Hey Pesto!

book review, cookalong, Cookbooks, Cookery Classes, Cooking, Recipes

Cookbook Cookalong No 2 – Half Baked Harvest

January 21, 2021February 11, 2021 heypesto

I’ve been following the Half Baked Harvest account on Instagram for a number of years – Tieghan’s food photography makes me hungry and her breakfast quesadilla has become a firm favourite here.

I bought the book about 2 years ago but until last week had only tried one recipe from it. I keep taking the book out to look through it and marking recipes to try so last week I put it to the test in my Friday Cookalong .

The book is subtitled ‘Recipes from My Barn in the Mountains’ and it’s bursting with dishes that Tieghan cooks for her family in Colorado and I wouldn’t mind being invited to join them. I love the story that she took over the cooking because she couldn’t cope with the chaos in the family kitchen!

selection of dishes prepped — Selection of Dishes

So what did I cook ? I started with the Gyros with Roasted Garlic Tzatziki and Feta Fries (p. 134) This is a Greek dish with lots of garlic and fresh oregano and I think that’s where I missed out – the oregano in my garden was frostbitten and I couldn’t get any fresh in the supermarket. The dried version just didn’t seem to cut it. The tzatziki was delicious – roasting the garlic certainly added extra flavour.

chicken gyros with roast garlic tzatziki — Gyros with Roasted Garlic Tzatziki

I was so looking forward to the feta fries – I mean what’s not to like about chips and cheese – but I have to admit being slightly disappointed with them 😆. Thankfully one of the ‘cook-a-longers’ tried them and loved them so I will definitely give them another try.

The second dish I tried was Seafood Bánh Mí (p.175) and I fell in love . The Bánh Mí is Vietnamese street food – a layered sandwich in a baguette – a legacy of French colonialism. The recipe includes Chimichurri and if I was to be pedantic I would say that this is an Argentinian rather than Vietnamese dressing. The traditional accompaniment would be something like sriracha sauce (a paste of chili peppers) .

I’m not complaining though – I’m all for fusion food!

I used prawns instead of white fish and marinated them for a shorter time, then fried them off for a few minutes. I also added jalapenos and pickled radishes to my layered sandwich. The biggest game changer was the curry butter (traditionally the base layer is pate) – the hot prawns made it melt into absolute deliciousness (ok I’ll stop now😋)

I made another version over the weekend with griddled chicken – and curry butter
Then I used the curry butter to cook chicken, salmon….. It’s become a kitchen staple and it’s so simple – you mix a few tablespoons of curry paste into softened butter and store it in your fridge . Trust me you need this in your life !

My verdict – I will use this book occasionally but it won’t make the favourites shelf 🤔

Instead of buying the book I recommend that you follow the Half Baked Harvest blog for lots of inspiration and recipes from Tieghan’s Barn in the Mountains.

If you missed the cookalong you can watch it back here

Happy Cooking!

Yvonne xx

If you’d like to join the weekly Hey Pesto! cookalong or attend one of my online cookery classes then please click here for details.

book review, Cookbooks

New Year New Theme

January 15, 2021February 11, 2021 heypesto

Featured Book : Mowgli Street Food

Little did I think when I started to live cookalongs last April that I’d still be doing them 8 months on ! Last year I cooked some of my favourites every Friday evening and that, together with the wonderful people that I’ve met through my facebook group, Hey Pesto Cookalong kept me going through the strange days of 2020.
This year I decided to change it around a bit – I have a rather large library of cookbooks ( some might call it an addiction!) but I seem to keep using the same books over and over. So for the sake of my books (and my sanity) I’m going to pick a different one and try some new recipes . I’ll also let you know whether I think the book is worth adding to your collection.

Week 1 was a recent addition to the library – Mowgli Street Food by Nisha Katona. I’d never heard of this restaurant chain until my good friend and fellow home economist , Sinead, recommended it at Christmas. She raved about it so much I had to buy it!

The premise of the book is Indian Street Food and the dishes served in the Mowgli restaurants – it’s well laid out with different sections with interesting introductions. I learned such things that ‘chat’ means lick , the surprise of the tiffin box, that onion and garlic is sometimes forbidden to HIndus and perhaps most worrying , that street food vendors use aromatic spices to keep meat smelling fresh !

