Porter Cake

As a child I absolutely despised fruit cake I found it horrible. My favourite part of the Christmas cake was the icing and marzipan. However as the years went on my taste buds changed and started to appreciate fruit cake more, this opened me up to absolutely adoring the likes of Christmas Pudding or a good old fashioned Oxford lunch. Recently however I had porter cake as part of an afternoon tea and god was it good. Oh so very moist and full flavoured. This Saturday past I decided to put out a request online to my twitter pals asking did anyone have a good recipe, and they duly obliged. Karie Murray & Rosanne Hewitt Cromwell ( Like Mam Used To Bake ) both sent me pics of  their fave recipe out of the McDonnell's cookbook from the early 80's. Also Siobhan Cullen  hooked me up with her Aunty Mary's recipe which also is very similar to the recipe below, in fact Siobhan's 93yr old aunty has been making it a lot longer than the McDonnell's recipe. Its fantastic having such great ladies like above who have such good recipes to hand, because I scoured the web for a recipe I truly liked. Anyhow rather than writing the recipe out here it is in all of its glory!

Look at that cake absolutely gorgeous, and an excellent alternative to the Christmas cake heaviness. Please make it because its tremendously good.

Also if you are looking for presents for friends or family this year do not miss out on getting Rosanne's excellent book of baking named "Like Mam Used To Bake". I love the recipes and how the book is put together, anyone in to their baking will love this.

http://www.mercierpress.ie/irish-books/like_mam_used_to_bake_/


Thanks for reading and thanks ladies :)

Will

My Gingerbread House

This weekend I had the pleasure of baking the gingerbread house above at Kitchen Complements. I had an excellent bunch of people in this week and 3 very enthusiastic kids who helped me out decorating. I am truly loving my classes at the moment in Kitchen Complements, in the new year I hope to offer a bread making one so make sure to stay in touch with me for updates on that. Anyhow here is my gingerbread house recipe with loads of help from James Morton, without his gingerbread recipe I would have crashed and burned in my class. I am also going to include my template that I used courtesy of Martha Stewart which can be found here.

Ingredients:

500g unsalted butter

400g dark muscavado sugar

400g golden syrup

1200g plain flour

20g bicarbonate of soda

20g ginger

20g cinnamon

Royal Icing

525g icing sugar

4 large egg whites

1tbsp cream of tarter

Decoration - you can use anything so be creative.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200c/gas (fan 180c). Have at least 2 baking sheets to hand.
2. Weigh out all your ingredients. In a pan add your sugar, butter and syrup. In a large separate bowl weigh out your flour, spices and bicarb soda giving a quick stir.
3. Place the pan on medium heat mixing until the butter has melted and all the sugar has dissolved.
4. Pour the above mixture into the flour and bring together into dough. Careful this will be very hot. Divide the dough in to two pieces.
5. Place one sheet of baking parchment on to a clean work surface placing the hot dough in the centre, cover with another sheet of baking parchment. Roll out the dough between the two sheets of parchment to roughly half a centimetre thick.
6. Once rolled out, lightly flour the top of your gingerbread, and then using your templates (also lightly floured) cut out the desired shapes. Once this is done, remove the excess gingerbread from around the templates, transfer to a baking sheet, keeping on the baking parchment you rolled out on.
7. Now with the remainder gingerbread start steps 5 & 6 again for the remaining templates.
8. Bake your gingerbread for 15 mins until golden brown. When it comes out of the oven it will be soft but transfer to a wire rack, it will cool and then harden up. Leave to cool for at least 1 hour.

Royal Icing

1. Put the egg whites and cream of tartar in to an electric mixer and hand whisk for approx. 30 seconds until all lumps are gone.
2. Pour all the icing the sugar in to the egg whites, using a paddle attachment and mix for 10 minutes on a low speed.

Assembly

1. Fill a piping bag with royal icing and use it to glue the walls together. Glue all the wall structure first, using cans of fruit or veg to prop up the walls while they dry and harden to give extra support.
2. Once hardened glue the roof on, again use some props to keep the roof in place. Allow to harden overnight.
3. When the whole structure has hardened you can decorate as you wish, using all manner of sweets and treats. In order to stick the sweets on all you need to do is have some royal icing set aside and thinned down with some milk to make it pipe able.

