new menu and sorbet recipe

i quite like the new menu; it's very busy in the kitchen, lots of pans on the go at the same time, the polenta need constant beating, but it's enjoyable. as always there are plenty of problems, not least the rice tamales. these are in the shape of a tamale but made using a blend of thai rices; jasmine, black and sticky. by friday i was losing my mind trying to shape the bleeders with the back of a wet spoon. just as i was about to start flinging it around the kitchen i decided to use my head and mould the basic shape with a piece of greaseproof (they're steamed in greaseproof anyway) and then flatten it with my hand. success! it took the same time to make the final ten as it had to make the first two; breakdown and inevitable tears averted. feedback has been positive for the most part and presentation has improved through the weekend but two issues arose. the first regarding the filo pie. it was said that the taste of the filling was lost because of the spicy tomato sauce which cover the green beans. having eaten one myself i had to agree. this week we'll be aiming for a brighter presentation of the pie filling, more herbs and more vinegar/lemon, but the sauce will remain the same. the second issue is down to the gardening skills of the webmaster. i had hoped for bucketloads of free plums but his trees are bare, so we had to go out and buy. we bought some british and some spanish. the spanish ones looked prettier so we used those for the poached plums and i used the british ones to make the sorbet and it was a shame that we din't have (free) welsh plums for both. one customer thought the sorbet the best she had had, so here is an approximate recipe. 300ml of stock syrup. this is about 200ml water and 150g of sugar, brought to the boil and allowed to simmer for ten minutes. put a little cinnamon stick, star anise and vanilla in. once the syrup is made take out the aromatics and add about 250g of plums. poach until soft and then blend. pass through a sieve and allow to cool. measure out 500ml and add a dash of lemon juice, then place into the bowl of an ice cream maker and have sorbet. you can freeze and whisk, freeze and whisk for not such a good outcome. cheers wayne