Nessa's Family Kitchen

My Love of Crisps

2013-05-12T13:07:00.002+01:00

My love affair with crisps started at a very young age. Out of the many childhood goodie cravings I may have possessed, crisps were always superior to any other possible treat. My Dad too was a keen crisp fan, as well as being partial to an odd glass of Guinness in his local at the weekend. Never would he return home without two packets of crisps, one in each jacket pocket; one for me and one for my mother, who was never too fond of the pub scene. Some nights the thoughts of diving into a bag of fresh crisps would keep me awake well pass my bedtime. I'd carefully listen for the sound car tyres crunching against the gravel. Then knowing that my dad would have turned the corner of the house I would sneak to the back door. Without fail I would be met by an over-exaggerated shocked Dad, who would of course be expecting me yet would like me to believe that I had frightened the life out of him. As the kettle would boil, for my father's night-time cuppa, I'd enjoy my bag of crisps, while he would divulge almost word for word all the conversations that took place in the pub bar that evening. Sometimes the whistle from the kettle would draw my mother from her bedroom, to join us for a cup of tea and a nibble of a few crisps. This was the routine for many Saturday nights for many years. It can sometimes be the simplest of situations where we find our happiest of memories, and Saturday night's tea and crisps, with my parents, at the kitchen table is one of mine. I think my love of crisps will always stand the test of time. Every now and again I will have a bag of crisps with my own night-time cup of tea. I think those flavours together will always conjure up very strong and special memories for me.

When there is much focus on how our food is produced it is ever important to choose with care what we place in our supermarket trolley. While I don't find it too difficult to refrain from including biscuits and chocolates in the weekly shop, crisps are a different kettle of fish. I do however like to choose the somewhat "healthier" option; ones that are free from additives and as naturally produced as possible. For any regular blog readers you will be well aware that I am a huge fan of the Irish-made crisps, Keogh's. As well as having high quality delicious products, their potatoes are grown and the crisps are cooked on the family farm. This week they are introducing a new variety to the market, Keogh’s Irish Atlantic Sea Salt Crisps. Keogh's decided to use Irish Atlantic Sea Salt in their new flavour crisps as it is in keeping with the strong tradition Keogh’s have for producing only the best Irish produce, using locally sourced fresh ingredients. O’Neill’s Irish Atlantic Sea Salt are the only producers in Ireland to harvest gourmet, dried sea salt that is extracted directly from the Irish Atlantic Sea, and now using just a pinch of sea salt these new crisps from Keogh’s are actually the only lightly salted crisp product made in Ireland. They are also gluten-free which is another wonderful addition.

Keogh’s Irish Atlantic Sea Salt Crisps are available in Superquinn and Dunnes Stores nationwide, as well as select independent food retailers. For more information about Keogh’s hand cooked crisps visit: www.keoghs.ie or find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/keoghsfarm.

Just a reminder that my launch for "Apron Strings" will be taking place at 6pm, Thursday, 16th May in Dún na Sí, Moate, Co. Westmeath. If you are about, pop by. All are welcome. There may even be some crisps there.

Apron Strings Launch

2013-05-02T21:48:00.001+01:00

Just like a child on Christmas week I am giddy and bubbling with excitement. As I type this post, my book Apron Strings is being printed and bound and very soon it will be making its way to bookshops nationwide. To celebrate the release of my new book I'm proud to announce that the official launch will be held in my home-town of Moate, Co. Westmeath, on Thursday the 16th of May, from 6-8pm. The venue is a mere stone's throw away from my home, in the very beautiful heritage centre Dun na Si.

As for the special guests of the evening, the choice for me was easy. I've received much advice and support from my fellow food bloggers. A great resource for any of us bloggers is the Irish Food Bloggers Association. The two ladies who had the initiative to set up this organisation are Kristin Jensen and Caroline Hennessy. They are both wonderfully supportive to the IFBA members and are always on hand when advice on blog posts, recipes, photos and even grammar is needed. Apart from all of these attributes both Kristin and Caroline have become good friends of mine, over the past few years, so I was over-joyed when they both agreed to travel to Moate to launch my book.

On the evening, cheese and wine will be served as well as a few cakes, the recipes of which are featured in the book. I'd like to extent an open invite to anyone who would like to come and celebrate the evening with me. I have a tendency to go overboard with baked goods, for any event, so you are all more than welcome to come along, relax and enjoy some cake. The official publication date for Apron Strings is May 22nd, but advanced copies of the book will be available to buy at the launch. There may even be little goodie bags to accompany any copies bought on the evening. I hope to see you there!

Local Food Heroes - The Cake Maker

2013-04-28T20:29:00.000+01:00

I love cakes, of any description. I must say that my cakes will always taste quite good, yet I tend to go for the more "rustic" look when it comes to decorating. I have never been that skilled in the decorating department. For me, it could be the fact that I need a little more patience, or indeed time, to give that celebratory cake that perfect look. However there are many highly skilled cake decorators emerging around the country. Sinead Gavin, from Moate is one such lady. Her business Flour Power Cakes is steadily growing, as her cakes not only look picture perfect but, most importantly, taste incredible. As part of my "Local Food Heroes" column, in The Westmeath Independent, I met Sinead for a chat about her business and how it all got started.

How did the idea come about for the Flour Power Cakes?

"To be honest it wasn't really an idea. I love to bake and for one of my daughter's birthdays she requested a three-tier-ladybird-cake. One of the parents at the party asked if I would make one for her daughter, then another parent requested one and little by little word got out that I was making cakes. The business just developed from there."

What is the best part of running a business from home?

"The main benefit for me is that I can earn money doing something I really love, while still being always available to do the school runs etc. for my daughter and having no need for childcare."

What would be your average work week?

"It all depends on what orders have come in for that particular week. Generally the beginning of the week is dedicated to working on quotes, planning the design of the cakes and then buying the needed ingredients. The work gets a whole lot busier nearer to the weekend. I always leave it as late as possible to bake and assemble a cake before delivery, so that the cake is of optimal freshness for the customer. It's not unusual for me to be decorating a cake at 3am and I could work through the night if I needed to perfect a cake with an intricate design. So the average working week all depends on the cakes ordered."

I find the quality of a baked good is only as good as the ingredients used. Your cakes are a taste sensation. How or where do you source your ingredients?

"All my ingredients are sourced locally. I certainly agree that you can taste the difference and that is why I use only the best for each cake. I always use real butter, good-quality chocolate and proper vanilla extract."

What has been your favourite cake to make?

"A 3D pint cake. The first one I ever made was for my Father and to see the delight on his face was priceless. It actually happens to be one of the easier cakes to make."

What has been your most challenging cake to make?

"Without a doubt a four tier traditional royal iced wedding cake. Royal icing can be a little trickier to work with in comparison to fondant. The cakes were really massive, so even transporting them was difficult and they had to be delivered to Cork. I enjoyed making it but it was a great task and easily took me over three days to ice and decorate."

Is there any particular cake that is most regularly requested by your customers?

"Any chocolate based cake is always a big hit. Both my chocolate biscuit cake and my rich chocolate sponges would be most regularly requested."

Baking can be a rather scientific process and precise recipes are a must. Which baker or celebrity chef's cake recipes do you find most accurate?

"I have never made a Nigel Slater recipe that hasn't worked, but Nigella's baking recipes would be my favourite. They always work out perfectly and taste amazing. Not a "celebrity chef" but I find Odlums’ recipes never fail either."

