Monday I've got Friday on my mind

So here we are, the last week and this morning the last cooking session until the exam.

It was still fairly frosty as I walked over and the school was not a lot warmer. Still, it was beautifully clear and the coast was easily visible across the farm.

The kitchen stood empty, unusual at 8am because the super keen are in making 150 extra breads, dicing Rhino down to 1mm cubes, treading their home made wine or recreating the Taj Mahal in meringue. Not so today, the only sign of life was my folder and knives on my workstation.

So a coffee before I started and then down to it. My altruistic side came to the fore as I decided that I would cook the main course Lamb Tagine which my graduating partner would have tackled if present. Lamb is always a challenge as I cannot taste the dish in the making. However a challenge is always welcome so here goes.

3lbs of Lamb were diced and spiced, onions and garlic chopped, tomatoes juiced ( well packet opened) and we were in business.

First 45 minutes gentle simmer then the seasoning checked. Thanks to willing or press ganged colleagues (blackmail is such an ugly word) I had a hint of the possibilities. The Dates and Coriander added and 25 minutes or so with the lid off.

As you can see the mix reduces and thickens whilst heading towards unctuousness- or so I am told. Anyhow some more tasting crash testers and minor adjustments and I thought it ready. But, let's keep it just bubbling and that rich sauce thickening and improving.

The accompaniment was Cous Cous, fortunately given some degree of flavour by Apricots and Pistachios, Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper and toasted Almonds - I salted mine for a little extra kick. Cous Cous is alright but I would far rather have been cooking the Romanesco which a colleague had on the agenda, if for no other reason  - it is beautiful.

But I was stuck with Cous Cous and all I could do was try to maximise the taste of a dish based on wheat. Not only that but Cous Cous does not take much culinary expertise. Pot Noodles are technically more difficult and ground polystyrene more tasty. And it does not take any time so I had a chance to whack out some Rustic Roast Potatoes.

Then time to plate.Amazingly for a dish that I had not tasted it scored 6. Thanks to my tasting team who should be very proud of their efforts.

Lunch and duties over I headed to the second last Demo. Chicken breasts ruled the day and were presented in different ways and with different accompaniments. Rory was unable to demonstrate extreme sword action so he contented himself with a filleting knife and deboning a chicken before stuffing it back to shape.

And that was the last Monday of the course. Some things happened including a Swiss student making little Christmas loaves, figures of elves, angels etc in honour of St Nicholas day, the last one being Darina. Hopefully they will be cooked tonight and I will take photos tomorrow.

Oh yes, I got 85% in the Wine exam and will have at least one certificate to show for my three months at Ballymaloe.

Today, Not A Lot Happened

So here we are, nearly at the end of the course, only one more cooking day and two Demonstrations to go before we attempt to convince the examiners that we have learned sufficient to warrant a pass or at the very least a certificate of attendance.

In common with most other students my mind was in two places, preparing for the week and thinking about going home. Preparation for the week is clearly the most important but just occasionally you wonder what has changed in the last three months?

But back to today. No more snow overnight but an amazingly deep frost had settled giving the instant impression that it had, indeed, snowed. Still with no ironing to be done I was out of bed, out of the house and examining the landscape in close up.

 Yes, as I thought cold and frosty. Being remarkably devoid of any artistic talent whatever my attempts to photograph Life in the Deep Freeze hardly do justice to the actual effects but, since a picture tells a thousand words, here they are.

By now you will have worked out that the thousand words were mainly "Feck it's cold" repeated like a mantra to achieve self enlightenment or some form of spontaneous combustion.

Coffee and toast rectified the situation once I was back in the house and the reality of the tasks ahead sank in. Though the filing was done, it needed to be indexed and cross referenced, before being inspected as part of the end of course ritual. Now I know a wonderful cross referencer but I could not persuade her to leave the Valleys and pop over to do mine. As a result mine is "Cross Referencer Light" but hopefully adequate.

