Any caterer will tell you that one of the biggest tasks we face after any job is the wash up. I have some (not so good!) memories of trying to wash plates out the back of a wedding marquee using hot water drained off the potatoes – I kid you not. I hasten to add this was not in Hey Pesto! – we prefer indoor sinks and dishwashers!
As regular readers will know I love to cook – both in my catering kitchen and my house kitchen – and I have a tendency to use a lot of dishes and pots. Unfortunately I don’t always have an assistant to wash up after me so my dishwasher is a very essential piece of kit. Continue reading “Who’s on wash-up?”→
I know, I know – it’s been a while since my last blog but now that the weather has changed I’m likely to spend more time indoors and I promise to try and be a better blogger ….
Sometimes you just need comfort food and last night was one of those nights. There were chicken fillets in the fridge,some random vegetables left in the basket and there’s always coconut milk and curry paste in the pantry so it had to be Thai curry for dinner, the perfect dish for these Autumn evenings.
I promise it will be ready in 30 minutes – quicker than waiting for a takeaway to arrive so why not give it a try. Continue reading “Comforting Curry”→
When we launched the Offaly Delicious Food Network in Tullamore at Easter last year I was so proud that we could showcase all the amazing food that we have in the Midlands. It’s been a fun year watching it grow – there have been ups and downs but thankfully our market is now well established in its home in Kilcruttin Business Centre.
We’ve been planning the first birthday party for a while and I’m delighted to say it was huge success with lots of loyal and new customers enjoying the day . We had demonstrations, baking competitions, craft, cakes, lots of great food stalls and even a visit from our local alpacas……
Check out this great record of the day by our favourite photographer
Now that January is over and we’ve all been good and stuck to our resolutions to eat healthier (what do you mean you haven’t??) it’s time to start thinking about treats for Valentine’s Day.
And speaking of resolutions it’s high time I stuck to mine and updated my blog.
I’ve been doing some research on aphrodisiacs in advance of my Valentine’s cooking and I’m now a font of trivia!
Did you know that basil was used for seduction by women in Moldova? Or that Catholic priests in Spain banned avocados because they found them obscenely sexual? Continue reading “Happily Ever After Tart”→
My nieces, nephews and friends’ children seem to love cooking here and I enjoy working with them and encouraging them to try different things. Though I suspect the freedom to make a mess could be one of the main attractions ………
I’ve been asked more than once if I would do cookery classes for children so with two of my nieces visiting and my friend Kay about to head back to Brunei with her two children, I decided it was time to experiment.
We started with traditional Soda bread ….Thanks to Isabella and Savannah for setting up the table
The table didn’t stay clean for long once the mixing started. I think there was a competition to see who could shake out the most flour and some of the mixes were a bit wet! They loved the stories about the cross in the cake to to represent the four provinces and there were lots of holes made to let the fairies escape.
When asked about Irish food producing areas the Midlands is rarely the first place that comes to mind but did you know that we have our own honey, ice cream, yoghurts, sausages, cordials, cheese, chocolate, bread, chorizo …..to name but a few products
There’s something about cooking and eating outside that makes food taste better. As soon as the sun comes out my kitchen doors are thrown open and the patio becomes my dining room. Given the vagrancies of an Irish Summer it’s important to be ready to grab every opportunity to enjoy the sun so the last thing you want to do is spend hours in the kitchen. This pork and apple burger fits the bill and the asparagus ‘slaw is the perfect accompaniment. A nice chilled glass of wine and what more could you need? Continue reading “Summer Cooking”→
When we were children everywhere was closed on Good Friday, the Fast day was adhered to and you weren’t even supposed to speak between 12 and 3pm. There wasn’t anything to watch on TV except the Long Good Friday. The only good thing was the bag of hot cross buns that my Mum used to buy from McGinn’s bakery. These sticky buns were delicious with lashings of butter – we protested that they counted as a collation and so formed part of the Fast Day diet.
Good Friday is now almost like any other day except for Hot Cross Buns that is. McGinn’s no longer exists – it’s now the CopperPot Still Pub. I’m not even sure how many people observe the Fast Day anymore.
In the last few years I have started making my own hot cross buns to see if I can recreate that childhood taste. I’ve had various degrees of success but I never seem to remember to write down how I made them or which recipe I followed.
This year I am going with a twist as I want to include Hot Cross Buns in my Easter Chocolate Class in Butlers Chocolates. And because people like to know how to reproduce what I demonstrate I’ve even remembered to write down how I made them 🙂
I took my inspiration from a number of recipes but I’ve broken a few rules by adding everything in together. I came across the idea of using the muffin trays on the Taste Australia website and it’s such a good idea I can’t believe I hadn’t come across it before.