What would be your top-tip for inspiring cake makers?

"I suppose, just give it a go. You don't need expensive classes. There are so many on-line tutorials that will help with every step of cake making. Even on first attempts if it doesn't look the best, I'm sure it will still taste great. It just takes a little practice."

If you could bake a cake for anyone, who would it be and what would you bake?

"My daughter Chloe is a huge fan of Bressie. We met him at a signing recently and he was so lovely to her and chatted away about music and guitar playing. So for her sake, I'd love to make him a cake, as she had asked me to make one that day but I didn't have time. I would make him a chocolate cake in the shape of his judge’s chair from the 'Voice of Ireland', with a sugar paste model of himself on it."

Do you have any advice for passionate foodies who are considering starting their own business?

"There is so much advice on the FSA website about setting up a business. They can also be contacted by phone and I have found them to be most helpful. Really if you have a good product people will want to buy it. "

What are your future goals or plans for Flour Power Cakes?

"I love making the wedding cakes and feel it's wonderful to be a little part of someone's special day. I would like to focus more on building the wedding cake side of the business. So the next few months I will be busy with wedding fares. I would eventually like to open a little shop, but that's a while off yet."

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Time and time again, on meeting with different triumphant food producers, the love of what they do is ever evident in their final product. With cakes that are as impressively tasteful as they are decorated, I can see ‘Flour Power Cakes’ being hugely successful. With such a passion for cake-making, that Sinead truly has, I wish her the very best of luck in the future.

Flour Power Cakes- Contact number: 086-1988844

Email: flourpower.sinead@gmail.com
Facebook: FlourPowerCakesMoate

Curried Egg Salad

2013-04-14T10:18:00.001+01:00

There is a rumour hanging about that this summer is going to be a scorcher. From our previous experiences, we’d be forgiven if we weren't too optimistic. However if sunshine is around the corner, outdoor dining and summer salads could be on the menu. For a number of years I've kept hens in my back garden. They are so easy to care for, lovely to watch pottering around the garden and the daily delivery of fresh eggs is always wonderful. The flavour and quality of these eggs is outstanding. Not everyone has the space or time to keep hens but often at local markets there will be someone selling fresh eggs. If you have yet to taste a 'farm fresh' egg, I'd urge you to seek them out and I guarantee that you will be in for a treat.
I enjoy eggs in any form but one of my young men can sometimes take convincing. He has a great fondness for curry flavoured dishes so I thought why not try some curried eggs and to my surprise he loved them. Stuffed between two thick slices of buttered bread is how my little man enjoys it best; however the rest of us rather enjoy the curried eggs jammed into some pitta bread. A bowl of curried egg salad would also be well placed on any cold meat and salad buffet.

Chief egg collector!

Ingredients

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 tsp curry powder

4 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped

1 small crisp eating apple, peeled, cored and finely diced

1 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped

Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

4 pitta breads, lightly toasted

Handful of salad leaves

Method

1. In a medium sized bowl combine the mayonnaise with the curry powder. Fold in the eggs, apple and chives. Season with a little salt and pepper.

2. Fill each pitta pocket with a few salad leaves and then the egg salad.

Lemon Frosted Easter Cake

2013-03-28T08:37:00.001Z

I'm sure when anyone has lost a loved one they feel similar to myself, when trying to deal with the whole grieving process. Events which where once pure joyous occasions, can be met with some bitter-sweet anticipation. My dad passed away before Christmas, and similar to the year when my Mam passed away, the first time to experience everything without them is rather heart-breaking. The first Christmas, the first birthday, the first family get-together and this week will be the first Easter. It's a holiday that, as a family, we always embraced and enjoyed celebrating. Each year my mother's Easter dinner was as impressive as the Christmas dinner. A wonderful spread was put on, with the roast spring lamb being the star of the show. Growing up I wasn't a fan of lamb, due to the many pet lambs occupying the back doorstep, however I did relish in the array of tasty accompaniments.

Easter 2012 - Tiarnán, Fionn & Millie decorating eggs with their Grandad.

In recent times I have really valued my Dad's input into my own children's Easter preparations. Each year he would tell tales of his Easter childhood memories, how there were no chocolate eggs in his home in the 1930's, but instead each child would pick their freshly laid egg, from their hen coop, and proceed to paint it. This was then boiled for breakfast on Easter Sunday morning and was always declared as the nicest egg of the year. For the last number of years, in our house, we would dedicate an afternoon of Easter week to egg painting. "Granddad" was always enlisted as the "expert helper" and he genuinely seemed to enjoy this as much as the children. Together they would decorate their fresh eggs and the children would listen intently to stories of old and were always amazed by how within one lifetime so much had changed. This Easter, even though it may sadden the children or me, my Dad's egg painting tradition will carry on. We'll decorate the eggs, tell his stories and most of all appreciate this wonderful man for sharing so much with us and being such an influential part of our lives. Whatever way you celebrate Easter this year I hope it is with the people you cherish and love. Enjoy the celebrations and have a Happy Easter!

Lemon Frosted Easter Cake

I always find that cake is well suited to every occasion. This lemon frosted cake makes a perfect Easter treat, as yellow themed goods seem to fit nicely with an Easter theme. It's basically a madeira cake which is smothered with a creamy lemon topping and filled with lemon curd; perfect to enjoy with a cup of tea anytime.

Ingredients

225g butter, softened

225g caster sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

3 free range eggs

280g self-raising flour, sieved

For Icing

150g full fat cream cheese (Philadelphia)

50g butter, softened

400g icing sugar, sieved

1 tsp lemon extract/essence

drop of yellow food colouring

To assemble/decorate

2/3 tbsp lemon curd

50g mini chocolate eggs

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C(fan)/390°F/gas mark 6.

2. Prepare a two 8 inch tins, by greasing well with some butter.

3. Place the butter, caster sugar and vanilla extract into a bowl and cream together until it is a pale yellow colour, which takes about 5-7 minutes.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time with a little flour- to prevent the mixture from curdling. Mix well.

5. Add the remaining flour then combine well.

6. Divide the mixture between the prepared tins.

7. Bake in the oven for 30-35 mins or until golden brown in colour and a skewer comes out dry, when stuck into the centre of each cake. Cool on a wire tray.

8. To make the icing; Put the cream cheese, butter and icing sugar into a bowl and beat together until smooth and creamy. Stir in the lemon extract and add a drop of yellow food colouring.

9. When the cakes have completely cooled place one on a serving plate. Spread 1/3 of the icing over the cake and top with the lemon curd. Place the next cake on top and then add the remaining icing. Smooth using a palette knife and decorate with some mini chocolate eggs.

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In other news; The Midlands Gathering Festival is taking place in Moate this weekend. As a part of it I will be doing a cookery demonstration in The Grand Hotel, Moate on Easter Saturday from 4 - 5pm. All are welcome!

St. Patrick's Day Oaty Cookies

2013-03-15T08:52:00.001Z

I'm very proud to be Irish and have always celebrated St. Patrick's day with much affection. It's the one day that is completely dedicated to appreciating our heritage and celebrating where we've originated from. I always feel it's important to highlight how wonderful Ireland can be to the rest of the world and when better to do this than on St. Patrick's Day. After-all it's a day that so many worldwide will claim to have some sort of an Irish heritage.

