Sticky Ginger Loaf

Oooo made this one last night with lashings of brandy. Kitchen stank to high heaven of booze for a while afterwards, you'd swear we'd been entertaining the town drunk in there but my oh my was it worth it in the end for the yumminess! This was taken from Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall's 'River Cottage Everyday' cookbook, definitely worth investing in!

Serves: about 12-14 slices

Ingredients

75g butter
125g dark muscovado sugar
150g black treacle
150g golden syrup
75ml dark rum (I used brandy as that's what was to hand and it was grand)
2 medium eggs, beaten
225g self-raising flour
1tsp ground allspice
1tsp ground ginger
A pinch of sea salt
75g preserved stem ginger, chopped, plus a little of it's syrup

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 160C/325F/Gas mark 3. Grease and line a loaf tin with at least 1 litre capacity.
2. Melt your butter, sugar, treacle and syrup in a saucepan over a medium heat until combined. Leave to cool a little, then mix in the booze, followed by the eggs.
3. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the melted mixture and stir until smooth.
4. Stir in your chopped ginger and syrup.
5. Pour the mix into your prepared tin and bake for about 50 minutes to an hour (until a skewer instered in the middle comes out clean).
6. Leave to cool a little in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool further.

Finally, some pictures! Of course, I was halfway through eating it when I remembered to take a few shots so please excuse, had ginger loaf hanging from my mouth LOL

Drunken Chicken Stew

I chucked this one out for a dinner party recently, didn't have a clue what to cook, was making a starter and dessert as well so I wanted a main course that would just bugger off and do it's own thing, the end result: Drunken Chicken Stew (so named as the chicken is drunk, not just the chef!). It goes without saying that the end result is only as good as the wine that you use, not that I mean you should throw a €100 bottle in but don't use glorified paint-stripper either!

You can serve this with potatoes, though I personally prefer dumplings (only because I never had them until this year so I'm going a little dumpling crazy at the moment!)

Serves 4

Ingredients


500g diced boneless chicken meat
500ml white wine
2 sticks of celery, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
Oil
1 tbsp plain flour
1 can chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper
3 spring of fresh thyme

Method

1. Put a large saucepan over a medium heat and warm your oil. Put all your chopped vegetables and your thyme in the pan and fry for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the chicken and flour, stir, and allow to cook for a minute, before adding the white wine and chopped tomatoes.
3. Season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, then cover and reduce to a low heat and leave to simmer for at least an hour and a half, stirring occasionally, and adding water if it looks very dry.
4. Your stew is done when the meat is tender and falling apart.

Slow-roast Duck and gravy

I love duck, and I love slow-roasted meats so this is the only way I could consider cooking a whole duck. It gets rid of all that fattiness that you get with duck and instead you have this wonderful melt-in-your-mouth duck meat and astonishingly crispy skin. It does serve four but I cook a whole roast duck for 2 and then use the leftovers for many treats over the following days.

Most whole ducks will come with a bag of giblets inside. I use them to make giblet stock for the gravy but you can also make giblet soup or duck liver pate, whatever takes your fancy!

Serves 4

Ingredients


1 x 2.2-2.5kg oven-ready duck
Sea salt
A handful each of fresh sage, rosemary and thyme
90ml port
2tsp plain flour
300ml stock (chicken or giblet)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas mark 3.
2. Rub the duck skin all over with the sea salt, and stuff the duck with the fresh herbs. Place the duck, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting tray and roast for 3 hours, draining the fat that comes off into a bowl about once an hour.
3. Turn the oven up to 220C/425F/Gas mark 7 and roast for another 15 minutes to really crisp up the skin.
4. Transfer the duck from the rack to a warm plate and leave to rest for a few minutes whilst you make the gravy.
5. Skim the fat off the bowl of juices you have set aside until just the duck 'jelly' remains. Add the port and simmer for a few minutes until it is well reduced. Stir in the flour and allow to boil rapidly for a few seconds, then gradually stir in the stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer for a few minutes until rich and thick. Season to taste and strain into a warm jug.

There you have it, slow roasted duck with it's own gravy. Delicious with any vegetable accompaniment, but especially with the saute potatoes recipe you can find here.

Lemon Butterfly Buns

You cannot fail with cupcakes. Everyone loves them, young and old alike. Walk into any room with free cupcakes and see what I mean. Everything after that becomes "Om, nom, nom..."

Makes 12

Ingredients


115g self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
115g butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
Finely grated zest of one lemon
2-4tbsp milk

(for the filling)
55g butter
115g icing sugar
1tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas mark 5. Place 12 paper cases in a bun tin.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter, sugar, eggs, lemon and enough milk to give a medium-soft consistency. Beat the mixture throughly until smooth, then divide evenly between the paper cases. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until well risen and golden. Cool on wire racks.
3. To make the filling place the butter in a bowl, add the icing sugar and lemon and beat well until smooth and creamy.
4. Once the cakes are completely cooled use a small sharp knife to cut a circle from the top of each cake. Spoon a little of the buttercream filling onto the cake and then cut the circle you removed in half, and press each half into the filling to resemble wings. Dust the cakes with icing sugar before serving.

