Cooking – Hey Pesto!

book review, cookalong, Cookbooks, Cookery Classes, Cooking, entertaining, family meals, Food, Healthy Eating, Recipes

Cookbook Cookalong No. 11 – Simple

March 22, 2021 heypesto

Let me start by confessing that I’m a big fan of Ottolenghi – I use a lot of his recipes in my kitchen. I borrowed Jerusalem from a friend a few years ago ( I gave it back, honestly!) and tried lots of recipes from it. As a result Lamb shawarma became a favourite on my buffet menu along with a version of his chicken with freekeh .

I bought Simple about 2 years ago but had only cooked one dish from it before this week – I think because the ingredient lists were shorter than his norm I kind of treated it as ‘Ottolenghi Light’ adn pushed it to the back of the shelf. Having rescued it for this week’s cookalong I’m going to try a few more recipes from it

So what did I cook:

The dish that topped my Facebook poll was Bridget Jones’ pan-fried salmon with pine nut salsa (p.246) . Apparently this dish was introduced after it was in Bridget Jones’ Baby – the salmon was delicious – the timings were spot on and the salsa was almost perfect. Almost. I’m not against dried fruit in savoury dishes – I grew up with sultanas in curries. I just don’t think the currants added anything to this dish and next time I make it they will not be included. Also I’m going to take on board a suggestion from Sinead and use black olives instead of green for colour.

salmon with salsa — Salmon with Pine Nut Salsa

I also made the Cauliflower ‘tabbouleh’ (p.46). I love tabbouleh but am still on the fence about the use of cauliflower as a grain substitute so I was interested to see how this dish would work. And even with the allspice, it did😊 . I can see this becoming a regular here over the summer months – with lots of fresh herbs from my garden ( if I win the slug battle 🤞 ). It will complement the barbeque perfectly.

My verdict:

I feel like I should apologise to this book for ignoring it for so long (what do you mean – of course books have feelings). This week I also tried the roasted asparagus with almonds, capers and dill – yum! Next on my list is the ciabatta fritatta. However if you are buying your first Ottolenghi book I’d say have a look at Jerusalem or Plenty . Also check out Ottolenghi’s recipes and articles online. You’ll find the salmon recipe here and the cauliflower one here (along with a few more interesting ideas)

If you missed my Simple Cookalong you can catch up here

The Friday Cookbook Cookalong happens every Friday at 6.30 pm on my facebook page – why not drop by and say hello – we’re a friendly bunch 😊

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.

📷Special thanks as always to Jeff Harvey for the great food photography 📷

book review, cookalong, Cookbooks, Cookery Classes, Cooking, entertaining, family meals, Food, Recipes

Cookbook Cookalong No. 10 – Mexican Food Made Simple

March 14, 2021March 15, 2021 heypesto

Can you believe it’s been a year since life as we knew it stopped? Little did I think that when I started the Hey Pesto Cookalong Group last year that we would still be sharing our kitchens virtually 12 months later. We’re almost at 500 members ( come on we only need 8 more to get there!) and thanks again to those of you that interact regularly and keep me on my toes❤

This week’s cookbook choice was Thomasina Miers’ ‘Mexican Food Made Simple’ – a book that has been in my collection since July 2011 – if I remember correctly I bought it on a recommendation from my great friend and fellow cook Georgie. There are a few food splattered pages and lots of scribbled notes which attest to the fact it has been well used over the years.
Don’t expect recipes for fajitas like ‘marinate chicken in spice mix and fry’ , her recipes are a lot more involved than that but she does explain things very well – salsas, making your tortillas, how to fold a burrito etc are explained with step by step instructions with pictures 😊

In advance of the cookalong, I did an online shop with Picado Mexican and huge thanks are due to Lily for ensuring my order arrived in time. I have lots of lovely new ingredients to play with 😉

If you decide to try recipes from this week’s book then may I recommend you stock up on authentic Mexican ingredients from Lily & Alan’s online shop.
If you’re in Tullamore you will also find some ingredients at Bia Cantina‘s stall in Tullamore Food Fayre – Conor sells ready tortilla dough for you to roll out and cook at home and if you follow my insta stories you’ll know that I’m a fan of his homemade crisps

So what did I cook:

The dish that topped my Facebook poll was Steak Burritos (p.117) . I love dishes like this with lotTs of salsas and side ‘bits and bobs’ so I was happy with the group choice. The recipe looks for skirt steak which I was unable to get so I opted for striploin from my local farmshop instead. In hindsight rather than cutting this into thin slices and marinating it I might have been better to leave the steaks whole and slice them after cooking as I felt I didn’t get enough flavour from the pieces.

