Yesterday we had a dem on fish but I was not feeling well at all so I was finding it hard to concentrate! First phill showed us how to fillet a lemon sole! Quite cool but I have seen it done many times before! Then he grilled then in a buerre noisette, as I said I wasn't feeling well so tried nothing! Then he went on to lots of different types of fish and how to prep them, for example herring, seabass, and haddock which he used to make a fish pie! In the afternoon we piped our shepherds pie filling with mash, we first got to practice rope piping with smash potato! This I felt went well as did the actual mashing method through a sieve but I think that milk in mash potato is wrong, but that was what the recipe called for and that's what it got! Then we made a white sauce for the first time! We started by making a roux of flour and butter and cooking this together for 1 minute! Then we gradually added milk off of the heat, once it was all in we boiled it for 2 minutes so that the flour thickened sufficiently. Then we added cheese to the sauce off the heat and mixed it in well! We then stirred the cooked macaroni through this sauce, but into a dish and sprinkled the gratiner of cheese and breadcrumbs on top, we then crisped it under the grill! By this time the shepherds pie was done and we served it! Because I was Ill ansobe wouldn't taste it but said I looked good with consistency and everything!
Today we had a dem in the morning on chicken! It was quite fun to see! Michael jointed a chicken in front of us. A chicken should always be jointed into 8 pieces, he then rendered the fat off of this chicken to make sauté normandie! We got to see flambé for the first time which was really boring actually, because at Leiths they do it with a ladle and very safely! Michael also did a French roast chicken, which to begin with you roast upside down! We got to see him poach a whole chicken as well in a sort of stock with a bouquet garni, leeks and carrots, onion, which was piqued with cloves, this was to make a Poule au pot. Michael made a schezuan salad with some chicken and a peanut butter sauce, which was nice and simple! He also had a sort of stuffed chicken with sundries tomatoes, cheese, Parma ham and some other good things, he then put it in the oven to cook! All in all good dem! Everything was really nice I thought!
This afternoon we made a fish pie! This involved making another white sauce, poaching a fish in some milk, making parsley dust, boiling an egg and making mashed potatoes! So it was all a bit frantic to begin with! I am actually quite disappointed because today I wrote my time plan in probably the least detail ever, because I was very short on time, and today was the day we were marked on them! Anyway in the end everything worked out fine and ansobe said that the dish was well seasoned, so I am happy with that!
Wednesday 17 October 2012
Monday 15 October 2012
Sauces
This morning we had a dem on sauces. Mainly white sauce, and combination sauces for pasta! So first Helene started with the basics and showed us how to make a white sauce, by first making a roux on the heat and then gradually adding milk slowly off the heat, and that is a standard white sauce! She then made a macaroni cheese, again with a basic white sauce, then she added cheese off of the heat and coated her cooked macaroni with it. After this she sprinkled bread crumbs mixed with cheese over the top, this is called a gratiner! She then prepared a pancake dish with spinach, ricotta, bacon, white sauce and tomato sauce which was really nice! Helene showed us how to prepare a base tomato sauce and a pesto, which she served with pasta, they were both nice, but there is only so much you can do with the two of them! We saw Helene create a spaghetti carbonara, which is a liaison sauce, if you mess it up there is no way to fix it, you have to start again! She also made a crab chili and lime spaghetti which was nice, but not my favorite!
In the afternoon we started the filling for shepherds pie and made bruschetta . We started off by browning the meat on two batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, then we deglazed the pan, to use later. then we fried some onions carrots and celery, got a bit of colour on them, and added to the meat. Then we stirred in some flour and cooked for 1 minute, then added a tablespoon of tomato Purée, and a teaspoon of Worcester sauce! We them let this simmer gently with a cartouche for about an hour. I then went on to finely chop some red onions, concasse two tomatoes, then deseed and finely dice them, mix this with some balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil! I then finely chopped some olives, and added this to the mix. We then went on to half some ciabatta, drizzle it with oil and toast, then again with some Parmesan on top! We mixed the salsa with some rocket, and served our bruschetta, which was nice! At the end we took our shepherds pie filling off the heat and left it to one side for tomorrow!
