Chocolate Frosted Yellow Cupcakes

Chocolate Frosted Yellow Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

My toddler got it into her head today that we had to make cupcakes. Suffering a bit from cabin fever I readily agreed. Here is the result! The cake itself is an American type of cake commonly called "yellow cake," it's incredibly moist and unlike the sponge we have here. I frosted it with a rich chocolate satin icing. So good! And of course when any toddler is involved there has to be "spinkles!"

For the cake:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3/4 cup milk
  

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Put cake cases into muffin pans (great job for the toddler!).

In bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt with a wire whisk.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix until completely combined. Slowly add flour alternately with milk. At end of addition batter should be smooth. Divide into muffin pans.

Bake at 180C/350F for about 15 minutes.

For the chocolate frosting:

• 1 cup evaporated milk/heavy cream
• 6 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 6 tbsp soft butter
  

Bring the milk/cream to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Do not stir. Put a lid on the pot and leave it for ten minutes. After ten minutes toss it into a bowl or food processor and beat it until it's a smooth chocolatey paste. Lather on the cupcakes once both are cool and add sprinkles!

The icing will keep about a week in the fridge. It's also good melted on ice-cream or as a chocolate fondue. MMMM!

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My latest recipe invention: Gumbotto

My latest recipe invention: Gumbotto
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

Yes, you guessed it... a Gumbo risotto!!! I toyed with rizumbo... but preferred gumbotto! It's got a cajun flair, but is basically a risotto. Quite delicious as a starter or main... Serves 6-8 as starter, 4 as main. You could also add chicken or other seafood, would be good with shellfish too!

Ingredients:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 red onions or 1 vidalia/spanish onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 1 large sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno or other small chilli, diced
• 1 shot of tequila
• 2 cups Carnaroli or arborio or other risotto rice
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped chorizo (omit for veggie option)
• 1 lb uncooked peeled and deveined large prawns (shrimp for the Americans)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder (omit for milder taste)
• salt and cracked balck pepper to taste
• 1 pint vegetable stock, simmering on the stove
• 1 handful of cilantro/coriander, chopped with some sprigs reserved for garnish or chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche (sour cream if you can't find the previous) for serving
  

Instructions:

Fry the vegetables and chorizo in the oil until onions are opaque and chorizo begins to render some fat. Over a medium heat, add rice and fry for another minute or two until you can see the white dot in the middle of the grains. Add the tequila and saute until evaporated. Continuously stirring add the can of tomatoes and stir until most of the liquid is gone. Add stock little by little, adding more as the mixture gets dry until just before rice is al dente. You may not need the whole pint. At this point add the shrimp. It should take about two minutes to cook them. Add seasonings and chopped cilantro. Put in serving bowls, add a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprig of cilantro. YUMMY!

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Trocaire 24 Hour Fast

Hi there everyone. I have signed up to do the Trocaire 24 hour fast on March 9-10th. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, Trocaire is a wonderful Irish charity that work with third world countries. This year their focus is on making sure women have equal rights. According to their statistics:

• 70% of those living in poverty are female.
• Women work 66% of the world's working hours, yet they earn only 10% of the world's income and own only 1% of the world's property.
• 66% of illiterate adults in the world are women.

I would urge you to consider sponsoring me, or doing the fast yourself. It's really a small sacrifice in the scheme of things. 24 hours of hunger barely even compares to what these people face on a daily basis. Click here to sponsor me! Thanks!

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Helen's Eve's Pudding

Eve's Pudding
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

Ok disclaimer first - I completely suck at pastry! This is a dessert recipe from Gordon's Sunday Lunch book... I followed it to the t! But alas I was foiled by the pastry... I couldn't get it to roll out properly, it kept crumbling, so I ended up pressing it into the pie dish. Then when I went to blind bake it I had no beans... so had to use rice... well, I forgot to blind bake it before the beef was in the oven, so the poor pastry was right next to that big hunk of beef. When I went to take the foil off, some of the rice spilled into it and I couldn't get it all off! Argh... HOWEVER... despite not being as aesthetically pleasing as I would have liked, it did taste delicious!!! I also used double the meringue recipe... because let's face it, when is there ever enough meringue and it meant I didn't have to waste the egg whites leftover from the pastry.

Sweet Pastry
INGREDIENTS

• 150g Butter
• 100g Sugar
• pinch Salt
• 300g Flour
• 4 Egg Yolks
• Water (If Necessary)
  

Method

1. Cream together the butter, sugar and salt then rub into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Mix the egg yolks and bring the mixture together to form a dough, add a little water if necessary.
3. Chill wrapped in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before using.
4. Line your baking dish with the pastry and bake blind for 15 minutes at 180c - enough to cook through and colour slightly.

