My Experience at the 1/4 Point

Hard to believe that I'm 1/4 through the cooking program.  I heard others comment how this week dragged, but for me it flew by.  I think that's a good sign.

So, what's been cookin?  On Thursday I made a traditional roast chicken with herb stuffing and gravy, roast potatoes using lots of fat in a separate roasting tin, and bread sauce, which is an Irish, and perhaps British, thing that goes with this type of meal (at least to them).  Everything was very good, but there wasn't much new here.  B.t.w., for those of you that roast chickens, Darina and the instructors made a big thing out of taking out the wishbone before roasting.  They think it makes carving much easier.  For what its worth!

Friday I made a loaf of white soda bread and a chocolate cake with buttercream icing.  Well, the key to the cake is to soften the butter well before adding the other ingredients (both for the cake and the icing).  But our kitchens are so darn frigid when we arrive and never get warm; and because these are our first cakes with this approach, we're not allowed to use food processors.  Melting the butter isn't good, so I kept heating it a little and then beating and beating and beating with a wooden spoon.  Finally got the cake in the oven and started on a chilaquiles verde o rojos, a Mexican casserole dish.

While I was finely chopping some onions, I finely chopped a very, very small piece of skin off of my left thumb.  At first I thought I could ignore it, but it started to bleed too much.  Sue, my instructor this week (they are actually called teachers here, but that sounds too juvenile to my America ear) led me to the first aid station and helped me stop the bleeding.  While I had the chance, I told her that there was no way I was going to finish the cake and the chilaquiles in a reasonable time.  She agreed and admitted that these cakes should probably be done by themselves.  Anyway, after bandaging my thumb and covering it with a neat little rubber prophylactic, I was ready to return to the battle of the butter.

I finally got the butter for the icing pretty soft and added the powdered sugar, but it wouldn't blend.  I showed Sue and after quizzing me about amounts of ingredients, she told me to put it in a blender.  It finally came together in big chunks.  I added the little liquid that the recipe called for and it help.  So, I did what any good engineer would do, I added more water.  Lo and behold, the icing was just right for icing the cake.  After much struggle and some help from Sue, I got the cake iced, piped on rosettes, and topped it with melted chocolate twirls that I had made first thing.  Looked pretty good, if I do say so myself; and, when Sue tasted it she scored it a 6 out of 6!  Not a bad way to finish the week's cooking.  Sue gave me the ingredients for the chilaquiles that I had already started and I took them to the cottage, along with half of my chocolate cake and my bread.

My virus has returned, so I won't be going up to the school for pictures (its cold outside -- about 2 deg. C, which is about 36 F).  I'll try real hard to get more pictures next weekend.  Instead, let me give you my views on the program and my experiences so far.

Good

• Food demonstrations.  We've had four different individuals do the demos and all of them have been very good.  Clear in their descriptions, dynamic in their presentations, and open to all manner of questions (really important).
• Instructors/teachers.  I've had 3 and each of them is a very nice person who really tries to help.  None are perfect, but I'm very pleased with their attitude, skills, and teaching abilities.  I get annoyed with ones that I can't find, but that's probably because they have other overlapping duties.
• School and farm.  The farm is to die for and the school facilities, not including the equipment, are generally good.
• The curriculum.  Amazing how much we cover in 12 weeks.  I don't think I'll like the testing part, but that's for the future.
• Cottage mates.  I share with 5 very nice women and we all get along.  No hen fights!  Each has helped me at times and I in return with them.
• Living in Ireland.  Great to experience a different culture for more than a week or two.  In general, the Irish are very friendly.  I just need to get to the pubs for Guinness more often.

Not so good

• Equipment.  The equipment in the demos is out of date and the equipment that the students use is worse.  Blenders are attachments on the top of mixers that don't all match.  Ovens were decent professional quality when new, but my kitchen has at least two different brands/sizes, so roasting pans, baking tins, and racks have to be searched out to match the right oven.
• Cooking space.  My space this week was good, but some weeks you have a space that is no more than 4-feet wide.

Mixed

• Recipes.  They cover an incredible breadth, but they are what you would expect from a cookbook published in the 80's.  Cooking with lots of butter, eggs, and cream.  Good for the basics, but maybe not so good for the waistline.

At the end of the course, I'll modify and add to this, but I wanted to give you an idea of my experience so far.