We had a crazy class at Nosh Melting Pot this week where I reminded everyone of the true Vanessa – the incorrigible MasterChef contestant who can’t help but do an entire journey of food in 2 hours.
A perfectionist I may be – but to try to pack so much in – well as Ray McVinnie once said to me – “you can’t do so much Vanessa and get it all perfect!!”
What went exceedingly well were the samples. Ā Food came streaming from theĀ oven to the table and I didn’t spot any crumbs left behind.
The evening commenced with a tasting of the Tart Tatin – a savoury take on the original apple and caramel, this was tomato, thyme, buffalo mozzarella and caramelised onion. Ā The pastry was deliciously golden and the Italian flavours were divine.
Next came a cute chicken and leek cobbler served in a demitasse cup on a saucer. Ā The cobbler was fragrant with thyme and the aroma of leek and sage filled the air.
Then came the hearty main – an individual puff pie, filled with beef, enriched with Guiness, chocolate, pistachios and cranberries. Ā Decadent and delicious!
Not for the faint hearted, was this class as next up was the Banoffi Pie – a deconstructed version based on the constructed one that didn’t quite set. Ā Miniature jars of layered ingredients were topped with grated dark chocolate and spiked with a shard of stem ginger cookie crumb.
A special finale of filo cases filled with a rich lemon curd and topped with a freshly made blueberry jam, completed the pie degustation. Ā That my demo of the fail safe tart tatin became a comedy of errors, only highlighted the issues we can so often face in the kitchen.
Good humour, a fabulous audience who were happy to laugh along and be prepared to be entertained along the journey made the evening a pleasure. Ā If you didn’t make it and would like to take a try at the recipes – here you are….
Ā 12193_Vanessa Baxter recipes_v2
