Week Ten (how?!)

Good morning, everyone!

Ballymaloe’s Covid outbreak hasn’t ended — there are still a couple active cases — but with tests every other day and more precautions set in place, the healthy among us were able to return to the kitchen on Monday and cook throughout the week. It’s nerve-racking to know that Covid looms, but we’re all relieved that they’ve managed to figure out a system that allows us to keep cooking and learning. The Pink Cottage is still safe, and we’re crossing our fingers and toes that things stay that way. We only have two weeks left of the course, and we want to soak up every minute. The administration opted to divide us by cottage in the kitchens, so the girls and I have all been cooking in the same space — a happy consequence of the crisis. More friends leads to more snacking, since we all sneak bits of what we make onto each other’s stations. The other day, Izzy gave me a still-warm cinnamon roll and I could’ve kissed her! Despite the plunging temperatures, we’re keeping all of the kitchen windows open for air flow. This setup leaves us shivering with frozen fingers, but we’re all so grateful to be back that it doesn’t bother us too much. The cold is actually sort of funny; we don layers under our chef’s whites as if we were going skiing and hover our hands, blushed and numb, over the burners to thaw them out.  

I lucked out with my cooking assignments this week; nearly all were recipes that fit my palate and that I’ll bring home and happily cook again. The highlights were an elegant squid salad with chilli-garlic oil, a velvety caramel ice cream, a classic bread and butter pudding — best consumed warm in a mug with a moat of cold cream — and duck legs slow roasted with onions and thyme. I performed the best I have since arriving at Ballymaloe, and I think some of that must be a result of cooking food that I find exciting. It’s easier to absorb instruction and take care with what you’re making when it appeals to you, when it’s something you’d be giddy to devour yourself. The ingredients can tell when you’re not into them! To continue with the theme of Phoebe’s favorite foods, Rory gave a tapas demonstration on Wednesday afternoon! As he spoke, I scribbled tapas dinner party menu ideas in the margins of my notes: citrus marinated olives, wedges of Spanish tortilla, spicy mussels, paprika chickpeas and greens, pan con tomate, burnt Basque cheesecake with sangria compote. It was a week of feeling inspired by food and eager to cook, which was fortuitous as I prepared for Pink Cottage Thanksgiving in the evenings after class.

I determined the Thanksgiving menu myself, which meant nodding to tradition while also choosing exactly what I wanted to eat. I opted against turkey and bought an organic free-range chicken instead, which I brined overnight for supple, deeply seasoned meat. Scarlett helped me prepare it on Thursday, tucking a lemon half inside and smearing marjoram butter on its skin for a crispy, burnished exterior. It’s such a delight to cook with cooks; you ask if they’ll help with the chicken and they run to the garden and return with a bushel of herbs and a vision. I tasked Angie with mash — it felt only right that an Irish woman should handle the potatoes — and I knew hers would be gloriously whipped and cloud-like. I made stuffing with torn sourdough, caramelized onions, and kale, buttery peas and leeks, a rustic apple galette, and pumpkin pie, which Eliza helped me with on Wednesday night. Dessert was of course served with softly whipped Jersey cream. We drank a beautiful bottle of Trebbiolo Rosso, which everyone miraculously loved. (I say miraculously because Georgia and I discovered that we have hilariously opposite palates when it comes to wine.) I would take the bottle home if I didn’t live a plane ride away! Georgia and I are going to bring it to hers instead and label it so we don’t forget the night.

It was such a special evening. Izzy and Holly took it upon themselves to decorate the table, so they pulled their wellies on in the afternoon and trekked to the garden, where they gathered armfuls of branches and autumnal flowers. When they came home, they carefully, artfully arranged the bounty as I watched, absolutely bursting with affection. Towards the end of dinner, I asked that we go around the table and say what we’re thankful for. I insisted on sincerity! I went last and got a little emotional as I looked out from the head of the table at the candlelit faces of these complicated, sensational humans whose lives are now intertwined with mine. 

After a long, full week, I’m glad to have a quiet weekend of laundry, life admin, and studying for our final exams, which are swiftly approaching. 

Hope you’re all staying safe and warm, feeding yourselves well, sleeping enough, and taking care of each other.

Love,

Phoebs