So what did I cook? The first dish I tried was the Masala Omelette Wrap (p. 22) – I didn’t have all the ingredients but even with my substitutions this was a great lunchtime dish, especially served with the Mowgli ‘slaw (p. 140)

For last week’s cookalong I went a bit mad and did five dishes, including the Mowgli ‘slaw :

The Fenugreek Kissed Fries ( p. 28) – very tasty but if I was doing them again I would oven roast rather than fry them

Onion Bhajis (p.39) & Fish Pakoras (p. 60) – I’m not a big fan of fried food but I’ll make an exception for these bad boys anyday.

Mowgli Chutney (p.147) – I loved how easy this was to make (no vinegar smell😉) and the flavours are amazing

My verdict – this is a book that will make it to the Favourites shelf (despite there not being a picture for every recipe , my pet hate about cookbooks) . I still have a list of want to try dishes, including the yogurt chat bombs which look very challenging and the Mowgli Rocky Road.

If you like Indian food then I recommend you add this book to your library!

If you missed the cookalong , you can watch it here

Happy Cooking!

Yvonne xx

If you’d like to attend one of my cookery classes online then please click here for details.

Baking, Cookery Classes, Cooking, entertaining, radio, Recipes

Trick or Treat

October 29, 2020October 29, 2020 heypesto

We can’t do Trick or Treat as normal this year so let’s try and make Halloween at Home special . I know I promised on Midlands 103 this morning that I would post the recipes that we discussed so here’s a rather quick post to give you some inspiration

You’ll also find recipes for a Graveyard Cake and Sammy the Spider on my blog.

Halloween Toffee Apples

Makes 4

What you need:

4 apples
4 lollipop sticks or skewers
200g caster sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp golden syrup
Black food colouring

What to do:

Put the sticks into the stalk end of the apples. Put the apples on a baking tray or plate lined with baking parchment
Put the sugar into a large saucepan with the lemon juice and 50 ml water. Bring to a simmer and let the sugar dissolve – don’t stir it!
Carefully add the golden syrup and let the mixture bubble until it looks like toffee. To test if it’s done take out a little on a spoon and drop it into a cup of cold water – it should harden straight away. If it doesn’t continue to boil for another few minutes and test it again.
Add a few drops of food colouring and take the pan off the heat.
Dip the apple into the toffee, you may have to tip the pan to cover all the skin. (BE CAREFUL) Let any excess toffee drip off and put on the baking parchment to harden
Repeat with the other apples.

Spooky Forest

What you need:

For the mousse:
- 150g marshmallows
- 50g butter
- 250g dark chocolate
- 60ml boiled water
- 250 ml cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Good splash Cointreau (adults only!)
- Zest of 1 orange
Trees:
- White chocolate, melted
- Googly eyes
Soil:
- Blitzed Oreo cookies

What to do:

To make the mousse:
- Put marshmallows, butter and chocolate and water in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Add in orange zest.
- Whip the cream and add vanilla extract and Cointreau
- Take chocolate mix off heat. Fold cream into chocolate until smooth.
- Pour into glasses
- Leave to set in fridge
For the trees:
- Trace some scary trees onto baking parchment (you’ll find lots of templates online). Then melt some white chocolate and pipe/brush onto the shape
- Attach eyes and leave to set
To Assemble
- Top the mousse with the crushed cookies
- Then carefully peel the trees of the parchment and stick into the mousse
- Decorate with mini pumpkins etc.

Marshmallow Zombies

What you need:

Marshmallows
White chocolate, melted
Lollipop sticks
Icing pens
Googly eyes

What you do:

Put each marshmallow on a lollipop stick and dip into white chocolate
Allow chocolate to set – standing in a glass is the easiest
Then decorate the marshmallow with eyes and drawing on a mouth

Happy Cooking & A Very Spooky Halloween!

Yvonne xx

If you’d like to attend one of my cookery classes online then please click here for details.

Chef, Cookery Classes, Cooking, entertaining, family meals, Food, Recipes, slow cooking, Wine

Every goal deserves a (crispy) reward, right?

October 12, 2020 heypesto

I love figures. I know you might think it strange , but I see a spreadsheet as a thing of beauty. Neat , organized columns of figures, with built in checks to make sure there are no errors.
So why then does the thought of doing my accounts fill me with fear and dread? Every October it’s the same routine – panic and chaos to get the previous years receipts and invoices in order to give to my accountant.