In recent years there seems to be a greater focus on just how wonderful Irish food really is. We are privileged in Ireland to have an abundance of passionate farmers and food producers who provide us with quality products, which are going from strength to strength in the worldwide markets and are steadily being recognised amongst the best in the world. One product that has been making the headlines recently for breaking the American market is the perfectly produced Kilbeggan Organic Oats. A consistently good porridge is always guaranteed, but I've also found these oats, to make particularly impeccable flapjacks or a treat that my children are rather partial to are these oaty cookies. The combination of wholesome oats, along with creamy Irish butter gives a scrumptious base to these cookies. They are lovely plain or even dipped in a little melted chocolate, but especially for St Patrick's day these cookies look most suitable drizzled with a little green icing.

Ingredients

200g butter, softened

100g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g self raising flour

150g porridge oats

Topping

100g icing sugar, sieved

2 tbsp water

drop of green food colouring

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C(fan)/390F/Gas Mark 6.

2. Place the softened butter, sugar and vanilla extract into a bowl and cream together until it is light and fluffy.

3. Sieve in the flour and combine. Stir in the oats, combine and bring the dough together.

4. Divide the dough into walnut sized balls. Press each dough ball with a fork, to slightly flatten each raw cookie.

5. Place on baking trays and cook in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

6. Transfer to a wire rack and cool before icing.

6. Make the icing by placing the sieved icing sugar into a bowl and slowly add the water until the icing is combined. Add a small drop of food colouring and stir well. Drizzle over each of the cooled cookies.

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I am still collecting nappies for Belarus and will be at Moate community centre car park between 11 and 11.30am Saturday, 16th March.
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Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Beef & Guinness Stew with Dumplings

2013-03-12T10:58:00.000Z

St. Patrick's Day is approaching and it's a guarantee that Irish food will be celebrated worldwide. I think the main perception of typical Irish dining, from those who haven't travelled here, would consist of big bowls of stew with accompanying pints of Guinness. It probably wouldn't be an everyday dinner for most of us, but not a bad dining option all the same. I love nothing better than a tasty stew on a cold, blustery day and this is one of my favourite combinations. I have fond memories of devouring bowlfuls of stew as a young child and there were always little nuggets of gold, in the form of dumplings, which I totally relished. The dumplings my mother made were always very small, which seemed just perfect as a child as each spoonful of stew would carry one or two of these. I generally make dumplings a little larger and my own children also love them. Buried within the flavoursome rich and salty stew they add a wonderful contrasting texture of soft and fluffy. Served with a good helping of creamy mashed potatoes this Beef & Guinness Stew with Dumplings would be welcomed at any occasion but seems especially appropriate for St. Patrick's Day.

Ingredients

1.5 kg stewing beef, diced

2tbsp plain flour

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2tbsp olive oil

180g streaky bacon, chopped

2 onions, diced

3 garlic cloves, crushed

5 carrots, roughly chopped

2tbsp tomato puree

500mls Guinness

300mls beef stock

2 sprigs thyme

2 bay leaves

Dumplings

250g self-raising flour

Salt and freshly ground pepper

125g butter, cold-straight from the fridge
1 tbsp cold water

To Serve:

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/390F/gas mark 6.

2. Toss the beef in some seasoned flour.

3. Heat half of the oil in a large, oven proof saucepan or casserole dish and cook the beef in batches. Leaving to one side, in a dish.

4. Heat a little more oil in the saucepan and add the bacon, onion and garlic. Cook for five mins until golden then add the carrots and tomato purée. Gradually add the Guinness and the beef stock.

5. Add the cooked beef, thyme and bay to the dish. Cover and place in the oven for 1 1/2 hours.

6. Meanwhile make the dumplings. Put the flour into a mixing bowl. Season with a little salt and pepper. Finely chop or grate in the cold butter. Gently rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add a tbsp of cold water and bring the dough together to form a ball. Divide the dough into 20 pieces and roll each one into a dumpling ball.

7. Take the stew from the oven and nestle the dumplings on top of the cooked stew, pushing each one down into the stew so that it is half way submerged. Place the lid back on the saucepan and return to the oven for an additional 30 mins.

8. Serve this tasty stew with creamy mashed potatoes.

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0n a different note... I am again collecting nappies for a gentleman who will be heading to Belarus this April.

There is still an appeal for nappies, which are badly needed for babies and children in Belarus. I know a gentleman who will be travelling out there with a container in April. I'm planning to get together some nappies to send. I need to have them collected by Thurs 21st March. If you are in the Moate area and would like to donate some nappies please give me a shout, by e-mail nessasfamilykitchen@gmail.com Otherwise I will be at the car park of the community centre Moate from 11am-11.30am this Saturday 16th March, for anyone who would like to drop off a packet of nappies. I'm also at Mount Temple School every day at 2pm. Thanks a million. Nessa.

Local Food Heroes - The Butcher

2013-03-04T09:10:00.002Z

In the Midlands, it may not always be noted, but we have some fantastic food producers who are passionate about delivering quality products to their customers. For my column in the Westmeath Independent I'm going to include an interview each month with one of these producers. For the first of these columns I interviewed my local butchers John and Kit Gillivan.
When I first started to shop in John Gillivan Butchers, trading as Moate Meats, about six or seven years ago, it was not only their quality of meat and their friendly staff that impressed me, but I found their willingness to disclose exactly the journey of each piece of meat from farm to shop very reassuring. Behind the counter they are all very knowledgeable chaps. Both John and Kit Gillivan are master butchers while the rest of the staff are all certified craft butchers. There are nine abattoirs in Westmeath and we are privileged in Moate to have two very fine butchers each with their own abattoirs. Where we source our meat has often been topical within the media. In the past few weeks, with the breaking of the horse meat story, it seems to have never been more enticing to pop into the local butcher for meat, in place of a supermarket alternative. As wonderful as many small butchers are it’s important to note that not all are flying the flag for Irish meat. When it is reported that 2.5 million chicken breasts are imported each week into Ireland we can’t automatically assume that when we’re supporting our local butcher that they are actually supporting Irish. How do we find out where their meat is sourced? We simply ask. Consumers must question and if they are not happy with the answer then there is always the option to move their business elsewhere. One of the best butchers that I have ever come upon has been John Gillivan Butchers, so to find out a little more about the men behind the business I met John and Kit Gillivan for a chat.

John, Peter, Kit and John Gillivan

How long has Moate Meats been in business?

John: It was my grandfather who first started the business. We are actually opened 100 years this year and I’ve been working here for 58 years.

Has butchery changed much since you started?

John: When I started everything was sold on the bone. A big difference was that most of the meat use to be hung outside the door. The beef would hang on one side and lambs on the other. Those bars, used for hanging, are still there today.

Which traditional cut of meat would you like to see make a comeback?

John: In recent years it seems that every piece of meat is moving. Stewing meat and all the meats that require slow cooking have really become popular again. However I would really love to see corn beef make a comeback.

Where do you source all your meat?

Kit: All our beef and lamb is sourced within five to ten miles of the shop. All lamb is under a year old and beef is under 24months. All the beef is dry aged for three weeks and we only sell Irish chicken. All our pork is Bord Bia quality assured. The television screen in the shop shows the cattle in the fields, then the meat in the abattoir and then preparing the meat for sale. It helps in telling the story of who we are and where our meat is coming from to the customer. We also have fresh fish delivered 4 times a week. If a customer wants any organic produce we can supply them also. Each Christmas we have a great supply of organic ducks from a local farmer and the quality is just fantastic.

Is it of great benefit having your own abattoir?

