Irish Foodies March 2011 Cookalong: Traditional Irish, Potato Scones

Yesterday saw yet another Irish Foodies cookalong roll around.  As we are into March now the obvious theme choice was Traditional Irish to mark St. Patrick's Day which falls on the 17th of this month.  I actually found it quite difficult to settle on a recipe for the night.  I pondered and pondered and had a flick through some of my cookbooks but nothing jumped out at me.  Yesterday morning as I flicked through The Irish Farmers' Market book I spotted a recipe for some potato scones and thought they would be rather delicious with some smoked salmon.  I was right.  I enjoyed the nicest lunch I have had in ages and the colour of the smoked salmon was perfect for the Irish theme.  A very happy result. 

Potato Scones
( The original recipe states that it yields 4 scones but I rolled the dough thinner to make 7 scones)

3 Med-Lge Potatoes, peeled and cut in 3
40g/1.25oz Unsalted Butter
Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper
60g/2oz Plain Flour
1tbsp Oil

1.  Place the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil.  Reduce the heat to simmer for 10-15 minutes until cooked.
2.  Strain the water and mash the potatoes with the butter.  Allow to cool slightly.
3.  Season with salt and pepper and fold in the flour to form a dough.

4.  Transfer the dough onto a floured work surface and knead lightly.  Roll out the dough, about 3cm thick.
5.  Cut into circles using a floured pastry cutter.

6.  Place 1tbsp of oil into a pan and set over a medium heat.  Add the potato scones and cook until golden brown on each side.

7.  Serve while still hot.

I served my potato scones topped with smoked salmon, creme fraiche, some basil and a little squeeze of lemon.  Enjoy!

Italian Lemon Trifle

So it has been FREEZING here in Dublin since time began.  Well maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but it feels like that at this stage following the freezing temperatures of winter that seem to be dragging on into spring.  Over the last week, while the temperatures have remained more than chilly, the sky has turned the most beautiful shade of blue and a strange light has flooded the earth.  That light my dear friends is the sun.  I know, I had almost forgotten what it looked like too.  But it's back, and it is more than welcome.  I hope it is settling in for a bright and warm year ahead and doesn't plan on hiding behind the clouds too much. 

With sunny skies warming my skin I had a longing for some fresh tastes.  The cold and grey winter days called for heavy, warming, comforting foods but this change in the weather has brought a longing for lighter flavours to refresh both palate and mind.  Mr. Boo and myself had some guests for dinner on Saturday night and so I decided it was the perfect opportunity to test out a recipe idea I had thought of last year.  It was very well received around the table so I think it will be a regular fixture for summer desserts in this house.

The recipe is a mixture of a couple I have already posted on the blog here with some additions and tweaks.  I decided to use Lemon Drizzle Cake as a base for an alternative trifle.  I doused it with Limoncello, then layered this with mascarpone mixed with some icing sugar to sweeten it a little and some tangy Lemon Posset.  I'm not sure the Italians eat trifle or have a fondness for a lemon one but I decided the use of Limoncello and mascarpone warranted the Italian description in the title.  Enjoy!

Italian Lemon Trifle

1 x 1lb loaf of Lemon Drizzle Cake
6floz Limoncello
500g Mascarpone
75g Icing Sugar
1 quantity of Lemon Posset

I made the lemon drizzle cake in a 1lb loaf tin so that it could easily be cut into even slices for layering.  Alternatively you could use a shop bought Madeira cake.  I made 6 individual trifles in tumbler glasses but you could make it in one large bowl if you prefer.

1,  Make the lemon drizzle cake and lemon posset as per the instructions here.
2.  Slice the lemon drizzle cake into 1cm slices.  Lay in one layer on a plate or baking sheet and pour over the Limoncello.  Leave for a few minutes to allow to soak in.
3.  Place the mascarpone in a bowl and add in the icing sugar.  Stir through until incorporated and the mixture is smooth.

4.  Place a layer of cake in the bottom of the bowl/glass.  Top with a layer of the mascarpone mixture and then a layer of lemon posset.  Continue to layer until you have used all of the ingredients.  (If you are using individual glasses you might have to break the cake slices to make them fit.  This is fine, just press them down into an even layer.)

