Cranberry and Orange Stuffing mmm!

By request, used this recipe at hotel this year with the turkey and ham, it has been popular so i'm sharing it. This stuffing will suit pork, goose, duck and lamb.
Use stale bread 'batch' loaf is best, thankfully food processors crumb it up in seconds.

Recipe
Ingredients.
300gms bread crumbs
75gms diced onion
100gms butter
1 orange Zest and juice
50gms dried cranberries
Handful of chopped fresh sage
Handful of chopped parsley
Salt and pepper

Method
Melt the butter in a medium sized pot, add the onion cook until softened, add the herbs followed by the,cranberries, orange zest and juice, boil for a 2mins to infuse the flavours remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs.taste and season with salt and pepper.

Use this to stuff your bird or wrap in foil and bake seperately.

Irish Soda Farls and versitility

Where food comes from?
Touch.
A good skin on a soda farl is important, my uncle John declared in admiration of  my aunt Grettas baking skill on one of our many mid-day lunch breaks when I was a teenager helping on his farm up on the Largy Rd . The texture and taste of a well made soda is hard to beat, much on a par with the quest for a perfect pizza base. My father would make us an evening snack of  toasted soda well buttered with with  local 'Ailsa Craig' tomatoes and  thinly cut slices Coleraine cheddar on top, the warmth of an summers evening and the juices of the tomato soaked up in well toasted soda rival that Spanish classic 'pan con tomate' with the right melt on the cheese who needed olive oil then with a taste of Ulster on your plate. I was lucky getting to help out on a good few relatives and neighbours farms getting fed at the table or in the field where food takes on another taste altogether.
soda bread needs a lightness of touch and the liquid cut into the flour with a broad bladed knife, soda bread mixes don't need the heavy kneading that yeast breads require and no proving time either,within 20 mins you can have a soda farl  made cooked and ready to eat.
 The Basic Recipe
450gms Self-raising flour
1/2tsp salt
approx 200ml butter milk or (soured milk -a tablespoon of natural yoghurt added to fresh milk)
griddle-pan, heavy bottomed pan/skillet
extra flour for dusting
Method.
put your griddle pan on to heat once hot dust with a pinch of flour this should just brown if it burns reduce the heat a medium or 'fairly hot' heat works best.
Sift the flour into a bowl make a well in the centre add the buttermilk and salt and cut in the flour gradually-using broad strokes until all is combined to a soft dough, a good soda mix will always feel light and alive practise the art and you will develop the sensitivity or 'good hands for baking', job done 2mins tops. Dust your table with a little flour turn your soda bread out on to this and shape into a soda farl, round 2 1/2cm deep. place onto the griddle pan and cook approx 5mins each side, the soda will feel light  in the centre when cooked and have an even sound when tapped.
Leave to cool on a wire rack before cutting,eat fresh with savoury or sweet toppings, older sodas are better fried or toasted.

R.I.P Respects to my Father and Aunt Gretta, uncle John's 97 and still Rocking up the Largy Rd
  

Braised Beef Cheeks, 'Bellingham' blue cheese Mash

You

Recipes come from?
Fireside stories.

The flavours in this beef dish are inspired by one of my uncles who told of his cattle's strange behaviour one autumn many moon's ago.
Whilst bringing in the cows for milking  they had a stagger about them and their reactions were dopey things didn't  look right at all, in all his years he hadn't seen the like of it.Without any further ado the vet was called. The symptoms relayed, he too was puzzled, there was no obvious answer to his knowledge either.The vet arrived straight away and they walked the field where they duly deduced the cattle had been eating the windfalls from some hedgerow apple and plum trees.The case of strange behaviour was closed, the ripe and fermenting fruit + a ruminants four part stomach = a microbrewery on legs, simple enough the cattle got a little tipsey.
thanks uncle Bernie

This dish is for slow cooking, takes about 4hrs in total but is worth the wait, you can do it in the morning or day before as it reheats well.
Ingredients.
4 Pieces of beef shin or 2 Beef cheeks trimmed and cut in half..
1/2 Btl of Dry red wine
1/2 ltr of  fresh pressed Apple juice
 6 Plums
2 Apples cut in quarters
 2 sticks Celery chopped rough
 2 large Carrots.peeled and cut into quarters
 1 medium Onion chopped skin on
Garlic 5 cloves
1/2 red chilli
1Bay leaf
 2 sprigs of Thyme
12 Black peppercorns
50ml Rapeseed Oil for frying
2 tbspns cornflour.
 Pinch of Salt.
1kg potatoes for mashing(roosters)
150gms Bellingham blue cheese or your local blue.
salt&pepper
grated nutmeg
50gms butter
100 ml milk

