Last Call for Gourmet Brunch

Once again, I've been very lax in posting. I have been so busy this week trying to get business stuff done, including 400 samples for the blog award goody bags! I hope to be back in full swing on Monday, but just wanted to let you all know that I need to give ELY final numbers on the brunch in the morning. If you're still in Dublin on the Sunday and up for a lovely brunch, why not come along? Menu is here! Items start at €6.50 with something for everyones taste! Food is solid organic fare with an incredible selection of wines by the glass. All are welcome, just let me know, in comments, via email or on Facebook by 10:00am on Saturday! Look forward to meeting everyone!

What: Brunch

Where: Ely Wine Bar, Custom House Quay, Dublin 1

When: 1pm, March 2nd

So far I have definite responses from Sabrina, Manuel, Kieran, Val, Yann, Me, Niall, Suzy, Redmum,

I have maybes in comments and in Facebook event from Beccy, Damien, Elly, Claire, Kathy, and Annie

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Roasted Tomato Soup

Apologies for not being around of late, the imminent business launch and work around it are keeping me from blogging as much as I'd like. Just thought I'd pop in and share this lovely recipe for roasted tomato soup! I made this last Saturday when my friend Sandie and her hubby came for dinner. We all agreed it was tasty and rich, but personally I would prefer a cream based (go figure) tomato soup! It's based on a Gordon Ramsay recipe and serves four.

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil
  
• 1kg vine ripened tomatoes, halved
  
• 1 large red onion, sliced
  
• 2 crushed cloves garlic
• handful thyme sprigs
• handful fresh basil
• 1 litre chicken/vegetable stock
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 4 sprigs baby vine ripened tomatoes
• olive oil
• small basil leaves to garnish

Pour a good few tablespoons of olive oil in an oven proof dish and place in a 220C/430F oven until just smoking.

Add garlic, tomatoes, onion and thyme sprigs and roast for about 20 minutes. Add handful basil and roast for a further five minutes.

Heat up stock and add paprika and roasted mixture to it. Boil for five minutes.

Drain tomato mixture, reserving stock.

Puree tomato mixture and gradually add stock back in until you reach your desired consistency.

Press through a mesh strainer, pushing on the puree with the back of a ladle.

To serve heat up some olive oil and saute baby tomato vines for a minute or two. Place on top of soup. Add some small basil leaves and drizzle the pan oil over top.

*****

On a completely different note, if you're bored this afternoon I will be on Seioge and O'Shea discussing issues relevant to Irish housewives. The impetus was a sensationalist Daily Mail article, but as ridiculous as the articles suggestion may be, I do feel that housewives are undervalued as contributors to society. So we'll see what happens and find out just how many pounds the camera adds! I promise to be back soon! ;-)

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Happy Heart Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! It's the one day a year when I can be guaranteed a good meal without going out or cooking myself! Last year he went all out and cooked a lovely meal and promises to do the same this year! We received a gift of some dried cherries from Michigan (oh how I miss you) and I suggested they might go well with duck in a port sauce. The fish man is also here in town on Thursdays so I think he is picking up some scallops to start. Although last year was amazing, we both agreed that there was too much going on flavour - wise, so I think he is trying to stick to simpler flavours this year. I am so excited!

Since I am not cooking in real life today, I won't be cooking here today either, but did want to point out some nice Valentine's recipes options!

For starters I highly recommend Crab Cakes with Red Pepper Aioli. If it's just the two of you, you could cut the recipe down, but they would save for tomorrow too! Some quick and easier options would be Capresi Salad or Bruschetta - light and refreshing - they'd be a good way to start any meal.

For mains a good steak is always a winner (Sandie, that one is for you!) and there are plenty of options on the steak front! If you're feeling extravagant, why not go all out and get a lobster or two? Creamy Bacon and Thyme Chicken is a beautiful and tasty dish that even the pickiest eater would love. If you're thinking fish, how does a fillet of sole stuffed with lemon-scented rice sound? Finally if pasta is what you are hankering after, this elegant and easy Chicken Pomodoro is one of my most popular recipes and for the vegetarians among you this Wild Mushroom Tagliatelle is sure to please!

Heart Shaped Chicken nuggets would be a fun option for the kids lunch or dinner! In fact I think I'll get right on that!

For dessert I cannot recommend Gordon Ramsay's chocolate fondant enough. It's truly heaven on a plate and so ridiculously easy you'll wonder if it's real! Lemon Meringue Tart (or make individual ones) or my Easy One Bowl Brownies would also be good options.

Martin Dwyer has some lovely recipes up on his exceptional blog, as does The Pioneer Woman. For some craft and activity ideas, visit Barbara, she's got a great list going!

