Happy Christmas

So the day finally arrived.  We waited all year, patiently, and then all of a sudden it had been and almost gone.  I had grand plans for Christmas blog posts and beautiful crafts to adorn my home, not to mention delusions of daily baking like the domestic goddess I aspire to be.  Yet again time slipped away from me and the mundane tasks of every day life took precedence. 

I relish the build up to Christmas, the anticipation, the twinkle of fairy lights and the happy greetings freely exchanged between friends and strangers alike.  I revert to an excitable 3 year old as the season draws near.  Some people frown upon this behaviour from a grown woman, to others it is infectious and helps to inject some excitement and joy for what may lie in store. 

For each of us, bar a few lucky ones, Christmas is a bittersweet time.  Sadness at a an empty place setting at the table, standing alone beneath the mistletoe or any myriad of worries or stress casting a shadow over the day.  These things can be all consuming and appear magnified at such a joyous time.  It is for this reason that I decide each year to throw myself into the festivities with added gusto.  Every inch of the house is adorned in fairy lights of red and white, garlands and baubles hang from every available surface and as a special treat Frank and the gang serenade me daily.  To some this may appear excessive, but this is the one time of year that excess is accepted, encouraged even, so it would be rude to allow the season to pass by unmarked.

This year was no different.  Despite the economic doom and gloom and the inches of snow that attempted to thwart festive shopping I embraced the season in all of it's twinkly glory.  I had the most wonderful day spent with my husband and family.  My 3 year old niece put me under a teensey bit of pressure wandering into the kitchen at intervals of approximately 2 minutes to enquire as to whether her Christmas dinner was ready.  We sat down to a table laden with food, laughed, talked but mostly stuffed our faces.  What else is there to do on Christmas day?

Wherever you were and whoever you are with I hope that you had an equally wonderful day.  I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a (belated) happy Christmas.  Thank you for reading, following, commenting and baking with me in 2010.  I look forward to blogging my way through 2011 and I sincerely hope that you will join me.

Nollaig Shona Duit,
Le Grá
R x

Snowflake Cookies

My third offering for the Irish Foodies December Christmas themed cookalong(Jaysus, that's a bit of a mouth full) are these yummy Snowflake Cookies.  These cookies are deliciously buttery and sweet with a beautiful texture.  Don't just save them for Christmas time though, cut them into different shapes and enjoy them year round.

Snowflake Cookies
(makes 12+ depending on the shapes you cut)

225g/8oz Unsalted butter, softened
225g/8oz Caster Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
1tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
450g/1lb Plain Flour

1.  Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy.
2.  Add the egg, vanilla and a pinch of salt and mix again.
3.  Gradually sift in the flour and continue to mix until incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
4.  Form the dough into a round, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for a couple of hours until firm.
5.  Line 2 baking sheets with greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
6.  Roll the dough out onto a floured work surface to a thickness of 5mm.  Dip cookie cutters into some flour and cut shapes out of the dough and place onto the lined baking sheets.
7.  Place into the preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden and firm to the touch.
8.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
9.  Decorate with some white icing(175g/6oz icing sugar sifted into a bowl, add 1.5teaspoons of warm water and mix to a smooth paste.  Adjust the consistency with additional icing sugar or water if needed by adding a little at a time.  Spoon into an icing bag with a fine nozzle attached.) or leave plain if you wish.  

Gingerbread Place Settings

As I stood in my kitchen last Friday, whistling a merry tune and going to town on my gingerbread with a gazillion cookie cutters calling out to be used, an idea struck.  OK, so I don't have a gazillion cookie cutters, but I do have rather a lot.  My miniature alphabet ones were shouting the loudest, practically begging to be used so they were.  Edible place settings would be perfect for my Christmas table, I thought, and what would be better than a personalised gingerbread cookie for our guests to take home to enjoy.  Lilly Higgins made some beautiful Christmas card cookies for the Christmas edition of Easy Food magazine and so I took my inspiration from her. 

The recipe for the dough is the same one that used for my gingerbread cookies and you can find it here.  Follow the instructions as far as step 5 and I will give the rest of the details below.  Enjoy!

Depending on the size of your cookies the recipe should yield at least 12 place settings.

Once the dough has chilled remove it from the fridge and roll to a thickness of 5mm.

Cut rectangles using a sharp knife.  I cut mine 100mm x 60mm but you can cut them to size according to the length of names. 

Place on the lined baking sheets and bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

While the cookies are baking roll out some fondant icing to a thickness of 2-3mm.  Using miniature alphabet cookie cutters cut out the letters required for the names of your guests.  Place the letters on greaseproof paper(don't make too far in advance as they will dry out and may crack as you position them on the cookies).  You can also cut out a miniature Christmas shape if you wish.  If you would like to use coloured fondant make a thumb print in the fondant and add a couple of drops of food colouring, knead until the icing is evenly coloured.  Refrigerate for a few minutes if you need to, it may warm up from being handled.  Don't worry if you don't have alphabet cookie cutters I will give another option below.

Mix up some icing (175g/6oz icing sugar sifted into a bowl, add 1.5teaspoons of warm water and mix to a smooth paste.  Adjust the consistency with additional icing sugar or water if needed by adding a little at a time).  Add a couple of drops of a food colouring of your choice or leave white if you wish.

