Gimmetherecipe

How does your garden grow?

sheila kiely — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:53:23 +0000

Managing to keep some unidentified kind of rubber plant alive indoors for a few years now does not a gardener make. Beyond that, it’s been a struggling basil or parsley plant on the back kitchen window that usually doesn’t see the end of a week or two. When recently asked by Stop Food Waste to support their combined efforts with GIY to get people out there and growing their own I was happy to give it a whirl but this is a new departure for me, a little adventure or foray if you will and sure we’ll see how it goes.

First up was the assembly of a couple of raised beds in the garden. We put two adjoining beds in place, end to end, one for team kids & dad and the other for me. Now when I say ‘we’ that would be the royal ‘we’, meaning it was in fact ‘he’ who engaged a local joinery company to make up the required lengths of timber (teak) for the beds and he put them in place with the aid of some of his side-kicks while I contributed with some pointing and gesturing.
Compost from the large green bin that graces a corner of our back garden was finally put to use and was topped up with soil sourced for free – it’s probably a bit on the stoney side but sure what do I know! So far, so frugal.

I had received a packet of Butterhead (Marvel of 4 Seasons) Lettuce leaves courtesy of GIY and being a bit of a freak for following instructions I set about planting them into little seedling pots I had picked up for half nothing in Heatons. While I set about cultivating my seeds according to instructions, team kids & Dad took the fling the seeds at the soil approach.
(You can imagine what a flat-pack assembly is like chez-moi with me being OCD on starting at point No.1 Let’s just say screw-drivers should not be kept within reach.)
Team Dad had taken some advice from a wise person (everyone’s a gardener) who told them to alternate onions with the other crops to keep pests at bay but one pest we hadn’t considered however was ‘Kylie’ the family dog. With the Olympics approaching it seems she has plans for the hop, skip and jump event and it turns out that the raised beds is perfect for her training.
When I finally deemed it time to put my seedlings of leaves, strawberries etc out, I erected a flimsy but effective boundary of bamboo and string to keep Kylie the wonder-dog at bay and so far it’s working.
Tears almost spilled as I attempted to untangle various seedling roots and what entered the ground looked very weak and flimsy (spring onions, strawberries, carrots, lettuce). My beautiful lettuce seedlings just keeled over – first I thought they had died but now they’ve turned red and seem to be strengthening up somewhat so we shall see. I’ve been told by another wise person that it’s best to keep my chilli plants indoors.

Recovering lettuce leaves and barely visible seedlings at my end (Kylie Kiely stands guard)

Team Kids & Dad faring better at the other end with the ‘plant straight in the ground’ approach – (time will tell)

I think it’s probably time I did a bit of reading up on thinning out etc. as the parsnips that I planted direct into the ground may need a bit more room if they are going to thrive. I am loath to pull out growing shoots in order to strengthen others and advice is definitely called for on what to do next.

The truth as always will be in the eating and I will report back anon when something worthy graces the table. For now I can observe that this growing lark is fun and worth the very little effort that I have given it to date and it’s amazing to see something growing in front of your eyes.

While all of this has been going on my eldest dried off some seeds from the inside of a shop bought tomato and has grown this beauty indoors – he has made gardening seem incredibly easy. Maybe some are just more natural at it than others.

Johnnie’s Tomato Plant

Please comment with any hints, tips, advice etc. (you are also allowed to scoff and condescend if deemed necessary).
The adventure continues.
Til next time, Sheila.

Sticky Apricot Chicken & Apricot Couscous

sheila kiely — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:40:53 +0000

Langouring in the back of the fridge watching other flavours of jams and marmalades coming and going, apricot jam is taking up room and probably feeling like a bit of a waste of space. Creeping up behind cranberry sauce sales at Christmas time those figures must surely be dwindling with the demise of Christmas Cake baking. It appears to be the glue of choice for adhering marzipan to fruit-cake so sales may see a bit of a lurch at Easter too though Simnel Cake baking is also a dying tradition.

A quick bit of research surprised me when I came across David Lebovitz’s apricot jam recipe, he says “my unofficial survey has shown that the flavor of jam which gets most people excited here (Paris) is homemade apricot jam.”
Perhaps not so useless then just under-utilised and explored in this part of the world – due mostly to the lack of fresh apricots. As well as being used as marzipan glue another frequent use for apricot jam is as a glaze for tarts – Neven Maguire uses it on his Apple and Almond tart and Gordon Ramsay on his Bakewell tart.
Here in this recipe I’ve taken my apricot jam from the back of the fridge and used it to make a tasty sticky apricot chicken dish accompanied by couscous enhanced with plumped up dried apricots. If you’ve any recipes or suggestions on other ways to use up apricot jam I’d love to hear them.