Pudding
INGREDIENTS

• 4 Granny Smith Apples, cored and chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon Water
• 2 tablespoons Caster Sugar
  

For the Meringue:

• 2 Egg Whites
• ½ tablespoon Vanilla Essence (Optional)
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
  

Method

1. Cook down the apples with the sugar and a little water until softened.
2. For the meringue topping simply beat the egg whites until stiff and whisk in each spoonful of sugar one by one, incorporating thoroughly.
3. Place the apple mix on the pastry and top with the meringue.
4. Bake at 200c for 20 minutes until the meringue has firmed and turned golden.
5. Serve immediately!

I served with a scoop of yummy vanilla ice-cream!

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Sunday Lunch Sides

Now for the side dishes.

Roast Potatoes
(they were all gone before I could get a picture!!!)

Parboil as many Desiree or Maris Piper potatoes as you think your family will eat for about 10 minutes, or until the other layer is slightly flaky. Drain and shake in the pot to get a sort of floury coating on them. An hour and ten minutes before dinner is to be served, put a good bit of oil in a pan and get it in the oven heating up. Once it's hot, add the potatoes turning them to coat them in oil. Bake for an hour! Simple!!! If you want add some sprigs of roasemary or thyme and some garlic cloves for a bit of extra flavour. Sometimes to make things a bit more ritzy I add some truffly oil... mmm!

Savoy Cabbage with Carmelized Red Onion

This is loosely based on a Gordon Ramsay recipe from his Sunday Lunch book (review later).

• 1 large savoy cabbage, washed, cored and shredded
• 4 red onions, sliced
• Approx 100g bacon lardons
• Knob Butter
• Olive Oil
• Sea salt
• White Pepper
  

Blanch your cabbage in a large pot of boiling water for about two minutes. Refresh under cold running water. Set aside until 10 minutes before dinner is to be served.

10 minutes before dinner saute the bacon lardons in a tiny bit of olive oil and when fat begins to render, add the red onions. Saute until just caramelized and add back the cabbage. Add
a big knob of butter and saute until just tender, but still a tiny bit crunchy! Season with sea salt and white pepper.

Glazed Carrots
Again, similar to the recipe in the book, but one I've been using for years!

• 1 kg carrots, baby if you can get them, otherwise large ones chopped in diagonal chunks
• 1/2 head garlic
• 2-3 sprigs thyme
• Bay Leaf
• 5-6 peppercorns
• 1 inch chunk ginger
  
• Chicken/Vegetable Stock (enuogh to cover carrots)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• Chopped parsley to garnish
  

Boil the carrots in the stock with everything except the sugar and butter. When they are just al-dente drain (or reserve stock for the gravy) and set aside until five minutes before serving.

When ready to cook, just saute the carrots gently in the butter, raise up the heat and sprinkle with sugar shaking the pan until they are nicely glazed. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Dessert to come...



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The Aul Sunday Roasht

Nothing like a nice bit of bafe!!! This lovely animal (we named her Bessy) was the six pound rib roast I made for Sunday Lunch yesterday. I love an aul roasht for Sunday Lunch, except for lamb, because there I am the worlds biggest hypocrite - I think they are so cute and just babies and we shouldn't eat them - yet give me a nice slab of veal and I'm off! :-)

Funny Irish Beef Story: My parents live in the back of beyond in Mayo... rural is too populated to describe where they are. They bought the house my Grandfather grew up in which had been sold to some Germans in the sixties. Said Germans apparently used to invite the locals up to the house for dinner... but according to one astute local lady, people shtopped going, because there'd be blood on the plate and sure no one could ate... when pushed further, turns out she meant that he cooked the beef rare! Typical Mayo... I could never order beef there... if I ordered rare I'd be lucky to get medium-well! LOL!

Anyways, this is an easy roast to cook - here's the instructions.

For the beef:

• 1 boned rib eye of beef (boned is fine too, even better arguably, I just don't like the hassle. If you do get boned, the cooking times will be different... ask your butcher)
  
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, peeled
• Chopped fresh thyme
  
• Sea Salt
• Black Pepper
• Olive Oil
  

Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F Make several slits in the beef with a sharp knife and insert the whole garlic cloves. Rub the beef with sea salt, thyme and cracked black pepper. Sear it in a pan over high heat in a bit of olive oil. You're probably talking about 2-3 minutes a side.

Pop it into the oven and give it fifteen minutes a pound for medium rare... and if you want it any more well done than that you can figure out your own time... because that is a crime!!! If you're overcooking a beautiful piece of meat like this you don't deserve to eat it! Just kidding... we just prefer it still mooing. 20 minutes per pound for medium 25 for well.

Remove from the oven and tent in aluminium foil. Reserve the fat for Yorkshire puddings:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• cracked pepper
  

Spread the beef drippings into each hole a muffin pan and put back in the oven for five minutes. Make your batter about half an hour before you are going to use it to let it settle. It will be watery. When drippings are sizzling, pour a ladle of batter into each cup and return to oven. They take about 15-20 minutes to puff up. Don't open the oven until ready to serve or you might lose them!


