The upcoming April Chocolate Cookalong…

by Cake in the country

Yes. It’s true. It is going to be the first chocolate themed cookalong. Mark the date, it is April 8th.

I think it’s fair to say this one is going to be spectacular altogether!

If you wish to take part the invite is here https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=146168245446249 OR leave me a comment below informing me of your intentions. Absolutely everybody is welcome so do join in. We love newbies too and there’s no hazing ritual so join the cookalong party!

If you opt in for judging on this one, the entries will be sent to Eat Magazine for the April issue, where they’ll be judged by a surprise celebrity chef (oooooooh, I say!). I’ll leave you with a photo to get the chocoholics in the mood for this one…

The update

by Cake in the country

Hello all.

First up, I am tremendously busy over the next two weeks so expect a temporary lull. When I get a chance I’ll pop up the Irish Traditional food cookalong recipes. There is Soda bread, a nice butter making tutorial, slow roasted lamb (straight from the farm) with rosemary, and colcannon. And a strawberry swiss roll a la my neighbour Cathryn. She has the BEST recipes.

I spent the last few days applying for a mission in Operation Smile. It involves a team of people (medical types) going out to developing countries and performing the surgeries to fix cleft lip and palates. It seems like such a life changing experience, so I’m really hoping I shall be lucky and get a place. I have fingers, toes and eyes crossed at this stage.

I’m also trying to get a decent speech together for a public speaking event but that is not going as swimmingly as I’d like to be honest. That and a million and one GP assignments to work on is unfortunately leaving me a bit frazzled at the mo. Will try not to neglect the blog but the priority is kinda this whole getting through medicine and being a doctor shenanigans.

I shall leave you with these pictures from my walk last weekend.. (Isn’t Ireland the prettiest)

 

 

And a horsey picture of Hope in a very nice light. A few minutes before she threw a hissy fit and tried to murder me by running at me top speed before wheeling around leaving me in a cloud of dust. She sauntered off happily after..

 

Saturday at home with Strawberry Scones

by Cake in the country

Now first things first. These are called SC-OH-NES. Not scons as my father says, bless his cotton socks (that are clearly not helping his pronunciation). Right then.

So I have had the opportunity go home sweet home for the first time in.. gosh.. almost 3 months, and whilst there I clearly had to raid my beloved and abandoned ingredients cupboard. I also did a biteen of shopping and picked up yumloads of fruit, strawberries included. Well I’ve been hankering for some old fashioned sweets and treats of late and I figured lets go with scones. And then I saw the strawberries being devoured by the family and thought Strawberry scones! Well I beat off the offending gobbling family members with a rolling pin and rescued the remaining fruits  from their evil clutches.

There’s something really nice about spending a morning out on the farm and coming back in to tea and strawberry scones before heading out again (or in my case up to my room to… sigh.. study) to tend to horses or planting veggies or fencing. It’s normally fencing actaully. Not the swordy type, the wire and fence posts and those little U shaped nail type thingys that I keep finding all over the shed. So much cooler really…

Anywho, so these are really nice, a lovely light mixture and the strawberries work nicely.

Makes 16-20 wedge shaped scones

You shall need:

  • 375grams self raising flour
  • 200g unsalted butter
  • 100g sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp of baking soda
  • 150ml milk
  • 100ml buttermilk
  • About 2 handfuls of strawberries – I used about 10 medium sized ones – sliced.

What to do

  1. Preheat your oven t0 160 degrees C. Line and grease a baking sheet or flat tin
  2. Rub the flour (with the baking and bread soda added in) and the butter together until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs. You can give them a blitz in a food processor either, just don’t overdo it.
  3. Mix in the sugar and give it a stir so that its evenly throughout the mixture.
  4. Add the sliced strawberries and stir.
  5. Make a well in the middle and add your liquid, leaving about a tablespoon of it left. Mix it until it’s all combined.
  6. Turn out onto a well floured surface and knead lightly.
  7. Divide into halves, shape each half into a disc about an inch thick and cut into 8-10 wedges each.
  8. Place on your prepared tray, brush each one with a little of the leftover milk (which you can mix with an egg if you want really shiny scones) and bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden on top!
  9. Serve with clotted cream and an optional spoon of jam.