Sticky Apricot Chicken
Serves 4
You will need:
1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
4 chicken breasts
1 medium onion
2 tbsp apricot jam
250ml chicken stock (from cube is fine)
Method:
Heat the fan oven to 180 / Gas Mark 6.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat and cook the chicken breasts for a couple of minutes on each side to colour lightly – then remove them to a baking tray and into the oven to continue cooking.
Peel and thinly slice the onion and add to the same frying pan used to cook the chicken, scraping up any juices. Leave the onions to soften over a low to medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add 2tbsp apricot jam to the softened onion and pour in 250ml of chicken stock mixing well.
Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to medium.
Add the chicken pieces back into the pan from the oven and turn occasionally as the sauce cooks and reduces a little.
Test that the chicken is cooked by cutting through to the centre before serving with the apricot couscous.

Apricot Couscous
Serves 4-6 generously as a side dish(left-overs are great cold)
You will need:
1 tbsp butter
250g couscous
250ml hot chicken stock (from cube is fine)
1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
150g (handful) dried apricots
1 tbsp apricot jam
Handful fresh flat leaf parsley
Method:
Heat the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat then add the couscous stirring well and cooking for 1 minute then remove from the heat. Pour in the hot chicken stock and cover with a lid. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile finely chop the dried apricots.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a small frying pan and cook the chopped dried apricots in the pan with 1 tbsp apricot jam and 2 tbsp of water over a medium heat for a few minutes until plumping up.
Finely chop the fresh parsley.
Remove the lid from the resting couscous and return it to the heat using a fork to fluff it up and mix in the apricot and parsley.
Enjoy.
‘Til next time, Sheila.

Chermoula spiced chickpeas in stuffed & roasted peppers

sheila kiely — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:02:29 +0000

Here’s a tasty Moroccan inspired recipe that’ll fill you up and make you feel healthy at the same time. Anything with lemon, honey and ginger sings cleansing or purifying and accompanied with the right amount of spiciness you’re destined to feel renewed. This John Torode chermoula paste recipe lay unexplored amidst the pages of a 2006 GoodFood Magazine.

(From here I digress and go off on a rant for a little bit…ignore at will)
Food, like fashion, has its fads and figaries and du jour it’s all about foraging and wild garlic. In the food world you’ll have those who know their amanita (psychoactive/poisonous mushroom) from their shiitake just like you’ll have those who know their Jimmy Choos from their Louboutins and on both counts I would consider myself somewhere in the middle (though probably edging more towards being in danger of picking a poisonous mushroom). To some, food/fashion and the knowledge thereof is an obsession – you could nearly say an addiction albeit a relatively healthy addiction though one or both may be destructive on waist-line and wallet. The two worlds of food and fashion often meet and in the mission to look good in one’s clothes or perhaps to just tie a zip that once closed with ease you’ll read in food and fashion magazines about the latest diet. There is all sorts of craziness and varying nutritional advice being bandied about in relation to ‘healthy eating’ and ‘diets.’ With recent suggestions of banning advertising of certain foodstuffs targeted at children in a bid to conquer obesity and an emerging fad of tube-feeding for size 00 brides I just want to scream COP ON and then mutter FFS accompanied by my trademark rolling eyes.
I mean what does ‘I’m on a diet’ even mean? Your diet is what you eat not what you don’t eat. So a ‘no carb diet’ makes zero sense no matter what way you look at it.
Those in search of an answer to their dieting/weight misery already know the answer. It is simple and sensible. It is the reason why ‘everything in moderation’ and ‘a little of what you fancy does you good’ have become cliches because therein lies the answer -moderation- and if you’ve overdone it and need to tie that zip then ‘eat less and move more’ for a while.
Rant over..now back to something tasty and filling.
(I halved John Torode’s original quantities & significantly reduced the spicing quantities)
Chermoula Paste
You will need:
1 red onion
1 fat clove garlic
thumb sized piece fresh root ginger
juice 1 lemon
50 ml olive oil
1 tbsp honey
half tsp of cumin
half tsp of paprika
half tsp of turmeric
half tsp of hot chilli powder
Method:
Roughly chop the onion, crush the garlic then peel and grate the ginger. Combine with all the other ingredients in a food processor to make a paste.
Chermoula spiced chickpeas in stuffed & roasted peppers.
Serves 4.
You will need:
1 quantity chermoula paste (as above)
1 400g can chickpeas
1 courgette
125g rice pre-boiled (left over is fine)
4 peppers
Method:
Preheat the (fan) oven to 190C / Gas Mark 6.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas and combine with the chermoula paste.
Cut the courgette in thick slices and then quarter these to bite sized chunks.
Mix the courgette and cooked rice in with the chickpeas and chermoula paste and stir until everything is coated.
Slice the tops off the peppers and scoop out the seeds. Remove the stalk and centre piece from the cap and then use this to sit and balance the pepper on top of (as pictured above).
Fill the peppers with the chermoula spiced chickpeas.
Roast in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.
Serve with a few green leaves.
The courgette and pepper will still retain a little bite and it’s best to peel away the slightly charred skin of the peppers as you are eating them.
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila.

