Tick-tock, tick-tock. So apparently it is the end of week 9. Already! Time seems to take on an unusual speed in the Ballymaloe bubble. The days feel so full and detailed and yet like all good things, when the end is in site time also feels like it speeds up the closer we get to week 12.
This week was action packed! After wine Wednesday and Roadtrip Thursday we only had 3 days in the kitchen, so on Friday I was determined to make the most of it. Up early, I was into the kitchen at 7am to put my sourdough into the oven. Where I also snapped this amazing view out the window. I honestly could not feel more grateful when I get to experience moments like this.
Also on my order of work today was white yeast bread which I turned into a plaited loaf and buns, a roasted vegetable curry, a pearl barley and pomegranate salad and a chocolate and hazelnut tart.
All of it, the amazingly spiced curry, the sweet, buttery and chocolatey tart, the salad… was totally delicious. Can I do this every Friday?!
This weekend I headed off to Kinsale with a few fellow Mrs Walsh’s; Kate, Tess and Chuck. We left on Saturday morning and pottered around Cork, then had a beautiful drive in the afternoon sunshine to Kinsale – the foodie capital of Ireland!
So wonderful. We really had a great time. We won’t forget Kinsale and nor I dare say will it forget us. We walked, we ate, we drank, we nightclubbed. What goes on tour stays on tour etc, but needless to say I don’t think any of us were expecting to stay up to 4am! But a total highlight. Especially our Saturday night dinner at the Black Pig. It was seriously good. A perfect example of a menu, an ambiance, food, wine and service all done so well. Experience design at its best.
So, a wrap up of the week in digits.
3 course menus planned – 0
Potential dishes for 3 course meal – 10000
Days until final menu must be submitted – 3
Tastings of dishes / wines / beer – with roadtrips x 2 and canape demonstration I’d say this week must be an all time record. So I’ll go with 200 (conservatively)
Days until wine exam – 9 (Eeek. But it’s ok. I have bought a book called the 24 hour wine expert. Recommended by Colm. Is this a false sense of security?!)
Recipes demonstrated for pickled ox tongue – 1
Tastings of ox tongue – 1 (surprisingly good. I’d take tongue over liver any day of the week)
Different kinds of rice used to make risotto – 3 aborio, carnoli, violini narno (Italians favourite apparently)
Types of risotto made and eaten – 4 (the carrot risotto was a pleasantly surprising find!)
Ingredients in the Thai Green Curry paste – 27
Recommended number of canapes per head – 6 to 10 depending on the type of cocktail party
Main types of Sherry – 3 (The dry ones like Fino and Manazilla, the medium ones like Oloroso and Amontilado and the sweet ones, like Pedro Ximinez)
% of residual sugar in Pedro Ximinez (the sweetest sherry) – 400% (COmpare this to dry white wine which has 5-6% or Coca-cola which has 109%. Yep, it’s pretty sweet)
Sourdough loaves made – 1
Sourdough loaves of mine currently being consumed on the Isle of Man – 1 (I donated it to a housemate who was going home… we’re reaching maximum bread capacity in the cottage at the moment and I didn’t want it to go to waste!)
Visits to the local pub – 1 (Tuesday night at the goalpost)
Shots of tequila at the nightclub in Kinsale – hard to say. > 2 but < 5 (hope I’ve got my symbols the right way around)
Til week 10 everyone!
x
the sweet salt 