Enjooooooy!

PS. I got shortlisted for the Irish Blog Awards in Best Food/Drink Blog and Best Newcomer categories. Seriously delighted. So thrilled to be in the same categories as some of my favourite foodie people! Train ticket booked to Belfast, but still have to find an affordable place to stay! Should be great fun, can’t wait to meet everyone again. See all the shortlists at http://awards.ie/blogawards/

A wee peek into Dublin’s best restaurants: Salon des Saveurs

by Cake in the country

You simply mast pay a visit dahling!

So this has been a while coming, but before Christmas I got a lovely email from the folks at Salon des Saveurs in Dublin asking a few of we food bloggers to pop in for a nice dinner. I had heard much about the restaurant, which is owned by the ever so talented Conrad Gallagher. I couldn’t resist, naturally. So I toddled into town on that Thursday (actually I wandered down from Drogheda from my rotation), and met a few other bloggers within. We were all very excited about this one. The place was so pretty and not’overdone’. The lighting was lovely and there was an overall relaxed atmosphere that really set the mood for a nice meal out. We were informed of the menu for that night which left us all salivating. I am now going to do the same to you…

Without further ado, the menu. Feast your eyes on this:

(Oh and sorry for the iffy pics, it was lovely and dark)

Parsnip and Vanilla Soup – Langoustine


This was just lovely. The vanilla really added something to the parsnip soup, which was quite sweet and just the right amount was served. The langoustine was simply delicious. A lovely way to start the meal
Oxtail & Foie Gras – Apricot, Grape, Fried Baby Spinach, Hazelnut Aioli


This is one rich bite. I couldn’t physically finish it myself, there was quite the portion there. The combination was superb, and all the little sauces that were served with it added something special to it altogether.
Risotto of Asparagus – Confit of Duck and Arbafura Broth


Holy mother of the best risotto I have ever had (and I have now lived in Italy for 2 months non consecutively). This was phenomenal. I really like duck, I really like risotto. The arbafura broth was spectacular. This plate alone I would revisit the place for every single week.
Daube of Beef – Celeriac Mousseline, Salsfy Chips, Pearl Onions, Butternut, Parsley Hollandaise


Ok. Where to start. Foolishly I picked up my knife to cut into this beef, only to find it fell apart at the lightest touch of my fork. This was the most tender and beautiful tasting beef I have had in a restaurant, it was amazing, and beautifully rich. I was just absolutely smitten with it.
Tasting of Desserts – Chocolate Brulee, Lemon Ice-Cream, Strawberry and Rhubard Crumble, Ice Lemon Soufflé, Spiced Lemon Cake


All fabulous. Have to say my personal favourite was the crumble. The lemon ice cream was impossibly tangy, we had quite the debate on how it could have been so lemony without splitting the custard over much lip smacking whilst tasting. It was yummy. I think everybody actually had a different favourite around the table, which I thought was nice. It was nice for something so fresh after some very amazing and rich food.

 

I’m actually still dreaming about this food. I got a voucher of Citydeal for 42 euro instead of 79 so just have to start looking for a crew eager to go back with me! I will visit whenever I can afford it, but the good news is that there are lots of different menus at different prices available.  One thing that I have heard people mention is that everyone at the table must get the same menu. This didn’t actually bother any of us as it was great to be able to compare opinions on each dish, I actually quite liked it. Normally I love getting to taste different things at a dinner, but the whole idea of the tasting menu really encompassed this in the first place so I was a happy happy camper. As I said, I will be back asap and with anyone that wants to go!

In closing (am in public speech mode) two simple words… Go. Here. You won’t be disappointed.

 

 

Roundups for the Irish Foodies Cookalongs – Budget

by Cake in the country

Ok all,

So as you know, I also run the Irish Foodies Cookalongs the first Friday of every month. Just to make it easy on people I am going to post links to all the cookalong posts that I get via FB and Twitter pages. Again, anybody who wishes is welcome to take part, we love to have new people on board and it’s a great chance to use some great local ingredients if you can!

