Shalmanese
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Still sounds like a mess to me.
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Professor Shalmanese's Cooking School - Day 4
Breakfast:
Banana, Pineapple & Peach Smoothie (no picture)
Lunch:
Left Over Clam Chowder:
Mega Sandwich with Turkey Breasts, Cranberry Sauce, Blue Cheese, Lettuce and Sundried Tomatos:
Pomegranite Sorbet
Thai Turkey Soup
Ceaser Salad with Turkey Breast, Avocados and Anchovies:
Shepards Pie
Pineapple & Moscati d'Asti Zabligione
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Day 4 is over and done with. Todays theme was dealing with leftovers and scraps.
For lunch, we started out with some left over Clam Chowder:
as well as making a mega-sandwich from the leftover turkey breasts, some cranberry sauce, some blue cheese, lettuce and sundried tomatos:
Finally, we finished off the last of the Pomegranite Sorbet:
Then, went headed out to buy some liquor:
From left to right, we have:
Cookoothama, An Australian Riesling
Bluetounge Pilsner, An Australian Pilsner
Dog Point Sav Blanc, A NZ Sav made by some winemakers who left fog creek.
Monteiths, an Irish Red Beer
Nivola, A Italian Moscato d'Asti dessert wine
Lucky, an Australian, hippy organic beer
Riverby Estates, a NZ Pinot
Trumper Pilsner, don't know much about this one
Elian Da Rasa, a French semi-Burgandy
Cristal, a Cuban Beer
and Santa Cristina, a Tuscan Red.
With the stash safely packed away, we got to making a thai chicken soup from the Cooks Book except we subbed in the turkey carcass for chicken:
This was really fantastic and amazingly simple. Cheap too. We served this with the Riesling which was very acidic which played off the lime juice in the soup very well. I've always found it hard to pair wine with SE Asian food but this seemed to be assertive enough to handle it.
We moved out onto the porch just in time for sunset:
We had a Ceaser Salad on the porch with some more Turkey Breast, some avocados and anchovies:
This was served with the Italian Red which we also continued with on the Shepards Pie:
Finally, for dessert, we made the Moscati-Pineapple Zabligione from the Cooks Book, served with the Moscati:
Oh.. My... God... This was so AMAZINGLY good and the wine was just mindblowingly good. Very expensive (30AUD/20USD for a half bottle) but a little bit was enough to elevate the experience entirely. This was simply a fantastic dessert, almost mousse-like but intensely eggy and the pineapple was at the peak of ripeness and really cut through the sweetness with a bit of acid. Mmm... We ended up making enough for 6 people but ate it all by ourselves in one sitting
.Tomorrow... I don't really know yet. I might start on a bread in the morning and bake it that night, Probably an Osso Bucco for dinner. I was planning to start trying to improvise from here on in but my friend still isn't quite comfortable enough with his palate to move onto that step yet. We're still getting through the mechanics which I suppose is interesting enough but not my end goal. Oh well.
Wednesday, we're planning on making some fresh pasta in the morning, hitting the farmers market and picking up some wagyu and some truffle pecorino. I'm going to make a steak & chips as well as my signature tagliatele with truffles... luxury
. Then, we'll turn the rest of the fresh pastas into raviolis with leftover osso bucco and freeze it. Still no idea for soups or salads. If anyone has anything original that has some unique component, feel free to chime in. -
I've been teaching a good friend how to cook these last couple of days so I'll chime in with my observations. Generally, the things he's found most helpful are things which don't translate well into recipes or television. He found the knife skills thing we did at the start really helpful, not so much about what shape you need to cut things in, but the mechanics of the cut itself. Do you press down hard or gently, do you go quick or slow. Long strokes or short, forward or back. It's stuff I never think about any more because it comes so naturally but it's surprising just how much more difficult it is to cut through something if you don't know how. We were both using the same knife yet I could cut effortless tomato slices yet he was struggling even breaking the skin. Even after 20 minutes of trying, I still don't know what the secret is. But for other things, a simple comment about technique really helped.
