CIPD Awards

I was in Manchester last night at the CIPD People Management Awards 2009.This was my first awards do and part of the night included a meal. The menu was:

Roast butternut soup with curry crème fraîche
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Chicken Ballontine (sic) with spinach mousseline, chantenay carrots and fondant potato with a pea velouté
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Raspberry and Belgian white chocolate cheesecake with a raspberry sorbet

On the face of it, it sounds pretty good. Let me give you a tour of the meal:

Roast butternut soup with curry crème fraîche

I'm not sure that the orangeness was due to butternut squash, I guess it must have been, but it sure didn't taste of butternut squash. It was a very thick pureé with almost no flavour. Seasoning anyone?

Chicken Ballontine (sic) with spinach mousseline, chantenay carrots and fondant potato with a pea velouté

So, a dry tasteless chicken filled with a green tasteless mush, accompanied by a soft but flavourless potato and a green flavourless sauce. The carrots were good though. I'm sure a dash of seasoning would have helped.

Raspberry and Belgian white chocolate cheesecake with a raspberry sorbet

The pudding is always a delightful way to end a meal, except in this case. A white chocolate cheesecake that didn't really taste of white chocolate, just sweet cheese. The biscuit base was far from crunchy. Perhaps I am being a little harsh it was definitely better than either of the preceding courses.

Seriously though, kumquat? Does any one ever actually eat these ridiculous fruits or are the UK's entire supply reserved for decorating desserts at mass catering events?

So, it would seem that the key to catering on a large scale is to go bland. Or maybe salt and pepper just haven't reached Manchester yet...

P.S. That's a joke!

ICCHFC - Week 14

Hannah was back to close round 2 and gave us a children's theme:

• Lemon squares
• Patty cake cones
• Party cakes
  

Lemon squares won the day reasonably convincingly. I was dying to try the cake cones but the democratic process had to be followed. Perhaps I'll make some and take them in.

Anyway, the lemon squares were good. Very tall and the sponge had a good texture. I was surprised at how well the dolly mixtures worked. There were enough for two each as Hannah had baked the two layers separately (my preferred option) rather than trying to split one. Yet again Hannah, despite her protestations, pulls another gem out of the bag!

NOTE: Jo was on hand modelling duties as John was in a meeting. Who timetables a meeting when there's cake to be had?

MasterChef LIVE!

Last Saturday I took the 'rents to MasterChef LIVE at London's Olympia.

First stop was an interview with Steve Groves, the sous-chef from Launceston Place, who was recently crowned this year's MasterChef: The Professionals champion.

Dad asked him if he had any tips for the Invention Test. Steve suggested making something tasty, remember to season and remember to taste, taste and taste again.

We then did a tour of the gallery. Amongst the numerous cheese, sausage, chilli sauce and oil vendors I did find some real gems:

• Yum Yum Tree Fudge - unbelievably smooth fudge in a vast array of flavours. We bought 6 packets.
• Kitchen Queen - Queen Hannah gives bespoke cooking lessons and is an inspiration to me.
• The Ham and Cheese Co - I bought a hunk of absolutely AMAZING organic Parmigiano Reggiano
• I also joined Slow Food UK the UK arm of the international campaign for good, clean and fair food. I'm looking forward to getting involved with some of the charity projects.
• Unfortunately I missed out on osso bucco from The Real Veal Company: they'd sold out after less than two hours!
  

Having "done" the gallery there was just enough time to watch the Invention Test. This proved to be a daft idea as I started to get nervous, nearly an hour before I was due to report for my Test. It seemed very professional. I was staggered at the 5 deep crowd. Anyway, at least I knew I wouldn't be having pork to cook!

I'm not really sure what we did before me and my Dad reported for our Invention Test. I think there was a fair amount of wandering but I was concentrating on diverting myself from thinking about the task ahead to pay much attention.