Using a teaspoon, place some icing onto the cookies a teaspoon full at a time, and spread evenly until the top of the cookie is evenly covered.

Position the letters on each cookie to make up the names of all of your guests and add a Christmas shape at the end if you wish.

Alternatively allow the icing to dry and use icing writing pens(these can be purchased in packs in most supermarkets) and write your guests name freehand on each cookie. 

Allow the icing to dry completely to avoid smudging.  Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Gingerbread Cookies

When the Irish Foodies Christmas Cookalong was announced I knew instantly that I wanted to make gingerbread cookies.  There is something about the sight of a cute little gingerbread person that always brings a smile to my face.  I have a stash of cookie cutters cluttering up the kitchen so couldn't wait to get stuck in.  I was really pleased with the results, a deliciously moist cookie with just the right balance of Christmas spice.   Although you will have to excuse my icing skills, they are not quite what they should be.  Enjoy!

Gingerbread Cookies

(The amount of cookies you yield will depend on the size and shape of your cookie cutters, depending on size you should yield between 12 and 36.)

350g/12oz Plain Flour
1.5tsp Ground Ginger
0.5tsp Ground Cinnamon
1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
100g/4oz Unsalted Butter, chilled
175g/6oz Dark Muscovado Sugar
1 Large Egg
2tbsp Black Treacle
30ml/1floz Milk

Icing and sweets of your choice to decorate.

1.  Sieve the flour, spices and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl.
2.  Grate the butter into the dry ingredients and rub in until the mixture has a breadcrumb consistency.  Add the sugar and stir in. (you may notice some dark spots in my cookies, my sugar had some lumps that I didn't take the time to break down as I was a bit up to my eyeballs in flour so take the time to break them down to avoid this happening.)
3.  Break the egg into a separate bowl and mix with the black treacle.  Add to the flour mixture and stir to form a smooth dough.
4.  Add the milk to help to bind the dough together, form into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and pop into the fridge for half an hour to chill.
5.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.  Line 2 baking sheets with grease proof paper.
6.  After half an hour remove the dough from the fridge.  Place on a floured work surface and roll out to a depth of 5mm.  Flour cookie cutters, cut out shapes and place onto the lined baking sheets.  If you are left with off cuts form them into a dough ball, roll out to 5mm and repeat the cutting process.
7.  Place the cookies into the middle of the preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

8.  Decorate as you wish with icing and sweets of your choice or leave plain if you prefer.  The cookies will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

*** If you do not have cookie cutters you can simply cut into squares or use an upturned glass or cup to make rounds.  To make the houses in the picture above simply cut the dough into rectangles and then cut two small triangles from the top to form the point of the roof. ***

Irish Foodies December Cookalong - Christmas

The theme for the Irish Foodies December cookalong was Christmas.  Well, what else could it be this festive month?  As the snow fell and covered the ground in a thick blanket last Friday I busied myself in the kitchen.  I will do separate posts over the next few days with recipes but for now here are pictures of my offerings.

Mince Pies using my homemade mince meat

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Place Settings

Snowflake Cookies

Eggnog

Ireland has been experiencing snowy weather these past few days.  On Friday night I was witness to a lightning storm, the like of which I have not witnessed before in Ireland.  The whole night sky was illuminated with each flash and they grew progressively more frequent as the night went on.  A quick check in with the lovely @yddib over on twitter to pick the brain of her very own personal weather man explained that it was the result of hail clouds colliding.  When I woke the next morning we had the lightest dusting of snow and sure I was only delighted with life, until I phoned my sister that is.  "Oh we have a few inches here, can't even see where the kerb ends and the road begins."  Show off!  That was me on snow watch for the rest of the day, willing the clouds to empty their load so I could concur, "oh we have inches here, won't be venturing outside the door in that".  Alas it was not to happen.  I toddled off to bed to dream of snow angels and snow ball fights.

There was still quite a nip in the air on Sunday morning and imagine my delight when I stumbled down the stairs & threw open the curtains to be greeted by a pure white blanket of snow, thick on the ground.  I was up the stairs in a jiffy and before the hubs knew what was happening I had burst through the bedroom door and decided there was nothing else for it other than to bounce on the bed and scream "snnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwww".  Needless to say at 8a.m. on a Sunday morning he wasn't too impressed.  We did have a little snow ball fight as we walked to the shop later that morning before we tucked ourselves up indoors for a cosy day.

I wandered into the kitchen in the afternoon with the intention of whipping up a batch of mince pies but instead emerged half an hour later with a glass of eggnog in hand much to the hubs amusement.  I'm not much of a drinker you see but the sight of the marshmallow world outside was screaming Christmas at me, so a glass of eggnog was the only man for the job.  I then spent a blissful afternoon on the sofa eggnog in one hand, large Toblerone in the other and Love Actually on the old telebox.  Bliss. 

It really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  Enjoy! x

Eggnog
(serves 8-10)

6 Large Eggs, separated
180g/8oz Caster Sugar
1tsp Vanilla Extract
250ml/8floz Milk
500ml/16floz Cream
100ml/3.5floz Brandy
100ml/3.5floz Rum
Nutmeg, freshly grated to serve

1.  Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until well combined, the sugar is dissolved and the mixture thickened slightly.  Gradually beat in the vanilla, milk, cream and alcohol.

2.  Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then thoroughly whisk into the cream mixture.  Pour into glasses and sprinkle each with a little grated nutmeg.