In the afternoon we started the filling for shepherds pie and made bruschetta . We started off by browning the meat on two batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, then we deglazed the pan, to use later. then we fried some onions carrots and celery, got a bit of colour on them, and added to the meat. Then we stirred in some flour and cooked for 1 minute, then added a tablespoon of tomato Purée, and a teaspoon of Worcester sauce! We them let this simmer gently with a cartouche for about an hour. I then went on to finely chop some red onions, concasse two tomatoes, then deseed and finely dice them, mix this with some balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil! I then finely chopped some olives, and added this to the mix. We then went on to half some ciabatta, drizzle it with oil and toast, then again with some Parmesan on top! We mixed the salsa with some rocket, and served our bruschetta, which was nice! At the end we took our shepherds pie filling off the heat and left it to one side for tomorrow!
Sunday 14 October 2012
Friday roast
So on Friday in the morning we were assigned to prepare a roast between the four of us on a table, and to make a wild mushroom soup! We started by salting and putting the pork in the oven at 220'c for 25 minutes. When this had gone in, we put some potatoes on to boil. We then prepped our parsnips, carrots and green beans, by chopping and washing them. We had a larges tray of fat in the oven getting nice and hot, so that when the potatoes went in they sizzled! We then got on to our mushroom soup, by cooking the mushrooms until soft in butter. When the mushrooms were soft I added some bread, as this was the soups thickening agent, and some garlic, nutmeg, and white chicken stock that we had made earlier! I let this simmer for about 10 minutes, then liquidized it and sieved it! I then put it back on to heat, let it down to single cream consistency, and seasoned it! It tasted amazing! Then we all got on to clearing up a bit! Michael came around and said the soup was really good, and that my bread from the day before needed a little bit longer to rise, which I new, but there wasn't the time in the cooking session. We then blanched and refreshed our green beans and carrots, the parsnips were already roasting! We got the meat out of the oven about 15 mins early, as it was ready and we left this to rest, wrapped in grease proof paper for about 20 mins. During this time I made the gravy, using the juice from the pork and a bit of extra stock! It tasted delicious! The whole roast was a success I think! Michael said that the pork could have been taken out of the oven even earlier, so we know to check it even earlier next time!
In the afternoon we had a dem on stewing meat, which was really interesting! She showed us how to properly brown meat, and not scorch it. She used lots of techniques like deglazing, which was good to see in practice so many times, she also stressed the importance of reducing the sauce so that it coats the meat, and is not watery! She never seasoned until the end though because she knew she would be reducing the sauce. For my personal taste, everything she prepared was a little too sweet! But otherwise a good dem!
In the afternoon we had a dem on stewing meat, which was really interesting! She showed us how to properly brown meat, and not scorch it. She used lots of techniques like deglazing, which was good to see in practice so many times, she also stressed the importance of reducing the sauce so that it coats the meat, and is not watery! She never seasoned until the end though because she knew she would be reducing the sauce. For my personal taste, everything she prepared was a little too sweet! But otherwise a good dem!
