#76 - Substitution please!

No pigeons
I forgot pigeons are out of season for another little while.  Luckily there's a rather good butcher (reflected in the prices) just up the street.  They were kind enough to order in some large quail - I figured it would be kind of similar to pigeon in size (although I didn't have to look for birdshot so hopefully that won't affect the timing during the Cuisine final).  The options were to get smaller quails (6 in a packet) or the larger ones (the 4 in the packet below).

So you may ask how it went and the answer is...gloves are the answer.  They keep the blood from sticking to your fingers and any worries about anything yuck being stuck under your nails - it still feels like there's crap under the nails even after scrubbing under them several times with a nail brush.  Ugh.  I'm ashamed to say that there was a little bit of distressed squealing when the tube-y things in the quail wouldn't come out easily and there had to be some yanking and pulling to get it out.



Anyway - there's a bit of an ick factor because you have to get all the spongy bits out of the ribs and things so that they don't cloud the sauce and make it taste yuck.  The wine tonight is from a drier year - about twice the alcohol content of the one from last night, although it's the same grape and the same vineyard.



Ok - enough bitching and moaning. Back to the quails...the lucky (?) guinea pigs are my neighbors downstairs. They both had plans Friday night bu the quails had to be cooked so the plan is to have the plates and dinner the next night...  the good butchers also had some duck fat - very nice, very clean - and expensive, of course.  Luckily you can reuse the fat as long as you clean it so the plan is to filter it through coffee filters (I can't find the muslin cloth), then store it in the refrigerator.  It's a pretty good incentive to make confit anything when you have the right fat.

It was kind of a tight fit to get the 8 legs into the pot but everything eventually settled down and the confit smelled quite nice, especially considering that I don't think quail tastes that nice.


Forgetting almost everything
So I had to check cooking times again because it's been so long since I cooked anything.  The timing is for pigeon, so I have a feeling the legs are a bit over - the meat was kind of falling off the bone, which isn't quite the aim.  Soft, but not falling apart...so will have to rethink the timing again.  On the other hand, the rest of it seems to be on track.  Somehow it's a lot harder to focus at home - so many distractions (laundry, dinner...Harry Potter and a quiddich match, etc. etc.)

Bloodless dinner
Given the blood from the quails (and having to clean out the spongy bits from inside) dinner was perch, hapa rice and broccoli. In case you didn't know, hapa rice is what my sister and I (I think we got it from in-laws) call the white rice/brown rice mix. The white rice is because it tastes better, the brown rice is a nod towards being healthy. I'm not sure how effective it actually is, but it doesn't feel so much like the husks from the brown rice get stuck in your teeth and it cooks faster.

A Saturday Lunch

I promised my friend JB that I would cook for him a while ago.  It's taken us a little while but we finally managed to get ourselves organized.  He tends to eat quite healthy so I had to think a little bit about what to make which would fit in the healthy, not too heavy (it was a hot afternoon) and edible meal.  He said he would be happy with whatever I cooked, but since we both ended up laughing at the possibility of my making him beans on toast, a decision was made to have something that required just a little bit of technique.  We ended up with stuffed mushrooms and garlic shrimp (prawn) starter, sauteed zucchini and pan fried salmon main and a burnt fig and caramel ice cream with mango for dessert.  I didn't make the ice cream but I did play with it a little...

There was a moment of panic when the acetate wouldn't come out of the mould with the ice cream and I could see the ice cream slowly starting to ooze.  Luckily we got it out and took off the acetate (I remembered this time).  Normally I don't like mango, but it went surprisingly well with the ice cream and the mint.

We ate on the balcony, looking down to the water - sorry, somehow I didn't manage to get a photo but a lot of sailboats were out.  The sun has since moved on and the clouds have rolled in.  Perhaps the forecasted rain will still arrive.

Dinner
It seems the reheating can take quite a while - the fondant potatoes were giving me conniptions.  It seemed to take at least another 15 minutes longer than I expected.  The guinea pigs (AC and VB) were good choices - as they are both familiar with French food, I got a nice comment that it tasted like France.  There was a bit of panic over the confit legs because the flesh kept falling apart so that I had difficulty getting a nice piece for presentation.  Baby onions weren't available so I didn't plate them (or the green - parsley? - garnish) and I forgot to buy green olives so it wasn't an olive sauce.  So far it seems like the dish will be ok - except the timing needs a bit of tightening up.  Or a lot of tightening up...