Christmas Cake Cookies

If you are a regular reader of this blog you may have picked up on the fact that I am not a huge fan of dried fruit.  I can tolerate it, sometimes I quite fancy a fruit scone. Given the choice though, chocolate or creamy desserts always come out on top for me.  However, I am rather partial to an oatmeal cookie with my Butler's hot chocolate.  The cookies are rather substantial in size with a perfect chewy consistency and are perfect on a cold winters day, it's spices warming you from within.

As I soaked some fruit for a Christmas cake mixture the other night I remembered the Butler's cookie and wondered would it be possible to create something similar but with a festive twist.  I find that Christmas cake can be a little fruit heavy and wanted a lighter alternative to enjoy while faces are stuffed with cake and pudding on the big day.  I sat and scribbled in my notebook that evening and came up with a recipe I thought would work.  I busied myself in the kitchen this afternoon testing out my efforts and I am more than pleased with the end result.  So happy in fact that I scoffed two in quick succession and my brain has been monopolised with thoughts of a third ever since.

These cookies are the perfect baking exercise for a snowy Sunday afternoon.  I highly recommend eating while still warm from the oven, accompanied by a steaming mug of hot chocolate; or allow them to cool and serve with a glass of milk.  They are delicious either way, that is why I had to eat two, so that I could inform you accurately.  It's tough but I have to do it for the greater good of cookie lovers everywhere.  Enjoy!

Christmas Cake Cookies
(Makes 12 large cookies)

110g/4oz Unsalted Butter, softened
170g/6oz Dark Brown Sugar
0.25tsp Salt
1 Large Egg
1tsp Vanilla Extract
2tbsp Water
2tbsp Brandy
2tbsp Treacle
90g/3oz Plain Flour
0.5tsp Baking Powder
0.5tsp Baking Soda
1tsp Ground Cinnamon
0.5tsp Mixed Spice
0.5tsp Ground Nutmeg
100g/3.5oz Oatmeal Flakes
30g/1oz Crystallised Ginger, finely chopped
40g/1.33oz Raisins
40g/1.33oz Sultanas
40g/1.33oz Currants
40g/1.33oz Dried Cranberries
50g/1.66oz Almonds, blanched and chopped

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
2.  Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

3.  In a large bowl cream together the butter, sugar and salt, with an electric whisk, until smooth.  Add the egg, vanilla, water, brandy and treacle and whisk to combine.  The mixture might seem quite wet and runny don't worry, this is exactly how it should be.
4.  Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices into the wet ingredients.  Add the oat flakes and gently fold in. 
5.  Add the crystallised ginger(toss this in a little flour to stop it sticking together and sinking), dried fruit and nuts and mix to distribute evenly.  The mixture may still seem quite wet at this stage but it will be fine.
6.  Using an ice cream scoop place level scoops of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets approximately 1.5" apart(they will spread in the oven).  Flatten the tops slightly with the back of a wet spoon.

7.  Place into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.  The cookies should still be slightly wobbly when they come out of the oven but with a thin, crisp shell.  They will firm up slightly as they cool, but will remain moist and chewy on the inside.  Allow to cool for 10 mins on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container(if they last long enough to be stored that is).

Mam's Christmas Pudding

My brain has become a little fazzled of late thinking up new recipes and dreaming up ways to improve some oldies but goodies.  I also have writers cramp from scribbling in my blog notebook.  I have pages of yummy things to try out and I just wish I could grow another me to make it possible, but I will eventually get around to trying them all out soon.  For this reason when it came to developing my own recipe for Christmas pudding my brain just point blank refused to work.  Normally this would bother me, I would sit pen in hand until driven with distraction and the task was finished but I decided to take the 'life's too short' approach this time.  Christmas is not too far away and the puddings need a bit of time to mature, and had I forced the task at hand I would not have enjoyed it and mixed my puddings with a bad heart, and we all know you can't make a cake with a bad heart.  It just won't taste good.  I swear.

I decided I would stick with my mam's recipe as it is well tried and tested.  I combined all of the ingredients on Wednesday and left them to sit overnight to thicken.  Every time I walked into the kitchen I was assaulted by the aroma of Christmas, and I couldn't help but sneak a peak under the tea towel every now and then.  Last night I added the Guinness and myself and Mr. Boo both stirred the mix 3 times towards our hearts before making a wish.

It was tradition in our house that the puddings could not be cooked unless everyone who lived in the house had made a wish.  I'm not entirely sure where the tradition originated but I do remember that even when I was too small to stir the mixture by myself my mam or dad would help me and I would make my wish.  I wouldn't dream of ever skipping this vital step.  I am sure it will have no bearing on the taste of the finished article but I almost feel as though I am stirring through some Christmas magic with each turn of the wooden spoon and I wouldn't dare risk leaving that out.  We all need a little Christmas magic in our lives so go on, gather everyone around and one by one stir 3 times towards your heart and make a special wish. 