Thursday 11 October 2012
Roast
So today in the morning, we started off running by putting the stock on to boil for another hour! Then we got down to making our basic bread, we made this with cooled melted butter, a teaspoon of caster sugar, some salt, yeast, and water! We mixed this quickly in a bowl with flour. We then kneaded it for about 15 minutes and left it to rise! I then quickly put some croutons in the oven for the Caesar salad, then got on to making meringues. For every egg white you add 55g sugar, so I whisked the egg to stiff peaks, then added some sugar in parts, and kept whisking it back to stiff peaks. I then piped some in a beehive form onto a silicone lined baking tray and put into the oven at 120'c, it should have been 110'c but the oven doesn't go that low at Leiths! They took about an hour! I have to say my piping wasn't brilliant, and they looked slightly like poos, but they still tasted good! I then whipped some cream, and sweetened it with icing sugar and placed it in the fridge - that was probably a mistake as when I took it out, half of it was over whipped and half was under! But I mixed it all around and it was fine - to Cool before sandwiching the meringues with it! I then got on to making my Caesar salad, for the dressing I infused some oil with garlic, boiled and egg for one minute, and gathered anchovies, English mustard powder, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper and whiz zed it all up in the magimix! I then washed my leaves and put some pancetta in the oven to crisp. I coated the leaves in the dressing and some Parmesan, then topped it nicely on a plate with croutons and the pancetta! Michael said it was good, but the dressing could do with a bit more zing, I did not know if we where allowed to do this, but now I do, which is great! By this time, I had already knocked back my bread and it had finished the second rise, so I put this in the oven to bake! The meringues were now finished so I selected 6 matching ones and placed them nicely on the plate, having been sandwiched together! Michael said it was all good, so great! Then the bread was taking ages to cook, so I went and changed, and then took it out for tasting tomorrow!
In the afternoon we had a dem by phill on roasts, which was great, probably the best dem so far! He showed us how to prep beef, chicken and pork for roasting! Pork needs 25 minutes browning at 220'c then it needs to be cooked longer according to its weight, 20 minutes per pound! this was slightly different with beef and chicken as they only needed 20 mins browning, but similar rules apply to length of cooking time, depending on how rare you want the beef! He then par boiled the potatoes and made them lively and fluffy and put them in the oven in hot duck fat! Then he blanched the carrots and beans, and refreshed them. He started to infuse some milk for bread sauce by piquing the onions with clove. He showed us how to make apple sauce and horseradish cream, which were lovely! He had stuffed the chicken with a mix of onions, breadcrumbs, apple, sage, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper! He then put in some parsnips in olive oil in the oven to roast! We got to see phill make a Yorkshire pudding batter, which needs chilling for 30 mins before he put it in some hot fat to cook for about 30 mins! He then went in to make some gravy (not as good as my dads) which tasted nice! And the final part was phil showing us how to carve, which was really great to see it done professionally! At the end it was laid out in buffet style, and we got to try some of everything! It was really nice, but I still say our family roast is better!
In the afternoon we had a dem by phill on roasts, which was great, probably the best dem so far! He showed us how to prep beef, chicken and pork for roasting! Pork needs 25 minutes browning at 220'c then it needs to be cooked longer according to its weight, 20 minutes per pound! this was slightly different with beef and chicken as they only needed 20 mins browning, but similar rules apply to length of cooking time, depending on how rare you want the beef! He then par boiled the potatoes and made them lively and fluffy and put them in the oven in hot duck fat! Then he blanched the carrots and beans, and refreshed them. He started to infuse some milk for bread sauce by piquing the onions with clove. He showed us how to make apple sauce and horseradish cream, which were lovely! He had stuffed the chicken with a mix of onions, breadcrumbs, apple, sage, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper! He then put in some parsnips in olive oil in the oven to roast! We got to see phill make a Yorkshire pudding batter, which needs chilling for 30 mins before he put it in some hot fat to cook for about 30 mins! He then went in to make some gravy (not as good as my dads) which tasted nice! And the final part was phil showing us how to carve, which was really great to see it done professionally! At the end it was laid out in buffet style, and we got to try some of everything! It was really nice, but I still say our family roast is better!
Yesterday
Yesterday in the morning we started to make our stock, which is a white chicken stock and needs 3-4 hours, so we are finishing it today and then reducing it! We also made Italian bread, and kneading the dough was so much fun! Then we let it rise in a warm place! We went on to fill our pastry cases with a bacon and leek flan, which when it came out was great, although Michael said that it could have done with another few minutes on the blind baking! The bread was good but also could have done with another minute to crisp the crust!
