Chinese Pancakes

What is nicer than a delicate warm pancakes stuffed with crispy sweet duck, crunchy cucumber, spring onions, all smothered in sweet hoisin sauce!

This is my all time favourite item on the take out menu, usually when I order take out I order extra pancakes, there can never be enough! Although sometimes I buy the ready to cook duck kit in the supermarket and once again there are never enough pancakes so this way allows me to have a many pancakes as I want, also the homemade ones taste so much better than shop bought!

Irish Potato Bread (Farls)

It would be incorrect of me to say that this is a recipe, it isn't really, it's more of a suggestion. If you happen to have some mashed potatoes left over and you're wondering what to do with them then this is my suggestion. Why not make a traditional Irish recipe that is quick and easy to make and just happens to be absolutely delicious! 

Fun, Easy and Free Hallowe'en Knitting!

These wonderfully easy ghosts came from one of my favourite knitting designers, Jean Greenhowe. When I looked at her website, I just thought aren't they just adorable! 

Teeny, tiny ghosts that are the perfect Hallowe'en gift, an added bonus is that they are extremely quick (even for a slow knitter like myself) to knit. 

5 Ingredients Oreo Cheesecake - No Bake!

On our family holiday this summer we travelled to the beautiful Bunratty Castle in Co. Clare. We stayed in a nearby hotel and enjoyed a couple of nights of sumptuous eating and glorious rest.
 

Bunratty Castle, Co. Clare, built in 1425.

 One meal stood out as being particularly glorious, a meal of pan fried fresh hake in a buttery sauce with creamy potatoes and braised red cabbage, to round out the whole experience I had the most delicious Oreo Cheesecake for dessert.

Spiced Apple Butter (Low Sugar)

Apple what now?... Yes a couple of years ago I wondered the same thing, did it actually have butter in it? How was it made and what would I eat it with?

So what exactly is it? Well a fruit butter is usually a stoned fruit, cooked at a low temperature for a prolonged period of time until the natural sweetness of the fruit come to the fore and it becomes a smooth buttery fruit puree.

As a result of this slow cooking process, fruit butters need less added sugar, which makes for a guilt free spread on your morning wholemeal toast, stirred into greek yoghurt or slathered onto pancakes. 

Cheese and Ham Pastry Ring

This is my favourite time of year, not just because school is back - although having a routine again is wonderful - but because it's just a really beautiful time of year. The leaves are beginning to turn on the trees around our house and the mornings are cool and crisp. 

With those cool mornings come the cool evenings and that's where this tasty dish come into it's own. It has only 3 ingredients and it bakes is 20 minutes or less! The perfect warming after school snack, I am cheating slightly with the pastry but when you are pushed for time and have hungry children waiting for something hot and filling to eat, then I think that it is only smart to have few tricks up your sleeve!   

Easy Chocolate Cake

This chocolate cake looks good and it tastes great too, guess what...it is really easy to make!! This is so easy to make and decorate that I made two of them for my childrens teacher, the perfect end of year thank you!!

The sponge mix is an all in one - put everything into a bowl, mix it up - and the chocolate buttercream is a doddle to make.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is one of those dishes that you will find yourself making again and again. It is trouble free and fairly inexpensive, not to mention the fact that leftovers are never a problem. 

Oven Baked Asparagus

I overheard two young mothers talking at the vegetable section recently "I'd buy them but I wouldn't know how to cook them!" and so they both moved on leaving behind one of my favourite vegetables.

Mary Berry's Ginger and Treacle Spiced Traybake

  

This is one classy tea time treat that will wow all your friends, they will "ohh and ahh" as you bring out the tray. Firing complements your way, telling you  "there was no need to go to all this trouble", however, don't feel the need to divulge your little secret....this tea time treat is really, really easy to make! The sponge is light as air and as it's an all-in-one mixing method, you can't go wrong. Lap up the praise and thank your lucky stars Mary Berry came to your rescue :) 

Recipe complements of Mary Berry's Baking Bible

Makes 15 squares

Ingredients
225g Softened butter
175g Light muscovado sugar
200g Black Treacle
300g Self-raising flour
2 level tsp Baking powder
1 level tsp Ground mixed spice
1 level tsp Ground allspice
4 Large eggs
4 tbsp Milk
3 Pieces stem ginger from a jar, finely chopped

Icing
75g icing sugar
3tbsp Stem ginger syrup from the jar
3 Pieces stem ginger from a jar, finely chopped


Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Gas Mark 4 and line a 30x23cm traybake or roasting tin with baking paper. Put all the ingredients for the traybake in a large bowl and beat until well blended. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping the bowl with a plastic spatula to remove all the mixture. Level the top gently with the back of the spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the cake has shrunk from the sides and when pressed springs back in the centre with your fingertips. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes then turn out, peel off the baking paper and finish cooling on a wire rack. 

