Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Mantle Restaurant At TAFE...18 March

Hello...and welcome back to more of our Training Restaurant meals...
The menu was:
Warm Thai Beef Salad
Mussels Sailor Style
Forest Mushroom Risotto garnished with Shaved Parmesan
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Seafood Parcel served on a Garden Salad with Tomato & Olive Salsa
Chicken Breast with Mini Pasties served on Creamed Leek and Kumara
Fillet Steak with Onion Marmalade and Red Wine Jus
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Frangipani Flan Apricot & Almond Cream Flan
Creme Caramel topped with Chantilly Cream & Fresh Strawberries
Chocolate Mousse garnished with Brandy Snaps
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Warm Thai Beef Salad...
Amuse Bouche...goat's cheese, fig, prosciutto
Cucumber, salmon, goat's cheese...

Mussels Sailor Style...

Petit Fours...Shortbread
I am really enjoying that I can blog our progress in this course...will be back with the next week's menus and phots from the class...
Thanks for stopping by...Dzintra

Thursday, March 26, 2009

More Meals From The TAFE Restaurant...

I thought I would post up a couple more dishes that were made at The Mantle Restaurant for my Cookery Course...which comprises this term of menu planning, work flows...and each of us having a turn at being Head Chef for the night...superivizing the meals...calling them out as they come in...I have written more about this in my other blog ...I started this course as Non-Trade...and doing it as a way of meeting new people in our Sea Change...and also as we have a daughter with a disability I thought it would be a complete change for me to get out there!!! We are in a class of Apprentices who will be Chefs and all having such fun with it all. This one is Sirloin Steak served with Gratin Potato, Buttered Beans and Grilled Tomato...
Apple Crumble with Anglaise Sauce...



Chocolate Mousse...comparing to the Mousse in the last post...see how different people present their dish...


These are part of the menu that Team Member Jenny and I devised for the evening of 11 March 2009...the menu being...

Chilled Blue Swimmer Crab Open Ravioli
Peperonata and Goats Cheese Tart
Citrus Salad with Baby Spinach

Sirloin Steak above
Marinated Sesame Chicken with Egg Noodles
Tempura Fish Fillets and Watermelon Salsa served with Chip Potatoes and a Green Salad

Cherry Clafoutis with Cream
Apple Crumble with Anglaise Sauce
Chocolate Mousse

The Mantle is a Training Restaurant run by the College and paying customers come in from March until July while we all have our go at playing Head Chef...

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Flu Juice..To Help That Cold On It's Way!!!

My Friend in Ireland...Micki has come down with bronchhitis...and not feeling too well at all...Thank Goodnes for the Twilight books to keep her occupied while feeling so lousy. I mentioned to her this Flu Juice Recipe...given to me by a Herbalist...which if taken regularly will help a cold on its' way...We have tried it here and it does help...so, here 'tis Micki...

Here's my DH garlic from this past Summer...grown in a pot
* 8 mugs of water * 6 crushed garlic cloves * 2 whole lemons - sliced
* 2 rosehip tea bags * 1 root ginger - grated * 1/2 teaspoon thyme
* 1 pinch cayenne pepper
1. Simmer all ingredients together
2. Strain one mug off, add honey and whisky to taste, drink and go to bed.
3. Consume over 2 days and flu will be on its' way...
This mix tastes rather strong but we have tried it here...and it does help!!!
Garlic has been grown since before recorded history and probably originated in central Asia. It was important in the culinary, medicinal and religious practices of many ancient civilizations, and is said to have been fed to the Egyptian slaves building the pyramids to promote strength.
There are an astonishing number of myths and beliefs concerning garlic, ranging from its ability to ward off vampires to its use as a folk remedy for high blood pressure and for fighting diseases from the common cold to cancer. Modern medical research does not discount the value of garlic...Stephanie Alexander ~The Cook's Companion~
Couldn't resist putting this little bit in...especially since I have recently finished the Twilight Series of books by Stephenie Meyer...all about vampires!!!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Welcome to My Dolce Vita!!!


Chocolate Mousse with Brandy Snap I made for The Mantle...our College Restaurant
18 March 2009
Hello...Dzintra here...just playing around at the moment and am working on creating a new blog...mainly because of my current Cookery course. The aim is to blog this Term's cooking at TAFE (Technical and Further Education) as we all are having a turn at being Head Chef which comprises of menu planning, supervizing, allocating jobs to class members, calling out meals etc as they come in. I'm having a lot of fun in this course, loving all aspects of it and would like to use this blog to put photos up here of our progress...

And I think in time...especially as the course finishes here I will add recipes that appeal to me...cookery books that I enjoy...places pertaining to food that I visit with my Hubby and Family...well, really anything relating to food...so I hope to be back soon...