Another thing he found useful was figuring out the order to add things to the pan. Stuff like "So you add the garlic before any liquids go but also as the last of the dry ingredients" (his words) was what he claims to be the most helpful lesson he's learnt so far.
Learning to pick produce and store it was another big thing. Some simple tips allowed him to extend the shelf life of his fruits and veggies for a few days which works out to be less wastage and more savings.
Luckily, he's not squeamish so breaking down carcasses has been a great learning tool and a real help in saving money. So far, he's taken apart 1 chicken, 2 ducks, a fish and a leg of lamb. He feels confident enough to buy large cuts and portion them out him self after he returns home.
I'm having more trouble than I expected with the flavour part and trying to develop his palate. He can tell when something tastes good but he can't really pick out the flavours and why it tastes good or what you could add to make it taste better. I think that's just something that will require time and probably a dash of natural talent. He's still very unsure about seasoning and doesn't feel confident trusting his tastebuds so I'm going to try and work on that for a while.
I think, if you could fit it in (although this probably isn't the right season), what would be good is to take the entire group out to a market and buy a whole bunch of fresh fruit and veggies. Then return to the kitchen and teach them how to store them and finally, finish off with a salad or stir fry (probably not enough time for this) and a fruit salad.
I think, even if people never make bread again, it's important to make either bread or pasta or something like that to get you really in contact wih your food. It's such a sensual experience and really reminds you of why cooking is important.
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Hi, I just obtained a sourdough starter from a local baker and I can't seem to keep it alive. I put the starter with some water and flour and let it sit and it will be nice and frothy. But after I refresh it twice, it appears dead. The flour and water have clearly seperated and there are no bubbles on the top.
I refresh by pouring out 2/3rds of the starter and then adding back equal parts flour and water to make up the original amount. I don't think it's too hot since I just leave it my microwave which always stays around room temperature. I suspect there might be chlorine from my tapwater so I've started my latest batch with bottled water but, apart from that, I can't think of anything that could go wrong with it. Is sourdough usually hard to keep alive or am I doing something wrong?
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Professor Shalmanese's Cooking School - Day 3
Lunch:
Clam & Corn Chowder with Sun-Dried Tomatos
Grilled Baby Snapper over a bed of Mushroom & Brown Rice with a Tomato-Chilli Jam
Dinner:
Grolsch
Garden Salad
Turkey with Mashed Potatos, Cranberry Sauce, Pan Gravy and Roasted Vegtables
Pomegranite Sorbet
Midnight Snack:
Toasted Ciabatta with Tomato-Chilli Jam, Jarlsberg Cheese & Muscatel Grapes
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We did some hard cooking today and appear to be almost back on track.
We started off with the rest of the seafood we picked up yesterday. Made a Clam Chowder with some corn and sundried tomatos:
Then, we decided to filet the baby snapper and grill it. We placed it on a bed of mushroom & brown rice which was cooked with the fish stock from the snapper and then topped it with a tomato chilli jam which was flavoured with ginger and fish sauce:
Lunch being disposed off, we started prepping the turkey for dinner. We were pretty pooped at that stage so we decided to keep things fairly simple and classical. We got the turket out of the cherry brine and dried it off, rubbed it with some butter and pepper and let it come to room temp. Placed it on a bed of carrots, onions, turkey trimmings and roasted it until the thigh hit 75C/170F and then took it out to rest. Made some mashed potatos, reduced the pan drippings and threw in some mustard and red wine. Made a cranberry sauce just with some jarred cranberries (can't get fresh or frozen here
) and made a simple garden salad:Salad
The turkey with mashed potatos, cranberry sauce, pan gravy and roasted vegtables
We didn't bother with fancy plating for this.
