Pink Whisk

One a Penny, Two a Penny

2009-04-13T16:10:00.003+01:00

It wouldn't be Easter without some Hot Cross Buns. This recipe come from Delia's "Complete Cookery Course" and is also available online. I made a double batch and I doubled the quantity of mixed peel also. If you can buy the peel that comes as a large piece that you chop yourself - much better flavour and a lot less dried out.

Lamb Shanks

2009-03-11T21:36:00.006Z

I bought a large jar or preserved lemons a few weeks ago and I was keeping my eyes peeled for a recipe to try them out when I spotted this one on Bibliocook. When I picture preserved lemons I instinctively think of Moroccan spicy food but it works really well in this dish, adding that little something which lifts it up from a mundane, everyday kind of stew. There was a lot of meat on our shanks and there was plently of sauce and vegtables to give me two extra dinners for the freezer.

Be My Valentine

2009-02-16T18:50:00.008Z

I love Tastespotting but over the weekend there were a selection of rather dubious 'Valentine's' offerings, beet sorbet anyone??. The perfect Valentine's dessert should be just that little bit decadent and special, but not necessarily lurid pink. I found the perfect recipe in my Ice Cream Ireland book. I used a pink champagne which added just a hint of subtle colour.

Meatless Feast

2009-02-04T20:46:00.015Z

The word feast usually conjures up images of the traditional 'fatted calf' slaughtered to welcome home the prodigal son. However I think the picture above sums it up better - simply family and friends sharing food, wine and conversation.

On a recent visit home we wanted a 'feast' but having consumed rather too many heavy dinners of late I decided to forgo the meat element of the feast. Of assistance here was my new favourite book from 'Ottolenghi'. I have a rule that a cookbook, however nice, must bring something new to my kitchen before I can justify its purchase and this has certainly earned its place on my shelves of late.

We ate:

Roasted Butternut Squash with Burnt Aubergine

1 large butternut squash
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds
10g sliced almonds
salt and pepper

for the sauce
1 medium aubergine
150g Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
(1 1/2 tsp pomegranate molasses - I left this out I couldn't get any in Wexford but I imagine it would complement the smokiness of the sauce)

cut squash into wedges, coat with 2 tbsp olive oil and roast in a 220 deg C oven for 30 mins
reduce oven temp to 180 deg C, toast seeds and almonds for 8-10 minutes - Watch carefully these burn easily
place the aubergine under a very hot grill for about an hour, turning occasionally, until the skin dries and craks (alternatively this can be done in 15 mins directly on the flame of a gas hob)
scoop the flesh out and place in a colander to drain for 10 mins
stir together all the sauce ingrediants and place in a bowl in the centre of a serving platter
surround the bowl with the squash, scatter over the nuts and seeds and drizzle the remaining olive oil

Courgette Cakes

Marinated Sweet Peppers with Mozzarella

6 sweet peppers
120 ml olive oil
3 tbsp corainder, chopped
3 tbsp parsly, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tbsp cider vinegar
large ball mozarella
salt and pepper

preheat the oven to 200 deg C
drizzle 2 tbsp olive oil on peppers
roast for 15 mins
mix together herbs, garlic, vinegar, 80ml oil
put warm peppers in a bowl and pour over marinade
leave a room temperature for a minimum of 2 hours
lay peppers on a serving plate, tear up the mozzarella and scatter over

We also had a tomato and advocao salad, some olives to nibble on and this bread, which was good - but I think I could do a little better so you'll have to wait for the recipe.

Something to Warm Those Toes

2009-01-04T18:35:00.005Z

My go-to source for substantial, comforting soups has always been the first Avoca book and this one certainly hits the spot on a cold winter's day.

Tomato, Lentil and Orange Soup

50g butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 orange, zested and flesh chopped
50g red lentils
1 x 400g tin tomatoes
300ml vegtable stock ( I use Marigold boullion)

melt butter and cook onion for approx 10 mins until soft
add garlic for 1 min
add orange zest and flesh, lentils, tomatoes and stock
bring to the boil and simmer for 20 mins
puree, adding more stock if it is to thick

I Guess Somebody Liked It!!

2009-01-04T18:05:00.008Z

At Christmas time it's always a good idea to have something in the fridge that can spice up those leftovers. I made this a few years ago and it disappeared in a flash so I decided to do it again, as well as being good with leftovers it really jazzes up a cheese sandwich. The recipe comes from Paul Flynn's 'An Irish Adventure with Food, The Tannary Cookbook', which has recently been re-issued with a new cover (and hopefully some more proof-reading - the font changes on random pages in the original).

