I think only I can fully appreciate just how amazing was my
start to today, but here’s what happened. So, usual start to my day is an alarm
going off, me smacking it hard to make it snooze, followed by me bashing the
stupid alarm again every 8 minutes until it gives in and I can sleep until I’m
very very late for work. Today the alarm sounded, I thumped it – and turned
over to go back to sleep. Then a thought crossed my sleepy mind … today would
be pineapple tarte tatin with Szechuan pepper ice cream day! Big smile at the
very thought, and I practically leapt out of bed!
Probably spent the rest of the day getting over early burst
of energy to be honest … I bet I couldn’t totally obliterate a slice of pineapple
the same again however hard I tried (“Please chef, can I have another?”), and
over confidence with a bubbling caramel is never a good thing. After all that, I
put myself on the veg “station” for the rest of the day, just in case. You can’t
go all that wrong with a turnip.
However –before all that, we started the day by de-veining some
foie gras, during which I thought 2 big thoughts:
- THIS is why cooking school is totally the business – how would I ever otherwise know you have to de-vein a foie gras (with a spoon handle), or even what a foie gras looks like in its “natural” state. Ok so maybe there was a chance I’d’ve decided to have a bash at home one day anyway, but oh how royally I would’ve screwed it up without knowing what I know now!
- If you used my liver for this, it would come ready-marinated in red wine, port, and seriously enhanced by flavours of juniper …
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| Three de-veined foie gras half lobes ... to add to the one Chef Rob demonstrated a little more expertly! Bring on the terrine! |
Next Chef Rob turned the veinless foie gras into an amazing
looking terrine, and we made a lovely tasting Sauternes jelly, along with a
walnut vinaigrette … all ready for tomorrow’s lunch. Yes, sometimes cooking
school is designed purely to test one’s patience I believe.
Which reminds me – never has there been so much interest in
a few bits of old beef!! You may remember that some lovely seared beef short ribs
went into the bubble bath a few days ago, and with today the designated day for
the eating, it seemed like the whole town of Ashburton was looking for an
excuse to visit our little kitchen!
A simple spot of
lunch
So, with tomorrow’s prep done, it was time for today’s lunch, and
there were no cheese sarnies on THIS menu! First we blended scallops and
oysters with a dash of cream and lime zest/juice to add vitamins, and then we
turned it into a little boudin – otherwise known as a snausage. I was allowed to handle the cling film
machine, and actually managed to roll our mushed seafood into “perfect” “little”
cylinders. This made me happy, and then we poached our “sausages” while we made
a quite stunning tarragon vinaigrette style sauce vierge – incorporating little
cubes of raw scallop and oyster. Yum.
Despite some general group consternation about texture and strong
flavor of the sea, I reckon I might have a bash at this one again …. The more I
ate, the more I relaxed and smiled. And
smiling is always a good indicator if you ask me. However, it might take a bit of practice to
make the sauce taste just like Chef Rob’s … but then any excuse for another go!
 |
| Scallop and oyster boudin with lime, tarragon sauce vierge emulsion ... wooo hoo! |
Lazy afternoon
So our afternoon proceeded with the making of a brioche
dough – it all looked very complex and sticky and very much like a mega bingo
wing workout session. But my co-chef
being a bit of a baker, it seemed only right that she made the brioche while I
peeled and faffed with lots of teeny veg, and roasted some in butter to make
sure they was proper elfy.
Somewhere among all this, a fabulous Szechuan pepper ice
cream was made, and we sorted some pastry for our tatins, while trying really
really hard not to burn the caramel to go in them. The (new) slice of pineapple
was griddled, and the tatin assembled – and then we made some pineapple fluid
gel, just because we can. Oh, and also
did some “sugar” work, i.e. little spirals using isomalt – again, just because
we can (well we nearly can, if only we can garner extra patience!!)
FINALLY it was time to get the beef short ribs out of their
bubble bath. To our surprise (yes, that’s
me using a touch of irony there) – Boss Chef Darrin turned up “out of the blue”
to assist Chef Rob in putting this one together. [We didn’t see what happened after
we left with our own dishes – but I imagine it involved 2 or more chefs tucking
a tea towel into their jacket collars, and sucking dry beef short ribs in a
manner reminiscent of Charley’s cat [go to minute 51 if you’re not as old as me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3FnCiRpdQ4
].
Evidently there was smoking of the ribs to be done at the
last minute – and I was suddenly on temporary wingman duty, which I blame
entirely on my brother for buying me a smoking gun for Christmas. Fortunately (planned) smoke happened, and an exceedingly
cool little cloche was filled with hickory smoke, to finish off the beef, olive
oil mash and little vegetables.
 |
| 3-day slow cooked smoked beef short rib, charred leek glaze, olive oil mash and madeira jus. |
To finish off the day – a dessert that I knew would be my
favourite when I read about it some months ago – and I was right! Yes, ok, so I could probably do without the
large handful of Szechuan peppercorns I added to the bottom of the tatin, but
since they’re one of my favourite things, a little tingle on the sides of the
tongue was both anticipated and welcome.
 |
| Pineapple tarte tatin with Szechuan pepper ice cream, caramel sauce, pineapple fluid gel and pineapple tuiles. |
Tarte tatin! With pineapple instead of apple! And Szechuan
pepper ice cream! What sort of a mad
brilliant combo is that?? My ice cream maker will totally be in action Sunday …
and thank Crunchie for the little Vietnamese supermarkets in Hackney that
supply my Szechuan pepper addiction!!
After all that, it was essential for the More Advanced Team to
ensure a serious debrief and/or teambuilding session … so we found ourselves in
Number 14, where we were forced to consume a small (!) quantity of beer, gin,
wine and more beer. And a coffee (to make room for the beer).
I expect Chef Rob will surprise us all tomorrow by
organizing us each a little deckchair in front of the telly, so we can watch
him make some cool stuff while sitting on the terrace getting a tan.
Push on!!
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