Mayonnaise: The tragically original tale of Eggeo.

Thank God for toofulltowrite and this post. because otherwise you’d be reading a boring sermon on the art of making Mayonnaise. Instead let’s talk about Eggeo-the young fool from the fair town of the Kitchen where we lay our scene.

His face got stuck like this cause he kept cribbing and whining. His Mom warned not to make this face cause otherwise it’d get stuck like that but he didn’t listen. and then his face got stuck. Listen to your mom I tell you,she’s always right.
So anyway,Eggeo. He was a spoilt brat. And one fine day,he saw her. His new infatuation love,Eggliet. So banishing all thought of his previous love,the dastardly egg pursued her,made his feelings known and long story short,they both died.

So why am I subjecting you to a sad eggy replication of Romeo and Juliet? Mainly cause I wanted to draw a face on an egg and that expression is the one I picture Romeo wearing throughout the play. Yeah. That.

Nevertheless from the breaking of Eggeo’s shell came the egg yolk,the wonderful liquid that made his death more bearable,cause now you had the main ingredient to make food sure his death was not in vain.

Mayonnaise. That final smooth,soft,sauce that is the reason no one really cares about Eggeo and this sad,sad tale.

Seperate.

Add Salt,Pepper,Mustard paste.

Ingredients:
1 egg yolk(From an egg that listened to it’s mom and is a good egg)
150ml Oil
5ml Vinegar/Lemon Juice.
a pinch of salt,pepper
1/2 tsp Mustard Paste.

Things to Note: Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature.
Take care and don’t be in a hurry Mayo is a finicky,touchy sauce.
Whisk it too fast,it curdles.
Whisk it too slow,it curdles.
Add oil too fast,it curdles.
Add oil too slow,it curdles.
Breathe,It curdles.

Like I said,Touchy sauce.

Method:
1) Separate the egg white and the egg yolk.
2) Take the egg yolk in a clean,dry bowl and add the salt,pepper and mustard paste.
3) Combine all these ingredients with a whisk and then slowly start adding the oil, drop in drop,whisking continuously.
4) Initially go slow,stick to the drop by drop addition,as your mayonnaise begins to come together,start adding the oil in a steady stream. Whisk continuously.
5) Once about 75ml of the oil is remaining,add the vinegar all at once and seriously,just keep whisking! you will notice the mayonnaise immediately changes colour and becomes lighter after you add the vinegar. Don’t worry,that’s supposed to happen.
6) Now add the rest of the oil,again in a slow,steady stream and obviously whisk it throughout the process.
7) Once you’ve added all the oil,you’re done! It’s that quick. You should have a light,fluffy mixture with a creamy consistency.

Keep chilled.

Notes:
* If your mayo is too thick,you can add more vinegar to thin it down,add about 5 ml at a time not more.
*You can pass this mixture through a muslin cloth to get a more smooth consistency.

If your mixtures starts to curdle :
Curdling can be identified by seperation of the solids and liquids,basically your mixture will become grainy and suddenly split.
You can:
1. Stop adding oil immediately. Add a little vinegar and Whisk,whisk,whisk. Start adding oil,drop by drop,once the mixture binds together again.
2. Take another egg yolk in a bowl and slowly start adding the curdled mixture to it.

The Daily Post:Seconds!

The daily prompt is Seconds. So now I get to describe the most glorious meal I’ve eaten,in detail. To say that I am happy is an understatement.

Dinner at the Tasting Room. Artfully decorated with wine red walls and beautiful wooden furniture, I knew this was going to be a good meal before I even sat down. And oh my,what a meal it was.

We started with Crackers with Brie cheese and apricot jam. Let me tell you this, Brie is rightly called the Queen of Cheese. On a crisp cracker with just enough jam to taste but not nearly enough to overpower the cheese, it was like a foodgasm, if I may be so bold as to use that expression. It was light,fresh and the perfect beginning.
Following it up was my choice of Kafir lime and Mascarpone Risotto. Mainly because Risotto has never been on my favourites and I wanted to see if the opinion could be changed. Clearly, It could. The rice was thick but not gluggy and the dish was not even close to the heaviness you’d expect from the mascarpone cream and the base Risotto. The kafir lime cut through the cream beautifully, leaving you with a fresh taste in your mouth. You could truly savour every mouthful. The smooth texture,the creamy experience ending with a burst of lime, my feet are halfway out the door already!

And we havent even come to the best part. Dessert. I am a shameless dessert hog.I could very easily skip the main to have more room for dessert. But I don’t. No,really. Of course not.
Anyway dessert, a simple enough dish.
But in reality, it was these three words that changed my life.