Red Pepper and Chilli Relish
makes approx 5 jars (750g)

50g caster sugar
60ml white wine vinegar
5 red peppers, de-seeded and chopped
1 red chilli, de-seeded and chopped
2" piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, grated
2 x tins (400g each) tomatoes, blended
2 leaves gelatine

put sugar and vinegar in a pan and bring to the boil
add pepper and cook for 2 mins
add chilli, garlic, ginger and tomatoes, season, cook for another 15 mins and then remove from the heat
soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water
when gelatine is soft, squeeze off excess water and stir into pepper mix off the heat
fill sterilised jars with relish

To sterilise jars either:

run through a dishwasher cycle and fill while still warm, or
place in 150 deg C oven for 15 mins - again fill while still warm

In theory this should keep in the fridge for 2-3 months, however it never lasts that long in my house!!

Mince Pies

2008-12-26T20:44:00.013Z

My Dad rang me in a bit of a panic on Christmas Eve "I can't find Mrs. Dunbar's pastry recipe", having made six dozen mince pies the previous weekend I could rattle this one off the top of my head. By now my mincemeat has matured nicely, much more moist than the commercial variety with an added citrusy kick.

Rich Sweet Pastry
makes enough for 15 mince pies

8oz of plain flour
2oz of icing sugar
5oz butter
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp ice-cold water
1 tsp lemon juice

whisk together egg yolk, water and lemon juice
sieve together flour and icing sugar
place all ingrediants in a food processor and blend until they come together
wrap in cling film and refridgerate for at least 1 hour before using

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C and brush the tart pans with melted butter. Roll out pastry to approx 1/2 cm thick and cut rounds using a pastry cutter or glass (I like to cut bigger rounds for the base than the lids). Place the larger rounds in the base of the tart pans and add a generous teaspoon of mincemeat, cover with the smaller rounds and pinch together. Brush with egg wash and bake for 20-25 mins.

Boxwood Cafe

2008-12-24T20:11:00.015Z

To those of us not in the know the reservations policies of well-known London restaurants can be something of a mystery. For our London trip we were on the waiting list at the River Cafe - to this day I have no idea if we came anywhere near getting a table or not. Happily Gordon Ramay's Boxwood Cafe operates a very egalitarian resevations policy, and bookings for tables up to 4 persons can be made online from one month before the date in question.

We turned up for lunch on a wet cold Sunday afternoon and were greated warmly despite a backpack and a myriad of parcels - all these, plus coats, were wisked away allowing us to proceed unemcumbered into the dining room. The clientele was a varied mix on a wet sunday afternoon, some hotel guests, well-heeled locals, out-of-towners doing their Christmas shopping and a few tourists.

What we ate:

For The Doc a kind of deconstructed salad - this is the sort of dish that relies on the quality of the individual ingredients and in this case everything was spot on. I've been trying to replicate the texture and creaminess of the advocado and I'm close but not there yet.

For me a ceviche of salmon with crab, grapefruit and chilli. I was slightly afraid that the chilli would overpower this dishes but it was a simple background presence with the citrus of the grapefruit the predominant note.

The Doc went for the burger - but not any old burger, a veal and foie gras burger. The veal was melt in the mouth tender which is not what you expect when biting into a burger, and he didn't feel the texture worked in a burger setting. Surprisingly, given Gordon Ramsay's rants on the subject, the burger could only be ordered "Medium" (or "mooing", as the Doc commented).

Once I started reading the menu this dish intrigued me, I would never have paired tuna with parsnip and then added a pepper sauce to the mix - I just had to order it. The tuna was served rare, as I had requested, and was meltingly tender. Surprising the combination of the slightly sweer parsnip puree with bold flavour of the pepper sauce worked really well and the parsnip crips added a dramatic flair to plate that needed something to bring it all together.

This was possibly the best pear and almond tart I have ever had. Drenched in syrup it was moist without being too sweet. The custard was spot-on, silky, sweet and warm.

When I ordered the chocolate fondant I was told 'there will be a fifteen minute wait madam' , 'not a problem' I replied. There was no way a fifteen minute wait was going to come between me and a chocolate fondant. Was it worth the wait? Definitely. What arrived on the plate was perfectly cylindrical but one small slice in with the side of a spoon and the whole thing collapsed with molten chocolate flowing accross the plate. Accompanied by some salted caramel and mint ice-cream (kept from melting in a pre-chilled metal canister) which just tempered the richness of the chocolate slightly.

Two coffees were ordered and arrived with two chocolates each. The looked like pretty standard chocolate truffles coated in cocoa powder. I bit into one to find molten caramel cascading out, simply wonderful.

The total bill including sparkling water (but not wine, we don't tend to drink a lunchtime) was a nice round £100, which is a lot less in € than it was a year ago, but there is a set lunch menu which I feel is a steal at £25.

London Calling

2008-12-06T23:26:00.010Z

The Doc and I made the trip to London last weekend and our first stop of the trip was Borough Market. The Doc described it as 'medieval' and he's right, it's been there since AD43. It's a true market - full of tourists too - but the primary focus is still the daily trading.