In the afternoon we had a dem on meringues, and got to see what it was like to whisk it by hand, and how machine is always better! We got to taste a meringue roulade which was nice but had too much coconut in it! The we also tried a lemon meringue pie which was really nice! We saw what meringues that we slightly overcooked looked like as well, which was interesting to see!
In the afternoon we had a dem on meringues, and got to see what it was like to whisk it by hand, and how machine is always better! We got to taste a meringue roulade which was nice but had too much coconut in it! The we also tried a lemon meringue pie which was really nice! We saw what meringues that we slightly overcooked looked like as well, which was interesting to see!
Tuesday 9 October 2012
Leiths day 7
So today in the morning we made rich shortcrust pastry, and a tomato, avocado and mozzarella salad! Nothing too challenging there! So with the shortcrust pastry we cut up butter and rubbed it into the salted flour (always plain for pastry). Then we brought it together with egg yolk and water, rolled it out and lined our 6" inch tin with it, then put it in to chill. I washed up and served my custard from the day before, ansobe said it tasted good, although i thought it would look nice with a few drops of vanilla essence in four drops around it, but ansobe said not to do it again, because those bits would not be nice! I then proceeded to blind bake my pastry with baking beans. Then we started on the salad. First we blanched our tomatoes for ten seconds then refreshed them in cold water for 30 seconds, so that we could remove the skin easily ( I put mine in for another 5 seconds because I still couldn't remove it easily) and peeled them! I then chopped up my tomatoes into thin slices and my mozzarella after draining it well! I made a French dressing which is one part white wine vinegar to three parts oil, I then added salt, pepper, sugar and shredded basil to it. I went on to cut up the avocado and arranged three pieces of each in a circle around the plate, topped it with black olives and the dressing! Ansobe said that my dressing was well balanced and the presentation and portion size was good. By this time my pastry was done, and perfect, which was great!
In the afternoon we had a dem on bread making! So the first bread belongs made was Italian bread, where she stressed the importance of each component! She kneaded it for about 8 mins and showed us how to tell if it was done (if you press a bit it should spring back) then she wrapped it in an oiled bag with rosemary and left to rise in a warm place! She then made basic white bread, which you have to leave to rise twice, whereas it is just once with the Italian bread! She taught us the process of making bread which is mix, knead, rise, knockback, prove, bake ( Mary knits red knickers pretty badly). She then showed us what happens if you leave bread to prove too long, it gets a bubbly consistency on top! When it has proven properly when you poke it, it should leave an impression! She then made sour dough, which uses fast bicarbonate of soda instead of fresh yeast and is super quick although not my favourite! Belinda also passed around undated bread and over salted to stress the importance of getting the salt level right! She also made brownies, but nigella lawsons flour less ones are much better! She also made shortbread which was nice, and stressed the importance of keeping it cool like pastry! The last thing was cookies but they were too crispy! I much prefer the softer ones! I would never produce a cookie like that for someone I was cooking for! So that's that for today!
In the afternoon we had a dem on bread making! So the first bread belongs made was Italian bread, where she stressed the importance of each component! She kneaded it for about 8 mins and showed us how to tell if it was done (if you press a bit it should spring back) then she wrapped it in an oiled bag with rosemary and left to rise in a warm place! She then made basic white bread, which you have to leave to rise twice, whereas it is just once with the Italian bread! She taught us the process of making bread which is mix, knead, rise, knockback, prove, bake ( Mary knits red knickers pretty badly). She then showed us what happens if you leave bread to prove too long, it gets a bubbly consistency on top! When it has proven properly when you poke it, it should leave an impression! She then made sour dough, which uses fast bicarbonate of soda instead of fresh yeast and is super quick although not my favourite! Belinda also passed around undated bread and over salted to stress the importance of getting the salt level right! She also made brownies, but nigella lawsons flour less ones are much better! She also made shortbread which was nice, and stressed the importance of keeping it cool like pastry! The last thing was cookies but they were too crispy! I much prefer the softer ones! I would never produce a cookie like that for someone I was cooking for! So that's that for today!
