Today from what I remember, was a pretty great day! I was able to get a lot done in the kitchen, though I finished late, yet again :\. Here's what I made!
- Coffee Ice Cream (but it wasn't ready to serve by the end of the morning)
- Chinese spring rolls: these were absolutely delicious!!! It had pork and crab meat in them, with cellophane noodles, scallions, parsley I think, and maybe ginger. YUM!!
- Brown soda bread: I completely messed this loaf of bread up - WOW. I added way too much buttermilk, so it was like a pancake. Yikes.
- Béarnaise sauce and rice: these were just two extra things I wanted to make so that I could learn the techniques and check them off of my technique sheet. Fairly simple - the sauce is similar to a hollandaise sauce and has some tarragon added to it. The way we have learned to cook rice is super simple as well!! You just cook it like pasta until it's done and then you strain it :). I decided to present them like a fried egg just for kicks!
After a quick demo where we learned how to cook LOBSTER!!! and also some genoise cakes, I headed over to the Ballymaloe House with Dad and Lucy. We had such a lovely time exploring all of the small corridors and staircases. We almost went into the kitchen accidentally because we took a particularly hidden stairwell. Oh well! :P. It is so much fun being with them! We're a great team!
...and THEN the evening's meal commenced. What a lovely meal. I am happy to say that I somehow managed not to overdo it too much! I think I'm going to break it up into bullet points so it's easier to follow!
I don't think I've ever had such a cultured meal in my entire life.
- We started out with a local seafood buffet for the hors d'oeuvres and tasted some lovely little morsels (many of which we've learned how to make!! :D), then got soup for the starter. Lucy and I both got the potato leek soup with parsley pesto, and Dad got the beef consommé.
- For the main course, I went for the roasted hogget (an older lamb) with cavolo nero kale and onion sauce. Dad got roast goose with red cabbage, Bramley apple sauce, and some vedge. Lucy got Hake (a type of fish) with some other veggies. Yum!
- Also to pair with our meal, Dad and I shared a bit of the Beaujolais Nouveau (a juicy fruity red) and Lucy had a bit of Chardonnay.
- After we'd let our food sit for a bit, the dessert trolley rolled our way and we got a taste of the delicacies!! There was vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce, honey mousse with a myrtle berry jelly on top. There was also a lovely late autumn fruit compote and a chocolate and hazelnut torte. YUMMY!!! :D:D:D
- We finished off the night with an assortment of local Irish cheeses - 2 cow, 1 sheep, and 2 goat.
- While we were still at the table, they even brought us some petit fours - rosewater marshmallow, vanilla fudge, and chocolate-covered prunes - and tea.
I don't think I've ever had such a cultured meal in my entire life.
We discovered the drawing room after leaving the dining room, and ran into a, Irish couple with their daughter, who we saw at demo yesterday. We ended up talking with them until 12:30 AM!! They were so much fun to talk to! While we were talking, we decided to try an "Irish Coffee," which is just espresso with whiskey. They thought it was hilarious that we took pictures of it because to them it would be like taking pictures of a McDonald's burger or something. Hah.
What a day. I am absolutely exhausted and yet completely content and happy.
Love,
Livvy
Love,
Livvy