MARIE'S MUSES

Good morning! I hope everyone is having a great day today. I’m having a busy day today, after what’s been a really busy week! Not that I’m complaining, mind you, I would much rather be busy than have nothing to do at all and be bored! The oldest daughter up at the big house got engaged last weekend and so this week has been a rather busy one of conjecture and planning. Will the wedding be in America, will it be here, will it be in Germany? The fiancée is German, by the way, and his family all comes from there. She is American and all her parents friends and a lot of their family comes from there. All the couple’s friends come from here as they both live and love in London. Just finding a date that will please everyone will be an undertaking of mammoth proportions, never mind anything else.

This weekend the groom to be’s parents are coming over to meet the family up in the big house for the first time so there is a lot going on. Today everything in the Oast House, which is the guest house, is getting dusted and cleaned in readiness for their arrival. I would imagine there will be flowers put in there for them as well.

I’ll have to cook a special dinner for them on Sunday evening, which is something I’ve not had to do for a very long time. It’s a lot easier to cook a dinner party on a Saturday night because I can do a lot of the preparations on Friday night, but Sunday night, well, all my prep has to be done on that day. There will be several appetizers to get ready, plus a first and second course and then dessert. I really love doing dinner parties, whether they are small or large, and really it is no difference to me whether I am cooking for 6 or for 16, it’s all the same amount of work, and I am still the only one doing it. It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to stretch and use my full abilities.

There’s a lot of work that goes into putting together a dinner party. First I have to plan the menu. When I first started working up there, the Mrs. pretty much told me what she wanted to have, but now that I know their tastes, etc. she mostly leaves it up to me, other than a suggestion as to what meat she might like to have and whether they want fish for the first course or not. This time is a bit more difficult because the fiancée is quite fussy and won’t eat, fish, pork, or lamb …. ummm and he’ll only eat beef very well done, so I think we are stuck with chicken here. I’ve got the menu pretty much down now and you can have a look if you want, here it is:

Usually, there are two desserts, but even I don’t think I can pull that off this time, what with the time constraints, but watch this space, that could change, as the Mrs might decide that she wants two. (It’s always nice to have a choice) I wanted the menu to reflect all the goodness that we have growing right here on the Estate, such as the lovely tomatoes in the green houses and the carrots, beans, courgettes and lovely plums which I spoke about just yesterday.

Now that the menu is planned, I shall have to type it all up and replicate it in three, one for myself, one for her and one to file away, all with copies of the recipes attached. Then there is the shopping list to make up and itemize. Some things are in the gardens, some in the larder and other’s will have to be bought. The gardeners will have to be told what to get from the gardens as well as which flowers to pick for the arrangements in the house, the guest house and for on the table. (I’ll also have to make up a list of food to buy to have for their breakfasts and lunches, which I just remembered, so it’s a good thing I am telling you all about this!)  I'll then go to the shops and buy in all the food needed that we don't already have.

Most chef’s in large restaurants would throw their hands up in horror at this type of thing, or at least at having to pull it off all on their own. They are used to have sous chef’s and chef’s de partie to do a lot of the menial work such as the chopping and executing of most of the recipes for them. They mainly just supervise and go around tasting and barking out orders. In a big restaurant there would be a different chef assigned to each element of the menu. One might be in charge of sauces and another desserts, another would be in charge of the mains and in fact they might have several people in charge of the mains. (When I first started out cooking, back when I was 19, I started out as the pastry chef in a big hotel back home. I was in charge of all the appetizers and desserts. It was quite fun!) In this case there is only me, and I shall have to do all the shopping, chopping, cooking and serving, oh and let’s not forget the cleaning up, however if I am a good girl (and I always am) Todd will probably come over and help me out with that part. Oh yes, I’ll also have to set the table as well. Timing and organization are very important in all aspects of the evening, because without it I’d be in really big trouble, so I have it all timed down to the second so that I can execute everything with precision. The timing usually goes out the window though as the Mrs is more than likely to take them on a wander through the gardens at the last minute than not, and so I must take that possibility into consideration when I am doing any of it. Dinner at 8, more often than not, actually means at 9. J

So, there you have it. I thought it would be quite fun to tell you this morning about how everything goes when I do a dinner party and give you a little glimpse of what exactly I do. I really love my job and I truly enjoy all the challenges it presents me with from time to time. I’ll let you know how it all went on Monday and maybe if you are lucky I’ll even have a photo or two to share with you! (I hope you don't think I was bragging about what I do, I just thought it would be interesting to give you all a little peek inside)

I thought I’d share a real Canadian recipe with you this morning, called Poutine. Poutine is a Canadian delicacy found in restaurants all over Eastern Canada and possibly parts of the West. It originated in Quebec and it’s not very healthy, but hey, once in awhile it never hurts to treat yourself to something bad that tastes really, really good! (you don’t even want to try to calculate the calories in this one!)

Serves 4

Loaded with fat and calories this is a true heart attack special, but it is so, so, so good. You can make it a lot lower in calories by using fat free gravy, oven chips and lower fat cheese if you like (we often do) but I’m giving you the full fat version here!

1 quart of vegetable oil for frying

1 can of beef gravy (or homemade if you have it, it’s so much better!)

5 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chips

2 cups cheese curds (if cheese curds are not available you can use a mixture of shredded mozzarella and strong cheddar cheese)

Heat oil in a deep fryer or deep heavy skillet to 120° C/250° F. Put the gravy into a saucepan and heat to boiling hot, set aside and keep warm.

Place the chips in the heated oil and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Remove them from the oil and let them sit for about 15 minutes or so in the basket. This first cooking process draws the starch to the outside of the chip and seals in the moisture - essential for that soft moist centre. (In this cooked state you can actually store them for up to a day ahead of time if you want.)

Increase the temperature of the oil to 175-185° C/about 350-375° F. Cook the chips again. (This is the secret to getting hot crispy chips with a nice brown surface and tender insides) Place the chips (fries) into the hot oil, and cook until light brown, about 5 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Place the fries on a heated serving platter, and sprinkle the cheese over them. Ladle the hot gravy over the fries and cheese, and serve immediately.