We served it with a Grolsch which is a Dutch Lager:
Finally, for dessert, we had some pomegranite sorbet we made yesterday. I can't stop raving about how good pomegranite sorbet is, it's a major pain in the ass but SO worth it:
Then, as a midnight snack, we toasted some ciabatta and used up some more of that tomato-chilli jam. Just had some Jarlsberg and some Muscatel grapes to go with it.
We also managed to finish cooking the chicken stock (no picture), we started on the beef stock:
And we also confiting the duck legs overnight as well as making some duck hams according to Paula Wolferts recipe. We're going to crack two of those duck legs open near the end of this whole cooking lesson and I'm saving 2 for cassoulet in winter.
Tomorrow: We're going to finish off the chowder, make some turkey sandwiches for lunch. Then, we're going to go out and hit a couple of liqour stores for boxing day sales. For dinner, we're going to do a thai turkey soup from the carcass, a ceaser salad with turkey and asparagus for the salad and then a cottage pie using the beef from the stock for a main. Haven't decided on a dessert but I think it might be a zabligione from The Cooks Book which looks phenomenal. The pineapple we got is phenomnal so I want to feature that for dessert.
Phew, I'm off to bed, big day ahead tomorrow!
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Professor Shalmanese's Cooking School - Day 2
Ceviche of Kingfish with Shallots and Coriander
Mussels steamed with White Wine, Shallots, Cherry Tomatos and Cream, served with a Ciabatta Loaf
Orange Segments in Cerviche Marinade
We ate this, on the patio watching the sun set:
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Phew! What a day. We're really ramping it on up.
First off was a visit to a meat wholesaler who also does retail business. We picked up a nice deal on Leg of Lamb ($6AUD/Kg or $2 USD/lb), A variety pack of Lamb ($6AUD/Kg or $2 USD/lb) which included some really nice cuts, some bacon ($12AUD/Kg or $4 USD/lb) and a big box of beef bones for stock ($2 AUD/Kg or 0.60USD/lb).
Next on up, we visited the Sydney Fish markets to pick up some seafood for tonight. After an improptu meal of a dozen oysters eaten in the car:
We got some mussels, some pippies which are a type of clam, a baby red snapper and some sashimi grade kingfish.
After that, we headed off to Paddys Market which is a massive produce market in the heart of Sydney:
And at the asian butcher nearby we picked up 2 ducks and some pork belly.
Finally, we headed to a supermarket to buy some prepared goods before heading home. The emphasis on this trip was to find very decent food for a very reasonable price. How to choose produce, how to spot a bargain, what can be bought in bulk and kept for ages, how to portion meat to save money.
Here is the final swag:
From left to right: 2 ducks, a chicken, leg of lamb, bacon, huge mound of lamb, 2 packs of frozen corn, 1 tub of yogurt, milk powder (for home-made yogurt), some cream (hard to see), some cheap balsamic vinegar (to make balsamic glaze), spelt flour, panko bread crumbs, kombu dashi (hard to see), sunflour seeds, milk, tomato paste, artichoke hearts, yogurt (for the cultures), bonito powder, roasted peanuts, 2 bottles of orange juice, mirin, bread flour, sambal (hard to see), 4 bottles of beer (Bluetounge, Chimay, James Squire Strong Ale and Grolsch), a bottle of japanese soy (hard to see), goats cheese, nori sheets, some cheddar and some jarlsberg cheese...
But thats not all:
Potatos, yellow onions, a red onion, LOTS of cherry tomatos (1 AUD/Kg, 0.3USD/lb!), some red bell peppers, butternut squash, garlic, ginger (hard to see), galangal (hard to see), tomatos, parsely, basil, mint, cilantro, cucumbers, lettuce, avacado, lemongrass, leeks, green beans (hard to see), shallots, potatos, sweet corn...
wait for it...
2 types of apples, cherries, 4 types of peaches,oranges, lemons, a mango, 2 types of grapes, a pineapple, baby red snapper, sashimi grade kingfish, mussels, pippies.
Whew...
Well, shopping ended up taking slightly longer than anticipated which meant lunch was delayed.