Here's wishing you all a lovely and romantic Valentine's Day!

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Doughnuts and Linky Love

The birthday and party went really well. The husband was sick of me whining about a cake, so he made his own, which was much better than anything I could have pulled off! You can see she was impressed above! ;-) I ordered one for the party itself, and it went swimmingly. I still can't believe my baby is two and my blog is one!

So on a tasty note, Tartalette and Peabody are hosting a Time to Make Doughnuts event. Since trying Tartalette's amazing Apple Cider Beignets, I have not been able to get doughnuts off my mind! I made a batch of doughnuts yesterday but as I was letting them rise the fruit bowl caught my eye. Remembering the beautiful combination of batter and apple of those beignets and my sinful Chinese favourite Banana Fritters I had an idea! What if I were to encase some banana in the dough? Heaven - that's what. I had no vanilla ice-cream, but if I did I would have added a scoop and drizzled with some dulche de leche sauce or other caramel, but they were excellent plain too! So here's my submission. Make sure you check out Tartalette and Peabody on the 15th for the round up of delicious doughnut recipes. I can't wait!

Banana Stuffed Doughnuts

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups flour
• 4 1/2 tsp (2pckgs) instant yeast
• 3/4 cup warm milk
• 3 tbsp melted butter
  
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 large potato, boiled and riced (approx half a cup)
• 2 bananas
• vegetable oil for frying
• 1 tbsp cinnamon, for rolling
  
• 1 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
  

1 cup = 8 fluid ounces

Mix yeast, milk and sugar in a bowl with butter. Allow to stand five to ten minutes until frothy. Mix the dry ingredients, less rolling mixture, together and work in the potato, mashing it into the flour until you have a mixture resembling fine breadcrumbs.

Add in yeast mixture and work into a sticky dough. When it's holding together turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for about ten minutes. It will be soft, but should not be sticky, add more flour if necessary.

Roll out dough and cut out doughnut shapes. I cut out ring doughnuts as normal and used the holes and dough scraps to roll into balls for the bananas. You should get about 15 rings and enough dough and holes left for about ten 2 inch diameter balls.

Cut each banana into five equal pieces and push into center of dough balls. Gather dough up around the banana and pinch to seal the seams.

Allow dough to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon and place in a shallow dish.

Heat oil to 365F / 185C. You do not need to deep fry these, but you should have at least an inch or two in the pan to shallow fry. Drop one to two doughnuts in at a time. Don't crowd the pan or the temperature will drop and they will get soggy.

They should take about 2-3 minutes each, although you want to give the banana ones a little longer as they are thicker. When they are a deep golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon.

Roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture and allow to cool before serving.

Alternatively, if you have a recipe for doughnuts you prefer, use that and press the bananas into it! You could make various glazes for the doughnut rings as well. Enjoy!

*****************

Now for some links I would like to draw your attention to.:

• Eoin* Purcell has launched a wonderful new site called Our Grannie's Recipes. The idea behind it is to collect some good home-cooking recipes and create a cookbook which will benefit charity this fall. He is looking for submissions. This is such a wonderful idea, and I'm sure many of you will agree with me that the variety and charm of charity cookbooks make them some of the most reached for in your cupboard. Head on over and check it out and maybe even submit a recipe!

• The Irish Blog Awards shortlists have been announced and mercifully I'm still on it, along with some other favourites including the notorious Manuel, Niall from iFoods.tv, Lorraine, Jenny, Val, Ruth, Laura, Lar, EnglishMum and chef Martin Dwyer. Congrats to all! My personal bet, all feelings for the others aside, is a showdown between the men with either Martin or Manuel taking the cake!

• The lovely Dianne of Dianne's Dishes is having a fun contest to get kids into the kitchen! It's even open to us international bloggers. (Not going to give "US only" pet peeve rant.)

• Yannchef from Food Lorists has been doing a wonderful series of posts on various classic sauces. He looks at food from a scientific and chef's perspective. Some fantastic things to read.

• Finally, the RSVP date for the Irish Food Blog Brunch in Dublin on March 2nd has been extended to February 28th. I will need a total count by then, so if you are interested in coming and meeting fellow bloggers, foodies and fans, check out the original post here and RSVP there as well. Feel free to use the image on your own blog to let your readers know!
  

That's all for now. Am working hard on the business right now and this is restricting my time a little more than I'd hoped, but I'm sure I'll be back to normal in a couple of weeks! Thank you again for all the wonderful feedback for those of you who took the survey! Happy Monday!