Apple and Almond Tart

sheila kiely — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:34:39 +0000

Cue the M&S voice-over; this is no ordinary tart, this is a Neven Maguire Apple and Almond Tart. You’ll take a mouthful, shut your eyes then probably let them roll a little as cream continues to melt into still bitey apple merging with moist almond custardy filling. Spoonful after spoonful will disappear with far too much ease and then you will push back on your chair edging away a little from the table, more room will be required for you to sit and savour.

A neighbour gave me this recipe (thank you Anne) and I have never made a tart like this before. When it comes to pastry making I’ve always done what I was taught in home-economics class and rubbed the butter into the flour with my finger-tips until resembling breadcrumbs. I’ve seen pastry made in food processors before and it had never dawned on me that while I don’t have a big fancy one I could use my ‘multimoulinette’ gadget instead. While pastry rested, the filling and apples were prepared.

I did have one difficulty in following the recipe though and it was related to my wallet. I really did want to stick to it and I could have if I had bought the Vanilla Pods that were stocked in my local supermarket but I couldn’t part with the 6.59 that they cost (for 2). It just seemed an insane amount of money to part with and meant that I would be pouring 3.30 into the pie in the form of vanilla seeds. Call me mean but with the alternative of vanilla extract already sitting in the press I just couldn’t justify it. Perhaps for a dinner party I might go the extra few euro and if you’re planning one then an extra special ingredient would probably take this up that notch but for now I can’t compare!

There is little point in me repeating the recipe here as it hasn’t been adjusted in any way other than substituting 1 tsp vanilla extract for the seeds of 1 vanilla pod so instead you can follow this link if you want to try it out. The recipe is listed on the new RTE Food website which also features a couple of recipes from Gimme The Recipe (the book) that you can check out here.
In the meantime, happy cooking & baking.
By the way I’d love to hear your comments re Vanilla Pods or other pie/pastry versions you have tried.
Til next time, Sheila.

Wholemeal Pesto Scones

sheila kiely — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:46:15 +0000

Last weekend brought a wonderful excuse to visit Galway. I travelled solo and met up with The Gravy Man at The G Hotel where we availed of their Fabulous Friday package which included a 3 course meal that was superb. Only staying for one night, as the doors of the lift to the carpark closed on my departure I whispered ‘I’ll be back’ to the glimmering decadence of one of the three opulently and distinctly styled drawing rooms (thanks to the artful eye of milliner Philip Treacy).
I travelled alone on Saturday northwards in the direction of Oughterard and soon met the bustling village of Moycullen. Here I ascended to the second floor of An Cearnog Nua and greeted by beautiful sunshine easily located the venue for my Gimme the Recipe demonstration – The Galway Cakery. The demonstration and book signing had been organised by Anne Quinn of The Moycullen Village Bookshop who was there to look after book sales on the day.

The Galway Cakery is a bright, spacious and tastefully decorated cafe and Henrike was a very welcoming host making me feel at ease and free to use what I liked from her kitchen as she got on with her own preparations for the day. The demo went over very well and before I left I fortified myself with the homemade mushroom soup and the savoury scone that Henrike had very kindly included from my book on her menu for the day.
As I gathered my things to leave I paused to take a few shots to share a little of the feel of the place and what’s on offer.
I returned home with a boxful of goodies to try out and as an out and out chocoholic I have to say the journey to Moycullen was worth it for the brownies alone – amazing. Portion sizes at The Galway Cakery are very generous and both the brownie and the rocky road were sufficient for at least two people.