Here are our contenders for Best Budget/Leftover #cheapandcheerful cookalong:

 

The Winner: http://avillagepantry.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/simple-healthy-green-tea-smoked-duck/ Lovely and impressive recipe! Well done Sheelagh

More great posts and recipes by

The next cookalong is on the 4th of March and the theme is ‘Traditional Irish’. Should be a great one!

Flapjacks – Easy and Yummy

by Cake in the country

Friday began my familiar tirade of healthy eating, which has of course begun a few times but somehow I get distracted by various new chocolate based ideas, somehow.. Anyhow, despite my eager claims of no more rubbish, I felt the need to bake something, and I know I always have an eager crowd that will happily take any baked treats off my hands. As I eyed up my ingredients press, I noticed a forlorn packet of jumbo oats sitting in the corner, a remnant from my ‘I will eat porridge, I will eat porridge’ attempts. (Note – the attempts have been reinstated, I’m getting there!). Well instantly I knew- Flapjacks. I am most certainly a fan of oats when they are covered in sugar, butter and syrup. This is my go to recipe, I’m really happy with it. I made them plain, but you can add anything you like – chocolate chips, raisins, apple (I like apple flapjacks with cooking apples, nice tartness!), dried fruit, nuts, anything you wish!

For those of you doing weightwatchers that would like a treat – I divided this mixture into 20 for 4 propoints each. (Worked it out by pointing each ingredient and adding up, divided by 20 portions)

You will need

  • 10 oz oats (I used Fla-haaaaa-vins jumbo oats)
  • 5 oz butter
  • 5oz brown sugar
  • 5 tablespoons golden syrup

Thats it! Really 🙂

  1. Preheat your oven to about 160 degrees. Grease and line a tin – I actually used 2x 8 inch square tins which worked out nicely.
  2. Warm up your butter in a pan until it starts to melt. I wait until it starts to melt because I don’t want the sugar to burn on me! Add the sugar and golden syrup and stir it round until all melted and mixed up.
  3. When it’s melted, stir in your oats, give it a good stir around and make sure all the oats are covered.
  4. Tip into your greased and lined tin, pop them in the oven and back until golden – about 20-30 minutes.
  5. Now I make life easy on myself, and when I take out the oats I don’t cut them to shape, but I use a blunt greased knife to press down as if partly cutting and make a track in the tin… Wow that is hard to explain.. Then I let them cool in the tin, tip them out, and break them apart along the lines.
  6. Enjoooy

I brought this batch to the beaut.ie meetup on Saturday, where I met some of the nicest people and had some great chats. Have to say it was the loveliest way to spend a Saturday afternoon, and I hope we’ll do it again soonish! Next time I shall make a double batch of flapjacks, or a triple even. I think they ran quite short unfortunately. But I hope anybody that got some enjoyed them!

Caramelised Upside-Down Apple Cake

by Cake in the country

It is very nice. I very much like it. Recipe can be found here:

https://cakeinthecountry.com/2010/12/04/winterwarmers/

The edges look a bitteen dark but that would be due to the brown sugar and butter and apples morphing into appple flavoured toffee stuff that is really quite lovely! Serve with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of cream for a lovely dessert or mid day treat. Or Saturday morning break!

A Review: Bake & Decorate by Fiona Cairns

by Cake in the country

There is such thing as an addiction to cookbooks. There must be. And I am afraid I suffer rather terribly from the affliction. Books in general actually, we had to convert our playroom to the library in the house. There are 4 more bookcases in various locations around the house, and one of my walls is covered in shelving for books. Then there are the boxes. Well suffice it to say I love books. Cookbooks are possibly my favourite kind to find on sale, or on offer. I reread books many times (I’m not even going to tell you how often I’ve been through Harry Potter but it’s approaching treble figures now) but none so often as a good cookbook. So when I received the beautiful ‘Bake & decorate’ by Fiona Cairns, I was as happy as a pig in muck. As they say.