3:15pm came round far too quickly. Dan and I reported to the Invention Test stage and were shown back stage. We donned our MasterChef aprons and waited while everyone else arrived. A hen party soon arrived en masse and provided a welcome distraction. Surely they'd be the focus of much on stage fun, wouldn't they? They were each wearing a customised apron with a picture of the hen, but they were forced to remove them. We were expecting 30 people to be taking part but there were only about 25 in the end.

About five minutes before the start we made our way onto the stage to choose a work station and get a sneaky peek at our ingredients:

• Salmon
• Raspberries
• Paneer
• Fennel
  
• Spinach
• Watercress
• Chives
• Crème fraîche
• plus loads of "store cupboard" items like a potato, lemon, flour, sugar, pasta, salt, a few spices etc.
  

Now before reading any further, what would you have cooked?

We were ushered off backstage again and the tension really began to ramp up. I spent the next few minutes trying to control my nerves and work out what to cook. I presume with the paneer and spinach they were trying to tempt us down an Indian route. However, I was not drawn. The most obvious choice for me was to do the salmon with some kind of watercress/spinach side.

Before I knew it we were back on stage and the next 1800 seconds went in a flash:

• I tasted the paneer and rejected it immediately as tasteless rubber that I didn't have time to experiment with
• I was surprised by the blunt knives
• I could get used to having a sous-chef to fetch things!
  
• I didn't notice my Dad having long conversations with Andi Peters or Greg!
• Andi came by me and apologised for not talking to me. I didn't mind too much but got him to promise an autograph for my sister.

Although the time went in a flash, I did feel in control of my domain. The worst thing was not knowing where to find things. This is what I managed to produce:

Pan fried salmon (Greg appreciated the crispiness of my skin) with a chilli coating. I served it on crushed potato that was made with crème fraîche and watercress. As a side I did wilted spinach with shallots and crème fraîche. As I was putting the chives on as a garnish right at the end, one of the roving cameras cam e and took a close up of my plate. It took me an eternity to cross the chives my hands were shaking so much!

Our mentors were Mat Follas and Steven Wallis the 2009 and 2007 MasterChef champions respectively. They were wandering around the stations before whittling us down to three top contenders who would be judged by Greg and John. Unfortunately I didn't make the last three even though I though I'd made a handsome plate of food (two of the final three were very similar to my dish).

Steven was kind enough to speak to me afterwards and apologise for not really having a chance to have a look at what I'd done. I think he was reasonably impressed and gave me the impression that I'd only just lost out. My sous-chef seemed quite surprised when he tasted the spinach and remarked "that's pretty tasty".

Once Greg and John had come out and done their usual shtick we were free to leave. Surprisingly no-one seemed to be eating their food. I took mine back stage and chowed down. Everyone seemed quite miffed that they hadn't had the same idea. And even if I do say so myself, it was a very tasty lunch!

I got Andi's autograph (I must say he really seemed incredibly nice) and photo with Stephen (will post it once I get the pictures from Mama). Stephen seemed very positive and encouraged me to "keep cooking".

After that we went for lunch in the Restaurant Experience. Ma and Pa had Lobster soup with brandy and saffron cream from Launceston Place. Somehow they got Steve Groves's autograph. I'm beginning to worry that Mother is stalking the poor chap!

I had a wonderfully bitter soft chocolate cake from Theo Randall's at The Intercontinental which marked the end of a terrific day.

All in all, I had a great day at MasterChef Live. I'd happily do the Invention Test again. I've got a host of info to follow up and a whole heap of desire to dive even deeper into London's foodie scene. And I met Andi Peters!

Matthew Walker Christmas Pudding Challenge

Yesterday I had the final tasting session for my entry to the Matthew Walker pudding challenge. We managed to munch our way through almost 600g of Christmas pudding. Let me set the scene:

Matthew Walker is the World’s Oldest Christmas Pudding Maker, creating puddings in the heart of Derbyshire since 1899.