Cinnamon Bread

A few weeks ago Donal Skehan posted a picture of some scrummy looking baked eggs on twitter.  I'm not a big egg fan and only eat them scrambled but knew my husband would like them.  I resolved to make him a special breakfast of them the following Sunday.  It didn't happen that weekend, or the one after that or the one after that.  I finally got round to making them for him this weekend.  We've had a pretty hectic few weeks so I decided on a lazy weekend with lots of time to bake and cook and eat. 

On Saturday I came over all domestic goddess and after scrubbing the house donned my apron.  I started the process for a sourdough bread starter (more to follow on this).  I then toddled off with my pretty floral shopping bag and filled it with all manner of yumminess so that I could cook a special dinner followed by a delicious breakfast the next morning.  Another recipe I had been meaning to make for Mr. Boo is The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Bread.  He is a fan of all things cinnamon and he enjoyed a similar bread in Ruby's Diner in Huntington Beach, L.A., so much that he hasn't stopped talking about it since.  He had that bread six years ago!

The following morning my sister text to say she had some cakes from Roly's Bistro for me so I told her to join us for our late breakfast.  Donal's eggs went down very well with all at the table and his Spanish potato and chorizo hash (without the fried eggs) that I made to accompany them was positively hoovered up by my sister and the recipe requested.  After breakfast we managed to squeeze in some cinnamon bread and even a little cake or two.  A perfect Sunday morning.

These are the Roly's cakes that we didn't quite manage to finish off

for breakfast so Mr. Boo & I had a nice dessert.

While the end result for this bread was totally scrummy toasted and smothered in butter I did find it required a bit of effort to make.  The dough requires mixing with a dough hook for 10-15 minutes, not an issue if you have a freestanding electric mixer, but I was using a hand held so it took a little arm power.  I also felt that the dough was very moist and sticky, so much so that it was impossible to handle without it sticking to hands and generally making life very messy.  There is a note on the original recipe to add 30g of extra flour if this is the case.  I had to do that 3 times to get it to a manageable consistency.  It was most definitely worth it though and I think next time I make it I will have a better understanding so can add extra flour as I am kneading with the dough hooks to avoid extra kneading time afterwards.   Don't be put off by this though, it is a delicious bread, almost cake like, so definitely worth it for a weekend breakfast treat.  I found it similar to a brioche with a delicious swirl of moist, sweet cinnamon running through it.  Enjoy!

I have linked to the original recipe above but have converted it to g/oz measurements below. 

The Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Bread
(makes 1 x 1lb loaf)

240ml Milk
90g/3oz Unsalted Butter, plus extra for greasing
7g Sachet Yeast
2 Large Eggs
75g/2.65oz Caster Sugar
420g/14.82oz Plain Flour
1tsp Salt
1 Egg and some milk to glaze

For the filling
2tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted
75g/2.65oz Sugar
2tbsp Cinnamon

1.  Melt the butter and milk until very warm but do not allow them to boil.  Allow them to cool until still warm to the touch, but not too hot.  Sprinkle the yeast over the top, stir gently, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
2.  Mix the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a free standing electric mixer until combined.  Add the milk mixture and mix until combined.  Sieve in half of the flour and salt and mix until combined, repeat with the remaining flour.  Alternatively you can do this in a large bowl using a hand held electric mixer.

3.  Switch to dough hook attachments and knead on a medium speed for 10 minutes.  If the dough is overly sticky at the end of this time add an additional 30g(a little over an oz) of flour and knead for a further 5 minutes.  Repeat this if necessary until you have a consistency that you can work with (I had to add 90g of additional flour in 3 stages as I found the dough very wet).
4.  Spray a bowl with a little oil.  Transfer the dough to the bowl and toss in the oil.  Cover the bowl with clingfilm and place in a warm, draught free place( I use my hot press) for 2 hours.

5.  Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Melt 2tbsp of butter.  Grease a 1lb loaf tin.
6.  Generously flour your work surface and turn the dough out onto it.  Flour your hands generously, then flatten with your hands and shape into a rectangle.  Measure the width against your loaf tin to ensure it will fit in.  When you are happy with the shape smear with the melted butter and sprinkle the sugar on top in an even layer.

