UNDER PRESSURE AT PEMBROKE: 2010-02-07

Friday, 12 February 2010

Last Night's Dinner and the Tradition of Formal Hall

I know what your thinking and the answer is no, this picture is not from a cookbook. In fact, this picture was taken last night in the Pembroke Kitchen.

Formal Hall Menu Lent Term Week 6

Italian Themed Feast Night Formal Hall

Monday 15th February

Parmigiana di Melanzane

Con Parmesan

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Granité di agrumi con Presecco

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Costolette d’ Agnello

Alla griglia, ragu’ di borlotti

(V) Calzone

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Zuppa Inglese

Feast Night Formal Hall

Tuesday 16th February

Grilled Bream with Beetroot

Orange and fennel salad

(V) Beetroot, Stilton, orange and fennel Salad

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Roasted Supreme of Guinea Fowl

Cassoulet of edamame, borlotti, and cannellini beans with brunoise

Rosti potato and rosemary jus

(V) Goat’s Cheese and Rosemary Filo

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Fig Tatin with Browned Butter Ice Cream

Burnt orange syrup

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Selection of French Macaroons

Feast Night Charity Formal Hall

Wednesday 17th February

Tarte Fine of Aubergines and Mushrooms

With crisp sorrel salad and Parmesan shavings

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Grilled Salmon with Red Pepper Crumb

Chorizo, red pepper, paprika, basil, and crème fraiche risotto

(V) Tofu Lasagne

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Warm Chestnut Cake

With chocolate sorbet

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Whipped Brie de Meaux

Crouton, lambs leaf and reduced balsamic

Formal Hall

Thursday 18th February

Mediterranean Prawn salad

With sesame dressing

(V) Marinated Olives

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Sous Vide Flank of Beef

Dauphinoise potatoes, panache of root vegetables, wild mushroom jus

V) Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli

Sage butter and Parmesan

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Cappuccino Semifreddo

With cinnamon sugar doughnuts

Formal Hall

Friday 19th February

Smoked Salmon and Guacamole Verrine

(V) Guacamole and Crispy tomato

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Home-salted Cod with Roasted Tomatoes

Chickpeas and anchovy dressing

(V) Chickpea and Tomato Medallions

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Chocolate Soufflé Tart

Milk chocolate malted ice cream

Halfway Hall
2nd Years Only

Saturday 20th February

Steamed Red Mullet
Tomato and Lemongrass Broth

(V) Red Pepper, Tomato, and Basil Tian
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Free-Range Chicken Supreme with Goat’s Cheese Mousse
Roasted garlic mash, sautéed spinach and pistachio jus

(V) Stilton and Truffle Bubble and Squeak
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Chocolate and Star Anise Truffle Cake
With fennel ice cream

Formal Hall

Sunday 21st February

Duck Liver Pate

Quince jam and toast

(V) Brie Pate

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Traditional Roast Beef and Trimmings

(V) Vegetarian Roasted Vegetable Terrine

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Pear and Blackberry Crumble

With custard

Last Night's Formal Hall 10/02

Dan Reed 2006-2010 A Pembroke Legend

Dan Reed, seen here on the right with Nick and Savino, is leaving Pembroke on Saturday to return home to Australia. Dan has worked off and on at Pembroke since 2006 and has learned much about fine dining in his time here. Dan leaves with a wealth of knowledge and great prospects for the future. Good Luck Dan!

Last Night's Formal Hall began with carpaccio of smoked halibut. The smoked fish was served with tomato concasse, spring onions and purple cress. Smoked halibut makes a nice change from salmon and is fit for a King. The lovely, lightly smoked, okre tinted slices are a real treat and very moreish!

To follow the smoked fish we served a refreshing lemon sorbet flavoured with basil.

At Pembroke we endevor to emulate the latest recipes and procedures being used in top restaurants around the world. However, we must then multiply this food up to 150 times depending on each nights uptake; there lies our greatest challenge as much of this food is not designed to be served in such large quantities! Hopefully these pictures show not only how nice the food looks, but also the hugh amount of effort that goes into hosting Formal on a nightly basis.

