Cooking fail

[karohemd]

Well, not quite but it wasn't up to my usual standards, just a sign that I'm not quite on form. The red wine reduction reduced down to nothing twice because I didn't pay attention turn it off in time. It was still tasty but looked a bit rubbish.
After slicing the first breast and realising it was just a little too much done, I should have sliced the othe, thicker breast (which turned out to be on the spot) for photo.
The celeriac puree was a little too celeriacy for my taste (I have no idea how the chef at Alimentum managed not to make the soup I had last time have that strong taste). I seasoned it quite heavily with hot pimenton (hence the colour), salt and pepper but it was still a bit strong for me and therefore overpowering the duck. The dressing for the young leaf (spinach, watercress, rocket) salad was good, though. That tesco finest Balsamico and that Greek EVOO are gorgeous.
Here's a photo regardless:

Comments

[uberredfraggle.livejournal.com]

I hope we get on when we meet so I can convince you to cook for me one day. :)

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Heh. I love cooking for others and hate the fact that I don't have the space for entertaining people. I'd have dinner parties all the time. ;o)

[uberredfraggle.livejournal.com]

Yeah I had to really put my foot down with my mum to let me cook for the family on friday as my brother and his fiancee are coming over. My love of cooking is growing.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

I have no idea how the chef at Alimentum not to make the soup I had last time have that strong taste

The trick with celeriac (and please excuse me if this is something you knew and were already doing) is to chop in into small (1-2cm) cubes and then immerse it in boiling water for five minutes. Note: this is not the same as immersing it in cold water which you then boil. Also, be sure to drain the water away fully. If your recipe calls for water, do not use this water.

What I don't know is whether it's OK to cook the celeriac in the same water if you were going to cook it by boiling anyway (I generally roast the stuff). I would guess it's probably fine.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Ah, I need to try that next time. Thanks!
Will have to tell my mum as well. :o)

[mr-malk.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I've made celeriac soup a few times, and in that recipe, I slice it into approx 1-2cm squares (maybe 3-4mm thick), and then sweat it for 10-15 mins with oil and/or butter and onion. No draining off has ever been required, I suspect that some sweetening through caramelisation occurs. Whether the presence of the onion is necessary for the removal of bitterness I don't know, but this has always worked for me.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

I must experiment with that! One possibility is that it works like curries and a bit of sweetness turns a bitter flavour into something a lot more pleasant. (I'm not an expert cook incidentally, just a playful one.)

Bitterness can be weird sometimes. For example, I once decided to make radish sauce. I chucked a load of radishes into a blender and added a bit of cream, planning to taste it and then gradually season it towards the sort of thing I had in mind. As it turned out the stuff was absolutely revolting for being too bitter - completely unrescuable - and had to be binned. And yet the actual radishes were nice. I was somewhat puzzled, but not inclined to repeat the experiment!

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

The bitterness/sharpness of the radishes might be in the skin and when you blend it it's distributed evenly throughout. The blending might also increase the intensity of the taste (like when you rub herbs between your fingers).

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

like when you rub herbs between your fingers

Oh, hadn't thought of that. Sounds quite plausible.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

I have to say I don't use celeriac often but I had one in my vegbox recently so wanted to use it. I never liked it much because of the strong taste (my mum always cooked some for the carp poaching liquid for Christmas and then made a salad out of it) so I've always assumed that strong taste was normal. When I had that fantastic soup at Alimentum, it was completely different and didn't have that aftertaste at all.

When I have some next time, I'll try your approach but I'm always limited by the number of cooking surfaces (2).

[mr-malk.livejournal.com]

The recipe I used was from the Good Housekeeping book (I can transcribe it for you if you wish). I was astonished at how nice it was, because celery-ish tastes and me are not usually on speaking terms!

[mr-malk.livejournal.com]

I know you have previously expressed the dream/ambition (which you then always immediately decry as unrealistic) to have your own restaurant/gastro-pub, and you usually go on to say how you couldn't have done such-and-such a challenge that they had on [Masterchef] the previous night, but I have to say, you come across in both words and pictures as pretty good to me.

Out of interest, what is the most people you have catered for at a sitting?

I must admit, I find your self-deprecation curious. You see I like cooking myself, although I don't think I am as good at it/knowledgable about it as you seem to be, but, I think that if I had the urge to do so, I could run a professional kitchen. This may be delusion on my part, and I would certainly have to learn things that I don't know now in order to do so, but nothing on any Foodie programme I have ever seen has convinced me that it is an impossible dream, as long as you have the basic knowledge and ability, can work under pressure, are aware how much hard work you will need to put in, and don't get over-ambitious (either in terms of pushing your menu beyond your customers' tastes/wallets/requirements, or your own ability to prepare and serve them well and in a timely manner). Oh and pedantry. I always felt that a tendency towards the pedantic was an asset in cooking.

The fact is, I am never likely to find out; I don't have a particular desire to earn a living that way, and I'm not prepared to put the work in that I know would be required, although I reckon I could score highly in the other areas I mentioned.

So what do you think? If it's a dream of yours, why do you think it's an impossible one?

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Out of interest, what is the most people you have catered for at a sitting?
A four-course banquet for 55 people at a LARP event. I had two helpers, though.

If I cook something I know I can do perfectly and it doesn't come out right, I just get a bit miffed, that's all.

It's a dream because I love cooking for others but I know I wouldn't be able to cope with the stress of a professional kitchen and if I had to do it every day, I might run out of ideas/creativity very quickly, not to mention energy. Pretty much the same reason I wouldn't want to be a professional photographer.