Kit: It’s a huge benefit because you are confident about what you are selling. You know and trust the farmer you are buying the animals from. You also have complete control over your own meat that you sell. We actually have one of the lowest food miles in the country from a farmed abattoir to shop.

In recent times have you found customers to question more where their meat is sourced?

Kit: Certainly! We are delighted when people ask any questions about the meat because we can stand by it. We love that we can answer them confidently and honestly. We really value our customers. People have to make a conscious decision to pull up outside and we are very grateful and thankful that they choose to shop with us. Therefore we greet all our customers the same and are always happy to answer any queries they may have.

Has there been a significant surge in customers since the horse meat story broke?

Kit: Without a doubt. There have been many new faces and especially we’ve noticed an increase in younger customers. It’s really great. However our prices have always been competitive and we have different meat packs that are fantastic value and each week we have different meat on offer.

What is the most unusual piece of meat you’ve sold here?

Kit: No matter what meat a customer requests we can source it. The most unusual that would be sold fairly regular would have to be tripe.

John: We donate a lot of organs for research to local schools and colleges. Recently we have been working with some UCD students, who are working on a very interesting project about stem cell research. That was a certainly first for us.

What is your favourite cut of meat?

Kit: Rib roast cooked medium served with roast spuds, veg and Mammy’s gravy.

What do you like most about being a butcher?

Kit: The seasons, especially the excitement of working at Christmas. It’s a very important time of year for families and the fact that you can help with the organising of people’s celebrations is always wonderful.

Have you any plans for the future of Moate Meats?

Kit: We have lots of ideas that we are thinking of but we definitely intend to expand the shop later in the year.

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Even in recessionary times businesses can thrive and John Gillivan butchers is evidence of this. It’s not however just happening by chance as what they are providing is quite wonderful; quality products brought to the customer by enthusiastic and passionate

food producers.

John Gillivan Moate Meats,
Lr Main st,
Moate.
Phone: 090-6481127

Double Chocolate Oreo Stuffed Cookies

2013-02-25T10:58:00.000Z

Most weekends the children will partake in some sort of baking or cooking. Jack, who's almost eleven, had Oreo stuffed cookies bookmarked on the computer for months. When we picked up some Oreos on offer I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try making a batch. About this time last year I had tested so many cookie recipes, to perfect one to include in my book Apron Strings, and I was eventually satisfied with the recipe I came up with. These cookies are based on my Peanut & Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe which is featured in the book. These cookies can be made without the Oreos and simply baked for a few less minutes, however the Oreos do make them look rather impressive, especially to an Oreo fanatic like my Jack.

Millie & Fionn were Jack's designated helpers for cookie making.

A large spoonful of cookie dough is placed on top and underneath the Oreo.

The cookie dough is then gently moulded around the Oreo.

All ready for the oven.

Double Chocolate Oreo Stuffed Cookies

Ingredients

150g dark chocolate

175g Butter

115g Light Brown Sugar

150g Granulated Sugar

1 free range egg

1 teasp Vanilla Extract

260g (9oz) Plain Flour

1 teasp Baking powder

100g chocolate chips

15 oreo cookies

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/390f/gas mark 6. Line 3 baking trays with parchment paper.

1. Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl, over some simmering water and once melted leave to one side.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together, until pale and creamy{takes about 7 minutes}

3. Lightly whisk the egg in a cup and add the vanilla extract. Slowly add this to the mixing bowl, whisking for another 2 minutes. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix until it is well combined.

4. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl, and then add to the mixing bowl, stirring well to combine.

5. Add the chocolate chips and mix again until they are evenly distributed.

6. Using a soup spoon or an ice cream scoop place a scoop of the cookie dough on top of the Oreo. Place another scoop underneath the Oreo. Gently mould the dough around the Oreo until it is completely encased. Repeat with the remaining Oreos.

7. Place on the prepared baking trays, a few inches apart, and place in the preheated oven for 12-16 minutes, until the cookies are cooked through.

8. Let cool slightly on the baking tray, to avoid the cookie crumbling, before transferring to a wire tray.

Best enjoyed with cold milk.

Valentine's French Toast

2013-02-09T08:33:00.002Z

I think my days for exchanging Valentine's Day cards have truly passed, however I do really like the sentiment of Valentine's. The little men in my life will always put wonderful effort into making me the most beautiful cards to treasure. In return I will normally have a treat of some love heart shaped food to mark the day for them. They adore French Toast so these love heart shaped toasties are amorously welcomed on Valentine's morning.

My little lady takes dusting icing sugar very seriously!

Ingredients

2 eggs
2 tbsp Cream or milk
1/2 teasp vanilla extract
25g (1oz) butter
4 slices of bread, white or brown
To Serve

Icing sugar, for dusting

Sliced strawberries

Method

1. Whisk together the eggs, the cream/milk and vanilla extract in a bowl.

2. Makes bread hearts using some heart shaped cutters.
2. Place a frying pan over a medium heat and melt the butter. Soak the pieces of bread on both sides in the egg mixture, then place in the pan. Cook for 2 minutes on both sides until the bread is deep golden.
3. Place on a warmed plate and dredge generously with icing sugar to serve alongside some sliced strawberries.

Product testing is an important role for any kitchen helper!

Spring is Coming..

2013-01-30T09:48:00.001Z

As spring is approaching I'm eagerly awaiting what it has in store for me. I'm starting to get truly excited about my book, Apron Strings. It is now at the design stage and is being carefully handled by a very lovely designer. For me to even think that somebody is working on my writing and my photography, to bring it together as a book, is a wonderful feeling. I have had no column deadlines for the past week so I've been, yet again, reading through the recipes and text. I'm pretty happy with it and am very much looking forward to my loyal readers, my family and friends reading it and giving me their feedback. I have one final photograph to take for the book, which may turn out to be my front cover. I had many different photographs which I thought would work well as a cover pic, but the designer asked for one more option. So tomorrow morning I'm going to get my hair done, slap on plenty of rouge and hopefully get the perfect photo. My hubbie will be the resident photographer for the day and I'm also hoping to have the children involved in some way. With any bit of luck there will be some sunshine peeping through the kitchen window, which always helps to make any photo look better.

I love sharing some pictures on Instagram so if any of you are over that way do let me know.

On another note, and rather surprising to myself, I am actually sticking to my new year's healthy eating plan. Apart from loosing a much needed 7lbs, I'm feeling so much better in myself. I have more energy and my dreaded headaches, of which I get every other day, have certainly been decreased. I'm simply cutting out junk and eating lots of fruit and vegetables, as well as juicing each day. My free-range, organic eggs are also, as ever, a staple part of my diet. The time of day where I still find myself in need of some treats is when the kids have settled for the night. I would love to hear any tips or recipes you may have for me that work well for the munchies.

Thai Chicken Noodle Salad

2013-01-17T12:18:00.000Z

If ever there was a time to get motivated about living life a little healthier, no time is better than at the beginning of the New Year. The front of almost every magazine cover is a recommendation for a diet plan that seems to be a guarantee to lose a significant amount of weigh within a week. It's hard not to be drawn to such an enticing possibility but in reality most are advising the same; cut out junk food, don't eat to excess, eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and on top of this exercise daily. It all makes perfect sense and even sounds pretty reasonable, but what is never listed, and is most important, is the huge willpower needed to ditch the old diet and follow these simple steps. Personally, even though I know I shouldn't I find it rather difficult to resist a few biscuits with an after dinner cuppa. Even when on a healthy eating plan I don’t like to deny myself these, as I think it is important to have a little treat each day and somehow makes adjusting to my new diet plan that little bit easier.