My favourite trader is definitely Brindisa - set up in 1988 they import fine Spanish food into the UK. I got some cheese, manchego and membrillo to go with it (unfortunately I had to had the membrillo over at security in Satanstead as they consider it a liquid :-().

There was a huge queue for the coffee at Monmouth both at the stall inside the market and at the shop outside it. We joined the throng to see what they were excited about it, the coffee of the day was 'Finca La Fany' from El Salvador. It definitely not a 'standard' coffee, I liked the taste, a rich dark flavour and the heart shaped foam was a nice added extra!!

Our other foodie shopping experience was as the food halls in Harrods. If you have never been here it has to be seen to be belived, any place that has a whole room devoted to chocolate goes right to the top of my list. The Doc's head was turned by the whole corner devoted to Jelly Belly. We spent a good hour wandering around marvelling at the selection. The thing that I found odd was that they also sell staples like milk and Wheetabix - are there people out there who buy everything in Harrods???

Say tuned to see where we went for lunch...........

Plain Jane?

2008-11-16T20:03:00.011Z

Sometimes appearances can be deceiving, this looks like a pretty boring cake but in fact it's perfect. A moist firm crumb which holds it's shape when cut and improves with age. It comes from Dorie Greenspan's Baking which I picked up on my trip to Houston. I had never heard of her before I bought this but have since discovered that there are an mpressive 41 pages on egullet devoted to this book. Everything is in cups, but I weighed it all as I went along and have only given my measurements here.

Rum-Drenched Vanilla Cakes (adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking)
makes two 2 pint loaves

Cakes
390g plain flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
425g vanilla sugar*
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 eggs
150 mls double cream
2 1/2 tbsp rum
210g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Syrup
85ml water
45g sugar
60ml rum

preheat the oven to 180 deg C
grease two loaf pans
sift together the flour, salt and baking powder
beat together eggs and sugar until tripled in volume
whisk in the vanilla extract, then the cream and the rum
fold in the dry ingrediants
fold in the melted butter
bake for 55-60 mins (check after 30, if the tops are getting too brown cover with foil)
Once the cakes go into the oven start making the syrup.
stir sugar and water together over a low heat until sugar is dissolved
bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and add the rum
leave to cool
When cakes are cooked leave to cool for 5 mins in the tin and then unmold. Turn the right way up, pierce all over with a skewer and brush over the syrup. Work slowly with the syrup to ensure in all gets soaked up.

* I actually use vanilla sugar in pretty much all my baking. Simply chop
two vanilla pods into thirds add to the sugar and store in an airtight
jar (I use a Kilner jar as you can see). Top up the sugar and give a little
shake to mix as you go along.

Time for Cake

2008-11-15T21:12:00.008Z

I'm not a great fan of Christmas cake, I find it a bit too rich and I don't like marzipan or icing either. I wasn't going to make one at all this year until I was flicking through my copy of Nigella's 'Feast' (her best book IMO) and came across this recipe which is for a lighter cake that is later topped with glazed nuts and candied fruit. It's very simple to make, I substituted apricot jam for the chestnut puree and also used brandy rather than rum - both of these are suggested by Nigella herself. Don't skip on preparing the tin, you don't want the cake getting too dark around the edges.

Easy Light Christmas Cake (adapted from Nigella Lawson's Feast)
525g mixed dried fruit
250g glace cherries
175g unsalted butter
250g dark brown sugar
250g apricot jam
125ml brandy
juice and zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
3 large eggs, beaten
250g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

double line and grease a 10" square tin
put two layers of brown paper around the outside of the tin (secured with string), it should stand 3-4" proud of the tin
chop cherries in quarters and add to heavy pan along with the rest of the dried fruit
add the butter, sugar, jam, rum, orange juice and both zests
over a low heat stir until the butter has melted
bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins
remove from the heat and leave to cool for 30 mins
preheat the oven to 150 deg C
sieve together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
lightly stir in the eggs and flour mix
pour into the prepared tin
bake for 1 3/4 - 2 hours, the cake is done when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean

Once the cake has cooled completely wrap the cake in two layers of greaseproof paper followed by two layers of tinfoil.

Preparation Time

2008-11-09T17:33:00.007Z

I know it's a bit early to be talking about Christmas but some things, like cake, pudding and mincemeat, taste better when left to mature for a while. Back when I was a teenager my friend S and I made our Christmas money by selling mince pies to our nieghbours. When I think back on it, it was a highly organised affair. The mince pie enterprise started in late November when we canvassed the nieghbourhood for orders. Then it was time to made the mincemeat. leaving it to mature for a few weeks. Typically we made about 1000 mince pies over a single weekend in M's kitchen, then delivered them in nicely packaged boxes a few days before Christmas.