Method for braising the beef.
Seal the your chosen beef in a hot pan browning well, place the beef in a casserole dish or deep sided oven pan.
Fry the veg in the pan you used for the beef on a medium heat you want to brown them as this will add to the colour of your sauce, then place in the casserole with the beef.
Boil the wine in the pan to cook off the alcohol, add to the beef.
add the apple juice and the rest of the ingredients.
put the lid on  or cover tightly with tinfoil and cook in an oven for approx 2 1/2 hrs until the meat is tender.
to finish.
Remove the beef and carrots, strain the liquid stock into a suitable pot,discard the rest of the vegetables. Skim of any fat from the stock bring to the boil reduce the heat to simmer skimming as necessary. You want to reduce the stock to concentrate the flavours and itensify the colour- creating your sauce, taste as you go, it should be slighty sweet with acidity from the wine. use a little cornflour diluted in water to thicken your sauce.Place the beef and carrots back into the sauce to reheat.

 'Bellingham' blue cheese Mash
Make a  potato mash as you normally would (potatoes peeled &quartered, boiled 20-25 mins drained and mashed seasoned with salt&pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, a good nob of butter and a dribble of milk).
 break  the cheese into small chunks and stir lightly into the mash keeping the pieces intact just before serving. When eating you'll get a rich hit of salty farmyard tang every now and then that contrast with sweetness and heat of the beef and sauce..

I like to eat this with some chilli slices that have been cooked in sugar syrup for that little extra bit of heat.



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(No. a '136') Lemonade + Paris Buns.

Van Morrison shared these with us in the song 'Cleaning Windows', a good mood song about doing the day job while dreaming of brighter things and finding his line.
Paris buns seem to be a Northern Irish treat and references pay note to working class and Scottish links. They are cheap to make, dry and slightly sweet cake like, usually with extra sugar on top, you need the lemonade with them or a good mug of tea.
Easily made and easy to store they can last a good few days.

Paris buns

Ingredients, makes 6
5 fl oz milk
3 fl oz oil, sunflower
3 oz caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 lb self raising flour
dessert spoon of sugar for sprinkling on top.

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°f
Mix the egg sugar and oil with a whisk add the milk.
cut the flour in with a broad blade or palette knife until all are combined.
Spoon 6 equal amounts to your baking tray.
Sprinkle a little sugar on top of each.
Bake approx 15-20 mins until golden brown.
Remove and leave to go cold before eating.

Lemonade
Ingredients
100 gms sugar
3 lemons juiced
600 ml cold water
Some Lemon or lime slices and ice for the jug.

Method
Mix the lemon juice and sugar together until the,sugar has dissolved
add the water, serve with ice and lemon or lime slices.

White Christmas Cake- traybake.

I made this last year for the first time, it's a light take on the traditional cake that keeps the essence of Christmas, quick to make and bake with a short shopping list.

Ingredients for a 12cm x 30cm tray bake or a  15cm cake tin
200g Butter (softened)
175g Caster Sugar
3 Free range eggs
250g Plain Flour
1 tspn Mixed spice
zest of 1 Orange
zest of 1 Lemon

For the Butter icing
150g Butter
300g Icing sugar (sifted)

Method Cake
Preheat oven to 170°c
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until white and light add the zests and spices then add one egg at a time beating well after each addition once the mix is light again, stir in the flour ,once the flours evenly mixed pour into a lined a baking tray.bake for about 30-35mins depending on your oven.
Method Butter-icing.
While your cakes baking, beat the butter until very light and airy, add the icing sugar gradually until its mixed through then beat again until light.
 The Xmas factor.
When the cakes cooled, spread the icing on top with a palette knife leave it plain or decorate with sweetened dried cranberries, walnuts and crystallized ginger to add contrasts of flavour and texture.

Basic Biscuit/Cookie Mix

Use this mix as a basis to create your own idea of a good biscuit/cookie.

