Food

I really need to learn to sneak some salt in when I go to the in-laws for Christmas. Just had an absolutely great spread, but none of it was seasoned.

Beef rib with two rubs - home-grown sichuan pepper on one side and Korean BBQ on the other. Serrano ham pigs in blankets and dauphinoise potatoes with beetroot. Didn't really time it but sat down bang on 2pm.

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Henderson sauce?

Great cooking going on here
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Cooking class this morning, had so much left over shared with my hotel staff

Bun Suon Chua - Pork rib sour noodle soup

Pho cuon - Hanoi Beef and fresh rice roll

Banh Xeo - Sizzling egg pancake with beef, shrimp, mint, coriander

Also made Egg Coffee and dipping sauces for rolls and pancakes

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After last years sore ankles from standing up in the kitchen this year is now the template.
Goes against all the gourmand extravagance and paraphernalia and expense but for just the two of us it works.
Pre made yorkshires and ready roll pastry for the leftover beef Moroccan spiced pie.
Made my own gravy the proper way which was a first for me, beef fat for the spuds.
Want to enjoy the food but not be knackered from preparing it.
The only concession to food porn/Escoffier steeze points was roasting some grapes in PX for the cheesecake (made with Philadelphia not from some dairy with an instagram cow account)

Edit: spoon of blackcurrant jam in the gravy is my tip of the day.

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This may have been the best pork I have ever made. F.A.H. Kinnell. So smoky and so good.

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Looks amazing 🤩

Yes boss

That was the best Xmas dinner I’ve made - absolutely nailed it

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Not many other photos as was busy inhaling it

Such food coma

The confit was ridiculous. The crown was crispy and yet still pink inside. I wouldn’t have changed a single element of the meal.

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That porchetta looks shellacked. Like Basque cheesecake levels of caramelisation. Bra. Vo.

Goose turned out pretty good, confit legs were excellent and the gravy spot on. The crown was a little disappointing, followed Raymond Blanc's instructions but half way through the cooking time when I checked the internal temperature it was already above what I was looking for. Meant it was a little more done than I'd have liked. I confit the gizzards as well and they were great chopped up in the sprouts in lieu of bacon.

Yeah if I’m critiquing myself I’d say that I could have cooked it a little slower/shorter for the main cook and then cranked the heat. But Xmas day happened and I can’t be too sore.

The charred sprout salad with crispy sage leaves was a total winner

No photos but lunch was a vegetarian affair.

Simple tomato and mozzarella with pesto drizzle to start.

Nut roast/wellington with roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, green beans, red cabbage with apple, and gravy.

Raspberry and white chocolate roulade or lemon sorbet for dessert

Took our goose crown to 68/69 in the oven and it came up to 73 degrees while resting

Started at 230 and reduced the temp of the steam oven to 190 after about 20 minutes. Weirdly one side cooked my faster than the other despite turning the crown around during cooking.

Raymond was 230c for 30 mins then 150c for 35 mins or until the Goose was 55c. When I checked it after 30 mins ours was already over 70c.

It was by no means ruined and still tasty but was annoying given how far off the timings seemed to be. Ours was a pretty small bird and not a super meaty crown so maybe that played a role.

Why is anyone writing recipes suggesting cooking to time with an ingredient of variable size? It is a recipe for disappoint. Cook proteins to temperature.

Apologies for the Philadelphia comment. Find all of those cheeses a bit bland, tho I do like making cheese cake with fake home made mascarpone and ricotta. But then I don't do a topping, nor made it in years as it takes too long to make just one cake.

Philadelphia is the cheese used at the bar in San Sebastián that is famous for Basque cheesecake. Seems fairly appropriate.

Not just size but I believe it has more variables in general compared to say turkey or chicken as they are more lean and therefore more reliable keeping to a time per kg

Also, I found with turkey crowns at work this year, we got a lot that had such a high water content that the timings and end weight were changing a considerable amount

Size, muscle to fat ratio, starting temp etc etc

Just cook to temperature or it’s a fucking gamble

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