Closing out

Rosie, Rosie and I celebrating at our leaving dinner

My time at Ballymaloe came to an abrupt end. Abrupt meaning it snuck up on me ... I was driving off the property before it sunk in that i was actually leaving. I think it hit me as I was flying over the Atlantic. Exams were.... well... they were a blur.. I remember something about menu planning, gazing over cuts of meat that to me looked all the same, munching on lettuces leaves I didn't know the names of and smelling herbs till my nose was numb. It was like information overload i can only pray my practical success pulled me over the pass mark :) My pork and profiteroles were a success... or so I thought so and I managed to finish under the 3 hour mark... really by the skin of my teeth. It was tough but exciting. Saying goodbye to friends and house mates was hard and sad. I really made some wonderful friends. I've already been swapping post Ballymaloe cooking stories and swapping ideas for holiday party ideas. Friends are starting cheffing jobs under intense pressure and I'm just so impressed and envious that they had the guts to apply to do something like that. I've learned its a combination of skill and confidence... if you are not confident in what you are doing people won't be confident in you.. and the food you are producing...

Our leaving party was amazing. I was a little sick so i didn't eat much other than the new seasons olive oil.. maybe I was sick because of that.. I was drinking it like it was water.... so delicious.... we all hit the black bird afterwards and danced the night away... even Rory and Darina made an appearance... it was a great night to cap off an incredible 12 weeks.

 I am going to miss Ballymaloe... badly. I'm trying to use my skills so I don't loose them. First thing when I landed in Bermuda was hit the grocery store. I found Chorizo which was a miracle and cream which comes in a tiny carton.. .not like the jugs you find in Ireland. It also cost about twice the price :) TIB (This is Bermuda)

Penne with Chorizo

I made Penne with Spicy Chorizo Sausage and it was a hit. Really delicious. I made some Chicken Satay for a party and tomorrow night I plan to make some millionaire squares and a savory flaky pastry starter for another party. I'm also on Christmas dinner duty.... so i'm trying to figure how to fit the turkey, ham, potatoes and veges into one oven! Where is my order of work sheet...?

Bermuda was lovely when I first landed... its quite stormy now... like hurricane weather. Its still good to be home though. I'm itching to cook cook cook... I want to get jams and chutneys made and start selling them when i'm back in Belfast. I need a job asap... so i'm constantly online looking for anything and anyone who is hiring..

Okay i'll keep you posted on Christmas dinner.... cross fingers its a success... there really isn't any room for error... the pressure is ON! :-)

For anyone who is considering Ballymaloe... DO IT! Its one of the best things you can ever do. The knowledge and even relationships you make there are life lasting. Its really one of these bucket list deals that is totally totally worth ticking off.

If you need convincing send me an e-mail and i'll be happy to get the ball rolling.

Off to make some flaky pastry.

It's Beginning to Look alot like CHRISTMAS

Bill sleeping in class? Couldn't be!

The cold is getting a little old and chef whites are not exactly warm nor is sleeping in a converted cow barn! I wake up in the morning before the heat kicks in and my face is frozen.. Its officially cold here... In the mornings we turn on all the ovens and open them to heat up the kitchen. I've resorted to wearing my pjs under my chef whites and ear muffs in the kitchen... by the end of the morning i'm just starting to warm up before having to head back out into the cold... Like skiing... my body was just not designed for the cold, nor do i look good this pale... :)

We have 8 or 9 official cooking days left and a lot of exams to look forward to. I just finished a wine exam  and have about 6 more papers to look forward to. I have more herb, spice and lettuce leaf recognition exams followed by fish and cuts of meat recognition with two recipes representing each, not to mention health and safety notes, freezing notes, menu planning.... and the list goes on... I havn't even though about when i'm going to pack and what i'm going to do after this is all over. I think we are all in for a shock :)

Merry Christmas Chocolate Tree

Yesterday was a wonderful Christmas demo. We had Darina demonstrate a fabulous Christmas feast. We had turkey, goose, roast potatoes, chocolate Christmas trees, mince pies, Christmas cake, mulled wine, and a yule log. We all ate like kings that afternoon and I have to admit I still have a food baby belly... yikes..

Today was an interesting day. I made poached Ray. I didn't know you could eat Ray or Skate as they say here... but there he lay on my chopping board starting at me. I sliced of his wings and put them into a saucepan with onions, parsley and a little white wine vinegar. It boiled and sat for 20 minutes and was finished just as the skin was starting to peel from the flesh. The flesh peels off from the little bones quite easily so I slid it onto a hot plate and covered it with black butter. Its was disguting looking to begin with but in the end made an impressive presentation. For dessert I made chocolates which proved to be a pain in the neck but ended up tasting like they belonged in a variety box....I am a bit partial

Tomorrow i'll be making spring rolls and frozen chocolate oranges.... should be interesting.... this is also the last Friday cooking. This weekend, my last in Cork will be spent Christmas shopping, packing, studying and practicing my final meal. Alot to do in not alot of time!! Good night all

Last Two Weeks

I know you all must be tired of looking at whoopie pies so i'm finally updating. Sorry for the long pause there is much now to catch you up on.

Granary Loaf

For the past couple of weeks I've been working on perfecting my bread making techniques. I've made white and brown yeast breads, white and brown soda breads, Italian, Indian breads and my favorite granary loaf. For our exam we draw a bread from a hat and have to make it. I hope i get a soda bread or anything but the white yeast bread. :) It tastes lovely but it takes all morning to make and when i have a full 3 course meal to make i have no minutes to spare.



I've decided on my final exam three course menu. I will be preparing a feast for a Ladies Night.