For the Gravy:

• 1/3 bottle red wine (burgundy is nice)
• 2 red onions, sliced
• 1/2 head garlic, unpeeled, sliced horizontally
• 2 tomatoes, sliced horizontally in half
• Few sprigs thyme
• Bay leaf
• +- 1 litre beef/vegetable stock (I used the stock I'd boiled the carrots in)
  

Using the pan you roasted the beef in and put on the stove/hob over a medium heat. Add vegetables and saute for 3-4 minutes in the beef drippings. Add wine and let simmer until almost reduced. Smush the tomatoes to thicken the sauce. Add beef stock and let boil fast until a nice gravy thickness. Then strain and serve... mmmm!

Serve it all up with roast potatoes and whatever vegetables you choose. Mine are coming in the next post! :-) Enjoy!

On another note, anyone have any good leftover beef recipes... there's a big hunk of Bessy left in my fridge! I'm all ears!!!

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Make mine a quickie...

Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Quiche
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

When my poor hubby was a restaurant manager back in the states a lady literally ordered the "quickie" when she wanted quiche! Too funny! In my university days I did a little waitressing too and once took an order for a ker-RAFE of mer-LOTTT (<---- pronouncing the T) I mean seriously people!!! Anyhoo... had an egg-lemma last night... ha ha, I kill myself! The toddler and I decided to grow cress, but could we just put it in a pot? Oh no... this is why I gave up a nine-to-five accounting job... to be creative with my kids... right? Uh,m yeah. Well- we chopped the tops off eggs, drew faces on them and planted the seeds inside them, so when the cress grows they will be like little eggy chia-pets! Cute right? God, I'm sad! SOOOO... I had six eggs to use up. Three went to scrambled eggs for the kids and the other three I saved for this delicious asparagus and smoked salmon quiche. It was absolutely sinful - cream will do that, but oh-so-good. I ate two slices and hubby ate the rest! Wow! Only a word of warning... in my haste to think up decorative asparagus displays, I forgot to butter the pie-dish... don't do that! LOL! Here's the recipe! For the crust:

• 225g (8oz) Flour
• 50g (2oz) Lard
• 50g (2oz) Butter
• ½ tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Water
  

Sieve the flour and salt together into a bowl.
Cut the fats into 1.5cm (½ inch) cubes and rub lightly into flour, lifting the mixture to add air, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Make a well in the middle of the mixture and stir in enough water using a knife, until a soft but not sticky pastry is formed.
Cover tightly and allow to rest in a fridge for 15 - 30 minutes.

OR JUST BUY SOME SHORT CRUST PASTRY!!!!!!!!!!!

For the custard and assembly:

• Knob of butter
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• About 6oz or a small package of good smoked salmon
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 3 eggs
• Equal amount cream
• Grating of nutmeg
• handful of fresh grated Parmesan
• salt, pepper to season
  

Pre-heat oven to 220C/425F. Put crust in GREASED pie-plate / quiche tin and blind bake for about 20 minutes until golden.

Melt butter over a medium to low heat and add onion.

Chop asparagus into small pieces, reserving the heads. Add chopped pieces to pan with onion. Saute gently until tender crisp. You do not want to brown either vegetable in any way! Add the heads for the last few minutes. Remove from heat and take heads out again.


Once crust has partially cooled, layer the salmon on top of it. Use enough to cover the base.

Beat the three eggs and measure. Add an equal amount of cream (i.e. if your three eggs makes 8oz, add 8oz of cream) and whisk. Add nutmeg and seasoning. Toss in asparagus and onion mixture and gently pour into the base. Sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Bake at 200C/400F for fifteen minutes. Then open the oven and add the asparagus heads.

Continue baking for another half an hour or until custard is set and a knife comes out clean.

Serve with a green salad and crisp white wine! DEE-licious!

Oh and for the calorie counters, you can use half fat/2% milk instead of the cream... your waistline will thank you, although your palate might not!


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Of fashion disasters, Ainsley Hariott and supermarkets...

First things first boys and girls. Did anyone catch The Late Late Show (and I mean the extremely unfunny Irish one here for my American readers) last night? Now I am by no means an expert, or anything even close on fashion, but WHAT was he wearing? As RTE's top paid TV persona, surely he has his own wardrobe person? Well, that person needs to be shot. Although being the egomaniac that Pat is, he may well have overrode any advice given to him and gone with the hideous ensemble himself. I mean seriously? Men of Ireland - you should be outraged!!! Anyways, I digress. Personally I can't stand Pat. He's always dissing America and harassing American guests, and with my immediate family all being American and myself having lived there for some 13 years, that just pisses me off! But the worst part is that he then has the nerve to offer trips to America as prizes. ARGH!!!! I did search YouTube for clippage of last nights episode for those of you with the fortune of not having seen the aforementioned "ensemble," but to no avail. ANYHOO...