I have always used this recipe from Delia, the real key is the quality of your ingrediants. Buy whole candied citrus peel and chop it yourself - the taste doesn't even begin to compare with the bitter stuff you get in the supermarket. I bought all my stuff in The Gourmet Shop, just beacause I can walk there from work. Interestingly I bought some ground almonds also @ €17.50 /kg .I priced them the next day in my local Tesco where the cheapest ones (and they were on 'special') were €21.50/kg!! It always pays to shop around.

Baby It's Cold Outside

2008-10-29T21:23:00.006Z

And what better to warm up with than a crumble? This is a very simple one from Tartlette but the addition of some cardamon to the topping brings a little extra to the mix. A big fat mug of tea in the other hand and what more could you ask for?

How Y'All Doin??

2008-10-21T21:40:00.017+01:00

Last week The Doc and I were in Houston visiting our good friend BJM. Houston is somewhat of a culinary conundrum. The NYT food critic Craig Claiborne said that there are only five regional American cuisines worth considering - bbq, Cajun, Creole, Tex-Mex and soul-food - these all converge in Houston. It is the city that eats out more than any other in the US, yet it is also the fattest city in the US. As the fourth-largest city in the US it also has a very diverse range of ethnic eateries, the expected Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Indian and Chinese abound but there are also Korean, Ethiopian, Sardinian and Greek restaurants. A good guidebook is the 'Food Lover's Guide to Houston' which includes information on grocery stores, markets, bakeries, speciality shops, bars cafes, kitchenware shops as well as restaurants.

On our whistlestop tour we ate at:

Brasil: BJMs local cafe. Simple salads, quiches, pizzas, good coffees and yummy desserts. The emphasis here is freshness and organic where possible.

Aladdin: We got take-out food from here. In my head 'take-out' is associated with greasy 'fast-food' but this Greek restaurant has a big selection of the freshest salads, 3 served with a meat of your choice (grilled to order) for $10.50, and the best hummus I've ever had, served with fresh pitas. There is a large Greek community in Houston with their own Orthodox church and school (about 40% of the students here are ethnically Greek). As we left they were preparing for their annual Greek festival.

El Tiempo: The one miss of the trip, The Doc's fajitas were good but my Chalupas del Mar didn't taste of much and came smothered in iceberg lettuce. It was also overpriced for the level of resaturant that it thinks it is.

Paulie's: Down the road from BJM's house (although nobody walks anywhere in Houston, I sense a possible connection with the obesity level). A simple neighbourhood Italian which is also known for its cookies, these were a little on the sweet side for me but the pecan tart is to die for.

Beck's Prime: This styles itself as 'The World's Freshest Fast Food' and is a far removed from McDs as a fast-food joint can be. I had the California burger, with fresh guacamole and a patty that was reassuring inhomogeneous in both shape and texture, a burger that both looked and tasted like it once ran around a field. The chips (skin on) were good but the limeade was a little to sweet for my liking - I did eat lemon halves as a child though, so my taste is probably on the sour side for most.

Mockingbird: The standout meal of the trip. This bistro is proud of its wine list, it runs to 17 pages and although I'm not an expert on any wine, nevermind American ones, those in the know do rate its selection. The food on the other hand I can comment on, the menu here is the one we chose from (it changes regularly). I started with the calamari which were plentiful with a light crispy batter and not at all chewy. At that they were not a patch on my main course of buttery mountain trout served with lobster and garlicky green beans (and only $29!!). The Doc's Kobe beef burger came topped with 1/2" of Hudson Valley foie gras and the accompaning truffle fries brought that heady earthy smell to the table. Around the table we also had the tuna with wasabi potatoes, the free-range chicken with roast veg and the Angus beef fillet, there were votes of approval all around. Dessert was a carrot cake served with ginger ice-cream and caramalised pineapple, a combination I'll be trying at home soon.

Starbucks: had to add this in. It seems like there is one everywhere you turn in Houston, even to the extent that there are two directly across from one another in BJM's local mall!!

A tip to all those travelling to the US, I bought two Microplane graters for my sister for $12 each, I love these graters and use mine everyday but I've never seen them here for less than 30 Euro.

Ananda

2008-10-12T13:18:00.002+01:00

First there was a little whisper: Atul Kocchar mentioned on Saturday Kitchen that he was to open a restaurant in Dublin.

Following this a little murmur: The Jaipur chain were to open in Dundrum.

Then there was some muttering: Atul and Jaipur were joining forces and it was to open in May.

Then the name 'Ananda' cropped up, a few weeks later this website appeared. I rang a number of times and it always rang out, I signed up for the newsletter.

Then I heard a rumour, Ananda had opened, and it was good. That is happily one rumour that I can confirm. Though it does appear to be a 'soft' opening as I have yet to receive a newsletter.

Two Fridays ago, the Doc and I decided to head out for a quick bite, the only table in the main restaurant available was for 6.30 (we only rang about 5) and it was very quiet but the buzz developed over the next 40 mins.