You’d imagine with all the enforced spare time this year that I would have done it months ago, but no, it took a reminder letter to galvanize me into action. Even the Chief Taster knows better than to ask how the codeword A is progressing !
But in the spirit of Organized October, and building on Grainne’s foundation folder – yes even friends try to help me over this fear – I delivered the files (well the bulk of) to my accountant’s office on Thursday.

Cause for celebration right? Cue Crispy Roast Duck for dinner…

Crispy duck is big favourite in this house but last few times I cooked it I only did the legs and served the meat with pancakes and plum sauce. Last week I spotted full ducks in the freezer section in Lidl so I thought I’d experiment with cooking it in my slow cooker .

So once the duck was defrosted (overnight in the fridge) and the giblets removed, I stuffed the cavity with lemon, garlic, dried limes and star anise

Duck Cavity stuffed with lemon and garlic

I didn’t want the duck to be sitting in it’s own fat as it cooked so I put some vegetables in the base of the slow cooker to act as a trivet

To add more flavour, I rubbed a mix of cumin, coriander and seasalt into the skin.

Then I put the lid on the pot and left the cooker on high for 4 hours and then turned it down low for another 3 hours.

The Chief Taster arrived in to the most tantalizing, delicious cooking smells and suggested we walk down to find a suitable wine. I delivered my files to the accountant on the way and then a Beaujolais Villages was chosen (Yes I know, I should really have insisted on bubbles to mark my achievement!!) 😉

Post walk I transferred the duck to a very hot oven (220 C) for about 30 minutes to crisp up the skin. Plus remember the vegetable trivet – the vegetables had cooked beautifully in the duck fat – so I put them in the oven too!

In the meantime I made a quick plum sauce, by simmering the following together over a low heat, for 30 minutes :

1 punnet of plums, quartered and stones removed.
1 star anise
Good glug of Chinese cooking wine

Dinner was almost ready – all it needed was a big bowl of delicious vegetable egg fried rice flavoured with some oyster sauce and finished with sesame oil.

Result? It’s made it to the favourite recipe folder and I’m in the running for girlfriend of the year!!!

Just in case you think we’re total gluttons there was lots of meat left on the duck and it’s gone into the freezer to be used at a later date.

Just a thought, in these strange times when we don’t know what will happen over the next few months – this dish would be perfect for a Christmas dinner for 2-3 people 🤶

STAY SAFE AND HAPPY COOKING!

PS I don’t like to brag but I also put all my summer clothes away in the attic this week – neatly sorted of course! Now onto my next organizing project…..

PS 2 Grainne, if you’re reading this, can you please come back and sort my accounts for 2020?

Cookery Classes, Cooking, Food, Kitchen Organization, Recipes

More Organizing and a Veggie Pie

October 3, 2020October 3, 2020 heypesto

One week into my ‘Organized Plan’ and already I need to up my game! I’m still armed with my label maker but the pantry is only half organized.

I have to stop getting distracted …oh look what’s that shiny thing over there 🤣

Another of my winter projects is to file and write up recipes that I have tried and open another file with recipes I want to try – and cookbooks I need to read – so when I do get back to work I’ll have lots of new ideas (and yes I am still working on online classes…)
I’ve been revisiting some old recipes for my Friday Facebook Cookalong and last night I cooked one of my favourite vegetarian dishes – Sweet Potato & Spinach Pie. It’s a delicious warming dish flavoured with Moroccan spices (from my beautifully organised spicce cupboard!). Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Sweet Potato & Spinach Pie

Oven: 200 C

What you need:

Rapeseed oil
3 medium sweet potatoes, washed
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ras el hanout
Bag of baby spinach leaves, rinsed
Good pinch of nutmeg
1 packet feta cheese
1 tin chickpeas, drained
Black pepper and nutmeg
1 packet filo pastry
Butter, melted
Nigella seeds

What you do:

Bake the sweet potato for approx. 45 mins until cooked. Set aside to cool. Then scoop out the flesh.
Heat a glug of oil in a pan and sauté the onion until soft. Add in the ras el hanout and cook for another minute until the onion is coated with the spices.
Add the cooked onion to the sweet potato in a large bowl.
Using the same pan, wilt the spinach leaves and season with nutmeg
Stir in the wilted spinach leaves into the bowl with sweet potato. Then crumble in the feta. Season with pepper (the feta will add salt to the mix). Stir in chickpeas. Check for seasoning
Line the base of your 20cm springform tin with baking parchment and rub the sides with butter.
Unfold your filo pastry and place under a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out. Line your tin with 3 or 4 sheets, making sure to brush each sheet with melted butter. Allow the extra filo to hang over the sides.
Spoon your potato filling into the centre of the tin and then fold in the side pieces of pastry to form the top of your pie. Brush with butter and sprinkle with nigella seeds.
Bake your pie in a hot oven for 20-25 mins until golden and crispy.

