a selection of recommended English cheeses. Either way, a Twelfth Night Cake is essential. Be sure to bake a pea and a bean into your cake and let the finders run your party as king and queen for the night. If you don't already have a 2-pint or 4-pint heat-proof bowl or steamed pudding mold, get the perfect pudding basin or mold here.

To accompany the meal, serve forth a flaming bowl of Old English Wassail. Try a Wassail recipe with a robust bottle of sherry or Madeira, a non-alcoholic version, or the intriguingly named drink, Lambswool. And set up the perfect alehouse counter with our recommendations for English ales, stouts, and ciders.

Looking ahead to ways to brighten up February and usher in the cold days and dark nights of Lenten season without the low-rent style of Girls Gone Wild we've come to think of as Mardi Gras, Eat Feed looks in on an old tradition still celebrated by those keeping the past alive: Pancake Day. Olney, England is known for it's annual Pancake Day race, including contests racing while flipping pancakes. On this side of the Atlantic, Liberal, Kansas keeps the tradition alive as well. You only need four things for a great Pancake Day party: pancakes, sausages, a hearty party potable, and some bawdy jokes. Follow up the podcast here with some guidance on choosing the appropriate quaff for this Falstaffian feast.

Find Renaissance-style glassware, plates, linens, and serving pieces at Sur La Table and Chef's Catalog. Find books on Renaissance food and dining as well as historical cookbooks to help you create Shakespearean feasts all year long at Powell's Books.

If you're looking for some basic British groceries to round out your party platter, check here for links to online British food shops that deliver in the US.

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