To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add the ginger syrup and mix until the icing is smooth and has a spreading consistency. Pour the icing over the cake, spread it gently to the edges with a small pallet knife and sprinkle over the chopped stem ginger. Allow the icing to set before slicing the traybake into 15 pieces. (I omitted the stem ginger because my children just love it as it is, warm from the oven with the icing still running down the sides!)

Mary's Tip: This traybake freezes very well un-iced, and in fact improves with freezing.

Memories of Home - Meat Balls and Mash

I think that most Irish mothers made this dish or a variation of it and for very good reason too, it's delicious. I have memories of cycling into Kilbeggan in the late 80's to the local butchers and buying a "pound of mince" and heading home to make meat balls. As children we usually ate our meat balls with pasta and tomato sauce but you can also try this recipe with curry sauce and some boiled rice if you prefer. Just to assure you, the oxtail soup isn't a very dominant flavour in this recipe, it's just like a mild gravy. I made double, cooked it right through, cooled and froze half, so I'll have a day off cooking some day soon.I took this recipe from All About Home Economics which is in daily use in this house anyway!

Serves 4

Ingredients
400g Minced beef
50g Breadcrumbs
1 Onion, finely grated
1 Clove garlic, chopped
1tbsp Parsley
25g Cheese, grated
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 tsp Salt
Pepper
750ml Oxtail soup packet
1kg Potatoes, scrubbed and pierced

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C/350F/Gas 4.
Place the potatoes in the oven (make sure you pierce the potatoes with a knife or a skewer otherwise they'll explode, and that takes ages to clean up!)
Mix beef, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, parsley, cheese and seasoning together in a large bowl. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Shape into about 16 balls (walnut sized).

Brown the meat balls in a large frying pan over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, drain well.

Meanwhile make up the soup as directed and set aside. Place meat balls in a large casserole, pour over the oxtail soup and place in the oven for 45 minutes.

Scoop out the baked out the potatoes and mash with butter and milk (or not!) 

Serve in the casserole with the mash and fine beans.

Lorraine Pascale's Boeuf Wellington Petits

This is Lorraine Pascale's Mini Beef Wellingtons but with a French name for a dinner party menu and I translated it correctly, I think! I love this main meal because I usually prepare the beef the day before I need it and then bake them at my leisure. I didn't use the mushrooms called for in the recipe instead I used the ordinary closed cup mushrooms and it all tasted divine also I used ready rolled puff  pastry too! How about trying this menu...

French Themed Dinner Party for Four Menu

Starter of your Choice

Main Course

Boeuf Wellington Petits

Gratin Dauphinoise

Steamed Green Vegetable of your choice

Dessert

Moelleux au Chocolat

Recipe from Lorraine Pascale Home Cooking Made Easy

Serves 4

Ingredients
500g Packet ready-made puff pastry
plain flour, for dusting
20g Dried porcini mushrooms or large morels
2 tbsp Vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 x 180g Slices beef fillet
4 Small shallots, peeled and very finely chopped
Knob of butter
500g Mushrooms, finely chopped
Generous dash medium sweet sherry (optional)
Large handful fresh thyme leaves
1 Free-range egg, lightly beaten
300ml Double cream

Method
Roll the puff pastry out on a floured work surface to a 5mm/¼in thickness. Trim the pastry into a 36cm/14in square. Then cut into four smaller squares and place onto two baking trays. Chill in the fridge for five minutes.

Rinse the dried mushrooms in cold water, then put them into a bowl and cover with hot water. Leave to soak for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan until very hot. Season the beef well all over with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fry for one minute on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Place the shallots into the pan and fry for 4-5 minutes or until softened. Add the butter and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Meanwhile, drain the dried mushrooms and finely chop, then add them to the pan with the glug of sherry, if using. Increase the heat and cook until most of the sherry has evaporated. Add the thyme, cook for one minute, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas 6. Remove the pastry from the fridge and place a tablespoon of the mushroom mixture into the middle of each piece of pastry; spread it out to the same size as the beef steak.

Top with the steak and brush the edges with the beaten egg. Draw up the corners and edges of the pastry so they meet and overlap slightly in the middle.

Turn it right-side up and shape it round the sides a little with your hands. If the pastry is soft, chill it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to firm up. Slash the tops of the Wellingtons with a knife and brush them all over with the remaining beaten egg.

Bake for 12-14 minutes (for medium-rare), or until cooked to your liking. Five minutes before the Wellingtons are ready, reheat the remaining mushroom mixture. When it is hot, add the double cream and cook on a high heat for 2-3 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat, season, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cover with a lid to keep warm.

Serve the Wellingtons with a spoonful of the sauce

Drop Scones for Chilly Days

We knew these as Crumpets at home and my Father loved them warm with lashings of real butter. Now my children love them, they are eaten with anything that is squidgy and sticky, especially the blueberry syrup. Chocolate obviously is near the top of the list, everything is improved with a large dollop of chocolate on top!

