Well, the past tee weeks have been busy busy busy, once again! And I have just recovered with a wonderfully fun filled weekend with my splendid strange family! :-)
Let's start with patisserie this time, just to mix things up a little.... So; my last entry I was about to make the Sabrina cake... Which is the cake with concentric circles of sponge and strawberry mousse, iced, pistatio nuts around the rim, and marzipan disk, coated with tempered chocolate and then decorated with a piped strawberry mouse on top, dividing the cake into eight portions and a even squiggly worm of chocolate piped on Top of the divisions, and Finished off with a strawberry!! Sounds crazy doesn't it... And that is why it is one of our exam pieces... And that is why I need to start practicing!!!! (aaaaaaaaa) yes, that was a scream, because i have 2 more cakes that have previously been described to practice too!! But actually... It's all good fun :-) and I love doing it!
The next cake we made was a 'marrons' which translated into english means chestnuts... So no prize in guessing what was in that one :-)! It was a chestnut mousse cake, with sweetens of almost stewed, succulently soft (yes, the nigella in me is coming out) chestnuts encased in the softness of the lightly delicately flavoured aerated mousse, held together by a spongy sponge and glazed with a shine of indulgent chocolate!! Hmm ok, enough of that....
Cake no 3 was a White chocolate mousse cake... Hmmmmm delic, the main aim of this practice was the art of tempering... Which I shall explain, as I'm not sure if I have done so in the past... So it is melting chocolate, then bringing it up to a temperature of 45, then stirring it until it is paste like and 27 degrees, then heating it up again to 31 degrees... All the time stirring... Now this might sound mad, but as with everything in life, there is a reason for this... And that reason is To get all the molecules of the chocolate into a straight line, so when the chocolate sets, it sets with a nice shine, and when you break it, it has a nice sharp crack, and it shouldnt melt on your fingertips... Unless you are in a 78degeee room and clasping it in your grubby paws so tightly that a mopane worm would squish!!
Right... Onto the savouries:
Fishy fish fish fish... Yes, that is what we have been cooking!!
We made a succulent seabass... A whole one, as in eyes and head and tail, (bones removed of course, I am not a murderer) stuffed with a lovely mix of ham and olives an capers and parsley and onions (no leeks... Although I thought it would be fun to chop some up anyway) tomatoes and mushrooms... And then baked in the oven! Was delicious actually!!
And we have made a bouillabaisse, with mussles and 5 types of fish, and langoustine, all flavoured with saffron and garlic and a yummy fishy stock!
And a sea food risotto... Yum! And then pike dumplings... Interesting texture, yes, you have to make a mousse out of the mousse ... Blend it, and pass it through a scieve, and add cream an butter and seasoning and a type of choux pastry... And then chill it, and then spoon it onto a quenelle, and poach it in fish stock, whilst you made a delicious crayfish sauce... Hmmm... Live little small and some even blue crayfish, stewed in stock and mirepoix and tomatoes and Herbs, then strained and reduced, with a little flambeing and wine thrown in there too...!!
Then away from the ocean and into the mountains, for a pork and veal mince parcel, wrapped in a cabbage leaf and encased in pork stomach (net vet, for those afrikaans speaking readers... Stellies people, think of skilpadjies.. It's almost like that, but Wrapped in cabbage too) and then braised in stock...
And now, I have caught you all up to speed!!
This week I will practice my exam dishes and report on those!! And later I will upload photos!!
Have a happy week xx
Let's start with patisserie this time, just to mix things up a little.... So; my last entry I was about to make the Sabrina cake... Which is the cake with concentric circles of sponge and strawberry mousse, iced, pistatio nuts around the rim, and marzipan disk, coated with tempered chocolate and then decorated with a piped strawberry mouse on top, dividing the cake into eight portions and a even squiggly worm of chocolate piped on Top of the divisions, and Finished off with a strawberry!! Sounds crazy doesn't it... And that is why it is one of our exam pieces... And that is why I need to start practicing!!!! (aaaaaaaaa) yes, that was a scream, because i have 2 more cakes that have previously been described to practice too!! But actually... It's all good fun :-) and I love doing it!
The next cake we made was a 'marrons' which translated into english means chestnuts... So no prize in guessing what was in that one :-)! It was a chestnut mousse cake, with sweetens of almost stewed, succulently soft (yes, the nigella in me is coming out) chestnuts encased in the softness of the lightly delicately flavoured aerated mousse, held together by a spongy sponge and glazed with a shine of indulgent chocolate!! Hmm ok, enough of that....
Cake no 3 was a White chocolate mousse cake... Hmmmmm delic, the main aim of this practice was the art of tempering... Which I shall explain, as I'm not sure if I have done so in the past... So it is melting chocolate, then bringing it up to a temperature of 45, then stirring it until it is paste like and 27 degrees, then heating it up again to 31 degrees... All the time stirring... Now this might sound mad, but as with everything in life, there is a reason for this... And that reason is To get all the molecules of the chocolate into a straight line, so when the chocolate sets, it sets with a nice shine, and when you break it, it has a nice sharp crack, and it shouldnt melt on your fingertips... Unless you are in a 78degeee room and clasping it in your grubby paws so tightly that a mopane worm would squish!!
Right... Onto the savouries:
Fishy fish fish fish... Yes, that is what we have been cooking!!
We made a succulent seabass... A whole one, as in eyes and head and tail, (bones removed of course, I am not a murderer) stuffed with a lovely mix of ham and olives an capers and parsley and onions (no leeks... Although I thought it would be fun to chop some up anyway) tomatoes and mushrooms... And then baked in the oven! Was delicious actually!!
And we have made a bouillabaisse, with mussles and 5 types of fish, and langoustine, all flavoured with saffron and garlic and a yummy fishy stock!
And a sea food risotto... Yum! And then pike dumplings... Interesting texture, yes, you have to make a mousse out of the mousse ... Blend it, and pass it through a scieve, and add cream an butter and seasoning and a type of choux pastry... And then chill it, and then spoon it onto a quenelle, and poach it in fish stock, whilst you made a delicious crayfish sauce... Hmmm... Live little small and some even blue crayfish, stewed in stock and mirepoix and tomatoes and Herbs, then strained and reduced, with a little flambeing and wine thrown in there too...!!
Then away from the ocean and into the mountains, for a pork and veal mince parcel, wrapped in a cabbage leaf and encased in pork stomach (net vet, for those afrikaans speaking readers... Stellies people, think of skilpadjies.. It's almost like that, but Wrapped in cabbage too) and then braised in stock...
And now, I have caught you all up to speed!!
This week I will practice my exam dishes and report on those!! And later I will upload photos!!
Have a happy week xx
Sabrina
rabbit stew.... forgot to mention this one
bouillabaisse
sea bass... stuffed
sea food risotto
white chocolate mousse cake
how cool are these... amber raspberries
forgot to mention this too.... roast stiffed chicken thight with mushrooms
BLUE crayfish
pike dumplings with crayfish sauce
stuffed cabbage, before and after cooking!!
my aunts beautiful sweet peas!!!!
xx
2 comments:
All sounds so delicious!! Not sure about the sea bass tho, those eyes, brrrrr makes you shiver!!!
Mum x
Ems, your pics are gorgeous! That cabbage looks incred! Hope it tasted as good as it looks! x
www.boscy.blogspot.com
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