7.  Roll from one end of the dough to the other keeping it as tight as possible.,, pinch the seam to seal.  Place into the prepared loaf tin, seam side down,  and flatten slightly to fill any gaps.  Cover with clingfilm and return to a warm, draught free place to rise again.

8.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.  Mix 1 egg with a little milk in a small bowl.  Glaze the top of the loaf with the egg/milk mix and place into the preheated oven, below the centre, for 40 minutes.  Remove for the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

My Day In Cooks Academy

Finished decorated dummy cake

(a little bashed around the edges after being transported home)

(Apologies for dark pics but the sky has been depressingly grey lately)

On Sunday the 13th of February I attended a one day Celebration Cakes course in Cooks Academy.  Cooks Academy has recently relocated from Dun Laoghaire to South William Street in Dublin's City Centre.  Cooks Academy offer a range of courses from 1 month cert courses, 1 week essential cookery courses and weekend workshops, as well as evening and lunch and learn courses.  The venue is light and bright and airy with a demonstration area to one end and a practical learning area with work stations to the other end.  Each station is equipped with the essential utensils needed by each student and any additional utensils or equipment can be easily located around the room. 

Our tutors for the day were Evelyn and Deirdre and they were both super lovey, really helpful and they gave us lots of great tips and tricks to take away with us.  To start off the day Evelyn demonstrated how to make a delicious chocolate truffle cake.  Demonstration over it was time to pick a work station and then bake our choice of chocolate truffle cake or lemon poppy seed cake.  I chose the chocolate truffle cake, not just because of my grá for all things chocolate, but because I am fairly confident in my lemon cake baking but had had an issue with a chocolate truffle cake recently.  I thought it would be best to bake it while the professionals were around so that I could iron out any issues with their help.  There was plenty of hustle and bustle as we all hurried around the room gathering mixing bowls, ingredients and whatever else we needed to mix up our cakes.  It was a bit of a monster cake and my little arms were exhausted from all of the mixing, but got there in the end. 

With our dishes washed up and put away it was time for a cake icing demonstration by Deirdre.  She explained some of the basics to us before starting and then proceeded to cover a dummy cake in almond icing, followed by sugar paste.  She explained some of the more common mistakes made and how to avoid these, and if that fails how to repair them.  It was then our turn to cover our own dummy cakes with sugar paste.  I have covered a fair few round cakes with sugar paste and so opted for a square 'cake' so that any problems I came up against could hopefully be addressed and rectified with help from the professionals.  My first problem came in the form of uncooperative sugar paste that decided it was going to roll out into a most ridiculous oblong shape.  Rolling round two proved a better success and I was ready to cover my 'cake'.  Two sides worked out perfectly as I had guessed but I encountered some problems smoothing out the excess on the remaining sides.  A little bit of help from Deirdre and I had a pretty decently covered 'cake' and board bar a few cracks on the corner edges, but sure we can live with that on our first attempt, right?

Sugar paste covering on 'cake'

All of that hard work done and it was time for a lunch of homemade soup and bread and a delicious salad.  As we munched away Evelyn was busy running around taking our cakes out of the ovens.  The demonstration cake she had made was also conveniently ready and so she sliced it up and handed it out.  Warm chocolate cake, nommy!  With our belly's full it was time to head back to our work stations for the afternoons demonstrations.

Embossed Swag

Deirdre demonstrated how to make petal paste and then in various stages throughout the afternoon she showed us how to make and assemble swags and petal paste daisies.  While some patience is needed with a few basic tools and some practice these would make the perfect decoration for any celebration cake.  Mine weren't perfect, but I was very pleased with my finished daisies and delighted to finally have the basic knowledge required to use the many cutters and embossers I have bought over the last year.  I see a lot of flowers and butterflies in my future.

Petal Paste Daisies

I had a fantastic day in Cooks Academy, while the online course description led me to believe the day would be slightly different I still thoroughly enjoyed every minute and I cannot wait to go back to do some more of their courses.  Everyone their was so friendly and helpful and really made me feel at ease and I learned so much in such a short time, I honestly didn't think that I would take so much away from the day.  As if all of that wasn't enough I went home laden down with my chocolate truffle cake!