Starter:
Spiced Pumpkin Soup

Main Course:
Pork with Gentle Spices
Orzo with Herbs
Roasted Winter Root Vegetables

Dessert:
Chocolate Profiteroles with pastry cream filling

Cheese and herb Souffle

I have my hands full, but i think i'll be able to pull it off. I have three hours next week to make all these dishes perfectly and present them to a series of judges who will mark my creations. I'm excited but i'm sure on the day i'm going to freak out.

Other things i've been making have been souffles, pan fried salmon with spices, croissants, poached pairs, lamb curry, hamburgers, lots of bread and a delicious French onion soup which is one of the easiest things to make. I sliced 3lbs of onions and dropped them in a saucepan with a little butter and let them cook for about an hour.... almost till they burnt, then added stock and seasoned it.....amazing and easy!

On another topic.... snow has fallen on Ballymaloe. Its officially COLD! I've been spending quite a bit of time in other counties on the weekends and it's been great seeing a bit of Ireland I normally wouldn't have seen. This weekend I was in Limerick and last weekend I was in Wexford. My little Yaris is piling on the miles.

My Snowy Yaris 

Tomorrow i'll be making roast lamb with potatoes. Wednesday December 1st we are having a Christmas demo. Everything from mince pies to the goose will be demoed. I'm really really excited about that. Two weeks left of Ballymaloe.... has it really all come down to two weeks? I made risotto this weekend and it was horrible! I forgot to wash the gains before cooking them and it was so horribly starchy when i finished cooking them. I watched 10 weeks of cookery school go down the drain :) I must redeem myself!

Heres to the next two weeks!!

Week Eight at Ballymaloe

Whoppie Pies

This weekend was wonderful. Friday night was a little stormy so we all spent the night watching movies and keeping warm. Saturday Nick and I ventured out to the Midleton Farmer's market. We just missed a downpour so we were lucky to have the run of the place when we got there.... saying that there was still quite a queue for the pizzas. The pizzas are baked fresh and are absolutely delicious. They were just the ticket on a chilly Saturday morning. We headed to the grocery store and decided to buy ingredients to make whoppie pies. Whoppies are the new cupcake, like a scooter pie but better. Two cakey cookies sandwiched with marsh mellow whip.... home made mash-mellow whip which is a dangerous thing. I spent Saturday night sick having eaten a countless number of whoppies. 

Monday morning I was in the kitchen making bread. I was on brown bread duty and quickly whipped up some brown bread before settling into my mornings schedule. Its kind of exciting to say I can whip up some brown bread but after 8 weeks of making it almost every day I should be able to say that...though I admit I still have my occasional disaster.. :)  I was scheduled to make Roast Pork with crackling, spiced aubergines and parsnip mash. The pork was pretty straight forward besides the fact is was full of HAIR! I guess that is a sign of authentic organic material... but at the same time I thought it was a little nasty.... I quickly scored the flesh, threw on some herbs and salt and shoved it into the oven. The hairs simmered underneath their blanket of herbs and in no time the pork was ready to eat. The crackling with slightly uneatable but the rest of the it was wonderful.

Tuesday's Presentation

Tuesday was a great day. We made ice cream! It was so simple and such a delicious treat. I boiled some sugar and water until it reached the 'thread point' which is as it sounds. The liquid falls off the spoon like a thread and at that moment its ready to be added to the egg yolks. The water and sugar is added to the yolks and whisked to a white stiff perfection. In another bowl I whipped up (way too much) heavy cream. In an excitable moment I measured two liters of cream before it was whipped instead of two liters of whipped cream. I added some vanilla beans and vanilla extract and folded it into the sugary egg mixture. A quick trip to the freezer and a couple hours later I had ice-cream...so easy and so delicious. I also made Brioche. It was a lot of work but well worth the trouble. Its a dough with a lot of butter so its a bit difficult to handle but I managed to get it into the oven and 20 minutes later I had light fluffy beautiful brioche. I will definitely have to make that again.

Wednesday was demo and lecture day and probably one of the best lunches I've eaten since being here. It was all vegetarian which was a pleasant surprise. Its amazing how good food can be without meat. It was absolutely some of the best things I've eaten. Lentils, beans, veges, rice it all was scrumptious. If I could eat like that every day i'll happily become vegetarian.... Then again I work up this morning and realized it was......

Hazy Kitchen

STEAK DAY. Its almost speaks for itself but I have to expand. We started out making a couple sauces, French fries, onion rings, coleslaw and ratatouille. Once that was all finished we cut our steaks from the half carcass laying at the front of the room (what do you expect!) and we heated our grill pans to volcanic temperature. I am a medium well lady so I slapped my beef on for four minutes each side. It was perfect and tasted like heaven. I was happy to practice and made a couple more rare and medium steaks. By the end of the grilling we were walking around in a greasy haze. I was happy to get out into the fresh air for lunch and enjoyed a beautiful crisp afternoon. We had a wine lecture this evening which was great. We had a woman come and speak on Chilean wine which was all delicious. 7 o'clock rolled along and it was finally time to go home and relax. We are expecting bad weather tonight so I expect to sleep really well tonight.

Tomorrow we are cooking crepes and soufflés amongst other things. Its Friday already and the end of week eight! Not 

Pork and Orzo

Its starting to feel like I live in Ireland. The warm sunny (unusual) weather has turned sunless, cold and wet. Its actually kind of nice because it makes you want to be inside behind a stove cooking something warm and delicious. Demos seem to end in the evenings as its so dark out by the time we are walking home. This afternoon I sat with a cup of tea watching Rachel teach as it rain and blew a storm outside. It was so cozy and relaxing.

Pork, Orzo and Green Beans

This morning I made a really delicious pork dish. Pork with gentle spices which included cumin seeds, coriander  and cardamon seeds. I sauted onions coated the pork in the spices then sauted it with the onions. Then I removed the pork and added cream and stock to the sauce and reduced it. Finally I added the pork and the dish was finished. It was really delicious but I think I over cooked the pork slightly. Along with the pork I made orzo which I was really nervous about. The secret is in the timing, I always seem to mess up the simplest things. I stood over the pot of boiling water and watched each grain cook morsel by morsel because I was determined to do it right. My waiting paid off and the orzo was perfect in about 10 minutes. I added some butter and chopped parsely and it was perfection.