Banana Bread

I love my banana bread. Some people make it with walnuts through but I'm a purist, no walnuts here! If you want to add some though just throw about 50g chopped walnuts through the mixture and stir them in before pouring into the tin. Enjoy!

Ingredients


Butter, for greasing
125g white self-raising flour
100g wholemeal self-raising flour
150g demerara sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 large over-ripe bananas, peeled
175ml unsweetened orange juice
2 eggs, beaten
4tbsp rapeseed oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4.. Lightly grease a 1lb loaf tin.
2. Sift the flours, sugar, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl mash the bananas with the orange juice, then stir in the eggs and the oil. Pour the wet mix into the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.

Scrumptious Chocolate-Orange Cake

I love this cake. Seriously, I want to run away with this cake and live on an island having little cake babies and eating them. It's Terrys Chocolate Orange in cake form and it's divine and I cannot make enough of it. You think I'm mad now but just wait until you have some!

Ingredients


150g unsalted butter
75g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
250g caster sugar
5 large eggs, beaten
150g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
Grated rinds of 2 large oranges

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. Grease and line two 1lb loaf tins.
2. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl sitting over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't actually touch the water). Remove from the heat once the chocolate has melted.
3. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture and fold in.
4. Transfer one-third of the mixture to the melted chocolate and stir together. Stir the orange zest into the remaining mixture.
5. Place one quarter of the orange mixture in each cake tin, spreading to an even layer. Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture in, then the orange, then the chocolate again and so on until you have split the mixtures evenly between the two tins. Swirl the tops until you have an even layer.
6. Pop into the preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Leave to cool slightly in the tins before turning out onto a wire rack and removing the lining paper to cool completely.

You try and stop at one slice....

Rich Fruit Cake

I hate fruit cake. Really, I do. I have refused to eat it for years. I came across this recipe, tried it out for myself and it has converted me. Now in fairness I still don't eat other people's fruit cake but by hell I'll eat mine!

Ingredients


Butter, for greasing
175g stoned unsweetened dates
125g ready-to-eat dried prunes
200ml unsweetened orange juice
2tbsp black treacle
1tsp lemon zest
1tsp orange zest
225g wholemeal self-raising flour
1tsp mixed spice
125g raisins
125g sultanas
125g currants
125g dried cranberries
3 large eggs, separated

Method

1. Grease and line a deep 8 inch round cake tin. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3.
2. Chop the dates and prunes and place in a saucepan. Pour in the orange juice and simmer for about 10 minutes. remove from the heat and beat the fruit mixture until pureed. Add the treacle and zest and leave to cool.
3. Sift the flour and mixed spice into a large mixing bowl (adding any bran that gets sieved out). Add the raisins, sultanas, currents and dried cranberries. 
4. When the date and prune mixture has cooled beat in the egg yolks. Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff and holding peaks.
5. Spoon the fruit mixture into the dry ingredients and mix together. Gently fold in the egg whites with a large metal spoon. Transfer to the prepared cake tin and back in the preheated oven for and hour and a half. Leave to cool in the tin.

And that's pretty much it! You can cover it in marzipan and royal icing to have a lovely Christmas or wedding cake. You can keep it in an airtight tin and infuse it with brandy. My personal favourite is to either A. eat it sliced with butter and a big mug of hot chocolate or B. sliced and fried in 1tsp butter, 1 tsp golden syrup, a very naughty but nice foodie treat!

Simple Chocolate Sponge

This is basically a chocolate flavoured Victoria sandwich and it's a great one to whip out at short notice. I love cake mixes where everything gets dumped in the bowl at once! A very more-ish cake, it doesn't last long in our house!

Ingredients


(For the cake)
125g soft unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
2 eggs
1tbsp golden syrup
125g self-raising flour
2tbsp cocoa powder

(For the filling and topping)
100g icing sugar
50g soft unsalted butter
100g milk chocolate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3. Grease two 7 inch shallow cake tins.
2. Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk to form a smooth and fluffy mixture.
3. Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and level the tops. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until slightly springy to the touch. Coo for a few minutes in the tins and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Meanwhile to make the topping and filling beat the icing sugar and butter together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Melt the chocolate and beat into the mixture. Use half this mix to sandwich the two cakes together, and spread the remainder over the top of the cake. You can dust with a little icing sugar too if you'd like.
5. Serve, well, anytime you want some good cake!

Spiced Squash Soup

I adore squash. Seriously, there's nothing that you can't use it for, from starters all the way through to dessert and it's always good! I can't believe I've only discovered it in the last few years. We grew some squash this year in our garden before we moved and it was great to have it there all the time. However, it's so easy to pick up squash in the supermarket these days that you don't have to grow your own, though you will find the varieties somewhat limited. Try your local farmers market though, they will have lots more options for you. This recipe works with all types of squash once you keep the quantities the same.