Sour.
Cherry.
Sorbet.

I can feel my taste buds start to dance,singing Hallelujah!
Served in a martini glass,two scoops of perfect,dark purple, gooey,goodness. Sour and tangy,just exploding in your mouth. Every bite tasted just a little different from the slightly spiced sorbet. A bit of cinnamon,maybe some cardamom,and a wonderful after taste of pepper,just the slightest hint,to keep you guessing what it was. I loved that sorbet. It’s the kind of dish you have dreams about.

It was amazing.
It was perfect.
It was Glorious.

Experience:Making the cut.

Yesterday was something of a milestone moment for me. As a student of hotel management,I routinely spend about 5 hours a week learning in the basic training kitchen in college preparing a set 3 course meal for 4 portions.

This week’s menu’s main was Pomfret avec mâitre d’hôtel butter. It’s basic,elementary even.
But I filleted a fish for the first time yesterday.
For me that’s big.

Growing up in a vegetarian household,I first started eating non-vegetarian food only last year. We’ve come a long way since then.

I had my doubts about being able to deal with raw meat or a carcass,basically because I would be going in blind and without a clue.
After breaking down a chicken last week and filleting pomfret yesterday,I’m happy to say my fears were unfounded.

Nothing compares to the immense satisfaction you feel when you get it right and have 4 perfect fillets to show for it. The glide of your knife when separating meat from the bone,ending with a swish and a cut. A sharp knife in your hands and an amazing chef to demonstrate the process just made my entire day.

Moreover,the satisfaction you feel when your end product is perfect and receives praise is exhilarating. Moist fillets,marinated with lime juice and then fried until a perfect golden brown,served hot,accompanied by tartare sauce and mâitre d’hôtel butter,along with french fries. I felt a sense of accomplishment as I watched it all disappear within a matter of minutes by friends who enjoyed every last bite.

I love the kitchen and especially the bakery. When you’re in there,it’s like nothing else matters,your world narrows down to the 4 walls within which you work. The clock on the wall and the voice of your head chef the only concern.

It’s dedicated hard work. It’s concentration in practise. It’s learning more than you ever thought possible in a very short span of time. It’s learning discipline,organization and punctuality. It’s amazing and exhausting all at once.

It’s what I love and it reinforces that after all the turmoil I went through before I joined the course,I did the right thing,I did what makes me happy.

It’s like Steve Jobs said-” Follow your gut and instincts,they somehow already know what you want to be”

I made the cut.( Pun intended) And it feels…Good. Really,really good.

Lemon and Sea salt Focaccia

So I woke up this morning with an absolute craving for this recipe I tried  last week.And because I have stuffed myself full of salty-lemony goodness,I felt it’s only right to share this awesomeness with the world.

My dog doesn’t agree.She wants me to go for a walk when it’s raining.

Like this.

No,thank you.

I’d much rather surround myself with the delicious smell of bread baking.

Why yes..It really is this awesome.

 And it is difficult to mess it up.A godsend really, given my penchant for simply forgetting to add ingredients.

Besides flour,which can be either all purpose or whole wheat…I’ve tried both and it works equally well,you need yeast,water,salt and…

Lemons!

Sea salt!

And the original recipe also includes rosemary but I decided to skip it cause I couldn’t wait.’

Sue me.

Lemon and Sea salt foccacia

Adapted from Girl versus dough

Note: The measures given here are half of the original recipe.

This gives 2 8-inch round loaves.

1tsp active dry yeast

2tbsps. Extravirgin olive oil

250 gms whole wheat flour

1tsp salt

2 lemons slices into thin rounds

coarse sea salt.

Method:

1.In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast with 1/4 cup lukewarm water; let stand 5 minutes until foamy. Add 3/4 cups lukewarm water and 2 tablespoons olive oil and stir.
2.In a large bowl , combine flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Knead dough on a lightly floured countertop until smooth, about 5 minutes. Shape dough into a ball and place in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Roll dough in oil and cover bowl lightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

3.Brush  2 8-inch round cake pans and punch down dough. Spread dough with fingers to cover the entire inside bottom of  cake pans. The dough might resist a bit, but with a little persistence it’ll start to behave. Cover with a damp towel and let rise until puffy, about 30-45 minutes.

4.Meanwhile, thinly slice some lemon and get out some coarse sea salt.

5. Preheat oven to 230C.  Poke the puffy bread lightly with your fingertips to form dimples,then drizzle it with olive oil. Now top it with lemon slices and sea salt.

6.Bake bread until golden brown, about 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Let cool slightly before slicing.

And then bask in the new found knowledge that you can eat,I mean, bake  foccaccia without a problem.