I wanted to make something sweet so I decided to make some chocolate toffee squares which judging by the half empty tin this evening, they turned out pretty good :) It's a painful but rewarding process. Starting with a shortcrust base (butter flour and sugar) I baked it in a flat cookie pan for 15 minutes until slightly golden brown. I let that cool and made the toffee. Sugar, condensed milk and butter bubbled away in a pan for over 20 minutes and I stood there stirring it the whole time because it can burn easily. To make sure its done I dropped a bit into cool water and formed a ball with the cool toffee. Then I spread that on the cool shortcrust base and melted chocolate for the finale. Actually the finally was a special secret ingredient.... salt. I sprinkled some maldon sea salt over the chocolate and my chocolate toffee squares were finished and absolutely delightful. I am planning on making money off those some day :)

Tonight was spent filing recipes. Each day we receive about 10 recipes which we have to put in plastic sleeves and file in large binders. I was behind a couple days so I finished quicker than some of my house mates who were behind a couple weeks. :( Its 10:30 and i'm looking forward to bed. Tomorrow I'll be making a chicken casserole, bread and champ.

Before I go something great I learned today....
For over salted dishes, ie soups.... add half a potato and allow it to simmer. The potato will absorb the access salt.... this ti;p has become real handy :)

Looking forward to the weekend. I can't believe its here already! Good night all.

The Stripy Cat....

My Stripy Cat enjoying the view

Yesterday I  raged war on a loaf of bread... the Stripy Cat. The loaf is made as a normal soda bread is made: flour, salt, sour milk, baking soda, sugar, egg and a special ingredient... CHOCOLATE! I made a 'Spotted Dog' which included sultanas and yesterday I decided to make the Stripy Cat. Everything was going well until I added the chocolate.... my fatal error.... I didn't weigh the chocolate, I just threw a handful (or two) into the dough. My bread went in the over and baked and baked and baked.... usually when bread is finished baking its light and sounds hollow when tapped. My Stripy Cat didn't seem to want to bake... it baked for over an hour until I couldn't wait anymore.... to my delight and slight horror there was chocolate everywhere.. I put in way too much and my Stripy Cat nearly became nearly just a Black Cat. It did taste delicious though.

Peasant Soup

Besides the Stripy Cat I made a Peasant Soup. Bacon, onions, potatoes, garlic, chicken stock and tomatoes. It turned out tasting horrible... like a chunky bland tomato soup. It is amazing what time and a lot of salt does to a soup. I left it simmering for a while and added pinches and pinches and pinches of salt until I could finally taste everything in the soup besides the tomatoes. It was a totally different soup in the end and turned out to be kind of tasty. I finished off the morning cutting and frying French Fries. :-)

Today was lecture day and we had a gentleman come and speak to us about spices. He has his own business called Green Saffron. He imports delicious fresh spices direct from the farms in India. He sells them raw and also mixes them and provides recipe ideas. It's such a simple business idea and he does so well. Its amazing to see how different spices are when they are fresh and organic. We are so use to what we see in grocery stores we have no idea what real food looks or tastes like anymore. If I've learned anything during my time here its the importance of knowing where my food comes from. Don't trust labels, read ingredients, ask questions, support local farmers and don't assume you don't like something because you've probably gotten used to eating a genetically modified version of it. Its been six weeks and i'm starting to see a change in the way I shop and eat .... I hope when i'm out of the bubble I can maintain a healthy organic lifestyle though I think once you've tasted real food it will be hard to go back to processed.

Kitchen 3

Tomorrow we will be back in the kitchen. I find cooking in the morning really therapeutic. I enjoy slicing dicing and kneading. I need to choose a bread to bake maybe a brown yeast bread again... or sour dough?

Good night!

Enjoying the View

I love Monday's. I was back in Kitchen 3 my favorite of all four locations. Its so calm in there and there is an incredible view which is enjoyable when you are kneading dough. 

Meringue Log

This morning I was feeling ambitions and decided to make a granary loaf and a meringue log on top of my scheduled recipes. The granary loaf turned out really great. It took a long time to prove because the flour was so much heavier but I've learned the longer it proves the lighter the loaf becomes. My hours of waiting paid off around 4pm this afternoon when I was finally able to eat it. 

The meringue log was a different story.

 I needed to work on my meringue technique so I volunteered to make this log. Basically you whip egg whites with sugar until the meringue becomes quite stiff. I struggled with this concept and after being sent back to the mixer numerous times I finally came away with stiff meringue. I laid it onto a small rectangle dish lined with tinfoil and oil and baked it for 15 minutes. I allowed it to cool while I whipped the cream... another technique i'm yet to master. I seem to always over whip the cream which probably explains why I was so nervous whipping the meringue. I was just stating to make butter from the cream when I realized I over whipped it ...again!  After the meringue cooled I spread on some (rescued) cream and covered it in fresh strawberries. It was all perfect until it was time to roll it. I ended up rolling it way to tight all the filling oozed out. It was a disaster! I unrolled it redid it and in the end if you didn't see the whole process you'd have though I was a genius! :) 

Seafood Platter

Besides those two things I cooked and served a plate of seaweed, clams, muscles, periwinkles and oysters. After nearly loosing a limb opening the oyster I tossed everything else in a frying pan and watched them pop open. The seaweed was  thrown into boiling water and turned a beautiful green color. My plate looked great and I tried my best getting everything down. I may live by the sea but I don't like eating from it. 

Finally I made a parsnip cake. Grated parsnip and apple with maple syrup, pecans, sugar, flour etc etc. It was moist and delicious. I love baking and decorating cakes. 

