(Disclaimer – The picture of the chickens has nothing to do with this post, so if you want to read about fried chicken look elsewhere. I walk past them every morning and love how the red looks against the green leaves. They were cooperative today and posed for some pics).

More bread today. The white yeast dough I made yesterday was nicely risen after its night in the fridge. I divided it in two and made plaits and share and tear dinner rolls. They were fluffy and puffy and golden. Taking them out of the oven was a very satisfying moment!

I also baked Ballymaloe Brown Yeast Bread, a variation on the no-need-to-knead Doris Grant Loaf.  If you feel like making bread but don’t have much time or are intimidated by the process this is a great place to start.

Then I made churros with chili and cinnamon hot chocolate. I was kind of intimidated by the choux pastry but my teacher Richard closely supervised so they turned out well, I just had a dead arm by the end of it!  Darina wants us to know how food should look and feel at different stages of cooking so we do a lot of mixing by hand. I respect this rule but on days when you have something so laborious I do miss my Kenwood mixer. They were worth it though – literally anything deep fried and dusted in sugar will taste good.

I learned : All garnishes need to be edible. I decorated my plate of churros with finely sliced chilies and flowers but had to remove them for breaking this rule. Lesson learned.

Food of the day : Freshly made pasta with herbs and olive oil. Except for being Italian this food really encapsulates the Ballymaloe ethos. There’s no need for elaboration when you have great ingredients that speak for themselves.

Line of the day : From Darina, talking about Italian food writer Marcela Hazan. ‘If you think I’m opinionated I’m a pussy compared to Marcella.’ Well behaved women seldom make history.

Pam made this amazing Elsa cake for Darina’s granddaughter’s birthday. Again, my inner six year old lit up when I saw it.

Croquembouche

Lunch – cannellini bean salad, zucchini with marjoram, deep fried monkfish with aioli and more bread

Órfhlaith