At this time of year where I find wonderful inspiration for losing weigh is on RTE's Operation Transformation. I felt so motivated after watching last week's show that I decided to follow their programme. The exercise regime is easily achievable, while there are also many different recipes to choose from. A week in and I've lost a few pounds and I'm starting to feel more energised.

As well as making an effort to exercise I'm trying to fill up on meals that are completely flavoursome but aren't so calorie laden. The fresh crisp flavours from this salad are rather refreshing. For salad dishes I like to use vermicelli noodles, which are available to buy in Asian food markets and also from some of the larger supermarket. If you can't get your hands on them, egg noodles would also work perfectly for this dish.

Ingredients

100g vermicelli noodles

100g cooked chicken, roughly chopped

2 roasted red pepper, finely chopped

1/2 red onion, finely diced

Handful of fresh coriander and fresh basil, torn

Dressing -

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

Juice of 1 lime

½ tsp sugar

25g sesame seeds

Method

1. Place the vermicelli noodles in a large heat proof bowl. Cover completely with boiling water and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Drain using a colander and leave to cool.

2. When the noodles are cool add the chicken, peppers, red onion, coriander and basil. Combine well.

3. To make the dressing place the sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce, olive oil, lime juice and sugar into a bowl and combine using a fork. Pour over the chicken noodle salad.

4. Mix all the ingredients together, and then sprinkle over the sesame seeds. Serve straight away.

Porky Pies

2012-12-30T18:32:00.000Z

I'm rather glad to say that we are now the other side of Christmas. Even if Dad had passed away earlier in the year I do think the first Christmas without a loved one is ever so difficult. I'm lucky to have my children around me, who kept me on my toes for the past week and actually got me through the festivities fairly well. I haven't been taking any food photos over the Christmas, however I often have a few recipes and photos in draft. This sausage roll recipe, or porky pies as my boys like to call them, was from my column in last month's Easy Parenting.

Porky Pies
I love nothing more than lots of canapés served at a party or in place of a starter at a dinner party. They look so pleasing, all lined up on a platter, however these delicate canapés can be rather time consuming to make, especially when faced with a large crowd mostly consisting of children. Homemade sausage rolls or pies make for the perfect canapé for a family get together, as children and adults alike seem to love them. If you can’t get your hands on some sausage meat, buy a few packs of good quality sausages and squeeze the meat from their cases. If you would like to make these in advance of a party, the uncooked porky pies can be placed in the freezer, wrapped in cling film, then simply add an extra 10 minutes to the recommended cooking time. Always ensure that the meat is fully cooked through before serving.

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp butter
300g Sausage meat

150g streaky bacon, finely diced

1tbsp Fresh Sage, finely chopped
1tsp Dijon mustard
Freshly Ground Pepper

1 sheet of ready rolled Puff Pastry
1 Egg, beaten (for glazing)

25g (1oz) sesame seeds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200c/430f/gas 7 and line a large baking tray with some greaseproof paper.

2. Melt the butter in a frying pan and gently sauté the onions for 5 minutes, until they are soft but not coloured. Remove to a large bowl and leave to cool completely.

3. Add the sausage meat, streaky bacon, sage, mustard and a few grinds of freshly ground pepper to the bowl. Using your hands, mix together well.

4. Place the sheet of puff pastry on a floured surface and carefully roll out the pastry until it is thin, using a rolling pin.

5. Evenly divide the pastry into 4 pieces. Divide the sausage meat mixture in 4 and make them roll the mixture to make it long and sausage like. Place into the centre of each pastry strip. Brush a little beaten egg along one edge of the pastry. Roll up the other side of the pastry to encase the sausage meat and pinch the edges firmly. Using a shape knife cut each pastry roll into even sized pieces, making about 8 from each pastry roll.

6. Brush each one with a little beaten egg and scatter over some sesame seeds.

7. Arrange on the baking tray and bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.

I would like to wish all my readers a very happy new year. Thank you for following

the blog and for your words of support in 2012. I do hope that you will join me for

what promises to be a busy but very exciting year in 2013.

Christmas Starter - Deep Fried Brie with a Pear & Walnut Salad and Cranberry Sauce

2012-12-21T22:01:00.000Z

Christmas dinner can sometimes seem like rather a stressful affair. In years gone by I often found myself spending the best part of two days preparing and cooking for one meal. But eventually I realised that after all what is it only a family dinner, like I make every other day, but with a few special extras. I know many are beginning to steer away from the traditional turkey dinner, but for me turkey with all the trimmings is the meal I most look forward to over the Christmas season. I always serve gravy, bread sauce and cranberry sauce with the christmas dinner. I posted my favourite bread sauce recipe last year, if you would like to try it out. I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do. Of course a very important part of any turkey and ham dinner is a good serving of stuffing. This year I will make the same as last, my Sage, Date & Pine Nut Stuffing; covered with homemade gravy I could eat this as a meal in itself!

I'm all for preparing some of the dishes well before a big event. Any sauce or gravy will freeze perfectly, only to be taken from the freezer Christmas Eve, popped in the fridge and then reheated just before serving Christmas dinner. Cranberry sauce can be made in advance and doesn't even need to be frozen, as it will keep perfectly in the fridge for 3-4 weeks. I love a good dollop of some sweet and tangy cranberry sauce served alongside any white meat but it also makes a fantastic dipping sauce for breaded brie, which happens to be my boy’s starter of choice for Christmas day. This is a luxuriously delicious dish that would serves well as a starter but it also quite good as a canapé for a Christmas drinks party, minus the salad. The brie can be prepared early in the day and refrigerated until needed. Just two small pieces of brie would be completely sufficient as a starter. After all it is the appetiser to what is normally considered a day’s worth of calories on one plate.

Ingredients

300g Brie, cut into 8 wedges, with most of the thick skin trimmed off

2 eggs, beaten

Seasoned flour

80g Paxo golden breadcrumbs

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Method

1. Dip the Brie wedges first in the flour then in the beaten egg, then in the breadcrumbs and again in the egg and again in the breadcrumbs. Fill a wok one-quarter-full of vegetable oil and heat to 180C(fan)/390F/gas mark 6 or use a deep fat fryer.

2.The oil is ready when you drop a breadcrumb in and it sizzles. (CAUTION: hot oil is dangerous; do not leave unattended).

3.When the oil is ready, add the breaded Brie and deep fry until golden brown on each side and the cheese has melted in the centre -about 2-3 mins. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

For Salad:

100g mixed salad leaves

1 ripe pear, cut into slices

25g walnuts, roughly chopped

½ red onion, finely sliced

1 tbsp salad dressing of choice

To Serve:

Place the salad leaves, sliced pear, chopped walnuts and finely sliced onion into a small bowl.

Drizzle with a little salad dressing. Divide between four plates.

Serve with the Deep Fried Brie and a large spoonful of the cranberry sauce{homemade or shop bought} on the side.

Cranberry Sauce

The cranberry sauce can of course be shop bought however as it is so easy to make, I'd recommend to make a little jar of the homemade variety. The sauce can be kept plain if preferred but I like to have a citrus kick from mine. If you are planning to serve this alongside the brie and the turkey, then make double the quantity.