Lecture today included pasta making. I remember doing a course at home where we made pasta, i'm going to take a crack at it again tomorrow. Gillian tossed it in a pan with butter, chopped herbs and a little of the pasta water... simple and delicious! Darina made a peasant's soups, poached Monk fish, French fries (believe it or not!) and deep fried cabbage (delicious) We had a couple guest speakers who demonstrated how to make olive and ciabatta bread along with a 'how to make prosciutto' It was great. 

Parsnip and Apple Cake

Tonight my house mate nick treated me to a lovely salad (and yes I identified all the salad leaves) and now i'm going to file and get ready for tomorrow's cooking! Tomorrow we find out our exam scores... I may share about them tomorrow .. :)

A quick shout out to a fellow Ballymaloe blogger... Bill. He featured me on his blog and I was so excited. He was my cooking partner a couple weeks ago and was fabulous. His blog is absolutely fantastic... a must read. You can follow him on http://www.billsballymaloeblog.blogspot.com/

Until tomorrow... happy cooking!

Exam Week

Blackcurrant Fool with Shortbread Biscuits

I have been so behind on my blogging. Its been a crazy week. I've been cooking, traveling and studying. This past Friday was our exam day. It was like Master Chef.... We were all so nervous. We were given a list of what we needed to know for our practical exam.....everything from jointing a chicken to making caramel. Not only did you have to perfectly execute the dish but you had to use all the right bowls, spoons and knives. I was shaking... I had to peel and segment an orange, make mayonnaise, chop and sweat an onion and make a paper piping bag.  I actually got off pretty easy compared to what my friends got...and I was happy with the end result.

We had a herb and salad leaf recognition exam as well. I never knew there were more than 10 lettuce leaves but i left for the green house early in the morning to cram. I think i did pretty well and i'll never look at a salad the same again.

This weekend we are all enjoying some relaxation. We are having a Halloween party tonight in the court yard. I baked cookies this morning, decorated them and dressed up my roommate as a fairy.... the kind of fairy you release from soda bread.. :) Its been a great relaxing weekend after a stressful week.

Sunflower Bread

Last week I made an amazing blackcurrant fool, shortbread biscuits, Salmon pate, amazing soups and a killer sunflower shaped bread.

We had a couple more wine and cheese lectures and a pizza demonstration. The pizza demonstration was absolute torture. I was so hungry and they were making one incredible pizza after another. The best pizza place in the world (apparently) is in Naples. They make only two pizzas and they have lines out the door all day. I'm planning on proving this theory and eating there myself... :) Some day... Pizzas are a wonderful thing... the most important things to remember are a thin crust and not a lot of toppings..

Off the enjoy the evening and the rest of the weekend here at wonderful Ballymaloe

The Adventures Continue...

Irish Fry

Tuesday was fry day..... we all had to make a tradition Irish breakfast. There was a competition for the best fry... which I think I JUST missed out on :) We had to make the perfect egg along with streaky bacon, rashers, sausages, mushrooms, toast, black pudding, white pudding and a tomato. Freddie, my partner in crime was a great assistant and we toasted our fries with a mimosa at the end of the morning. Besides the fry I made buttermilk pancakes and apple muesli, it was a great morning.

Wednesday was lecture day and we had Darina's sister come in and talk about restaurant management. She had a really great style of teaching. We started the day in an empty room and ended up in small groups doing case studies. We learned about what makes a food business successful and what doesn't.We ended the night in the Pink Cottage having a family dinner. Remember that sandwich chest I mentioned a couple weeks ago. Well we replicated that and it turned out great. It was a great night celebrating a new house mate. We had Nick move in our spare room so our male count goes up to three.... yikes!

Freddie and I toasting

Today was my last day cooking with Freddie and I will miss my morning cups of tea he made and the craic. Today was also the best day working with Freddie. We were making éclairs, chilli, fish goujons with mayo and rice. Whatever Freddie was on it was rubbing off on me. I forgot which oven I put my éclairs in and I ended up almost burning them. My chilli was smoking hot and I cut my finger on the magi mix.  To cap off the morning we were short a teaspoon and a tablespoon from our section. It doesn't sound major but we cannot leave our kitchen until everything is accounted for.  I sent Freddie on a mission to see if he could take one from another kitchen without anyone noticing. We were like spies sneaking from kitchen to kitchen. It was a great laugh.

Chilli with rice and salsa

My éclairs turned out fine once I covered them in chocolate and filled them with cream. We took the extra pastry and deep fried it and covered it in cinnamon sugar. I think I ate about a tonne of that which made me a little sick. It was so good though.

We had Rachel in lecture today which I always enjoy. We made a couple Indian dishes, breads and some amazing chocolate desserts. After a quick clean up we had a short 'wine' lecture and tasted a couple different sherries.

This weekend i'm heading back to Belfast for the long holiday weekend. I'm going to collect my car and head to Dublin then onto Wexford to enjoy some R&R with friends before heading back to school.

Hope you are all well... good night!

The Adventures of Freddie and Laura

Freddie excited about his presentation. 

Monday started and ended with two band-aids and one amazing soup. :) I managed to cut my fingers on the blade of the saran wrap box. It put a little damper on my day but working with Freddie made up for it. Freddie was making a wonderful whiskey sauce and ended up making sugar soup.. :) It starts as caramel which is just sugar and water and somehow it turned bad and next thing I knew he was stirring a pot of sugar water... I spend the next couple of minutes doubled over and came to in time for him to start again. To his credit he did redeem himself and got a 6/6 for his sauce. It was really good.

He followed that with an amazing mash potato and somehow managed to get credit for a bacon chop he never made! Classic.

