Day 24: A Loaf And A Fish...

Thursday, Thursday. This morning I made a brilliant bread- White Yeast Bread which has a number of stages to making it so it took me up to three hours in total from start to finish but the end result was fantastic.

I really love kneading the bread dough for the White Yeast Bread, there is an excellent technique involved in it and it has to be kneaded a number of times before it can be baked. It really is an art form and I can't wait to bake some more of the bread.

In week six, we have a wine, herbs, salad and techniques exam, part of that techniques exam is to demonstrate how to fillet a fish. Today, I got to practice again and I am getting there, slowly. I then made a 'Pan-grilled Fish with Flavoured Parsley Butter' and steamed potatoes. It was delicious and I picked up some tips on how to cook the perfect fish and use every part of the fish. One of a million things I've taken from this course is not to waste any part of meat, fish and vegetables. For example: the remanding fish is used for delicious fish stock. A tasty and thrifty tip for commercial kitchens.

Here is the main course dish of today, I'm finding cooking the dishes to be fine. Of course I have my bad days and I've alot to learn but what I would like to improve more on is the presentation of dishes. I'm a creative person but when it comes to dishing up I'm never fully happy with what I have presented. I guess with time comes knowledge.

Today was crazy, I have a quick fire lunch then back to the kitchen to clear up and then help out with cleaning up before heading right into Rachel's afternoon demo. We are not just taught how to cook in Ballymaloe, we are also taught hard work!

What did we do this afternoon? We had lots of fun with Omelette's from Cheese Soufflé, to the classic French, to the stylish Arnold Bennett.

 Then a fabulous Frittata with oven Roasted Tomatoes, Chorizo and Goat's Cheese.

Before rounding it all off with a glorious Gravlax.

Then I had a few dates this evening with some caramelised walnuts:

The most exciting part of this evenings demonstration was a recipe adapted from the brilliant Bocca Cookbook for when you are hungry like a wolf! It is the Chocolate and Marzipan Balls:

These bad boys are made from a whopping 85% chocolate, oh my lord. Yet another calorific day at Ballymaloe!

Tip of the day: If you want fabulous omelettes ensure the pan is red hot before tipping in the egg mix and use clarified butter for a golden omelette.

Slán,

D x