A is for Abbatoir

Exams are finally over, so now I can get back to cooking. My mind still seems to be stuck on exam-mode; the standard "you've failed all your exams" dreams are already occuring.  Not entirely sure when I get my actual exam results, but I hope it's soon. 

In homage to "Abbatoir" (the paragraph mentions a stew of meat, herbs and vegetables), I prepared Navarin of Lamb to Raymond Blanc's recipe. (Here's the link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/09/raymond-blanc-navarin-lamb-recipe).  It involves cooking lamb, herbs and root veg for 2 1/2 hours in an oven on 110 degrees Celcius.  I was slightly concerned about the low oven temperature, but concerns proved unfounded;  the lamb was perfectly cooked.  This low temperature/long time combination resulted in the most tender lamb I've ever eaten. Do not be put off by the long cooking time - the preparation time and actual "hands-on" time required is minimal. You can just stick it in the oven and wander off. 

I slightly underestimated the amount of herbs to put in - I added a handful from the garden (a combination of rosemary, thyme, mint and parsley) resulting in a Navarin which was "fragrant" rather than "herby" - which is probably how it's meant to be, but I would have preferred a stronger sauce.  (Although it's quite likely that the slightly thin sauce was a result of using a full quantity of liquid, but only half the amount of lamb, as only two people were eating it. The veg needed the full amount of water to cook in.)  So next time (yes, I will be making this again), more herbs and more peppercorns are the order of the day. 

Next, it's onto "Abondance" (a cow's milk Alpine cheese).  Since none of my local supermarkets sell this, it looks like I'm going to have to mail-order, however the concept of recieving cheese through the post seems a) unhygenic (lack of refrigeration?) b) expensive, for cheese. c) unfortunate for the postman who has to deliver the cheese, if it's particularly smelly. (I once ordered garlic bulbs for planting through the post - the package smelled pungently, which was not something I had considered.  Apologised to the postman, who turned out not to be a vampire). d) it's not really possible to judge the quality and hygenie of the premises where the cheese was kept if you buy it mail order.   On this basis I'm considering waiting until Winter to buy "abondance" - at least if it is not delived in a refrigerated van, it will still be cold.  Also, I have  no idea how to use abondance cheese in cooking; all ideas welcome!. 

FYI, I have not skipped "Ablutions at the Table" - I will be serving a finger bowl with whatever I cook next.

Also still have to make some kind of pickle, a chutney, lemon curd, shortbread, a savory quiche, a sandwich cake, a fruit pie, 5 scones, 6 brownies and a loaf of bread for the local village show.  I appreciate that some of this stuff is best made on the day of serving, however I still need to finalise recipes, which is taking longer than expected.

There has been two failures on the scones so far; "honeycomb and crystallised ginger" are proving tricky.  Honeycomb, the traditonal aerated confection of honey, sugar, and bicarbonate of soda, melts when used as an inclusion in baked goods.  The first batch of scones I decided to use large chunks of honeycomb, along with some finely ground honeycomb in the place of sugar. And sliced crystallised ginger.  Needless to say, these scones sort of "melted" as the honeycomb warmed up during baking - losing their shape until they could have passed for "messy rock buns", but certainly not scones. 

The second batch, I used finely ground honeycomb in the place of sugar, but no large chunks of honeycomb.  Still added some finely sliced crystallised ginger.  These did turn out looking and tasting like scones, however the taste of honeycomb was not noticable.    So that leaves me with a dilemma - increase the amount of finely ground honeycomb in the scone and risk sliding?   Or attempt to use just honey instead for the honeycomb flavor (and risk a sticky dough)?   Or just give up on the idea, since honeycomb will not maintain it's crunch in a scone anyway...

On the plus side, the Lavender Scones worked out quite nicely; normal scone recipe, but blitz some dried lavender flowers into some sugar.  Use the "lavender sugar" in the scones, and possibly sprinkle some on top of the scones before baking.  They're really nice.