Saturday's schedule does not include theory, so after waking, I spent 2 hours spring cleaning the house so so that we don't scare tomorrow's guest away(!) and then headed to Le Cordon Bleu for my 11.30 start.
So starts another exhilarating day at Le Cordon Bleu, today's menu treated us to Braised (cooked in liquid) Lamb Shanks (second grade cuts) in a red wine jus (sauce made from reduced stock) served with sautéed green beens and glazed carrots (turned of course)
&
Risotto (cooking method of absorption)
Chef Elke did a wonderful job demonstrating these dishes as well as Chocolat semi freddo, which we didn't get to make but we do get to taste next Thursday.So starts another exhilarating day at Le Cordon Bleu, today's menu treated us to Braised (cooked in liquid) Lamb Shanks (second grade cuts) in a red wine jus (sauce made from reduced stock) served with sautéed green beens and glazed carrots (turned of course)
&
Risotto (cooking method of absorption)
First priority was to season, brown, degrease, add deglaze the shank and to get it into the oven asap. Then we prepped the other veggies and started on the risotto. Half way through the risotto turn the lamb and then finish off the risotto and serve when ready (thanks Chef Elke for being so kind :). Turn, blanch and refresh, saute and glaze the carrots and bean. Finally finish off the lamb by reducing the stock into a beautiful jus. Plate and serve. Easy peasy! (and VERY yummy).
Risotto had 200g cream in the recipe and lots of parmesan, so I think i'll be heading out for a run tomorrow morning.
Above: Chef Elke plating the risotto and our days notes
Above: Chef Elke finishing off the lamb shank and adding the jus
What we learnt today and a classmate having her plate assessed.
ps - I got a 'You love cooking don't you?' on my Risotto (although it was a bit crunchy) and a 'Perfect' on my lamb shank. I also had my jus used as an example :) Yah me! Pity Ryan's not home to help me enjoy it!!
Handy tip of the day:
Risotto: Also add boiling stock or cream to your arborio rice, otherwise it will become stodgy.
Braised lamb shanks: Also make sure you have cooked off all the alcohol when cooking with wine, otherwise you meal will taste bitter. To make a sweet jus, reduce your wine before adding stock.
After class i headed off to Greg and Abby for a yummy bbq, not cooked by me, but still perfect :)
When i rolled into Kirribilli after leaving G&A (at 11pm), I stopped to take a photo of the bridge, where tomorrow the city of Sydney is allowing 6,000 people (one of which is me) to have breakfast on the bridge. The city of Sydney is closing the bridge and laying 1 acre of turf (for the cows). Isn't that amazing! Anyway, these are a few of the last lucky cars to make it across before the bridge is closed for this event at 1am.
ps - I got a 'You love cooking don't you?' on my Risotto (although it was a bit crunchy) and a 'Perfect' on my lamb shank. I also had my jus used as an example :) Yah me! Pity Ryan's not home to help me enjoy it!!
Handy tip of the day:
Risotto: Also add boiling stock or cream to your arborio rice, otherwise it will become stodgy.
Braised lamb shanks: Also make sure you have cooked off all the alcohol when cooking with wine, otherwise you meal will taste bitter. To make a sweet jus, reduce your wine before adding stock.
After class i headed off to Greg and Abby for a yummy bbq, not cooked by me, but still perfect :)
When i rolled into Kirribilli after leaving G&A (at 11pm), I stopped to take a photo of the bridge, where tomorrow the city of Sydney is allowing 6,000 people (one of which is me) to have breakfast on the bridge. The city of Sydney is closing the bridge and laying 1 acre of turf (for the cows). Isn't that amazing! Anyway, these are a few of the last lucky cars to make it across before the bridge is closed for this event at 1am.
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