Tomorrow we return to the kitchen we were in on Friday for the last cooking session. On paper my partner and I have 1/2 a recipe for Scallops and Beurre Blanc Sauce, A Tagine of Lamb with Medjool Dates, Cous Cous with Apricots and Pistachio Nuts and a 1/2 recipe of Walnut Tart with Armagnac. But I have a problem, my partner will not be in the kitchen tomorrow having gone to their Graduation Ceremony instead. Though I will not be attempting all four recipes I will need to do sufficient to justify the morning. So grilling Scallops and making Cous Cous, though tempting, would be insufficient and would all take place in the last 30 minutes anyway.

Since I have not made a Beurre Blanc yet I would really like to so I hope to get a compromise agreed. I will do the Lamb - though obviously not taste it - and the Cous Cous accompaniment and will offer to make the Beurre Blanc.

Then it is into Demo for the last afternoon one, only Tuesday morning remaining.

Now at this stage I would like to correct some scurrilous rumours, reputedly with photographic evidence. To aid concentration I often shut my eyes whilst listening to the trickier techniques. This is done in a state of consciousness and any claims otherwise had better be proved or Me Learned Friends will be engaged again.

Well the recipes have been sheathed in plastic - just as well after the Vietnamese Napalm Dipping Sauce incident of Friday - ready for taking in tomorrow, the Order of Work is complete and believe me Patricia Cornwell could not have crafted a finer piece of fiction and the night is drawing in.

Sadly, today not a lot happened though that is slightly more than at my house mate's residence in Cashel as the sign on her wall indicates.

Super Value in Village Shops

The last weekend of my stay at Ballymaloe Cookery School. Next Friday we have the written exams and the Farewell Dinner, on Saturday at 11 we have a farewell coffee and that's it. Except it isn't. For all of us this course has been a life changing event and the memories and friendships will stay with us forever. Ballymaloe doesn't let students go either, you become part of a community, a special group of people joined by desires and experiences, which encompasses students and staff alike.

But that is next week and I still have one more cooking session, two Demonstrations and a practical and three written exams next week. So how to fill the final weekend. DIFFERENTLY!!!! So I ironed today and commenced a little filing some 24 hours early. Radically shocked by this huge innovation I did have to sit and recover over coffee whilst debating the state of the roads and paths and doing the complex equations of (need for Milk) x (viscosity index of local footpaths) / desire to keep all limbs intact.

Yesterdays thaw had frozen overnight leaving most surfaces glassy and the sight of pedestrians and vehicles pirouetting delicately or executing triple toe sulkos with a cross buttock and press persuaded me to remain in until calcium deficiency caused demonstrable osteoporosis or it warmed up and melted out. An ideal opportunity to file and cross reference. Except I suddenly remembered that I had always intended to carry out an audit of the number of chimneys visible from the lounge and compare it with those visible from my room thus producing a multi level analysis of heating habits on a small rural housing development. With global Armageddon predicted this could be vital research. Then I needed to check the grout in the shower for signs of shrinkage, the tumble dryer filter needed cleaning, my pens placing in alphabetical order by name of sponsor, my socks replacing four square in the drawer etc etc etc.

Before I knew it it was 2 and one of my housemates said that she would try to get to Midleton but, as she did not really drive in icy conditions, she would be grateful for some company. Yay Cinderella would go to the ball!!

It had improved vastly when we left though Swan Lake was still frozen solid and bizarrely was covered in wading birds walking on the ice with the usual ducks and swans nowhere to be seen.

On we travelled to Hurley's Supervalu possibly the finest shopping emporium in Midleton and very recently winner of the all Ireland award for cleanliness food hygiene and safety.

For those of you who don't know Supervalu is a federation of independent supermarkets. Each is locally owned and run and committed to local produce. They often win Supermarket of the year for their range  of foods, commitment to fairtrade and sustainability and support for local producers and communities. I like shopping in any of them.

So in we walked and things were different where was the fruit and veg section usually found just inside the door?

was it further down where bread should be?

and why was there a huge crowd milling around just where I wanted to go? The answer soon arrived as a glass of Irish Coffee was thrust into my hand, though wine or filter coffee were available had I preferred, and I was steered towards a table groaning under the weight of bruschetta with pate, smoked salmon on brown bread, salmon and cucumber sandwiches and hot sausages. "Welcome to the Annual Customer Christmas Party" announced the Manager "Our way of saying thank you to all our customers".