Ingredients

350g fresh/frozen cranberries

200g caster sugar

75ml water

Zest of ½ an orange

50ml Cointreau

Put the cranberries, sugar, water and orange zest into a saucepan and let it bubble away until the berries start to pop, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon, which will take about 10 minutes. Give the sauce a good stir and crush down any remaining full berries. Stir in the Cointreau. Carefully taste a little of the sauce, to check whether it needs more sugar. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. If cooked a few days in advance, reheat a little and give the sauce a good mashing with a fork before serving.

Barry's Tea Giveaway

2012-12-20T09:30:00.000Z

Barry’s Tea has created a very festive limited edition Santa’s Tea box which is for sale exclusively on barrysteashop.ie for tea fans at home and abroad. The box retails at €3.49 and is the perfect stocking filler for young and old. The lovely people behind Barry's Tea have given me 5 boxes of Santa’s Tea from Barry’s Tea for one lucky reader of the blog. I was meaning to add this giveaway to the blog last week, but as I've been a little all over the place I'm only getting around to it now. So unfortunately the tea won't be with the lucky winner in time to brew a cup for Santa, but will be with you soon after Christmas.

To be in with a chance of winning the five boxes of tea, simply leave a comment in the box below.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: you must be a resident of Ireland (north or south); you must be over 18; no cash alternative is possible, the competition will close at 12m/d tomorrow December 21st. All entered names will be put in the hat and the winner will be picked at random and will be contacted tomorrow via e-mail or twitter. Please ensure that I have some way to contact you - either your e-mail address or Twitter handle.

Best of luck!

Rest In Peace Dad

2012-12-16T11:22:00.003Z

Just a week ago my dear old dad, whom I've written about on many an occasion, took his last breath and departed from this world, as we know it. Even though Dad has not been critically unwell, it has been apparent for some time that his body was weakening and everyday tasks were becoming a burden for him. Since my Mam passed away six years ago he has been struggling with maintaining optimum health however his strength of spirit and will to live really kept him going. He was full of plans for the future and only the day before he passed away he was planning on buying more cattle for the land and his tunnels are packed with pots of herbs, to see me through the winter.
Dad left his home on Saturday night with every intention of returning. This gives me great comfort as he had a great fear of being bed-bound for weeks or months and being fully aware that his death was neigh. His passing came as a great shock to myself and the family, but I am grateful, especially for Dad's sake, that he didn't suffer.

I'm devastated, heartbroken and oh so lonely, not just for Dad but I also feel like once again I'm grieving for my mother. I know it will take me some time to come to terms with the fact that both of my parents have passed, however I'm ever so grateful that they were a part of my life and were always such a positive influence on me. For the past number of years Dad has been a wonderful part of mine and my children's lives. I'm going to miss him so much; our chats together, his humour and his love. I appreciate that Dad had a good life and left this world peacefully. May he rest in peace.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who sent us words of condolences, who spent time with us at Dad's wake and joined us for his funeral. I'm very grateful for your support.

What Makes A Dad

{Author unknown}

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so, He called it ... DAD.

Nutty Chocolate Truffles

2012-11-30T12:42:00.001Z

The boys are gone to school filled with such excitement. Tonight is the night they have eagerly awaited for a very long time. At 9.30 this evening we will huddle up on the sofa and surround ourselves with goodies, as The Late Late Toy Show hits our television screens. There are still some similarities between what are my favourite childhood memories and what will be my children's and this is near the top of the list. Jack and Tiarnán love to help with the preparation of the snacks, so everything we're making is pretty easy to prepare. Jack will make us hot chocolate using his own recipe. While Tiarnán, who loves a little savoury at any party, has planned to make some hummus to accompany a big bowl of Keogh's Crisps.
I love the combination of creamy chocolate with peanuts, popcorn or indeed crisps, so with this in mind I decided to make some nutty chocolate truffles for tonight's feast. They are so easy to make but are totally scrumptious. They would be perfectly placed as an after dinner treat, with a coffee, at a diner party. In fact they would also certainly make a rather tasty gift, for a loved one at Christmas.

Ingredients
200g chocolate, I used 46% cocoa
100mls cream
25g butter
100g Peanuts
cocoa power, for dusting

Method
1. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, over a saucepan pan of just-boiled water. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter and cream together. Just before it comes to the boil, remove from heat. Very gradually stir into the melted chocolate. Whisk gently, for about 5 minutes, until smooth and thick; chill for about 2hrs.
2. Scoop up a teaspoonful of truffle mix and push a peanut into the centre. The chocolate mix will melt with the heat of your hands so you must work quickly. Shape into a ball, then roll in the chopped peanuts. For the non-peanut eaters simply dust with a little cocoa. Repeat with remaining mix, then chill. These Chocolate Truffles can then be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

If you are sitting in for the Toy Show later, I hope you have a really lovely evening.

Hamper Winner

2012-11-19T11:43:00.003Z

Thank you to all who entered the competition for the Keogh's Farm goodies hamper. All names from those who commented on the post and re-tweeted, on Twitter, were put into the hat. I'm happy to announce that the winner is Peggy, who commented on Nov 15th at 1.15pm. Congratulations Peggy a lovely hamper will be making its way to you, in time for Christmas. Please contact me with your postal address. NessasFamilyKitchen at gmail.com

Orange & Pecan Mincemeat - Mince Pies

2012-11-18T09:12:00.001Z

Once the hullabaloo of Halloween has passed the children eagerly begin their Christmas countdown. Santa lists are written and rewritten many times, but never quite finalised until The Late Late Toy Show has aired. This is normally the first Friday in December but this year is the last Friday in November, which should leave Santa enough time to make all the necessary gifts, in time for the big day. My own Christmas countdown normally begins too after Halloween. November for me is a month for baking; puddings, the Christmas cake and mincemeat all benefit greatly from being made early and left to mature over a few weeks. Individually none of these are too great a task to undertake, but each can give a wonderful sense of accomplishment on Christmas week. If you have a little time on your hands and would like to get ahead with your Christmas gift list, I'm certain that a homemade pudding, cake or jar of mincemeat would be greatly appreciated by a loved one at Christmas.

Only in recent years have I started to enjoy mince pies. A pastry case overfilled with boozy fruit never really cut it for me, that is until I started to sample a few homemade varieties. My mother in law is quite the expert at making pastry so a couple of Christmas ago we made a deal, that she would make the pastry and I would make a suitable mincemeat filling for mince pies, to serve at a family get together. These turned out splendidly and each Christmas since I've made these to accompany some festive mulled wine. The quality of the pastry must be good but most importantly the quality of the mincemeat is crucial. I love anything a little zesty, so with added orange zest and some Grand Marnier or Cointreau, these little treats are rather pungent with orange flavours. I greatly welcome nuts, of any variety, in a pie or tart so a few pecan nuts are in the mincemeat, but these can be replaced with walnuts if you prefer. The uncooked mince pies will freeze very well. Open-freeze the uncooked mince pies in their trays, then knock each one out and store in freezer bags. To cook, replace the desired amount of pies in a bun tin. When cooking from frozen, allow an extra 10 minutes cooking time.
For all the non mince pie eaters I'd urge you to give these a try, as you may be surprised by how much you actually like them!

