jackal10

Good morning. Another bright but cool day. I've been running around doing boring things like getting the cars (a Range Rover and an MGB GT V8 that I've had restored) serviced and MOT'd (roadworthiness certificate). Also picked up the first batch of exam scriots to mark. I find marking exams very depressing. I try and lecture clearly, but the exams show how little sinks into the student mind... Compulsory animal pictures: The pheasants come to the kitchen door to feed. This year one of the hens has managed to hatch 13 chicks, but alas day by day there are fewer of them. Everything tries to eat them, magpies especially, and I saw a fox about this morning. Also when so young in the wild they are very sensitive to cold wet weather, get pneumonia and die. She will be lucky to end up with one or two. The kitchen is the jusntion of two terratories for two alpha males, about eawually matched, so they fight. The garden is over run with rabbits, so we have to erect wire netting around the plants we want to keep. Baby, and mother in relaxed mood.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments. Can't smoke the ribs because they have already been eaten, and ribs need hot smoking, arond 175F to allow the collagen to transform to gelatin and become tender. After posting this mornings stuff and doing some desk work, went to have lunch in college. (Do you need an explanation of a Collegiate University? Colleges provide living, dining and social functions. They also provide small group teaching(supervisions), tutorial care etc. Lectures, examinations and labs etc are done by the Department/faculty in the University. You belong to both a college and a faculty) I had the leek and potato soup (ok, but a little salty), then a salmon mousse and salad from the cold table, then cheese. The Summer Fruit Roly Poly looked good but I'm too fat. I've been roped into talking to prospective entrance candidates about the computer science degree course next month, so I discussed with the Senior Tutor what he wanted me to say. Its very hard to get in. You need to have top marks in school exams (A2 levels), and then be good at something else as well, like sport or music, or drama or organise an expedition, to show flair and initiative. At the moment there are about three qualified candidates for every place. The college is one of the better ones - it has a good reputation for social life, an excellent student bar, good sports results and perhaps because of that has come top of the Tompkins table for the last two years, the academic league table of colleges based on exam results. Unashamedly elitist, looking for the best of the best. However, once in, its also hard to fail - there is lots of support. While we're on College menus, here is the one from the Guest Night last week. These happen about once a term, for fellows and their guests; as a Fellow I can invite guests at the college expense, so long as they are not my spouse, family or partner. The object is to network and influence. Where else can one drink such mature wine on a regular basis? The Anjou Moulin Touchais 1985 was particularly fine, just begining to dry off. The Rabaud Promis 1988 is as delicious as ever. I'm a real sucker for the soft stickies... Then walked to the Judge Institute passing on the way Fitzbillies, bakers of the finest Chelsea buns in the known universe. More soft stickies...I only just resisted temptation. If it had been before lunch I would not have been able to. http://www.fitzbillies.com/ Lectured and taught for 3 hours, with a 10 minute coffee break. Didn't get through all the material as usual, but the students seemed attentive and interested. Then to a wine tasting. Cambridge is fortunate in that the merchants come to sell to the Colleges. This was Charles Taylor Wines tasting 2004 German wines. Six producers, 5 wines each. Sorry, Wendy, not sure I can descibed all 30 wines... 2004 is a good year, full, and unlike 2003 has enough acidity to give structure and the wine some longevity. For good producers the concentration is high - Kabinetts more like Spatleses, Spatleses more like Ausleses to my palate. Think floral lemon sherbert. Christian Ebert of Schloss Saarstein - Serrig, Saar ; Christoph Tyrell Karthauserhof Trier-Eitelsbach, Ruwer. Gault Miliau wine producer of the year Dr. Dirk Max Ferd.Richter of Weingut Max Ferd.Richter, founded in 1680. I bought ome of his delicious Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 2004, a perfect summer wine but made to keep and improve (£78/case) , and his Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 2004, somewhat sweeter and fuller for laying down (£92/case). Incidently he said the Sonnenuhr (sundial), which is in the middle of the vinyards usually indicated the vinyard was on a southern slope. Daniela and Steffen Christmann of Weingut A.Christmann Pfalz. Mostly trocken (dry) wines. Also there were wines from Emrich Schonleber - Monzingen, Nahe and Peter Jakob Kuhn Oestrich, Rheingau. The latter very floral, but not cheap, twice the price of similar ausleses. Back home. Pre-dinner snack of home made smoked dried sausage (saucisson menager fume) and radishes from the garden. For the story of making the sausage, and the last try at smoking see http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=63347&st=30. Good flavour but a bit fatty. I should have chopped the fat finer and minced more of it. House wine is a 2002 Ch. Morges du Gres, Les Galet Rouges, Costiers du Nimes from Alex Riley Wines. Good fruity southern red. Supper was fairly light: Kidneys in a sherry and mustard pan sauce. Soak the kidneys in milk first. Now I'm heading for bed. Tomorrow I need to take my car in for service first thing, then exam marking, start the smoking, and some garden stuff.