Shopping with a warming drink and a few tasty treats inside you is more fun than the usual way and I was so swept away by seasonal bonhomie that I bought an extra pack of butter- entirely forgetting that I now had seven days to consume 1kilo of butter. But hey, it's Ballymaloe and the three main food groups are Butter, Cream and Brown Sugar (all in moderation I hasten to add), so no real problem there.

By the time that we left the store they had forgotten that we had been in so, on my way to return the trolley and reclaim my € coin I thanked the Assistant Manager profusely as I accepted his gift of an Irish Coffee and a free run of the buffet trough.

Darkness was falling so we left to return home and refrigerate our purchases but on the way back we popped into the Village Greengrocer in Castlemartyr. To call it a mere Greengrocer is to suggest that Harrods is a corner shop. You know that the produce has to be good when it is delivered daily to Ballymaloe. And yes it is a village Greengrocer

But it is so much more think Deli, think the best of local, think cafe, think I must call in next time I am passing through.

So there you have it. The last Saturday passed as a day of retail and foodie thinking. Next Saturday it's dinner at Ballymaloe House for your (by then) former student of Ballymaloe Cookery School.

Vietnam and the big thaw

The last day of the last full week at Ballymaloe. There's a strange feeling about the place, part panic at the thought of next week's exams, part I want to go home, part I want to stay here for ever. I guess that this is the same for every course and I am certain that ours is no different to the hundred plus that have gone before.

A bitterly cold night - by Shanagarry standards as we live in our own micro climate- had deterred some of the early morning walkers but at 6:55 as the espresso coursed through my veins in a chemical kick start and a cafetiere brewed on the side we had visitors. It was a colleagues birthday and we had arranged with his walking partner to invite him in for a birthday boost. He later reported that the second half of the walk was completed in record time due mainly to the injection of rocket fuel.

Still there was work to be done and by 7:30 I was on my way to school as a bright dawn lit up the sky below the cloud base.

My tasks today Vietnamese Spring rolls and Chocolate Ice Cream. The day began badly. I started with the dipping sauce for the Spring Rolls. A volatile mix of Fish Sauce, Garlic, Chillis and sugar it was knocked up and tasted. If the Americans had my sauce instead of Napalm, today Big Macs would be the national dish of the noble People's Republic. Fortunately as history relates "the outcome of any war is determined by the will of the people not by one or two new fangled weapons" ( Chairman Mao). Then the sauce was knocked over!!

The similarity to Napalm was reinforced as it began to eat into the work surface at a rate of knots. Handiwork with a cloth restored the situation and the only loss was that of time and my dignity. The second time around the sauce behaved and the lid of the jar tightened properly ensuring that no further spillages would occur.

On then to the ice cream. This was a mousse based confection which involved heating water and sugar to the thread stage, adding it to egg yolks whipped light and fluffy, folding in melted chocolate, adding whipped cream and freezing. This worked well and we did not have to make the chocolate cups to put the ice cream in - just as well as I have done this every Friday for the last three weeks.

Back to the Spring rolls. A julienne of cucumber and carrot was piled on a bed of rice noodles and wrapped in a Vietnamese Spring Roll wrapper.

These are made from rice paper, dipped in water to make them pliable and partially transparent. The actual rolls are eaten cold or in this case raw. Once the roll had reached half way four prawns were carefully placed on top of the roll with a Coriander leaf in the middle and the roll then finished. Due to the transparency you can see the prawns and leaf through the roll and they are quite spectacular. They are also time consuming and finicky but well worth doing if only to wow your guests. With a cunning plating they were ready for tasting. Straight 6.

I have not bothered with the photos of chocolate because you have seen similar before.

At lunchtime it rained, falling on icy surfaces with predictable results. "The car park is very slippy" announced Darina, "It's Feckin' Lethal" commented a student who had just been there. Plans for an evening in Ballycotton were abandoned like the cars which failed to make it up the slight hill into the aforementioned village.