Here’s a snapshot of Henrike’s interpretation of my wholemeal pesto scone bites – they were deliciously moist and fortifying for the journey home.
Wholemeal Pesto Scones
Makes 10-12 regular sized
You will need:
300g wholemeal flour
150g plain flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp bread soda
125g unsalted butter
300ml butter milk
2 tbsp basil pesto
1 egg and milk to glaze
Method:
Preheat the fan oven to 180^oC/Gas mark 6.
Lightly grease two baking trays with a little butter.
Mix the wholemeal flour and plain flour with the salt and bread soda in a large bowl.
Cut the butter into cubes and crumble together with the flour with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Make a well in the centre, pour in the buttermilk and mix well with a fork, then stir in the pesto.
When the dough is combined, flour your hands and pour the dough out onto a floured board. As the dough is very moist there will be no kneading – just use plenty of flour on your hands to push it, shape it into a ball and then flatten it out either with your hands or a floured rolling pin.
Flatten or roll out the dough to a thickness of approximately 2cm.
Use a medium sized round pastry cutter to cut out approximately 10-12 scones.
Place the scones on the greased baking trays and brush the tops and side with some beaten egg and milk mixed together.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until nicely risen and golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila.

Rhubarb Crumble 2

sheila kiely — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:26:26 +0000

Rhubarb crumble – scrumptious, simple to make and in-season now, treat yourself - it works strangely well with chocolate ice-cream.

This time last year almost exactly to the day I posted a Rhubarb Crumble recipe but when I went to make it myself last weekend I didn’t have exactly the same ingredients and decided to just work with what I had to produce an equally good variation of rhubarb crumble. The topping consists of butter worked into flour and porridge oats and then sweetened up with sugar. The type of flour and proportion of flour to porridge oats is entirely up to you. You can also healthy up your crumble with the addition of some crushed nuts or seeds.

I picked up the organically grown rhubarb at Schull Farmer’s Market last weekend but I know that locally grown rhubarb is readily available in most Irish supermarkets too at this time of year. Speaking of markets there is a massive farmer’s and country market taking place on Sunday 15th April as part of Waterford Festival of Food
In other food news I’ll be signing and doing a demo of some recipes from ‘Gimme the Recipe’ this Saturday 14th April in Moycullen, Galway – for more information see the gimmetherecipe facebook page
But for now I leave you with a ramekin of rhubarb crumble just begging for a dousing of custard or a blob of fresh cream.
Rhubarb Crumble
You will need:
100g unsalted butter
100g plain flour
100g porridge oats
200g brown sugar
5 large stalks of rhubarb
50g brown sugar (for cooking the fruit)
Method:
Preheat the fan oven to 170C /Gas Mark 5
Rinse and chop the rhubarb stalks into 1 cm width chunks and cook in a saucepan with a splash of water and the 50g brown sugar over a medium to high heat until softening (still bitey and not a pulp). Takes about 5 minutes.
Put the flour and oats in a mixing bowl and chop in the butter.
Use your finger tips to crumble the flour and butter together until it’s starting to resemble breadcrumbs.
Add the 200g brown sugar and mix well with a fork.
Place the softened rhubarb in a baking dish and scatter the crumble mixture on top, press it down lightly but don’t over compact it.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila

Easter Eggs

sheila kiely — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:31:51 +0000

What could be more perfect at Easter time than a basket of magnificent duck eggs. I was fortunate to be gifted these beauties by fellow food writer/blogger Mona Wise on the occasion of the ‘Gimme the Recipe‘ book launch last week at The Mill Restaurant, Blarney.

The first use that sprang to mind was baking and bake I will with what now remains but as I browsed the first edition of Irish Country Living Magazine I knew I just had to try Catherine Fulvio’s unceremoniously named Potato and Egg Salad. This is no ordinary potato and egg salad, neither is it an M&S potato and egg salad, this is a Creamy Dill Dressed Duck Egg & Potato Salad.

Even if you’re not overly fond of eggs I would encourage you to try the dill dressing smothered onto baby potatoes and salad leaves. The dressing alone is delicious and would also be great poured over a baked potato served with a juicy steak or burger.

What struck me most about the duck eggs was their vibrant golden colour which has you anticipating richness before you even get to taste.