Irish Blog Awards 2011 Nominee

Well now.  I'm very excirah I needn't tell yiz.  The Irish Blog Award nominations were announced earlier this week and I've only gone and been nominated in the Best Food/Drink Blog category.  I know, I can't believe it either.  I am very grateful to whoever nominated me, extremely grateful.  This blog is a labour of love, it occupies a ridiculous amount of my spare time and I'm pretty sure I am single handedly keeping the Irish economy from crashing completely through purchasing ridiculous amounts of flour, eggs, butter and chocolate weekly.  Thank you all so much for following, reading, commenting and baking.  I am very proud of my little blog and this nomination is the cherry on top of the cake.

x

Scones

In my mam's last few weeks of feeling well she became rather fond of high tea in the Westbury Hotel.  I'm not sure how we ended up there the first time but she liked it enough that we found ourselves back there every Friday morning.  I was lucky in that I was in college at the time and would return home an hour after leaving the house to say that my classes had been cancelled or that the pipes had frozen or that a dog had eaten the college and I had been sent home for the day.  I'm sure she knew that no such thing had happened but she would happily declare that sure wasn't it great that I could come for tea and scones with her. 

Friday had always been her morning to meet her sisters in town anyway so they would meet us too and more often than not a couple of friends and my sisters, if they could wangle some time off work.  We sat in the same place each week, at the window overlooking Harry St., and my mam would make herself comfortable in a big armchair.  The small table would heave with plates of scones, clotted cream, jam, pots of tea and a pot of hot chocolate just for me.  We were never in a rush; sitting, chatting, laughing and of course eating.  Sometimes we sat so long we had to order another round of scones or sandwiches before we had the energy to leave. 

They were wonderful mornings, all the girls together doing what girls do best, gossiping and laughing.  One of my favourite treats now is to indulge in afternoon tea in the Westbury (or anywhere for that matter).  If that same table is free I will sit there and savour the atmosphere, and the sweet treats, luxuriating in the decadence of those couple of hours.  While I don't treat myself to that often, I can treat myself to those lovely scones in the comfort of my own home.  I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do.  Sit down in your most comfortable chair, fill a mug with steaming tea and dollop on some extra cream.  Why?  Well, why not?

Scones

(makes 12+)

450g/1lb Self Raising Flour, plus extra for dusting
1/4tsp Salt
100g/4oz Cold Unsalted Butter, diced
85g/3oz Caster Sugar, plus extra for dusting
280ml Buttermilk
2tsp Vanilla Extract
30ml Milk

1.  Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and dust lightly with flour.
2.  Pulse the flour, salt, butter and sugar in a food processor until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Alternatively grate the butter into the dry ingredients and cut in with a knife until there are no lumps of butter left.

Apologies for the poor picture quality but I don't have natural light in this part of my kitchen.

3.  Place the buttermilk and vanilla into a small saucepan and warm gently.  (Be careful no to heat the milk too much as it will separate)
4.  Place a third of the flour mix into a large bowl with a third of the buttermilk.  Mix with a knife and repeat in two more stages, but be careful not to over mix. 
5.  Dust a work surface with flour and turn the mixture out onto it.  Lightly flour your hands and gently bring the mixture together to form a dough.  (If you find the mixture is very wet at this stage gradually add a little flour at a time until the consistency becomes manageable)

6.  Wrap the dough in some clingfilm and refrigerate for 15 minutes - half an hour.  Place back onto a lightly floured work surface and flatten with your hands to a depth of approx 4cm.
7.  Using a floured scone cutter stamp out rounds and place on the prepared baking sheets.

  Brush with milk and dust with some caster sugar.

8.  Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until golden and risen.
9.  Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Bridgestone Guides 2011

I recently received a copy of the 2011 Bridgestone Guides, 100 Best Restaurants in Ireland and 100 Best Places to stay in Ireland 2011.  This years editions of the Bridgestone Guides are the twentieth editions, and since the very first edition the guides have been continuously highlighting the best restaurants and hotels in Ireland based on value, quality and hospitality.

There are 17 new entries in this years Best Restaurant Guide and 9 new entries in the Best Places To Stay Guide.  Some new entries include The Exchequer, Dublin; The Poacher's Inn, Bandon; Linsfort Castle, Buncrana and Knockranny House Hotel, Westport.  As well as new entries there are plenty of familiar names who have remained from the very start.

