Week 11: Soggy bottoms prove an impediment

This week crosses more boundaries than Shane Warne with a cell phone. We travel from Cornwall to Istanbul, from Lorraine to Tokyo by way of Naples with a short stop in the Mediterranean. Would that it were actual,  rather than simply in the steamy kitchens of Weltec!

Our culinary adventures this week are in grilling and baking - Cornish Pasties, Quiche Lorraine, Teriyaki Grilled Chicken, Char-grilled Vegetables, Grilled Lamb Kebabs, Cauliflower au Gratin  - I wouldn't immediately put that in a list of grilled food but of course gratin fits that category - and so on. The hunter gatherer is home from the wild west, and after eating mountains of hamburgers, steaks and fries for the past month he enjoys the more international cuisine that comes his way this week.

So, in regards to the pastry - Excellent Cornish Pastie if I do say so myself. However, having taken immense pains to blind bake my quiche pastry so it is dry and crisp before adding the filling, I am reduced to sobs as the filling overflows just a tad during cooking: this means the base is not as crisp as it should be. To a person, everyone else in the class under cooks their crusts and so there are no Distinctions in assessment this week. Boo hoo all round.

For those unfamiliar with the term, blind baking does not mean we wear blindfolds in the kitchen - that would be foolish and dangerous. It means pre-baking the pastry shell prior to cooking it with its filling. To do this, first roll out the pastry and place it in the pie dish. Prick the bottom with a fork (this is known as docking and prevents an uneven rise) then put some baking paper in the raw pastry shell and fill with dried beans or rice. This keeps the bottom from puffing up and the sides from falling in. You can get special ceramic baking beads but that is an unnecessary extravagance when you can use ordinary old rice or beans and re-use them whenever you make a pastry case. In an ideal world blind baking it means no soggy bottom pastry baked goods. I exhort you to check out your local cafes and sneak a peek at their pastry - I have to say I see a lot of not quite cooked pastry bottoms around town.

We make an excellent pizza. As I generally use the bread machine and dried yeast to make my pizza dough, making it by hand and using fresh yeast is a new experience. The dough does feel springier. The pizza base is really good and I manage to roll it thinly. To cook them we use those pizza dishes with holes in the bottom and it makes for a crisp crust. It re-heats well and I share it with the financial controller for lunch the next day.

Next week - or actually this week and I finish writing this blog on Tuesday morning! Sorry for the delay for those of you frantically searching your in-box for the email feed. I was away at the vet's 50th for the weekend and didn't get a chance to blog - yes, I know it should be my priority in life but sometimes life gets in the way of priorities.

This week then, we are immersing ourselves in frying - yes, shallow and deep fat frying, so stand by for tips on the perfect fish and chips!

Week 10: What happens to the food?

This week we study Nutrition. You know, vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, carbs etc. Two four hour blocks that could readily have been compressed into a self-paced learning module on line, but there you go. Not much to report this week. 

Something I find out about, and that you may be interested in, is the "other" pyramid. We all know the food pyramid but did you know there is a liquid pyramid. Consumer has it on their site http://www.consumer.org.nz/reports/liquid-pyramid/the-pyramid and it is quite interesting to review in light of your average daily intake of beverages against the recommendations.

Some readers of this blog (yes, you are not a lone soul in the wilderness) ask what happens to the food we cook each day. If you'd seen me lately you'd know I eat a good bit of it. Generally, unless it is something like braised celery which goes straight in the bin, we all take our food home. If we have been cooking in pairs this sometimes involves trade-offs and negotiation but usually ends without the need for knives to be drawn in anger.

In my case I take the product of my days home to the hunter gatherer - this doesn't always work as we are in different places while I am at school - or share it with friends. For example, in recent weeks the civil servant and the mammographer have helped consume the braised topside (week 9) and the roast chicken (week 6); the consultant and the lady in waiting enjoyed the chicken fricasée (also week 6); the office administrator and the travel agent consumed the vanilla steam puddings (week 4). So far no-one has complained, but then they may just all be terribly polite! Don't hesitate to express your interest in being the recipient of upcoming delicacies! If timing and location work out, I'm happy to share.

Coming up - baking, where my pastry skills will developed (as one who generally relies on ready-rolled product I am keen to learn the tricks) and grilling.