I don’t think it’s long before we will see a return to the simple entertaining teas of old where quartered tomatoes were served to guests with slices of hard-boiled eggs and a rustic spring onion and potato salad on top of some butterleaf lettuce leaves. Simple, quality ingredients, served without fuss and accompanied by lashings of hot tea with thickly sliced homemade brown bread and butter. This time round though lets jizz them up a notch with a dash of creamy dill dressing and a smattering of toasted hazelnuts a la Catherine Fulvio.
Creamy Dill Dressing
You will need:
Small handful / few sprigs dill
3 tbsp sour cream
6 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp red wine vinegar (Catherine’s recipe uses Sherry vinegar if you have it!)
Method:
Finely chop the dill and set aside.
Dollop the sour cream and mayonnaise into a jar or a jug and pour in the red wine vinegar.
Sprinkle the dill on top and either cover with a lid and shake well to mix or use a small whisk or fork to combine well.

Potato and Egg Salad
You will need:
1 kg baby potatoes
5 eggs
Mixture of leaves e.g. rocket, baby spinach, watercress
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
2 tbsp hazelnuts
Dill and Chives to garnish
Method:
To toast the hazelnuts place them on a baking tray and cook in a hot oven until browning – 5 minutes or so – place in a tea-towel while still warm and rub vigorously to get most of the skins off.
Boil the potatoes in a saucepan of water until tender, then drain and allow to cool slightly before cutting in half then place in a bowl and pour over the dill dressing, mixing thoroughly to cover the potatoes.
Hard-boil the eggs in a saucepan of water – brought to the boil then simmered for 4-7 minutes depending on how firm you want the yolks.
Once cooked, run the saucepan of boiled eggs under the cold tap to lower the temperature of the eggs.
Gently tap the still warm eggs to crack the shells and then peel them off. Cut each egg into 4 wedges.
Arrange the salad leaves on a large platter, drizzling over the oil and mixing it through.
Scatter the potatoes over the leaves and then arrange the egg wedges on top.
Garnish with roughly chopped hazelnuts, finely chopped chives and dill.
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila.

Mini Quiche Bites

sheila kiely — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:52:24 +0000

For all you fans of convenience and purchasing ingredients with one quick stop at the supermarket here are some mini quiche bites that are just perfect for a girls night in. Yes boys, I’m being sexist and going along with the maxim that you don’t eat quiche because you are ‘real men’ I’ve heard the expression ‘Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche’ plenty of times but didn’t realise until now that it was the name of a book that featured on the New York Times best-sellers list for over a year, quite an achievement. It appears to be a humourous read and lads I’m only joking, you can whip up some mini quiches for a boys night in whenever you like:) (not that you need my permission)
Ready made sheets of shortcrust pastry are cut to line cupcake trays and these are blind-baked before filling and returning to the oven to finish cooking. With the pastry partially cooked this means there is less likelihood of a soggy pastry base. When you do blind-bake you are supposed to line the pastry with a little grease-proof paper and weigh it down with some pie-weights or dried beans to prevent your pastry from shifting and shrinking too much from the base and the edges. This is tedious though and not for the time-pressed so what’s the alternative? The alternative is to sacrifice a pretty looking symmetrical pastry case for one that may be uneven and perhaps even bulging in places but one that will taste just as good. Their mis-shapeness will be counteracted with the delicious filling and once garnished with a sprinkling of fresh herbs their asymmetry will surely not be commented on in the hurry to taste. If you are going to cheat like I do and leave out the lining and weight filling, then you will have to interrupt the blind-baking process a couple of times to use the back of a spoon to gently tease back up the sides of the pastry that may be shrinking down into the case and to smooth out the bottom that may be rising and bulging.