Monday 8 October 2012
Leiths day 6
Today in the morning we made treacle tart, creme anglaise, and baked custard. We started with the baked custard which was relatively easy, with nutmeg, a bay leaf, and vanila, then we put it in a baine marie to bake in an indirect way in the oven! Then we moved on the sweet rich short crust pastry, which did not go to well! When the teacher came around I was about to bring it together, but thought I should add more water, but she said no it should be fine. When it came to rolling it out, it was so short it kept crumbling! The end result looked okay but was very crumbly! The filling was nice, but very sweet, so I added a bit more ginger and lemon juice than the recipe said to try and balance, but I don't think that treacle tart is to my liking! We then made creme anglaise and first time i read off of the wrong recipe so i tried to make custard! Second time around it was good, but the other teacher came and said it thick enough even though I thought it could have had a bit longer. Then we took out the backed custard and put it in the fridge overnight to set!
This afternoon we had a dem on vegetables by Michael, where he basically introduced us to lots of different vegetables and ways of cooking them! He blanched some green beans, braised some red cabbage ( I think it would have tasted really good, but he put some cloves in and that was pretty much all I could taste! Weird how the things you dislike taste so prominent!), wilted some spinach, and served some hot raw beetroot which was really yummy! He also made mash through a sieve which I thought was very clever! He glazed some carrots in butter and sugar, and steamed some broccoli!
This evening I made a tomato crumble which was really good! I cut up some tomatoes and put them in a casserole dish in the oven for an hour, then topped it with a crumble mix of flour, breadcrumbs, Parmesan and butter! Then crisped it in the oven! I also made spaghetti carbonara, which was so good! I first sweated my onions, then made a mix in a bowl if an egg and egg yolk, cream, cheese, and bacon, then cooked that with the onions with the pasta! So good!
This afternoon we had a dem on vegetables by Michael, where he basically introduced us to lots of different vegetables and ways of cooking them! He blanched some green beans, braised some red cabbage ( I think it would have tasted really good, but he put some cloves in and that was pretty much all I could taste! Weird how the things you dislike taste so prominent!), wilted some spinach, and served some hot raw beetroot which was really yummy! He also made mash through a sieve which I thought was very clever! He glazed some carrots in butter and sugar, and steamed some broccoli!
This evening I made a tomato crumble which was really good! I cut up some tomatoes and put them in a casserole dish in the oven for an hour, then topped it with a crumble mix of flour, breadcrumbs, Parmesan and butter! Then crisped it in the oven! I also made spaghetti carbonara, which was so good! I first sweated my onions, then made a mix in a bowl if an egg and egg yolk, cream, cheese, and bacon, then cooked that with the onions with the pasta! So good!
Saturday 6 October 2012
Saturday cooking
Today I have been cooking for quite a while! I started off by cutting up some onions and garlic, then sweating them using a cartouche, this was to be used in a risotto. I then made a spinach and apple salad using spinach, apple, flaked almonds, pistachio, and Parmesan, which was great and I got to practice my knife skills. I then put the risotto rice into the pan and made it golden, then I put in the chicken stock and some Parmesan, and left to simmer. I went on to cop some more onions and garlic for a courgette dish and sweated them off, again using a cartouche! While this was happening I cut up some courgette into small slices and then added them to the onions! For the courgette sauce I made a sort of bechamel sauce, but with tomatoes! I checked the risotto, then jointed a chicken, and basted it with a mustard sauce from the Leiths bible and put it in the oven to cook. I seasoned the risotto and put it to one side. I then put the courgettes and sauce into a glass oven pan, sprinkled with cheese, and put to one side. I then served lunch and tidied up! After this a made a non alcoholic tirimisu for dinner, using the recipe from the Leiths bible, which was lovely! All of this took me through until 5, so I have had a very action packed day, but very enjoyable!
