Saturday, September 29, 2007

Cooking with the Famous!


Yesterday was the day. Karin and I set out bright and early for Rotterdam where we would be attending a workshop with celebrity chef Andy McDonald. We arrived fashionably late after getting lost (never ask for directions in Rotterdam) but fortunately no one had yet started.
Winners were accompanied by someone of their choice, so it was a rather large bunch. Andy gave us explanations about what we would be doing and after that we broke up into groups to prepare a delicious vegetarian meal. Each group was told to grab a work station where a recipe would be waiting and because most of the ingredients were within reach, we could immediately get to work. Karin and I were in charge of making individual-sized tortillas, but unfortunately we did manage to forget the parsley and in turn tried to convince Andy that we thought it would be nicer thrown in at the end as a garnish.
There were a lot of laughs, plenty of good food and enough wine to keep us cheerful. Not only did we learn the much coveted "correct" chopping technique from Andy himself, but we also got to take home a goodie bag. Andy, Marjolein and all the assistants at Kookpunt Rotterdam who helped us yesterday, THANKS!!! We had a fantastic time!

Our feast included:
Appetizer
-Shot glasses with Gazpacho

Tapas
-Delicias de Queso (Manchego and goat cheese fritters with thyme)
-Patatas bravas
-Bread with tomato, garlic and sea salt
-Tortillas
-Aubergines with olives and rosemary
-Empanadillas with spinach, pine nuts and goat cheese
-Courgette fritters
-Chickpeas with egg and caper dressing

Dessert
-Crema Catalana


For more pictures, click here: Andy McDonald Workshop

9 comments:

Anna's kitchen table said...

Wow! Paola, I'm impressed! That must have been a great day!

Gloria Baker said...

So nice Paola, I envious you a little!!! Glad you have a lovely dayxxxxGloria

Nora B. said...

Looks like so much fun!

Sylvia said...

Wow ! Paola,your day was fantastic. I love Spanish cook,tapas ,manchego cheese and etc.But I had a doubt, crema catalana is the same that creme bruleƩ?

vonsachsen said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful day!I checked your album out at Flickr and I must confess I loved the one with the empty eggshells and the kitchen waste :D Great shots!

Mara said...

Sounds like you had lots of fun :)

Anonymous said...

I followed the link from your name at the comment you left at http://pastrystudio.blogspot.com/ to find you here. Nice blog. Who can be unhappy about good food and living well, and who fails to find the Golden Era fascinating needs rewiring. I'll be back.

Isa from Maine

Paola Westbeek said...

Hi all! Thanks for your comments! It was truly and unforgettable experience. One to be repeated, I hope. ;)

Sylvia,

I think crema catalana is similar (also had a caramelized crust) but this one had a more liquidy consistency and was a bit paler. It was delicious though!

Isa,

I'm glad you found my blog and like it! Hope to see you around some more!

paola

Sandy said...

I love your new blog header photo Paola. The colors are gorgeous.
I'm glad you had such a wonderful experience.