pheasant plucking

Today in the world of film I plucked some pheasants. It was a funny shot of me sitting on a chair in the kitchen, straddling a bucket pulling feathers out, which were flying all over the place, mostly in my face which lead me to cough and splutter and get the giggles. On Saturday we did a scene of the local gamekeeper visiting the house to drop off the birds. I had to interview him ( as if I was on the one show)! I had no idea what technical questions to ask him. Not a big fan of game, you see.  The director said 'just ask him anything'.....  basically all I could come up with was 'so which one is the male and the female?' Disaster.

Getting the giggles is becoming more and more of a problem. It is probably something to do with being marooned on an island 1 mile long for a month. I feel like I am losing my marbles. Luckily, we all are, even the director! The weather is getting more dramatic, which is great for the film but not so great for us actors, who have to stand around freezing our butts off in between takes.  Oh the glamour. 

I can't actually imagine what it will be like to arrive on the mainland in 2 weeks time, and see lots of people rushing around. A strange thought. This place is ridiculously safe and easy-just pottering around on bikes and not having to worry about safety. Everything you need is within 500 yards! Pub, gym, shop. That's basically it.

It has been a real adventure, and it is an amazing place, just maybe not for 6 weeks....

argh lobsters...

Today we are shooting a scene of me cooking live lobsters! Argh. For some reason those creatures give me the heeby jeebie's.

The only time I have ever dealt with live ones was at Ballymaloe, and we killed them in the most humane way possible which is placing them into a pot of cold water and bringing it to the boil. That way, they fall into a coma and die peacefully. 

However, I don't remember them being too happy about it. They were thrashing about in the pots, and the lids kept flying off. Dierdre and I were jumping and shreeking every 5 seconds! 

I am sure that once the camera's are rolling I will focus and get on with the job, but I can't help feeling like I am going to be eaten alive by THEM.....not the other way round.

Gulp.

Method

So its all started now. This film deal.

I am out of the plush hotel and am now immersed into the world of method acting.

On Monday at precisely 8.50am I was picked up from the hotel, driven to a top secret location (the house where the film is set) put my chef whites on (which have been dyed a delicious skin colour) and the director announced 'action'.

I met my fellow actors for the first time on camera which was very surreal. METHOD!

So day 3 and i'm cooking up a storm. A lot of hanging around though.....

and....ACTION!

Hi hi,

So I got here in one piece. Seriously, the overnight train from Paddington to Penzance is hilarious! You get your own little cabin with TV and all, it even has a fold away sink for you to spit your toothpaste into. I had a very strange old man in the next cabin who clearly liked having a good old chat with himself every 5 minutes, with A LOT of unnecessary sighing and spluttering. Heh.

Anywho I got to sleep and kept thinking I was going to wake up in India on the train from the Darjeeling Limited, but no, I woke up to misty grey cornish skies. Hopped on the helicopter with 17 OAP's (with some serious bird watching equipment in tow) and 20 minutes later I ended up on Tresco. Helicopter flew very low.....but was quite exciting really. My tractor was waiting for me.

The island is amazing, full of all these different palm trees and exotic plants. I met the producer and line producer but my arrival is top secret, because Joanna (director) doesn't want the actors to meet me until Sunday. As a consequence, I have ended up in the plush hotel. Such a hard life. Yup, I got king size bed, Sky TV, amazing view from my garden....yup you heard, garden. It's luxury. Just as I thought things couldn't get any better, there was a knock at the door with a girl standing there with a bottle of champagne! She put it down in the room and then realised I was on my own, and gave me a slightly strange look. 'Thanks very much, that'll do nicely' I said. So this afternoon I have to have a huge lunch, and then my schedule is to down a bottle of champers for 1 and pass out....same for tomorrow too. Shucks.

Haaaaa. This acting malarky is a joke! 

So hope you are not all too jealous. Oh, and the sun is shining, and it's warm.

Blog neglect

I forgot about my blog. I did. For 7 months.

It's not funny, but it's true. 

Anyway, to pick up where I left off:

I went to Ireland for 3 months to Ballymaloe cookery school. Had an amazing time, learnt loads, met some lovely people.

Since then, I've been working as a freelance cook doing a variety of jobs from cooking for Cowes Sailing regatta, Force India F1 team, private cooking for families on holiday, kids parties etc etc.

I joined loads of cooking agencies in London. This job came up (which I misread as cooking for a crew on a film set) so I went along to the interview, and there was a camera in the room. It turned out that it was to 'play'  the part of a cook in a feature film?!

 Anywho, had the 2nd interview and mentioned that I trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama on the 3 year acting course......and got the job!

 It is 7 weeks filming on Tresco (Isles of Scilly) and I am cooking in the film. The Story is about a dysfunctional family who employ a cook when they go on holiday.....the rest is a mystery!

easter lamb

For the main course of the dinner party I thought it only fit to roast a rack of lamb. I ordered the meat from a good local butcher. Make sure you ask for it to be chined and trimmed, that way they will give it to you as it will look on the plate, and you don't have to faff around with it!
My racks had been cut into 3 chop sections. My mums friend Kirsty is a brilliant cook, and she gave me a tip; before flash frying the lamb, cover the fat side with dijon mustard and fresh rosemary....so now you know!


Here was the full menu:


Roast rack of lamb, with mustard and rosemary with dauphinoise potatoes, wilted spinach and salsa verde.