An amuse bouche of pea soup was subtlely, aromatically spiced. The Doc started with Kurkura Murgh, good quality moist chicken lightly spiced and grilled. I opted for Kekda Balchao which was my dish of the meal, served in a cylindrical kilner jar with a chopped mango and chilli in the bottom and topped with sweet succulent crabmeat on the side was a tempura crab claw, each mouthful was a sweet/spicy explosion

The mains are divided into two sections, the first bears Atul's influence the second features some dishes more commonly found in Indian menus. The Doc opted for Nalli Ki Kaliyan, a shank of lamb that was literally falling off the bone, the rich sauce was mopped up with some good garlic and coriander naan. Unable to decide I went for the Ananda's Masahari, a variant on the traditional Indian thali small selections of a number of different dishes. The main plate arrived with some lemon rice and some succelent grilled chicken (not very spicy I need to taste it again to figure out the flavour). A half moon shaped plate surrounded this with four small bowls, a lamb rogan josh, a mild chicken curry (murgh makhani?), a prawn and a chickpea curry as well a two pieces of naan. There was easily enough in this dish for two, the only critisim I would have was that all four curries were the same colour and it thus didn't have the visual imapct of all the other dishes.

We were too full to contemplate dessert but it looked more 'Indian inspired' than traditional Indian, which is no bad thing in my opinion. Along with two bottles of sparking water the bill (excluding tip) came to 83.75 which I think reflects excellent value for the level of the experience.

Cupcakes

2008-09-14T22:45:00.003+01:00

Until today I didn't really understand the allure of cupcakes. I think I was comparing then to fairy cakes from my childhood birthday parties. But cupcakes really are in a different league, moist in the centre and topped with a creamy icing (or 'frosting' as its American originators would call it). I got both of these recipes from Lorraine's site. The chocolate ones were my personal favourites, the hint of coffee means they really are 'grown-up' cupcakes, I topped mine with a cocoa covered coffee bean. I was less successful in my icing of the lemon ones, I suggest you add the lemon juice slowly in case you have a very juicy lemon like me!!

Last of the Summer Strawberries

2008-09-14T21:53:00.007+01:00

There are still some Irish strawberries available, on my drive back from Wexford on Saturday I passed numerous stalls selling their wares that would normally be well finished by this time of the year. If you get some good quality ones a simple recipe that showcases their beauty is best. I found this one in the Chocolate and Zucchini book by Clotilde Dusoulier, author of the blog of the same name. It's a really quirky little book and has earned a place on my shelves simply because everything in it is original and just that little bit different. The only change I made was to replace one large egg with one medium one plus another yolk which makes the filling just a little bit richer.

The pastry for this recipe is the same as she uses for her plum tart here, prepare and bake blind as she describes.

Filling:
500g strawberries
1 medium egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
120 ml milk

whisk eggs, vanilla, sugar and cornstarch together
bring the milk to the boil, pour it over the egg mix and whisk
return to the saucepan and whisk over a low heat until thickened
cool slightly and then spoon into tart shells
leave to cool and then topped with washed, sliced strawberries

On the other hand if your strawberries have seen better days then I recommend this recipe from Smitten Kitten, the strawberries add that little bit of sweetness to the rhubarb (no pics as my camera was broken for the last few weeks).

Raspberry Lemon Tiramisu

2008-08-31T20:21:00.007+01:00

I’m very proud of this one because it’s the first recipe that I thought up from scratch myself. When in Italy I purchased a bottle of limoncello and I’ve been thinking of ways to use it (other than the obvious aperitif). So here it is – lemon raspberry tirsmisu.

Serves 10-12
40 savoiardi biscuits
Juice of three lemons made up to 200 ml with water
3 tbsp caster sugar
50 ml limoncello

Warm the juice and water together with the sugar until it dissolves
Add the limoncello
Leave to cool

200 ml cream
20 ml limoncello
500 g mascarpone
4 tbsp caster sugar
Zest of 3 lemons
4 egg yolks

Whip the cream
Add 20 ml limoncello
Whip until firm again
In a clean bowl mash the mascarpone and lemon zest together
Beat in the sugar and then the egg yolks
Fold in the previously whipped cream

600 g raspberries

I used a 7 by 7 inch square pan with a removable base. Dip ½ the savoiardi biscuits in the cooled lemon syrup and line the bottom of the dish. Spoon over ½ the raspberries and top with ½ the mascarpone mix. Repeat the layers finishing with a mascarpone layer. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight to let the flavours meld together.

Serve with some fresh fruit salad.

Probably the best..........

