Dandelion Lemonade; HERE COMES THE SUMMER

Dandelion Lemonade; HERE COMES THE SUMMER
‘Time to discover what fun is about’, 1.42 mins of perfect pop by the Undertones, there’s no guarantee of long legs lying in the sun in this quest but dandelion heads always appear, their florets clocking and disappearing in a breeze, they’re out now, grab some! Have a bit of fun making  pure ‘pop’ that’s good for you.


Dandelion Lemonade
Recipe.
30-40 dandelion flower heads
1.5 l / 3 pts water
1 Lemon, cut into quarters
50g Sugar
1tbspn Spoon of Honey
Method
Place the heads in a suitable sized bowl or bucket, first squeeze  the juice of lemon quarters into it then just chuck the skins and all in, add the sugar honey and stir in the water, leave to stand in a warm place uncovered/ or covered with muslin for 24hrs. Strain, taste adjust the sweetness with a little more honey if you like. Chill the ‘pop’ before drinking!

Here's a link to The Undertones, Here Comes the Summer, enjoy and for aural treats have a forage and listen to some of their other stuff while your there.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Dza1L8daA

Latte Sponge Cake and Olive Oil Scones- Updated Oldies-No Pictures

Latte Sponge Cake and Olive Oil Scones
I had to bake a cake recently and wanted something simple and quick, a quick browse in a book I always keep handy for such occasions, ‘Full and Plenty’ by Maura Laverty  a gem of a cook book from the 60’s commissioned by the Irish Flour Millers Association,  gave me up these two recipes, the first originally called ‘Hot Milk Sponge Cake’ in her book, I've just added the coffee to the original  recipe and called it Latte Cake. The second, while waiting for the cake to bake I retreated to the book and came across ‘Salad Oil Scones' new to me -at 500 pages and only a few pictures there's always something new in it.I liked the idea and gave them a go, I replaced the 'salad oil' with  Olive Oil,  (she had probably intended to use olive oil in her recipe but wanted to save you a trip to the chemist, just about the only place you’d get olive oil for sale in those days) She describes the scones as ‘extra rich and tender with a delicate crust top and bottom’.They are baked in a very hot oven, and bring the full fragrance of the olive oil out. Bake the cake first then turn up the heat and give the scones a go.


From the foreword of ‘Full and Plenty’ by Maura Laverty
‘Good ingredients are more readily available in Ireland than any other country in the world. An American agricultural expert once told me that we should go down on our knees and give thanks for those easy-going ways of ours which economist bewail. Thanks to the fact that our soil has not been worked to dust, we enjoy better-flavoured meat, more succulent vegetables, creamier milk, richer butter and cheese and more nourishing wheat.’
Prescient words considering in the sixties we'd be led down the supermarket aisles of pre-packaged food.Thankfully we are starting to turn the cycle back to appreciating what good foods we have to offer from our own land and the satisfaction of home cooking.

Latte Cake (Hot Milk Cake)
The original recipe used vanilla and lemon extracts for flavourings, and there no reason this one can’t be changed to use ‘Hot Chocolate’. I decorated mine with a simple coffee butter icing (50g soft butter beat with 100g icing sugar beat well with a teaspoon of coffee dissolved in a teaspoon of water as a simple topping).

Ingredients
2 eggs-large
6oz/176gcaster sugar,
 6 tablespoons/ 90ml of Hot Milk
 2 teaspoons Instant coffee
6oz/175g Self-raising flour - sifted

Method
Separate the egg yolks and whites.
In a bowl beat the yolks- use an electric hand mixer, and then add the sugar and coffee beat well adding the hot milk slowly until the mix is light and creamy. Fold in the flour, then beat the egg whites until stiff and fold in to the rest of the mix.
Bake in a buttered 8” 20cm cake tin at 325°f; gas mark 2,165°c in a pre-heated oven 25-30mins or until the cake  starts to shrink from the side of the tin.
Turn it on to a wire rack to cool.


Olive Oil Scones (Salad Oil Scones)
I like to add a little coarse sea-salt and dried rosemary to the surface of these before baking,
Like all soda breads these taste great split and toasted the next day.