I made my first brown yeast bread and it turned out a little heavy but it wasn't a total disaster. I followed that with a beautiful green watercress soup. Its amazing how something so delicious just grows in the wild... and is completely free. I started with onions and potatoes then added water and tonnes and tonnes of watercress. I boiled it then liquidized it. It turned into a beautiful green color and it tasted wonderful :)

Our demo today was all about breakfast. Poached eggs, boiled eggs, easy overs, sunny side up, black and white puddings, rashers, solider toast etc etc.... It helps that I have an English mom so I had some idea what black pudding was. Tomorrow i'll be cooking and tasting it for the first time. 

Tonight was really cold. We all huddled around the barbecue where someone was making pizza.....yes pizza on a barbecue. It was really good. We turned on some music and practiced our waltz and spun till we were dizzy. 

I'm exhausted as usual and ready for bed. I'll be dreaming about black pudding and eggs tonight.  

Field Trips and Weekend Goodness

Salmon Smoking

I have a lot to catch up on. Thursday was field trip day. We piled into a coach and headed an hour and a half from school to our first stop.  We went to several different places and enjoyed learning about the thriving small businesses in Ireland. We went to a farmhouse cheese place where we saw the process of cheese making and was able to sample the delicious cheese. The place was tiny. They had a handful of full time staff and they made the most excellent award winning cheese. We went to a bakery where we learned all about bread, two farmers markets that reminded me of being in England and then a place where they smoked everything from salmon to duck. It was amazing.

English Market, Cork

I was talking to this guy at the farmers market in Cork. He runs an Indian spice stall where he sells just that and other combinations. Its such a simple concept and it does so well. He has family in India and ships in every beautiful smelling (and looking) spice and sells them locally in Ireland. He does so well for himself he quit his full time job and focuses solely on his thriving business. Not only was his product so good but he had the personality to match. One thing I have learned from people running their own businesses is how important it is to be personable and likable. (amongst other things of course) I was just really impressed and he seemed so happy to be doing something he loved.

After the farmers market and too much spicy indian food we went to another farmers market in Cork, the English market. It reminded me of the market in Bolton except the majority of it was food related. We snooped around there for an hour and left for pizza in Midleton. The place just opened a couple months ago by a former Ballymaloe student. It was soo good a couple of us went back this weekend for dinner. A pizza is not a pizza unless its cooked in a stone oven. I'm hungry just thinking about it.

Everything is going well. This week i am cooking with one of my house mates Freddie. He is a fan favorite here in Ballymaloe... something always entertaining happens with him in the kitchen so i'm looking forward to the laughs this week. I'm cooking an apple tart tomorrow morning along with a soup and vegetable. Freddie has got the pork steak and something else.

Cheese Making

Last night we all enjoyed a night out at the Black Bird. There was live music so we spend the night dancing and singing. Today my housemate Shane made delicious pork burgers with peppers, apricots and sweet and sour sauce. We (he) barbecued them outside in the nice weather and then I went for a pretty ambitious run. (maybe too ambitious)Tonight we are all watching X factor (like American Idol) and i'm trying to catch up on my blogging before going to bed.

We have a practical exam coming up. We have a list of things we need to have mastered for the exam. From jointing a chicken to filleting a fish and things like extracting meat from a crab, lining a flan ring, making pastry an omelet etc etc. Im assuming the tasks will be randomly selected for each student. I hope i get the pastry thing or the filleting a fish... i feel like i can do that okay. I haven't officially jointed a chicken... so maybe i should go out and buy one to practice...

Any how this week will be busy. I haven't even looked at what i'm supposed to be making. I know im on lemonade duty which means i'll be making candied peel (yippee) and I think I have to feed the hens.

Good night all

Cake and Icing

Me and my cake

Today I made an amazing coffee cake. I was getting nervous closer to the end of the morning when my cake wasn't iced and I had soup to finish. I stuck my cake halves together with an amazing coffee butter cream icing (butter, coffee essence and icing sugar) and topped with a coffee icing. YUM I decorated it with toasted hazelnuts and coffee beans. I thought it was fabulous :) It was a little lopsided but in my defense my mind was occupied with a pot of burning noodles... :)

Rosi in my kitchen made an amazing mango chicken salad. It was so delicious that I went up for seconds and thirds and I think fourths. My partner was frying up prawn crackers which I ate about 20 before they hit the table. Its hard to contain myself before lunch.

In demo we had Rachel teach and I loved her. She was so bubbly and funny. I don't even remember what she was making because I was just being entertained by her.... but okay now that i think about it... she made a pork/bacon steak with a cabbage salad and a Culahill apple and blueberry pie. Special shout out to my Culahill family! I was secretly excited that i'd been there and knew that pub she was talking about!

Tomorrow is field trip day. We are meeting at 8am and traveling all over Cork. I'm really excited for some reason. We are going to a massive farmers market in Cork which is supposed to be fantastic. I'll take some photos and post them tomorrow.

Its late and i need to get to bed... so good night!

Tuesday Goodness

Fiona, Rosi and Nick in the kitchen

Today I ate my body weight in chicken, gravy and potatoes. I stuffed my first chicken roasted it and then carved it to perfection. The kitchen smelt wonderful today. Besides the chicken I made cranberry sauce and oatmeal biscuits. The cranberry sauce was so easy to make. A couple table spoons of water and a load of cranberries. Once that boils then simmers add the sugar and you have the best tasting cranberry sauce ever.

Carving the chicken was a feat. First the thigh and leg including the oyster piece :) then onto the wing and then the breast. Every plate needs a little white meat with a little brown meat. I also made stuffing...which was amazing. Bread crumbs, 4 kinds of herbs and butter....so easy and so delicious. I think once people learn how to do some of these things they will never go back to stove top! :)

Roast Chicken

Demo was great. Rory was back and is a favorite! We had some Mexican and Thai dishes today along with four kinds of cakes that were to die for. Orange, lemon curd, chocolate and coffee. I was on wash up duty afterwards and actually enjoy the banter in the kitchen afterwards. I fed the hens who were all waiting for me and then headed back to my cottage for the evening.