2008-08-05T15:11:00.006+01:00

Chocolate chip cookies in the world

I first came across these on Orangette's blog, though they are originally came from the New York Times. I made two batches, one with 24 hours of resting the dough and the other with 48 hours. Both were good but the second lot were a bit easier to handle. The great thing about resting the dough is that you can come home from work, stick the oven on and 15 mins later have yummy fresh cookies to hand. I pretty much followed the recipe to the letter except for using ordinary plain flour for both 'flours' specified and I got 24 enormous cookies from the recipe.

P.S. I used chocolate chips that I bought in Cacoa Sampaka in Barcelona. They were great as they are really small and you get a nice, even distribution of chips throughout the cookie. Does anybody know where I can get ones like these in Ireland? (I found them in one shop but it would have been over 10 Euro for the chips for these cookies!!)

Party in the Park

2008-07-19T23:29:00.007+01:00

Ok, the Party in the Park. My friend S decided to invite a few friends to celebrate her birthday with a picnic in Bushy Park. If you remember last Sunday in Dublin she possibly picked our one day of summer for this event. Nobody should have a birthday without a cake so I provided this one.

An American friend gave me a cookbook of cookbooks Food & Wine ‘Best of the Best’ Vol 8 (thanks BJM). I’m not a big fan of very sweet desserts. I like dark chocolate, lemon and raspberries. I especially don’t like overly sweet icing/fillings, the filling in this cake is white chocolate rather than frosting based which made it jump out at me immediately. It is originally from ‘Pure Chocolate’ by Fran Bigelow. I know my recipe is a mixture of imperial and metric - the original is in American imperial and I converted the sugar and butter to metric because I can never get my head around a 'stick' of butter!!

First things first – when a recipe has an instruction like ‘chill overnight’ it’s probably for a reason. I baked my cake on Saturday evening and simply left it out to cool overnight, as a result it was quite stick and difficult to cut. Thus my cake had slightly-less-than-perfect edges but the taste was still good. It's quite a rich cake and you will easily serve 16 from this recipe. You do need to start this the day before you intend to eat it.

Ganache Filling
½ cup double cream
8 oz white chocolate

roughly chop chocolate and place in a bowl
heat the cream until just boiling
pour over the chocolate and keep stirring until it's smooth and glossy
cover with cling film (touching the surface) and leave to cool overnight

Cake
8 oz chocolate, chopped
115g unsalted butter, softened
5 eggs, seperated
340g sugar

preheat the oven to 150º C
grease, line and grease again a 9 x 13'' swiss roll tin
melt the chocolate
remove from the heat, stir in the butter until the mix is glossy
set aside to cool for 20 mins
whisk egg yolks + 170g sugar together until tripled in volume
fold the melted chocolate
in a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until firm
add the sugar and whisk until firm again
slowly and gradually fold the egg whites into the chocolate mix
spread the mix evenly in the pan
bake for 25 mins
CHILL UNTIL COLD IN THE FRIDGE (wrap in cling film)

Cake Assembly
Put the white chocolate filling in a mixer and whisk for 3-4 mins until it is lighter in colour and texture. Turn the cake out onto a cake board and cut into three lengths of equal width. Spread ½ the filling on slice 1, top with slice 2 and spread it with the remaining ½ of the filling and top with slice 3. Chill for at least and hour before proceeding.

Chocolate Ganache
8 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup double cream

heat the cream until almost boiling
pour it over the chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy
put ¼ the mix in the fridge for 25 mins and leave the rest to cool at room temperature

Writing Icing
2 oz white chocolate
2 tsp vegtable oil

melt chocolate
stir in oil

Icing the Cake

Use the chilled ganache to thinly coat the top and side of the cake (this seals in the crumbs and provides a smooth surface for the rest of the ganache). Pour the rest of the ganache over the sides and then the top of the cake. For the writing icing I put it into a squeezy sauce bottle but you could use a parchment cone instead. Pipe three lines down the centre of the cake. Then using a cocktail stick draw a continuous series of figures-of-eight down the centre of the cake. Finally chill for about 2 hours so the ganache can set.

Courgette Cakes

2008-07-16T22:47:00.006+01:00

Sunday brought sunshine and a party in the park (more of which anon). By evening time we wanted something to nibble on but weren't quite up to a full dinner. I rustled up these cakes from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries and they really hit the spot. I used the fine setting on my mandolin and the cakes held together well and were no problem to turn over.

Courgette Cakes with Dill and Feta
6 cakes - serves 2/3 depending on how hungry you are!!
500g courgettes
1 onion
1 clove garlic
3 tbsp plain flour
1 egg, beaten
150g feta, crumbled
small bunch dill

grate the courgette thinly - using a mandolin is best
place into a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 mins
heat the olive oil and saute the onion and garlic
squeeze the excess liquid from the courgette and add to the onion
saute for 2-3 mins
add the flour for 3-4 mins until cooked
stir in the beaten egg, crumbled feta and dill
season

fry the cakes for 2-3 mins on each side until golden

Cultivating Cultural Interest

2008-07-06T18:28:00.007+01:00

It is an absolute joy to stumble upon little cultural events, particularly when they involve food. Last Saturday we made a trip into town to the Cultivate centre in Temple Bar for the Annual Indian Food Mela. We met up with our Indian friend A and his parents, who are over on a visit from Delhi.

