note: before i start, please note all of the glasses of wine pictured; i drank them all, so as to not waste them all. that explains the face in the last picture, just so we're clear....
sometimes i get the best invites to things. sometimes i get second hand invites to the best things. this makes the things no less awesome, just my presence less wanted at them. but, when a second hand invite comes from someone you've not been able to pin down in real life for the best part of a year, despite your willingness, desire and desperation to, and then they invite you to something that they can't bail out of on you last minute, then... you go, no? yes!
you might already know laura a.k.a the editor of six out of ten magazine that i sometimes write for, but if you don't, here's the low down: 1) she's got sass, 2) she's full of aspirational quips, 3) a bit of a ball breaker, 4) the best person to have at the end of a whatsapp chat message when you're drunk. these things i only knew of her prior to a few mondays ago.
since then i hasten to add also: 5) tiny, 6) giggles a lot, 7) a pretty decent cook.
so, laura was invited by the alaskan seafood co to an evening of salmon love and eating over at jamie oliver's resipease at notting hill. i don't think she was even allowed to bring a +1, but she's so ballsy, she just bloody did it anyway. which i was obviously grateful for. we rocked up a little too late to indulge in the canapes - but never too late for a glass of wine, so each grabbed a glass, donned an apron, and then paid all our attentions to chef jose suoto's demonstration. he told us what we'd be cooking that night... no guesswork here; the two dishes on the menu were both salmon. one cooked, and one... not. *gulp*
i avoid uncooked sushi. i rarely eat salmon. i've had it once or twice. i was looking forward to trying some tasty salmon. not some uncooked salmon. i might have panic-drank another glass of pinot blush in anticipation of un-cooking and being forced to eat raw fish....
after jose's brief we were set to work descaling and seasoning and all kinds of things i hardly remember thanks to the wine and no thanks to the photographic evidence. many thanks to chef jose's kind assistant antonia, who was more than complimentary in her assessment and assistance of mine and laura's cooking skills. something to work on, eh. our first dish was a simple baked wild alaskan salmon with fennel and lemon (fine, cooked). the second - more difficult of the dishes, was a salmon tartare with balsamic glaze, topped with roe... roe. as in, fish eggs. this was a raw salmon dish with fish eggs on top. i was scuurrrred.
except, you know what? it was bloody lovely! i honestly don't know what i was so worried about. it was so tasty, and the texture of the uncooked salmon was so fine and cold that i barely recognised it was raw at all. i expected it to be slimy and horrible, but it wasn't at all. and funnily enough, since this night (which was about three weeks ago, truthfully. i've been a tardy blogger.), i have eaten so much salmon. even some raw sushi! i'm so brave now. it's a whole new world out there for me now, you know!
all in all, it was a fab night. we learned a few new techniques (well, they were taught. i am unsure if i remember any of them, sorry chef), we met some great new people (namely laura, who i guess i already knew... but nice to have *met* her finally), and ate some fantastic food. so, thanks so much to alaskan seafood for inviting laura, and allowing her to bring me, as her unauthorised +1.
what's your take on uncooked salmon - are you a big old scaredy cat like me?
don't be! it's yum!
*some pics are courtesy of sixoutoften mag, with thanks*