Cutting into the crispy pastry you’ll see the layers of goodness inside 🤗

And I even made a baby pie – these are very handy to have in your freezer for the days when you don’t feel like cooking.

Stay Safe and Happy Cooking!

PS if anyone has any hints or tips on how to stay focused and get organized please let me know 😉

Cookery Classes, Cooking, Food, Kitchen Organization

Organized October

September 28, 2020September 28, 2020 heypesto

Not that you need me to mention it but 2020 has been one strange year.

Back in March when Lockdown began I was full of great intentions – everything was going to be organized in my house, I was going to learn how to crochet, paint furniture, read all the books in the pile by my bed…

I managed to plant a wild flower garden (of which I’m very proud), paint a garden bench and reorganize my shed. And then my plans went a bit pear-shaped. My Sister and her family moved into my Mum’s house for 3 months and my Mum moved in with me. It was a great summer – lots of family meals and outings. I loved spending time with my niece and nephews. Morning walks and coffee with my sister were another bonus.

They’ve gone back to their renovated house and I’m finding things rather quiet without them ( though the cat is enjoying reclaiming her territory ). So rather than feeling sorry for myself I decided it’s time to make some new lists and make October ‘Organization Month’ . I’m hoping that writing the items down will ensure that I complete all of them…🤞

On the list so far :

As you may know I’ve been doing live cook-alongs over on Facebook – now I need to start blogging the recipes.

As physical classes aren’t an option at the moment I’m embracing the online world and working on a Zoom class schedule

I’m planning an Afternoon Tea class to raise funds for ‘Cups for Cancer’ so I’m hoping you’ll all join me for this worthy cause

Reorganizing my pantry – I’ve bought a label maker and I’m not afraid to use it🤣

As there’s not much call for Corporate Catering at the moment I need to work on ideas for restarting Hey Pesto!

On a personal note dare I mention I need to exercise more – thankfully Pilates has restarted 🧘‍♀️

There will no doubt be lots more items added so watch this space…..

I’ve started by getting my spices in order – now I have no excuse not to use them all ( all 49 of them!)

Happy Cooking!

Christmas, Cookery Classes, Cooking, radio, Recipes, Uncategorized

Festive Food on the Radio

December 23, 2019December 23, 2019 heypesto

I love Christmas. I love everything about it – I can’t wait to get my tree and decorations up, wrap presents, catch up with friends and of course plan all my festive food.

This year I started my Christmas demos with Neff in early November and whilst by now I wouldn’t mind if I never saw turkey and ham again I’m still planning and making lots of dishes and goodies to share with friends and family .

So when the lovely Sinead in Midlands 103 asked me to share some festive ideas on air I was happy to do so ( though I suspect one of the reasons that I keep being asked back is that I bring food 😉

As promised here are some of the recipes that I discussed on air with Will Faulkner earlier today

For starters, or to serve with drinks try sausage truffles or prawn shots :

Sausage Truffles

What you need:

125g plain flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp smoked jalapeno powder (or smoked paprika)
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 lb sausage meat
80g cheddar, grated
50g butter, melted
30 ml milk

What you do:

Preheat oven to 200 C
Mix your dry ingredients together then add in sausage meat, cheese, butter and milk
Mix well and then using wet hands form into approx. 24 balls. Chill if you have time
Place on lined baking sheet and bake for 20 mins until golden.
Serve hot or cold with a cranberry dipping sauce (mix sour cream, cranberry sauce and a dash of mustard)

Prawn Shots

What you need:

12 large (raw) prawns, peeled but with tail on
½ tsp sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
Juice of 1 limes
1 red chilli, chopped
Fresh mint, chopped

What you do:

Split the prawns lengthways (making sure to remove the black vein). Then place them on baking sheet/grill pan, drizzle with a little (chilli) oil. Cook under very hot grill for 3-4 mins
Mix all the other ingredients together and divide between 12 shot glasses. Then Top each glass with a prawn.
Or alternatively pour the dipping sauce into a dish and arrange the prawns around the side of the dish

