Tuscan Crostini

I first sampled this robust little starter on a trip to Italy last year.  Served warm and full of flavour, I wasn’t entirely sure what it consisted of but it was cheap and delicious and I ended up ordering at almost every meal.

Don’t let the dull grey appearance of the paté fool you, this is a flavour smacking creation of tastiness. Served with some home-made Melba toast and a glass of wine its perfect comfort food for cold winter nights and an excellent authentic starter to an Italian meal.

You’ll Need:

Starter for 4-6 People

*     300g of chicken livers .

Chicken Livers can be a little hard to find but a good butcher should be able to order some in if they don’t normally carry them.   I got mine from the local Butcher, Noel Kavanagh in Glasthule  for the princely price of only €3.59.

*     Large Glass of Red Wine

*     2 medium Red Onions. Most Tuscan Crostini Recipes call for white onions but I love the flavour of red.

*     Olive oil

*     1 Cup of Chicken Stock

*     Anchovies

*     Butter

*     Ground Black Pepper

Method:

Clean the chicken livers, chop into medium chucks and eliminate the fatty parts. Place the meat in a bowl and marinate in the Red Wine for at least 15 minutes.

Leftover Lover #2

I finally found something to do with that big bag of fresh cranberries which had remained in the fridge after New Year’s Dinner:-Donal Skehan’s White Chocolate and Cranberry Muffins. I love the zesty tang of these yummy little treats.

You’ll Need:

Makes 8-12 Muffins

• 100g of butter, melted
• 200ml of buttermilk
• Zest of 1 orange
• 2 large free range eggs
• 150g of caster sugar
• 250g of self raising flour
• 250g of fresh cranberries
• 200g of white chocolate, roughly chopped(I used Milky bars – yummy)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175oC. Line a muffin tray with paper cases. In a bowl, whisk together the butter, buttermilk, orange zest and set aside.

In a standalone mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the butter mixture and whisk until combined. Gently fold in the flour until just combined. Stir through the cranberries and white chocolate until combined. Be sure not to over mix the batter.

Spoon the mixture into the papercases and place in the oven to cook for 15-20 minutes until brown on top. Remove from the oven and place on a wire wrack to cool.

Lemon & Herb Chicken with Salsa & Parmesan Mash

Serves 4

You’ll Need:

800g New Potatoes

3 Tomatoes

30g Parmesan cheese, grated.

A large bunch of Asparagus

Large Bunch of Fresh Basil

Small Bunch of Scallions

1 Medium fresh red chilli

2 tsp Red Wine Vinegar

4 Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 Lemon

4 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

A Knob of Butter

Olive Oil

Salt & Black Pepper

Method:

Add peeled potatoes to a large pot of boiling water and cook for approximately 15 minutes.

Perfect Scrambled Eggs

Serves 2

You’ll Need:

4 Eggs

Knob of Butter

Splash of Cream

Salt & Pepper

Method:

Add some butter to a saucepan on medium heat. Gently beat eggs, just barely breaking up the yolks. Add eggs to the pan.

Allow eggs to congeal slightley before beginning to whisk. Then whisk gently and continously until the eggs have reached the desired consistency.

Add cream and seasoning to the enggs and wisk once more.

Serve with streaky bacon and home-made (or McCambridge’s in my care) brown bread.

Chilli Evenings

This is what you might call “healthy” comfort food, if there can be such a thing. The first day back in work after Christmas combined with the return of the chill outside gave me a grá for something hot and meaty, hence…

Chilli Con Carne

(Serves 4/6)

You’ll Need:

• 2 Medium Red Onions
• 2 Medium Carrots
• 2 Red Peppers
• 1 400g Tin of Chickpeas
• 1 400g Tin of Red Kidney Beans
• 2 400g Tins of Chopped Tomatoes
• 500g Mince Meat
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• 1 heaped teaspoon of Chilli Powder (hot)
• 1 Heaped Teaspoon of Ground Cumin
• 1 Heaped Teaspoon of Cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon of Tomato Puree
• Bunch of Fresh Coriander (or a teaspoon of dried coriander leaves)
• Ground Black Pepper
• Splash of Worcester Sauce
• 100g Natural Yoghurt or Cream Cheese

Method:

Peel and finely chop onion, carrots and garlic

When It’s 1am And You Really Need Cake

These things will happen over the Christmas break and happily they are even more delicious the next day.

