Wednesday morning we were shown how to make cheeses. This is not something we'll do ourselves in the course, but it is more background and Darina is always pointing our opportunities for new small businesses. It was all very interesting, even if I don't ever make any cheese. Wednesday afternoon was devoted to wines -- not just the book-learning stuff, but tasting (shucks, do we have to?). Much of the discussion was with Barbara Lawson, the owner of Lawson's Dry Hills in New Zealand (not Australia as I stated in my last blog). We tried her Sauvignon Blancs and an inexpensive French of that type, similarly for a Riesling, Pinot Gris (same grape as a Pinot Grigio), Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Noir. We also tried inexpensive French Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. I'm personally biased to the red Pinot Noir and the one from Lawson's was very good, but the Gewurztraminer, a white wine, was exceptional -- one of the best wines I've tasted. By the way, we have a test on wines at week nine, but I'll savor this part of the course regardless of any testing results.
Back to the kitchen! Thursday morning I was supposed to make tortillas from scratch, tortilla chips with homemade salsa and guacamole, and creme caramel with caramel sauce. I started with the creme caramel and, just as I suspected from the recipe, it was fun but a real time burner. While the creme was in the oven, I started on the tortillas. Trina said that my first one wasn't thin enough. I then spent at least 1/2 hour rolling and rolling and rolling to get a measly 6 tortillas (put the remainder of the dough in the hens bucket). The ones I fried as just tortillas on a hot pan were very dry --yuck! The ones I cut up and deep fried as chips were O.K., but I've had much better chips in restaurants around Albuquerque; however, these were flour-based chips not corn chips, which are much better, in my humble opinion. Anyway, I was running out of time, so I only made the guacamole and not the salsa. The recipe called for lots of lemon juice, but one lemon gave me a little less than the recipe stated and I settled for that. When Trina tasted it, she said it was too lemony and I agreed (note on recipe, in case I use it in the future). The creme was really, really good and Trina thought so too. All in all, mixed results but fun and lots of lessons. One is that I won't be making tortillas from scratch when I get back to New Mexico!
On Friday I got to cut up, skin, fillet and scale a "round" fish. Round fish include cod, pollack, hake, etc. that are roundish in cross section, versus "flat" fish which are, well, flat. But before I got to any of that, I made a loaf of white soda bread, first thing, because I'm behind on breads. I told Trina that the buttermilk was very thick and chunky, but she said that's the way it is some days. I had neglected to preheat my oven, so I got behind on the bread. When I was ready to combine the wet and dry, Trina was no where to be found, so I went ahead without her. Sure enough, the thick buttermilk didn't add enough wetness and I had to add extra plain milk, which overworked the dough -- not good.
Also before the fish, I made sauce for a Caesar salad, washed and dried the Romaine lettuce (called Cos over here), and put the lettuce in the fridge until just before serving. The fish was to be cooked in the oven with a Mornay sauce, Duchesse (whipped) potatoes, buttered crumbs and cheese. Sounds like a challenge and it was. I started the potatoes a little late, so I was behind my plan from the start. Darina insists that potatoes for whipping are cooked with their skins on to keep in the flavor. Nice, but even though the skins come off easier than with raw potatoes, those potatoes are HOT. I had to finish the potatoes before I could start on the Mornay sauce, because my partner and I were out of burners and suitable pots. Yes, I could have gone around asking others to borrow a pot and burner, but that would have burned up more time than just finishing the potatoes. I got all the ingredients finished, layered the sauce, fish, and buttered crumbs, and then started piping the potatoes around the edge of the dish. Trina corrected my technique, but by now the dish didn't look very attractive.
I also made croutons for the salad, but that didn't go well either. The recipe said to brown them in a pan for a few seconds, so I took them off after about 1/2 minute and they were soggy. I ended heating them in an oven for at least 20 minutes before they really toasted. When my food was judged, I was told that I put the salad together too early, the dressing was fine (to my taste it was very good indeed), the presentation of the baked fish was poor (I will really have to work on presentation), and the fish dish itself didn't have enough seasoning, which here means salt! Over the years, Charlene and I have weened ourselves off of salt in our cooking and I'll just have to un-ween myself (sorry Charlene).
After two weeks, all the students understand Darina Allen's philosophy of cooking: start with the best natural ingredients and cook things simply to accentuate, not overwhelm, the natural flavors of the ingredients. Ballymaloe is not only a school but also a 100-acre organic farm, which is in an area of numerous other producers of outstanding cooking ingredients, like organic vegetables, chickens, lamb, fish, etc., etc. I expect to face many cooking challenges when I return to New Mexico, but the biggest one will be finding the type of ingredients that I'm using here in my cooking. Darina knows that will be true for many, if not most, of us, but she is evangelical about us developing excellent local producers wherever we go.
Friday evening a few of us went to the pub right here in Shanagarry -- a 5-10 minute walk. No worry about a designated driver. Unfortunately, no pub food, but they have Guinness on tap (there really isn't any other kind here)! Saturday, two of my cottage mates and I went into the city of Cork, walked around, shopped in their great indoor food market, and had lunch at a wonderful little restaurant that overlooks the indoor market. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Cork. Many of the tourist books have little on it (Rick Steves recommends Cobh and Kinsale and doesn't even mention Cork), but I think it has a wonderful center and the quay adds a nice atmosphere.
Some of you have asked for more pictures and even suggested particular subjects. Well, this weekend I stayed away from the school, so I don't have the requested animal pictures, but I did go over to Ballymaloe House (about 2 miles from the school), which was started by Darina Allen's mother in law, Myrtle Allen. Here is what you see when you use the south entrance.
Here's a closer view of the house. Starting on the lawn in front and going to the left is a cute little golf course that I played.
In the U.S. we would call it an executive course, but we really don't have courses just like this one. The greens are the same grass as the fairway just mowed a little shorter and very, very bumpy and uneven. Two putting from 3 feet is a matter of luck. There are 8 holes, but only 6 greens. The biggest challenge today (Sunday) was finding my ball in the fairways. Because of all the rain a week ago, the ground is so soft that every time my ball landed from a high trajectory it would bury so that you couldn't see it unless you looked down at it. But you know what, I loved playing there. I pretty much had the course to myself and it made me think of what golf must have been like when people were playing in Ireland a hundred years ago. Besides, the price was great -- nothing, because I'm a student as the cookery school. One final picture from one end of the course, looking back towards the lawn in front of the house in the distance.
On to week three!
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