Babaduck

Slow Roasted Shoulder of Pork

2012-05-16T11:31:00.000+01:00

Last night, I was working at Pat Whelan's first butchery demonstration in Avoca Monkstown (my first freelance job...). 10 enthusiastic meat lovers joined us for an evening of discovery where they learned about using knives safely, the various cuts of pork and the hidden cuts of beef which have been largely ignored, until now.

While this was going on, I was running up and down the stairs like a dervish to keep an eye on the shoulder of pork which I had cooking away in the prep oven. This is a two stage process, involving a dry rub and then a wet baste – it sounds terribly complicated but it’s actually really easy and you can let it mellow away in the oven while you get on with everything else. Pat Whelan cooks this outside on his barbeque, but don’t worry if you don’t have one because this works perfectly in a domestic oven.

Breakfast at Brown Hound Bakery

2012-05-14T17:09:00.001+01:00

Brown Hound Bakery is tucked away in a retail development in Drogheda, Co. Louth. From the outside, it looks very innocuous but walk through the doors and you're in a long elegant room with a glass counter full of unusual and delicious cakes, scones and other delights. There's also a very handsome statue of a Brown Hound and many covetable cake stands... all securely behind glass.

The Brown Hound...

Lunch at Say Fish

2012-05-11T15:16:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday I heard that Irish Village Markets had a lunchtime market at the Stillorgan LUAS stop. As I was in the area and starving, it seemed sensible to park and check it out - right? Best decision I made all week...

This is what fish & chips should look like...

Peter from IVM very kindly met me and showed me around the market. It was teeming with workers from the surrounding Sandyford and Stillorgan business parks (I used to work in Sandyford and there was nothing decent to eat in the area) walking around & buying their lunch. There's a wealth of food carts on site from rotisserie chicken to Asian food to sausages in a real Waterford Blaa and the smells were intoxicating. Irish Village Markets take place every day in different locations around Dublin including Stillorgan, Grand Canal Quay, Blanchardstown & Christchurch and all the food is cooked on site so it's as fresh as you can get.

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Chicken and Chestnut Mushroom Risotto

2012-05-07T14:09:00.002+01:00

Every time I mention that I've made risotto for dinner, I get the look that I call "The Fear", invariably accompanied by a comment along the lines of "oh, I'd never be able to make that, it's far too hard and I'd make a mess of it". Don't sell yourself short - risotto is much easier to make than you think. Yes it takes time (about 25 minutes), and there's lots of stirring but open a magazine, pour a glass of wine and the time will fly.

The trick is to have everything ready to go before you start, so all your veggies are chopped, the chicken is cut up and the stock is ready. Use decent wine - if you won't drink it, don't bother cooking with it - and if you want to be extra decadent, stir in some butter at the end for richness and glossiness. This is equally gorgeous made with big juicy prawns and little petit pois - change the ingredients to suit your taste. My recipe feeds two people so it's really easy to double, triple or even quadruple to feed a crowd. Just make sure you use a huge pot. I used chestnut mushrooms here because I love the contrast of the brown skin against the creamy pale interior but you can use mixed mushrooms, plain old button mushrooms or even big portobellos for extra meatiness.

Ribeye Steaks with Smoked Garlic Butter & Pancetta Shallot Sautéed Potatoes

2012-04-24T16:16:00.000+01:00

I've known about Ballyshonog Farm for quite some time - they supply superb Wicklow meat to restaurants like The Loft in Arklow and their produce is simply wonderful. They also have a farm shop in Tinahely where you can buy local produce and the star of the show, their own meat. I called in on my way home from work to get something for dinner as the cupboards were bare (i.e. I hadn't taken anything out of the freezer the night before). I had a good look around the meat counter before deciding on two lovely ribeye steaks. At just €17.50 per kilo, they were remarkable value too.

