Gentle reader…. We do so enjoy sharing our culinary triumphs with you. But there are those dark times, when you have a cooking failure. Usually just before plating….. AAAHHH the humanity!!! What do you do? Read on to find out.
This Monday we are back to rehearsals for Parry’s Judith, but with a small string section. Our dear friend Brian was able to join our trio (and came down extra early, in case of falling trucks), so at “5:30 sharp”, with a glass of 2011 Ser Lapo, Chianti Classico, Monday Night Dining is off to the races for another week.
With most of the prep ready and sauce warming, we just needed to quickly cook the gnocchi. Suddenly I heard an expletive escape the confines of the kitchen. What could be amiss? It seems the structural integrity of our egg free gnocchi was not what it should be and they were quickly becoming part of the water. Shawn managed to save enough for a generous portion for our guest and quickly got a bin of our freshly made caramelle, stuffed with butternut squash, out of the freezer and got another pot of water on the go. Phew, dinner is saved… and tasty….
For the rest of the evening Shawn referred to this as our “cooking disaster” (CD for short). Brian stated, that if this was a CD, he would be happy to help eat any futures disasters for us.
On the weekend, Shawn had purchased quite a nice plump rabbit. I was still under the weather, and when I woke from a nap, I saw that the rabbit had also lost its structural integrity, as its bones were now in a pile beside the flesh. When asked why one would debone a whole rabbit, the answer was “so we can stuff it with veal.” But this was not over the top enough, so we wrapped it in Pancetta. The newly created rabbit log was then seared, and finished in the oven. The pan was deglazed with white wine, reduced chicken broth and a heaping spoon of veal demi-glace (Shawn puts that S**t on everything). We served the Rabbit Ballotine with a white bean purée and sautéed spinach, to finish the plate. I have eaten quite a bit of rabbit, but this was a very different treatment, the rabbit was melt in your mouth tender and seemed to have a different texture than I am familiar with.
For dessert, we had several eggless ideas in mind, but finally chose a Clementine Panna Cotta, with Blueberry Compote. I have never juiced a clementine orange before, but the juice is vibrant orange and tastes like a juice blend. The zest is a little more subtle than a regular orange and the finished panna cotta has quite a subtle orange flavour.
This night we are rehearsing with some of the string players, for our concert. I am really looking forward to getting a taste of what is to come, when we finally hear the entire piece with full orchestra (something that has not been heard in many decades). I do think our little Cooking Disaster from tonight teaches us something that will also help us with performing…. If something goes amiss, you have to go with the flow and just keep moving forward. And of course, never look panicked.
I also had never had rabbit like that before – amazingly tender, and deliciously savoury. I also love the implied motto here: if in doubt, stuff it with veal! Thanks also for the marvelous eggless dessert, a rare treat for me. Yum!