Elven delicacies

There's the simple way, then there's the elven way.  Elves have a reputation for complexity and over-engineering, in everything from law to technology to food.  A fine elven meal is hardly complete without a special delicacy, a treat for everyone at the table.

(This is a rather silly post, so if you're just here for wilderness adventures, you should probably look somewhere else.)

Chinese pastries, seriouseats.com

Start with its shape.  I'll roll up a random delicacy as we go to show you how it works.

Shape (d12)
1	round ball
2	flat disc
3	long stick
4	spiky/star-shaped
5	diamond/parallelogram
6	pyramid
7	ring
8	twisted into a knot
9	flattish with a pressed floral pattern
10	elephant/camel/giraffe
11	irregular cluster
12	layers of the exterior and filling

Decide what the outside of the delicacy is made of, and then what kind of finish it has.

5: This food is cut/pressed/molded into a diamond or parallelogram shape.

Exterior (d20)
1-4	no outer layer around the filling
5	candy shell
6	mochi (sticky rice candy dough)
7	steamed dough
8	baked dough
9	fried dough
10	sugar glaze
11	chocolate
12	a pepper
13	frosting/icing
14	crispy pastry
15	a tomato
16	hollow/folded pasta
17	a raspberry
18	sticky rice
19	cheese
20	crumbly cookie

14: It's a diamond-shaped crispy pastry.

Finish (d20)
1-2	no special finish
3	powdered sugar
4	nutmeg
5	edible rice paper
6	patterned paper wrapper
7	salt
8	cocoa powder
9	crushed walnuts
10	shredded coconut
11	pine nuts
12	dusting of flour
13	cinnamon
14	sesame seeds
15	poppyseeds
16	seaweed
17	smoked
18	honey
19	grated cheese
20	olive oil / butter

3: Diamond-shaped crispy pastry coated or topped with powdered sugar.

Cucidati, savingdessert.com

There's a filling inside:

Filling (d20)
1	hard candy	flavored with (d20) 1: honey, 2: molasses, 3: tomato, 4: pistachio, 5: cheese, 6: lemon, 7: pineapple, 8: peach, 9: coffee, 10: butter, 11: tea, 12: jasmine, 13: lavender, 14: rose, 15: licorice, 16: peppermint, 17: frankincense, 18: salt, 19: rum, 20: roll twice
2	chewy sweet (like nougat or taffy)
3	jelly/gel/gummy
4	creamy filling
5	ball of cotton candy
6	spongy bread/cake
7	crispy cookie/cracker
8	candied apricot
9	marzipan
10	cluster of sesame seeds
11	walnut
12	bean paste
13	egg
14	puffed rice
15	candied ginger
16	fig paste
17	dried plum
18	soft cheese
19	hollow inside
20	an inedible trinket with writing on it

19: The pastry is hollow inside.

Anastasiya Sviderska

In polite society, there's a proper way to eat these delicacies.

Method of Eating (d12)
1-2	Pick it up with two fingers, but not using your thumb.
3-4	Use a spoon.
5-6	Use small tongs.
7-8	Use chopsticks.
9-10	Use a tiny sieve to dip it in tea or coffee.
11	Stab it with a sharp skewer.
12	Break it apart with a flat knife and a little mallet, then pick up the pieces on the knife.

7: You're supposed to eat this pastry using chopsticks.  Hopefully it's small enough to make that reasonable.

But there's a complication, something that makes these rather awkward.

Complication (d12)
1	They are absurdly large.
2	They are very small.
3	They are eaten together with another delicacy.
4	You and your neighbor feed each other.
5	Surprisingly, these are the main course of the meal.
6	Eat one to show that you would like to leave.
7	You will have to pay for each one you eat.
8	You are supposed to take one and pass the dish.
9	The dish is placed near you, but you are supposed to ask the host to serve you when you want one.
10	A large number of them are served to you, but this is not the main course. You are expected to return any you do not eat.
11	They are served in a sauce.
12	They are eaten in silence.

2: Turns out it's surprisingly small: a tiny, hollow, crispy pastry in a diamond shape coated in powdered sugar, eaten with chopsticks.  I'd eat that.

Let's roll up a few more:

• A flattish layer of sesame seeds (probably held together with honey or something) with icing on top in a floral pattern, and then more sesame seeds sprinkled on top.  Eaten with chopsticks, but it's understood that you'll pay for each one you eat.
• An irregularly-shaped crumbly cookie, filled with fig paste, wrapped in edible rice paper.  You take one and pass the dish, then dip it in your tea/coffee with a small sieve.
• Egg, pressed into the shape of a camel.  (That's it, no exterior or finish.)  Pick one up with two fingers (but not your thumb) and feed it to your neighbor.
• A long, skinny pepper filled with marzipan and dipped in olive oil.  Eat one to show that you would like to leave.  (I don't want to eat one of these).
• A ring-shaped folded pasta (like tortellini, I suppose) with a creamy, tea-flavored filling, and sprinkled with poppyseeds.  The dish is placed near you, but you ask your host to serve them to you, then you dip them in your tea.
• A crispy pastry shaped like a hockey puck, with a walnut inside.  Eaten with your fingers as the main course of the meal.

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Roll up an elven delicacy of your own:

delicacy
filling
exterior
shape
finish
method
complication