The charred spring onions on the other hand, were very more-ish , I recommend cooking twice as many as you think you’ll need!

This dish is the sum of a number of parts- the beef, the tortillas, the beans, the rice, the salsa and the add-ons such as the avocado, creme fraiche and cheese. Ideally I would make everything up , leaving the beef til last, and lay all the dishes out to let everyone help themselves – this is my favourite way of family dining.

I made the Green Rice (p.64), in honour of St. Patrick’s Day, as you do! I’ve made this dish before and love the fresh herb flavours. There’s also a recipe for a delicious red version which uses tomatoes, peas and carrots.

I cheated on the black beans – I opened a tin, heated them and seasoned with lime juice😉

I did attempt to make my own tortillas (p. 100) but they fell apart. I checked with Conor in the Market this morning and he said my mistake was to roll the dough – he recommends flattening with the base of a pan. I’ll try this and report back.

The star of the show for me was the Roast Chipotle Salsa (p. 29) . This was a flavour sensation that I will certainly be making again. You dry roast a quartered red onion, 2 garlic cloves and 4 plum tomatoes in a pan until the tomamotes are blistered and soft . The onions and garlic will roast quicker so remove them from the pan as soon as they are done. Blitz them all together with a chipotles en adobo , lime juice, coriander and salt. Voilá.
There is a recipe in the book for chipotles en adobo but I bought a tin of same – and now I have the perfect excuse to make the salsa again 🤗

To round off any Mexican evening there has to be Margaritas ( despite everyone’s Tequila horror stories!) There is a section in the book on how to make the perfect margarita with a few variations. I made a chili infused sugar syrup and added some to two part tequila to one part cointreau and juice of 1 lime – all topped up with limonata. More diluted than those in the book but hey, I have my tequila story too, but that’s for another time.

Plated burrito — The whole enchilada, so to speak 😉

My verdict:

I like this book and it has a place in my library. If you want to explore Mexican Cooking then I definitely recommend that you buy it too. Otherwise if you’d rather try a few more of her recipes (and the steak burrito) before committing check out this article and her blog .

If you missed my Mexican Food Made Simple you can catch up here
The Friday Cookbook Cookalong happens every Friday at 6.30 pm on my facebook page – why not drop by and say hello – we’re a friendly bunch 😊

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.

📷Special thanks as always to Jeff Harvey for the great food photography 📷

book review, cookalong, Cookbooks, Cookery Classes, Cooking, desserts, entertaining, Food, Recipes, Vegetarian

Cookbook Cookalong No. 9 – Naturally Vegetarian

March 6, 2021March 13, 2021 heypesto

One of the positives of the last year is the number of lovely people I have ‘met’ since I started doing my Friday Cookalongs to pass the time during Lockdown . The Hey Pesto Cookalong Group has members who check in regularly from Italy, Scotland, England, Spain, Canada and of course Ireland – they’re like my cooking family❤
Since I introduced the Cookbook Cookalong in January I’ve been cooking from books in my own library. But I’m always open to suggestions and when Jess, our Canadian ‘ambassador’ was so enthusiastic about ‘Naturally Vegetarian’ I decided to order it .
This may sound over the top but from the minute it arrived I feel in love with the book – the feel, the weight, the layout and most of all the photography – the fact that I have similar serving dishes had nothing to do with it honestly!
I had never heard of the author, Valentina Sofrini, before but on researching her I discovered she is an Italian food photographer who after a move to New York decided to cook the food that she grew up with but with vegetarian emphasis. She returned to Italy to write about a year of seasonal , plant based cooking on her family farm in Gradara. The book is divided into sections on basic recipes, how to make pasta, seasonal menus and traditional pantry items and preserves. I could feel myself being transported to Italy as I read through it ( if only!)

So what did I cook:

The dish that topped my Facebook poll was Fennel Gratin with Saffron & Nuts (p.124) which includes Crumb Topping alla Romagnola (one of the basic recipes p49)

Now I can take or leave fennel – I like it with fish or in a remoulade but I wouldn’t have listed it in my top vegetables. Until last night that is – this gratin is a gamechanger! When I was making the crumb topping I thought it was too garlicky and might over power the dish but it didn’t . The addition of saffron is one I would never have thought of – I normally reserve it for Spanish dishes and I’d never heard of the powdered version .

