Cake Obsession

There I was, last Saturday morning week, enjoying my usual late leisurely breakfast with the Irish Times to hand – sports section for him, weekend magazine supplement for her, free range of the remote control for the juniors – all happy. I always enjoy Roisin Ingle’s column, a look at the “hot & cold” list and a wee chuckle at Ross O’Carroll-Kelly, and then the real pleasure… the recipes. Deep joy then, last week, to find a 6-page special going on. Lots of inspiration, and then I turn the page to the cake section, and there’s nirvana – lemon and raspberry. You probably don’t know, but lemon and raspberry is a little bit of a passion / obsession with me, ever since I discovered Nigella Lawson's “damp lemon and almond cake” which she suggests you serve with raspberries – it is fabulous. Then came my DinnerLady colleague with her lemon posset (I suggest you try it with raspberries instead of blueberries, devine) which I’ve made 3 times now. So I knew I had to give this a whirl.

Juicer & Zester

So, I assemble my ingredients and realise the recipe calls for sunflower oil… Dammit, I only have rapeseed. I looked at the recipe again, there was the author’s twitter handle, the lovely Eunice Power (@eunicepower). I’ve never done this before, but thought I might as well try, so I tweeted her and she kindly replied, saying that it should be fine but potentially a little heavy. Ah feck it, I thought, I’ll crack on. Using my favourite implements (the zester and the juicer, see right) I got started. I did once try a cake recipe that used oil instead of butter, it was an unmitigated disaster so I was somewhat trepidatious.

Anyhow, despite my absolute best efforts; such as forgetting to add the raspberries (luckily it was only in the oven about 5 minutes, but it was rather comical seeing my trying to shove them down into a cake that was already starting to cook, not to mind that cardinal rule of baking – do not open the oven, let alone take the cake out of the oven, til the cooking time has elapsed) and icing it before the cake was cool (a visiting 5yr old, drooling at the mouth and a Mum waiting to leave and get their own dinner started - I couldn't disappoint them!) ... Anyhow, it turned out brilliantly – if I do say so myself!

As the recipe is suggested as a traybake for a school cake sale or similar event, I have to say the only “downside” was that the recipe made rather a large amount of cake. I'd imagine it would easily scale down - although having tasted it, I'm not sure I really want to. Also, the ladies and gents of my eldest daughter’s school Parent’s Association meeting that evening didn't complain either and it certainly made me popular!

Here's a link directly to the recipe - there's also a great recipe for a coffee tray bake cake and some chocolate fairy cakes, look for them in the weeks to come as I am itching to try those too! I've also transcribed it below.

Lemon & Raspberry Tray Bake

·         For the cake:

·         350g self raising flour

·         1tsp baking powder

·         250g caster sugar

·         Zest of 2 lemons

·         250ml natural yoghurt (I used one of those ultra low fat ones, was marginally :

·         5 large eggs

·         250ml sunflower oil

·         1 punnet of raspberries

·         For the lemon drizzle:

·         200g icing sugar

·         Juice of 2 lemons

·         Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC / gas mark 3, and line a 23cm x 32cm cake tin with parchment paper – there’s a knack to this, here’s how if you’re unsure)

1.    Sieve the flour (sorry Eunice, I didn’t bother to sieve!) and baking powder into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.

2.    In another bowl, whisk the sugar, oil, lemon zest, yoghurt and eggs. (I used the electric hand beater for this)

3.    Pour the mixture into the well in the flour mixture (don’t be alarmed if it seems to overwhelm it, all will be fine) and stir well.

4.    Pour the mixture into the lined tin and dot the raspberries over the top (ideally before it goes in the oven!)

5.    Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 50 minutes, until golden brown, then turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely before icing (I left mine in the tin to cool for 5 mins first)

Enjoy the cake!

Sarah xx

Cod Bake

This one is “the holy Grail”of dinner dishes… relatively cheap (depending where you buy your cod), nutritious, tasty enough to serve at a dinner party, easy to make AND it’s fish (maybe it’s just me, but don’t we all feel guilty that we don’t eat enough fish?). The flavours are quite simple, so children should enjoy it too (if they are less picky than mine).

This was first served to me by my very talented super-cook father, he regularly cooks a big casserole or bake for his 6 off-spring and partners at various family events, this dish is now a regular on the list, so you can scale it up very easily. The recipe comes from Darina Allen’s “Simply Delicious Fish”. 