This picture then made my day, as passing Kitchen Complements look at what I saw in the window :)

Thank you for reading,

Will

Mulberry Garden - Donnybrook D4

Hello there friends, I am back from a little quiet period. These past few weeks I wanted to calm things down blogging wise and take a break from churning blogs out 3/4 a week. These past 9 months have been topsy turvy to say the very least so I am trying to get back in the groove of blogging following the climax of that baking competition I participated in. This post has just gone live but I actually wrote it last night.....I sit here listening to obscure Christmas music, I am trying to get in to the spirit of it all early this year as most years despite being bombarded with Christmas down my throat I still cannot get in to it all like when I was a child. I always find myself saying "it just doesn't feel like Christmas".

I am also a little hypnotised right now as I write this by the smell of a roast bacon loin in the oven, blooming heck it smells good. I reckon it smells extra good because 1) its pig and pig is the best animal to grace our plate, and 2) I started back on Weight Watchers this morning. I need to shift this cake weight I have acquired before I get wed to Joanne this May.  Update wise on what I have been doing with myself, these past two Saturdays I have taught a class in Kitchen Complements in Dublin City covering Gateau St Honore, Meringue Kisses, and my favourite thing to do at the moment Gingerbread Dwellings :) (my house will appear on here this week I hope). Anyhow I need to tell you all about that picture above, that's the Mulberry Garden in Donnybrook and below is my review of the restaurant.

Last Friday evening I had the pleasure of visiting the Mulberry Garden. I have one of my good friends Pa to thank for the pleasure, you see Pa bought myself and Joanne a voucher for our engagement. We were both delighted to be finally going to eat Tom Doyle's amazing food. Our booking was for 6.30pm, and we arrived to a lovely welcome and warm haven to the cold outdoors. It wasn't long before we made our order and as ever rather than reviewing what Joanne ate I will just focus on mine. I ordered Crisp Confit Duck Smoked Almonds, Liver Cream, Chicory Marmalade, Toasted Brioche, Orange & Tarragon Dressing as my starter and for mains I decided on Roast Atlantic Plaice Wilted Sea Beet Leaves, Galway Oysters, Cauliflower, Lemon Gnocchi, Champagne & Chive Cream. I also got a dessert but will tell you about that the end. Before I start let me tell you about their gorgeous bread, it was so good and we even received two rounds of it. Yes the Mulberry Garden already had gone up in my estimation, I love any restaurant instantly who plies me with great bread. 

Glorious bread with beautiful butter from the company Improper Butter which made the bread even more delicious.

Starters time!

Crisp Confit Duck Smoked Almonds, Liver Cream, Chicory Marmalade, Toasted Brioche, Orange & Tarragon Dressing 

Firstly the dish was very well presented so clean and elegant. My god it was yummy, the confit with the liver cream was divine and the chicory marmalade was so tasty, I have had chicory so many times before but never as a marmalade. The whole dish was the perfect start to the evening, that's if we are ignoring the amazing bread course hehe.

Roast Atlantic Plaice Wilted Sea Beet Leaves, Galway Oysters, Cauliflower, Lemon Gnocchi, Champagne & Chive Cream

We both opted for the plaice and yes we made the right choice! it was mega. The plaice was truly stunning so fresh and I especially loved the gnocchi I could eat a bowl alone of the gnocchi. Oh and of course Joanne hates oysters so I had 4 oysters to myself , amazing oysters from Galway, I could not be any happier finishing this course. Two amazing dishes, how had I never been here before and was thinking Pa you are a gent for this voucher. To finish the meal we got ourselves a Blackberry Parfait with Apple Sorbet with Blackberry Macaron and Honeycomb. Its rare we go for dessert but we had the voucher and how it works in Mulberry is you get 3 courses for €40 each so may aswell go the whole hog.