Leiths day 5
Okay so yesterday at Leiths we had a dem in the morning on pastry! I have to say I am not great at pastry, so it was good for me to be reinstructed on how to do it. Ansobe, who was taking the dem, showed us lots of really good techniques, like how it should always be cold, rubbing in, ridging and how you should always roll away from you! She then made a quiche Lorraine, which was great, but at Leiths they like quiches to be pale so you show that you are in control when cooking it! Then we had a salmon and dill tart which was also fantastic. We also had a plum pie and a treacle tart, but for me the plum pie was too tart and the treacle tart was too sweet!
In the afternoon we made a sweet potato, chilli and lime soup, and scrambled eggs on toast. With the soup we had to sweat our onions, practicing our cartouche, then adding the chilli for a minute, then adding the rest of the ingredients and allowing to boil for a while! I then made my scrambled eggs on toast. I seasoned my eggs, put the toast on and buttered it. Then I put some butter in a pan followed by the egg mixture, and cooked until it was baveuse, which was tricky because the wind was blowing in there, so it was hard to keep an even heat! When served Michael said it had room to be a little more cooked, but the seasoning and texture was good! Then I took my soup off and liquidised it until all of the lumps were gone, I then sieved it and reheated and seasoned to taste! I then had to get it down between a single and double cream consistency! When I served it Michael said I had balanced the flavours well, as it was mainly a seasoning exercise, but that it could be a little thinner! All in all I think it was a good day, and have some valuable criticisms to work on!
In the afternoon we made a sweet potato, chilli and lime soup, and scrambled eggs on toast. With the soup we had to sweat our onions, practicing our cartouche, then adding the chilli for a minute, then adding the rest of the ingredients and allowing to boil for a while! I then made my scrambled eggs on toast. I seasoned my eggs, put the toast on and buttered it. Then I put some butter in a pan followed by the egg mixture, and cooked until it was baveuse, which was tricky because the wind was blowing in there, so it was hard to keep an even heat! When served Michael said it had room to be a little more cooked, but the seasoning and texture was good! Then I took my soup off and liquidised it until all of the lumps were gone, I then sieved it and reheated and seasoned to taste! I then had to get it down between a single and double cream consistency! When I served it Michael said I had balanced the flavours well, as it was mainly a seasoning exercise, but that it could be a little thinner! All in all I think it was a good day, and have some valuable criticisms to work on!
Thursday 4 October 2012
Today At Leiths
Today at Leiths we had had dem in the morning by Heli. This was about stocks and soups. We learned of the importance of making a good stock, and how I has a knock on effect on the rest of the food you use it in. We were taught the differences between a white stock and a brown stock, a white stock being a lighter stock with not too much flavour and is perfect for soups. A brown stock it when you caramalise everything first, and has a very punchy powerful flavour which would greatly complement a braised meat. Heli sent around a shop bought stock of both, and then one she had made earlier, both of the shop bought ones tasted salty yet lacking in the flavour of the meats, whereas in hears you got a really powerful taste, which was lovely. Heli also made 3 soups, the first one was a vichyssoise soup (leek and potato) which was just amazing, I have never tasted a leek and potato soup so good! The reason for this was the sweetness she brought out of the onions and leeks, she did this by sweating them very gently and using a cartouche, very delicious! Then there was the Pea and Ham soup, for this she used a pressure cooker for the yellow split peas and ham hock, which took 45 mins, she then puréed the pleads and shredded the ham into the soup which was also delicious! The final soup she made was soup au pistou which was basically an old Mediterranean peasant broth with lots of veg, beans and pasta in, with a pesto top! This was also good, but you are limited with flavour with a broth!