For the bacon, I use the bacon “lardon” pieces available from various supermarkets in a wee packet – just by the by, these are a lot cheaper in Lidl / Aldi than the bigger, more luxury shops. Ideally, you could get a thick piece of streaky bacon from the butcher and chop it up yourself (as my dad does) as the big chunky bits of rasher are lovely in it… or you can go the easy route! I often just use a pack of streaky rashers and chop them with the kitchen scissors. I would recommend streaky over back rashers though – the fatty texture is rather the point (and really is not adding that much calorific content and a whole heap of taste). Fresh dill is also hard to come by, so I regularly just use a shake of the dried stuff – just don’t go too potty, remember you need a lot less dried herb than fresh.

Cod Bake (Darina Allen, “Simply Delecious Fish”)
serves 4

·         6 – 8oz bacon (preferably pancetta, otherwise streaky rashers, cut thickly if possible)

·         1 medium onion, diced

·         1½lbs of cod, skinned and boned (fishmonger will do this) – cut into 4 or 5 chunky pieces

·         1 tin of tomatoes

·         Bunch of fresh dill

·         ½oz butter

·         1oz breadcrumbs

·         4oz cheese, grated

1. Fry the bacon, then the onion and spread the mixture across the bottom of an oven proof dish
2. Layer the (raw) cod on top
3. Layer the tomatoes on top again (remove some – about ¾ – of the juice first or the dish will end up too watery)
4. Sprinkle fresh chopped dill on top (can use dried, but use less)
5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 – 40 mins at 180ºC
6. Melt the butter, add the crumbs and grated cheese and leave on a plate to cool
7. Remove the foil, cover with the crumb mixture and grill for 5 minutes
8. Serve with floury potatoes, or whatever you damn well please!

Sarah
xxx


Margaret's Footnote.....


Sarah has been eschewing the virtues of this dish for quite a while now, so given that I had a few ridiculously cheap portions of cod in the freezer (€2.79 for two pieces in each packet - Lidl) I decided to cook the dish as an experiment. To add extra pressure I invited a friend for supper and off I went.
True to my usual style (I never follow a recipe exactly) I decided to add some chopped chorizo into the bacon/onion mix and I have to say it was absolutely delicious. In hindsight, one piece of cod each would have sufficed (it really is rather hearty and filling) but that's not a bad complaint...


Margaret 
xx

ps I served mine with steamed new boiled potatoes, green beans and carrots!

She's making a list...

It's been a few weeks now since the very lovely Caitriona of www.wholesomeireland.com did an amazing guest post for us and its high time I reported back on how her way of thinking has changed the modus operandi of my household....

But first, I have to confess that I'd come around to Caitriona's way of thinking way before she guested with us. Back when I first joined 'the Twitter' one of her tweets drew my attention to her own blog post on the subject. Therefore, months later when the Dinner Ladies was born, I just knew I wanted to arm our followers with her knowledge.

I know very few people that are not stuck for cash these days. We are all trying to spend less and on our beloved parenting website Rollercoaster, thread after thread is created asking for advice on how to cut down on the dreaded grocery bill. And yet, I can almost guarantee you two things - the first is that each of these households throw out huge amounts of food every week and the second is that very few of these households could tell you whats in either their freezer or their store cupboard at this very minute.


These are the same people that trawl through the supermarket every Friday, aisle by aisle letting their eyes dictate what they buy. They buy by tradition, firing six-pack tins of beans and breakfast cereals into the trolley because well 'thats what we buy every week'. Then theres the dreaded BOGOF offers which tempt shoppers towards items they don't need with the added lure of being 'good value'.

With Caitriona's way of thinking, the weekly shop practically becomes extinct. Yes you'll need your fresh fruit, veg and meat, and yes, you'll need to go to the supermarket but your days of buying stuff you don't need will be over. Why? Well because you'll know exactly what you DO need! You'll know because you'll have a list - in fact you'll probably have two lists, one of what you have and one of what you need. You'll shop armed with the latter and the former you'll use to make meal plans for the week. In fact, since the days of the list, I tend to shop with my eyes on the floor, refusing to look up until I know I'm in front of the item I need to buy...