Blackberry Parfait with Apple Sorbet with Blackberry Macaron and Honeycomb

The dessert was the final knock out, by god it was good. Blackberry and apple are perfect partners it was like a symphony, truly scrumptious. The apple sorbet was spectacular and look at that shiny macaron, a great ending to a perfect meal. The entire experience at Mulberry wowed us both, they have a marvellous setting with fantastic staff and chef in Tom Doyle who is a genius. Go visit them soon, it might not be long before Michelin come knocking on Tom's door.

They can be found here:

http://www.mulberrygarden.ie/

Visit them you will not be disappointed.

Thank you for reading and I am back,

Will

PS: I will leave you with mine and my brother's favourite Christmas song.

White Chocolate with Blackberry Preserve Macaron

This weekend I had to do an order for 50 macaron so I decided on my personal favourite white chocolate with blackberry preserve. I made this during the summer and here is how they were back then when I first made them and they were not the best looking as you can see below:

Ingredients (makes 70 macaron)

225g old egg whites
300g ground almonds
300g icing sugar 
300g caster sugar
75g water 

2 drops of purple food colouring

Filling

400g of creme fraiche

360g of white chocolate

Bonne Maman blackberry preserve

You are gonna need to do some pre requisites. First of all you are gonna have to separate and set your egg whites aside in a container at room temperature for 2-5 days, I recommend 5 days as they work out best. Next up you need to blitz your ground almonds as fine as you can in a food processor for about 2-3 mins, this will ensure your macaron come out nice a smooth.

Also you need to line a baking tray with baking parchement and marked with circles.

Fast forward 5 days...

1. Sieve the almonds and icing sugar together.
2. Add 112g of the egg whites to the above. Mix all together in to a paste, add your purple colouring and set aside.
3. Now you want to boil 300g caster sugar and water together until it reaches 118c degrees, make sure to brush down the sides of the pan with cold water to prevent sugar crystallization. Whilst waiting, beat the other 112g of egg whites to soft peaks.
4. When the sugar reaches one 118c remove from the heat and slowly drizzle in to soft peaked egg white whilst beating. Once all sugar syrup is incorporated continue beating on high speed for 2 mins. You have just made an Italian meringue! Allow cool for 5 mins.
5. Back to your almond paste, before we go further you should know you are gonna use your hands here. Take one handful of meringue and mix in completely to loosen the mixture. Next fold in with your hand the rest of meringue, be very careful not to over mix and in fact look at how I did it here before http://www.thecooksbelly.com/2013/08/mikado-macaron-my-baking-nemesis.html.
6. Now fill a piping bag full of macaron mixture and pipe on to the baking sheet. Check out this video for technique, its what I used and it works!
8. Once piped leave rest for 60 mins, a skin will form and will be dry to the touch afterwards.
9. Heat oven to 180c/160c fan/350F/gas mark 4.
10. Bake the macaron for 8 mins, open the oven door briefly to let out steam, cook for 2 mins, open the oven again to let out steam and finally cook for 2 more mins, 12 minutes in total.
11. Remove from the oven and transfer the sheet from baking tray to a wire rack. Leave for 5 mins then remove from grease-proof paper.

Now for the filling:

1. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of boiling water.
2. Once melted add the creme fraiche and bring together into a ganache.
3. Allow to set for at least 2 hours.

Assembly:

1. Match up you macaron shells to the right size.
2. Pour the white chocolate ganache in to a piping bag and pipe around the base of a shell.
3. Add a blob of preserve to the middle and sandwich with another macaron shell.
4. I topped each macaron with a spray of lustre and gold glitter.

You are done, any questions just ask and I will help, once you perfect macaron you will make them forever.

Trust me they are really easy to make, you just need to follow the pre requisites and have the right tools.