I would love to hear if you had this tradition in your house or any other Christmas pudding traditions.  Please leave me a comment as I love to hear from you.

xxx

Mam's Christmas Pudding
(makes 2 puddings)

175g/6oz Self -Raising Flour
1 level tsp Mixed Spice
1 level tsp Ground Cinnamon
0.5 level tsp Ground Nutmeg
225g/8oz White Breadcrumbs
350g/12oz Dark Brown Sugar
450g/1lb Currants
225g/8oz Raisins
225g/8oz Sultanas
125g/4oz Mixed Cut Peel
125g/4oz Glaze Cherries(halved)
50g/2oz Almonds(blanched and chopped)
Finely grated rind of 1 Orange
Finely grated rind of 1 Lemon
225g/8oz Margarine(melted)*
3 large Eggs(lightly beaten)*
2tbsp Brandy*
275ml/0.5pint Guinness(or other stout)

*beat this ingredients together

Firstly I am going to give you some tips before I start into the instructions:

It is very important to be organised when making Christmas cakes and puddings to avoid it becoming stressful.  There are quite a few ingredients so I find measuring everything in at the same time a having it ready to go into the bowl at the same time really helps.  Once the ingredients are measured the rest is a doddle.

The bread needs to be slightly stale to make the breadcrumbs but if you have forgotten to buy it in advance you can pop fresh bread into the oven on a low heat (approx. 100C) for 15mins to dry it out.  It is important that there is no moisture in the bread to prevent mould forming.

Toss your glace cherries in some flour before adding to the mix to stop them sinking to the bottom.

When adding the dry fruit to the flour mix I find it easier to add each item individually and tossing it gently in the flour to evenly distribute, if you just dump it all in and then add the wet ingredients it can mean some extra elbow grease is needed to mix it all well.

Enjoy it.  I find it very relaxing and the wonderful aroma of the spices and zest and alcohol just scream Christmas so don't do it when you are stressed and rushing, allow it the time it deserves and savour the Christmas spirit.

1.  Sieve the flour and spices into a large bowl.
2.  Add the breadcrumbs, sugar, prepared fruit, nuts, lemon and orange zest and mix thoroughly.

3.  Make a well in the centre then pour in the melted margarine and beaten egg and brandy mixture.  Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

4.  Cover and leave to stand overnight to thicken.
5.  The next day add the Guinness and mix thoroughly again. ( It's at this stage you make your wish)

6.  Grease 2 x 2 pint/1.1lt pudding bowls.
7.  Cut 2 large circles of grease proof paper for the top of each bowl, grease the bottom layer well and make pleats cross wise in the paper.
8.  Cut a large circle of foil for each bowl and make pleats cross wise in it.

For each pudding you will need:

1 x 2pint/1.1lt Pudding Bowl(greased)

2 x Circles of Greaseproof Paper(1 greased)

1 x Circle of Tin Foil

1 x Large Elastic Band

Twine

9.  Place the mixture into the prepared bowls.

10.Cover each bowl with two layers of grease proof paper(make sure the greased sheet is greased side down on top of the bowl).  Secure in place with some twine or a large elastic band.  Pull tight across the top of the bowl.

I usually cut the paper a little too big and trim

when it is secured in place.

11.Place a layer of tinfoil over the grease proof paper and again secure with twine or a large elastic band.  Pull tight across the top of the bowl.

You may also like to trim your tin foil when

secured in place.

12.Place the lid firmly on the bowl.

13.Tie some twine around the bowl(as if tying up a parcel) and secure on top of the bowl with a loop to make it easier to lift the bowl from the pot when cooked.

14.Place a small clean cloth(this stops the saucer moving around with the simmering water and making noise) into the bottom of a large pot and sit an upturned saucer on top.

15.Sit the pudding bowl on top of the saucer and pour boiling water into the pot until it comes half way up the sides of the bowl.

16.Cover with a tight fitting lid and boil for 6 hours.  (check occasionally to ensure the level of the water hasn't dropped, top up if needed)

17.When the puddings are cooked, remove carefully from the pot and allow to cool completely.
18.When cold remove the damp papers and recover with fresh double grease proof paper(not greased) and store in a cool dry place.

Irish Foodies Cookie Bakealong Winner(Yes, ME!)

Ahem ahem Very important news on LMUTB this morning.  If you are a regular reader you will no doubt have noticed a monthly post entitled "Irish Foodies Cookalong".  On the first Friday of every month food bloggers the length and breadth of Ireland cook up a storm in their kitchen and then post photos on Twitter and Facebook.  We all admire each others efforts and then share recipes on our blogs.  The lovely Kristin of Dinner du Jour and Sarah of Cake in the Country(formerly Musings of a Med Student) keep us all in check and even organise an esteemed judge and prizes. 

The theme for the July Cookalong was cookies so as you can imagine I went a bit crazy and baked up 5 different offerings.  Theresa from the Green Apron was tasked with judging and sat down with her family to look through all of the entries.  You can imagine how delighted I was to hear that Theresa and her children liked my Peanut Butter Button Cookies enough to award me 1st place.  Can you believe it, little old me baked up a batch of Blue Ribbon cookies?  I couldn't either!