There were a variety of stalls set up around the room. Having been at the mela two years ago, Iwas pleasantly surprised that this time it was better organised and more professional. Most of the stalls were run by people in the catering business. Dishes ranged from €1 for a samosa or poori to €6 for a big carton of chicken and rice. We sampled a number of the main dishes, tandoori chicken, chicken and rice mix, karahi chicken, onion bhaji, paranta, rice with kidney beans.

In the normal course of events I find Indian desserts to be far too sweet. A had some gulab jamun and jalebi, which I tried (in the name of research!) and the sweetness seemed to have been tempered slightly to suit the Irish palate - still not my desserts-of-choice though.

Gravity Defying Yoghurt??

2008-07-06T17:50:00.009+01:00

Is that what has happened to this Glenilen yoghurt? Or are your eyes deceiving you? I'm a great fan of these yoghurts (especially the raspberry flavour). They come in fab glass containers which are perfect for making individual desserts in. These are actually vanilla pannacottas with a strawberry topping. The recipe comes from the original blogger herself, Clotilde. She says they take about an hour in the fridge to set, at this stage mine were still liquid!! They took a good 3-4 hours to be suitable for serving and are really best made the day before. Even when 'set' they are still quite wobbly - this is the way I like pannacotta but I think if you turned them out onto a serving dish they would probably collapse. But why would you turn them out when they look so pretty like this?

Barcelona

2008-06-29T22:38:00.012+01:00

Introducing my first guest blogger, Little Sis, on the gastronomic pleasures to be found in Barcelona.

"Recently, I was lucky enough to spend a long weekend in Barcelona. Aside from the opportunity to watch some fantastic football, enjoy the sun and see some of Gaudì’s fascinating - and mad - buildings, my dad and I also got to sample some of the gastronomic delights of the Catalan capital.

We arrived hungry and disorientated after a 4 a.m. start, badly needing solid, reliable comfort food. Luckily, we soon found an innocuous-looking underground tapas bar called ‘La Bodegueta’ which quickly served up some of the simplest, and best, food I’d ever had. We shared plates of chorizo, cheese and the eponymous tortilla, and also enjoyed one of Catalonia’s signature dishes, crusty tomato bread. I particularly liked the tortilla, which I ended up eating at every possible opportunity after that - this was probably the best example we had. The cheese plate was also interesting, especially a variety which had been stored in oil and had a tangy, moist-but-not-oily taste. All in all, it made for an excellent start to our trip.

That night we ate at ‘Tragarapid’, a fast-food (fast-food in the Catalan style, which basically means cheap and informal) restaurant in the Tragaluz group, who have restaurants all around the city. We also lunched at the flagship ‘Tragaluz’ restaurant and a third member of the group, ‘Bestial’ on other days. ‘Tragarapid’, although vastly preferable to fast-food outlets here, wasn’t particularly memorable until we got to the dessert. I had an unremarkable rigatoni with tomato sauce and parmesan, while dad had fried chicken. However, the dessert was one of the single best things we ate on the trip - a basil and lime sorbet. The sharpness of the lime perfectly complemented the richness and slight oily taste of the basil; this dish was a revelation. ‘Tragaluz’ itself was more impressive, though that was possibly helped by the fact that dad brought along a Catalan friend who seemed to know every member of staff. We shared a portion of deep-fried aubergine to start (apparently, the Catalans share the tendency to deep-fry everything in sight with the Scots, though they haven’t yet got to Mars bars) which was much better than it sounds. We both had a simple, but perfectly made, starter of rigatoni drizzled with pesto and then I had a main course of seared veal. For dessert, a mango coulis cut through the richness of my chocolate brownie; this made for a wonderful conclusion to a great meal. The third restaurant, ‘Bestial’, was one of two restaurants from the group on the seafront (the other is ‘Agua’) and was definitely the weakest of the three. We started with seafood antipasti, which wasn’t bad but also wasn’t anything special. For the main course, dad’s mushroom risotto was reasonable while I accidentally ordered foie gras ravioli in a port wine sauce. Given that it was a hot afternoon, this was far too rich and cloying to have on he menu and neither of us could eat it. Although the caramel and cinnamon ice-creams we had for dessert were good, they didn’t really compensate for a disappointing meal. As this was one of the most expensive restaurants we went too, I can’t recommend it - the food never lived up to the stunning setting.