I'm making and smoking bacon over on my foodblog http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=68760&hl=

Thanks Pan, that is a good direction to think. However its not the season for game, and the spicings you mention are more winter ones. I'll consult the books though..what did the Elizabethens eat in summer? Here is the salmon after an hour's brining, about to dry off in the fridge until smoking tomorrow.

The bacon back-story I'm amazed more people don't make their own. Its very easy, and gives a much higher quality product. Cheaper too. Disclaimer: This has not been checked by the health police, nor is it intended for resale, so it probably breaks all sorts of health regulations. Our bacon started out as a piece of free-range organic belly pork from a local farn shop. They said it had been raised on the Croxton Park Estate, about 10 miles from here. I filleted out the ribs as a sheet. That left something like 2Kg (5lb) of belly, and the ribs. No problem with the ribs, marinade in apple juice, garlic and spices, and 24 hours in a low oven..mmmm... Meantime prepare the dry salt rub. It always surprises me how littel you need. Others add spice, but I prefer not. In the US more suagr is used, but you have a sweet tooth over ther thanks to the influence od big sugar and the corn farmers. This makes a fairly mild bacon, designed for modern conditions to be kept under refrigeration, rather than a hard salty monster that will hang out all winter, but needs to be soaked before using. Saltpeter from http://www.sausagemaking.co.uk/ Rub all over, but mostly on the meat side - the skin side doesn't adsorb much. Leave covered in the fridge for about a week, turning and rubbing each day.. A little brine will come out, the amount depending how good your pork is. Daily pix. Then dry and leave uncovered in the fridge for 24-48 hours for the surface to dry and "pellicule" to form which brings us to today. Smoke tomorrow.

Smoked salmon stage 1 Brining. Put the salmon to brine in an 80% brine (150g salt to 600cl water) for an hour. This is for a mild, London type cure. Next I'll take it out without washing and let it dry for 24 hours in the fridge, to form what is called a "pellicule" or skin on the surface to take the smoke better.