Thanks for reading,

Will

Merrion Hotel - Art Tea

This post has been a long time coming and I have finally gotten a chance to write it. The Merrion Hotel has been on my list of afternoon tea venues for quite some time along with The Shelbourne which I have yet to sample. It just so happens that the man behind the afternoon tea or as its termed in The Merrion "Art Tea" is none other than Paul Kelly. As I am sure you all know Paul was one half of the judging duo along with Biddy White Lennon on the Great Irish Bake Off. I will be honest here prior to the Bake Off I had no clue who Paul Kelly was despite knowing and seeing the afternoon tea The Merrion had to offer. Naturally having worked with or been judged should I say on the bake off I thought one day I would love to go see what the man himself can produce. I got that opportunity back in late September, I took my mum there for her birthday aswell as my brother Steve. It was my mum's third time going for afternoon tea this year and boy was she treated to 2 great ones already in the form of Adare Manor & Dromoland Castle, it was my brother's first experience so hopefully it would live up to all of our expectations. First off I need to explain "Art Tea" and what better way to explain than Merrion's :

Welcome to ‘Art Tea’ at The Merrion 5 star hotel in Dublin, the most lavish afternoon tea in Dublin City. Treat yourself to a slice of 19th and 20th century art with our miniature sweet creations inspired by the work of J.B Yeats, William Scott and Louis Le Brocquy - to name a few. While away the afternoon in the sumptuous surroundings of The Merrion’s Drawing Rooms as you choose from a selection of delectable treats. With fine china and elegant tea accessories to complete your indulgent experience, why not browse through your complimentary copy of The Merrion art collection catalogue as you recline?

Got it? right then we arrived for 4pm to be greeted by some lovely staff and were seated in front of a roaring fire. Our waitress took our order for "Art Tea" and our tea selection. Not long after our teas arrived out and our first course of cakes and sandwiches. I have taken the pictures in how our first stands were presented.

Our venue for the afternoon

At the top of the stand we were presented with Glenillen clotted cream, raspberry jam and lemon curd. All of which were fantastic, I truly love Glenillen products they are scrummy. Fantastic accompaniments to the below scones and porter cake.

The next tier we had our cakes, plain and fruit scones, lemon bread, portercake, and battenberg. The scones were mighty fine, light and fluffy. The lemon bread was perfectly moist as was the portercake which had a fantastic glaze. The star of this tier however was the battenberg, oh my word it was good, my brother and I could have eaten a plate of battenberg on its own. The only comment I would make that maybe slightly negative barring the scones was everything was exceptionally sweet, its not particularly a bad thing but it was just a little bit oversweet. However we know from the show Paul likes his sugar as Biddy exclaimed so often.

Finally, well technically I should have started with this but anyhow we have the sandwich tier. The sandwiches consisted of chicken and pesto on sunflower bread, oak smoked Irish salmon on brown soda bread with horseradish cream, cucumber with cream cheese and chive on tomato bread, bridge rolls with egg mayonnaise and cress, rare Irish roast beef on white bread. All the sandwiches were truly delicious, I especially loved the rare Irish roast beef and egg mayonnaise rolls. 

I also need to mention before I launch in to the second course we had unlimited tea and as tea lovers we made the most of it. My mum and brother stuck with the Merrion blend but my favourite on the day was the Smoked China tea, it was stunning. Right next up, course number two Desserts!

As you can see The Merrion went the extra mile and wrote happy birthday on my mum's plate which was a nice touch I have to say. The desserts consisted of rosewater & orange mousse on a white chocolate feuilletine, chocolate mousse filled choux bun, raspberry & passion fruit tart. All the desserts were stunning, the level of attention to detail is incredible, there is even a coulis inside the raspberry. Overall my favourite was the rosewater & orange mousse as I especially loved the feuilletine. The "Art Tea" is marvellous and I can see why Paul Kelly is so good. He has created a fantastic concept here and each morsel of food is beautifully baked and crafted. I have had afternoon tea a number of times this year and The Merrion isn't far behind my favourite in the Connaught Hotel over in London. It was a pleasure to eat in The Merrion, both my mum and brother had a great time.

I highly recommend you pay them a visit as its worth every penny. From the moment you arrive you are treated like royalty, leaving full to the brim and contented.