The mini-quiches will be sufficiently filling to be accompanied with something light like a side salad and perfect washed down with a nice chilled white wine. Speaking of wine this lucky girl has been invited to dine out at a ‘See Beyond The Label’ event courtesy of Jacob’s Creek ‘Wine & Dine Experience” which visits Cork this week. This roadshow is visiting Dublin, Cork, Galway and Waterford and is encouraging food and wine enthusiasts to ‘See Beyond The Label.’ If you would like to request a reservation at one of these events or to find out more visit the Jacob’s Creek facebook page
Mini Quiche Bites:
Makes: 18-20
You will need:
A little butter to grease the cupcake trays
2 boxes of 2 round sheets of jus-rol shortcrust pastry (4 sheets in total)
3 spring onions
1 small handful fresh parsley (& extra for garnishing)
250g cherry tomatoes (on vine if possible)
5 eggs
250ml creme fraiche
1 tsp thyme
some hard cheese to grate on top
Method:
Pre-heat the fan oven to 180C or Gas Mark 6.
Lightly grease 2 cupcake trays with a little butter.
Open out the defrosted sheets of pastry and use a round cutter or a large cup to cut circles of pastry to line the cupcake trays.
Place the pastry-lined cupcake trays in the oven and bake for 5 minutes, meanwhile do the filling preparation.
Rinse and chop the spring onions and parsley.
Rinse and halve the cherry tomatoes.
Whisk the eggs, creme fraiches, thyme and parsley together in a large bowl and then stir in the chopped spring onions.
After 5 minutes of blind-baking the pastry remove the cupcake trays from the oven and use the back of a spoon to gently smooth out the bases and pull up the sides as they will have begun to shrink away from the edges. Return the pastry to the oven to cook for 5 minutes more.
Again coax up the edges of the pastry before filling each base with 3 or 4 cherry tomato halves and then use a jug or a ladle to pour over the egg and creme fraiche mixture.
Return the filled pastry to the oven to cook for 1o minutes more.
After ten minutes grate some hard cheese over each pastry case and cook for a final 5 minutes.
Use a spoon to gently prise the mini-quiches from the cupcake trays and serve warm with a garnish of chopped parsley and perhaps a side of coleslaw.
Enjoy with something nice and chilled.
Til next time, Sheila.

Mini Cheesecake Pots

sheila kiely — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:33:55 +0000

This is a dessert for the time-pressed cheesecake lover. The kind of person who doesn’t prepare things the night before and doesn’t like to wait while things set or bake.

You can take this in any direction that you like and the flavour combinations here are a variation on some classics, just think about your favourite flavour parings and then interpret them into biscuits and fruit. If you’re a lover of oranges perhaps a jaffa cake base, then some mandarin slices mixed in with the cream and cheese all topped off with a couple of Terry’s chocolate orange segments. (Now why hadn’t I thought of that earlier? I do think that would look very pretty and be sophisticated enough to grace a dinner party table.)

I recycled some glass yoghurt pots and some glass ramekins that I think had been bought filled with pate once upon a time. You could pretty things up with some co-ordinating ribbon but I did say these were ideal for the time-pressed so perhaps not.
If you’d like to reward all your hard work with a break away there’s a fabulous competition running with some great prizes from now until the 30th of March 2012. Just follow this link.
There’s also some great opportunities to win copies of my book ‘Gimme the Recipe‘ on a number of other competitions that I’ve linked to on my gimme the recipe facebook page - and while you’re over there I’d appreciate a Like, thank you!
Now back to these beauties:
First up I give you the Lemon & Crunchie Honey Pot:

Lemon & Crunchie Honey Cheesecake Pot

Next to grace the table is Cadbury’s Chocolate Fingers & Raspberry Pot:

Cadbury's Fingers & Raspberry Cheesecake Pot

& finally the Oreo & Strawberry Pot:

Oreo & Strawberry Cheesecake Pot

In the interests of being the ultimate time-saving dessert I used Avonmore pre-whipped cream. Did you know there was such a thing? I’m not talking the long-life cream in a can but a tub of whipped fresh cream straight from the supermarket chill cabinet, handy or what?
Mini Cheesecake Pots:
Makes 6.
You will need:
For the base*:
Cadbury’s crunchie bars
or
Cadbury’s chocolate fingers
or
Oreo cookies
For Filling:
250g mascarpone cheese (or any cream cheese)
1 tbsp icing sugar
350ml fresh whipped cream ( I used Avonmore Freshly Whipped Cream)
For Flavouring Filler:
Half tsp lemon juice & 1 tbsp honey
or
mashed raspberries
or
mashed strawberries
To garnish:
Lemon zest & slices
or
Dark chocolate to grate & extra chocolate fingers
or
Whole oreo biscuit
Method:
Place your chosen base in a sandwich bag and bash until crumbled with a rolling-pin.
Mix the mascarpone cheese in a bowl with 1tbsp icing sugar and whatever you have selected to flavour the mixture.
Once the flavouring element and mascarpone cheese have been combined then gently fold in the whipped cream.
Assemble your cheesecake pots by layering the crumbled base first then the flavoured filling and finally garnish at will.
Can be served immediately or chilled in refrigerator if prepared ahead of time.
Note: I toasted and bashed some hazelnuts for the lemon & honey version and I added extra whole raspberries and slices of strawberries on top of the biscuit base and under the filling in the other ones.
*Quantities per base: Allow approx half a crunchie per pot or 4 chocolate fingers or 2 oreos
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila.