Serves 4

Ingredients


2tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (I use Harbanero chillies myself but it makes for hot soup. Try your own favourite chilli)
2tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 bay leaf
1kg squash, peeled, deseeded, and diced
600ml vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
Single cream, to garnish

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add the ginger, chilli, coriander, bay leaf and squash and cook for another 5 minutes.
2. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about half an hour, or until the squash is tender. remove from the heat, take out the bay leaf and leave the soup to cool a little.
3. Transfer the soup to a food processor and blend until smooth. Return the mixture to the pan, season to taste with salt and pepper and reheat gently, stirring.
4. Remove from the heat, pour into warmed bowls and serve garnished with a swirl of cream.

Coq Au Vin

I love chicken. It's so versatile and delicious. I had been planning on making this dinner for ages, for one of our dinner parties or for when we had people over but every time I cooked something else. Recently one evening I decided screw it and I cooked it just for us, no fancy dinner party needed and it was so good! It is a great dish to serve up to guests but it's equally good as a mid-week normal dinner, economical, filling and no harder to make than a stew!

Serves 4

Ingredients


4tbsp butter
2tbsp olive oil
4lb chicken pieces (on the bone)
Big handful of streaky bacon, diced
2 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2tbsp brandy
225ml red wine
300ml chicken stock
1 bouquet garni
salt and pepper
2tbsp plain flour
4 bay leaves

Method

1. Melt half the butter with the olive oil in a large, flameproof, casserole dish. Add the chicken and cook over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes, turning continually until golden brown all over. Add the bacon, onions and garlic.
2. Pour in the brandy and set it alight with a match or taper. When the flames have died down add the red wine, stock, bay leaves and bouquet garni, and season to taste with the salt and pepper.
3. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1 hour, or until the chicken pieces are cooked through and tender.
4. Meanwhile, make a beurre manie by mashing the butter that's left with the plain flour in a small bowl.
5. Remove the bouquet garni and bay leaves and discard. Transfer the chicken to a large plate and keep warm. Stir the beurre manie into the casserole, a little at a time. Bring to the boil, return the chicken to the casserole and serve immediately.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Ah the good old reliable, and one of the Mr's favourite dishes! Funny to think that the man wouldn't eat sauces or foreign foods until recently and this was one of the things that won him over. Definitely a delight for the taste buds, and an eternal fall back dinner when we don't feel like making an effort but still want a great filling dinner.

Serves 4

Ingredients


Olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
Handful of diced streaky bacon
1lb fresh mince beef
1 can chopped tomatoes
2tsp dried oregano
1 glass of red wine
2tbsp tomato puree
Salt and pepper
1lb dried spaghetti (you can get those handy little sizer things for spaghetti, great stuff!)
Freshly grated hard cheese to serve (eg Parmesan)

Method

1. Heat a drop of oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, carrot, celery and diced bacon to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until just starting to brown.
3. Add the beef and cook over a high heat, or until the mince is cooked through.
4. Stir in the tomatoes, oregano and red wine and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally so ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
5. Stir in the tomato puree and season to taste with the salt and pepper.
6. Bring a large pan of slightly salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes (until tender but still firm to the bite). Drain throughly.
7. Transfer the pasta to your plates, add the bolognese and serve with the cheese (if using) and a big glass of red wine (because you deserve it!).

**Garlic bread is a must for bolognese in our house, useful as a mop for all those little bits of bolognese left behind on your plate!

Toad In The Hole

I can't believe it's November already! I've been so bad about keeping the blog updated, apologies! On the upside, I have been cooking everyday (well, I need to eat) so I have lots of yummy things to share with you!

Toad in the hole is ovbiously dependent on the type of sausages you use. Personally I love Nolans of Kilcullens sausages but since they're based in Kildare and not Cork I'm trying to find a good replacement. Of course, you'll always find an amazing selection of sausages down at The English Market, but any normal breakfast sausage will do. You could also try meatballs instead of sausage if you want!

Serves 4

Ingredients


Oil (for greasing)
115g plain flour
Pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten
300ml whole milk
450g good quality sausages

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7.
2. Grease a 8x10 inch ovenproof dish or roasting tin.
3. Make the batter by sifting the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the beaten egg and half the milk. Carefully beat together until the mixture is smooth. Gradually beat in the rest of the milk and then cover, and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
4. Prick the sausages and place them in your roasting dish. Cook the sausages for 10-15 minutes or until they have coloured and the fat has started to run and sizzle.
5. Remove the sausage tray from the oven and quickly pour the batter over the sausages.
6. Return to the oven and cook for 35-45 minutes or until the batter is well risen and golden brown.
7. Serve immediately with mashed potatoes and lashings of rich onion gravy.