T O P of the Class!

  The subject of getting you cooking will have to be delayed a little as I have a very large GOLD star to award to the latest bit of outstanding cooking achievement. Before this goes any further though, I have to make a declaration in case there is any whiff of scandal, bias or favouritism regarding the recipient of this accolade.

  The winner of all this attention is of course the management. She's my toughest pupil and the one who teaches me the most. As she's always looking over my shoulder and getting endless cooking demos and encouragement, you'd imagine she'd embrace the opportunity to learn with both hands. But no. I think it's fair to say she really doesn't like cooking and only does so very reluctantly and infrequently. And that's why I'm so happy to award this totally on merit.

One cooked case ready to be filled.

  What feat has merited such a response? In brief, as I'm one and a half thousand miles away the Mrs. decided to meet up with a friend and take a quiche. Not just any quiche but a gluten free (GF) one. If you're not familiar with the process of making GF pastry, it can be a bit of a challenge. The gluten is useful for holding the pastry together so without it, rolling and lining a tin can be tricky as the pastry falls apart very easily.

  We spoke this morning and I gave her a couple of tips. I'm going to share one that may help you and it works for regular as well as GF pastry. Lay a sheet of cling film on your work surface and roll the pastry out on that. Slide it onto a tray and put it in the fridge for 15-20 mins to cool and firm up. Flour the pastry generously (to stop it sticking to the tin) then line the tin with the pastry/cling film sheet. When the pastry is in place, simply peel away the cling film and bingo, your tin is lined.

The finished masterpiece.

  I also asked for pics but didn't expect anything, so when these arrived I was totally blown away. One of the things that makes cooking so unenjoyable for her is a lack of confidence but I'm going to keep a copy of this picture close by to remind her of what incredible things she can do. I've asked for a slice but I've a feeling it will all be gone before I return. Hat's off to my new star!

​​​​​​​Tomorrow, more encouragement.

Kirk out

RevoltingFood.com