This afternoon we made egg mayonnaise. We made the mayonnaise by hand (1 yolk to (150ml light oil) which took a little while, we then seasoned it with lemon, white wine vinegar, English mustard powder, white pepper and salt, I thought it tasted good, but I have made mayonnaise many times before, just not by hand! We then got some boiled eggs we had made earlier and napped them with the mayonnaise and dusted some paprika and parsley dust over the top! I have to say I did slightly struggle with this nappeing thing! Not as easy as it looks, then my parsley dust kept blowing away, which was interesting, so Lara on my table kindly gave me some of hers! After this we got on to making omlettes . First we had to prove our pan by putting in a handful of salt and a glug of oil and heat until smoking. We then created our egg mixture by mixing together 2 eggs, seasoning with salt and white pepper then mixing in a tablespoon of water which lightens the mixture! Then we cleaned out our pans put in a thumbnail size of butter and slowly heated, then added the egg and slowly cooked - moving the mixture in from the sides - until the omlette was baveuse and it was pale and fluffy, with the texture being tender, then we were supposed to fold it into thirds but I didn't realize this and just folded it in half, Michael said apart from that and slightly better presentation it was good so that is fantabadosie!
This evening I made a spinach gratin using the cartouche technique which tasted wonderful! Then I made another omlette but with six eggs and in a big pan! The pan was supposed to be non-stick, but it wasn't! Any way, in the end it was still an omlette which was pale and fluffy with a baveuse centre, it just took some hearty negotiating to get it onto the plate! But I managed it and it tasted good, so I think a good day in all! I will give myself a mental pat on the back!
This afternoon we made egg mayonnaise. We made the mayonnaise by hand (1 yolk to (150ml light oil) which took a little while, we then seasoned it with lemon, white wine vinegar, English mustard powder, white pepper and salt, I thought it tasted good, but I have made mayonnaise many times before, just not by hand! We then got some boiled eggs we had made earlier and napped them with the mayonnaise and dusted some paprika and parsley dust over the top! I have to say I did slightly struggle with this nappeing thing! Not as easy as it looks, then my parsley dust kept blowing away, which was interesting, so Lara on my table kindly gave me some of hers! After this we got on to making omlettes . First we had to prove our pan by putting in a handful of salt and a glug of oil and heat until smoking. We then created our egg mixture by mixing together 2 eggs, seasoning with salt and white pepper then mixing in a tablespoon of water which lightens the mixture! Then we cleaned out our pans put in a thumbnail size of butter and slowly heated, then added the egg and slowly cooked - moving the mixture in from the sides - until the omlette was baveuse and it was pale and fluffy, with the texture being tender, then we were supposed to fold it into thirds but I didn't realize this and just folded it in half, Michael said apart from that and slightly better presentation it was good so that is fantabadosie!
This evening I made a spinach gratin using the cartouche technique which tasted wonderful! Then I made another omlette but with six eggs and in a big pan! The pan was supposed to be non-stick, but it wasn't! Any way, in the end it was still an omlette which was pale and fluffy with a baveuse centre, it just took some hearty negotiating to get it onto the plate! But I managed it and it tasted good, so I think a good day in all! I will give myself a mental pat on the back!
Wednesday 3 October 2012
Leiths
Okay so I have started Leiths now finally! I have now finished my third day there! On the first day it was basically just an induction day, so we received the usual spiel on school rules and how the course would work and so on.
On the second day I got in for 9:15 set up my locker and got ready for our first dem by Claire the school principal. She mostly repeated what we heard on the first day in greater detail. Towards the end of her dem she showed us a few techniques in presentation, saying that Leiths is about unfussy, but professional presentation. She showed us about portion size in contrast to the plate, and to the other foods. Claire also explained how using centre height and odd numbers on the plate automatically daws the eye to it and makes it look more attractive. This could also be achieved through diagonal lines as the eye can see symmetry very easily. We were also shown a very contemporary technique with scallops, which I thought looked like the bottom if the sea! Most of the students preferred the most classic technique.
In the afternoon we got to try out our knives for the first time, and I have never used such amazing knives! They were just so sharp it was a delight to slice veg with them! We chopped up some carrots into batons, diced, julienne, and matchsticks. Then we thinly sliced some celery, sliced and chopped onions, and chopped and crushed some garlic with our knives! I thought that the garlic was particularly cool, you have to finely chop it, then pour some salt on top and then smush it with the flat of your blade! We got to take all of this home, so I made a lovely vegetable soup with it!