Ingredients
8oz/227 Self-raising flour
Good pinch fine sea-salt
2 oz/56g olive oil
6 oz/176g buttermilk

Method
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the oil and butter milk, stir in with a fork until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. This dough will be wet and sticky, but we don’t want to add extra flour when kneading and shaping instead use a sheet of parchment paper or cling-film to work the mix on.
‘turn the dough onto a sheet  of  parchment paper or cling-film; lift paper/film by one corner and fold over in half, press down firmly, pull paper/film back. Repeat with other corners of paper /film until dough looks smooth.’
 Cover with another piece of parchment/film and press flat to ½” 12mm thick, at this stage try to get it rectangular in shape and cut into small rectangles with a knife and place onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 mins, in a very hot oven 475°f/ 250°c/gas mark 7


For more info on Maura Laverty  follow this link.
http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/radio-documentary-mauar-laverty-agony-aunt-cook.html

S B P REVIEW

Got this today in the Sunday Business Post. 
Food review by Ross Golden Bannon


Francesca' s a flair for food, 

The quiet little restaurant in Brooks Hotel seems
an unlikely place for a feed of good nosh. Yet,
several people have mentioned it to me and a
closer inspection of a menu proudly boasting Irish artisan suppliers suggested I had been
prejudiced in my judgement.
I headed in for dinner with a foodie impresario and we found ourselves in a simple room -
certainly hotel-like, but cosy nonetheless. There were only two other tables occupied and
the piped music made you feel like a shopping cart might appear around the corner at any
moment. It didn't bode well, but our old-school waiter soon put us at ease, offering us a
choice of tables and filling glasses with water as he chatted away.
The menu reads bistro-style, and manages to balance golden-oldies with hotel staples and a
few interesting twists.
Being a Dublin restaurant, I felt its seafood chowder (€6.50) should be worth a try.
Recently the long food trail connected to processed burgers came as a surprise to many,
but just as many would be surprised at how much frozen fish our coastal capital serves -
and how far that frozen fish has travelled.
This version was served in a small bowl; a good choice as chowder is a rich dish. Although it
was super-hot, and high temperatures can often kill delicate flavours, there were plenty of
fishy notes to be found. Less chunky than I'd expected and with a restrained use of cream,
it looked like we might be off to a good start.
We'd ordered a bottle of Villa Huesgen Riesling from Mosel (€39.50), which had just the
right balance of fruit, youthful spritz and dryness for nearly all our food.
A further starter was the St Tola goat's cheese, which was served warm and came with a
slick of muted, flavoured sauce. A third element of crunchy nuts all made for a happy frame
for a quality Irish cheese. I also liked what they did to this dish when the bill came: it was
automatically included in the three-course table d'hôte menu for €29. Nice touch.
For the main course I had the pan-fried Dublin Bay prawns (€26) with colcannon and an
Irish whiskey cream sauce. The colcannon was packed with fine greens - though the mashed
potatoes had dried out a little. The sauce made for a velvety and necessary accompaniment.
Slivers of crispy bacon added a salty underpinning yet were elegantly placed so the 'bacon
and cabbage' antecedent stepped out in style. My companion had the pork belly which was a
magic dish of contrasting crispiness, sweet fat and rich flesh. Superb.
We'd dithered over side orders and decided against them in the end, but the waiter brought
a complimentary dish nonetheless. Very welcome it was, too, as the roasted carrots and
courgettes were singing with flavours.
Desserts were a little disappointing, though they read well. We passed on the Irish coffee
and hazelnut meringue (€6.95) and instead went for an Irish honey cake which came with
crème fraiche. This was an inventive use of Irish ingredients but, sadly, the sponge was dry
and firm.
This possibly might not have been a problem had the honey been heated and allowed to
soak all the way through. The steamed orange sponge suffered the same fate. It was a pity,
as there were good flavours there and these are sensible desserts for a hotel needing
dishes with a slightly longer shelf life.
The menu on the website didn't match the menu on my visit and, in trying to source it,
some cracks appeared in service ("Sorry, we're too busy to send it to you now"; that was
on the fourth phone call).
Changing menus is a good thing so a hotel should be showing this off, not guarding it like
the third secret of Fatima. Wine lists are also a selling point, and should be easily available -
rather than giving only one person access to email.
Nonetheless, Francesca's is somewhere I'll happily return to, and though there were some
missteps, the commitment to delivering well-sourced food for the most part matches the
listed artisan and quality suppliers. New service systems are needed but, as they buck the
trend in hotel food, I suspect they can deliver on this.
.........................
Breaking the bank
Starter: smoked organic Clare Island salmon pea shoots, horseradish snow €10.95
Main course: pan-fried Irish Hereford 10oz sirloin steak, garlic butter and rosemary fries
€25.50
Dessert: selection of homemade ice creams, Irish farmhouse cheeses and water biscuits
€10.50
Wine: Margaux Château La Bastide Dauzac 2004 €62.50
Dinner for two: €156.40
.....
Watching the pennies
Starter: soup of the day €5.50
Main course: homemade gnocchi with basil and sun-dried tomato and Parmesan cream €16
Dessert: Irish coffee and hazelnut meringue €6.95
Wine: Babington Brook Chardonnay €28.50
Dinner for two: €85.40
.....
Tomás Clancy rates the wine list
There are 40 wines in this medium-length list, which contains a distinct set of ten wines
offered by the glass, carafe or bottle. Pricing is disappointing, especially in relation to
Prosecco. A vast majority of restaurants come in around our benchmark €30-€32.
However, here the Masotina, Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene NV comes in at €52 a
bottle or €10.50 a glass. Other fine wines appear with reasonable prices, such as the