Now that I’m through my most difficult rotation of the year, I actually have the time to sit down and look through this and boy am I glad I do. The book is full of pictures, along with clear and concise stepwise instructions on how to create the prettiest cakes out of the most basic and great sounding recipes. The first part of the book has a host of cake and biscuit recipes that are then the basis of plenty of achievable decorated finished goods. I say achievable because often recipes in these decorate books are completely mad, and clearly aimed at master sugarcrafters. This book, however, doesn’t ask you to slave over a sugarpaste version of Michelangelo’s David, but rather it directs you to make super pretty cakes, impressive cupcakes and beautiful biscuits. If you’re out to impress your visitors and friends, I think this book is a great starting point. You can work upwards if you’re looking for anything extravagant, but the designs in this book range from ‘easy peasy’ to ‘ooooh, that looks amazing and yet so doable!’. The book will be published at the beginning of March, so keep an eye out. It retails at an altogether reasonable £12.99.

New facebook page

by Cake in the country

Seeing as they refuse to let me change the old one, and considering have completely changed site, I have created a new page for people to click on.

 

Can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cakeinthecountrycom/134093276657499

Go mad!

Spaghetti & Meatballs – Lady and the Tramp style… Food for Romance Cookalong

by Cake in the country

This #Romanticcooking cookalong.. Whether or not you buy into Valentines I’m sure at some time or other you want to have some kind of slightly romantic meal. I couldn’t tell you when my first real romantic moment was (well I could but I won’t), but this was definitely one of the first visions of romance. I remember we had the video (VHS) of Lady and the Tramp, I think it was brought to our house by our neighbours. They owned a video shop in the village called ‘Video 2000’, oh bring on the visions of lasers and synth-y music! But look at this. But let’s face it, this is romance!

Anyhow, since the theme for this month was ‘Food for Romance’, I could only see one option. Lady and the Tramp recreated! Only.. without the dogs (Unless I had my way and could have gotten puppies!). And I also had issues trying to get a bottle of Chianti to match the pic.. But here it is:

 

Let me tell you though, I’ve tried quite a few meatball recipes, this is my favourite so far. It was very much thrown together in the hopes of making something good, and boy did it. I shall be making these again. Lots.

Shopping list

  • 1 lb good minced beef
  • 4oz parmesan
  • 4oz of breadcrumbs
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 red onion diced finely
  • 4 large cloves garlic
  • handful of fresh basil
  • handful of  fresh parsley
  • A splash of milk (prob about 1/2 cup or so. Whole milk)

For the sauce

  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 cartons of tomato passatta
  • about 1/2 cup red wine
  • Teaspoon of oregano
  • A few drops of tabasco
  • Olive oil
  • 1 oz of butter
  1. Ok.
  2. Meatballs first.
  3. Preheat the oven to 180*C.
  4. Very simply, dice everything and pop it in a bowl. Mix it right up and get right in there. Make into golf sized meatballs by rolling equal amounts round. This is a messy and squidgey step and kids will love it. Just make sure they wash their hands after!
  5. Pop on a tray, give a wee drizzle of olive oil, and put in oven for 35-45 minutes.
  6. In the meantime, finely dice your onion and garlic. Heat up some olive oil and your butter in a pan (or beloved le creuset), and add your onion and garlic. Fry until soft
  7. Add the red wine and give it a quick stir. It’ll sizzle. I love that sizzle sound. Then add in your two cartons of passatta, and fill each one 1/3 of teh way up with water and add that. Add your herbs, and season to taste. You may or may not need to add a spoonful of sugar! Bring to a boil, turn down to a fairly hot simmer and don’t cover, leave to reduce!
  8. When your meatballs are done and your sauce has reduced by about a 1/3, pop the meatballs into the lovely sauce, get them all down below the sauce and leave on a very low heat just so that they get acquainted and make yummy yummy loveliness while you cook your spaghetti!
  9. Put on your spaghetti and cook until just done (don’t overcook your spaghetti, it’s not ok…) in lightly salted water.
  10. Take your pot off the heat now, Grab your spaghetti and swirl it into your meatball/sauce mix, getting it thoroughly mixed up. Grab a big portion, serve on a plate and with candles on the table. If you want to go all out-  then some red wine and one plate between two of you, an italian man singing bella notte and you are gold!

Enjoy!