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| Elderflower and Gooseberry Tart & New Potato, Broad Bean, Feta and Hazelnut Salad at Tuesday's Demo |
1. On Tuesday (week 6) we all had a go at cutting our own steaks. Here's Gary cutting it off the bone.
2. On Wednesday, we followed a morning wine tasting with a tapas demonstration by Darina which was accompanied by a Sherry tasting! Colm McCan (the very enthusiastic Sommelier at Ballymaloe House who takes our classes with Peter Corr of Febvre Wine Merchants) is desperate for us all to appreciate fine Sherry which he argues has been severely misused over the years. 'Would you offer a foreigner a thimble of Guinness? No! Then why do people outside of Spain drink Sherry out of teeny little glasses like it's medicine?'. He also lamented the fact that people keep Sherry in their drinks cabinet for months when it ought to be drunk (chilled) within a week if Fino or Manzanillo or within 3-4 weeks for other styles. Sweet styles however can be kept for months due to their sugar levels. We tried a light style followed by a darker Oloroso - both of which I found incredibly strong even with the salty tapas (such as salt cod on bruschetta and potatas bravas) which Colm insisted we eat in tandem - I obviously need to acquire a taste for it! We finished with Pedro Ximenez sherry which is almost syrup-like in it's sweetness and is apparently delicious over ice-cream.
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| Tatsoi Salad Leaf |
3. On Friday we had our (much dreaded) herb/salad recognition midterm test plus a technique exam. Not exactly a highlight but most of the short week 7 was taken up by desperate walks around the greenhouse trying to identify just what sets apart a Green Mustard leaf from a Mizuna leaf and frantic jointing of (non-organic) chickens.
4. Gluten-free cooking with Rosemary Kearney. Unfortunately this wasn’t a revelation – Gluten-free cooking still produces denser, crumblier cakes and pastry! But Kearney gave me a far greater understanding of the intolerance. She highlighted that many restaurants still do not take gluten-free cooking seriously enough believing it to be more fad and a medically proven allergy. Restaurants with gluten-free dishes must be prepared before dishes with gluten in or in an entirely separate room as only a dot of flour is enough to make someone ill.
6. On Tuesday I got to work on a Pâté de Campagne which involved layering several different meats along with pistachios into a rasher-lined cake tin. After being chilled and pressed overnight it was turned out and then served in slices with a Confiture d’Oignons. A bit of a faff but it looks impressive (I think?) and is surprisingly moreish although as filling as several meats compacted into a terrine can be!
7. Dish of the week: Sticky toffee pudding. I’ve always thought this pudding to be sweet and stodgy but the Ballymaloe recipe (both tea and coffee are involved but I can’t say more!) that we used made a sponge that managed to be squidgy and light at the same time – everybody couldn’t get enough. 8.
Elderflower, Gooseberries, Cucumbers, Courgettes, Courgette Flowers and Rocket.
One of my favourite things about the course is that we cook with ingredients picked that morning by the gardeners (and the few sleepy students on salad duty that day). On Wednesday I turned this bounty into a Zucchini Carpaccio, some Buttered Cucumber with Fennell to go with Poached Organic Irish Salmon and a Gooseberry & Elderflower Tart.
9. The coolest Pig in school…
10. On Thursday I tentatively entered the Ballymaloe House Kitchen to spend an evening watching service. The restaurant is based on tradition, seasonality and Irish produce and the passion for these three things by the team is undoubtable. Unfortunately it was a quiet night with only 34 covers – the chefs actually managed to slip out to watch the Ireland v. Spain game towards the end of service! But I got to have a good snoop around the surprisingly large kitchens and head chef Jason showed me the cold store full of hanging meat including several beef joints which were waiting to be roasted for a big wedding the next day.
Snippets from that evening’s menu:
Thursday 14th June 2012
Knocklara Ewe’s Milk Cheese & Almond Salad with Pomegranate Seeds & Honey
Pea, Chili & Coriander Soup
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Grilled Ballycotton Herring with Mustard Butter
Potato Gnocchi with Artichoke, Smoked Bacon & Parmesan Cream
Sauté of Chicken Livers with Marsala and Raisins on Grilled Bread
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Poached Ballycotton Monkfish with Scallops, Hollandaise Sauce & Buttered Cucumber
Fillets of Ballycotton Mackerel with Clams and Garden Herb Butter
Traditional Roast Goose with Potato & Apple Stuffing, Bramley Apple Sauce & Piquant Beetroot
Jason’s Spiced & Braised Lamb with Cumin, Coriander, Lemon and White Turnips
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Irish Farmhouse Cheese
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Ballymaloe Desserts
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Tea or Coffee with Petit Fours
70.00euro (incl 9% VAT)
Some things I picked up...
- They never have just one supplier for, say, beef which keeps standards high. Having said that, they have been ordering their duck and geese from a lady down the road called Nora Aherne for the past 40 years as her fowl have a wonderful farmyard flavour which surpasses all others (the roast goose was incredibly succulent and memorable).
- Second helpings are offered of the main for anyone who wants more!
- The orders for each table are written (rather cryptically) by the waiters on a white board in the kitchen which means that service is eerily quiet, with the occasional banter between chefs.
- The pastry kitchen was completely deserted as all the puddings for that evening are usually prepared before 4pm. In the fridge were meringue roulades, Irish Strawberries, Chocolate Tarts and a Gooseberry and Elderflower fool, all waiting to be wheeled out on the dessert trolley. Something so old-school that it seems rather exciting these days. I also tried some of their Petit Fours which including some delicious butterscotch fudge and marzipan-coated strawberries.
11. With all the cakes and puddings we've been making, this Shaved Fennel and Red Onion Salad felt very healthy and refreshing. It also looks great on a large platter like this. 
12. Derek O'Brians Cheese and Chive Soda Bread recipe - this makes an extremely naughty but delicious loaf. I added some gruyére along with the specified cubes of cheddar and my teacher Pam loved it. Especially good when still warm.  |
| Caramelized fruit in Demo |
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