If you are planning a staycation or like me you fancy a few mini breaks throughout the year that don't involve air miles these guides are an indispensable weapon to have in your arsenal.  In the current economic climate when it is important to make each euro spent count I would definitely recommend consulting the Bridgestone Guides to find the best that Irish hospitality has to offer for your euro buck.  I also found some new places that I had not heard of before but on reading about them am very tempted to add to my 'to visit' list.  If you fancy heading off the beaten track a little you will not be disappointed as the Bridgestone Guides do not concentrate solely on larger towns and cities but also well hidden gems away from the hustle and bustle of bright light cities. 

The Brdigestone Guides are available for purchase from Best of Bridgestone.

Macaroons (GF)

I have been known on occasion to allow the odd pack of Crimble's macaroons to wander into my shopping trolley.  I blame my sister.  She almost always has a pack loitering in her goodie press so I tasted them in her house and then started to buy them for myself on occasion.  I'm not sure exactly what it is I like about them, is it the dense and moist cakeyness of them, is it the texture of the coconut or is it a combination of both those things married with a little chocolate.  Regardless I will happily scoff a couple of them in a sitting and then long for more.

I am constantly watching food programmes on t.v.  If I have a lazy day to myself I would happily watch them from morning until night and it doesn't matter if I have seen them before, I always learn something new.  On one such lazy day recently I was watching Ina Garten and she made some coconut macaroons.  I didn't scribble down the recipe as it was fairly straightforward but later that day made my own batch using her recipe as a rough guide.  The result was amazing.  I had to stop myself from scoffing the lot and was so glad to see my husband tuck into a few with his evening cup of tea.  The more he ate the less that were left to go straight on my hips the next day.  They are super easy to make and so much nicer than the shop bought version (sorry Mr. Crimble).  I see many macaroons in my future.  Nom!

250g/10oz Dessicated Coconut
1 x tin (397g) Condensed Milk
1tsp Vanilla Extract
3 large Egg Whites
A pinch of salt
50g Milk Chocolate
50g Plain Chocolate

1.  Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3.  Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
2.  Place the dessicated coconut, condensed milk and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix to combine.
3.  In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites and salt using a hand held electric whisk until they form soft peaks.
4.  Fold half of the egg whites into the coconut mix.  Fold in the second half of the egg whites.
5.  Using an ice cream scoop(or a couple of tablespoons) drop the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. 
6.  Place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Turn the baking sheet and bake for a further 15 minutes. (You don't necessarily have to turn the baking sheet half way through but I found mine were going to brown down one side and not the other).  Remove from the oven when golden brown and allow to cool.

7.  Break the milk and dark chocolate into a heat proof bowl.  Melt over a pot of simmering water.  Stir when melted to combine and dip the base of each macaroon in until evenly coated.  Place back onto the baking sheet upside down until the chocolate has set.  Enjoy!

Edinburgh

Last Friday morning Mr. Boo and myself boarded a plane bound for Edinburgh.  We were heading there with 11 of our friends to celebrate my 30th birthday.  A few months earlier Mr. Boo sent out a sneaky text to see if people would be interested in taking a little trip to join us for dinner, when the resounding response was yes he revealed his plans and so we started organising together. 

We had been to Edinburgh on two previous occasions.  Both times we dined in Rhubarb in Prestonfield House and were equally impressed with both the surroundings and the food.  When Mr. Boo revealed his idea to mark my 30th I jumped at it.  I've never been one for big parties or being the centre of attention so a nice civilised meal with some of our closest family and friends sounded ideal.  Decision made he reserved the Italian Room, a private dining room in Prestonfield House, to house our gathering.  In addition our party would enjoy exclusive use of the Whiskey Room on arrival.  A few emails and phonecalls back and forth with the events team at Prestonfield House and we had our menus and details for the night finalised.  All that was left was for us to arrive with our happy faces to enjoy the evening.