24/02/2013 Sunday Business Post
www.businesspost.ie/#!story/Living/Food+%26+Wine/Restaurant%3A+Francesca's+flair+for+food/id/21877980-affe-445f-b418-e52ec047b312 3/3
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excellent Villa Huesgen 'By the Glass', Riesling, Mosel, 2010 at €38.50 a bottle; €26.50 for
the 500ml carafe and €9 a glass.
Our white wine value for quality pick is the One Tree Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New
Zealand 2007 at €36, and our red pick is the medium bodied, spicy Domaine des Espiers,
AC Cotes du Rhone 2010 at €33.50. A competent, well designed and functional list.
Rating: 2½/5

Shin of Irish Beef Stew

 Shin of Beef Stew, with a load of spuds just boiled, ‘Champ’ potatoes or with a fine potato purée  every one has their preference, Chips and stew can be good at times for some. The long slow cooking of the carrots in this dish leaves them beautifully sweet and I look forward to them as much as the morsels of meat.

Recipe for 4 people.
454g / 1lb Diced Irish beef shin meat  (with out the bone- if there’s bone in purchase about 760g)
360g / 3/4lb carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
1 medium sized onion about 100g 1/4lb, diced finely
 2 sticks of celery, cut into four pieces
285ml / 1/2pt ‘Passata ‘sieved tomato (available to buy in most shops) if you don’t have it handy a tin of peeled plum tomatoes liquidised and sieved will do.
565ml /1pt water
Salt and white pepper to season
Vegetable or sunflower oil for browning the meat

Method
In a large pot add a couple of table spoons of oil and place on a high heat when hot add the diced meat and brown slightly this will take a couple of minutes, reduce the heat slightly then add the carrots onions and celery and season lightly with salt and pepper a pinch of each will do at this stage. Stir and place a lid on the pot for 2 mins this will help sweat the vegetables and release extra flavours into the stew.
Now add the Passata and bring the stew to the boil and cook for a further 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally this help sweeten out the tomato and take its sharp edge off. Then add the water bring to the boil again reduce the heat once this happens, place the lid back on and simmer for 2hrs approx, give it a stir now and again to be sure it doesn't stick or burn at the bottom, Taste liquid frequently to observe the development of flavours and adjust season towards the end of the cooking period.
Test a piece of the meat for tenderness; it should give easily to touch or bite.Check the consistency of the liquid if you think it is too thin increase the heat and reduce it to your desired state.

.nb. As with all stews this taste good the next day!

Serve with potato of your choice. to make a really nice potato purée use about 1.5kg or 3lbs of floury potato (suitable for mash or baking) peeled and placed in cold water to cover them in a pot with a good pinch of salt and little pinch of white pepper then  brought to the boil reducing the heat and simmering approx 20-25 mins depending on size. Once cooked drain the water and let them steam out for 4 to 5 mins, either put through a potato ricer or place in a food processor and purée them on low speed, to finish return to the pot and beat over a low heat adding a very generous amount of butter about 170g or 6oz (using a wooden spoon or heat resistant spatula) and a little milk roughly a 1/4pt or 100ml until you have a smooth purée, taste and adjust the seasoning. 