You need to know what you have, and I know, in our case, where we fall down on this is our freezer. The dreaded chest freezer does not entice one to check its contents very often, in our case practically requiring someone to hold you by the ankles why you delve in head first. So to combat this, I have pinned a whiteboard next to the freezer and the concept is simple - strike off as you use, add as you buy. It's not rocket science.

And neither is one final tip (coming from me this time) Stop being precious about food. 'Oh I need red peppers for that and I only have green' I want to make Lasagna but I've only turkey mince in the freezer' - for the love of God - use what you have!!! You're cooking for family, not Tom Doorley (to be fair I'd say he'd agree with me - right Tom?) And actually Tom & Johann Doorley have written an entire cookery book showcasing fantastic recipes on a low budget (see our review of same). I know some of my friends don't agree, but recipes are an approximation (ok, I make an exception for baking). Use your imagination, use your judgement, but above all USE WHAT YOU HAVE!

So go to Caitriona's blog, print out her stock lists and get cracking. There's really no excuse not to. It will change your life, your eating and your pocket. (For another fellow foodblogger's take on her conversion by Caitriona see Mammy's Kitchen's post on the same topic)

Above all, remember that meal planning means you EAT BETTER! Less last minute takeaways, less wastage and less spent on last minute dashes to the shop. And anyhow, it's more fun trying to work meals around what you actually already posesss....

After all, look what I found in my recent stock take, can't wait for Saturday night!!!

Margaret
xx

Store Cupboard Dinners

So, finally the thermometer is showing some decent temperatures, HURRAY! But I really, really don’t want to drag a 3yr old to the supermarket today, so I had a quick trawl of the supplies to see what I can come with so that I can swan off and visit my lovely friend and her 2 week old baby for the afternoon and sit in the garden drinking coffee and chatting instead.

Anyhow, I haven’t been to the butchers so while there is plenty of veg, there’s not a lot of “mate”, as they might say down home. But then inspiration hits me – pasta and tuna salad. A firm favourite dating right back to my college days, all I need is some veg, a tin of tuna, a bag of pasta and a bit of mayonnaise. Oh dear, there’s no tuna – but wait, what’s that lurking at the back of the food cupboard? Why, a long lost tin of salmon… that’ll do nicely, I’m sure!

So, stick some pasta on to boil and get chopping. Really, it’s a moveable feast of whatever you might have; today I have chopped carrot, tomato, cucumber, celery, red pepper, mushroom, sugar snap peas and some scallions, as well as a tin of sweetcorn. Personally, I find raw red pepper a little indigestbibe, so I quickly fry off the red pepper – I also add the mushroom, sugar snaps and scallions in too (fried scallions are lovely) but you can easily leave the raw of course. I find a bag of peanuts at the back of same press, nestling up to the salmon, so I reckoned, “why not?” and threw a fist of them in too, to add crunch. Drain the pasta and run some cold water over it to cool it, then throw it all into a big bowl, season and stir in a spoon of mayonnaise and Bob’s your uncle – dinner!

So, what's your favourite / easiest store cupboard dinner? There's a sausage casserole that is made with a tin of cannellini or borlotti beans, a tin of tomatoes and a packet of sausages that is also very good - I'll post that another day.

PS:- Lidl is on my way to my friend’s house, so I will pop in and get some lemons, cream and stuff, it’s lemon posset for dessert tomorrow after our barbecue... lamb chops, sausages, potato salad and bbq-ed corn on the cobs, looking forward to it already

Sarah

Cookies - need I say more?

So, it’s yet another boring dull Sunday in a wash-out month of May… Just got a text from my little sister inviting us to lunch, excellent, that’s an excursion sorted! But oh dear, I can’t really turn up with one hand as long as the other, can I? Especially considering I’ll be dragging those two mini tornadoes – oops, I mean daughters, that will rampage through her pristine (child-free!) home.

So, I was considering dashing to the corner shop for a packet of biscuits, but then I thought maybe I could use the opportunity to wrestle the afore-mentioned Tornado-Twins away from the TV for a short while – let’s make some cookies.

The "Tornado Twins" mixing

Stirring in the flour

Luckily, I have an extremely simple and impressively tasty recipe to hand. Rachel Allen’s “Basic Cookie Recipe” is really the most foolproof recipe I have, quite literally child’s play, and the results are supremely good. I really would encourage even the most reluctant baker to give them a go, even if they end up misshapen and lumpy, they still taste fantastic.