Following some friendly banter (read death threats) with the ever so friendly (read evil cow) Ryanair ground staff we boarded our red eye flight and braced ourselves against the gale force wind.  A very bumpy flight, punctuated with plenty of "oh Jesus" and "sweet mother of the holy divine" and "I'm gonna be sick", later we landed safely in Edinburgh.  On arrival at the Bonham Hotel the general consensus was that everyone was "S T A R V I N" so we slinked into the restaurant for breakfast.  Mr. Boo & myself indulged in a full Scottish as it was a whole 4 hours before lunch.  It was as good as we remembered, especially the haggis and black pudding.

With our bellys full we set out for a bit of sight seeing.  We got a little side tracked along the way and enjoyed some shopping as we walked but finally found ourselves outside the castle for a few nice pics.  Pictures taken a little voice from the back piped up, "right, that's the cultural bit done, can we go for a pint now?".  Approximately 3 minutes later we were out of the rain and happily sipping on our first liquid refreshment of the day(non alcoholic for me, I had a party to host).  Warm and dry we decided to head to a bar closer to our lunch reservation and so made our way to Tempus on Georges Street.

On the way we stumbled upon Bibi's Bakery and sure it would have been rude not to have a look inside.  The windows were filled with beautiful displays of cupcakes, giant cupcakes and wedding cakes.  We pressed our hungry little noses against the glass counter to decide which cupcake to fill our belly's with and happily left with a little box full.  I had a yummy Nutella one, a deliciously light and moist cake with a tower of chocolate Nutella frosting and a scattering of chopped hazelnuts.

Following a swift one in Tempus we strolled to the Voodoo Rooms for lunch.  As I had already eaten a full Scottish and cupcake and was due to have a 3 course meal that evening I decided to keep lunch light with a chicken caesar salad (and a couple of mojitos).  My salad was yummy, and perfect to fill the gap to get me through to dinner, and the murmurrings from around the table indicate that everyone else enjoyed their meal too.  A couple more rounds of cocktails and it was back to the hotel for a disco nap before beautifying myself for dinner.

Mr. Boo and myself headed out to Prestonfield House ahead of the others to ensure everything was in place.  On arrival we were greeted by Susie, who together with William would look after us for the evening.  William was awaiting our arrival in the Wiskey Room brandishing glasses of champagne as we entered.  Following a quick trip to the Italian Room to check on the table setting and double check special dietary requirements had been noted we settled in to wait for our guests.  They arrived promptly at 7:30pm and so the evenings revelry's began.  There was much kissing and 'happy birthdaying' and glass clinking and camera flashing before canapes arrived and silence descended, well mostly silence if you don't include the nom nom noises. 

Canapes scoffed and bubbles quaffed we were seated for dinner.  The Italian Room is "Dramatically panelled with painted scenes as a souvenir of an eighteenth century Grand Tour, the green and gilt Italian Room is one of Prestonfield's most historic rooms and the most sought-after private dining room in the city.  Dine in a room that has played host to Presidents, Prime Ministers, Royalty and stars of every age - from Boswell, Johnson and Benjamin Franklin to Oliver Reed, Lauren Bacall and Elton John."  Would you be able for me?  I tell ya, it's far from private dining rooms I was reared. 

The table was beautifully set with silver candelabras and vases stuffed with seasonal flowers.  As a happy coincidence the tableware was monogramed with an 'R' for the on site restaurant Rhubarb but I allowed my guests to pretend it was done just for lil ol' me.  An open fire roared happily in the hearth to ensure we were all toasty warm for the evening and the room was constantly filled with chatter and laughter.   Both Susie and William were relentless in their desire to please and no request went unfulfilled throughout the evening.  Whatever our guests desired they obliged to ensure that everyone had everything they needed or just wanted on the evening, and all with unwaning smiles on their faces. 

Dinner was served and again silence descended, bar the clattering of silverware off plates and the smacking of lips and appreciative nom nom sounds.  I opted for a starter of hand dived scallops, butternut squash, lime, capers and coriander.  The scallops were cooked to perfection, melt in the mouth with a delicate smokey flavour followed by a natural sweetness.  The butternut squash did not disappoint either, charred on the griddle pan it was soft but not mushy and full of delicious sweet flavour.  I also had a little taste of Mr. Boo's soup which I would happily have finished had he not wrestled the spoon from my hand. 