On the third day we had a dem with Sue Nixon who is the resident expert on eggs! I have to say I did not believe that there was so much to learn about eggs, but today I was proven wrong! She showed us how to make a proper omelette, so that the centre is baveuse and the omelette is pale in colour, and soft in texture, and it really did make the world of difference! She made baked custard which was good but it formed a horrible skin on top which I didn't like! She also made scrambled eggs on toast, mayonnaise (but I have already made this so many times so it wasn't that interesting) egg mayonnaise, and she nappered the egg, which was cool! She also made creme anglaise which she says she curdled but I would never have been able to tell, but I suppose I will learn to!
In the afternoon we made crudités and humus, which involved cutting more veg, but making the humus was fun! Our class teacher Michael said it was really a seasoning exercise. Ours was a little spicy with the cayenne pepper, which I was worried about, but didn't know how to fix. When it was tasted Michael said that if we had added a little bit more lemon it would have levelled this flavour out a bit, so now I know! We then did an arranged fruit salad with strawberries, kiwi, and grapes with a mango orange and passion fruit coulis! This was mainly a presentation exercise, I have to say I thought that mine looked awesome until I saw everyone else's and realised it looked like a 5 year old had been let loose in the kitchen! I do know that presentation is something I really have to work on though, so I will have to try harder next time! There will be some pictures to follow as soon as I get hold of them, so stay tuned!!
On the second day I got in for 9:15 set up my locker and got ready for our first dem by Claire the school principal. She mostly repeated what we heard on the first day in greater detail. Towards the end of her dem she showed us a few techniques in presentation, saying that Leiths is about unfussy, but professional presentation. She showed us about portion size in contrast to the plate, and to the other foods. Claire also explained how using centre height and odd numbers on the plate automatically daws the eye to it and makes it look more attractive. This could also be achieved through diagonal lines as the eye can see symmetry very easily. We were also shown a very contemporary technique with scallops, which I thought looked like the bottom if the sea! Most of the students preferred the most classic technique.
In the afternoon we got to try out our knives for the first time, and I have never used such amazing knives! They were just so sharp it was a delight to slice veg with them! We chopped up some carrots into batons, diced, julienne, and matchsticks. Then we thinly sliced some celery, sliced and chopped onions, and chopped and crushed some garlic with our knives! I thought that the garlic was particularly cool, you have to finely chop it, then pour some salt on top and then smush it with the flat of your blade! We got to take all of this home, so I made a lovely vegetable soup with it!
On the third day we had a dem with Sue Nixon who is the resident expert on eggs! I have to say I did not believe that there was so much to learn about eggs, but today I was proven wrong! She showed us how to make a proper omelette, so that the centre is baveuse and the omelette is pale in colour, and soft in texture, and it really did make the world of difference! She made baked custard which was good but it formed a horrible skin on top which I didn't like! She also made scrambled eggs on toast, mayonnaise (but I have already made this so many times so it wasn't that interesting) egg mayonnaise, and she nappered the egg, which was cool! She also made creme anglaise which she says she curdled but I would never have been able to tell, but I suppose I will learn to!
In the afternoon we made crudités and humus, which involved cutting more veg, but making the humus was fun! Our class teacher Michael said it was really a seasoning exercise. Ours was a little spicy with the cayenne pepper, which I was worried about, but didn't know how to fix. When it was tasted Michael said that if we had added a little bit more lemon it would have levelled this flavour out a bit, so now I know! We then did an arranged fruit salad with strawberries, kiwi, and grapes with a mango orange and passion fruit coulis! This was mainly a presentation exercise, I have to say I thought that mine looked awesome until I saw everyone else's and realised it looked like a 5 year old had been let loose in the kitchen! I do know that presentation is something I really have to work on though, so I will have to try harder next time! There will be some pictures to follow as soon as I get hold of them, so stay tuned!!
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