Dear Valentines , Wild Things.

' We proudly use goods from our ‘Wild Food Larder’ with Local Produce',
This year at work we are in the fortunate position to have a few goodies stored up for a special occasion and what could be a better time to break into the stores selecting some of our favourite wild things and  using them with  local produce than  St Valentines Day. It also happens to be 'Eat local and Irish Week' so we're on the ball with this one. Luckily there are a few greens out there to forage and we are glad to to be able to use those and able to pick some fresh garlic from our container garden to add a touch of Spring to the menu.


VALENTINES DAY DINNER MENU 2013

Crisp Free-range Chicken with Pickled Leek & Chestnut Terrine, Elderberry Dressing

‘Clogher Head’ Crabmeat & Cheddar Croquette,Smoked Seaweed Salad, Red Pepper Salsa

‘Fivemiletown Creamery’ Goat’s Cheese, Sweet Potato Purée, Wood Sorrel, Truffled Honey   Dressing

Baby Leaf Salad ,Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, Buttermilk Croutons & a Basil Pesto

Cauliflower Soup, Curried cream with Coriander
.......
Pan-fried Dry-aged 8oz Irish Rump Steak, Foie Gras Butter, Caramelised Onion Purée

Breast of Mallard ,Celeriac Powder, Sloe Jus & Rowanberry Jelly

Roast Fillet of Pork ,Wild Irish Mushroom Cream Sauce

‘Kilmore Quay’ Scallops,Brooks ‘Urban Garden’ Garlic Butter Sauce, Sea Beet, Colcannon & Crisp Bacon

Roasted Pumpkin ,Feta Cheese Fritters, Sweet Pickled Lemon & Watercress
 ........
Selection of fresh market vegetables and North county Dublin Potatoes.
........
‘Fraughan’s’ Wild Blueberries and Lemon Curd Served with Sugared Shortbread

Elderflower Panacotta ‘Granny Smith’ Apple Foam, Elderflower Caramel & White Chocolate Crumb

Warm ‘Champagne’ Rhubarb, Honeycomb Nougatine Parfait, Ginger Snap Crumble

Irish Farmhouse Cheeses & Water Biscuits
.........
34.95 pp

Coddle, a Traditional Dublin supper Dish.

Coddle, a Traditional Dublin  supper Dish

 Coddle is by and large unappealing in sense; boiled streaky bacon, sausages, potatoes and onion with a sprinkle of parsley from the butchers counter thrown in is a brief description of a dish beloved by the Dubs, add comments from a recipe search and you'll find some add carrots others add a packet of Oxtail soup, you'll also hear distaste at the thought of eating a boiled sausage and recommendations of frying the sausage first to make them more appetising looking - don't try that at home it's disgusting.
My main problem with the recipe brief is the use of streaky bacon, I'd rather have a thick chunk of belly bacon used in mine that softens out with a slow cook out before the rest of the ingredients are added.
 My preferred recipe though uses Bacon Ribs allowing two per person, there's always something nice about eating meat off the bone and the bones add extra depth and richness to the broth.
The French have a a variation on this dish in their regional speciality ' Potée Savoyarde' slightly more complex and using a sausage with a ham base as opposed to the Dub's pure pork sausage version and with the addition of cabbage in the recipe and usually calling for smoked belly bacon, both hit the spot though on a cold winters eve and taste all the better the next day or late at night after a few sups'. The sausage used is of importance in the overall balance of the dish, I like to use one with a high meat content approx 70% that is well seasoned with white pepper so it's still tasty when cool.

'Just add Liffey water'.