Ingredients

300g (12oz) raisins
300g (12oz) sultanas

juice 1 orange

6 tablespoons Grand Marnier or Cointreau

175g (6oz) pecans or walnuts, toasted, roughly chopped

200g (8oz) butter, melted

175g (6oz) candied peel, {mixed or orange} finely chopped

finely grated zest 2 oranges

175g (6oz) light muscovado sugar

1 large Bramley apple, freshly grated

Method

Soak the raisins and sultanas in the orange juice and Grand Marnier or Cointreau for a couple of hours or so until the liquid is all soaked up. I normally leave overnight for maximum soakage.
Add in all the remaining ingredients and combine well. Spoon into sterilised jars, seal tightly, then store in the fridge until ready to use. The mincemeat will keep in the fridge for up to 2 months.

Mince Pies - Sweet Pastry

Ingredients

180g/7oz plain flour

75g/3oz ground almonds

25g/1oz caster sugar

Finely grated rind of 1 orange
pinch of salt

140g/5oz butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

1 large egg, beaten

Method

Sift the flour into a bowl and mix in ground almonds, orange rind, caster sugar and a pinch of salt.
Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the egg and mix into the flour with a knife, then gather into a ball using your hands.
Preheat the oven to 200c/400f/gas6.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough and line a bun-case. Spoon in the mincemeat. Top each with a pastry disc.
Brush with a little beaten egg or milk and bake for 15-20 mins.

Christmas Crisps Hamper Giveaway

2012-11-15T09:41:00.000Z

I have mentioned here, on many an occasion, that I'm a huge fan of Keogh's range of crisps. The new variety has hit the shelves, just in time for the festive season. Very similar to Violet tasting the 3-meal chewing gum in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, these Roast Turkey and Secret Stuffing Crisps were for me the nearest thing you could get to Christmas dinner in a bag.

With the help of Dustin the Turkey, Keogh's launched the new variety last week. Innovative and entrepreneurial Keogh's Farm are bringing the taste of the much loved Christmas dinner to all occasions with their mouth-watering festive Roast Turkey and Secret Stuffing hand-cooked potato crisp. The Secret Stuffing in the crisps is a closely guarded secret family recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation and uses only the finest ingredients grown in their farmhouse herb garden in North County Dublin.

Keogh's Farm are the only on-farm producers of hand cooked Irish potato crisps in Ireland and the only potato growers in the world who offer fresh potatoes and potato crisps from the same farm side by side in stores both around the country and around the world, having recently secured space in American gourmet chain Dean & DeLuca.

Keogh's Roast Turkey and Secret Stuffing crisps will also feature the ever-popular ‘Spud Nav’ through which the consumer can trace their bag of crisps back to the field it came from, by entering the field name - which is printed on each bag into the ‘Spud Nav’ page on the Keogh's web site, www.keoghs.ie

This competition is now over. Winner will be announced tomorrow - 19th November.

I'm teaming up with Keogh's Farm to give a lovely festive Christmas Crisps hamper, packed with lots of goodies, to one of my readers. To be in with a chance of winning either leave a comment below or retweet my tweet about this giveaway on twitter - my twitter handle is https://twitter.com/Nessa_Robins

~~All names will be put in the hat and the winner will be picked on the 18th November.~~

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: you must be a resident of Ireland (north or south); you must be over 18; no cash alternative is possible, the competition will close at 6pm on Sunday 18th November. All entered names will be put in the hat and the winner will be picked at random and will be contacted on Monday 19th November.

Best of luck!

Lemon & Poppy Seed Loaf with a Creamy Lemon Topping

2012-11-09T16:35:00.001Z

One of my little men had a day off school today. He wasn't exactly sick but more completely exhausted from being up most of the night with a rather bad flare up of his eczema. Thankfully this doesn't too often happen, but being unsure whether an accompanied tummy ache was due to the tiredness, or was a sign of an upcoming bug, I decided to err on the side of caution and keep him tucked up and cosy at home.
I always bake on a Friday, to have something in the press for weekend visitors. Today I decided to make one of my favourite cakes this Lemon & Poppy Seed Loaf Cake and top it with a creamy lemon topping. I based the recipe on my basic bun mixture and added some lemon zest and poppy seeds to the cake batter. I also put the fire on early, made a big pot of soup and some homemade soda bread. As the morning progressed Tiarnán started to feel a little more energised and while he tore into his soup and soda bread, by the fire, I thought to myself what a beautiful memory this will be for him of being 'sick' as a child, while also I hoped that it wouldn't encourage a pattern of 'sick days'. However he's a good boy, who adores school, so I can't imagine this ever being the case, for the next few years anyway!

As I was baking my patient was busy colouring.

Ingredients
225g (8oz) butter, softened
225g (8oz) caster sugar
zest of 1 lemon
3 free range eggs
280g (10oz) self-raising flour, sieved
25g poppy seeds

For Icing

30g softened butter
70g plain cream cheese (Philadelphia)
200g icing sugar, sieved
1/2 tsp lemon extract

Icing sugar-to dust

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C(fan)/390°F/gas mark 6.
2. Prepare a 2lb baking loaf by greasing well with some butter.
3. Place the butter, caster sugar and lemon zest into a bowl, saving a little of the zest for decorating, and cream together until it is a pale yellow colour, which takes about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time with a little flour- to prevent the mixture from curdling. Mix well.
5. Add the remaining flour then combine well. Fold in the poppyseeds.
6. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin.
7. Bake in the oven for 35 mins or until golden brown in colour. Cool on a wire tray.
8. Put the cream cheese, butter and icing sugar into a bowl and beat together until smooth and creamy. Stir in the lemon extract. Put the icing in the fridge for 15 minutes to harden slightly. When the cake has completely cooled spread the icing over the cake and smooth using a palette knife.

9. Decorate the top of the cake with some lemon zest and dust with a little sieved icing sugar.

Have a great weekend!

Chicken & Stuffing Pasta Bake

2012-11-06T08:38:00.004Z

The last few weeks have been extraordinarily busy, as my deadline for handing over Apron Strings was looming. Each and every time I read through the manuscript I found something that I wanted to change, so I must say that I am delighted that it is now out of my hands and safely with New Island. I'm rather glad and relieved to have an experienced eye read through it. I styled and photographed all the photos for the book, which was a fantastic experience but certainly left me faced with a very messy kitchen, for a number of weeks. Last Thursday morning I was genuinely delighted to face into a day of cleaning.

It hasn't only been a busy few months for me but also relatively hectic for my husband, Diarmuid. Once he was in the house I would either be typing or photographing, so it wasn't unusual for him to bath three of the children while on his tea break from work. We are actually quite different in nature as I'm never happier than when I am constantly busy, however he relishes in taking life easy. Unfortunately for him, this is rarely an option in our house, but when I'm under pressure I know that I can completely rely on him to keep daily life ticking over. My father also became quite involved in the whole book process, planting herbs especially for me to photograph and spending hours on end searching through old documents for family photos and recipes.

So after spending a few months of working every waking moment, we had a rather welcomed weekend of relaxation. We had plenty of callers, while also taking in a few family visits and even though I have been cooking quite a bit over the past couple of months, this weekend was jam packed with one of the things I most love to do with the children - baking.

The whole family had a part in bringing the book together.

I had so many recipes that I wanted to include in the book but had to decide on my favourite and most appropriately placed one hundred. This was something difficult as it meant that there were some which I wanted to include but didn't. However I will always need recipes for the blog and my columns in the Westmeath Independent and Easy Parenting, which means that these recipes that didn't make the cut can still be used. This chicken & stuffing pasta bake is one of those recipes and was one dish that I came up with purely by chance. One evening I was planning on making a pasta bake for dinner. I would normally top the bake with some cheese, mixed through a few tablespoons of breadcrumbs, but as I was in a hurry I used some leftover stuffing from the previous day’s dinner. The characteristic stuffing flavour of sage was in every bite. When cooked it gave the pasta bake a deliciously crisp and tasty top. I was delighted with the result and have made it a few times since. This pasta bake is very filling so a little on the plate really goes a long way and is perfectly served with a nice green salad.