Ainsley Harriott... I know the name but never saw him live until last night (well, apart from the dishwasher ads) and what a nice guy! I never watch The Late Late Show, but when I was flipping channels last night and saw cooking I had to stop. He really seemed like a lovely down to earth person and I loved what he was saying about kids in the kitchen. I love it when my toddler "helps" in the kitchen, albeit by licking the butter when I'm not looking! I too think it's important to introduce children to cooking, lest they spend their college years wasting away on ramen noodles! I found some Ainsley cuppa soup mixes at Aldi a few weeks ago and bought the French Onion variety. I am a huge fan of French Onion soup, but no one else in the house is, so it just goes to waste if I make it. So I thought I would try the ready-mix as a wee treat for myself. I am usually not a fan of processed foods, but I have to say this was a really decent mix. It tasted like some restaurant soups I have had, although not as good as my own (well, Anthony Bourdain's) home-made version. But definitely worth picking up if you're an onion freak like myself.

Continuing on the grocery theme I am waging war against the supermarkets of Edenderry. Why is it that the only fresh herb I can buy is parsley? HMMMM? This is absolutely ridiculous. Tesco did carry basil and coriander (cilantro) for awhile there, but apparently I was the only person in town buying the stuff! I can't even get thyme, and I had great plans to make this recipe today which calls for... you guessed it... thyme! Am I seriously expected to drive to Dublin to get thyme? Surely the residents of this cute Irish town aren't that culinarily (is that a word?) challenged? And despite having big signs up advertising home delivery in the store, Tesco doesn't yet offer it in our area, so I can't even pick and choose from their warehouse. I was going to hit the Farmers Market in Newbridge today to try and get some nice organic vegetables and some herbs, but alas my parents are coming and I must clean the house and hubby took the car this morning. *SIGH* So what to do? I have tried "ye olde herb garden" many a time, but usually end up killing everything. I do have Rosemary left, but as an evergreen, it's pretty hearty, even I can't kill it. Should I try again? Does anyone have any advice? I know I can't put basil and coriander outside until it gets warmer, but what about the other stuff? Any thoughts?

And what about Organic milk? How come I can only get a one litre container that expires the next day? I wouldn't mind, but Ireland's largest organic dairy is only twenty minutes from here. I should be able to get fresh organic milk when I want it, right? Does anyone here me? ARGH!!!

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Lasagne

Lasagne
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

Somehow I got roped into a bit of catering this weekend. I am to make two big ol' lasagnas for my cousins 21st birthday party. I debated whether to make my usual favourite, an American style lasagna with ricotta or an Irish style one with Bechamel. Given the audience I went with the bechamel, which takes a lot less time, and frankly I do like it better than the ricotta. Here is my recipe. This will make one large lasagna. Note that in the photo it is uncooked. You can make these up to a few days ahead, refrigerate and bake when needed. Add another five minutes to baking time if refrigerated first.

For the tomato sauce:

• Olive oil
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 lbs ground beef (or 1lb beef, 1 lb pork)
• 2 cans tomatoes
• 1 large jar passata (pureed tomatoes)
• Big glug red wine
  
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 3 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning / Emeril's Essence
• salt and pepper, to season
  

Saute the sofrito ingredients (carrots, onions, celery) in the olive oil until translucent, add the beef and saute until cooked. Add tomatoes, passata and all the seasonings and allow to simmer for about an hour. Simmering is not really necessary if you are in a hurry, but I think it allows the flavours to develop better.

For the bechamel:

• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1 small onion
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cloves
• 2-3 cups milk
• grating nutmeg
• White pepper and salt to season
  

Pin the bay leaves onto the onion with the cloves and put into a pot with the milk. Gently heat the milk and allow to warm for about thirty minutes. Again, if you are in a hurry, skip this step, but it does add a nice dimension to the bechamel.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Whisk constantly and allow it to cook for a minute or two. Slowly add about two cups of the milk and whisk into the sauce. Allow it to come to a boil then turn down the heat. It will thicken at this stage. Decide whether you want to add more of the milk, just make sure to whisk constantly so it doesn't get lumpy. Add nutmeg and season to your taste.

To assemble:

• 10-12 no-cook/ fresh lasagna noodles
• 4 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• handful fresh chopped parsley
  

Using a ladle, put a thin layer of the meat sauce on the bottom of your lasagna pan. Place a layer of noodles on top and spoon a think layer of bechamel on top of them. Sprinkle with some mozzarella and parsley. Repeat until you run out of sauce!! :-) Top the last layer with a thick layer of Bechamel and the rest of the cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes at 200C/400F

If you are in a hurry the sauces can be made in fifteen minutes or so and add another 10 for assembly and half an hour for baking and you have a fresh lasagna in under an hour! Your family will thank you, as it's so much better than those store bought ones and you'll end up putting it on your monthly menu! Enjoy!

