We started things back at Newlyns, where we were cashing in the last of the vouchers given to us as wedding presents. My aunt BJ's cooking school certificates turned into places for both of us on the new "Pork and Poultry Perfection" course. Just one other student joined us, so the ratio to Newlyn's staff was 1-to-1, a real treat.
As with the butchery course we took earlier in the year, we spent the day with master butcher Jason, who greeted us cheerfully as he casually strolled up the stairs with half a pig's carcass over one very broad shoulder. As before, he started by breaking down the animal, showing us where cuts of meat come from and how they're taken out of the body. I'd already forgotten plenty from the earlier course, so this was a good reminder. Over to us for a practical exercise, we trimmed a pork loin, made fig and sausage stuffing and prepped it for roasting; it became our lunch several hours later.
Next, on to pork pies. Not my favourite thing. The gelatin always puts me off. But good to know what goes into their making. In fact, my respect has increased for this dish, which I'd seen as humble but I now know is quite complicated. Shaping the pastry properly is a challenge. (And we didn't even have to make it. Head chef Hannah had done that bit in advance.) As with ravioli, there's an art to getting the right amount of filling. The top needs to be beautifully yet solidly crimped. If you've done it all properly you have about two minutes to get them out of the moulds before they stick. (Four of my six made it.) Finally, if the crusts are whole, you have to squirt in that gelatine to solidify everything and help with the preservation. Probably the first and last time I bother.
An equal amount of bother but possibly worth another go is sausage making. We ended the day with this. Getting the right flow of meat into the casing obvioulsy takes practice, as does the looping and twisting required to turn the long link into individual sausages. Will a Kitchen Aid sausage grinder make an appearance on the Christmas list?
On the poultry front, Jason reminded us how to quickly and neatly segment a whole chicken. We learned how to spatchcock (a simple technique I really must remember for barbecues), tunnel boned and stuffed a thigh, and prepped breasts with a spicy marinade. The best thing about Newlyns' courses is how much they send you home with. We left with sacks of the aforementioned treats bound for our freezer.
The next day I was off to Decorex, the top annual trade show for the interior design industry. My entry was thanks to my mother in law, who's in the business, and my objective was to look for fabrics for the new house. I was like a kid in a candy shop. Admittedly, the kid who only likes the expensive stuff. I liked lots. But what did I really love? Hand painted Chinese wallpaper panels. Birds nesting in tree branches with hints of bronze and gold. The rough cost to do our bedroom, with the trade discount? About £6,000. Even the allure of sleeping within by the same designs that ensconced the 18th century nobility was not enough to tempt me towards that price tag.
So much more fun than work! But it's time to get back to the grindstone to earn some cash. Practical or not, even opera hooks don't come cheap.
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