Something for the weekend…

sheila kiely — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:15:05 +0000

If you’ve come to these pages in search of a recipe let me direct you towards one that I published last year for Mother’s Day. An indulgent treat, a sublime concoction in the form of a chocolate orange mousse cake.
I do my cooking, baking, recipe experimentation and photography at the weekends but last weekend was different to most. It was time for a rest.
A break away to Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa could not have come at a better time for this particular food blogger. Overwhelmed with the release of my first book ‘Gimme the Recipe’ last Thursday, a sojourn to this tucked-away West Cork coastal jem provided the peace and time needed to unwind, adjust and re-energise.

Snapshot of 1 of the 2 beaches at Inchydoney Island

This complimentary weekend (organised by Conway Communications & Inchdoney Lodge & Spa) brought together a number of Irish Food Bloggers and partners and from our arrival on Friday evening to departure at lunchtime on Sunday we got more than a taste of what’s on offer to the weary worn.
A casual 3 course dining experience in The Dunes Pub & Bistro on Friday evening showcased the finest of local and Irish produce from seafood to meat platter to West Cork Cheese Slate.
Let me tease you with the following, billed as

‘A Little Taste of West Cork’:
West Cork Seafood Chowder flavoured with a Hint of Michael Collins Whiskey,
Smoked Salmon from Ummera Smokehouse Timoleague,
Homemade Skeaghanore Duck Liver Paté, with a Inchydoney Tomato and Chilli Jam,
Crisp Fried Atlantic Seafood Cake served with Homemade Tartar Sauce,
West Coast Crab Claws Tossed in Fresh Garlic, Ginger and Parsley Butter
and Fresh Bantry Bay Mussels.

That was the starter, yes, the starter! Just in case you think these are a list of choices, they were not, you got a more than substantial taste of each of them before pressing on to either a fish or meat platter and then the cheese slate.
Breakfast on Saturday was followed by a fishing expedition and we langoured on gently bobbing waves blessed with serenely calm waters while our casting and reeling was sporadically rewarded with yields of coalfish and pollock. Some too small to keep were eased back to the sea but one of my Pollock made its way to our lunch time bar-b-que later at the hotel. As well as fishing expeditions the hotel offers the opportunity to try out numerous outdoor pursuits including sea kayaking and seaweed foraging the virtues of which were extolled to us later that evening by Sally McKenna of Bridgestone Guides and Jim Kennedy of Atlantic Sea Kayaking.

Pollock & Salmon

Pesto & Garlic Mushrooms

Irish Salmon

Pollock with Raspberry Dressing

A restful afternoon saw a walk on the beach and a trip to the Island Spa for a ‘Cleopatra Honey & Milk Bath.’
If I were to list the contents of our 7 course evening ‘A Taste of West Cork’ menu I would be pushing you over the edge, again I’ll just offer you a tiny tease.

Oysters and Pearls
Home-Smoked Giga Oysters
bound with Fresh Cod Roe
from Con Murphy of Shellfish de la Mer, Dinish Island

A number of the Inchydoney Island suppliers joined us for the meal and at our table in the Inchydoney Room we were in the company of Con Murphy of Shellfish de la Mer and Avril Allshire of Caherbeg Free Range Pork Ltd., & Rosscarbery Recipes. We sat down to eat soon after 8pm and continued until after midnight, this was a truly epic dining experience.
Quality and service were equally outstanding and with a full-house to cater to in the Gulfstream Restaurant as well as the Inchydoney room this was no easy task. Getting to meet the chefs was a lovely finishing touch that rounded off the evening.
We extended our weekend with a slight detour to take up the very kind invitation of Anthony Creswell of Ummera Smokehouse, Timoleague for a guided tour of his impressive smokehouse ably assisted by his son Conor who showed off some of their awards.

Ummera Smoked Products Awards

While we packed plenty in to our stay, nothing was hurried and time, particularly when out at sea, moved slowly. Go, rest and have fun. West Cork Awaits…..
Til next time, Sheila.