* That is pronounced Owen, for my non-Irish readers. My brother of the same name always had a hard time with that growing up abroad! ;-) Poor Ciara... guess she'll be screwed too if we got back to the states! It's Kee-ra! ;-)

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Pancake Tuesday

Tomorrow is pancake Tuesay and this time last year I posted several recipes, which I added to through my blogging career! Traditional Irish pancakes recipe is here, some American varieties are here and here and a savoury (for our leftover Irish pancakes or crepes) variety is here. I love pancakes... have fun tomorrow!

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A South African Feast

Although I have never been, I have always had a bit of a love affair with South Africa. Back in my singing days I almost had the opportunity to play Carmen in Johannesburg, but unfortunately it fell through. At the time I did a lot of research and was thrilled at the thought of living in such a diverse and historic place, if only for a month or two. Going to an international school meant I had several South African friends as well. They have the most beautiful accent, a soft lilting melody that just makes me smile.

Given my obsession passion for food, this was obviously a big part of my research. I remember loving the sound of Bobotie, a dish that every South African has their own version of, perhaps a bit like our own Shepherd's Pie. I used to read a lot of Wilbur Smith and this dish would come up in his books as well. I love the history of the dish. I can just imagine the first European settlers discovering wonderful new flavours and spices in Africa and coming up with this unique way to use them. The dish itself is similar to a Greek pastichio, in that it is topped off with a light custard and baked until golden brown. It is lightly spiced with curry powder and incorporates the sweetness of dried fruit and chutney. Having just whipped up a fresh batch of mango chutney I was delighted to try it out in this dish!

I was reading BBC Good Food the other day when once again I came upon a recipe for Bobotie, indeed several recipes for a South African feast. I am always looking for interesting way to cook ground beef, so it was an obvious one to add to the repertoire. I followed the recipe loosely, tweaking a bit here and there for the kids taste. I also cut it in half, search their website for the original recipe, but check the internet for thousands of varieties! I am hoping Robert, busy though he is with moving, will also weigh in on this post!

For the rice, I followed the recipe exactly, although I did need to add more water than the recipe called for. It also took longer to cook.

The verdict? Absolutely delicious! Really different flavours, sweet and savoury, but enjoyed by all. The kids could not get enough of either the rice or the beef, a pleasant surprise indeed! This would serve about four adults.

Deborah's Bobotie

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef (or lamb if you prefer)
• 2 slices white bread
• 1/4 cup milk
  
• 1 large onion, dices
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 heaping tbsp curry powder
• pinch dried thyme
• pinch dried oregano
• pinch dried basil
• pinch dried chives
• big pinch ground allspice
• pinch ground cloves
• 3 tbsp mango (or peach) chutney
• 3 heaping tbsp sultanas (golden raisins)
• 6 bay leaves
• 150 ml milk
• 1 egg

Pour milk over bread and set aside to soak.

Fry onions in some butter until soft and starting to colour. Add garlic and beef, crushing beef into fine grains until it changes colour. Stir in curry powder, spices, herbs, two bay leaves, chutney and sultanas. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for ten minutes.

Squeeze milk from bread and beat into meat mixture until well blended. Press the mixture into a casserole dish and smooth the top.

Whisk egg and milk and pour over the meat. Lay remaining bay leaves on top. Bake for 20-30min at 200C/400F until golden brown.

Yellow Rice

Ingredients:

• 12oz / 350g basmati rice
• 2oz / 50g butter
• 1 heaped tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon or 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 6 green cardamom pods, shelled and seeds crushed
• just under 1 tsp tumeric
• 5 tbsp raisins
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 500 ml water

Toss everything into a pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Stir, cover and leave to simmer for six minutes. Remove from heat and leave covered for another five minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

*****

And now for something completely different! My food blog birthday coincides with my baby's second birthday on Wednesday. I posted my first real post on her birthday last year and here we are again. Hard to believe that this time two years ago I was as big as a house and so so ready for her to show up! Whoever said that labour gets easier with the second child was a liar, it was awful. I even wanted to give in and get some drugs at the end, but I persevered and have the cutest, funniest little toddler to show for it! We are having a party with friends and family on Saturday. The menu is as follows. Am open to all suggestions, most people coming would be open to all sorts of foodie goodness, but my Nana is coming and there may be one or two other picky people, so am hoping this will be something for everyone!

• Prawn Wonton Cups
• Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Profiteroles
• Tea Sandwiches (Ham, Egg Salad, and PB&J for the kids)
• Toasted Ravioli with Arrabiatta Sauce (A St. Louis specialty!)
• Hot Crab Dip with Thyme and Gruyere Crackers
• BBQ Meatballs (also for kids, but tasty enough for all!)
• Chicken and Apple Empanadas
  

For dessert we will have brownies, chocolate chip cookies and cake. Although I am looking for ideas for a cool cake, keeping in mind I am cake-ally challenged! ;-) All easy kids cake ideas this way please!

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