Pancake Recipe complemts of Rachel Allen's Rachel's Favourite Food at Home

Makes 12 (I usually double this recipe)

Ingredients
Pancakes:
100g Self-raising flour, sieved
1tsp baking powder
25g Caster sugar
Pinch of salt
1 Egg
125ml milk
Oil, for greasing

Blueberry Syrup recipe complements of Nigella Lawson's Nigella Express

Blueberry Syrup:
125ml Maple Syrup
200g Fresh blueberries
Slices of Pancetta ham (I use Aldi's Air Dryed Ham)


Method
Like my pancake mix I make this in a jug (lazy I know) but you are free to mix everything in a large bowl. Place all the dry ingredients in a jug/bowl, add the egg and mix with a fork all the while slowly adding the milk. Whisk until combined (I don't care too much about lumps). Heat a large frying pan over a moderate heat, grease it and pour about 1tbsp of batter onto your pan, keeping them well apart to prevent sticking. Cook for 2 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface, flip over and cook until lightly golden. My pancakes are oblong, because my frying pan is very old and warped!

Keep warm on a plate covered with a tea towel. Meanwhile in a clean dry pan, fry the ham until it crisp.
Blueberry syrup: put the syrup and blueberries into a pan and bring to the boil. Let bubble for 2-3 minutes, then pour into a jug (I use a ramekin instead so I dip the drop scones in) and bring to the table with the pancakes.

Lorraine Pascale's Chocolate Cheesecake

 

I saw this recipe on BBC 2 Monday evening last, Lorraine Pascale, Home Cooking Made Easy. It is a no cook recipe that anyone could replicate at home, even with only minimal baking experience. Some points to note on the recipe, I halved the quantity (there is only four of use here and oh the temptation) and I used a 16cm diameter tin. I have found in the past that full fat cream cheese hold it's shape better and sets quicker than the low fat option. I used milk chocolate throughout, next time I'll use the milk and plain combination for more of a chocolate punch. This is a smooth and silky cheesecake that looks very impressive.

Serves 8

Ingredients
400g Packet chocolate digestives, crushed to fine crumbs
75g Butter, melted and cooled slightly
800g Cream cheese
Icing sugar, to taste
400g Milk chocolate (35% cocoa solids), or you can use a mixture of 300g milk chocolate and 100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
1 tsp Vegetable oil
100g White chocolate

Method
Mix the crushed biscuits and butter together in a bowl with the back of a wooden spoon until well combined. Spoon the mixture into a 23cm/9in springform tin and press down very hard all the way around the base until flat and even.

Mix the cream cheese and icing sugar together in a bowl.

Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Pour a quarter of the chocolate into a jug, stir in the oil, then set aside and keep warm. (The chocolate can also be reheated in the microwave for 20 seconds if it cools down.)

Place a large dollop of the cream cheese mixture into the bowl of remaining chocolate and stir until well combined.

Keep adding the mixture, one dollop at a time, and mixing it vigorously until the chocolate mixture becomes smooth and silky and you have added all of the cream cheese. Pour the mixture onto the biscuit base and use the back of a large spoon to smooth the top, pressing down so that no gaps remain.

Chill the cheesecake in the fridge for 20 minutes, or until the chocolate top begins to firm. The cheesecake can also be placed into the freezer for 10 minutes to set. Melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and make sure the jug of milk chocolate is nice and runny.

Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and pour the milk chocolate on top, spreading it out as you go until the top is completely covered. (For a smooth finish, pick up the cheesecake and tilt it back and forth, letting the chocolate run over and cover the cream cheese filling.) I usually drizzle with the melted white chocolate and allow to set.

This is Lorraine's method for decorating the cheesecake: Drizzle white chocolate lines across the top about 2cm/¾in apart. The neatest way to do this is by putting the chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a very small nozzle. Place the cheesecake so the lines are running towards you, then take a cocktail stick and drag it from left to right, making lines from left to right 2cm/¾in apart to form a grid. Drag the cocktail stick once again from right to left between the toothpick lines that you have just made. You will need to do this quite quickly so the chocolate lines are still runny.


Leave the cheesecake in a cool place to set for about two hours.

Run a hot sharp knife around the inside of the tin and carefully remove the cake. Serve in wedges with a drizzle of single cream.

Shortbread Bites

If like me you enjoy giving baked presents on special occasions or as a thank you, then I think these biscuits are ideal. They are quick and impressive looking. Don't be restricted by my design feel free to roll out and cut any shape you please. I usually make double the amount and freeze half, very handy if you have unexpected visitors arriving. If you want, dip half the baked and cooled biscuits into chocolate and leave to set.

Makes 35

Ingredients
225g Plain flour
175g Butter, softened
75g Caster sugar
100g Milk chocolate (optional)

Method
Preheat the oven to 150C and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
Tip the flour, butter and sugar ingredients into a stand mixer and with the paddle attachment and mix until a soft dough is formed.

Roll between your palms marble sized balls, place on your prepared tray leaving 2cm/1in between each. Dip a fork into water and flatten each ball gently.

Bake for 25-30 minutes and cool on a wire rack. When cooled decorate with the melted chocolate or with piped chocolate buttercream.