There’s a bit of time involved in making these but trust me they’re worth it 🙂
Chocolate Hot Cross Buns
Makes 12
What you need:
450g strong flour
50g caster sugar
25g cocoa
1 tsp mixed spice
2 *7g sachet dried yeast
150ml milk, made up to 200ml with warm water
50g butter, melted
1 egg
75g mixed peel
75g Butlers milk chocolate, chopped
Zest & Juice of 1 orange
To decorate:
4tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
Water
What you do:
Make your dough by mixing together the flour, sugar, cocoa, mixed spice and yeast in bowl of your Kenwood.
In a jug mix the warm milk mix, melted butter and beaten egg. You want this mix to be lukewarm so it will activate the yeast.
Pour this mix into the dry ingredients and knead using the dough hook ( or you could do by hand if you’re feeling energetic!)
Once the mix comes together add in the mixed peel, chocolate, orange zest and juice and continue to knead for another 5 mins.
When the dough mix is smooth and springy transfer it to an oiled bowl. Cover lightly with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for an hour.
Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back and knead for a minute or two (by hand this time!)
Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper liners. I knew I’d eventually find a use for the lovely ones that have been languishing in my baking cases box for the last two years.
Divide the mix into 12 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball and place one in each hole of the muffin tray.
Cut a cross in the top of each bun using a scissors . Cover the tray and leave to rise for another 20 mins.
Heat your oven to 200C/180Fan/Gas6
To top the buns mix the 4 tbsp. of flour with enough water to form a paste. Put the paste into a plastic bag, snip of the corner of the bag and pipe into the cross on each bun.
Bake in a hot oven for 12-15 minutes. To check they’re cooked tap one of the buns on the bottom and you should hear a hollow sound
To get that lovely sticky glaze on top melt the 2 tbsp. sugar with a tablespoon of water and then brush over the top of each bun.
These hot cross buns are best enjoyed warm with lots of butter. The Chief Taster is in the UK on business so I’ll have to make another batch when he gets back to see what he thinks of the chocolate twist. Any excuse I know….
I bought a deep fat fryer a few years ago because I wanted to cook Deep Fried Brie – it’s a favourite of the Chief Taster 😉 After about two uses it took up residence somewhere deep in my shed. Anything that needs to be deep fried is now baked. Well except for the brie – experiments have proven that it ‘explodes’ in the oven and it is now a dish to be enjoyed only when we’re out 🙂
Last night we had a ‘Taste of Asia’ class with dishes from China, India and Thailand. All the dishes were very well received including the baked spring rolls with hoisin sauce.
Here’s all you need to do to make a healthier version of take away spring rolls:
Spring Rolls
What you need:
Selection of vegetables such as:
1 carrot, finely julienned
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
Tin of Chinese mushrooms
1/2 packet Beansprouts
1 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
10 Spring Roll Wrappers
1 egg, beaten
Dipping Sauce:
3 tbsp. hoisin sauce
1 tbsp. Nam Pla (fish sauce)
1 tbsp. cold water
1 chilli, finely chopped
What you do:
Heat a tbsp of sunflower oil in a wok.
Add the vegetables and stir fry for 2-3 mins
Add the soy and oyster sauces, cook for another minute then set aside to cool.
Place spring roll wrapper on chopping board. Place a small pile of vegetables, in lower corner of wrapper – Fold bottom over, then bring in the two sides and roll over to enclose the filling – like an envelope (It gets easier!)
Seal the end of the pastry by brushing with the beaten egg.
Then brush each roll with egg and bake in hot oven (200 C Fan) for 10 mins until crispy
To make dipping sauce – mix hoisin sauce, fish sauce, water and chillies in a bowl.
You could also add shredded duck or pork if you’d like. I was pleasantly surprised that the Chief Taster polished off the veggie ones 🙂
Happy Cooking !
If you’d like to attend one of my cookery classes in Tullamore please let me know. Next week is a ‘Taste of the Americas’
My father used to talk about Meitheals in the West of Ireland where he grew up – everyone coming together to help their neighbour to complete a task which would have taken forever otherwise.
I saw the Meitheal concept in operation last week when very good friends gathered round to help me photograph my food offerings. The wonderful Derick, one half of Kenmare Foodies, ventured up from the Kingdom and spent the day cooking up a storm. The lovely Fiona from Hunters Lodge arrived supposedly to potwash but was quickly put to work as a food stylist (and ironer). The fabulous Paula Ryan was photographer for the day and the results are stunning. Paul from the Shoebox arrived in the afternoon and we even got him to do some work in the kitchen! Then Jacqui & Geoff appeared that evening to make us cocktails and sample the food.
Hey Pesto! 