The Friday before last I was holed up at home, keeping in out of the mucky winter weather outside.  The post man pulled up in his little green van and out he came carrying a brown paper parcel.  My curiosity was peaked by now, I hadn't ordered anything online so wasn't expecting anything to be delivered.  It must be a gift so, I thought to myself.  A gift for me, now who would be sending me something nice.  I opened up the paper to reveal a beautiful box inside full to bursting with jars of preserves, chutneys and herb mixes.  The cloves and star anise sprinkled in the box instantly filled the room with a wonderful aroma.  My beautiful prize included:

• Mixed Berry Preserve
• Jostaberry Jam
• Wild Hawthorn Jelly
• Chocolate Raspberry Conserve
• Raspberry Preserve
• Sugar Plum Fairy Chutney
• Prizewinning Spicy Tomato & Charred Pepper Chutney
• Crunchy Honey Mustard
• Italian Butter Mix

Mr. Boo has made a rather large dent in the Mixed Berry Preserve and I almost have to wrestle it from his hands if I fancy a little of it on a scone in the evening time.  The beautiful aroma of berries as I open the jar is nearly enough to make me drool and then the intense flavour topping my scones, well that will give you an idea as to why we are fighting over it.  The Italian Butter Mix is delicious mixed with some oil for dipping bread as suggested on the label.  I am going to hide the Chocolate Raspberry Conserve so that I can enjoy it before Mr. Boo devours it in a couple of sittings.  Last night I baked a loaf of soda bread so I think it would be rude not to toast a little and pile it high with some cheese and Prizewinning Chutney.

Thank you so much for the wonderful prize Theresa.

If you would like to try some of The Green Aprons products they are available for purchase every Saturday at the Limerick Milk Market.

Mince Meat

I have mentioned a time or twenty on the blog that I am not a huge fan of dried fruit.  As a child I was always repulsed at the thought of mince pies at Christmas time.  My mam would heat some up in the oven for my dad or guests and they would be served with a nice dollop of fresh cream or maybe some custard.  Cream and custard with mince?! Bleugh. 

Then one year we made them in school and I was confused to find that there was no meat mixed in with the sweet mixture.  When I tasted the fruits of my labour I was pleasantly surprised and since then I have enjoyed many a mince pie over the festive season.  They are usually a last minute thought for me that I pick up with the final grocery shop before the big day but this year I decided to make my own, completely from scratch, including the mince meat.

I looked at many recipes but didn't find any that I liked so I decided to come up with my own.  I had a good understanding of the basics from reading so many other recipes and so set about it with my pen and trusty note book in hand.  I haven't used either butter or suet in the recipe as I wanted to cut out any unnecessary fat or heaviness.  The mixture gave off the most amazing fragrance as it simmered in the hob and looks beautiful today in it's jar.  I will do another post about mince pies closer to Christmas including a pastry recipe and an assembly how to.  For now you can mix up a batch of mince meat and leave the flavours to mature for a couple of weeks.  Enjoy!

Mince Meat
(makes approximately 800ml)

60ml/2floz Port
150g/5.3oz Dark Brown Sugar
Zest & Juice of 1 Orange
Zest & Juice of 2 Lemons
75g/2.65oz Raisins

75g/2.65oz Currants

75g/2.65oz Sultanas

75g.2.65oz Dried Cranberries
75g/2.65oz Chopped Almonds
4 Apples, peeled and grated
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Mixed Spice
1tsp Nutmeg
1oz Brandy
2tbsp Honey
1tsp Vanilla Extract

1.  Dissolve the sugar in the ruby port in a pot over a gentle heat.

2.  Add in the orange and lemon juice and zest, dried fruit, grated apple and spices.

3.  Simmer for 20 minutes or until the fruit has plumped up and absorbed most of the liquid.

4.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.  Add the brandy, honey and vanilla extract.  Stir well to incorporate.
5.  Spoon into sterilised jars and seal.

This will keep for a few weeks once stored in a cool dry place in the unopened sterilised jars.  Once opened refrigerated and use within a couple of weeks.

To sterilise jars:

Wash in warm soapy water or put through a hot cycle in the dishwasher.  Place into a preheated oven at 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2 for 15 minutes and fill and seal while the jar and contents are still warm.

Bake and Decorate, Tea Time Luxury by Fiona Cairns (Quadrille Publishing)

The other day I received the beautiful book Bake and Decorate, Tea Time Luxury by Fiona Cairns, from Quadrille Publishing.  It was such a lovely treat to receive on a cold and blustery weekend.  I stole a couple of hours 'me time' to curl up on the sofa to look through it on Sunday. 

The book is broken down into 2 sections: bake, and decorate, and each of these into 3 sub sections: big cakes, small cakes and biscuits.  This makes it very easy to find a project to suit your needs.  Within the bake section you will find the ingredients and instructions for the baked goods, with a key at the end detailing suitable pages from the decorate section.  In the decorate section, yep you guessed it, you will find ingredients and directions for decorating projects to suit the various cakes and biscuits.  I find this really useful as a lot of baking books jumble both stages together compromising the detail in instructions leaving a large margin for error when interpreting abbreviated instructions.

The projects in the book are aimed at the home baker and do not require knowledge of difficult techniques.  The end results however are beautiful and will leave your guest in awe at your skills.  There are a few more elaborate cakes which could be attempted when you have built your confidence on some of the smaller projects but even these do not employ any difficult techniques.  The use of trimmings and sweets throughout as decorations have also inspired me and given me lots of ideas for pretty finishing touches that will need absolutely no effort on my part, other than walking to the shop that is!

The book is beautifully styled and the photographs are stunning(just look at the cover above), and as each project has an accompanying photograph you can very easily compare your attempts.  Finally, the baking and decorating tips at the start are fantastic and provide great advice for anyone thinking of popping their baking cherry.  If like me, you have been baking for a while already, I think you will also find some great tips to help improve your baking.  I know I did.