I'm not sure if you've ever smelled duck fat.  If you haven't, let me just say that it's quite a strong smell - so much so that before I was even finished cooking, I didn't feel like eating much.  The result - some vegetables, confit potato (turned for mine) and a quail leg - for a taste.  Actually it tasted quite nice, but I still didn't want anything heavier.  Lucky for me, AC made a delicious salad and I ended up eating most of that instead.  Then grapes for dessert - I think such heavy scents made the salad and fruit seem much more appealing because they are so much lighter.

Verdict - could be better, could be worse.  Timing needs a bit of work and a few details need to be refined.  Hopefully it will be a smooth run for the mock exam.

So until next time - may you be able to enjoy the meals you prepare with your friends and loved ones (instead of just meal times).



#66 - Wallowing...

...5 minutes of discouragement
Good news:  my hand is healed, 3 weeks after the burn.  Bad news:  hand won't be ready for me to take finals for another 3 months.  Thus spake the Consultant (cosmetic/plastic surgeon at the burn unit) after I told him what tomorrow's Patisserie final entailed.  For the moment, homework is to moisturize my hands 4 times a day (just to get the burned part used to being touched again and to desensitize the nerves) then to do my hand exercises in a bowlful of uncooked pasta.  Yes, I have hand exercises...so I indulged in a few tears while I tried to figure out what next, then decided it won't do any good until I hear back from LCB administration about what to do for my finals.  For the moment, focus is to get hand working as quickly as possible.  Yes, yes, it takes time.

...in lots of good food and stimulating company
Luckily last week I had planned to go to a supper club thing run by one of the people from class at LCB.  Mrs J makes yummy food and I got to partake!  See this link:  https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=hp#!/pages/Mrs-Js-Secret-Kitchen/141786465854903.  Also, really good conversation, I'm sorry I didn't have a notepad and pen.  We had some artists and an art dealer at my table so there was lots of talk about what is/not art, preferences, how it reflects the politics and economics of the day (what I needed paper for), etc. etc.  Hearing the artist's point of view, the dealer's point of view and the insurer's point of view in light of my own (shallow) layperson's view was educational and fascinating - that is to say, the other people were.

The artists were quite sweet.  They asked me if it was hard to eat "regular" food given what we had been learning at cooking school.  I don't know about others, but I told them that since I injured my hand, I have had a lot of beans (and cheese) on toast.  Before, I used to eat 2-minute noodles.  At the moment, I can't make them so that hasn't happened.

FYI - Important
Anyway, the point is this - sometimes you just want a quick and simple something to eat.  Also, just because we can cook something and make it look fancy doesn't mean that we don't appreciate something someone made, however simple they think it is.  There's a certain something that is added when a meal is prepared for you by someone else.  Technical skills are an added bonus, but really, maybe it just comes down to the thought put into it, even if it is a cup of tea and a piece of toast.  The fact that someone made the effort into making something just for you makes it absolutely amazing.

It seems to be a common misconception that a chef will not appreciate something you make them because they can do it better.  I have been told by a chef in no uncertain terms that this is NOT the case, so if you are ever tempted to cook for someone but are intimidated, don't be.

But back to the food...
Mrs J, with KA assisting, made us a delicious dinner.  The amuse bouche turned out larger than planned so I just suggested we call it an extra starter instead of an amuse.  I don't know if that was actually done or not - I am a bit sleep deprived and not thinking too clearly at the moment, but I wanted to get this down while it was fresh in my mind.  Anyway - it was coddled scotch quail eggs (I think) - soft boiled quail eggs wrapped in sausage meat, crumbed...and really yummy.  This is from a person who doesn't eat runny egg yolks and doesn't eat pork.

Somehow they turned out 16 dishes in a tiny space.  Starter was a seared scallop with cauliflower puree (yum!), some kind of crunchy praline thing with a spice whose name I can't remember and some garnish.

