"Um, that is not a saucepan".
No, it was a sieve, and I was attempting to melt butter in it over a gentle heat. Whoopsies. Thankfully, my ever-helpful kitchen partner was more alert than me this morning and disaster was averted. This week has felt like a month. So many recipies! So much concentrating! So few gin and tonics. Yet despite my butter-filled brain, a dessert that should come with a fire-extinguisher and a crustacean that was designed by the devil, I actually had a rather successful day in the kitchen ...
First, I finished off my brioche by shaping them into what look like little doughy snowmen, then baking them for 25 minutes until shiny and golden. For breakfast I like to eat the buttery brioche with raspberry jam so I sneakily put a dollop of jam into a few of the buns and voila! ... breakfast on the go! (I know, it's genius).
Next up - Gateau Pithiviers. A French cake made traditionally on 6 January to celebrate the Feast of Kings (also known in our house as the day the Christmas decorations come down). It is made by sandwiching two rounds of puff pastry together with an almond and butter filling, painting the top carefully with egg wash, and then scoring a million little lines onto the top to make a petal pattern. Once the gateau is baked you drench it with icing sugar, put it under the grill and watch it like a hawk - previous gateaus have been known to spontaneously combust at this stage and while a flaming dessert can be a real party piece, that was not the desired effect here. My gateau was puffed to perfection (4 inches high!!) and tasted sublime. Lets not think of the amount of butter I have consumed today.
Moving on. The next recipe was meant to be mackerel with Bretonne sauce, but there was no mackerel today so we got Dublin bay prawns. In Australia, prawns have a relatively soft shell and peel easily. In Ireland, I discovered today, prawns do not want to be eaten and hide themselves in razor sharp, rock hard pink fortresses, daring you to peel them with their beady little eyes. Try to peel them like an Aussie prawn and you will need medical attention. Such brutality! Eventually, with a little assistance from my teacher, I peeled a dozen of the little terrors, arranged them on a slice of sourdough and smothered them with Bretonne sauce - a type of hollandaise with fresh herbs. By this stage I had nibbled on so many brioche that I couldn't bear to eat anything else, but I am told they were yummy.
Today we were taught how to cook: Fish mousse with shrimp butter sauce, Beurre blanc sauce, Moules Provençal, Guard of Honour (a fancy name for 2 racks of lamb leaning against each other for support), Roast rack of spring lamb with three sauces, Roast rack of spring lamb with cucumber Neapolitana (more cooked cucumbers ... when will this stop?!), Gratin of potato mushroom and thyme leaves, Aubergines with various toppings, Pommes Dauphine, Onion sauce (Sauce soubise), Tzatziki*, Classic creme brulee, Poached apricots with sweet geranium leaves, Walnut cake with American frosting, Mendiants, Rye and caraway seed bread.
No, it was a sieve, and I was attempting to melt butter in it over a gentle heat. Whoopsies. Thankfully, my ever-helpful kitchen partner was more alert than me this morning and disaster was averted. This week has felt like a month. So many recipies! So much concentrating! So few gin and tonics. Yet despite my butter-filled brain, a dessert that should come with a fire-extinguisher and a crustacean that was designed by the devil, I actually had a rather successful day in the kitchen ...
First, I finished off my brioche by shaping them into what look like little doughy snowmen, then baking them for 25 minutes until shiny and golden. For breakfast I like to eat the buttery brioche with raspberry jam so I sneakily put a dollop of jam into a few of the buns and voila! ... breakfast on the go! (I know, it's genius).
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| Brioche for the working woman |
Moving on. The next recipe was meant to be mackerel with Bretonne sauce, but there was no mackerel today so we got Dublin bay prawns. In Australia, prawns have a relatively soft shell and peel easily. In Ireland, I discovered today, prawns do not want to be eaten and hide themselves in razor sharp, rock hard pink fortresses, daring you to peel them with their beady little eyes. Try to peel them like an Aussie prawn and you will need medical attention. Such brutality! Eventually, with a little assistance from my teacher, I peeled a dozen of the little terrors, arranged them on a slice of sourdough and smothered them with Bretonne sauce - a type of hollandaise with fresh herbs. By this stage I had nibbled on so many brioche that I couldn't bear to eat anything else, but I am told they were yummy.
Today we were taught how to cook: Fish mousse with shrimp butter sauce, Beurre blanc sauce, Moules Provençal, Guard of Honour (a fancy name for 2 racks of lamb leaning against each other for support), Roast rack of spring lamb with three sauces, Roast rack of spring lamb with cucumber Neapolitana (more cooked cucumbers ... when will this stop?!), Gratin of potato mushroom and thyme leaves, Aubergines with various toppings, Pommes Dauphine, Onion sauce (Sauce soubise), Tzatziki*, Classic creme brulee, Poached apricots with sweet geranium leaves, Walnut cake with American frosting, Mendiants, Rye and caraway seed bread.
* I nearly needed to be restrained when the teacher demonstrated this recipe ... one of the ingredients was cream! Cream! And it gets worse ... the recipe suggested you can also add pinch of sugar! What?! Please do not try this at home.
The Editor and I are off to the greyhound races ('the dogs') for the evening. I am hoping we back a winner so that I can buy more butter and make more brioche. Chomp.
P.S. This evening I will be baking a second batch of sourdough. I have not forgotten to add the salt this time so stay tuned for the results!
P.S. This evening I will be baking a second batch of sourdough. I have not forgotten to add the salt this time so stay tuned for the results!
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