Thank you for reading,

Will

Teaching Joanne How to Bake - Wholemeal Bread

I am back ladies and gentlemen, I decided to take yesterday off from blogging as I didn't get a chance to blog Sunday as I was banjaxed tired from baking in Arnotts Saturday. One of the greatest things that has happened from the bake off  is Joanne's interest in baking has really developed. She knows all the techniques and terms by proxy watching me practice like a lunatic for the past 7 months so surely she can bake right? Well over the next few weeks I am going to introduce a few posts of me teaching my best friend how to bake. All weekend she was telling me that she was gonna bake some biscuits or small buns, however I suggested we tackle one of the most supposed difficult things to work with in the kitchen "Yeast"! This was met with the following "ah here Will I haven't a clue what to do when it comes to making yeast bread I can only do Soda bread", well it was my goal to teach Joanne and all of you there is no mystique or difficulty in working with yeast. That bread up there, yeah a complete novice made that so with the right advice and technique anyone can bake, you are following a recipe its easy. Cooking on the other hand is difficult you need a good palate, the ability to understand flavours and the ability to season, however baking is all about following rules. For the bread recipe I decided to use James Morton's wholemeal bread recipe from his fantastic book "Brilliant Bread" which I have to say is one of the best books I have read that has been released by a former British bake off contestant. 

James's Wholemeal Bread 

Ingredients

500g strong wholemeal flour (I used Marriage's Strong Wholemeal)
7g packet of dried yeast
10g salt
400g of tepid water (blood temperature)

Only 4 ingredients you could not wish for an easier recipe and James's book is fantastic explaining how easy it is to make bread. In fact all I am doing here with Joanne is showing the technique in kneading as James's book does a fantastic job at explaining baking bread.

In a large bowl mix the flour, salt and yeast together. Make a well in the centre and add the water.
With your hands bring together in to a dough ball, cover with cling film and allow to rest for 30mins.

On a lightly floured surface turn out the dough and knead for 10 mins. I showed Joanne how to knead for the first time, it turned out to be a bit of a workout.

When you first start off kneading the dough it will be quite sticky so its always handy to have a pastry scraper handy to scrape the dough that sticks to the surface back off and into the dough. As you continue to knead, the dough becomes more elasticated and sticks less to the surface. The key thing Joanne learned here was to move fast, because when she first started kneading motion it stuck more but when I demonstrated doing it really fast she could see the dough didn't stick. I also advised to use as little extra flour as possible here as you do not want to incorporate any extra flour to the dough. We actually ended up kneading for about 12 mins but we ended up with a great dough.

Once the dough was kneaded Joanne popped it back in to the bowl allowing it to prove for 1.5 hours or until doubled in size. I generally proof in the hot press as its the perfect environment for bread proofing.

Once doubled in size remove from the bowl.

Gently tap the dough to knock back out the air and gases.

Shape the dough in to greased and floured 2lb loaf tin. This needs to be left for roughly 1 hour or doubled in size. With about 15 mins left in the 2nd proof pre heat the oven to 240c/230c fan/465F/gas mark 9.

Cut a slit/score with a knife down the centre the bread and bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown.

Et voila Joanne produced this loaf only with my tips and advice, needless to say she was so chuffed as it has a great crumb.

As you can see anyone can bake bread with yeast there is nothing to it, now don't be afraid go make your own bread as its immensely better than what you buy in the shop.

Enjoy 

Thanks for reading, 

Will

Great Irish Bake Off - The Final - No More Cake

Well there you have it the Great Irish Bake Off has come to an end and we have a well deserved champion in Stephen Chisholm. I want to congratulate him on winning the title, he was from day one just brilliant. When I landed at Clonabreany house the minute I met Stephen and spoke to him I knew he was gonna be a tough nut to crack, and if I was to win the show I would have to beat him along the way. His knowledge is incredible as well as his skill and talent. Today he deserved the win, his petit fours were pretty damn good and his gingerbread castle was captivating. It was also good fun, sorry I needed to say that as outside the tent that's Steve's catchphrase.