Good morning! Greetings from Cambridge UK. Here is the view from my study window, over the herb garden: The bright yellow you can just see in the distance under the rose arch is oil seed rape in the field next door. Thanks to Soba for dropping me in it - its going to be really hard to follow such a wonderful blog, actually such a wonder run of the recent blogs. I'm not sure what I can tell you or what more there is to say after my previous two blogs http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=33730&hl= and http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=51320&st=0 Nor am I sure about his advance billing of "spend a week in the countryside and get reacquainted with the glories of English cuisine amidst summer's bounty". Where we are is not really proper countryside. We are about 5 miles outside Cambridge on the edge of a village, in the soft south of the country - more suburban than real countryside. My cooking is a mixed metaphor, and rather plain rather than a glory of English or any Cuisine. As for the promise of "Strawberries and clotted cream", Strawberries will certainly feature, but its the wrong side of the country for clotted cream. That is more like Devon or Cornwall. Here we eat Strawberries plain, or with pouring or whipped cream, or as Eton Mess (strawberries, meringue and whipped cream all mushed together). Let me explain where we are in the academic year to give some context to the week. This week the undergraduates are taking exams. Traditionally the weather is hot, but its unusually rather cool today. In Cambridge your degree depends mostly on the final examinations, assuming the other requirements, such as residence have been satisfied. Very few subjects use continuous assessment. There is a nice tradition that examiners can ask any question they feel appropriate, regardless on whether it has been taught or not. It's therefore quite a tense and stressful time for the students, and towards the end of the week I will have piles of exam scripts to mark. Then all hell breaks loose, and May Week begins. May week is, of course, a fortnight in June. It used to be in May, way back when, but then the University term got longer. Many garden and other parties are held, outdoor concerts and play, much Pimms and other summer drinks are drunk, culminating, in two weeks time in the May Balls. These are lavish affairs given by the colleges (some every other year), Black tie, and champagne all night. My college's May Ball menu: http://www.emmamayball.com/menu.php Clare May Ball: http://www.srcf.ucam.org/claremayball/2005/?taste Trinity: http://www.trinityball.co.uk/menu.html Fortunately that will be after the end of this blog, and the weather will traditionally turn cold and wet to dampen their ardour. I used to supply fireworks for the Balls. I can't resist this snap. I apologise for the quality. Its a copy of one that hangs in my study The building is the Wren Library, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, at Trinity: I lit that one. I don't do fireworks for the Balls anymore, as its a young persons game, and the budgets aren't enough anymore to get me out of bed. After the Balls, term is over, and the undergraduates go on their way. Its a bitter-sweet time, as student friendships romances come to an end or are fulfilled, and the students go out into the big wide world, or at least until next academic year. Left behind are the residents, the graduate students and those of us who have to teach them - I'm teaching an MBA elective in Entrepreneurship for the next few weeks. They have brutal 3 hour classes, instead of one hour lectures. Let me mention my book that is the basis for the course "The High Tech Entrepreneurs Handbook", Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-273-65615-5. Its very good. Back to the subject of the blog. On the first Sunday of May Week (called Suicide Sunday), in the evening, Trinty College Choir takes to punts on the river and sings sweet Madrigals (and a little babershop). If it doesn't rain, which it normally doesn't, God being a Trinty man, it a beautiful and romantic occaision. If you are there (8pm) come and say "hi". I help punt the choir with some friends and wine stewards of the some of the colleges (some wine will be taken), and we arrange a serious picnic. In a way this blog is a slow build up to the Madrigal picnic. Your suggestions please for what we should eat. Finger food, cold for a dozen or so people, easily transported and eaten on the river. So far I've planned a surprise loaf filled with smoked salmon and cucumber sandwiches. Others will supply Asparagus, Anne's famous Brownies (very gooey and slightly coffee flavoured), and of course, strawberries. What else should we have, especially for the protein component? Tea Eggs? Fishy balls? Chicken legs? Ideas please. Now comes the complication. To make the smoked salmon sandwiches I intend to bake the bread (naturally), and smoke the salmon (lox). I've recently discovered how to use my brick oven as a smoker. While I'm smoking I'll make bacon.More about that later. What else should I smoke? This is cold smoking - not above about 90F, so not chicken or the like which is hot smoked. Also this week I hope to potter in the garden, and with luck persuade Daniel Clifford, the chef at Midsummer House (which I started, now Michelin 2*) to share some time. That might not happen, as he is frantically busy this week, so may get tagged on the end. Fat squirrel has just come to vist to see if we have left any bird food out, and I mut prepare for my lecture, and this afternoon's discussion on how the University should treat IPR, currently a hot political topic. Are these pix too big? This will probably be an image intensive blog, and I don't know how good people's abndwidth is out there..

The acid in the sourdough can break down the gluten. Actually you don't need to knead at all, just mix to an even consistency, and then fold sides to middle, and top to bottom line you are making flaky pastry every hour for four hours during the bulk ferementation phase. The wetter the dough the bigger the holes, but you will need to support the dough during rising with a banneton. I usually make mine around 72% hydration. See the eGCI SOurdough Unit http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=27634

Eggs found inside a chicken at slaughter aare fleishig (meat)

Not sure the basic premise is simple at all. One suggestion is that they were rough and ready rules designed to a) Keep people away from bad foods in the environement of hunter-gatherers in a middle eastern desert; and b) Enforce a degree of seperation for the Jewish People Since then they have been layers of rabbinic interpretation, each more severe and aesetic than before, perhaps just so the particular Rebbe can show their orthodoxy. Not eating asparagus tips, (one I've never heard of before) or bottom feeding fish like dover sole is a very long way from the original biblical injunction.

Nope. My partner smokes and has the keenest palate of anyone I know. Hallgarten, the founder of the wine firm, in his autobiography said a good cigar improved his palate for wine tasting. What I have noticed is that chefs who smoke have a heavy hand with the salt.

A quick analysis of the options my count gives All vegetarian 11 mentions (clear winner) Rhubarb 8 Asparagus 3 Apricots, peaches, pistachios, ras el hanout (and rhubarb). 3 Quinoa 2 Strawberries 2 Seafood 2 (salmon 2, crab 1) Meatloaf 2 Everything else one vote only So it looks like it should be all vegetarian containing Rhubarb Asparagus Quinoa Apricots, peaches, pistachios, ras el hanout Bit low on protien...maybe seafood or at the bloggers preference?