I went for a run and ran the fastest and longest in my life. Is that sad? It started off as a walk and then it progressed to a run. I was very pleased with myself and celebrated by cleaning the kitchen in the cottage. Sad but I like to relax in cleanliness.

Presentation

Tomorrow I'll be making coffee cake and a Thai noodle soup. Thursday we have this extravagant field trip. I'm really looking forward to it. We rented a bus and will be moving all around Cork. Farmers markets, cheese factories, restaurants... etc. Rory is our guide so it makes it even more exciting.

Off to do my order of work and a bit of filing. I'm going to try and fit in some white yeast bread tomorrow, i don't know how long or how much of a pain its going to be... so i have to work it out.

Night!

Monday Monday

Pumpkin Carving

It was a great weekend this week. We ended up carving pumpkins and baking the seeds. Sarah and I did this every October in Bermuda so it was nice to continue the tradition in Ireland thought it wasn't quite the same without her.

The girls of the Pink Cottage took to the road and had a wonderful lunch in a little neighboring village on Sunday afternoon. Sunday night was spent filing and preparing for the Monday madness.

Today was omelet day. I made the perfect 30 second omelet. Actually I've never been so nervous making something so simple. There is technique involved believe it or not..... so much so we will be graded on it for our final. I need to practice :) I made a tomato salad with homemade french dressing (easy and delicious) and I made marzipan apples. I used to think marzipan was awful then i made it and its great. Its just sugar water and almonds. The stuffed apples covered with toffee was to die for. I ate three and felt a little sick afterwards.

For Demo we learned all about game meat. We had a guy come in with a bunch of dead birds and taught us about plucking and gutting. I will never look at a duck the same again. Poor things.

Cobh

This week i'm in the 'demo kitchen' its the smallest of the three kitchens and much more relaxed. Its so much fun, maybe a little too much fun especially when all  6 of us are friends. :)

Tomorrow i'm making a stuffed chicken with roast potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce. It should be wonderful. There will be some people plucking and gutting but i think i might pass on that... i just don't know if I can bring myself to cut off a ducks little head and wings. I almost... almost became vegetarian today.

Really looking forward to the field trip this week. We are piling in a bus and heading off for the day. The last time i was on a field trip i think was with Warwick Academy and the Jason Project :)

Anyways great start to the week. To bed and hope tomorrow will be delicious and successful.

Game 

Great things about today:
Tomatoes. I eat them every day here.
House mates. We are seriously a family
Roosters... Yes today... and just today i will call them nice. I like the way they walk around everywhere and right up to you.

Friday

Friday I filleted and baked a beautiful Haddock. I first made a cheese sauce and whipped up some mashed potatoes. Once filleted, I seasoned the fish and spread some of the cheese sauces on top sprinkled with breadcrumbs. I piped some mash around it and popped it in the oven for 20 minutes. It was so easy and it really tasted yummy. I feel like I say that a lot. Simple and delicious! :-)

We had alot of pate which I passed on. If you knew how much butter went into that you'd struggle to eat it too.

Demo was entertaining. We learned all you could about omelets. Ones with layers ones with stuffing and simple 5 second creations. I'm not a big egg fan but it was alright... after all it was Rory cooking them.

Friday night was girls night out. A bunch of us dressed up and headed out for a charity fashion show. We had a ball. Then we headed to the Black Bird. The 'place to be' :) I ended up home early watching Glee :) Typical. This morning I made crepes for breakfast/lunch and spent some time with some out of towners.

Next week I have a new cooking partner and we are going to be learning about different types of game. We have a special field trip as well which should be fun.

I'm so glad its the weekend. Its so nice to sleep in, catch up on filing and relax. I'm going to soak it all up.

Jelly and Scones

Yesterday was a lecture day. We had a wine lecture and tasted six different wines. The problem I have is that most bottles don't label the kind of grape used. They only list the region where it was made and from there you should know what kind of grape they produce. I have a lot to learn....

After the wine lecture we had a 'tea lecture' We had a guy come in and teach us about tea leaves and the tea we buy in most grocery stores. Did you know a lot of the tea we drink from bags are mostly 'dust' .... well according to this guy they are. I learned why PG tips are called PG tips and why green tea is so good for us. After that we had a massive tea party. We baked buns and biscuits and everything sweet. It was delicious and beautiful.

Today was another great day. I made Jelly (different from Jam), quesadillas, raspberry sorbet and the most amazing orange scones. I think I mentioned those before. Sadly I lost all my photos on my phone so you will just have to imagine the goodness.

 I started with my Jelly... apple and elderberry. I chopped up the apples, threw in some elderberries and added some water. Once the apples were soft I emptied everything into a Jelly bag and let the juices drip out into a bowl. I boiled that and added sugar.... presto JELLY!! It was really delicious.

Orange Scones

Next was my sorbet which is still a work in progress. My orange scones were a last minute decision but I managed to pull it off. It was a regular scone dough with orange rind mixed in it. Next I made an orange butter which was just orange rind, butter and icing sugar. I rolled out the dough layered on the butter and rolled the dough like a jelly roll. I cut it and brushed it with egg wash and sugar. They turned out great. I just took a picture of what was left of them.

Darina showed us how to prepare livers this afternoon. We had chicken patte on toast and another fish recipe. Did you know foie gra (duck liver) comes from ducks and geese who have spent their lives being forced fed, literally their little beaks are opened and food is stuffed down them. Horrible.