The perfect Friday Night dinner

So, the steaks were sorted but what to serve with them? After a long week in work, we usually have something really nice as a treat on Friday night so I decided to use up some cold cooked new potatoes left over from the previous night's meal, but add lots of flavour by using some great Italian pancetta and shallots. I will also admit freely that I love garlic - even raw, once you slice it very very thinly, but if you prefer it to be a bit more discreet, mince or grate the garlic into the butter and mix well. Chill for a few minutes before placing onto your cooked steak

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Salt Caramel Chocolate Pots

2012-04-20T18:04:00.001+01:00

If this dessert was a movie star, it would be George Clooney : dark, decadent and smooth, with a hint of salt stopping it from becoming too sweet. You may disagree, but you're wrong... This is a great dessert for entertaining because you can make it hours, even the day before and stick it in the fridge while you spend your time stressing about something else. To make it more grown up, feel free to add a dash of booze along with the cream - I had a hankering for some dark rum in this or a splash of good cognac. Oh, and this is the perfect way to use up those Easter Eggs still lurking in the house.

These quantities serve two people but as it's very rich, feel free to either halve the ingredients or make it serve 4 people in smaller glasses. Either way, impress everybody with this hit of chocolate gorgeousness

Lemon Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cake

2012-04-14T12:15:00.000+01:00

So, last week I made a batch of Buttermilk Pancakes for lazy brunch which were absolutely delicious. I thought I'd have leftover batter for the following day but being greedy savages, we scoffed the lot. It also left me with half a carton of Buttermilk in the fridge needing a home so I started thinking. I could have made scones but I wanted a little teatime treat for Sunday afternoon and I decided to make a cake.

The lovely Fiona from Hunters Lodge gave me a lovely basket of her eggs and I could think of nothing better than this simple cake, fragranced with lemon zest and vanilla, to do them justice. When I cut the trial slice for the photo, I was delighted to see little threads of lemon zest poking out. I served this with some lovely creme fraiche and mixed berries but it would be equally good with some poached apples and a little pot of homemade Calvados cream.

Waterford Festival of Food starts tomorrow

2012-04-11T14:21:00.003+01:00

Just one more day until the fifth Waterford Festival of Food begins in Dungarvan from Thursday April 12th to Sunday April 15th. It's going to be packed full of famous chefs including Angela Hartnett, Richard Corrigan, Dylan McGrath, Martin Shanahan & Nick Munier and is expected to attract thousands of food lovers from across the country to the region.

Poached Salmon & Spring Vegetable Tart

2012-04-10T15:58:00.000+01:00

It was Good Friday and I was looking for an Easter Egg for The Hubs. I had headed to Dundrum after work for a bit of shopping and to stock up on food for the holiday weekend. As usual, when I have money in my pocket and need to buy something, I can't find a thing, but I did spy a bag of poached salmon fillets in M&S reduced to clear. Sure it would be a sin not to, right? And you have to eat fish on Good Friday...

Those who know me also know that eating fish on Friday in our house is a complete rarity but I couldn't resist a chance to use these in a tart packed full of spring vegetables. It takes minutes to assemble and just 45 minutes to bake, serving 4 for tea (with lots of salad) or 6 for a light lunch. It would be equally delicious using some Goatsbridge smoked trout fillets or some hot smoked salmon instead

Buttermilk Pancakes with Maple Syrup

2012-04-07T09:23:00.000+01:00

We tend to be very lazy creatures at the weekend - if we've nothing special to do, then we tend to try to have a lie on, have a late breakfast and skip lunch. When I say "we", I mean that yours truly makes the breakfast as The Hubs can't cook. This morning I woke up with a longing for pancakes, which means I probably fell asleep watching The Food Channel last night... They're my favourite of all brunch dishes, especially with pancetta and maple syrup because I absolutely love the combination of sweet and salty together. Pancetta strips are preferable, but today all we had was cubetti which tasted just as delicious. We also have some wonderful real Canadian maple syrup thanks to lovely relatives who visit us laden with cans regularly - thanks Valerie & Charlie!

Don't be afraid of making pancakes - let the batter sit for 5 minutes before you start to cook it : the thicker it is, the fluffier the pancake will be. Don't stack them in the oven because they'll get soggy - lay them flat on a baking sheet instead to keep warm, and eat them as soon as you possibly can. Don't forget to be generous with the syrup...

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Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day TODAY!

