TV3 Cooking Debut

Tuesday past seen my cooking debut on Late Lunch Live on TV3.
What a really relaxed and fun experience it was. The hosts Martin king and Lucy Kennedy made me feel really at ease as did the background staff and the shows guests. I cooked up my a few new dishes.. Roast Butternut squash Salad along with Chilli-Maple Glazed Pork Medallions.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

I just love the versatility of a Butternut squash, I use at least one per week, it is beautiful simply roasted like in this recipe, it can also be a great substitute for meat in a curry and it makes a beautiful soup.

This recipe has a great natural protein base coming from the squash, broccoli and lentils and minimal carbs from the brown rice so is ideal meal for after a training session… it also fills a lunchbox very well for the next day’s smash and grab lunch. It is a great recipe for kids as it is full of wonderful nutrients for growth.

Serves 4:

1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced (reserve seeds)

2 tsp olive oil

60g wild and brown rice

60g Puy lentils

1 head broccoli, cut into florets

50g dried cranberries

juice 1 lemon

Heat oven to 200c. Clean off the stringy membrane from the seeds, wash them in a sieve and dry using kitchen paper, lightly oil a flat baking sheet and spread the seeds on it. Spread the squash over a large baking tray, drizzle over the oil and bake for 35 mins or until tender. Bake the seeds for about 10 mins until they start to pop.

Meanwhile, cook the rice and lentils in boiling salted water for 20 mins, adding the broccoli for the final 4 mins of cooking. Drain well, then stir in the cranberries and add some seasoning. Add the squash seeds and squeeze over the lemon juice and serve.

Chilli-Maple Glazed Pork Medallions

Pork medallions are so easy and quick to cook… and with this sticky sweet, yet fiery glaze on them, they come alive in our taste buds.

Serves 2:

4 pork medallions

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

Sea salt

2 teaspoons of rapeseed oil

1 tablespoon of cider vinegar

1 tablespoon of maple syrup

·         Pat dry and season both sides of the pork medallions with chilli powder and sea salt

·         Heat a large pan over a medium/high heat, heat the oil and carefully add the seasoned pork, cook until golden, about2 mins either side.

·         Add the cider vinegar and maple syrup to the pan. Move the pork around on both sides in the glaze until sticky and caramelised on the outside and tender on the inside.


You can watch the show on this link (while it remains up)
 http://www.tv3.ie/3player/show/518/86255/1/Late-Lunch-Live

I will be returning to cook live on the show next Thursday 6th November... Stay tuned!!

Busy Bee

Its one week into October... Where has the year gone to? It has been the strangest year too, so many good things and unfortunately so many bad too. I don't really want to dwell on the bad so we will push forward on a more positive note.

I am blogging now for both Pat the Baker and Super Valu and gotta say I'm really enjoying it, it has rekindled my love for cooking again. I think that the push to get the book finishes and all that came with it made me take a step back from it all, but now when I get the time I'm in the kitchen again working on new recipes. I was cooking at The Taste of Monaghan last weekend and had a blast, I have conquered the stage nerves and become relaxed about cooking in front of a crowd as well as holding their attention with speaking. I loved every minute of it and looking forward to doing it again!!

Otherwise I have been busy making celebration cakes, something I have a great passion about. Here are some of my latest creations:

Figurines are my niche but I really want to dive into the world of stunning wedding cakes, making cakes for anyone's special day is a buzz but when I do wedding cakes you know you are really adding to the occasion. So I guess I may get practicing some flowers!!

Eton Mess

Eton Mess

There are all different takes on this dessert and different ways to tweak it; this is mine but feel free to play around with it! Some desserts should take little effort to make but still taste heavenly, this is one of them.

Tip: for the healthier option, use low-fat natural yogurt instead of double cream.

Calories: 524

131 calories per portion

Serves 4:

225g fresh strawberries

2 tablespoons of caster sugar

Half a lemon

284ml of double cream or 300ml of Natural low fat yogurt

6 mini meringue nests

Method

Wash the strawberries and pick out the stalk. Chop half of them and place them in a small saucepan on a medium heat, sprinkle them with 1 spoonful sugar and a squeeze of lemon. Stew them down for a few mins the pour them out in a bowl to cool. Slice the other strawberries into slices or quarters.

Whip up the double cream in a mixing bowl with the second spoonful of the caster sugar. Lightly crush the meringue nests.

Mix the mashed strawberries and crushed meringues into the cream and divide out into dessert glasses, top with the cut strawberries and serve up.