To top off the day we had some baby chicks on show. They were lovely. :)

Tomorrow i'll be filleting another fish (I am going to be a pro!) and i'll be making an aubergines salad. Its starting to get darker here. I went for a walk with Rosie and crew and had to turn around. This weekend we are supposed to be going to a fashion show so we spent the evening trying on dresses and picking out what we should wear. Sunday we are all going deep sea fishing. I've got my sea sick pills on hand just in case. :)

Tuesday

Shrimp and Mayo Platter

Today was a great day. I made mayo, bean salad and amazing apple chutney. The chutney took forever. I peeled and chopped everything under the sun then put it in a huge pot and simmered it for hours. It was totally worth it though. I was supposed to cook shrimp but they came already cooked so I worked on my presentation skills and made a pretty nice plate. Presentation is almost as important as the food itself.

Bean Salad

My bean salad was so simple and yummy. French beans cooked and 'refreshed' aka dunked in ice cold water after boiling then paired with peas and pomegranate seeds for garnish. It looked amazing.

The Mayo was a process. Did you know mayo is not supposed to be white! Simple and delicious mayo is an egg yolk, mustard, white wine vinegar and oil. The trick is adding the oil VERY slowly to the rest of the mixture. We all stood in our kitchens crying in pain from all the whisking. It was worth it though. My mayo was great!

Darina was back teaching demo today. It was Mexican theme. Beans and tortillas, guacamole and a hot salsa. Tasting afterwards was a treat. I went up for thirds... no need for dinner tonight.  She made a jam and some sorbet as well which was also delicious. Oh and she made these orange scones that were amazing. She put orange rind in the scone mixture then rolled it out into this big rectangle. She combined some orange to butter and layered it on top of the scone mixture. Then she rolled everything like a jelly roll and cut it into pieces. The outcome was delicious and delicious looking. So simple and so yummy.

Apple and Tomato Chutney (great with Shepherds Pie)

Tomorrow is all day lecture/demo. I need to get in early for a comfy seat. We have wine tasting tomorrow morning. Wine at 9am doesn't sound appetizing to me but I guess i have to get used to it.

Its been so enjoyable getting to know everyone on the course. There are people from all walks of life here. My little cottage is 'blessed' to have two of the 'four guys' on the course living in it so as you can image our house is very popular. There is always a hive of activity here which is alot of fun. Tonight though everyone is at the Black Bird pup so my other
house mates Rosie, Rosie and I have the house to ourselves so we are drinking tea and enjoying the peace! Its so nice.
To bed to dream about orange buttered scones!
Night

I'm loosing track of days...

Shane chopped his finger while chopping parsley

Monday mornings are hard no matter where you are or what you are doing. This morning we were all in slow mo.... so much so we had one girl in the hospital getting stitches and my roommate banned from cooking for the next couple days with his finger all bandaged up.

Today we had a massive lamb roast. I made the turnips and starter salad with beet root. My kitchen looked like a beet root massacre. I've never cooked or eaten beetroot before. It tastes like soil and i promise its not just my cooking :) My partner roasted the lamb glazed carrots and made grape jelly. Lunch was massive and so delicious. We actually finished on time today and we all had a chance to go back home and relax for a little bit before our demo.



Demo was amazing. We were taught to make chutney, moussaka, prawns, proper shepard's pie and something with lamb neck in it. Did you know a shepard's pie is made from lamb and a cottage pie is made from beef? The chutney was amazing and the moussaka was interesting.

Tomorrow i'll be making the chutney, prawns and french beans.

Tonight we are all relaxing. We had home made pizzas for dinner and now we are settling into some television. I think I will be in bed early tonight.

I'll try to update some more pictures later...

Day 8 9 AND 10

Home-made Butter

I'm so behind, a lot has been happening. Its been such a busy week. Okay lets catch up. Day 8 was a lecture day. We learned how to make butter and cheese. It was amazing. The butter seemed pretty straight forward and the cheese was a serious process but at the same time easy enough to follow. With butter you can jazz it up so easily....chop up some herbs and add them to the butter... simple, delicious and it looks great.

Indian Dish

Thursday we made those Indian dishes I mentioned before. I had Almond Chicken with Rice, Yogurt and Cucumber. It was amazing. We are supposed to have everything prepared and presented for
grading at 12 then lunch at 12:30ish but that has'nt been happening these last two weeks. I wonder if we will ever get it right? Anyhow lunch is always amazing. We eat everything we made and laugh about our morning disasters. My right hand is collecting burn scars. My house-mate dropped his lemon tart on the floor yesterday, burnt his pepper so badly it became 'one with the pan' and somehow managed to melt his pen on the stove top.

So yesterday was fish day. You'd think living on an island i'd be familiar with cooking and filleting fish. Guess again. It was disgusting. We received a huge marcral each and had to fillet and skin it. It sat on my chopping board staring at me as i cut into it. It was horrible. I did better than i thought though. I got all the bones out and skinned it okay. It was really butchered in the end but it all worked out once i got the rest of the ingredients together. We poped the fish in a bowl and added cheese and dijon mustard, popped it in the oven until brown and presto. It actually wasn't that bad. I sanitized all my kitchen equipment that was in two feet of the fish, got a shower and cut all my finger nails off that evening. I am just not a big fan of fish scales and eyeballs.

My poor fish moment before being hacked.  

The demo that afternoon was all about lamb. It was one of the best demos. Here you either need to expect a lamb walking in the kitchen on a leash or at least half the carcass on your chopping board. There is no such things as 'pre-cut meat' we pretty much learn how to butcher before we cook meat. So two assistances lugged this half lamb to the demo room and there it lay. It wasn't looking at us because it had no head (thankfully) but everything else was there. Rory chopped it up and we finally got the leg which was in the recipe to cook. If you could smell the room you would never forget it. Rosemary and garlic lamb roasting with potatoes, glazed carrots and gravy it was wonderful. Even better i get to experience it all over again on Monday when we make it for ourselves.