Coddle, a Traditional Dublin supper Dish.
Ingredients.for 4 portions
1 1/2lb Bacon ribs (allow 2 rib bones per person).
3/4 lb 350g  Butcher Sausages (70% plus meat content).
4lb 2.2kg Potatoes- a floury potato is best, I've used Roosters.
1 medium sized onion- about 10oz 280g
Sprig of parsley, finely chopped.
white and black pepper for seasoning.
Method.
Portion the ribs this is easy to do and either pre-soak the bacon ribs over night in cold water to remove some of the salt or place them in a large pot cover with cold water and bring to the boil then discard the water and replace with fresh water. Place back onto the heat and bring to the boil again reducing the heat and simmer for approx 1. 5 hours.keep the water topped up,season lightly with some cracked black pepper and a pinch of ground white pepper.
Meanwhile prepare the rest of the ingredients;
Peel the potatoes and cut in halves or quarters depending on their size, wash and keep covered in cold water to stop them discolouring.
Twist the sausages in the middle so they are half their size (resembling cocktail sausages)  and cut them all separate, they are easier to manage on the spoon like this for eating.
Peel the onion and cut in half and slice very thinly.

Once the bacon has cooked add the prepared potatoes, onion and sausages cover with cold water,bring back to the boil check the seasoning then simmer approx 30 mins or until the potatoes are cooked and starting to break up around the edges and the starches soak up the flavours, thickening up the broth.

Divide into 4 bowls spuds and meats first, ladle broth into each sprinkle with parsley and serve piping hot.



Irish Produce.

Cookies for christmas

Cookies for Christmas.

Create a little magic with time honoured tradition, cookies of all shapes with warming spices, sugar toppings and sprinkles always go down well. Here are a couple of simple recipes, with a little help from some cutters to magic up your table this year.
Clear a shelf in your fridge for chilling down the dough’s where necessary.
Pre-heat your oven to 150°C - 160°C.


Basic biscuit mix.
Recipe 
150g softened butter
100g caster sugar
250g Self-raising flour
Method
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until white then stir in the flour, mix well and form in to a ball.
Lay a sheet of parchment paper on a flat work surface place the ball of dough onto this press into a flattened rectangular shape place another sheet of parchment on top and roll with a rolling pin until 3mm thick, place on a tray and place in the refrigerator and allow the dough to chill. Once chilled remove the dough and cut into required shapes. Transfer on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, re roll the excess dough and repeat the process.
Bake for 8-12mins depending on the size of your shapes.
To make flavoured biscuits simply divide the dough once made into 3 Add ½ teaspoon ginger to one lot for ginger biscuits, add 1 tablespoon cocoa powder  for chocolate biscuits to another lot, either leave the last lot plain or add some lemon or orange zest.


Short bread biscuits
Recipe
125g Soft butter
55g Icing sugar
180g Plain flour
Method
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until, stir in the flour and knead lightly forming into a ball.
Lay a sheet of parchment paper on a flat work surface place the ball of dough onto this press into a flattened rectangular shape place another sheet of parchment on top and roll with a rolling pin until 3mm thick, place on a tray and place in the refrigerator and allow the dough to chill. Once chilled remove the dough and cut into required shapes. Transfer on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, re roll the excess dough and repeat the process.
Bake for 8-12mins at 150°c depending on the size of your shapes.



Viennese Whirls
It’s traditional to pipe these, using  piping bag and a large star nozzle, don’t stress about it if you don’t have these, you can spoon some on to the baking sheet instead. We don’t chill this dough before baking and keep it soft as it is a slightly stiff mix and hard enough to pipe.
Recipe 
125g Softened Butter
25g Caster sugar
125g Plain flour
25g Corn-flour/starch
Method
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until white light and fluffy then stir in the flour and corn-flour, mixing until the flour is well incorporated.  Transfer to your piping bag or spoon onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, chose your style and or toppings and bake at 150°c for 15-20 mins.
To pipe there’s three traditional shapes, finger length, star or nest. 
They are usually ½ dipped in melted chocolate when cooled.
You can however top them with dried or glacé fruit pieces or nuts before baking. Use whatever you have handy

Decorations for your biscuits.
Water icing, 2 tablespoons Icing sugar and  1/2 tbspn hot water mixed until smooth, spoon a little onto your chosen biscuits either use some shop bought sprinkles or make some of your own, allow time for drying.
Orange or lemon sugar, the zest of 1 orange or lemon with 55g caster sugar dried in the oven at 50°c, about 35-40mins is usually enough.
Fruit sugar, Use a tablespoon of strained juice from freshly pressed berries to 55g caster sugar  mix well and dry in the oven  at 50°c.
Cinnamon and Espresso sugar, just add a pinch of cinnamon and a tablespoon of espresso or diluted coffee granules to 55g caster sugar and dry in the oven at 50°c.