Joan Callaghan

I debated whether or not to write a post on the passing of my mother, I suppose some things should be kept in... but then on the other hand she was a huge supporter of my blog, of what I do and about how open I can be through this and she always told me to pray to the holy spirit for guidance and to follow with what I felt was right. Going by that basis I feel it is fitting to mark the saddening event but at the same time celebrate my mothers life.

In my book, in the thank you section I wrote to mum... "Being youngest of nine I always say in jest that you kept going until you reached perfection, where in reality, the truth is, you had nine of us because your heart was big enough to love us all unconditionally". That statement couldn't be more true! As the youngest of nine, most people say to me "oh, you're the baby, you must have been spoiled?!" and I would always think... No, definitely not... I would always get the 'hand-me-down clothes, the hand-me-down toys etc but when I think about it, I was spoiled. I would not have wanted anyone else's childhood, anyone else's upbringing, I was spoiled, we all where, we had more love, caring, affection and comfort than you could ever wish for. My parents dedicated their lives to loving us. There was times where we didn't have a lot, but never wanted for anything.

My mother was the worrier in the family, whether it be about bills coming in or siblings going out, she would have worried and stressed hugely... my father would always keep a strong head on him and ease her worry even if there was just cause for it. He would always somehow find a way or a solution. I remember years ago we had one of our last holidays in Donegal before my father took sick, we where staying in the usual chalets on the beach (we went there annually mo matter what else was going on) money had started to run dry for them a few days early and we where told we would have to go home 2 days early. on the eve of or new home date we went into the local town Dungloe, filled the car with petrol for the trip home, dad who was not a gambler by any means went into the bookies and put the last of his change on a total outsider on the last race of the day and won enough money to stay the planned duration... as I say, he always found a way!

So when my father passed in October 1997 we where all very concerned as to how mum-the worrier- would deal with it all, but he must have left her his strength because she was amazing... it was heart breaking for her to lose her husband and best friend but she found strength from where there was no strength before. And it was fitting because they shared everything before, so why not his strength! (she got his strength, I got his dodgy back).

When my mother and father met, they had only started courting when my mother had to go to Cambridge in England to get work, my father patiently waited her return for 2 years, writing her everyday and phoning her once a week from the local post office... he waited 2 years then and now since his passing in '97 he waited nearly 17 years, and an hour into what would have been his 80th birthday he was reunited with her after a very hard fought battle of 11 weeks in ICU in both Craigavon hospital and The Royal Hospital in Belfast.

My mother was my biggest supporter and encouraged me to keep pushing my dreams no matter what, she will be sorely missed and there will be forever a void left in my heart for her, but I do know she and my dad will always be with me and always guide me on my path through life. Nothing will ever be the same again without her, I won't get to call her and she can tell me she seen my cakes and loved them, I wont get to visit home to her and for her to make me an awful cup of tea (God love her but it was the only thing she didnt do well) I will forever miss her xx

My garden

I guess I have had recently lost my way, I allowed narrow minded people put me down, hold me back and keep me there.. I allowed some 'bullies' try to get the better off me by sending me abuse etc. it is easy to let them win, knock your confidence and distance your dreams from your sights. But this past week I have been coming back and it is only now that I am able to put this into words, I am no longer letting that happen, no longer worrying and stressing about what people, who don't matter, think about what I put up or say. There are always gonna be small minded people and bullies who will be waiting to pounce on any small thing we say or do, people who will just be waiting to belittle us or knock us... but that says a lot more about them than it does us!! Anyway, I won't give the fools anymore airtime...

In other news I have been in talks with a very well know and famous national food product provider and will be a huge part of their new re-launch later in the summer so I am well excited about that.
I have also joined the team at Decobake which is an Irish family run cake decorating supplier and is a huge success... I have joined the new Limerick branch as a part-time sales assistant but will also be teaching classes and doing demonstrations very soon.

I have been busy out in the garden lately, I had let the garden get away from me last year but am well on top of things this year so far and a grand spell of weather always helps!
I will have 2 large beds to double dig soon as they haven't been dug well in a few years now... not exactly cherishing the thoughts of it but such is the life of a kitchen gardener.

Here are some recent shots from the garden:

Onion sets sprouting

Strawberry plants starting to flourish

Raspberries spreading

An old water tank from my loft provides the perfect carrot/parsnip bed

Chives starting to flower

Lemon Thyme

my rustic Herb sign

Rosemary bush

My Kitchen Garden

My gate needs a clean up

Cabbage plants

Carrot seedlings

Pear blossom

cutting the grass makes a world of difference

Tenants Required... apply within

I will have a brand new recipe next week... bye :)

Beef and Guinness Pie

Keeping it short and sweet... Happy St Patrick's Day to one and all.