I might make my American version next week, as it really is quite a recipe, it does take a lot of time, but hubby loves it!! :-)


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Broccoli Chicken Mac and Cheese

Broccoli Chicken Mac and Cheese
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

Once in a while every cook finds a recipe that looks and sounds delicious, but turns out god-awful and this is almost one of those! It was a Rachael Ray recipe, who I usually find great, but this one was borderline awful. Having said all that, the kids absolutely loved it and ate every bite, but the hubby and I felt it was bland and mushy. Would I make it again? Not for us, but definitely for the kids. I would also steam the broccoli separately and add it at the end, because using the method below it turned to mush.

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound chicken breast tenders, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 pound macaroni elbows or cavatappi corkscrew shaped pasta twists
• 2 1/2 cups raw broccoli florets, available packaged in produce department
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 cups yellow sharp Cheddar
• 1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard
  

Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni.

Heat a medium pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Saute a couple of minutes then add onion and cook another 5 to 7 minutes until onions are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn off heat and reserve.

To boiling pasta water, add pasta and salt to season the cooking water. Cook 5 minutes, then add broccoli and cook 3 minutes more or until pasta is cooked to al dente and florets are just tender.

While pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter and melt, then add flour, cayenne and paprika and whisk together over heat until roux bubbles then cook a minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat to bring the sauce to a quick boil. Simmer until the sauce thickens about 5 minutes.

Drain macaroni or pasta and broccoli florets. Add back to the pot and add chicken to the pasta and broccoli.

Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt it in, a minute or so. Stir in mustard and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli and cooked pasta and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings and transfer to a large serving platter and serve.


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The Perfect Grilled Cheese

Recipe Pics 086
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, whilst not known for their culinary expertise, there are some things best left to the Americans and grilled cheese sandwiches are one of them! Although good mature Irish cheddar makes them even better!! This is not a "cheese toastie", but a proper grilled cheese sandwich and it is so easy it's a crime!

To make one sandwich you will need:

Two slices good white bread, sourdough especially good
1/2 cup grated mature Irish cheddar
2 tbsp butter

Butter your first slice of bread with a tablespoon of butter and put it butter side down in a skillet over a medium heat. Sprinkle cheese on top and top with second slice and butter the top. Cook until golden brown on the bottom and then flip and repeat! Remove crusts! The kids will thank you!

To make it extra special serve with homemade tomato soup! MMM-MMM!

Variations:
Add prosciutto or Serrano ham
Add caramelized red onions sprinkled with some cumin seeds
Use flavoured (Mediterranean / garlic / herb) cheese

To further your grilled cheese adventures I highly recommend picking up a copy of Great Grilled Cheese: 50 Innovative Recipes for Stovetop, Grill, and Sandwich Maker which offers loads of variations on this classic sandwich, even dessert varieties! It's a small little book that you will find yourself consulting over and over anytime you need a quick lunch!



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Brown Bananas? Have no fear!

Bannana Bread
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

Well, I always thought I couldn't mess with baking ingredients, but I proved myself wrong. I had four suspicious looking brown bananas in the fruit bowl that my husband was about to throw away when I though, hey, I haven't made banana bread in ages, why not make some? I usually use a wonderful recipe called Kona Inn Banana Bread from The Bakers Dozen Cookbook, a great resource for baking. But the recipe calls for shortening and I'm not sure I get the right stuff here in Ireland. Last time I bought something that looked like shortening and the bread was awful, all greasy. AND I didn't have any in the house, so I decided to experiment. I looked at dozens of different recipes online and came up with my own variation, which turned out light and delicious! Here goes!

• 4 mashed bananas - very ripe
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp good vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• good grating of nutmeg
• 2 tsp baking soda
  

Mix sugar and bananas in large bowl. Add vanilla, eggs, butter and spices. Slowly add flour and baking soda until mixed but not over-mixed (as in lumpy and bits of floury sections ok!!!)

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 190C/375F for about 45 minutes. Top should be crispy and brown and a stick inserted in the middle should come out clean. Pretty simple... you probably have all the ingredients on hand and you would be throwing the bananas away otherwise! Serve with butter! MMM-MMM!


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What to do with those leftover pancakes?

Chicken, Mushroom and Leek Crepes
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

Once again the photo stinks, but I tried! These taste a lot better than they look! I wanted to make a yummy pancake dinner and hubby and I agree, I pulled it off! This is a pretty simple recipe for two, you could double it easily for a bigger family. Works out with two pancakes a piece. The only thing I will note, is that if you are planning on making savory pancakes with leftovers, don't add vanilla or sugar to your batter! LOL! It doesn't quite work!!!