I have ear marked, well, pretty much everything to try out but cannot wait to get stuck into some of the festive projects over the next few weeks.  Bake and Decorate, Tea Time Luxury by Fiona Cairns is published by Quadrille Publishing and is available to order from Amazon.

Irish Foodies November Cookalong - Winter Warmers

Last Friday was the first Friday of the month and as an Irish foodie that meant just one thing, cookalong time.  The theme this month was winter warmers and I didn't have to think twice about what I wanted to cook.  When winter sets in and comfort food cravings sky rocket the dish at the very tippy top of my list is stew. 

As a child I lived on stew for the best part of 2 years or so.  I was obviously going through a picky eating phase and my mam rather than force things on me would religiously have a pot of my favourite stew on the stove so that everyday I would eat a proper dinner.  My mams stew was one of her makey up dishes, based on a packet of oxtail soup with the softest veg and the perfect thick consistency.  It was the most delicious stew I have ever had and sadly for me I have never been able to recreate it.  My sister makes a pretty good dupe, and even though she has given me instructions on how to make it, it has never tasted even remotely like mam's.  When my dad enquired on the phone on Friday night what I was having for dinner and I replied with stew he immediately recalled my love for it as a child. 

I think this is why I love it so much as an adult, and why it brings so much comfort on cold dark nights.  Each bowl that I ate as a child was made with love, just for me and to make sure I had a nourishing dinner every day.  Not just any old dinner because it was convenient for my mam, but one that would be eaten with gusto, the delicious flavour in every spoonful savoured.  My mam with cook 4 separate meals every day if it meant each member of the family ate something they enjoyed and sometimes, after all of that, a slice of toast or a cup of tea and a lemon puff would do for her.  You see there was no one to make sure her favourite meal was cooked and handed to her.  None the less, she did it everyday and not one day did she complain.  Her husband and her children were happy and that was sustenance enough for her.  I'm not sure I ever told her that her stew was the best in the world, but it was mam, so thanks so much for the endless pot. x

This is my version of stew, it is roughly based on a Jamie Oliver recipe.  The 2 constants are the red wine and beef stock from his recipe but I have a tendency to change the other elements depending on whats in the kitchen.  On Friday I used the following.

Beef Stew
(serves 4)

4tbsp Oil and a knob of Butter
A handful of Sage Leaves
2 small Red onions, peeled and diced
1lb of steak pieces
2tbsp flour
Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
2 Carrots, washed and sliced(not too thinly as you don't want them to disintegrate while slow cooking)
2 small Potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Parsnips, peeled and sliced as per the carrots
2 small Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
2tbsp fresh Rosemary, stalks removed
2 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and sliced
2tbsp Tomato Puree
285ml/0.5 Pint of Beef Stock
1/2 Bottle of Red Wine

1.  Preheat the oven to 160C/300F/Gas Mark 2.
2.  Place the oil and butter into a casserole dish and set over a medium heat.
3.  Add the onion and sage leaves and fry for a couple of minutes.
4.  Place the flour in a bowl and season with some salt and pepper.  Add the meat and toss to coat evenly.
5.  Add the meat to the casserole and seal.
6.  Add all of the vegetables, tomato puree, stock, wine, rosemary and garlic.
7.  Cover with the lid and bring to the boil.  Transfer to the preheated oven for 3-4 hours until the meat is tender. (the longer you leave it the better as the flavours develop with time and it thickens up beautifully)
8.  Serve with crusty bread smothered in lashing of butter, the real deal, not the cholesterol friendly stuff.  Enjoy!

Around The Web In 20 Clicks: In Praise Of Bloggers

Last week the ever lovely English Mum published a blog post titled "Around the Web in 20 Clicks: In Praise of Bloggers".  The post was a little homage to some of her favourite blog posts of late, and guess who featured in that list, only lil ol' me!  I know, how cool is that.  Besides the obvious it was a fantastic post as it introduced me to some faberooney blogs that I hadn't yet stumbled upon.  English Mum hoped that someone else might take up the baton to keep the post going and highlight some blogs that people might not have discovered yet.  Sticky Fingers stepped up for the next leg of the relay earlier in the week and now it's my turn.  Below are some of my favourite blog posts from recent months, some make me smile, some make me hungry and some make me cry with laughter, but all make me happy.  To stop myself repeating it with every item on the list I will just say now that I LOVE all of the blogs that follow and in true X-Factor style I will reveal my 20 Clicks in no particular order, enjoy.

1.  I absolutely love these fabulous photos by Italian Foodies and I can't wait to make those nommy looking chocolate pots.

2.  I recently stumbled across City of Blackbirds via a mention on a blog that I read regularly.  Every photo on this blog takes my breath away, they are just spectacular.  But the post on Stephen's Green really hit a chord for me as I fondly remembered Sunday morning outings there with my dad and my sister as a child.  The beautiful effects on the pictures instantly transported me back to my 5 year old self and my sister and I running around in matching outfits (the shame).

3.  Lynnie gives Boris' bed a bit of a makeover and I think it is soooooooo cute.  I'm also rather jealous of her upholstery skills.

4.  I'm a sucker for a bit of nostalgia so really enjoyed this stroll down memory lane with The Daily Spud.

5.  I love a good wedding me, and my heart actually skipped a beat drinking in the sheer beauty of The Cherry Blossom Girl's big day. Stunning!