Demo saw the return of Rory in strangely humanitarian mood. He explained how the Lobsters would be gently placed into a pan and slowly heated until they went into a coma at 40degrees - whilst he could still put his hand into the water - and would "slip away at 50.

Whilst they slipped unaware into a new state he demonstrated some amazing cakes, scallops and Lamb Tagine - yes, the L word again. A very good recipe for Romanesco ( the green architectural Italian Cauliflower) and a less successful one - in my opinion for Chicory.

But Rory would not be the chef he is without a display of swordsmanship which would have made him a tricky opponent in a duel. O'Connell 9 Challengers 0. O'Connell through to Europe where he will face Alfonso Jaccarino..

The Lobster, now demonstrating its change of state by a change of colour from blacky-blue to deep red, was brought to the chopping board and deftly bisected.

What a great way to end the week with fresh Lobster in your tasting. Sadly we will not be cooking these on Monday, and even the Scallops that we will are currently stuck in West Cork by the weather. I just hope for a thaw before I cook John Dory for my exam on Wednesday.

Incidentally Rory has a great Blog on Blogspot http://roryoconnell.blogspot.com/ with some stunning recipes and great comment by the man himself.

Oh well, one week to go, this time next week the blog will be delayed as we have our end of course party!!!

Skating Away, on the thin ice of a new day

The big freeze continues, the other day I noticed, as we passed, that Swan Lake was frozen over and flocks of incoming avian visitors were performing unintended acrobatics on landing. Bit like us really. The anticipation and excitement of the Wine exam has passed. Now we face the practical on Wednesday and three written exams on Friday then as they say around here "Sin e"- that's it.

But there's still work to be done. Today was a bit curates egg - good in parts. Skate wing proved no issue whatever. The Filleting knife cut through the sandpaper skin without resistance and, covered in a court bouillon, the skate poached  happily.

With Skate you skin and fillet after cooking as it is easier, and so it was. The skin slid off and the fillets were removed with a Palette knife. A quick dressing of a Coriander Vinaigrette and it was a big 6 pointer in the tasting.

Mary Jo's Chocolates proved more of a challenge. I want to know who Mary Jo is so that I can punch her lights out. On paper not too hard. Make a ganache, chill it and cover in chocolate. So Chocolate melted in Cream and cooled, Grand Marnier added and chilled.

Next pipe the ganache into little dots on silicone paper and chill again. Meanwhile melt more Chocolate and add some cooking oil. Dip the chilled ganache in the Chocolate with the aid of two forks and leave set. Problem: the ganache was so light in texture that even the residual heat of the melted chocolate melted the surface area and meant that the covering slid off. When it did stick it used loads so there was a general shortage by halfway through and they were shedding chocolate faster than a mangy dog sheds hair. Melt more chocolate and re-dip. Not much improvement.

Finally I got sufficient to put up a tasting plate though the iced mint decoration looked better than the chocolate.

I was, however, told that they tasted nice. Meantime one of the colleagues in the kitchen joined Mary Jo on the hit list after her chocolates, perfect in every respect and decorated with piped white chocolate were displayed as the kind of result that it was possible to achieve.

Shortly before I went on a homicidal revenge mission I had to adopt best behaviour. Chef Factor (Irish TV series) were filming at Ballymaloe and had chosen our kitchen to do the background shots and fillers. From Rambo I turned to Peppa Pinc (Peppa Pig to non Welsh speakers) acting reasonably and exuding bonhomie and love for my fellow man. By the time that I went to lunch the red mist had raised a little and I postponed horrible and slow deaths for a while.

The Demo was entertaining and covered ice cream several ways, Pork En Croute, seventy things to do with Smoked Salmon and Spring Rolls. Tomorrow I shall be cooking Chocolate Ice Cream in Hand Made Chocolate Cups, and Vietnamese Spring Rolls. It will also be the last time that I cook on a Friday and will mark the end of the last full week of cooking.

I leave you with a few photos of the kind of food that I will try to recreate tomorrow.