Main was beef wellington with foie gras, vegetables, yummy sauce.  The beef wellingtons were individually sized - a nice touch.  Apparently they were sized that way because of the space constraints of the oven, but I didn't know that until later.  I thought I would want my beef more well done but I really enjoyed it this way - pink in the middle (something else I normally don't do!).  Apparently the logistics of doing individual sized portions was a nightmare and both of the chefs have vowed never to do that again.

We had a little beggar at the table - a very cute and friendly 15 year-old who tapped my hand when he felt that his share of attention was not being paid.  Unfortunately for the cutie pie, I am impervious to large eyes and furry coats and no foie gras was forthcoming his way from my plate.  Or scallop.  Or beef.  Or anything else, actually.  He eventually gave up on me.  Attention is all very nice but what he really wanted was the yummy food.

Then dessert - wow, just the way I like it.  A bitter chocolate tarte with a hint of orange peel in the tarte shell.  Mrs J wasn't satisfied with the tarte shell but I actually preferred it to the filling.  The ice cream wasn't my favorite, but I don't feel bad saying that since it was a stand-in for the one that had been planned (but which didn't work out).  It was really rich though, so I only had part of it which was plenty.  It was possible to eat a bit more of it because it wasn't too sweet (85% cocoa will do that).  They say there's caffeine in dark chocolate, but I am almost asleep so evidently it's not currently effective.

So here are some shots of the kitchen - staff food (chili con carne), mixed veggies, what happens to the sink, stove and kitchen when the dishwasher stops working (I think that's what someone said)...I'm amazed at what they did in the kitchen - it was a regular, domestic kitchen and somehow they managed to turn out a multi-course meal for 16 (?) plus staff food.  There was also a little outside area - I can't remember if they actually cooked outside or if they were just storing some things out of the way there while dinner service was going on.

Also, we had a bit of fun with the paying for the meal.  You make a donation for the cost of the meal (or whatever) and we messed around with her teapot.  Sorry HJ!

Community service warning - Hunter cars (or something like that)


So it was quite late and I wasn't going to take the tube.  We got a quote from a minicab company but when I told the driver my address (the same information we had given the dispatcher, by the way) he told me a different address.  Given we were in the middle of nowhere, it's really cold and I was exhausted, I wasn't inclined to argue.  However, it makes me really cranky when someone says one thing in order for you to choose them, then says something else when it's kind of too late (i.e. you're already in the car).  Maybe it's because I take giving my word seriously, but I take other people's words seriously too and I felt like they had lied.  I paid the driver but I told him he should sort things out with his dispatcher because what they had done wasn't cool.

My suggestion - I haven't tried it yet, but you can bet I'll try it on Friday for graduation - is to use a reputable company (even if they are bit more expensive).  I have a feeling you are less likely to have these last minute changes to fares with lame excuses ("it's 11 miles".  Um ok, except what changed from when I gave the same information to your dispatcher???)  I'll let you know how it turns out with using a larger car service.

So until next time, don't worry, be happy...

#42 - Bring on Superior

The break between terms has ended and I am now back in London - warm, sunny days and little humidity.

The primary purpose of having gone to Sydney to see my grandmother was only partly successful due to the very sensible (but unfortunate for me) policy of not allowing people into the nursing home if they might be sick.  In my case, the persistent cough which has dogged me for the last however many weeks (is it 8 yet?)...so, an almost, but not quite, fail on that score.  The cough has finally departed - just in time to begin Superior with a clean bill of health.

Other things I have done on the trip:

• Seen my grandmother as much as I was able, as well as other familial commitments;
• Seen a great many friends (obviously) - and thanks to all of you who made time to see me at such late notice;
• Helped people pack, move and unpack, to varying degrees;
• Attended to certain social commitments with family friends;
• LOTS of administration (it's amazing how mail can pile up when you go away, despite the invaluable and immeasurable assistance by a local friend who checked and forwarded a great deal of my mail);
• Made it to ballet class!;
• Cooked - just a few things, but I have further battle scars as a result;
• More cleaning...but normal stuff - I think the OCD has been slightly lessened due to the entirely differently league of gross out factor in London;
• Organising home and the kitchen cupboards again - London has been a great lesson on how much stuff we have, but don't need;
• Lots of coffee and food - (Is it redundant to write that?  Reminds me of that song - I don't remember who sings it - which goes "if you don't know me by now, you will never, never, never know me...")
• Trying to remember where I put what - it's like the children's game, Memory - only with a whole apartment;
• Attended a committee meeting for Young Lawyers and started taking steps to return to work for next year (including a networking event - I have a huge intellectual crush on a former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia - listening to him answer a long convoluted question with a couple of precise sentences reminded me of the inspiration which led me to my career despite an avowal to do anything but).