Chicken, Mushroom and Leek Crepes

• 4 leftover pancakes/crepes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 chicken fillets, diced
• 1 pkg/8 oz sliced button/chestnut mushrooms
• 1/2 large Spanish onion, diced
• 1 large leek, chopped, light green and white parts only
• Small glass good white wine
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tsp thyme (fresh ideally, but dried is fine)
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Salt and Pepper to season
  

Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F.

Melt butter and heat oil in large skillet. Saute the onion in the butter and olive oil until translucent. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Saute for a few minutes shaking pan to mix. Add mushrooms and saute until tender, add the leeks and saute until everything is cooked. Add wine and cook until almost gone. Add cream, herbs and seasoning. Taste to make sure seasoning is ok, add more if necessary. Simmer for a few minutes then remove from the heat.

Take a pancake and spoon some of the mixture in. Try and leave the sauce in the pan and just put chicken and veg into each pancake. Roll it up and place it in a buttered oven-proof dish. I used a 9x9 deep baking dish. Repeat with remaining three pancakes and place side by side in dish. Pour remaining sauce over the pancakes and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cheese is lightly golden. Serve as is or with a green salad.

As you can see mine got a little overcooked, but it was fine once you didn't mind the crunch cheese! :-) Enjoy... keep the comments coming!


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Ham, Mushroom and Pea Tagliatelle

Ham, Mushroom and Pea Tagliatelle
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

Ok people, this is the easiest dish ever and you won't believe how good it tastes. It tastes as if you've added garlic and other yummy seasonings, but you haven't! This ended up being lunch yesterday because they were so hungry I needed something quick. My brother's Italian girlfriend showed me how to make this and I am so grateful. The kids loved it and I think it will soon become a staple here! This recipe makes about four adult portions.

• 1 package tagliatelle (use linguine or spaghetti if you prefer)
• 3 thin gammon steaks, chopped, or 1 cup leftover cubed ham
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 package mushrooms, washed and sliced (about 8 oz)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup cream
• sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to season
• Parmesan to serve
  

Cook the peas in a pot of boiling water or microwave if you are in a hurry.

Get your pot on for the pasta, plenty of salted water.

Saute the ham and mushrooms in the butter and olive oil. Once cooked add the peas. Saute for a minute or two then add the cream. Simmer gently until the pasta is cooked. Season to your taste

Drain the pasta and put back into the pot. Pour the sauce over it, give it a good mix and serve. Serve with grated or shaved Parmesan.

By the way, my husband says I am using Parmesan shavings in the photos too much... so sorry... will have to come up with a new garnish! :-) Also the spell-checker seems to want to capitalize Parmesan... wonder why? Perhaps it's the God of cheese! :-)


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Pancake Tuesday: Breakfast

Pancake Station
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

Well, as planned we had traditional Irish pancakes for breakfast. I kicked them up a little bit using vanilla bean (which I finally found at Dunnes) and using vanilla sugar on them instead of regular. Sublime! Here's the recipe:

2 Organic eggs
2 cups flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
scraping of one vanilla bean

Butter, lemon and sugar to serve

Whisk the eggs and sugar, add milk and flour slowly, whisk in vanilla beans and add butter at the end. Put batter in fridge for about 20-30 minutes.

Set up your pancake station. I use two pans and then a pot half full of simmering water with a plate on top. This keeps the pancakes warm while I'm cooking and I just keep a lid on top of them.

Check the batter, it should be the consistency of double cream. Add a little water if you need to thin it out. If using non-stick pans, use a medium heat, but if using cast-iron, which makes the best pancakes, use the high heat. I add a little butter to my non-stick, wait until it bubble then wipe it out with a paper towel and pour in a ladle of batter.

Swirl the pan around to spread out the batter in the pan. You will know when to flip when it becomes less translucent. It starts in the middle like a shadow and sometimes there are tiny bubbles. Once cooked on both sides remove to plate to keep warm.

Easy right? Serve with whatever you like. We butter them, sprinkle with sugar, fresh lemon, roll them up and eat them!

For the Americans out there, Irish pancakes are quite thin, but they are not crepes either, so expect a little body.

Enjoy!!!! Still not sure about lunch. We have to head into Tullamore, so might end up eating out, but we will definitely be having chicken and mushroom crepes tonight! Yum-o as Rachel Ray would say! Happy Shrove Tuesday!



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Vegetable Soup

Recipe Pics 064
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

It was recently brought to my attention that there are people who don't know that you can throw a bunch of vegetables in a pot with some water and seasonings and make an incredible soup. It was also brought to my attention, that even after telling these people that fact, they would rather have a recipe! So, this recipe is for those of you out there requiring soup instructions!!!