Beef and Guinness Pie

There is a deep richness in flavour that comes from the Guinness and enriches everything else without overpowering it.

Serves 4

500g steak pieces

2 heaped tablespoons plain flour

Sea salt

Black pepper

1 large onion

2 carrots

2 parsnips

3 sticks celery

Rapeseed oil

1 500ml can of Guinness

1 pack of puff pastry

1 egg beaten

Method

Pat-dry the steak pieces with kitchen paper. On a side plate add the flour and season it with a generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper, roll the steak pieces in the seasoned flour until fully covered in a good coating, shake of any access flour.

Peel and chop the onion, carrots and parsnips and wash and chop the celery, set aside.

In a large saucepan heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over a high heat, add the steak pieces in small batches to brown them all over before removing with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper. When all the neat is browned carefully give the saucepan a wipe down with kitchen paper and return to a medium heat, add a tablespoon of oil and add the onion. Fry the onion until softened but not coloured then add in the carrots, parsnips and celery. Fry these off for 8-10 mins then add the beef back in along with all the Guinness.

Bring the saucepan to the boil then reduce down to a steady simmer for 45 mins.

Preheat the oven to 180°c. Carefully pour the contents of the saucepan into an oven proof dish. Roll out the puff pastry and cover the dish with it, pressing around the edges and trimming off the access. Pierce a few times with a sharp knife and brush over the beaten egg to give it colour.

Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 mins until the pastry is golden and delicious.

Serve with some mashed potatoes of your choice for a warm hearty meal.

Cookery Demonstration and more

I know I'm always saying it but it has been very busy times...
I managed to get out into the garden yesterday after 2 days of dry weather. I was very sad to do it but the greenhouse... well what was left of it... had to be dismantled. It got destroyed in the last storm with only one pane of glass surviving. I gathered up all the broken glass, took apart the frame and tidied what was to be tidied, the beds where shoveled into the wheelbarrow and used to top up my raised beds at the bottom of the garden. I am left now with a concrete slab which, for this year anyway, will be used for my bench to have my morning coffee (in better weather) and I will build some basic timber boxes and grow some  salad veg in them. This year my front porch will host my tomato, chilli and cucumber growing out of grow bags... It is a fine suntrap for the first half of the day and accumulates a lot of heat, so it will be a decent substitute for the growing season ahead. I'm very sad to see the greenhouse go but replacing the glass alone would have cost the guts of a brand new one and neither of what I can afford at the moment.

Dismantling the greenhouse

Concrete slab which will be cleaned up

Last Saturday the 1st March I done a cookery demonstration in The Ennis Book Shop. I really enjoyed it, as daunting as it first seemed when I started, the place filled up with people and I was in my element. I cooked up 5.... yes 5 recipes from the book all within 1 hour 20 mins. And was pleased to say that everyone got a taster of everything going.

A huge thank you to Brendan Mc Enery for fab photos again

Recipes I cooked:

Beetroot, black pudding and pomegranate salad

Sugar crusted lamb cutlets and red wine jus

Pan fried potatoes with rosemary and garlic

Chicken Kashmiri

After eight cheesecake

Links to all recipes above, just click onto each one... and I have the only one without a link down below.

Sugar Crusted Lamb Cutlets with a Red Wine Jus

I just love lamb cutlets and the caramelised fatty bits from grilling these bad boys are just to die for. Meat on the bone is always tastier and these cutlets with the richness from the jus leave you wanting more and more. Serve with some steamed baby potatoes or a simple side salad.

Serves 2

4 lamb cutlets

2 tablespoons of soft brown sugar

1 tablespoon of English mustard powder

For the Jus

1 full glass of red wine

1 sprig of rosemary

1 garlic clove peeled

A splash of soy sauce

A splash of balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon of honey

Method

Pat dry the cutlets with kitchen paper (this helps the other ingredients to stick) and set aside. On a plate or board sprinkle the soft brown sugar and mustard powder now roll the chops in it, pushing down and getting a good even layer all the way around.

Place the coated cutlets under a preheated grill on a high heat; grill them for 5-7 mins on either side.

In the meantime pour the glass of wine in a small pan and add the rosemary and garlic; place it on a high heat and reduce the wine by half. Then add the soy, balsamic and the honey and stir threw. Reduce another bit until it coats the back of a spoon; remove the rosemary and garlic before serving.