A brief post today as we've been celebrating tonight(a personal matter within the team that involves a new birth so beers all round....hic).
Happily all went fairly well today and the dishes all seem to go together quite well...I think that the second course is sorted......although that's not to say there isn't work to do on all the recipes yet....let's hope that tomorrow goes as well.
2 comments:
Coleys turned out to be surprisingly tasty. I think that, because of the texture, I'd been expecting something weird but it was very nice.
Overcooked my Chawettys a little; filling had dried out a bit, but taste was good (I do like fruit with meat). Did it with pork, by the way. Mike reckons it would be even nicer with veal.
I'll let you know what it's like cold (tomorrow's lunch!)
Hope today went well. Looking forward to your posts.
Helen
HELEN posted this comment as well(but I had to moderate it I'm afraid mwahh ha ha the power):
I know we always enjoy our visits to HCP when you guys are in the kitchens, and yesterday was no exception. It was extremely interesting, not just from the visitors’ point of view, but also from yours.
You were on a completely different tack because of the forthcoming Charity Dinner, which you’d talked about in a previous blog.
We watched Robin cut the beef into very even cubes – for two different batches of Beef Y-stwyd. One pile a little under 1 inch and the other approx ½ inch. He then minced more beef very finely, to add texture to the gravy. The larger offcuts went straight in so as to add flavour to the gravy. Prior to cooking, you were then (heaven forbid, a set of scales in the Tudor Kitchens!) weighing quantities of chunks to come up with the appropriate portion size. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the end result, as the Palace closed before Beef Y-Stwyd was fully cooked. I know you’ll let us know the outcome.
Buttyrd Worts were done differently only as far as finely shredding the Savoy cabbage versus the normal very large chunks that are usually cooked. Again, this is so it can easily be served individually in ramekins. Was there a danger of it going to a mush, so did it need less cooking?
The roast beef was stupendous! After removal from the spit and resting a while, Robin carved some very even, thin slices. These were weighed to determine a possible portion size, then cut into smaller pieces, a quantity of which were again weighed to determine a (very generous) portion size. It seems there are likely to be three roasts at the dinner. Yummy!
The production of the Chawettys were a delight to watch. From Jorge painstainkingly mincing (remember folks, by hand with just a knife) the veal, then the dates and Roysonsys of Coraunce (currants to you and me), to Robin shaping pastry over the end of a rolling pin to produce an individual sized cofyn (pastry case). Dates, currants, egg yolk and numerous spices were mixed in with the veal and then some of the mix was put into the unbaked cofyn, topped with a lid and baked. They actually did three different versions – veal with minced dates, currants, egg yolk, spices, another veal with chopped dates, minced currants, egg yolk, spices and the third, veal, minced dates, currants, spices, but with a whole egg yolk in the middle of a portion of the veal (with everything else minced). They looked wonderful when they returned from the oven, but, alas, they weren’t cut before we left so we didn’t get to see the fruits of their labours.
I’m not sure how to describe Coleys – other than maybe a granular chicken soup. Marc H boiled chicken, then pounded in a morter with a little stock, and bread, adding sufficient stock to make it fairly slack. Ginger, sugar and salt were added and the mix put into a pan to reheat (without boiling). Didn’t get to see this dished out into a portion size.
I’m having a go at Chawettys today (have minced my Old Spot in the food processor – oh the wonders of being in a modern kitchen) and am also going to try Coleys, which I shall be interested to taste. Just ginger, sugar and salt. Uhm. Not sure about it, but what the heck.
It was nice to see Ross back after such a long absence.
We’ll miss the next round of the trials, but will see you right after Christmas.
As always, thank you to everyone for all their hard work. We just love it.
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