2012-04-02T16:24:00.003+01:00

Yes, you read that correctly. Today is Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day so today, Tuesday 3rd April, you can get yourself a scoop of delicious icecream at a Scoop Shack for zero euro. Free scoops are available from 18.00-21.00 today at the following locations across the country*

Eastertime Rhubarb & Mascarpone Sponge

2012-04-01T16:28:00.000+01:00

So the clocks have gone forward, which means that Spring has officially sprung. We had a near heatwave last week but if anybody else tells me that was our summer, I shall beat them with a metal spatula. It's time to embrace the longer days and look forward to our next Bank Holiday which happens to be Easter Monday. Springtime also heralds the arrival of vibrant pink stems of rhubarb in the shops which makes my heart happy. It works beautifully as a compote, as a crumble filling and most especially as a tart, sweet, creamy filling for a homemade Victoria Sponge - the perfect teatime treat for Easter Sunday (if you've any room left after the millions of Easter eggs you will have eaten that morning...)

Apple Crumble Muffins

2012-03-30T14:19:00.001+01:00

These came about entirely by chance - I had some lovely Bramley cooking apples at home and had planned to make an apple crumble for Sunday dessert. But I had no custard, and you can't have crumble without custard... So, Plan B came into effect and I turned them into individual apple muffins with a crunchy oaty crumble topping. The did vanish at the speed of light, so you can assume that they taste pretty good!

Review : Hotel Chocolat Your Eggsellency Easter Egg

2012-03-27T21:42:00.001+01:00

Poor me. I spent the whole bank holiday weekend and most of the following week in my sickbed, not out carousing and having St. Patrick's Day fun like the rest of you. I had to spend my Cheltenham winnings on a visit to Caredoc so I was a right old misery guts going back to work last Friday. Until I spotted a box on my desk with a label that never fails to bring a smile to my face... Hotel Chocolat. I love their stuff - it's fabulous quality, really quirky and always impresses. Last Easter, The Hubs got a lovely selection of goodies which I bought at their Belfast store (sadly the closest one to us) and I sampled their Advent Calendar in December.

My Birthday Dinner at Alexis

2012-03-27T13:53:00.002+01:00

This is probably the longest I've taken to write a post and to be honest it's because I filed the photos away so comprehensively, that I couldn't find them! For my big birthday last year, I dragged the celebrations out over about 8 weeks, starting with a joint birthday party in Wilde, and ending with our joint birthday present to ourselves, the Big Fat US Holiday (more of which still to come). Myself and The Hubs decided to go to Alexis in Dun Laoghaire for the actual birthday meal - I had been there with a group of work colleagues and we all had a fabulous time so I knew we were in for a treat. The day before, Patrick asked me if we fancied doing a "no-menu" dinner where the kitchen would surprise us. The answer was a resounding yes (subject to no peppers, blue cheese or coriander, of course).

The best way to start a birthday celebration...

Retro Raspberry Buns

2012-03-22T18:53:00.000Z

My first real cooking experience was in First Year of secondary school where we were taught the basics by Mrs. Dodd (god love her patience). On the book list was a tome called "All About Home Economics" by Deirdre Madden and this was to be my grounding in food for the next three years. It was a pretty unremarkable looking book with it's oatmeal textured cover and simple line drawings, but it's what started me on the long and winding road to where I am today. When I left school, I would refer to it every so often for certain recipes, not realising that my Mum was doing the exact same thing with my book. I went looking for it when we bought our home a decade ago and Mummy Dearest refused to hand it over, claiming the old "possession is nine tenths of the law" rule.

Just before Christmas, I read that Deirdre's daughters were re-releasing the book to raise funds for a cause very dear to my heart, the Irish Cancer Society and I ordered a copy immediately. I was never so happy to see a book land on the door mat and I spent a very happy afternoon reminiscing about making the world's worst mushroom soup (there was an over-emphasis on margarine in the book, so no wonder my effort was disgusting), how to set a breakfast table correctly and then I spotted my first ever edible effort - Raspberry Buns. These are a sweet scone mix with a thumbful of raspberry jam dropped into the middle, glazed with egg and baked. Nowadays I have a fancy schmancy food mixer to do all the rubbing in of butter to flour, but learning to do it by hand is a valuable skill, kids... Oh, and I've replaced the marge with butter. Oh, oh and these spread like wildfire on the baking sheet so use two baking sheets. I speak from experience.