You’ll find ideas on cooking the perfect turkey and a vegetarian roast elsewhere in my blog so I’m going to head straight to dessert, This year, inspired by a Tom Kerridge podcast, my favourite is a festive cheesecake:

Christmas Pudding Cheesecake Pots

What you need:

150g ginger nut biscuits
50g butter, melted
200g Christmas pudding
30 ml Cointreau
Zest and juice of 1 orange
250g cream cheese (the full fat version please!)
250g mascarpone
80g soft brown sugar
200 ml cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

What you do:

Crush the biscuits in a plastic bag using a rolling pin. Mix the crushed biscuits and melted butter together and press into the base of each shot glass (this mix should make approx. 24 pots)
Blitz the Christmas pudding, brandy and orange zest to a puree
Whisk the cream cheese, mascarpone, cream and sugar and vanilla extract together until smooth and creamy.
Carefully fold the pudding purée into the cream cheese mix. Pipe or spoon onto the biscuit base
Leave to chill before serving.

By now you should be feeling rather full so we’ll move onto what to do with your leftovers.

Potato cakes always make a good addition to Stephen’s Day and will use up leftover mash and ham

Potato & Ham Cakes

What you need:

400g mashed potatoes
100g Leftover ham, chopped
1 egg
Bunch spring onions, chopped
pinch of chilli powder or dash of chilli sauce
seasoning

What you do:

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.
Shape into cakes
Shallow fry or bake cakes in oven (180 C) for 15- 20 mins until cakes start to crisp

And then when you’re looking for ideas to use up the leftover turkey why not try this Mexican inspired dish ….

Festive Picadillo

What you need:

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. flaked almonds
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
50g raisins
Jar Passata
300ml chicken stock
Shredded Cooked Turkey

What to do:

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in an ovenproof casserole dish and sauté the onion until soft.
Stir in the garlic and spices and cook for another minute.
Then add in remaining ingredients – almonds, vinegar, raisins, passata & stock.
Bring to the boil and then leave to simmer for about 20 mins.
Add in shredded turkey and allow to heat through
Serve in tortilla baskets or with rice and topped with sour cream

This has been a rather rushed post so I hope it all makes sense. Once again my new year’s resolution will be to be more organised!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Cooking & A Very Happy Christmas!

Yvonne xx

If you’d like to come along to one of my cookery classes or book me for a demo then please click here for details.

If you‘d like details of our catering options then please click here or contact me directly on 087 2488124

Uncategorized

Dining á deux – Romance is in the air!

February 13, 2019 heypesto

An oldie but a goodie – a suggested three course meal to impress your Valentine 🙂

Hey Pesto!

Romance is definitely in the air and what better way to celebrate than with a delicious dinner á deux?

This was my Valentine’s meal last year but looking at the dishes I think it deserves another outing……….. see what you think!

Starter : Seductive Scallops on a Pea & Mint Purée

According to my fishmonger, Jason, this dish cannot fail to stir the romantic juices! You can make the purée in advance and reheat just before serving. The trick is to have everything ready before you cook the scallops as they are best served immediately. Allow 3 scallops per person.

To make the puree – heat 125 g frozen petits pois, knob of butter, 50 ml chicken stock andseasoning in a small saucepan and alllow to simmer for 3-4 mins. Then whizz in food processor with a small bunch of mint (chopped) and Voilá!

To cook…

View original post 533 more words

Baking, Christmas, Cooking, Food, Recipes

Christmas Treats

December 17, 2018December 17, 2018 heypesto

There’s nothing nicer than receiving a foodie gift made with love – like these tasty vanilla shortbread.

Take some time out to make a few batches of this delicious shortbread and package them up in pretty boxes or in gift bags tied with festive ribbon and you’ll be welcome at any Christmas gathering!

Continue reading “Christmas Treats” →

Baking, Bread, Chef, Cookery Classes, Cooking, entertaining, Food

Tear & Share Bread

October 4, 2018October 4, 2018 heypesto

You know the feeling when friends drop in unexpectedly and you hear yourself saying ‘you must stay for lunch/dinner’ all the while doing a frantic mental search of your fridge and thinking ‘what on earth can I serve’ ?

Well worry no more – with a few staples in your fridge and pantry you can rustle up this quick savoury bread in about 20 minutes. Throw a salad together while it’s cooking and Voilá! your friends will think you are a true Domestic God/Goddess
Continue reading “Tear & Share Bread” →