Matthew Walker ‘The Pudding’ - made to "Recipe 13, "The Perfect Christmas Pudding Recipe" - contains the 13 core ingredients that were used to represent Jesus and his 12 Apostles. They are: sultanas, raisins, demerara sugar, currants, glacé cherries, Thornbridge stout, breadcrumbs, sherry, vegetable suet, almonds, orange and lemon peel, cognac and mixed spice).

The Pudding Challenge
To spice up Christmas, Matthew Walker set a challenge to use ‘The Pudding’ and create some cracking alternative Christmas fare to get the taste buds tingling! The blogger who conjures up the most creative cuisine wins a top of the range camera along with a one-to-one session with a respected home economist, to help make those foodie photos really stand out.

My Entry
My first idea was to try and conjure up a three course meal using The Pudding in each of the courses. However, I couldn't come up with a suitable starter, but have managed a canapé, two mains and six puddings. In each of the recipes I was trying to accentuate a flavour from The Pudding and also combine different textures and flavours. My recipes are:

Pudding nibbles
Small skewers with cubes of Lancashire cheese, caramelised cubes of "The Pudding" and cubes of apple (doused in lemon juice to keep the colour)

Ballotine of duck leg stuffed with The Pudding
The duck leg was boned and stuffed with a mixture of "The Pudding" and sausage meat, then roasted. The duck was served on celeriac mash accompanied by brussel sprouts with bacon and chestnuts. Some of the remaining stuffing was roasted and served separately.
Pork sausages stuffed with The Pudding
The sausage was split down the middle and a layer of The Pudding and Lancashire inserted. The sausage was wrapped in Parma ham and then roasted. It was served with celeriac mash and Brussel sprouts (as above).

Christmas Pudding Charlotte
This is a take on a classic English charlotte. A small Matthew Walker pudding was hollowed out and filled with a mixture of raisins and apple pureé. The pudding was served with a quenelle of brandy butter, cubes of caramelised pudding and caramel sauce and cream.

Baked "The Pudding" Alaska
A disc of The Pudding was topped with vanilla ice-cream (rum and raisin would work well also) and a spoonful of apple pureé. The whole lot was covered in meringue and baked. The hot Alaska was served with caramel sauce.

Queen of "The Pudding"
A take on the classic English queen of puddings. Crumbs of The Pudding were mixed with a fresh custard and baked until set. Orange marmalade was then layered on and the whole lot covered in meringue and baked until the meringue was cooked.

Panattone and "The Pudding" custard bake
This is a take on bread and butter pudding using panettone and The Pudding. Slices of The Pudding were caramelised and layered in a dish with slices of panettone. A cognac sabayon was then spooned over the slices. A liberal dusting of icing sugar was added before the whole dish was caramelised using a blowtorch

"The Pudding" parcels
A mix of The Pudding, Lancashire cheese and apple was used to fill filo "money bags" and served with a caramel sauce.

"The Pudding" Mess
This is a take on Eton mess using caramelised cubes of The Pudding, cream and berries.

After a couple of attempts at this I have decided my preferred layers are:

Chocolate shavings
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Cream and mascapone laced with sherry
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Caramelised cubes of The Pudding
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Cream and mascapone laced with sherry
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Winter berries
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Cream and mascapone laced with sherry
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Crumbs of The Pudding soaked in cognac

However, I couldn't try this out as I'd run out of pudding by this point!

Post news

I realise it's been a bit quiet of late but there has been lots going on and there are a few irons in the fire:

• The AA Home Cooking Competition cook-off has happened. Unfortuntely I didn't make it into the last eight but a few of the members of the UKFBA were in the cook-off so I'm dieing to know how they did.
• Yesterday I had my tasting day for the Matthew Walker Christmas Pudding competition - 2 mains and 6 puddings. Need to post about that before Friday.
• I did the Invention Test at MasterChef LIVE on Saturday which was a mixed bag...
• On a similar note. I might be hosting a Ready, Steady, Cook night soon. Three of my chums form the office are each going to chip in £5 for ingredients at lunchtime. Then it'll be back to mine to feed them...(Interesting how the MasterChef Invention test and RSC are basically the same thing....)
• Me and a chum had another crack at the Krispy Kreme challenge. I'm working on my first video post, which is taking a tad longer than I had anticipated.