Wine and Dine with Jacobs Creek

2012-03-20T19:07:00.002Z

Over the next few weeks, award winning Australian wine brand Jacob’s Creek is inviting guests to let their senses run wild to explore the true character of wine and food at a special free "Wine & Dine Experience" in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Waterford. Yes, that's right, free. Zero euro. No cost. Read on...

For one night only, 50 guests in each location will be given the opportunity to take part in a free wine tasting masterclass and delicious dining experience, which will encourage them to ‘See Beyond The Label’ and discover the true character of the wine and food on offer.

You could be sitting here...

Breakfast at Salt, Monkstown

2012-03-17T15:23:00.001Z

It's very rare that myself and The Hubs are both off on a Sunday and in the enviable position of being able to go out for breakfast. If we're off, we're at home and our local town isn't a hotbed of exciting Sunday brunch opportunities, so the aftermath of a friend's birthday party meant that I could insist on going somewhere lovely for a late breakfast and Salt was just a quick spin in the car away. Salt is part of the new Avoca development in Monkstown, which also houses the esteemed James Whelan butchers (which I've written about extensively, being a tremendous fan of their meat), Gavin & Sara's Poulet Bonne Femme, home to the best rotisserie chicken bar none, and the alluring Avoca food hall, providers of monster spring onions for this bread.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Sesame Cookies

2012-03-14T14:56:00.001Z

Peanut Butter is one of my guilty pleasures. I love it spread on hot white toast (not as decadent on wholemeal), or slathered all over a stick of celery where the salty sweetness combines with the crunchy nothingness of celery to make a great snack. When I was on holiday in New York last year, I wandered into the Hershey store on Times Square and bought a bottle of Reeces Chocolate Peanut Butter topping. Now I know it's probably going to be far too sweet for my tastebuds, but I knew of a tried and tested recipe I could adapt to bring some chocolately goodness to peanut butter... a variation of the Peanut Butter & Sesame Cookies originally from Make Bake Love by Lilly Higgins. When I brought the originals into work, there was practically a fight over who would get the last one and I've been asked to make them again on a few occasions. As I believe in making people wait, I decided to hold off for a few months and turn them into a chocolate version. And here they are...

Thanks to the lovely Jay Fox for the amazing cup & saucer

Chocolate Raspberry Brownies

2012-03-10T14:21:00.000Z

There's been quite a few recipes for brownies on the blog including Italian Hazelnut, Chocolate Coconut and Gianduja and the response so far has been really positive. However I had to think of something new because they were being given to some very discerning people, the Flynns of The Tannery and my friends the Lovely Ladies at our weekend in Dungarvan. I figured that chocolate was the perfect way to eat one of your five a day and although they're out of season, that my brownies would be perfect with raspberries. So I used a punnet of frozen berries and they were beautiful. Actually they were exquisite, if I'm being honest. I'd really recommend that you puree the thawed raspberries through a sieve to remove the pips because raspberry pips are a wee bit offputting and yes it's five minutes extra work, but it's a great upper arm workout!

These brownies keep well for 4-5 days in an airtight container although if your friends are anything like mine, they'll vanish in the blink of an eye, so make extra!

Spring Onion Tray Bread from Seasons by Donna Hay

2012-03-07T22:09:00.002Z

Last week, a huge envelope arrived in the post with my name on it. Sadly it wasn't stuffed full of cash, but it did contain the next best thing... a copy of Seasons by Australia's finest Donna Hay. I already have a copy of her Fast Fresh Simple book which practically falls open by itself to my favourite recipes, so I was very excited to read this. Seasons is the very best of the (almost impossible to find here) Donna Hay Magazine and it's a true coffee table book due to it's oversized pages and beautiful photographs to illustrate both the food and the seasons. You'll need a large bookshelf to accommodate this epic tome, but it's worth it.

