Posts
It is the eve of my diploma lunch. An impressive line-up of family members are coming up from all parts of England for the event. Kick off is at 1300. Like they alway say before a big match, I'll be fine once the whistle goes. I've made extensive (some would say anal) preparations), and have the two best helpers I could possibly have got hold of in James and Hunter (Graham), who I know will do me proud.
Yesterday I went into school and prepared the duck for the main course. It took me 2 hours! One of the elements we have to demonstrate as part of the lunch is butchery skills, so I bought in 6 ducks, and because my recipe calls for marinating the legs overnight, I was allowed to fillet and section the ducks in advance. I had a sneaking suspicion it would take me some time to do this, so finding a recipe that required marinating aforehand was not as daft as it sounds.
Lizzie came in on Saturday morning as well, and we went through my ingredients list. nearly all there, apart from a few things I've said I'll bring in myself, and the tomatoes which she had forgotten. Things could have been quite different: on Friday morning we had our WSET wine and spirits exam (which I have passed, top of the class!), but before it started Kate took it upon herself to use my ingredients out of the fridge to make exactly the same thing I was going to make with them. As you can imagine I was not best pleased, and let her know it. It's just as well Lizzie had spotted what was going on. After a suitable time period to let Kate stew a bit, we kissed and made up (metaphorically speaking).
The other Exocet on Friday was that despite us being very specific about ordering 1 kilo ducks, and the supplier assuring us that would be no problem, when they arrived they weighed in at a hefty 2 kilos each. This blew my budget right out of the water, but fortunately I was able to negotiate with Jacqui, whose lunch is on Tuesday, and who is also cooking duck, to offload 6 duck breasts onto her. Phew.
Yesterday I went into school and prepared the duck for the main course. It took me 2 hours! One of the elements we have to demonstrate as part of the lunch is butchery skills, so I bought in 6 ducks, and because my recipe calls for marinating the legs overnight, I was allowed to fillet and section the ducks in advance. I had a sneaking suspicion it would take me some time to do this, so finding a recipe that required marinating aforehand was not as daft as it sounds.
Lizzie came in on Saturday morning as well, and we went through my ingredients list. nearly all there, apart from a few things I've said I'll bring in myself, and the tomatoes which she had forgotten. Things could have been quite different: on Friday morning we had our WSET wine and spirits exam (which I have passed, top of the class!), but before it started Kate took it upon herself to use my ingredients out of the fridge to make exactly the same thing I was going to make with them. As you can imagine I was not best pleased, and let her know it. It's just as well Lizzie had spotted what was going on. After a suitable time period to let Kate stew a bit, we kissed and made up (metaphorically speaking).
The other Exocet on Friday was that despite us being very specific about ordering 1 kilo ducks, and the supplier assuring us that would be no problem, when they arrived they weighed in at a hefty 2 kilos each. This blew my budget right out of the water, but fortunately I was able to negotiate with Jacqui, whose lunch is on Tuesday, and who is also cooking duck, to offload 6 duck breasts onto her. Phew.
So, how did it go???? Hope it was a big success and the family came away well fed!
ReplyDeleteAs you can now see, Gillian, it was very successful! Look forward to cooking something for you next time we see you all!
ReplyDelete