My main was 35 day dry-aged sirloin of beef, three peppercorn jus and boulangère potatoes.  The steak was more than my little *cough* tummy could accommodate but what I did manage to put away was tender and full of flavour and the boulangère potatoes made a very welcome accompaniement.  I may have forgotten to take a picture of them because I dived straight in.  Others who chose the duck and cod declared them to be delicious also, the greedy gits didn't offer me a little taste though. 

For dessert I opted for the chocolate offering, naturally, warm Valrhona milk chocolate tart, star anise poached pear & pear ice cream.  While it was more pear heavy than chocolate heavy it was a lovely end to the meal.  The pear still had a little bite to it and the chocolate crunch that lined the plate added a nice balance of texture to the fruit and the chocolate mousse.  By all accounts the rhubarb crumble with ginger ice cream was the star of the desserts show and received hearty praise from all who ordered it.  My sister who received her dessert of a trio of ices first had it hoovered up before the remaining desserts had been served, I think she enjoyed it.  As if we hadn't stuffed our belly's enough we then tucked into petit fours of florentines (one of my favourite treats) and perfect cubes of turkish delight. 

After dinner entertainment came via the mens toilets.  A selection of hats are available for patrons to try on while they erm well wait for their hands to dry I assume.  The lovely Susie ordered the men to go and retrieve some hats for the ladies to try on.  There was much hilarity at hats of various shapes and sizes perching atop heads of various shapes and sizes.  We were even permitted to try on some antique styles removed from the safety of their protective leather hat boxes.   A round of musical hats ensued to uproarious laughter  and much camera clicking before order returned to the room.  My favourite was a white leather jockeys hat worn with the most earnest face by one of our male guests.  With fully belly's we headed for Tigerlily in search of some liquid refreshments to end the evening.  Mojito anyone?

The next morning we all rose in various states if chirpiness for round two of the Scottish breakfast.  I opted for the full Scottish again and I think it was even nicer than the previous days offering.  Once checked out of the hotel we headed our separate ways to spend the day as we wished.  I accompanied my sis to the Disney shop to stock up for the little princess she had left at home for the very 1st time.  I wanted one of everything for me but unfortunately they didn't have my size.  My niece however was in luck and received a case full of goodies when her mam returned home.

Half of us then met in the Witchery by the Castle for lunch.  We were starved, hadn't eaten much at all since we left Dublin *cough*.  This was my third visit to the Witchery, we had eaten in both the main dining room and the Secret Garden on previous occasions and were seated in the main dining room again.  Both rooms are beautifully appointed spaces, the main dining room is dimly lit with low ceilings and lots of flickering candlelight, the Secret Garden is a lighter space but equally as grand.  There were 3 menus to choose from, a la carte, a set menu of 3 courses for £30, and a light lunch/pre-theatre menu offering 2 courses for £14.95, meaning you can enjoy a meal in one of Scotland's finest restaurants at a very reasonable price.  We enjoyed a really beautiful lunch and maybe a sneaky glass of bubbles, I honestly couldn't think of a more perfect way to end our whistle stop tour of Edinburgh.

I had the most wonderful birthday, it surpassed all of my expectations, and I don't think I will ever have one quite so wonderful again.  I have my husband to thank for that, he is a very special man who treats me like a princess and has made it his lifes mission to ensure that I am truly happy.  He pulled out all of the stops this year and threw me a most lavish celebration, one I never dreamed I would enjoy in my own honour.  I will never be able to repay him but I will try with as many scrummy home cooked meals and freshly baked cakes as he can manage.  Following 8 years of feelings of guilt regarding enjoying my birthday in the absence of my mam I have finally unashamedly revelled in this years celebrations and I intend to allow myself to do so from here on in.  I am surrounded by wonderful people, all of whom helped to make it a most memorable holiday for me and I am very grateful to them for that.  I know that together we will look back on that weekend with great joy and tears of laughter for a long time to come. 

