eG Foodblog: Andy Lynes - Brighton Rock and Rolls

[bleudauvergne]

I sat here open mouthed at your hollandaise recipe until I got to the 'I made an Eighth of the quantity'!

In my moment of dazed epiphany in reading the hollandaise recipe I also lapsed into a daydream of making the sauce and also my husband's reaction at using bottle after bottle of wine as I also see that you made a version of the wine reduction with bouquet earlier in your blog with the fish. I was thinking he is going to wonder why our cave is so rapidly depeleting. Ah, this recipe can be divided. So 1/8th would be about 10cls of wine, then. How much does a bottle of vinegar hold in your parts?

Excellent looking pasta, by the way.

[Priscilla]

Can't wait to employ the method.

And yes, I'd like to know the vinegar bottle size too.

Also, Andy, what is the volume of sauce one ends up with using the original proportions?

[Andy Lynes]

Can't wait to employ the method.

And yes, I'd like to know the vinegar bottle size too.

Also, Andy, what is the volume of sauce one ends up with using the original proportions?

←

At the restaurant we would empty the bottle of wine and then fill it half way up with the vinegar so its 750mls of wine and 375mls of vinegar.

I don't know the exact volume of the sauce when you make the full amount but it was usually enough to last a very busy 80 cover restaurant for one service, which is about as long as it will keep for. Too much for a domesic situation anyway.

[Andy Lynes]

Thursday 20 January

As this was the day of the UK Forum Winter Feast at In the Park in London, I didn't eat a great deal during the day. Breakfast was coffee, granola and some toast and orange juice while lunch was an unremarkable cheese sandwich. I've noticed this week that I haven't been eating much between meals, I'm usually terrible for eating biscuits or chocolate bars. I've also eaten very little fruit which I will have to rectify.

Dinner was a far more interesting affair. I started with smoked mackeral with beetroot and horseradish:

while others had the other choice of potato dumplings with wild mushrooms:

Then came the main event, whole roast suckling pig (or as I'm told, more properly "sucking pig". The mother pig is the one doing the suckling, not the piglet):

This was carved by the chef and served with braised red cabbage, kale, roast potatoes and gravy:

Dessert was a fabulous sherry trifle:

.

[Andy Lynes]

Signing Off

A very enjoyable week, although I imagine rather like dropping your trousers in the high street. Its been an odd feeling to parade my cooking on eGullet in front of such an informed and capable audience. I haven't really kept track of my mood during the week as I intende but I can say that I felt most inspired on Saturday and most tired on Sunday. I cut my finger preparing the roast dinner and made an error with the sauce/gravy, deciding to return it to the pan to heat up again and ending up over reducing it, both incidents I'm sure down to feeling less than fully alert.

I felt that my cooking began to flow better as the week progressed, with the smoked haddock dish being the most pleasureable to eat of the whole seven days. I got into a state where the ideas came quickly and I was able to execute them quite efficiently.

I had planned to take a week off work and get into some really time consuming stuff like potting meats, making terrines and breads, but it wasn't to be this time at least.

I hope the blog was of interest and some use and thanks for your comments. I'm looking forward to the next one.