The joy of this recipe is that is completely versatile and you can adapt the cookies to whatever flavours you have, making them more childish (chocolate chips) or more adult (crystallised ginger and dark chocolate) or anything in between.

The biggest problem is stopping the "helpers" from eating all the cookie dough! They do love to help with rolling the dough between their little hands and it's definitely a break from Dora, Peppa and the rest.

Cookie dough also freezes supremely well so, if you don’t fancy making the full batch, you’re much better off to make the full amount of dough and freezing half rather than trying to half the recipe.

The end result

Here’s my tip – don’t buy Rachel’s own branded chocolate chips. They are over a fiver – ridiculous! The Dr. Oetker ones are about €1.20 and taste fine. I always use the plain ones, the kids don’t mind the taste of the dark chocolate, especially as the biscuits themselves are so rich. Alternatively, you could easily chop up a bar of chocolate – I’m very keen on the super-dark chocolates from Lidl and Aldi. I chop them with the kitchen scissors, but it’s relatively tedious so I usually fall back on the packet ones.

Rachel Allen’s Basic Cookie Recipe

“This recipe is a basis for many combinations. Experiment with ingredients – flavourings, dried fruits, nuts, spices and even herbs such as lavender – to find your favourite. Makes about 35 cookies”

Ingredients

• 225g (8oz) butter, softened
• 110g (4oz) caster sugar
• 275g (10oz) plain flour
• Ground spices or finely grated zest (optional; see Variations below)

Method

1.     Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F), Gas Mark 3.

2.     Cream the butter in a large bowl or in a food mixer until soft.

3.     Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

4.     Sift in the flour and spices or grated zest (if using) and bring the mixture together to form a dough.

5.     Using your hands, roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and place them slightly apart on a baking tray (no need to grease or line). Flatten them slightly with the back of a damp fork and bake in the oven for 13–15 minutes or until they are light golden brown and slightly firm on top.

6.     Carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool

PS, DinnerLady note here - the cookies will still be pale and totally pliable when cooked, they should be just very lightly coloured. The transfer to the wire rack for cooling is best done with a palette knife, but they can still crumble and break on you, so be careful


Notes & Tips

VARIATIONS -
Poppy seed: Add 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds to the flour.
Lemon: Add the finely grated zest of 1 lemon to the flour.
Orange: Add the finely grated zest of 1 orange to the flour.
White chocolate and orange: Dip the tops of the orange cookies in 50g (2oz) melted white chocolate, then allow to set on greaseproof paper.
Spices (cinnamon, mixed spice, ginger): Add 1 teaspoon of a ground spice to the flour.
Crystallised ginger and dark chocolate: Add 25g (1oz) finely chopped crystallised ginger to the flour. When the cookies are baked and cooled, dip the tops in 50g (2oz) melted dark chocolate, then allow to set on greaseproof paper.
Double chocolate chip: Use 250g (9oz) plain flour and add 50g (2oz) sifted cocoa powder to the flour. Bring the dough together and mix in 125g (41/2oz) dark or white chocolate chips.
White chocolate and dried cranberry: Add 50g (2oz) chopped dried cranberries to the flour. When the cookies are baked and cooled, dip the tops in 50g (2oz) melted white chocolate and allow to set on greaseproof paper.

RACHEL’S BAKING TIPS -
Roll leftover dough into a log shape, 2–3cm (3/4–11/4in) in diameter, then leave in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for up to a couple of months. To bake, cut off slices, about 1cm (1/2in) thick, and cook on a baking tray in a preheated oven. Always remove cookies from their baking trays while still warm otherwise they will stick.

Lemon Posset with Tom & Johann Doorley (in conjunction with Lidl!)

I know I promised this review weeks ago, but for starters its been the busiest month and secondly, it was hard to choose which dish to try out. So in time old tradition (and partly because I'm a lover of anything lemon) I'm starting with desert - Lemon Posset.

This recipe features on page 203 of this smashing little book and at first glance I decided that it couldn't possibly be a simple as it looked. I remembered having Lemon Posset in the Tannery, Dungarvan many years ago and along with their slow cooked fillet of beef, its a dish I've dreamed of ever since.