As has been said upthread, make demi-glace or even glace with it. Reduce it to a thick syrup. Start with a big pan, and then smaller pan as the stock reduces. Its then so concentrated it won't need freezing, or even refrigeration, although I keep mine in the fridge. Meat glace is the base note for much of classical cuisine, for good reason. Instant soup, gravy, richness for dishes. Once you have tried it, you will be making and reducng stock just to have some on hand.

Mayo is a balance. You need to add liquid from time to time as you go along or it gets too thick to stir. However too thin, and its harder to get the oil to disperse rather then clump.

What is this heresy about trifle? As everyone knows the only proper trifle is as follows: Bottom layer: Sponge cake soaked in sherry . Swiss roll slices work as well and look nice in a glass dish Next layer: Raspberries. Tinned ones work well, or raspberry jam. Next layer: Raspberry jelly. Wait until set before adding the next layer Next layer: Custard, Birds for preference. Not creme anglais, or creme pat, or pastry cream but cold thick custard Top layer: Whipped cream. Decoration: Different schools of thought here. I insist on hundreds and thousands, but glace cherries, silver balls or even chocolate curls have been known. Left-overs do not last in the fridge but evaporate quickly for some reason

Yes. We can deduce from the structure of our teeth and digestive systems (e.g. can't digest cellulose like leaves and grass) that way back when mankind was basically a carrion scavenger (not big enough to make our own kills, but eyes face forward, so a hunter rather than preyed on), with occaisional feasts of fruit and nuts. That is one theory why carbohydrates make us lay down fat, to store for hard times between gluts. I note the "raw food" movement doen't generally advocate eating raw carrion meat, rotten enough to be tenderised. The discovery of fire and cooking allows us to utilise a much wider range of food stuffs, and so was a major contributory factor to our evolutionary success.

I like the vegetarian option. I vote for Tofu (which I never know what to do with to stop it being like spongy cardboard), and seasonal veggies - asparagus, early new potatoes, strawberries...

You miss my favourite: New World in Gerrard Place in Chinatown. Old fashioned trolley service. Much better IMHO than Royal China, and you can see what you are getting. Any reason for its omission?

It doesn't matter what temperature the water is; it just adds more water droplets. There is a myth that a little boiling water somehow sterilises the mayonnaise. Simple arithmetic, or experience shows that this cannot be so, since the temperature of the mass is not raised significantly. What dding water does is change the ratio of oil:water, and so may make the emulsion more stable and less prone to split. Cold is also the enemy of mayonaise, expecially if made with an oil, like unrefined olive oil, that thickens on cooling. Mayo made with such oil is likely to split on being refrigerated.

I don't have a chemistry degree either, but I'm listmaster of the Molecular Gastronomy mailing list. I agree what you have been told is pseudo-science. Its mythical, like astrology, based on belief rather than fact. In some cases (such as the statement that irradiation affects enzymes) Enzymes are active biological chemicals that perform various processes in living cells. As they are complex chemicals, they are fairly easily broken down, for example by heating to much above 55C/140F, or being in the wrong too acid or too alkaline or too salt environment or in many other ways, and in some cases just with time. However, there is no evidence at all that eating enzymes does anything for us, and in any case they are broken down by saliva and the stomach acids. This is just as well, since you would not want, for example, digestive enzymes such as papain busy digesting your gut. When I was young I was told the same myths but with Vitamins instead of enzymes. Like enzymes vitamins are complex biological chemicals that can be distrupted with too much heat, or leached out, and to some extent its true that poorly prepared or stale food has slightly less nutrients than well prepared food. However the difference in a normal diet is trivial, and if you are so worried about it, then take a daily multivitamin pill. If you are really concerned about nutrition, then more worrying was the recent report that the majority of Calories in a US diet are from soda. Ban soda.

Why here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=29574 in the eGCI unit on it...

This time of year has to be Asparagus; salmon; strawberries

I love your words and pictures. I illustrated making quenelle mousseline in the eGCO consomme unit http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26540 . I use liquid cream, but beat it into the whizzed egg white and fish or chicken slowly, over ice. If its getting too liquid, then stop! I've heard that high levels of Omega 3 (fish oil etc) helps weight loss. Two tablets a day seem effective. Does anyone know anything about this?

Did you start with raw fish for the quenelle? You also need to keep everything cold, and beat in the cream a little at a time, but otherwise they are fairly easy...

Send to stores/equipment supplier for a "long weight" (wait). They usually get what they ask for...