Now for Maryanne, she is a terrific baker and excels in sugar work decoration. Maryanne's Georgian door cake was so perfectly finished on the day as well as the fact she was so damn good through out the show. It was an honor to share the tent with both Stephen and Maryanne in the final. Now for me, I enjoyed the last episode a lot, I wish I had done better in the petit fours technical as I think I might have had a chance going in to the final showstopper at winning the competition. I did however try to pull out all the stops with my lighthouse, it was my first time making it fully because we did only receive the brief about 2-3 days before the final so it was a miracle it all worked. The cake I made was in honor of Hook Lighthouse and incorporated as many technical elements as possible. I made genoese, Italian meringue, and tempered chocolate, I if anything was extremely proud of my finished cake.Overall I am happy I got so far and managed to avoid the dreaded elimination, naturally of course I would have loved to win the show but it eluded me unfortunately. 

Since the minute I went to my first interview this bake off experience has been a roller coaster non stop, and it has given me the best year ever. It has allowed me as a person to grow, it has given me the ability to present and talk in front of large audiences. Most of all it cemented my relationship with my fianceé Joanne, she has been incredible. Over everything and anyone I thank her first she has stood by me through everything, she has seen my highs and lows in practice, she has been there every step of the way. I may have not won the bake off but I won the greatest prize of all and that's Joanne's hand in marriage. We are getting married in Clonabreany House one year after the bake off final was recorded in May 2014, we both cannot wait!

My highlights from the bake off come in many forms so here are a few:

1. I got to bake on a TV show thats got to be number 1.
2. I met 11 great like minded people who make stunning food.
3. I learned how to play the spoons card game with Tom.
4. Jerry (you know him as Jarek) singing "Just give me a reason" by Pink in the tent every day.
5. I got to meet Anna Nolan, everyone asks me what she is like and I tell them she is such a legend, its cool meeting someone you admire from TV and they turn out to be what you hoped.
6. Working with Odlums at their roadshows, great craic was had.
7. Finishing on 7 as its my lucky number. The amount of cake to eat was spectacular! 

Finally I want to thank everyone who has supported me be it in person, Twitter, Facebook, Boards.ie and my blog. It means so much to me I cannot express how happy it makes me. I have seen my blog views skyrocket since May 2013 where my average for a month was 4500 views to now 19000 views last month. I hope to keep blogging and bringing you good recipes but I might lay off the baking for a while I have reviews, and savoury recipes to write that have backed up. I suppose I guess you want to know what's next for me ? well I can tell you I have no immediate plans on the horizon, I would love to teach baking but thats the dream along with many other things. Who knows these dreams might somehow become reality somewhere along the way. My past four years in Dublin still seem like a dream to me if someone said to me in January 2009 when I was just made redundant from Dell "Will, over these next 4 years you are going to lose 12 stone in weight, move to Dublin, have two strokes, meet the girl of your dreams, run a blog, and then compete in a televised baking competition" I would have laughed in their face. However it goes to show dreams can happen.

Last thing if you are in Dublin city this Saturday come see me and Stephen bake lots of lovely cakes in Arnotts all in aid of charity. We will be on the lower ground floor in the kitchenware section, its free and will be great craic. It will be on from 12-5pm so bring the kids and stay for some of the sessions. We are starting with a croquembouche, then breads and finishing with macarons.


That's it thank you for watching us for the past 8 weeks.

Will  :)

FIFO evenings @ Rigbys

For some time I have been going to Rigbys over on Leeson St. Dublin for lunch, they do fantastic sandwiches which I have in the past reviewed here. However for a long time I have been meaning to go to Rigbys for dinner, I finally got my chance last Thursday evening. I made my reservation via Twitter which was accepted in a matter of minutes. What I love the most about FIFO is its intimacy there must be only 6 tables in the restaurant. I also love that the menu changes on a regular basis which gives James (the head chef and owner) the chance to keep the menu always seasonal. Myself and two friends made our order after very short period of waiting, I decided upon the foie gras terrine, figs & pulled ham for starters  and then for mains seared Tipperary duck breast with potato rosti & swede confit.