6.  I love all of the pretty little things taking up residence in the kitchen of Friendly Cottage. Sharon's kitchen is featured in the latest issue of House and Home Magazine and I think it is easy to see why.  If you want to take a little sneak peek at some of the amazing food styling projects that Sharon has worked on have a little look here.

7.  These super cute cupcakes from the Glutton are most definitely on my to make list.  99 anyone?

8.  Clare Kleinedler is an American who has been living in Ireland for the past 8 months.  Her blog charts her adventures here and I love to read her take on things that seem so normal to me but are an obvious culture shock to her.  I particularly like a beautiful post written about her friends mam, I think it reminded me of my own mam a little, but it was nice to see the strength of an Irish mammy celebrated, and maybe mammy's everywhere.

9.  Laura's adventures in waxing literally had me crying with laughter, I have had many a giggle since reading her blog posts.  She also wears a tasche very well.

10.These seashell salt & pepper pinch pots would make such a pretty addition to any dinner party table, yet another beautiful idea from Lilly.

11.I recently made a batch of World Peace Cookies from Babaduck Babbles blog and they were completely delicious, nom nom nom!

12.Check out all of the cool pumpkins Ruairi stumbled upon.  I particularly like the big grey one that looks rather like a seal to me, but I'm open to correction on this one.

13.This carnival themed wedding featured on Bride and Joy looked like such a fun day.  I also have a case of serious shoe envy for the brides shoes. 

14.Guess who popped up on English Mum to say hello, on Gary frickin Barlow!!! She's falling over celebrities over there so she is. But since we've become bff's if I apply the rule of 6 degrees of separation I guess that means Gary's my bezzie too. *cough*

15.Imen who has set up home in Ireland with her farmer husband describes her trips back to the States as "puddle jumping".  Such a sweet term for trans Atlantic journeys.

16.It would seem Sarah and I both get excited at the prospect of parcels arriving in the post.  All together now...brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favourite things, la la la la, la la la la...

17.Some more fabulous pumpkins as featured over on Maggy Moon Interiors.  They have given me plenty of ideas for next year.

18.We often give ourselves a hard time because of the things that we are not, Aoife talks about learning to be happy with who we are.  A very inspiring post which reminded me that if I learn to accept the person that I am I will be so much happier than worrying about the person I am not.  Give it a try for yourself.

19.I read this morning about Nessa's children embracing their mammy's food blogging and it really made me smile, how sweet that they have observed and taken such an interest in their mammy and her love for food.

20.Finally, I couldn't do a 20 clicks around the web and not mention the Pioneer Woman.  She really inspires me and I absolutely love her writing.  Her recipes always leave me a drooling mess, just look at those cinnamon roles, my husband will love me forever when he tastes them.

If you are a blogger and would like to keep this post going please feel free to post your own "20 Clicks..." post on your blog.  It is a great way for us all to get to know new blogs and bloggers.

I love to read new(to me) blogs so please feel free to leave links to your favourite blog posts in the comments.  Happy reading. x

Mini Banana Loaves

The other day I noticed that a bunch of bananas in the kitchen had taken on a dubious speckled appearance.  "They're for the bin", I thought.  You see I don't eat a huge amount of bananas as they are just a little to heavy for my delicate tummy.  I can eat my own body weight in chocolate without a problem but not a banana, go figure.  Mr. Boo reverts back to his 3 year old self at the sight of a blackening banana and refuses to eat them so they are generally consinged to the compost bin at the 1st signs of a freckle.  This time I resolved to save them and turn them into something yummy for the one I love.  That's you babes!

Right here's the recipe, enjoy!

Mini Banana Loaves
(makes 8 mini loaves or 1 x 1lb loaf)

1kg/just over 2lb's Plain Flour
approx. 6 Bananas
3 x 7g/0.25oz sachets of Dried Yeast
2tbsp Sugar
2 level tbsp Sea Salt
3tbsp of Honey, and 3tbsp for glazing
Flour for dusting

1.  Place the flour into a large bowl.  Make a well in the centre.
2.  In a food processor, blitz the bananas until smooth and liquid.  Transfer to a measuring jug and if necessary top up with water to 625ml.

3.  Add half of the banana liquid to the well in the centre of the flour.  Add the yeast, sugar, salt and honey and stir to incorporate.  Gradually start to bring some of the flour into the mix, you will get a porridge type consistency.
4.  Add the remaining liquid and continue to mix incorporating all of the flour until the dough has formed.
5.  Flour your hands and knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it is nice and elastic.  You can knead in the bowl if it is big enough, if not flour a work surface and transfer to that.  I do it in the bowl to save me cleaning up something extra.
6.  Shape the dough into a ball, flour the top (place it back in the bowl if you kneaded on a work surface) and cover the bowl with clingfilm.  Place in a warm, draught free area(I always use my airing cupboard/hot press) and leave to prove for 30 minutes.

7.  While the dough is proving prepare the baking tin.  I have a tin with 8 compartments for mini loaves(individual mini loave tins can also be bought in packs of 2 or 4 etc.) which I oiled lightly and lined with greaseproof paper.  It is sufficient to just oil the tin but I wanted the paper for presentation purposes so did both.  If you don't have mini loaf tins a regular 1lb loaf tin will do fine or you could simply flour a baking sheet and shape the dough into a round and bake it on that.  The possibilities are endless.

