Pastry and Pasta

First, here is what I ate at 36 on the Quay:

An Amuse Bouche of wild mushroom and truffle soup

To Start

Duck Eggs, Gently cooked with grated fresh truffle served with wild mushroom and tarragon ravioli, steamed asparagus spears

To Follow
Squab Pigeon, Breasts gently roasted served on a beetroot risotto with fried black pudding and caramelised apple, finished with a light game reduction
To Refresh

A raspberry sorbet on lime jelly

To Finish
Poached peaches filled with a smooth chocolate ganache surrounded by a salad of fresh raspberries, rhubarb, roasted macedamen nuts finished with a light vanilla foam

It was absolutely amazing, that is all I can say-I urge you go and find out what is like for yourself (second mortgage needed!)


Second of all, I have completed my first proper week at college and so far, I love it! I really like the people on my course, I like the tutors (although, I have reservations on the pastry chef-she reminds me of my Home Ec teacher who hated me, story for another time) and I'm really excited about getting stuck in. For the first lesson, in our dazzling chef whites, we made a treacle tart, which is very easy, the purpose was to get us used to making pastry. I always had a fear of pastry; my evil Home Ec teacher made it seem so very difficult, but in actual fact is it so very simple and I doubt I'll ever buy ready-made again. Now that I am confident with short-crust pastry it seems only fair I pass on so tips to other pastry-fearing folk.


Basic Principles:


1. The recipe is always half fat to flour: ie, If I had 200g of flour, I would need 100g of fat.

2. Use half butter, half lard. The taste and texture is what counts, if you use margarine or other 'healthy' fats you might as well not bother.

3. The key is to keep it cool, so use fingertips, not the palm of your hands when rubbing the fat into the flour, and when kneading it (it's not bread).




Delia Online has got a step by step recipe with pics http://www.deliaonline.com/cookery-school/how-to/how-to-make-shortcrust-pastry,21,AR.html.


Later that day we had a go at making pasta, I'd never made it before, I'm not big on pasta to be honest, I didn't do that great a job but the college restaurant makes it fresh everyday before service so I've got to get used to it; today I'm purchasing a pasta machine.

I'm also going to start an evening course tonight, I haven't decided which one but I'm liking the look of Asian Cookery. I'm sorry this is short but I have the mother-in-law staying tonight which means I better do the housework and show her that her boy married a good, Domestic Goddess.

Adele xxx