I would also like to thank the readers of this blog who offered so many kind words on my recent post over my concerns about my impending birthday.  It was a very difficult post to publish, even after I had hit the publish button I remained a ball of confusion as to whether I had done the right thing.  Since that day I have felt much more positive about the year ahead.  Just seeing those feelings that I had kept so closely guarded for so long in print gave me a huge sense of relief, but the kind words of all of you lovely people reassured me that it was most definitely ok to move on in some way and most importantly to allow myself to feel happy again.  Thank you all so very much, I am now looking forward to exploring all that my thirties has in store with much excitement. 

Temple Street Launches 'The Great Irish Bake' Campaign 2011



Temple Street launches ‘The Great Irish Bake’ Campaign 2011


Proudly sponsored by Gem Pack Foods

Don your apron, grab your whisk and get ready to ‘Bake a Difference’ as Temple Street Children’s University Hospital launches the 3rd annual ‘Great Irish Bake’ Campaign proudly sponsored by Gem Pack Foods. This year, Temple Street and Gem want this national fundraiser to go even bigger and are hoping to raise €100k to go towards purchasing life saving pieces of equipment for the hospital.

‘Baking a Difference’ is simple when you know how. Simply log on to http://www.thegreatirishbake.ie/ where you will find hints, tips, recipes and much more! Register online to participate in this great cause and start baking and selling your tasty treats in work, school or college. The Great Irish Bake Campaign has proven to be a big hit with companies who gather together their very own baking committees to bake and sell at morning coffee breaks. To date, thousands have been generated for Temple Street through companies alone.

You can also become a fan of ‘The Great Irish Bake’ facebook page where you can keep up-to-date- on the latest baking news, exchange recipes and tips with fellow bakers, send Temple Street pictures of your creations and fundraising events to be uploaded to the page and let us all know how much you have raised. Search for ‘The Great Irish Bake’ on Facebook to become a fan.

Donal Skehan (Ireland's answer to Jamie Oliver!) is this years Great Irish Bake Ambassador and has created 4 recipes for the campaign which will be released over the course of 2011 to encourage people to roll up their sleeves and ‘Bake a difference’ for Temple Street. “I’ve seen first hand the importance of having life saving equipment at Temple Street. Baking for such a good cause is not only simple and inexpensive but it’s also a lot of fun! I urge everyone to give baking a go and raise as much as possible for Temple Street!” said Donal.

For every Gem ingredient used in Donal's recipes, Gem will place a donation sticker on these products with 5c per pack sold going directly to Temple Street. Sales & Marketing Director at Gem, Bobby Mulligan said “Temple Street Hospital is an extraordinary place that does fantastic things for children all around Ireland everyday. As an Irish Brand we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with our customers and the keen bakers of Ireland in generating funds for life saving equipment for Temple Street”.

“We are absolutely delighted to be in partnership with Gem for this coming year. Gem is dedicated to our cause and is enthusiastic about generating significant funds for the hospital. Temple Street believes that every child deserves access to the very best treatment and equipment available. With the support of Gem and people nationwide we are hoping to raise funds to ensure that the children in our care have the best possible chance of getting better. I sincerely hope that everyone will get behind this fun and worthwhile campaign and bake a difference for Temple Street” said Denise Fitzgerald, CEO Fundraising, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital.

Gem Stockists:


Gem products are available in Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Superquinn, Spar, Londis, SuperValu and independent stores nationwide - www.gempackfoods.ie/retail.htm

Great Irish Bake Fundraiser ideas:

Why not host a Teddy Bear’s picnic at your Crèche, hold a cupcake decorating competition at your school/college and sell your creations afterwards, get your co-workers to pay an entry fee for a ‘cake off’ – best cake wins, invite friends around to make a donation for a delicious home made brunch or afternoon tea or host a coffee morning at work or at home.

All donations made will make a real and lasting difference to the thousands of children that come through the doors of Temple Street Hospital every year. Groups and individuals all over the country are encouraged to raise funds by selling their wares for this great cause. The Temple Street Great Irish Bake is the ideal opportunity to raise much-needed funds while having lots of fun with friends and family.

Log on to http://www.thegreatirishbake.ie/  for baking tips and recipes from Donal Skehan, 2011 Great Irish Bake Ambassador, and fantastic free downloads such as event posters and signs to promote your event and make your Great Irish Bake fundraiser a piece of cake! Anyone can participate in ‘The Great Irish Bake’, all you need is a venue, cake and people!