I could enthuse longer but you’ll just have to try it for yourselves – trim and cut 4 fennel bulbs into wedges ( the recipe says 6 from each bulb but I did quarters – Italian fennel must be bigger!) Steam them for 10 mins and then allow to cool ( I skipped this bit) . Mix a pinch of saffron with 60 ml of olive oil and add in salt, pepper and nutmeg. Toss the fennel with this and the flavoured breadcrumbs, sprinkle over dried marjoram (just realised I forgot this bit , well i didn’t actually have any) , and 40g ground almonds . Bake for 15-20 mins at 200C until top is golden .
PS I used her hint and added grated parmesan 😉

fennel gratin in veg dish — Fennel Gratin

I know the book is Vegetarian and the gratin would stand up as a dish on its own but in my mind fennel should be served with fish and when Jason, my wonderful fishmonger suggested seabass, I was sold . I pan-fried the fillets and served them with a lemony caper butter . It was a match made in heaven with baby potatoes as the bridesmaid!

seabass and fennel on plate — Dinner is served

About an hour before the Cookalong as Jeff was setting up teh cameras I decided we needed to try Chocolate Cake with Pears (p. 92 ) and am I glad I did 🤗 Even though I cheated and used tinned pears (time was of the essence!) this was a big hit – the caramelising them in brown sugar and rum helped. The recipe uses coconut oil, spelt flour, potato starch (I susbtituted cornflour) and yogurt among other ingredients . I may have had two mixers going before we went live but did I mention it was worth it ?

chocolate cake - cutting slice — Chocolate Cake with Pears

My verdict:

Do you have to ask ? Even if I never cooked from it I fell in love this book and I will definitely be trying more recipes from it . If you like Italian flavours, vegetarian dishes, eating in season and food photography then might I suggest you add this book to your library

PS It’s only €9.99 in Easons. at the moment …

If you missed my Naturally Vegetarian Cookalong you can catch up here
The Friday Cookbook Cookalong happens every Friday at 6.30 pm on my facebook page – why not drop by and say hello – we’re a friendly bunch 😊

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.

📷Special thanks as always to Jeff Harvey for the great food photography 📷

Cooking, entertaining, radio, Recipes

When Valentines and Pancakes collide

February 11, 2021 heypesto

This year Shrove Tuesday is only two days after Valentine’s Day so when the lovely Sinead in Midlands 103 asked would I do some romantic dishes I thought what better than to combine the two in a delicious heart shaped pancake stack ❤

Lemon & blueberry pancake stack aerial view

To make this plate of deliciousness you need lemon curd and it’s so easy to make, trust me.
I use Darina’s recipe and it hasn’t let me down since I first made it in Ballymaloe

Lemon Curd

What you need:

50g butter
110g caster sugar
2 lemons, zest and juice
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk, beaten together

What you do:

In a bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, melt the butter and add the sugar, lemon zest and juice.
Whisk in the eggs and continue to whisk until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
Take off heat and allow to cool – it will thicken further.
You can keep any leftover curd in the fridge for a week though I doubt if it will last that long 😊

Now you can start to make your pancakes – these are American style and are thicker than our traditional pancakes. Try and make them heart shaped if you can – I used a mould that I bought in Dunnes Stores last year – it was designed for frying eggs but if you know me you’ll know that that’s never going to happen in my kitchen!

Blueberry Pancakes

What you need:

300g self-raising flour
1 tsp bread soda
2 eggs
250 ml buttermilk
1 pink lady apple, grated
100g bluberries and extra for serving …
butter or oil for frying

What you do:

Mix the flour, bread soda and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Make a well in the centre, then gradually whisk in the eggs and the buttermilk.
Once the mixture is smooth, stir in the grated apples and the blueberries
Melt a little butter in a non-stick pan or wipe with sunflower oil.
When hot, add small ladles of batter to the pan to make small pancakes (use a mould if you have one) Cook for 2-3 mins until bubbles appear and the bottoms are set. Flip and cook for a few mins more.
Transfer to a plate and keep warm while you cook the rest of the batter.

To assemble the stack, start with a pancake, cover it with lemon curd and repeat !
Serve with lots of fresh blueberries

Don’t forget it’s a sharing stack….

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.

📷Special thanks to Jeff Harvey for the great food photography

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.

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!!!!!!!!!!

Category: Cooking

Cookbook Cookalong No. 11 – Simple

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.

📷Special thanks as always to Jeff Harvey for the great food photography 📷

Cookbook Cookalong No. 10 – Mexican Food Made Simple

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.

📷Special thanks as always to Jeff Harvey for the great food photography 📷

Cookbook Cookalong No. 9 – Naturally Vegetarian

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.

📷Special thanks as always to Jeff Harvey for the great food photography 📷

When Valentines and Pancakes collide

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.

Cookbook Cookalong No 2 – Half Baked Harvest

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.

Trick or Treat

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.

Every goal deserves a (crispy) reward, right?

More Organizing and a Veggie Pie

Organized October

Festive Food on the Radio

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