I have to say FIFO is seriously fast, our starters arrived 5 minutes after ordering. My foie gras terrine was delish even the salad was damn good, I was very happy only wish I had more foie gras. My starter was top drawer food, and in no time the mains were coming! The duck was stunning, I made the right choice, so beautifully cooked. The rosti was a good addition as was the swede confit which I wasn't expecting to be as good as it was. The whole meal was stunning and I was so happy with the experience at FIFO. I love the restaurant James has here, the food he cooks is cracking and his interaction from the open kitchen to the customers is excellent.

I highly recommend you pay FIFO a visit you will not be disappointed.

Check them out on Twitter here:

https://twitter.com/fifoevenings

Thanks for reading and tell the man himself I sent you!

Will 

The Mothership's Irish Beef Stew

There is simply nothing better than on a cold day coming home to a big bowl of gorgeous beef stew. Its like getting a big warm hug of yumminess. This recipe comes courtesy of Joanne's mam Betty, its still the best stew I have ever had so I am sharing with you the family secret. It's incredibly simple to make and does not require any fancy cooking skills or techniques. Also before I start it's worth noting that with stews or casseroles they are always best made the day before eating allowing for the flavours to grow and develop with each other.

Ingredients:

600g of round beef steak cut in to 2cm cubes

450g of good quality steak mince

3 large carrots diced in to 1cm cubes

2 parsnips diced in to 1 cm cubes

1 large onion finely chopped

3 celery stalks finely chopped

1 bouquet garni

Salt & pepper

1 packet of oxtail soup

1 packet of farmhouse vegetable soup

1300ml of cold water

Rapeseed oil

2tsp of butter

1. Fry the mince with 2tsp of oil in a large saucepan 30cm in diameter. Frying until gently browned, remove and drain on kitchen paper.
2. Now fry the steak in 2tsp of oil until browned all over, remove and drain any excess grease on kitchen paper.
3. Fry the onions, carrots, onions, parsnip and celery in the butter for 4 mins on medium heat until onions become translucent. Add the soup mixes, water, mince, steak and bouquet garni, bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for 2 hours. After 2 hours season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Before serving boil some potatoes and once cooked add to the stew.
5. Serve!

How easy was that? good honest easy food.

Thanks for reading,

Will

Christmas tree Meringue Kisses

Good day everyone I apologise before I begin, I know we are nearly a month and a bit away from Christmas but I couldn't resist. I got the best book ever on Saturday in O'Mahoney's bookstore down in Limerick city called the "Meringue Girls Cookbook". I love meringue its one of my favourite things to work with in the kitchen and you all know how much I love macarons. So with the girls book to hand I followed their perfect instructions and dug out some spring green colouring from Wilton, produced those babies above. I am chuffed with how they look and turned out :), I know I am going to be making so many more of these beauties in the near future. I hope you enjoy this everyone, so so so simple to make too.

Ingredients

150g egg whites

300g caster sugar

Green food colouring

Few drops of peppermint extract

Method

1. Pre-heat to 200c/180c fan/375F/gas mark 6.
2. Line a roasting tray with greaseproof and fill with the caster sugar. Bake for 5 mins, baking allows for the hot caster sugar to dissolve faster in meringue later on.
3. In a metallic bowl free from grease whisk your egg whites until stiff peaks form, starting off slowly and building up to a faster speed. Careful not to overbeat, once you have stiff peaks and can hold the meringue over your head its ready.
4. Remove the caster sugar from the oven, reduce oven to 100c and leave the door ajar to allow cooling to happen faster.
5. Slowly whisk the hot caster sugar in to the egg whites a tablespoon at a time, add a few drops of peppermint extract and whisk for 5-7 minutes.
6. After 7 minutes with your finger stick it in to the meringue to see if any sugar grains remain, if so keep whisking.
7. With a piping bag paint the inside with food coloring and then add your meringue.
8. Pipe the meringue on to a pre prepared baking tray.
9. Bake at 100c/90c fan/212f/gas mark 1/4 for 35 mins. Remove from the oven and allow rest for 5 mins.
10. Remove from the baking parchment on to a cooling rack.

Enjoy these gorgeous little treats 

Thanks for reading,

Will