We marinated the Kingfish in the juice of 1/2 a lemon and 1 1/2 limes, some shallots, sambal and cilantro:
So, one thing lead to another and lunch ended gradually being pushed into dinner. What was planned for dinner tonight is going to become lunch tomorrow.
Dinner - Day 2:
Ceviche of Kingfish with Shallots and Coriander
Mussels steamed with White Wine, Shallots, Cherry Tomatos and Cream, served with a Ciabatta Loaf
It seemed a shame to waste the marinating liquid from the cervice so we cut up some orange segments and used it up:
We ate this, on the patio watching the sun set:
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Day 2
Sourdough Pancakes for breakfast with Banana and Maple Syrup:
Also had a bowl of yogurt (not pictured)
The chicken stock has started simmering:
Turkey is in a 5% Salt Brine with some sour Cherry Syrup:
Going to head off shopping now. First stop, a wholesale meat place to see if we can pick up some cheap, good quality meats, then the Sydney Fish Markets, going to grab a dozen oysters to eat there as a snack, some clams, mussels, sashimi grade tuna and whatever looks good. Then off the Paddys Market which is a massive produce market, then finally to the supermarket.
Lunch today is set to be steamed mussels in white wine, and some sort of ceviche. Dinner is going to be Clam Chowder, garden salad and some sort of fish dish. Pomegranite Sorbet for dessert.
I'm heading off now!
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I like to have some cubes of reduced stock as they really finish off a sauce or a gravy nicely. However, I think my nex batch will try the i cup in a ziplock bag method.
Now for my next stupid stock question. I had turkey stock on the stove last night that I was starting to reduce. I had to turn it off as we needed to out. I woke up this morning and realized that I forgot to put it back in the fridge.
So is this stock contaminated now? Should I throw it out, or, if I start boiling it again will all potential bacteria die?
It's winter, at night time, in Canada. It should be fine. Just reboil it and all the buggies will die. After reboiling, if it has a sour taste to it, then it's off and you probably should chuck it. I doubt it could spoil overnight though.
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Well, today is Christmas Eve here and we're just going to be too busy doing other stuff do manage a Christmas dinner tonight but I have picked up a turkey and we're going to roast it tomorrow, probably with all the "traditional" fixings. Then, I'm going to teach carcass management. Sandwichs, turkey soup, turkey salad etc.
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Sourdough Pancakes with Maple Syrup and Banana
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It has begun!
Tonight, was a simple stirfry incorporating lots of different vegtables cut in lots of different ways. Served with white rice and garnished with some toasted sesame seeds.
Tomorrow, we're doing chicken stock, lots of little stuff, a whole bunch of shopping and we're going to pick up some seafood for dinner. Nothing solid planned, going to let the market inspire us. Any suggestions?
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Freezer burn affects the texture of the meat, not the flavour. It should be fine in stock. In fact, after prolonged boiling, I doubt you could tell much difference b/w freezer burned and non freezer burned meat.
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Freshly Baked Sourdough
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Yippie! Just made my first sourdough. Got the starter from a local baker. To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing to start off with. The starter had barely bubbled before I made my first batch and I couldn't figure out how to knead such a wet dough so I kept on adding flour until it became relatively stiff. Didn't pay much attention to the proofing or the shaping but everything seems to have turned out OK. We had the bread just with a little butter and sea salt for breakfast and we managed to eat almost the entire thing. Deliciously sour and had a nice chewy structure. Would make an excellent sandwich loaf. The crust was fantastic, probably better than any bread I've ever bought, probably by virtue of it's freshness from the oven. In "Bread, A bakers book", the author mentions that almost any idiot can produce a decent loaf of warm bread. So I'm going to wait until the bread ages a bit and evaluate it again. I'm sure I can do better but I'm pretty damn happy with that first attempt.