Last night's main course of Pan roasted supreme of cod, with baby beetroot, cavolo nero, pancetta and saffron banyuls was a good example of great quality in large quantity! The pictures speak for themselves, the freshest cod beautifully cooked and served. In order to produce this dish as originally intended we purchased banyuls vinegar.

Banyuls is a wine vinegar made from grapes grown in the French region of Banyuls-sur-Mer. The varietal mix of this vinegar includes primarily Granache noir, Grenache gris and a minor amount of Carignane grapes. Aged in oak barrels, this vinegar matures for over 5 years developing a somewhat tart or sour tasting vinegar that develops a complex nutty flavor. It combines well with salad vinegarettes made from nut or olive oils or works well as a deglaze for hearty meats, earthy vegetables, or as a fish and lean poultry marinade.

To finish last night's meal we served quince and chestnut tart with chestnut ice cream and creme anglaise.

A little quince trivia: Although the book of Genesis does not name the specific type of the fruit that Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden, some historians and ancient texts suggest that Eve's fruit of temptation might have been a quince

Smaaklike ete! Lekker eet!

Wednesday, 10 February 2010

Last Night's Formal Hall 09/02

Any idea what's wrong with Shane?

Tuesday's Feast Night Formal Hall began with a lovely, healthy winter soup of lentils and carrots, dusted with paprika. Wikipedia describes lentils as: containing high levels of proteins, including the essential amino acids isoleucine and lysine, and are an essential source of inexpensive protein in many parts of the world for those who adhere to a vegetarian diet or cannot afford meat. Lentils are deficient in two essential amino acids, methionine and cystine. However, sprouted lentils contain sufficient levels of all essential amino acids, including methionine and cystine. Apart from a high level of proteins, lentils also contain dietary fiber, folate, vitamin B1, and minerals. Red (or pink) lentils contain a lower concentration of fiber than green lentils (11% rather than 31%). Health magazine has selected lentils as one of the five healthiest foods. Lentils are often mixed with grains, such as rice, which results in a complete protein dish.

The Healthy Soup!

Following the soup we served a great dish of Pork loin, cooked sous vide, and accompanied by French beans, rosemary potatoes, creme de cassis grapes (sliced red grapes cooked in creme de casssis and brandy, yum!)and roasted chestnuts.

This looks really good and must have been nice on such a cold evening!

To follow the pork we served Baileys Chocolate Mousse. Baileys was the first 44% liqueur to use cream and alcohol together in a manner sufficiently stable to allow commercial distribution. The alcohol in Baileys is produced from a bacterial fermentation of whey. The cream and alcohol, together with some whiskey are homogenized to form an emulsion, with the aid of an emulsifier containing refined vegetable oil. This process prevents separation of the whiskey and cream during storage. The quantity of other ingredients is not known but they include chocolate, vanilla, caramel and sugar.(wikipedia)

To finish the meal we served dessert fruit, petit fours and Coffee

Bonum appetitionem!

Tuesday, 9 February 2010

Last Night's Formal Hall 08/02 with Kermit and Miss Piggy

Last night's formal hall guests were served a Greek salad with a difference. The difference being that it was an amuse bouche, and served in a shot glass. Yet again, we looked to Terrines and Verrines for the inspiration behind this little starter.

To properbly begin the meal we served gremolata crusted salmon on rocket sauce with aioli.

Aioli is a French sauce made by mixing lemon, eggs, garlic, and olive oil into a smooth, creamy mixture resembling mayonnaise. It originates from Provençal cuisine, where it is served with meat, fish, and vegetables, and the distinctive garlicky sauce has also been adopted by other nations to add zest to otherwise ordinary foods.

To follow the salmon, and to help celebrate Green week, we served supreme of free-range chicken with Parmesan, pea and spinach risotto. The dish was finished with a red pepper syrup.