Ingredients

Stuffing

25g/3oz butter

1/2 onion, finely diced

100g/31/2oz white breadcrumbs

1 tbsp freshly chopped sage

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Filling

50g (2oz) butter

1 onion, finely diced

1tbsp olive oil

4 chicken fillets, diced

salt and pepper

500mls(1 pint) chicken stock

200mls (7floz) cream

2tbsp freshly chopped sage leaves,

2 teasp wholegrain mustard

100g(4oz) frozen peas

200g cooked pasta

Method:

1. For the stuffing, melt the butter in a pan, add the onions and cook for a few minutes until softened but not coloured.

2. Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl with the onion and butter mixture, and the sage. Mix well to combine, season to taste and leave to one side.

3. Preheat the oven to 200°C/430°f/gas 6.

4. Add half the butter to a large oven proof dish or saucepan and over a medium heat fry the onions for a few minutes until soft. Remove to a plate.

4. Add the rest of the butter and the olive oil to the saucepan then add the diced chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken on each side and cook through, which takes about 10 minutes.

5. Add the stock, cream, sage and wholegrain mustard. Return the cooked onions to the saucepan and add the frozen peas.

6. Bring to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes.

8. Stir in the cooked pasta until it is evenly coated then top with the stuffing.

9. Place the dish/saucepan on a baking tray in the preheated oven for 20-25mins, until the top is golden brown and the mixture bubbling hot.

Serve with a green salad.

Christmas Cake Recipe Competition

2012-11-05T11:21:00.000Z

The Irish Examiner is hosting a very exciting Christmas Cake Recipe competition, with some very lovely prizes. They are offering readers and baking fans an opportunity to share their Christmas cake recipe and be in with a chance to win a luxury weekend away for two to the Aghadoe Heights Hotel.

There are four categories in the Christmas cake competition:

Traditional – Share your Christmas family favourite, may it be moist, rich or slightly spiced.
Quick – throw in a mixer, bake and eat! Reveal your recipe cheats for the busy baker when it comes to Christmas
Special Diet –educate and enlighten others with your clever baking innovations for Christmas cheer!
Creative – Wild and Inspired, bring out your internal Heston! Anything goes for your interpretation of ‘festive’ flavour.

Irish Examiner food writers Darina Allen, Joe McNamee, Roz Crowley and Michelle Darmody are the judges. The competition is open to amateur bakers only and recipes must be original to the entrant. The closing date for entries is Thursday 22 November. Finalists will be contacted on Monday 3 December to allow time to perfect their baking.

One finalist from each category will present their winning cake at a coffee morning at the Irish Examiner offices in December. The event will be open to the public with the proceeds going to charity. The recipes of each of the four finalists will also be made available to download on the Irish Examiner's website

The lucky winner will receive a luxury weekend away at the Aghadoe Heights Hotel where they can relax and unwind over two nights in a spacious suite with a bottle of wine on arrival, enjoy afternoon tea at The Heights Lounge and access to the rejuvenating thermal suite. The runners-up will receive an Irish Examiner bakers goodie bag with delightful treats.

To enter the competition entrants should visit: www.irishexaminer.com/competitions/ and click on the Christmas Cake Competition link or send your recipe by post to Irish Examiner Christmas Cake Competition, Irish Examiner, City Quarter, Lapps Quay, Cork.

Halloween Honeycomb

2012-10-24T12:42:00.000+01:00

Halloween is just around the corner and the boys are exceptionally busy making costumes and practicing Trick or Treat rhymes. The house is suitably decorated and all we have left to do is plan the food for our party. The children love honeycomb and only recently did I realise just how easy it is to make. It's very inexpensive and simply takes a couple of minutes to prepare. The contents of the saucepan get very hot, so I would advise keeping the little ones away, until it comes to bashing it into pieces; a job that my Millie very much enjoyed!

Ingredients

1/2 teasp sunflower oil

120g caster sugar

60g golden syrup

1 teasp bread soda, sieved

Method

1. Prepare a small baking tray by drizzling over the oil and using a pastry brush, evenly grease the tray. Put the sugar and golden syrup into a medium sized saucepan. Give it a stir to combine then place on the heat.

2. Heat gently, until the sugar has melted, gently moving the saucepan if one side is bubbling a little higher. Simmer for 2 minutes being careful that it doesn't burn. Once it darkens in colour, remove from the heat and whisk in the sieved bread soda, very quickly. The mixture will begin to foam.

3. Immediately turn the mixture into the prepared tin. Leave for an hour to set.

4. Remove from the tin and break into pieces by hand or bash a little with a rolling pin. It can then be used sprinkled over ice-cream or dipped in some chocolate it's perfect as a tasty treat. Store in an air- tight container for up to 2 days.

I also have a few suggestions on my Halloween page that I will be making again this year.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Cookie Monsters

2012-10-15T17:56:00.002+01:00

Late September-early October happens to be one of my favourite times of the year. Autumn as a season doesn't hold the same expectation as summer, yet in recent years it seems that we have been experiencing fairly similar weather both in summer and autumn. This of course makes autumn the somewhat superior season as throwing on an extra layer of clothing is rarely met begrudgingly, since winter is fast approaching. Also with the slightly cooler weather, it's the time of year for hearty, filling dishes to be re-introduced to the kitchen. The children are now back to school, after their long summer break, but still the evenings are bright enough and not too cold to let them get some fresh air after their homework. I love heading out with the children for Autumn walks in the countryside. The colours on display are so beautiful and at every turn there is the chance to pick a few berries or gather some other foragable goods. Never collecting enough to make even a small batch of jam I generally use the foraged fruit in a crumble or maybe just sprinkled over some pancakes to create a fruity treat. This time of year also sees great preparations for what not only is loved by my children but also by myself, Halloween. I have always been an avid Halloween fan and now that the children are getting older, and even more involved with the party preparations, this is indeed a very exciting time in our house. I never put myself under too much pressure with the party food, once there are a few ghoulish looking goodies and a big bowl of a funny looking drink, for the kids to ladle into big cups or goblets, they are all more than happy. There are a few Halloween party ideas on my Halloween Page.

Cookie Monsters

If you are looking for a cookery based activity, for your Halloween party, creating these hungry cookie monsters will keep children very happy. You could make up a few that will give the children lots of ideas for creating their own little monsters. The cookies can be homemade but for less hassle a few packets of your favourite chocolate chip cookie will do the trick.

Ingredients

16 chocolate chip cookies

Icing-

60g soft butter

40g cream cheese

200g icing sugar, sifted

1 teasp vanilla extract

food colouring - colour of your choice

To Decorate

mini smarties

marshmallows

chocolate chips

liquorish laces

Method

1. Make the icing by combining the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Blend well, using a wooden spoon.

2. Slowly add the icing sugar and continue to blend. Add the vanilla extract, blend until pale and fluffy. Divide the icing between three bowls and add a tiny drop of different food colouring to each.

3. Sandwich together two cookies with a spoonful of icing. Do the same for the rest of the cookies and then decorate your monsters using chocolate chips for the teeth and stick marshmallows on the top, using a little icing as glue.