In a spirit of adventure, we booked a dinner at ‘Loidi’, a new venture by the three-time Michelin-starred Basque chef Martín Berasategui. A four-course set menu for €33.65 per person was thankfully quite a bit short of Michelin prices and both of us enjoyed an excellent meal. A tasting menu for €45 was also available for those that were so inclined. We were offered glasses of cava as soon as we entered, although possibly that was because we were the only people there - as a general rule it’s not a good idea to go out for dinner at 8 p.m. in Barcelona. I started with a rice and chicken casserole, while dad had an intriguing leek and egg soup - the egg was actually poached before being cooked in the soup. Both dishes made for a good start to the meal. For the fish course, dad had a helping of monkfish and clams, while I had a double helping of rabbit - I don’t like most fish. The rabbit was rich and juicy and my only problem that I wasn’t quite hungry enough to do it justice. I continued with the rabbit into the third course while dad had a lamb ragù. This was perfectly cooked; the lamb falling off the bone in a deeply rich sauce. The meat was perfectly complemented by the bottle of Finca viladellops we shared. The high standard continued into the desserts where I had an interesting coffee and Bailey’s spongecake topped with a crème brûlée-style crust. Dad had an apple tart with a sharp-tasting apple ice-cream. He finished with a ‘cortado’ - an expresso with a shot of milk - the traditional way to finish a meal in Catalonia. On the whole, we thought that ‘Loidi’ was well worth the visit.

No visit to Barcelona is complete without a trip to the Boquería, arguably the best market in the world. For a foodie, the only question is how many days you spend there. It’s a riot of colour and scent, a real feast for the senses. It’s here that you can get ‘cinco bellota’ ham, made from pigs that have been fed only on acorns. As it’s expensive, there’s a sliding scale based on how many acorns the pig has been fed. Even the smell of this ham is intoxicating, and I find myself savouring the tiniest amount of it. There are stalls dedicated to every type of chili and spices and sections full of fruit, vegetables and fish. A few of the stalls also act as cafés where you can sample ham, cheeses and myriad varieties of chorizo. This place is mesmerising, and any foodie who goes to Barcelona will find themselves in heaven.

‘Cacao Sampaka’ is a place of pilgrimage for every member of our family. There are branches throughout Spain and they serve the greatest hot chocolate known to mankind. I’m not exaggerating. ‘Azteca’ is drink made of 80% cacao infused with spices and tastes much like solid chocolate that has been liquidised and mixed with cream. It’s so rich that it starts solidifying as soon as you take your spoon out. I dream about this stuff. There’s also a variety of pastries available, although they’re mainly a sideline to the chocolate. We had feather-light melindros which were excellent for dipping, and perfectly buttery - but not over-rich - brioche. Dad also had a yoghurt and lemon smoothie which was apparently nice, but still ended up unnecessarily diluting the chocolate (in my opinion). It’s also a shop, so you can take some of the chocolate home with you - and, believe me, you will.

Although that’s a round-up of the most notable places we ate, Barcelona is full of good food. The Camp Nou serves up fresh, sturdy hot dogs at half-time with particularly good ciabatta-style bread. On our way home from the Parc Guëll (one of Gaudì’s) we dropped into the ‘Store Café’ where we had lovely, fresh drinks - I had lemon with ice, while dad had a strawberry and lime smoothie. Fresh bocadillos (sandwiches) are readily available and are almost invariably filled with excellent quality ingredients. The only misgiving we had was about the hotel breakfast - it was €18 per person for a mediocre meal, while we had hot chocolate and pastries the next day for a fiver in a small café. It’s something to watch out for if you go there as it’s easy to eat well for little money once you avoid the tourist traps. If you get the chance to go there - and eat there - savour it!"

Wraps for Dinner

2008-06-25T21:48:00.010+01:00

I have been an OFM reader since the very beginning. It is edited by my favourite cookery writer, Nigel Slater. I love the fact that his writing is descriptive and contains wonderful imagery whilst still retaining a veil over his own life. This recipe comes from Allegra McEvedy in last Sunday’s edition. The original was suggested as a lunch dish, I added the chicken to make it a bit more filling for dinner time. The combination of flavours worked really well together, we'll be having these again.

Wraps with Courgette, Feta and Chicken.
(adapted from Observer Food Monthly, Sunday June 22^nd 08)
Serves 2

120g feta
120g natural yoghurt
100g peas, cooked
1 lemon, zested
1 spring onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
salt + pepper
2 chicken breasts, chopped
2 small courgettes
garlic infused oil
4 tortilla wraps, warmed according to packet instructions
4 big lettuce leaves (I used Cos lettuce)
small handful mint leaves
1 chilli chopped, minus seeds and membrane

Mash the feta and stir in the yoghurt, peas, lemon zest, spring onion and olive oil. Season
Cut the courgettes lengthways into three (think of a Toblerone shape)
Heat a griddle pan until it’s nice and hot
Lightly oil the chicken and courgette with garlic oil and griddle until done
Assemble and enjoy