Rack of lamb. (a good quality rack of lamb, dijon mustard, rosemary, salt, pepper)

PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 200. COVER THE FAT SIDE OF RACK WITH LASHINGS OF DIJON MUSTARD AND FRESH ROSEMARY, YUMMY! BEFORE ROASTING THE RACK, FLASH FRY. PLACE THE RACK, FAT SIDE DOWN IN V.HOT OLIVE OIL IN A FRYING PAN, BROWN OFF THE FAT AND REMOVE FROM PAN. PLACE THE RACKS IN A ROASTING TRAY AND COOK ON A HIGH HEAT FOR A GOOD 2O MINS. (this all depends on how you like your meat-but I will warn you it can be deceiving. It can look overdone on the ends, and then you cut into it and it is red raw!). ONCE COOKED REMOVE FROM OVEN, LET THE MEAT REST FOR A GOOD 10 MINS, THEN SLICE INTO CHOPS AND SERVE.



Dauphinoise potatoes. (potatoes, garlic, nutmeg, double cream, cheese of choice, salt, pepper)

PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 180-200. USE MARIS PIPER POTATOES OR CHARLOTTE. PEEL POTATOES AND PUT INTO BOWL OF COLD WATER TO DE-STARCH. SLICE POTATOES V.FINELY INTO 10P WIDTH PIECES. THROW INTO A BIG MIXING BOWL AND GRATE PLENTY OF GARLIC CLOVES (1/2 clove per person, if you love garlic as much as I do!) INTO THE BOWL. GRATE SOME NUTMEG (not too much, it can be quite over-powering) INTO THE BOWL THEN ADD PLENTY OF DOUBLE CREAM. SEASON TO TASTE. MIX THEM ALL TOGETHER, THEN USING YOUR FINGERS, PLACE LAYERS OF POTATOES INTO A PYREX DISH, OCCASIONALLY POURING THE CREAM MIXTURE INTO THE LAYERS. LAYER POTATOES TO THE TOP OF THE DISH, THEN KEEP POURING THE CREAM UP TO THE SECOND TOP LAYER OF POTATOES (ie not up to the top otherwise there will be an accident!) FINISH WITH SOME GRATED CHEESE OF YOUR CHOICE (i just use good old chedder). PLACE IN OVEN AND COOK FOR 40-50 MINS (you want the top to be nice and brown.)
p.s Everyone has their own version of Dauphinoise potatoes, but this one is nice and simple! A good place to start!


The star of the show in this recipe was my salsa verde. I pinched the recipe from the 'Jamie at Home: cook your way to the good life' by Jamie Oliver.It sounds really salty! However, it is soooo good with lamb. Words can't quite describe. So just make it and see what you think!

Salsa Verde. (flat leaf parsley, mint, basil, baby gherkins, anchovy fillets, capers, olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, salt and pepper)

FINELY CHOP FRESH FLAT LEAF PARSLEY, MINT, AND BASIL. (it does need to be really fine, so keep going- its good for the arm muscles!). PLACE IN A BOWL. FINELY SLICE BABY GHERKINS, ANCHOVY FILLETS, CAPERS (salt fest, i know, but it's fine-don't panic) AND ADD TO THE BOWL OF HERBS. ADD A GOOD GLUG OF OLIVE OIL AND RED WINE VINEGAR AND A GENEROUS SPOON OF DIJON MUSTARD. SEASON TO TASTE, THEN ADD THE MIXTURE TO A FOOD PROCESSOR AND WIZZ FOR A SHORT TIME (you want it to be quite loose, but still with a few lumps and not a salty soup! ) THEN PLACE IN FRIDGE AND CHILL. EASY PEASY.

Finally, I wilted some spinach. So simple.

Wilted Spinach. (spinach, olive oil, salt)

USE A BIG DEEP STEAMER STYLE PAN. ADD A TINY BIT OF WATER, OLIVE OIL (the olive oil gives the spinach a good shiny gloss that looks good on the plate!) AND PINCH OF SALT TO THE PAN, WAIT FOR THE WATER TO BOIL THEN ADD THE SPINACH. COVER AND LEAVE TO WILT FOR 2 MINUTES (it's better to take it off sooner rather than later). DRAIN ANY EXCESS WATER AND SERVE.

That's it.


YUMMM. Happy Easter.x

a spring starter....(my first paid job) PART 1

So I did my first bit of professional cooking last week, courtesy of mum who has been spreading the word throughout Northamptonshire about the fact that I am off to Ballymaloe.

It was mums friends 10th wedding anniversary dinner (no pressure!) for twelve people. They basically said 'cook whatever you want' but we want three courses......

SHIT!

It was at that point that I felt like an 8 year old who just wanted to bake fairy cakes and make jelly.

Anywhooo, I got to work designing a menu. I wanted to keep everything seasonal, you know it makes sense.

So this is what I came up with:

For the starter I put together a (sort of) antipasti-style, help-yourself platter plate with

baked young beetroot and red onions. ROUGHLY CHOP BEETS, AND SLICE ONIONS INTO PINWHEELS. COVER WITH TIN FOIL AND SWEAT IN OVEN AT 180 FOR 40 MINS. REMOVE AND COVER WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR/GLAZE AND LEAVE TO COOL.

sweet potato baked in maple syrup and soy. PEEL AND ROUGHLY CHOP POTATOES INTO CHUNKS. PLACE IN BAKING TRAY AND LIGHTLY SPLASH WITH MAPLE SYRUP AND SOY SAUCE. PLACE IN OVEN AT 180 FOR 30 MINS.

The sweet potato sounds a bit weird, but trust me it's a nice combo and seems to work. I got inspiration for these recipes from a book called 'My favourite ingredients' by Skye Gyngell who runs Petersham Nurseries.

I filled the platter dish with bunches of fresh rocket, with big chunks of lemon, parma ham and roasted vine tomatoes, then placed a pile of the bright pink beetroot and onions next to the bright orange sweet potatoes and served it up. The colours on the plate were amazing. A good, uplifting spring starter. I think they liked it?!