That time again. In keeping with a fish theme, let's fillet a squid. This is by far, and I really mean that, the easiest thing to fillet. 

First you need to get your hands around the head (between the eyes and the body) and pull. You're looking to pull the head along with all the insides out. Don't be squeamish, get stuck in! Then cut between the tentacles and the eyes, preferably as close to the eyes as you can get.

Next grab a hold of the quill and pull it out (squids are called the 'oceans writers')

Next it's time to peel off the wings and then the skin (that speckledy stuff)

Now all that is left is to give it a wash and chop it up. Pat on the back, you did it!

This was my version of Squid'n'Chips (with sweet chilli sauce)

Mid-week madness

It's the middle of week 9 at Ballymaloe . That means that I, we, have 3 more weeks here. Exams are looming. Testers are starting to appear and menus keep changing.

I have about 5 ideas of each course of my final practical that I just cannot decide on. Doesn't really help that we have roughly 30 new recipes a day to add to our repertoire.

But in the meantime we have food, friends and laughter. Mistakes in the kitchen can be just as fun as successes, my best sourdough so far made an appearance (did you see it?!?!) and we met the lovely Madeline from Brown Envelope Seeds who, I might add, is growing 7 different types of Quinoa in West Cork. Now I love quinoa. It's a whole protein not to mention it has 13 amino acids and is considered a super food. So to find someone growing it (successfully) in Ireland is fantastic.

So, here are some Tips of the Week:

1. A mix of cream and egg yolk is called a Liaison. Adding this to sauces will thicken and richen. Never add the Liaison to boiling liquid, always add the boiling liquid to the Liaison.

2. In a burger you generally want 10-15% fat. In Pork this would be the shoulder meat, in Lamb the flank and brisket in Beef.

3. If a recipe calls for fresh yeast but you only have dry. Simply half the amount and go with the dry.

Please may I have a Buffalo?

50 students, Darina Allen, 5 local producers and some buffalo. You guessed it, I'm talking about our Ballymaloe Cookery School Trip.

Thursday was the day when we were allowed out into the local population (for better or worse) to meet some producers/business owners who are making a success of it. First was Bill Casey, who is literally a stone's throw away from the school and is the one man band behind the award winning Shanagarry Smoked Salmon.

Second we trundled off to Mahon Farmers Market to witness the various stands and their wares in full force. Foot fall has actually increased in the shopping arcade due to the market and Thursdays are now the busiest of the week. A great plus.

Next we tootled off to West Cork and Toons Bridge Dairy were we met Toby Simmonds and his wife and got to see, in action, the making of the only Irish Buffalo Mozzarella. Very exciting stuff especially as we managed to get up close and personal to the Buffalo shipped in from Italy (my favourite bit).

Down the road was Donal Creedon (Macroom Oatmeal) who is another inspiring example of a one man band producing stone ground oatmeal. Only able to produce 1 tonne of oatmeal a week due to the intricate and delicate process to make this delicious product. It was a wonderful example of people doing something purely for the love, not necessarily the money.

We then visited Urru, a deli-come-cafe run by an ex Ballymaloe Student and then off to the The Poachers Inn for a pint and some tantalising nibbles again, run by ex students.

A great day with a range of different examples of business ideas.

We (friend + I) decided we should explore Ireland a little bit. So on Friday afternoon, after demo we headed to Limerick for some food and Rugby. A great weekend with some wonderful people (Peter from Country Choice was one of them), great atmosphere and far too much food at the Milk Market (surprise surprise!). On the way back we stopped at the largest Stone Circle in Ireland. Talk about atmospheric...

Chocolate Fudge Bite Madness

If only I had a picture of the student stampede that shook through the Ballymaloe Kitchens today due to the the Chocolate Fudge Bite Madness….

Having just joined UK Bloggers it seemed like a fab idea to do a recipe swap blog post. My very very first one (I was and am excited) with the lovely Alyssia and this is what she says….