1-2 large Spanish/red onions, thickly sliced
6-7 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2-3 roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
2-3 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
2-3 parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 tsp grated ginger
3-4L boiling chicken stock / water
grating of nutmeg
pinch cumin
Handful of fresh Parsley, more to garnish
salt, pepper to season
cream, to serve


You can make this soup one of three ways. To optimize the flavours toss the veg in olive oil, season and roast in a hot (200C/400F) oven for about an hour. If you don't have time for this, then get your stock pot and heat some olive oil and saute all the veg until they begin to caramelize. Once caramelized, add water/stock. If you roast them, just throw into stockpot with stock. IF however you are watching calories, skip the roasting/sauteing step and just throw the raw veg into the stock. The result will be a completely fat-free extremely healthy, yet delicious soup!

Bring to a boil and reduce to a fast simmer. Let simmer for about an hour, more if you want and then blitz it with a soup blender. Add the parsley just before you do this to optimize the fresh herb flavour. Use a food processor if you don't have a blender or hand blender. Add the seasonings at this point. To serve add some cream and sprinkle with parsley.

This is just the one I made today for lunch. You can really do anything with this... use broccoli or cauliflower or add an apple. After you blitz the soup, decide what spices or seasonings you think will work with the flavour that emerges. I find the kids love these soups and it gets all their vegetables into them without any fuss!

I am a hypocrite though, because I'm always complaining about restaurants here having a soup of the day, because it's always vegetable!!! I wonder why they even bother having a soup of the day, as it never changes! And here my soup of the day is vegetable!!! :-) Enjoy!


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On planning and pork fat.

Well, tomorrow is Pancake Tuesday or Mardi Gras. In all that time we spent in America, it was always Pancake Tuesday and so tomorrow it shall be Pancake Tuesday! I'm going all out! We'll have traditional pancakes for breakfast - Irish style of course - my husband won't touch American pancakes anymore! Not sure about lunch yet, but I will incorporate pancakes in there somehow... and then for dinner we will have a creamy chicken and mushroom crepe thing... <--- That's why I don't write menus anymore!!! Although I'm not sure how Ella will react to having things in her pancake! Should be a laugh... Taking any and all suggestions for lunch ideas!!! Speaking of menu planning... this blog has gotten such good response that I am using it as an excuse to get my act together and menu plan! So look out for a weekly menu this afternoon. I got my weekly dose of food porn at the shops this morning so I will be picking out recipes to try and posting the results as well. I've been trying to do the FLY Lady technique for a long time and this is one step I just couldn't do, but now I have an audience! Moo-hoo-hwa-ha! So thank you for the emails and thank you for keeping me on track... my family will thank you too, I'm sure! Now, on to pork fat... I LOVE pigs... there is not a part of them you can't eat. I honestly think ham is the best part about moving back to Ireland. Americans don't have a clue with ham... you can't even buy it uncooked. They buy it pre-cooked and then roast it and it's cured all weird... just bad bad bad... I am convinced that the reason they are so sure we all live on corned beef and cabbage is because when the immigrants went over they couldn't get proper ham and corned beef was the closest thing. Must research that one...

ANYWAYS... so I'm doing the shopping at Dunnes this morning and the deli section which I normally wiz right by seems to be calling to me... what could possibly be over there I wonder
apart from overcooked rotisserie chickens and various concoctions of potatoes deep fried of course? But there they were... glistening, gleaming, steaming hot, better than Brad Pitts naked bum... HAM HOCKS!!! I just about came right there, but managed to control myself! Nervously I approached the counter... could it be? Am I seeing things? Nope... there they were, in all their piggy glory... I wanted them all. I didn't want to picture anyone else enjoying these beauties! But alas, I restrained myself and bought just the one. Finished the shopping in no time, can't wait to get home with my baby... and Ciara! :-) Almost broke it out during the routine traffic jam, but again self-control prevailed. But we weren't two seconds in the door when I threw Ciara in the crib for her morning nap, got a box of baby wipes and broke that piggy out! OH MY GOD... I think I diedand went to heaven... is there anything in this world better than pig fat? Is there? Tell me, really, because I want to know dammit! So good... words cannot describe!!! And all for two euro and sixteen cent! Pure unadulterated piggy pleasure for just over two euro! You can't beat that! And now... poor little piggy is just a memory on my palate... and what a memory!!!

Is this what makes a "foodie"? Someone who thinks pig fat is better than sex? Perhaps... although I must say I HATE the term "foodie"! As if there's something wrong with people who like food? And for that matter who the hell doesn't like food? The person who doesn't like food is dead... food is there to keep us alive... so what my friends is the problem in enjoying it along the way? Why do we need a term? Grrr....

On a completely different note...


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Franco-Irish Breakfast

Franco-Irish Breakfast
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

Well, with company here I thought I better make a yummy breakfast... my hubby is not a big fan of the Irish breakfast... which tends to happen when you've had it five billion times! :-) But I knew Heather and Eoin enjoyed it, so why not combine some flavours?