You’ll Need:

 

• 10 oz (280 g) bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa)

• 4/5 cup (180 g) butter

• 8 eggs

• 1+¼ cup (275 g) sugar

• 1+¼ cup (140 g) all-purpose flour

Method:

Preheat oven to  180 deg C.

Grease 10 large muffin tins or cups; paper muffin bake cups can also be used.

Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it with butter over hot water.

Beat the eggs with sugar and mix with flour.

Slowly fold in the melted butter and chocolate.

Bake at 180 degrees for only 8-12 minutes; the outer part should be cooked and the inner part slighly gooey.

Serve with  whatever you can get your hands on. In this case, some Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Ice-cream which had been hiding out in the freezer.

These also work well as mini cup-cakes. Simply cook them for a shorter period of time.

Leftover Lover

I cooked a Turkey this year for the first time and thanks to the combined efforts of Jamie and Nigella it turned out wonderfully.  It also turned out that there was a significant amount of unused meat left over on the bird and a friend recommended that I try Jamie Oliver’s recipe for Turkey and Sweet Leek pie.

The only variations I made to the pie was the addition of some left over stuffing, potatoes and vegetables lying in the fridge. I think this only made it better.

You’ll Need:

• 2 rashers smoked streaky bacon, roughly chopped
• 2kg leeks, washed, trimmed; white end chopped into chunks, green end finely sliced
• 800g cooked turkey meat, torn into big chunks
• 1 x 500g packet puff pastry (I used the 450g pack of Jus Rol Puff Pastry which worked great)
• 2 tablespoons of crème fraîche
• 2 pints turkey, chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 egg, preferably free-range or organic, beaten
• 2 heaped tablespoons plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• ½ bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• Olive oil
• A large knob of butter
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 sprigs fresh sage, leaves picked

Chickpea, Pudding, Pine Nut & Feta Salad

This is very much a recipe of opportunity knocked together by the coincidence of what was in the press as opposed to any set recipe or particular plan. It was a delicious accompaniment to a backed sweet potato.

(I really must invest in a camera. The Iphone camera doesn’t do this it’s yummy justice.)

You’ll Need:

A small can of chickpeas, drained.

Small Handful of Pine Nuts

3/4 slices of black pudding

Medium Serving of Feta, crumbled.

Directions:

Break the pudding up into crumbs and place in a medium-hot pan with a small splash of olive oil.

Cook for two minutes then add the chickpeas. Cook for  further minute to warm the chickpeas.

Add the pine nuts and cook for another minute.

Take off the heat and add the crumbled Feta.

Serve. Easy chickpeasy!





Tasty Presents

Irish chef, Neven Maguire made an appearance at the Ploughing Championships last week and this cookbook jam-packed with delicious recipes made its way home from Athy.

I think I’ll start out by trying the Tomato & Parmesan Twister Bread Rolls, the Lion of Lamb in Crisp Potato Crust, Spice Goat’s Cheese with Polenta, Chilli Jam and Pesto, and the Amaretti Baked Peaches.

Stealsies: Donal’s Auntie Ann’s Banana Bread

Banana bread, just out of the oven, smothered in butter and accompanied by a big cup of tea. Is there anything better? And as it’s made of Bananas it’s totally healthy and, ahem, good for you. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

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Makes 8 mini  or 2 larger loaves.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 50 minutes

You’ll Need:

110g butter
190g caster sugar
2 large eggs
240g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 large bananas

Directions:

1.     Preheat the oven to 180oC.

2.     Cream the sugar and the butter in a bowl with a hand held mixer until light & pale. Add in one egg & a little flour and mix through, repeat with the other egg & the rest of flour and baking soda, until everything is mixed through & smooth.
3.     Peel the bananas & mash them with the back of a fork.  Add them to the bowl with the vanilla extract & mix through.
Pour the mix into a well greased loaf tin & place in an oven for approximately 50 minutes. Cover it with tinfoil after 25 minutes to stop it browning too much on top if you need to.

4.     Insert a metal skewer into the centre of the loaf & if it comes out clean the banana bread is ready.  Remove from the loaf tin & place on a wire rack to cool.

Recipe pilfered from The Good Mood Food Blog.