The ingredients are as follows:

500ml Morning Fresh Double Cream
125gr Cordelia sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
175gr Blueberries (the blurb states that Raspberries can be substituted here and would be equally glorious I imagine)

And for the method?
Simply put the cream and sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat. Sitr until sugar has dissolved then add the lemon zest and juice and stir. Turn up the heat, bring to the boil then remove from heat and cool a little

And thats practically it!

While the mixture is cooling, divide the blueberries up between your dishes/glasses (more on this in a minute!) then pour the lemon and cream mixture in on top. Allow to cool before putting in the fridge overnight.

The recipe suggests that you then serve this chilled with some fingers of shortbread on the side.

And now comes my tuppence worth...

When deciding what to serve this in, why not be a little adventurous. The Doorleys suggest glass tumblers, but I'd say go a step further. If you have shot glasses (desert is about all mine are used for these days) champagne flutes or anything else transparent and pretty then work away. We say glass as the sight of the slightly softened blueberries through the glass adds an extra touch.

In this image I've used a liquor glass and put my shortbread alongside.

But if you've made this for a posh dinner party (isn't staying in the new going out?) then why not stretch yourself. With very little extra effort you could wow your guests with a Trio of Deserts. I suggest a small slice of the Chocolate Raspberry Cake, also in Home Cooking on page 216 (in my photo I simply used a brownie) and then a little bundle of fresh fruit in another corner of your plate, dust everything with castor sugar and bobs your uncle, your guests will think you're Michel Roux.




Anyhow, this Masterchef is off to to take on her next challenge... the Homemade Pizza on page 132. First time I've ever tried it, but if the recipe is even half as simple as the Lemon Posset, I know I'll be ok.

And if its a disaster at least I have a Trio of Desert to look forward to... This blogging lark is great!

Margaret
xx

A Golden Oldie...

When we were younger, there was no such thing as blogs to give you nice ideas as to what to have for tea. There also wasn't a lot of money, or indeed time (too busy washing & drying cloth nappies I imagine) for coming up with all new fascinating dishes for dinner. As a result, there was a type of food rota in our house. The week started with Monday's left over Sunday Roast and worked its way up to Friday's sausage & chips treat, with a variety of meat-and-two-veg combinations in between. One of these was always Bacon & Cabbage and I have to admit, it was a dish I dreaded. No offense to my mother's cooking (she was a baking genius) but waterlogged bacon and equally watery white cabbage are all I remember of this meal. As a result, I have never cooked it - until tonight!

So what spurred tonights foray down memory lane? Well I was in our local Centra one afternoon and happened to bump into my lovely Sister in Law who grabbed my arm and hissed 'Did you see the bacon's reduced?' Eh, no I hadn't, I answered not wanting to add that even if I had... Anyhow she convinced me to purchase two pieces of what looked like a large wedge of breakfast bacon, and they've languished in my freezer ever since.
Until tonight. After a week of Punchestown rations I've had a longing for a proper 'dinner'. My lovely husband cooked a fabulous Shepherds Pie as a treat on Sunday but then we went back to our usual healthy mid-week stir frys. My craving for 'dinner' just wouldn't go away though, so, when trying to think of what to have for dinner tonight, I remembered the bacon that I discovered in my recent freezer stock take.

So I took it out this morning and left it lying on the counter to defrost. When I came home this evening, there it was winking at me all pasty and pale just as I'd remembered. I toyed briefly with the idea of tossing it to the labrador but as that would defeat my new budgeting ethos, I turned on the oven, bunged it in (the memory of the waterlogged boiled bacon obviously still an issue) and went out for my run.


On returning, so delicious a smell had started to waft around the kitchen that I started to get vaguely excited about the meal. I had a few potatoes in the fridge (we try not to eat spuds midweek anymore) and in a flash of inspiration remembered another freezer find - frozen spinach. On went the spuds in a pot of salted boiling water and I chopped up an onion and cooked it in a LOT of butter. Plenty of salt & pepper and hey presto - posh cabbage & mash!
(I wish I could say that I then rustled together some homemade parsley sauce but the arduous task of trying to get our impossible two year old to bed meant that a packet sauce had to suffice, I promise I'll make it next time).

Because there will be a next time, not only was it an absolutely delicious and stress free dish to make, I do have that other piece of bacon in the freezer. Who knows, this could become a weekly staple, and wouldn't that give Mam the last laugh...

Margaret
xx