Pictures:
Freshly Baked Sourdough
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Ha! Like you would be so lucky. There was no recipe, it was more of a cleaning out of the fridge in preparation for some serious cooking later in the week. It's an amalgam of a lot of techniques I've seen discussed on this board and others and it consists of 4 basic parts:
Curry Powder
Onion Puree
Coconut Milk
Meat/Veggies
Lets see what I can remember:
I made a curry powder by toasting some cumin, coriander, cardamom black pepper & chilli flakes, then added some tumeric and salt and then blended it into a fine powder. Sifted it through a strainer and removed all the big chunky bits. I got about 10tbsp of curry powder, 4 of which I used for this and the rest I put in a jar for later.
Cubed up some leg of lamb and salted it. Chopped up 3 onions and then put them in a blender with some water and blended to a puree. Then minced 5 cloves of garlic.
To cook, I seared the chunks of lamb and removed. Added some oil and briefly cooked the spices again, then added the onion puree. Cooked it until all the water evaporated and it had started browning a bit, then added the garlic and cooked until I could smell the garlic. Tossed everything together again and added a can of coconut milk and some salt and simmered for about an hour. Then added some cubed sweet potatos and simmered for another 40 minutes. Added some frozen peas, a squeeze of lemon juice and served.
Taste is by no means authentic but, IMHO was pretty good.
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I've seen recipes with truffled soups that use puff pastries. The pastry keeps the aroma in so when you burst the lid, you get a huge whiff of truffle flavour.
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Lamb Coconut Curry with Sweet Potato & Peas
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Absolutely. But since pork tenderloin has no fat at all, a few precautions must be taken. First, quickly sear the meat to give it a crust, but that's it. Don't place in the oven. And secondly, wrap a piece of muenster cheese around it to keep it moist. The cheese will melt away and leave no taste.
I've also made venison the same way and have used different chutneys in place of the fois gras and duxelle on occasion. Worked out fine with both meats.
Good luck and enjoy.
Well, beef tenderloin has no fat either so it's pretty much the same principle.
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Okay, we've been planning the whole thing out a bit more. He's coming at 5pm and, for the first night, he wants to get his knife skills back up to speed. Any suggestions about a relatively quick dish to make that involves lots of varied chopping of different types of objects?
Also planned for this week:
I'm getting him to bring up a bottle of Melbourne tap water and compare it to Sydney tap water in making two loaves of bread. I'm unconvinced the water quality will have a significant effect on the taste of the loaves but we'll see.
Near the end of the stay, I want to do a kind of market garden challenge where I pick say, 10 ingredients and he has to craft a meal around as many of them as possible.
We hope to document as much of this as possible and keep a running progression. I'm relying on your guys advice to keep this running smoothly.
Game day is in 68 hours.
Professor Shalmanese's 2 week cooking school
in Cooking
Posted · Edited by Shalmanese (log)
Today, we decided to take it relatively easy after 4 days of fairly intense cooking. We are still finishing off the soup and shepards pie from yesterday:
I still need to work a lot on portioning. I find I always end up cooking way too much or way too little.
For dinner, we made a green bean & brown rice salad with bacon & red onions:
An Osso Bucco with polenta and some gremolata on top:
And we finished off with a lemon-mint sorbet with dark chocolate:
This was particularly good. You would get an intense hit of lime flavour from the sorbet and then, as the sorbet melted, the chocolate flavour would start rushing in. A big one-two hit of sharp fruitiness and then rich earthiness. So simple yet so elegant.
We had a bit of left over melted chocolate so we made just a little digestif of hot chocolate with some rum:
We also made some homemade yogurt and started on some sourdough bread. The bread is in the fridge right now and we're going to bake it for breakfast. Then, Wagyu steak, truffled pecorino and probably some other goodies from the farmers market for lunch... really looking forward to that. Probably going to pick up some olives and nice cheeses from the farmers market, start out with an antipasta platter for dinner with the fresh baked bread. Then make a tomato-mozarella salad and continue on to a pork belly. Might finish off with a creme caramel for dessert. Today was the "holiday", tomorrow, back to hardcore cooking!