The Kitchen works on
9/21/2014 10:21:00 pmHow to knead dough when you don't have a kitchenaid? Why, use a food processor of course! Thanks BB from work for the tip! Would never have thought of that on my own!
Making the Momofuku pork buns for the first time. They are a LOT of work. Knead. Rest. Punch down. Cut. Roll. Rest. Shape. Roll. Rest. Steam. Repeat. I can safely say that I am not exaggerating when I say that it takes a good half day. But they turned out very very good. So pleased. And made enough for practice and to serve on the day (they can be frozen for up to 2 months!). And yes, they are supposed to be slightly yellow in colour. This is because of the yeast that you buy...
Nob was also playing around with fried pork skin... looks amazing. But so much work. Going to be a very good starter / welcome plate (you know, like those peanuts that chinese restaurants put on your table).
Main is confit chicken, 65 degree poached egg and pickled cucumbers. This was a team effort and plate up. But we need to work out to how to 12 plates efficiently. Haven't quite worked that out yet and still running into each other in the kitchen.
And dessert! Will have more elements. Black sesame cheesecake, red bean something, green tea macaron and green tea ice cream... all me!! ;)
Anyways, we're working on names for our dishes and think we're going with the 4 seasons. Winter Garden was the only one I could remember! And ha ha ha, the best dish name, "Snap, crackle, pork" was actually something my sister came up with... oh wells, we're using it anyway!
The guys had to leave right on 5 but that was 5 full on hours of a pretty good practice run. And Mac (their frenchie) came over to play to Max and Nessie. The boys actually got into a couple of fights and had to have time outs (not kidding). But they were so exhausted by the end it was so endearing. Good sleeps for both boys (same age, same weight, very different in size!) tonight. Poor Nessie didn't know what to do so she kept to herself!
Then I had a little break to clean up and along came Justin & Carmen for Sunday Baking Class #2. Tonights's dish for her baking competition tomorrow (we're trying to steamroll and take home first place in every comp, we are 1 up so far!): Pear & Fragipane Tart.
Main ingredient? Butter...
Was easy enough albeit a little time consuming. Mmm... shortcrust pastry was flaky. And Tart was a beautiful golden colour. I think she'll do really well.
Needless to say, I am utterly bummed. Been standing on my feet since 9 this morning and I've just come to realise (perhaps moreso now that quarter-end is FAST approaching) that I don't really have much time between now and rusty chef and high tea. Certainly not quite enough for me to want to do what I want to do to ensure everything runs smoothly for those events. Will need to draw up a plan. Perhaps revise menus. Enlist some help.
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