'Hey there! I'm Alyssia from http://alyssiarose.blogspot.co.uk. Ever since I can remember I have always loved baking, but it wasn't really until I came to University that I started messing around with baking. My favourite things to bake are cupcakes, because they are just too cute, and too yummy! When I saw that Jette wanted to do a recipe swap I jumped at the chance. I was seriously pleased with the recipe that she gave me, which you can check out over on my blog! Now for a bit about the recipe I gave her:

I actually got the recipe for Chocolate Fudge Cake Bites from the 'Step-by-step Baking Book' by Caroline Bretherton. (As a side note I think all keen bakers should own this book). Anyway this recipe is one that I have made many times and it always goes down a storm with my friends. So I hope that you enjoy it and maybe give it a go yourself!

Thanks again Jette for organising this swap, it's been really fun!'

So, here goes...
Generally in the kitchens of Ballymaloe Cookery School it's mayhem and madness and if one thing is started on one day, it rarely gets remembered the next to be finished but I managed it. All by myself, no notes or alarms. Proud aren't you?!

The recipe Alyssia sent me seemed a little complicated, especially for a girl (me) who gives up on recipe instructions if they go on and on (sorry Darina) and kind of just makes it up but, I stuck to it. Pat on the back. And oh yes, were they a hit. Within 5 minutes of putting them in the dinning room they had vanished into the tummies of my fellow Ballymaloe students. I did vary size but generally stuck to small so that it didn't feel quite so waist-increasingly-sinful to eat more than one.

The recipe is time consuming but yes, absolutely worth it. I can see it being great for kids parties and then doing some more decadent (add some booze) ones for a dinner party.

Now I did have some several awful moments. One was where my balls had been out of the fridge for quite a while and as I tried to coat them with white chocolate they proceeded to melt into the chocolate. Not a pretty effect but definitely a lesson learned…keep them cool!

All in all though a recipe that is well worth the effort and made one happy girl (me) and plenty of satisfied people in the dining room.

A rainbow kind of day

The sun was beaming out on the Irish countryside here at Ballymaloe Cookery School today and although cold with sun beams sparkling off the mornings frost, it was glorious. I can't quite believe the amount of sunshine Ireland has had while I've been here. Don't get me wrong, under no circumstance am I complaining, I love it. I just didn't expect it!

One thing that added even more sun to my day was the multicoloured Blood Orange Tart I was in charge of making.
Have I mentioned how much I get excited when peeling and segmenting a blood orange? The colour is extremely variable, the deep red is for me not blood but more a deep sunset. It just gets me every time. Simple pleasures and all that I suppose.

The other thing that brought nervousness and excitement was the return of mid term exam results! Let's just say that I am one happy bunny.

I haven't done Tips of the Week in a while (sorry about that) but here this very Monday, they are back…

1. When icing a cake, have a jug of hot water next to you. Between smoothing icing, dip your palette knife in to the water and it will help enormously!

2. When baking, don't open the door of the oven for at least the first ⅔ rds of the cooking time

3. Prawns and lobster have claws, shrimps and cray fish don't.

Liebster Award

The sun is shining and the world is a very happy place for me right now. Moving towards week 8 of the course here at Ballymaloe Cookery School it all suddenly seems very real. Now is the time to shine and to make my way (again) in the world. I'm excited.

And what better way to get even more excited than to receive the Liebster Blog Award! A big thank you to Graham Pearson for nominating me. Really, thank you.

It seems that the origins come from the German word 'liebster' which means dearest and it's a way of telling those small blogs that have under 200 followers that they're doing great and keep going. I love the idea and feel chuffed to have been nominated by a fellow blogger.

The rules are pretty simple, I have to post 11 random facts about myself, answer 11 questions asked by the nominee and then nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 questions…