Everyone is getting sick around here. I'm just getting over my cold and my roomate is just starting up. oops. Friday night was really nice. I had dinner with some friends I met in Middleton then came home watched Glee and went to bed. This morning Rosie, Rosie and I went to town for lunch at a fantastic little cafe. We were talking about food, wine and whats good and what we don't like anymore and we realized we are on the verge of becoming 'foodies' (food snobs)! Its great to have a legit opinion about something.

So onto week 3!!

Day 7

This morning I woke up and didn't know what day it was. We hurried to our kitchens and I started to prepare my Apple Tart. I've captured it on film for you all to enjoy... and because I was very proud of it! I call it the Evolution of Tart.

Stage 1 Make pastry and line flan ring

I had to do this twice, but it was worth it. I made the pastry keeping everything as cold as possible, then rolled out the pastry into a nice circle. Once rolled out it was delicately lifted and put into the flan ring. This was the part I had to redo but it was fine second time around. It blind bakes (which is a pain in the neck) for 20 minutes then brushed with egg and put in for another 5 minutes. In the mean time I chopped up the apples, almonds and made the crumble (sugar, flour and butter)

Stage 2 Fill and Bake

Next I filled my baked tart with a mountain of apples and crumble. It was like Kilimanjaro in my oven. The almonds make such a difference to the taste. Not only did it look so delicious and rustic but it tasted just like it looked.  I don't like to admit but I did botched the sides of my tart wall. They shrunk so I had to do a little surgery before it went back in for its final bake. It turned out rustic looking which was pretty great in the end.

Stage 3 Cut and Serve

My tart came out and it looked great. It took another 40 minutes in the oven and when my apples were soft it was ready to come out. The smell in the kitchen was amazing. some others were making rhubarb pie which was more of a Kilimanjaro than mines. Can you imagine a huge stalk of rhubarb stuffed in a pie?

Stage 4 EAT

Finally it was time to serve. I sliced a generous piece and put a dollop of fresh whipped cream on the top sprinkled with crushed almonds. I got a 5.5 out of 6 (due to the emergency pastry surgery half way through) My teacher had a bite and i finished the rest off. It was the best dessert i've ever made. Very delicious :)










Besides the tart I made sweet chilly chicken wings which were a hit and some grilled zucchini. The kitchen was a buzz of activity today. Tomorrow is a lecture day so we will take a rest from the cooking. Demo today was great though. Rory is hilarious and makes watching cooking so enjoyable.  It was an Indian themed demo and we'll be replicating the dished (which i can't wait for) on Thursday morning.

Rory cooking up a storm. Can you see me sneaking a picture in the front row? 

My favorite Rory sayings from today:
Roasting Saffron.."It has a wonderful musty, mysterious taste but if you are not careful it can end up tasting like an attic."
When its time to serve: "Arrange your plate in a way your eye will respond positively to."
Food taking a long time to cook: "highly undramatic"

Least Favorite Things:
Chasing down a teaspoon at the end of the day so you can get your 'supply chart' checked.
Being made an example of what not to do! (My green soda bread yesterday) :)
Roosters in the early hours (have I mentioned this before?)

Day 6 & the weekend

Cliff Walking

Week 2 day 6 has come and gone before I had the chance to blink. Let me first recap my weekend.

Friday night came and we all happily relaxed and enjoyed a family dinner in the cottage. Saturday morning my house mate and I ventured out to the local farmers market in Middleton. Ballymaloe has a stall as do about 15 other vendors. They sell everything from fresh vegetables to home made chocolates and cakes. I came home with freshly picked corn on the cob and a large chocolate cake. There were some Irish dancers performing and a folk band so we enjoyed that. We got lost on the way back but ended up seeing some beautiful beaches! 

Sunday my house mates and I went for a long cliff walk. The views couldn't get any better. I could almost see Bermuda. We had lunch in Ballycotton and then headed out for a walk. I spend the evening catching up on my filing and filling out my order of work. Early to bed as I had cows to milk in the morning.

My crab being shredded to pieces

This morning came too soon and before I knew it I was in my wellies staring at a pair of cow butts. Every morning Ballymaloe milks two cows for breakfast and cooking milk. They have all the modern machinery so it was a really quick process. While there I got the chance to see yogurt being made. Its amazing what you can make when you have the right ingredients. I had a spoon of fresh yogurt before I hit the kitchen. This morning I was making soup, biscuits and soda bread. It wasn't my best effort but I managed to pull it off in the end. My soup had too much roux but was saved by the blender. My Soda bread was a little green (too much baking soda) BUT my biscuits were my saving grace. I also had to cut up a crab and get all the meat out. It was staring at me before I snapped its little legs off and dug around for all the good meat. I was not a big fan but it had to be done.

Demo today was more ripping and tearing of animal skin. We learned to joint a chicken and then use everything possible to make something edible and delicious. Hot wings, seasoned chicken breasts, legs and thighs and we even kept the skin and baked it into a crisp cracker type thing. That poor chicken had nothing left. It was a really enjoyable demo though. I learned alot. 

Wine Tasting

After the demo we had another wine lecture and wine tasting. We had a gentleman from Bordeaux talk about all the wines there, all the types of grapes and why we should listen to Mr. Parker. We tasted 5 different wines 1 white and 4 reds. My favorite was the white and the last red we tasted. It goes well with chocolate cakes :) We barely brushed the surface. It would take a lifetime to learn everything. We have a number of other classes to take about wine and then an exam at the end of the year. I might be a little snob by the end of it all! :)

Bed time! No duties tomorrow morning so I can sleep in. 

Things I'm trying to get use to:

Imperial measuring system. There are no cups here :( I'm getting used to lbs and oz

Fresh salad. In a good way! Its so good

Free Range Chickens. I kind of like the idea of having a couple around. 

Fresh Milk. Warm milk is a good thing... and cows are lovely creatures.

Cream! We eat it with everything!

Fresh Herbs. I don't think I can ever eat dried up herbs from a jar again.

Biodynamic... I can't even start to go here yet! :)