First of all I threw in some Danone Croissants. For the Americans out there, these are like Pillsbury crescents but more croissanty... if that makes sense! For the Irish who don't know about these babies, they are basically croissant pastry stuck in a tube. I seem to be only able to get them at Tesco by the margarine and refrigerated puff pastry. Aldi have some as well, much cheaper but not quite as good. You just unroll them, roll the individual triangles to form croissants and throw them in the oven for fifteen minutes. Serve with butter and jam and voila! My kids adore these... you could par-cook a sausage and then roll the pastry around them to make yummy pigs in blankets, another kid favourite! And soon, I will make real croissants... I have a recipe from a French friend... but you start them on Friday night to be ready Sunday morning... think I'll wait until the Queen comes to visit! :-)

For the rashers (bacon) and sausages I bought some quality butcher sausages. I feel that the butcher ones are so much better quality than the supermarket ones, but I did buy Tesco's finest Maple cured rashers. Mmmm! Just fried those up in a tiny bit of olive oil... easy!

Ah, now the french scrambled eggs! These are to die for!!! You can either cook them in a double boiler or in a non-stick pan. To serve 2-3 you will need:

• 4-5 organic eggs
• a big knob cold butter, cut into little pieces
• salt and pepper to season
  

I do mine in a pan, but same directions apply for a double boiler, except heat would be medium to keep water simmering. Start this while your sausages are cooking, as it does take a while.

Put the heat on the lowest setting and crack the eggs into your pan adding half the butter pieces. Stir constantly to mix the eggs. DO NOT SEASON!!!!

Keep stirring as eggs start to cook. As they begin to come together add the rest of the butter. Keep stirring constantly. You will have soft tiny curds and should take off the heat when they are still shiny, slightly undercooked and oh-so creamy. Season at this point... any earlier and the texture will be compromised.

Another thing I do with these eggs is serve them on top of a toasted buttered English muffin or crumpet then top with prosciutto, Serrano or parma ham. SO good! You can also use them for eggs Benedict instead of the poached eggs. They really are sublime!

Anyways, serve it all with a proper cup of tea... or as I did some Tazzo d'or Italian coffee, also from Dunne and Crescenzi, for the guests... tea for me of course! ;-) Enjoy!


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Wine Review: Peter Lehmann Semillon

Peter Lehmann Semillon
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

This is a wine that makes me want to pack my bags call Quantas and hop on the next plane to Australia! I absolutely love it and Paul agrees! When Eoin tried it he thought it was crap, then we realized he hadn't rinsed his glass! This is a real refreshing dry wine, and a lovely break from Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay and at roughly eight euros it's quite a bargain as well! It's got a light lemony almost waxy finish with some herbs in there... maybe lemongrass? Definitely lemon themed. We gave this one an eight out of ten. It goes really well with cream based pasta dishes or seafood. Would also be a good gift wine. Peter Lehmann makes some other wonderful unique wines and the bottle art is quite interesting. It only took the boys a few minutes to notice the "boobies!" So mature! :-)





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Wine Review: 2005 Suade Sauvignon Astoria

Suade Sauvignon Astoria
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

I bought this house wine at Dunne and Crescenzi at the Kildare Village Outlets about six weeks ago and loved it. It reminds me of something I tried in one of a wine of the month club I used to take part in.We had my brother and his girlfriend over for dinner last night (she cooked, more later) and given that she is Italian, I thought they might like to try a nice Italian wine. I think this wine is excellent, and Heather enjoyed it too, but my husband and Eoin (pronounced Owen for my American readers!) were not as easily pleased! Eoin said it had a crisp clean nose. Heather thought it had green apple notes, I concurred. Paul said it didn't have much body, had citrus notes and a crisp gooseberry finish. They gave it a 51/2 out of ten. I thought it was better, but they've both been trained in this stuff... so I suppose I will take their word for it!

Ali's Chocolate Birthday cake

Ali's Chocolate Birthday cake
Originally uploaded by Dewdropdeb.

I hate this picture because it doesn't even begin to show how damn good this cake was. I got this recipe from Ali's Something So Clever blog as she said it was the best chocolate cake she ever tasted and boy do I have to agree. This was absolutely phenomenal!!! And pretty easy. Go over to Ali's site for the recipe. The only thing I did differently was to bake the cake in two cake tins and then layer it. The only problem was I needed at least double the frosting recipe and I didn't have the ingredients to make two batches so had to go with one, meaning the poor cake looked like crap!!! Only the top and a tiny portion of the side was frosted with a scraping in the middle. But everyone agreed it was delicious! The frosting was divine, I was just mad because Tesco didn't have vanilla beans... not that I was surprised, but still. Anyways, thanks Ali for another wonderful recipe!


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