Ethan's Blue Birthday Cake

2012-03-04T10:45:00.002Z

Today, the other man in my life is celebrating his birthday. No, not The Hubs, or even Jamie Redknapp My Second Husband. It's my handsome, gorgeous, aeroplane-obsessed nephew Ethan who is 9 today. The day he was born was when my little brother stopped being the baby of the family and became a dad, a rather brilliant Dad too, I have to mention. Ethan has always had me wrapped around his little finger - he was the littlest member of our wedding party, aged just 20 months in a grown up suit but with a soother firmly jammed in his mouth. He's on our wedding video making a break for freedom as Fr. Gerry was trying to marry us - cue me racing across the church to grab him because I knew he'd kick off if a stranger tried to stop him in his tracks. We did eventually get married, once I had handed him back to his Dad... He also went on the rampage at his little sister's christening, running around the altar while Fr. Gerry (that poor man) was in full flow and it took two of us to corral him and to try to stop him from blowing out all the candles in the church.

Ladies Night at The Tannery

2012-02-28T13:57:00.001Z

Avid readers of the blog will know that myself and The Hubs were at The Tannery in Dungarvan last year and we had a fabulous time - so much so, that I kept telling everybody how flipping brilliant it was, how lovely the food was and how beautiful the townhouse accommodation was. It was then decided that we'd go there for a Lovely Ladies Night Away - we've usually had these events in Dublin to accommodate the majority, but this time we all travelled down to Fungarvan by plane, train and automobile. Of course, my departure time from Maison Babaduck clashed with the feckin' Ireland -v- Italy rugby match, so I watched the first lacklustre 15 minutes at home and listened to the rest in the car, missing a fantastic try-filled second half. Boo hiss.

Eventually, I arrived in Dungarvan where I illegally abandoned my car temporarily so we could check into our rooms in the Townhouse. I had a gorgeous king-sized room all to myself, which pleased me greatly as I could scatter my belongings over every available surface without anybody telling me to tidy up (I am generally a very tidy person, but every once in a while, I like to rebel!). The rest of the Lovely Ladies arrived in dribs and drabs and we made our way over to Merrys pub for a few glasses of water and a chat. All too soon, it was time to get ready for our dinner in The Tannery - and we were almost on time. Our table wasn't ready so we sat downstairs and perused the cocktail list : a Metropolitan, a Martini and many Salted Caramel Martinis were ordered, together with a Diet Coke for the abstinent one (let's call her BB). Menus were read and discussed - the common thread was "oh, I'm having those chips too". The chips with smoked paprika aioli are a thing of beauty and I'd happily eat them every day if I could...

Salted Caramel Martinis were the hit of the night...

San Francisco Food : Day 4

2012-02-19T11:37:00.001Z

After the previous evening's Coriander Incident, The Hubs wanted to eat normal food with no danger of encountering the evil herb, so we decided to have something comforting & incredibly bad for us. We went to Mo's for burgers.

The view from the top of Twin Peaks overlooking the City

I should point out that we didn't have any breakfast that morning, as we were waiting to hear from my friend Heidi about a meet-up time. As usual, things happened at the last minute so we decided to grab a quick lunch before we met up. I had heard from numerous sources that a fine diner called Mo's (1322 Grant St) was just down the street from our lovely little apartment in North Beach and so it came to pass that we found ourselves in a busy, bustling and friendly lunchtime room with the smell of burgers wafting from the griddle and bottomless lemonades to cool us down (it was in the 90's and we were rather warm!)

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Happy Love Day To You

2012-02-14T13:17:00.002Z

As you know already, today is (joint) Mammy's Birthday Day. Presents were presented, cards were opened and lots of birthday wishes were given to the special ladies in our lives. And that's where I thought it would end. Boy, was I wrong - I got a lovely email from Emma at Glenisk yesterday asking me if I'd like to be the blog they like in their monthly newsletter. You can sign up for it here by the way...

I didn't have to think once, let alone twice. The answer was absolutely, positively, no hesitation YES PLEASE and so an email dropped into my inbox this morning and what did I see but a beautiful intro to the blog written by little old me. Best Valentine's present ever.

Hope you're all having a lovely day. Remember that you are all loved by many people and don't forget to return that love.