11 Random Facts:

1. My dog is called Rat 

2. I'm a modern day hippie (no dreads, I shower regularly and I believe in doing right by the earth)

3. I speak 3 languages and dream regularly in each language

4. I used to live in Darwin (Australia) and go mud crabbing every weekend

5. I'm currently homeless

6. I hate people that lie and boast

7. I get angsty if I live in one place for more than 3 years

8. I'm addicted to chocolate with salt

9. I'd love to marry a farmer and have goats, pigs and chickens

10. I've never been in love

11. I think now is my time

11 Questions I was asked:

1. What did you dream of becoming when you were growing up?

A sports psychologist

2. More often than not, what is your mantra?

Smile

3. Calling you out: What is (one of) your 2013 new year resolution(s)?

To remember that when people get angry it's not always my fault

4. If you find yourself feeling uninspired where do you normally go in hopes of finding it?

A walk, anywhere

5. What is your favourite holiday and aspect of that ritual?

I've never had two holidays the same but I love hot ones. I love going to the airport, the excitement in the air is crackling

6. What era most feels like the time period that suits you?

Right now

7. What is your profession? If you were to chose another career path at this time in your life what could you see yourself doing professionally?

I design and own hotels. Or at least I did before I started training to become a chef

8. What is your favourite trait about yourself?

My sense of adventure

9. If for a moment you could have the council of anyone in history who would you chose and what would you ask them?

It would be my mum. She's always right, no matter what

10. How old were you when you had your fist kiss? Did they instigate?

13 and yes

11. Outside of your blog what is another hobby or creative outlet you pursue?

Sport

My 11 Questions to my nominees:

1. What do you do professionally and why?

2. Are you happy?

3. Is your life what you thought it would be and if so why?

4. Who do you turn to

5. Have you ever done something to scare yourself and what was it

6. Best moment of your life

7. Worst moment of your life

8. Favourite food

9. 3 things to take to a desert island

10. Dogs or cats?

11. What is your aim in life?

My 5 nominees for Liebster Blog Award:

1.http://thepinchofsaltadventures.blogspot.co.uk
2. http;//rosetintmynails.blogspot.com
3.http://kumbear-xo.blogspot.co.uk
4. http://prettypug.blogspot.co.uk
5.http://kitchenvignettes.blogspot.ie
6. http://thecraftykitty.co.uk
7. http://multicultikitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/domino-bar.html
8. http://www.loverofcreatingflavours.co.uk
9. http://www.masalaherb.com/blog/
10. http://sweetjellybean.com
11. http://simpleprovisions.com.au

A great start to the week

It's only Wednesday here at Ballymaloe Cookery School and so far, it's been one of those weeks where interesting people just keep popping up.

Monday happened and we were still reeling (or at least I was) from our Dingle weekend away. Then Tuesday popped up and someone reminded us that the wonderful brewers from Eight Degrees Brewing company were coming in to talk to us about their beers and let us taste some amber nectar as part of a Slow Food event.

Caroline and Cameron (Scott missing unfortunately) rocked up with boxes full of their beautiful brew. Oh how wonderful it was to have an evening of craft beer brewed right here in Cork. If you haven't heard of Eight Degrees Brewing, look them up. They are a fabulous combo of an Aussie and a Kiwi working together after moving to Ireland for the women they love and setting up a craft brewery…..just so you know I'm a teensy weeny bit envious of this romantic tale!

Caroline, (Scotts wife) does lots of food and beer pairings and we were lucky enough to be brought some utterly divine chocolate brownies made with the company's Knockmeal Down Porter. Just so I clarify, when I mean divine. I mean I could eat the whole tray in 10 minutes and no sharing. It's amazing how so many foods go with beers, sometimes better than wine!

Their story is a great one and what they promote is getting  to know your very own local brewery and trying them! Go on, I dare you. (Barefoot Bohemian Pilsner is my fave, what's yours??)

And now it's Wednesday and we had the very interesting Blathnaid Bergin back in to do a costing workshop with us. Food can be so interesting, passionate and let's face it, pretty attractive but you simply can't just be a fantastic cook to succeed if you want to have your own business. You need to understand the business side, learn how to run your business. Not quite so interesting and attractive but very very necessary.

Last Saturday we had decided to have breakie at Idaho Cafe in Cork and guess who popped in to talk to the class? Yep, Richard who owns, with his wife, Idaho Cafe. He and his wife take a very unusual approach, and in my opinion one well worth keeping in mind. They take holidays, they don't work every day of the week, they keep their business small and do what they do excellently. Not a bad plan if after 12 years they are still open and have a massive following.