Welcome October!

The combination of a truly inspirational trip to the Norwich farmer's market, the opportunity to sift through stacks of years and years worth of cooking magazines, and the emergence of seasonal temperatures had me devoted to the kitchen this weekend. I began with some preparation for the week's meals by making a fully flavorful batch of tomato soup - thanks to the beautifully ripened fruit that "W" offered me earlier in the week. I then moved onto a Normandy-style chicken braise, which combined seared then poached Misty Knoll chicken pieces in a sauce of white wine, apple, mushrooms, and cream; and which served as Saturday night's dinner. Next came the initial preparations for some wild Alaskan salmon gravlax, involving cling-wrapping a marvelously pink filet of salmon with a mixture of 50% sugar and 50% sea salt, and 30 grams of chopped dill. The salmon is currently resting in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped beneath the weight of two liters of tomato soup, and will remain there for the next 24-48 hours until it has been "cooked" through. In addition to these preparations, I also composed two different, yet dilectable salads using the last of the season's beets, tomatoes, lettuces, radishes, green beans, etc...
Thus, it was all in all a sumptuous weekend dedicted to primarily savory tastes. I did however find myself yearning to attempt a slightly more ambitious project, and this afternoon embarked upon the making of one of my favorite candies - soft, chewy, and mouthwatering nougat. I learned how to make this traditional French "Nougat Montelimar" during a chocalate and candy-making course I took while in England. Although the process of making it can seem quite daunting due to cooking various combinations of sweeteners to fairly exact temperatures having to do multiple tasks simultaneously, it proves fully satisfying to complete and then eat! Here is the recipe and technique in adapted quantities.

Dark Chocolate Nougat Montelimar
1 egg white
200 g honey
200 g caster sugar
200 g glucose
100 g dark chocolate couverture
72 g whole roasted hazelnuts
100 g roasted almonds (I used slivers rather than whole ones)
1 sheet of A4-sized rice paper, cut in half

1) Whisk the egg white to a stiff foam - this is best done in a stand mixer as it allows you to have both hands free to accomplish the other preparations, however a hand mixer works fine as I discovered myself.
2) Meanwhile cook the honey to 120 degrees celcius and pour it in a steady stream onto the whisking egg whites. Whisk untill all the honey is incorporated and keep the stand mixer running if you have that luxury.
3) The the sugar and glucose together to 138 degrees celcius and repeat the same process of pouring it steadly into the egg white and honey misture - again all while whisking.
4) Turn the mixer off and melt the chocolate either in a microwave or over a low temperature on a stove top. 5) Add the roasted nuts to the chocolate, mix and then quickly fold the combination into the whipped, significantly sweetened egg white mixture and turn out the lot into a small-sized baking tray lined with one piece of rice paper. Smooth out the top and place the second piece of rice paper over the sticky surface. Allow the whole tray to cool to room temperature and then cut into desired pieces and shapes.