Ingredients

150gms butter

100gms caster sugar

250gms self raising flour.

Method.

Soften the butter add the sugar and beat until white, mix in the flour and it's ready.

Now you can add you own personal touches. i.e 2 tablespoons of 'elderflower caramel crunch.'

Roll the dough mix into a log 30cm in length wrap in cling film and leave to chill.

To cook cut 5mm slices and place 2cm apart on a non stick baking sheet and bake15-20 mins at 170c

1, 2, 3 Elderflower Gifts

Elder tree lovers, more ways tor use your favourite wild food taste with 3 recipes for you to try.
Caramel syrup, Caramel crunch and Caramel toffees.
If you missed bottling up some of your own cordial, shop bought will do. Just look for the purest.

Methods
1. Elderflower Caramel Toffee Treats.
Boil 100gm sugar and 25ml elderflower cordial until 130c[large ball] add 100ml cream bring to the boil again add 25gms salted butter stir with a wooden spoon  for 2-3 mins until the liquid comes cleanly from the sides of the pan. Pour into a small try lined with parchment paper. When cool cut into squares, when ready to eat, keep them a secret or share them.

2. Caramel crunch.
 Reduce 50ml of elderflower cordial by half add 100gms of sugar Bring to the boil to 140c[hard crack stage] and pour onto a sheet of parchment paper leave to set. When set, crunch into pieces then grind to a coarse powder. I add this to my biscuit mix, it gives a wonderful zing along with the daily 'cuppa'.
 see.Basic biscuit mix.

3.Caramel syrup.
Boil  250gms sugar and 50ml of elderflower cordial on a medium heat until it reaches 140c c[hard crack] and turning amber carefully add 150ml of elderflower cordial until all is blended, leave to cool and pour in to a warm sterilised bottle- take care as it's very hot, the syrup will thicken on cooling.
This is a guest favourite on greek youghurt at breakfast.

Christmas note.
To those of you who make your own cordial it's worth a try, they make ideal presents alongside this years bottle!

'Saltimbocca' Give the Turkey a Run!

No Thanksgiving or Christmas is quite complete without Turkey.
With this recipe I've wrapped it up for you.
'Saltimbocca' style, an escalope beaten thin seasoned with pepper, a sage leave and a slice of Parma ham, two things that go really well with turkey.
This dish doesn't need much work and is quick to cook.
Serve it with a squeeze of lemon, your favourite roast winter veggies, squashes, creamed potatoes, stovetop stuffing and cranberry sauce.
What you need for 4 people..
Ingredients
4 turkey escalopes approx 150gms each.
8 slices of Parma Ham, or your local regional cured ham.
8 Sage leaves
50ml olive or rapeseed oil.
black pepper
 nb. no salt needed that'll come from the ham.
Method.
Cut the escalope in two and between 2 layers of cling film beat it thin about 5mm is good.
You can skip the beating if you want and just cut the escalope in two,and follow the next steps.
 Lay the slices of the Parma ham on a clean work surface,set a
piece of turkey on the lower half of each, place a sage leaf on top season with black pepper, fold the remaining Parma over this. keep them refrigerated while you clean down.
They don't have to be cooked now they will keep 2days covered in the bottom of your fridge.
To cook heat a little oil in the pan fry them in  batches depending on the size of your pan or just place them on a baking sheet with a drizzle of oil and cook in the oven at 170°C  6-8mins, cook for longer if you opted to leave them thick.
Also good for cooking on the BBQ, or should that be on the 'Barbie' if your lucky enough to have Christmas down-under. Enjoy!

Turf smoked Lamb 'A Taste of Ireland'

Credit goes to American chef John A Halligan, Park Steakhouse, NJ for introducing me to smoking meat and realising the value in our traditions, the taste of hearth cooked meals would have taken on the flavour of the burning feul used and for us 'Turf' has that national identity.
Once you have a piece of turf the rest is simple enough.
Take your normal lamb roasting joint,score it and marinate it for 12hrs.
Marinade.
In a food processor blend 50 gms chopped onion, 125gm natural youghurt, 25gms of fresh mint,2 cloves of garlic,cracked. black peppercorns. Rub the lamb with this and leave to marinate for 12hrs. This marinade brings sweetness to the final flavour.
Cooking and Smoking the Lamb.
Rub the marinade off the lamb, seal  and season the meat as you normally would in a hot pan and place in your roasting tin.
To smoke the lamb, take a piece of turf and get it burning- over a gas flame is good- to describe turf burning i can only say think cigar!
Once you've got  the turf alight set it beside your sealed joint and cover loosely with tinfoil and leave
approx 5 to 8 mins for the smoke to flavour the meat, remove the turf.(place the turf in cold water for an hour to extinguish it for re-use at a later date)
To finish, roast the lamb as you normally would depending on cut and weight and your own personal prefence.Thicken the cooking juices with a little cornflour for your gravy.