As part of my last day in Sydney, I had lunch with JelLo at Jazz City Diner in Sydney - see the link:  http://www.jazzcitydiner.com.

Jazz City Diner

It was our second time there.  The first time, it was because I had to try the Jonny burger (aka BBQ beef burger) which was delicious - especially since I had it with delicious crispy onion rings (not greasy) instead of the sweet potato fries.  We tried a nod to healthy eating by adding a salad to the mix - also yummy and just what I wanted to balance out the meat and the crispy bacon on my burger.  Yes, I had bacon - the first time JelLo saw me eat pork ever.  I'm slightly ashamed of myself - a burger, onion rings, salad and tasting ribs (which were absolutely beyond delicious - if it didn't sound pretentious and wannabe-food-writer, I might even venture to say they were sublime).

This time I tried the fried chicken with waffles, spinach and maple syrup (syrup on the side, of course - channeling my inner Sally from When Harry Met Sally), JelLo had the Jonny Burger and we shared a vanilla milkshake - they even divided it into two glasses for us, a definite plus.  I happen to love fried chicken, so I ate it on its own instead of dipping it in the maple syrup.  Some people go for that but I've never really gotten into the sweet and savory at the same time - it's too confusing to my tastebuds.  Anyway - yummy for everything - the Belgian waffle was crispy and had the deep pockets to hold as much (or as little) syrup as you want.  Then the (unanticipated) star of the show:  the vanilla milkshake.  Dan, the chef owner, makes his own ice cream.  The milkshake was vanilla-y, creamy and very, very more-ish.  It's a good thing JelLo and I decided to share.  Otherwise I would have tried to have the whole thing by myself - a bad idea when it was a struggle to get through my waffle.

Preparing for the final stretch

There are some differences from the last time I left Sydney, of course.  For one thing, my grandmother has had a birthday.  For another, there have been several other deaths of which I was informed during the course of this visit, some expected and some not.  There was actually time to finish cleaning my apartment and tidying it up a bit before I left.  And of course, this is the final stretch with only a short time before I return to Sydney.

It's strange how time seemed to drag at certain times during the year but looking back on it, everything has gone by in a flash.  It seems like just yesterday that I was getting ready to start Intermediate.  Tomorrow I start the first day of Superior - a gallop to the finish which will leave most of breathless from the amount of work we have committed ourselves to over the next 11 weeks.

The flight from Sydney was pretty uneventful except for the 400-mile diameter thunderstorm our pilot detoured around, rather than flying through.  It's a decision I can wholeheartedly agree with given the turbulence we caught during the detour.  I could feel the plane shuddering and see some of the parts where the joints were in the body which looked like they were moving in different directions.  Hopefully that was more a result of bleary-eyed observations in dim lighting rather than the plane actually doing what it looked like it was doing.

I can't tell you what the jetlag is like just yet as I've only been on the ground in London for just over a day.  It is warm, sunny and not humid - a perfect summer weekend.  My taxi driver from the airport yesterday asked me whether I liked London, Sydney or Hawaii best.  I couldn't tell him if I liked any one more than another because they are all so different and call to corresponding parts of me.  There is always something to love about a place and I have been learning to appreciate everything as it is - both the good and the sometimes less good.  I can't remember if it was a thing about Japanese pottery where sometimes they would make a small imperfection in an item - the imperfection making it more perfect than if it had been left blemish free.  That wasn't articulated very well.  Perhaps it's better to repeat the old saying that you can't appreciate happiness fully without sadness to provide context and contrast.

It is now a civilized hour in London, so I am off to the markets to see what has changed (or not) since I left over 3 weeks ago.  Apologies for there not being any photos but rest assured that they will start to go up again from next week.

So until next time, don't worry, be happy...