8.  When the dough has doubled in size knock it back(bash it about with your hands to knock the air out). 

9.  Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and place them into the loaf tins or shape according to your baking tin.
10.Place the dough back into a warm draught free place and leave to prove for a further 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5.
11.When the dough has proved brush the top with the remaining honey and place into the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

12.Serve while still warm with some butter, peanut butter or even some scrummy vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of toffee sauce.  Nom nom nom!

Chester Slice(Gur Cake)

I have never been a particularly sporty person.  As I child I would much rather be curled up reading a book than outside running around.  Today, I would much rather be curled up with a good book than outside running around. See?!  I have always loved swimming though.  Since I was a little girl, well littler girl I have loved splashing about in a pool.

Every Saturday morning my sister and I would go to our local swimming baths.  We both learned to swim there.  I still remember my lovely orange arm bands with the navy blue writing on them.  I would kick my little legs furiously in an effort to propell myself from one side of the pool to the other, completely knackered from my efforts once I had reached my destination. 

When we arrived the overpowering stench of chlorine would greet us at the door accompanied by the giddy screams of children already splashing about.  We would hand over our money at the hatch in return for a monster plastic crate to fill with our belongings.  Under the weight of enormous said crate we would stagger to the freezing cold changing rooms to don are no doubt fabulous swim suit, arm band, rubber hat ensmble.  Suitably attired we did the 4 minute mile back to the hatch on our tippy toes(seriously, this place used to be fu reezin), to hand over our now full and heavier crates in exchange for a blue rubber wrist band.  Now the only thing between us and the pool was the dreaded wall of ice cold water.  It didn't matter how small you tried to make yourself in an attempt to squeeze through the gaps, it ALWAYS drenched you.

Drenched and colder still there was nothing left but to plunge into the pool in an attempt to regain a smidgen of lost heat.  And there we would stay, a blissful hour submerged until the siren heralded the end of our fun and we two little prunes sploshed back to retrace our steps.  Cold, shrivelled and with dripping hair we would emerge from the echoey confines for the 5 minute walk home.  A little stop of at the shop on the way to spend the few pence we had been gifted before leaving home would yield a bar of chocolate for me and a chester slice for my sister.  Every week the same routine. 

With 10p she would become the proud owner of a thick, fragrant hunk of ebony cake, carefully ensconced within a brown paper bag, protected by a small square of plastic wrap.  I can't remember what she bought with her change because I was always fascinated by the cake.  I have never been a fan of dried fruit so wouldn't taste it but I remember how good it smelled.  Warm spices giving a little nod to winter and Christmas even on a warm summers day.  I remember it with a very thin layer of dark chocolate on top but she disagrees with me and says it was merely the dark contents within staining the outer pastry layer to give the illusion of such luxuries.

Fast forward 20 years or so and I recounted this story to my husband, and he maintains he did exactly the same thing with his sister.  I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or some sort of Irish childhood ritual, maybe you lovely people can shed some light on this one for me.  He also fondly remembers weekly trips to his local swimming pool and on the way home he would stop with his sister for a chester slice from Mannings bakery.  He agrees with me about the chocolate topping because he says it is the only reason he bought them.  Did you have chester slice cakes when you were little?  Did they have chocolate or is my memory playing tricks on me?  I'd love to know so leave me a little comment. Go on.

Chester Slice(Gur Cake)

Having done a little investimagating it would seem that a Chester Slice and Gur Cake are one and the same.  I think someone somewhere along the way must have renamed it in an attempt to make it sound more appealing.  You see a Gur Cake is essentially a poor mans cake, the scraps of bread in a bakery mixed up with some dried fruit and sandwiched between 2 sheets of pastry.  In our house going on Gur would mean to do without, the only luxury being a piece of Gur Cake.  If you were on Gur you really didn't have much going for you, either the  cupboards were bare or maybe you were out of favour with your loved one and wouldn't receive much in the line of sustinence or other *cough*.  I would love to know the meaning of the word Gur for others though, so again, please leave me a lovely little comment. 

This is my version of a Chester Slice or Gur Cake.  It is really open to being tinkered with as the recipe would change from day to day in the bakery depending on what scraps were available so please feel free to adapt the recipe to your own taste.

2 Sheets Ready Roll Short Crust Pastry
110g/4oz Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
1tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 a stale Madeira Cake, crumbled (I used half a 1lb madeira loaf)
2 generous handfuls of Mixed Dried Fruit
60g/2oz Granulated Sugar
6tbsp Treacle
1 Egg Beaten
2tbsp Milk
100g Plain Chocolate

1.  Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. 
2.  Line the bottom of a brownie pan with 1 sheet of pastry and trim the excess
3.  Sieve the flour, baking powder and ground ginger into a bowl.
4.  Add the cake crumbs, mixed fruit, sugar and treacle and mix.  It will be quite a stiff, dense mixture.

5.  Spread this evenly over the pastry sheet in the pan.

6.  Lay the second pastry sheet over the top and trim the excess.
7.  Brush with the beaten egg mixed with the milk. 
8.  Mark out squares with a sharp knife and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

9.  Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. 
10.Once cool cut into the marked squares.
11.Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.
12.Dip the top of each square into the melted chocolate to coat evenly and allow to set.