Serve with 'champ' potatoes.If possible roast your vegetables along with the lamb, carrots, onion and garlic are good.
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Sweet Pastry

I use this one for apple tarts and pies at home.
Ingredients.
240gms plain flour
150gms butter
90gms caster sugar
1 egg -beaten
Method
Dice the butter and rub it in with the flour until sandy crumbs form add the sugar and egg mix with a fork until the paste binds, you may have to add a couple of drops of cold water at this stage, once binded wrap the pastry in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour before using.

Vegetarian Mincemeat for Christmas Mincepies

As long as butters ok with you then we're good with this recipe, if not use margarine. Apart from not using suet this mix is also cooked rather than than being left to macerate as in traditional recipes and can be used straight away as the boiling will have plumped the fruit, with lovely butterscotch notes.  
Ingredients.
220gms salted butter
220 gms demerara sugar
220gms currants
220gms raisins
120gms sultanas
220gms. grated bramley apples
50gms mixed peel
50ml brandy
1 tspn mixed spice
Zest and juice of 1 orange
Method
Put the sugar,juice,zest,brandy,spices and butter into a saucepan bring to a rapid boil then add the dried fruit and apple bring back to the boil reduce the heat and cook until the apple has softened. Leave to cool. Keep in the fridge until needed.

Onions. Broadbeans and Shallots

Thankfully the weathers been great this weekend, foraged up around the Tallaght reservoirs, apart from a fine 8 km hike, not much to offer on the mushroom front, a few wood Blewitts, some larch bolet  left untouched they were past their best and a few shaggy ink caps again their best had past, there was however an abundance of berries and fruits, sloes, rose hips, and blackberries- a good destination note for next years harvesting, being close by. Picked some sorrel leaves and some wood sorrel -ate some on the go.
Planted red onions, shallots,broad beans and elephant garlic in the allotment, harvested some kale[ cavalo nero] a few tomatoes, nasturtium seeds and gave a good dig to vacant ground, still need to get some regular garlic to plant and tidy up a few of the other beds.

'autumnal beefsteak fungus slice'

simple recipe soy glazed salmon with nasturtium seed 'wasabi', place your fillets of salmon in a bowl add a tablespoon of brown sugar, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar and some cracked black pepper leave 20 mins to marinate-then grill under a medium heat until just firm. for the wasabi gather a handful of fresh nasturtium seeds and crush them in to a paste on a chopping board with a rolling pin. serve with the salmon and a squeeze of lime juice and some of the nasturtium plants leaves and flowers.

Wild foods and mushrooms from Dublin

Some photos of stuff i've foraged lately and will give some recipes in later bloggs. I also tweet quick tips
@Pat12cook

Toasted Irish Whiskey and Oatmeal Brulee

My take on a classic dessert, perfect for anyone to make!
Ingredients
6 free-range egg yolks
340ml Cream
60gms Caster Sugar
25ml Whiskey
2tbspn Jumbo Oats
Pre-heat oven to 150°c
Method
Toast the oats in the oven until lightly browned and smell nutty.
Flame the whiskey in saucepan and add the cream, on a medium heat bring to the boil then remove from the heat and keep warm.
Mix the egg yolks with the caster sugar in a bowl using a wooden spoon when the cream is tepid stir it into this mix. Strain into a jug.
Pour into 4 ramekins or oven proof dish sprinkle a good pinch of toasted oats into each and stir in.
Place the ramekins into a bain-marie of water and bake in oven until set 20-25 mins.Remove and leave to cool, then cover and keep in the fridge until needed. Eat within 3days.
To serve sprinkle with brown sugar and glaze quickly under a hot grill.
Serve with seasonal fruits or berries.