Have I really not blogged since 2011? That's crazy.....
Well here's one. And it's about cameras, chips and cheesecake.
I bought a new camera late last year. A Canon 650D. Since then, I've done 3 starter courses with Mike Lester and learned about the various settings, and how to use my camera in low light. The final course was all about studio lighting, a bit above my current aspirations but interesting nonetheless.
I really need to get out and practice now, so this afternoon I was cooking and tried to take some nice shots of the food.
I was making steak and chips, followed by white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. A sort of belated Valentines meal, even though we don't "do" Valentines as such.
After much googling, I decided on trying Heston's Triple Cooked Chips. At first I was thinking that I didn't know what all the fuss was about - my nana and my mum used to blanch their chips and for me, home made chips were done in the same way. I've made chips maybe 5 or 6 times in my life, by the way! But the traditions in our family for both chips and roast potatoes have always produced great result.
So on with the Heston version.
In Stage 1 you chop and boil the chips in salted water until they're almost breaking apart. Actually I bottled it at this stage and boiled them for slightly less.... didn't want a pile of mush on the tray. Drain them and place on a rack to cool. Once they've stopped steaming, place in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.
Stage 2 is to blanch them in oil at about 130 degrees. I don't trust either of my thermometers so I guessed and went by how they looked in the pan. After about 5 minutes or so they were looking as I thought they should so they went on to kitchen paper and straight into the freezer for an hour.
Stage 3, into very hot oil (180) for 10 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper and salt.
Oh they were good. Very good. Roy was ecstatic! I served them with fillet steak and pink peppercorn sauce. Stunning!
Well here's one. And it's about cameras, chips and cheesecake.
I bought a new camera late last year. A Canon 650D. Since then, I've done 3 starter courses with Mike Lester and learned about the various settings, and how to use my camera in low light. The final course was all about studio lighting, a bit above my current aspirations but interesting nonetheless.
I really need to get out and practice now, so this afternoon I was cooking and tried to take some nice shots of the food.
I was making steak and chips, followed by white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. A sort of belated Valentines meal, even though we don't "do" Valentines as such.
After much googling, I decided on trying Heston's Triple Cooked Chips. At first I was thinking that I didn't know what all the fuss was about - my nana and my mum used to blanch their chips and for me, home made chips were done in the same way. I've made chips maybe 5 or 6 times in my life, by the way! But the traditions in our family for both chips and roast potatoes have always produced great result.
So on with the Heston version.
In Stage 1 you chop and boil the chips in salted water until they're almost breaking apart. Actually I bottled it at this stage and boiled them for slightly less.... didn't want a pile of mush on the tray. Drain them and place on a rack to cool. Once they've stopped steaming, place in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.
Stage 3, into very hot oil (180) for 10 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper and salt.
Oh they were good. Very good. Roy was ecstatic! I served them with fillet steak and pink peppercorn sauce. Stunning!
The cheesecake was a simple base of digestive/butter topped with a mix of melted white chocolate, cream, sugar and soft cheese. Raspberrys were dotted into the mix as it was spooned into the dishes. Very rich - very yummy. Roy scored tonight's dinner 9 out of 10 but upgraded it to 10 when challenged about what the deduction had been for.