Boy's Buzz! night

Had some of the boys round from work last night for a catch up over a few beers and Buzz! Naturally I laid on some snackage:

• Mini toad-in-the-holes with red onion marmalade
• Parma ham and mascapone pizza
• Chilli and garlic bread
• Sweet potato wedges
• Qesadillas - garlic mushroom, red onion, pepper and paprika

Amazingly these were all hoovered up leaving the (pre-prepared) chips and dips left-over. I reckon that makes it me 1 - snack makers 0!

The recipes:

Mini toad-in-the-holes with red onion marmalade

In each of the mini Yorkshire puddings I put a teaspoon of my red onion marmalade then topped each off with half an apple and pork sausage. Allow to cool slightly before serving as the sugar in the marmalade is far too hot to eat straight from the oven.

Parma ham and mascapone pizza
I came up with this recipe after tasting this pizza on a trip to Italy. The combination of sweet mascapone and salty, savoury ham works fantastically.

Ingredients:
Pizza base (taken from The Big Book of Bread by Anne Sheasby):
225g strong white flour
1/2tsp salt
1tsp dried yeast
2tbsp olive oil
Warm water
Topping:
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 onion, chopped finely
1 clove of garlic, crushed to a paste
Parma ham (I use 1 whole packet per pizza)
1/2 tub of mascapone
Olive oil

Method:
1. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl then stir in the yeast
2. Make a well in the centre and add the oil. then add sufficient water to make soft dough.
NOTE: If the dough is too dry add more liquid, if the dough become too wet add more flour
3. Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth. Shape in to a round then put into an oiled bowl and leave to prove, until doubled in size, in a warm location
4. Make the sauce. Gently fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic.
5. Add the tomatoes and reduce gently until the sauce is very thick (reduced by about 3/4). Season at the end.
NOTE: The sauce can be blitzed in a food processor if you want a really smooth sauce.
6. Knock back the dough on a floured surface. Then roll out to about 12" diameter and transfer to a baking sheet.
7. Spread the sauce over the base.
8. Arrange teaspoonfuls of the cheese over the base. Then arrange the ham.
9. Bake at 220°C for 20-25 minutes, or until the base is cooked.

Chilli and garlic bread
To make this I used one of the "bake at home" loaves. Once the bread was cooked I sliced it almost through and slathered each section with a mixture of butter, garlic, chilli flakes and dried parsley. Wrap the loaf in foil and re-heat in the oven.

Sweet potato wedges
Par boil chunky slices of sweet potato for about 3 minutes. Place in a baking tray (skin side down) and drizzle with olive oil and season. Bake at 200°C for about 30 minutes. Shake the pan occasionally to stop them sticking.

Qesadillas - garlic mushroom, red onion, pepper and paprika
To make these I use shop-bought tortillas. Prepare the filling first; typically I fry off the filling (in this case vegetables). Then in a dry frying pan place a tortilla, cover with the filling, add a (generous) layer of grated cheese. Top with another tortilla. Fry until the tortillas are crispy and the cheese melted (about2/3 minutes per side)

ICCHFC - Week 13

Marianne come up trumps with walnut brownies for week 13, after another decision using the Die of Destiny. The ties was three votes each for the brownies and chocolate courgette cake.

They were amazingly rich: a dense chocolate cake and a thick layer of decadent smooth icing. It went wonderfully well with a cup of coffee which helped to cut through the sweetness. I'm still to be convinced about the presence of nuts in brownies though.

NB This is the first joint hand modelling picture: digit by John (as usual) but Jo's got in on the act providing a supporting hand and displaying a delicate wrist.

Marianne's chocolate and walnut brownies - recipe to come