The Cook's Belly

Lovely White Bread – You cannot go wrong!

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I think we all know by now I disappear for long periods of time on my blog, so I best not say “oooh I am back blah blah”. I will say this however, I feel throughout my whole time on the bake off I was churning out blog after blog for the sake of it thinking I was going to become some baking blogger bloke with a book. That didn’t happen and I lost interest in blogging,  I am still a normal(ish) bloke working my day job cleaning data for a law firm, and now I am finally back to the hobby that this once was before I straight up forgot about it. The one thing about baking at least for a hobby is I need people to eat my stuff, especially the cakes, I really need to befriend my next door neighbours. Hmmm the neighbours might think I am an utter weirdo however, maybe I should stick with scoffing it myself and Joanne of course.

Anyhow here is why I decided to finally bake today. I was in Fallon and Byrne yesterday, their bread selection is fantastic but a smidgen dear, 9 quid for large rye loaf! I thought I should bake my own bread again, it is the one thing I love eating of my own stuff I make. Lets see if I still remember how do this baking malarkey cause it has been months. Straight in to the kitchen grabbing Mr. James Morton’s “Brilliant Bread” book, it is the only bread book I own and value. Opening the book I pick the very first recipe, the easiest one at that which required no kneading whatsoever. Here is said recipe I hope you like it, I know I will be having it for breakfast in the morning with my new favourite thing, raspberry jam and banana. I had that this morning, god it was good.

By the way I did not adapt this recipe I flat out copied it, all credit goes to James Morton. Buy his book it is his first one, it’s simply the best and accessible to the most novice of bakers.

What you need:

  • 500g strong white flour
  • 10g salt
  • 1 x 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast

How to do it:

  • In a large bowl, weigh the flour. Rub in the salt at one edge of the bowl and the yeast on the other side, as the salt can stop the yeast working.
  • Add 350ml tepid water and mix together to form a coherent dough (use your dough to mop up any flour sticking to the bowl).
  • Cover your bowl with a damp tea towel or clingfilm and rest in a warm place for 30-40 minutes, or until it has noticeably increased in size.
  • Wet the fingertips of one hand and slide between the bowl and dough. Fold the dough in half. Turn the bowl 90°; repeat until you have removed all of the air and it’s noticeably smooth. Cover and rest for an hour, or until at least doubled in size.
  • Scrape the dough on to a floured surface, flour your hands and shape into a ball.
  • Place the dough on a heavily floured surface (like a chopping board), loosely cover and leave it for a final hour, or until it has doubled in size and springs back when pushed. (I like to use a proving basket, which makes a lovely spiral pattern on the top of the loaf.) Preheat the oven to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7, at least 20 minutes in advance.
  • Give your bread a few shallow slashes with a serrated knife. Bake on a lightly oiled baking tray on a low-to-middle shelf for 35-40 minutes, until a deep golden brown – don’t be scared to let it get a good dark crust. If your oven cooks unevenly, turn the loaf so it browns all over.

Here is the ol cross cut of the bread once cooled:

Thank you for reading my blog and Mr. Morton’s recipe.

The 7 Best Woods You Can Use for Smoking Brisket

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The beef brisket cut goes well with flavors and aromas that BBQ smoking brings. The brisket has tender and soft textures that make it the best choice for the absorption of moisture and smoke for flavor. This is the reason why it is one of the best beef cuts for a smoked BBQ party.

Here are the 7 best kinds of wood for smoking brisket:

  • Oak
  • Mesquite
  • Hickory
  • Maple
  • Pecan
  • Olive
  • Apple

Brisket is a popular cut for barbeque meat. Most of the time it is considered a benchmark to compare the skills of BBQ and pit masters when they compete.

When it is cooked the right way, you will only find a few cuts of beef that can be better than this. The meaty fibers are in a thick fat that will melt away while it cooks. This is how brisket gets the tough yet beautiful tender texture it has.

If you want to make it right, smoke the brisket at low temperature for hours. You also must match it with the best wood for brisket to help enhance the flavors without overpowering it.

Picking the best wood to smoke brisket will show if the final product is flavorful, soft, tender, or a total flop.

For a simpler option, you can either choose oak or hickory because they are the top choices. Other smoked BBQ enthusiasts also use apple, pecan, maple, mesquite, or olive.

Oak Wood

Best Woods You Can Use for Smoking Brisket

Best Woods You Can Use for Smoking Brisket

One of the strengths of oak is its ability to produce a flavor of smoke that fantastically goes well with beef brisket. Oak had always been a popular choice of wood, partly because it is very easy to use on a smoke grill.

Oak has a potentially long burning time, which means you do not have to tend to it for hours or keep an eye on it unlike other wood chips for brisket. In addition, the flavor profile of oak is a lot more subtle than other popular woods for smoking, such as mesquite or hickory. That means matching oak with other kinds of wood produces a fuller flavor.

Recommendation: Smoak Firewood Cooking Logs

  • This is a variety of white oak that gives off a lot of heat and smokes fire and smolder. Particularly white oak is a great fuel for smoking.

When you are buying good oak wood for smoking, you want the one that produces a lot of heat and smokes the fire and smolder at the same time.

This variety of white oak that comes from Smoak Firewood Cooking is the perfect choice. White oak is an excellent smoking fuel.

These have large logs. That is not a concern if you are going to use as the main smoking fuel as well. However, if you only want it as a secondary flavoring wood it is advisable to use something else. This is not a big loss because oak is better as a primary fuel than secondary.

They are sold in different sizes, which lets you to buy it in bulk or just a small pack. They also have an affordable price so you are not going to hurt your wallet if you will buy logs for smoking BBQ.

Hickory Wood

Hickory is still one of the most popular kind of wood for smoking brisket, primarily because of the nice nutty flavor it has. You can find it almost anywhere, so for smoking brisket it is an excellent fallback choice if nothing else is available. However, it is still a great wood for smoking if you choose it over others.

The flavor is oak-like, but a bit more subtle than mesquite. Using too much of it might overpower the meat with a strong bitter taste.

Try not to put too much. You can tone it down by using a little less, or mix some applewood.

Hickory has a smokey taste, but the flavor is more pungent than oak. People might choose this, but the disadvantage is the smoke that comes from it is less clean than oak.

If you want to smoke your brisket quickly, like for 3 hours maximum only, then blending hickory and oak is the best thing to do.

Recommendation: Weber Hickory Wood Chunks

If you want a mor dense flavor, you will be making the best choice with hickory.

Hickory wood is great for smoking brisket. The brisket’s tough meaty fibers can endure hickory’s strong and rich flavors, and they will be absorbed beautifully.

Weber is the best wood chips for brisket if you want a hickory flavor. It is a German brand that has been selling great BBQ grills for many years. That is why they also know a lot about great fuel for BBQ.

The Weber hickory wood chips can be used alone as the main source of fuel, but you can also match it with oak if you want it milder.

Each bag only weighs a few pounds, so you can easily buy one to test it out or buy it in bulk if you are sure already. Each chunk is three inches long, and it is solid and dependable like what you would expect from Weber.

Mesquite Wood

Mesquite is commonly used for smoking BBQ, particularly if you are preparing brisket. It is a Texan smoking staple, and there is a good reason for that. Mesquite is pungent wood with a very intense flavor. When people think of what wood to smoke brisket, mesquite is usually mentioned because of its intense flavor.

One disadvantage of using mesquite is it burns through quickly, which means you are going to need a lot if you will smoke a big brisket cut.

If you are not sure about pairing mesquite with brisket because of the intensity of its flavor, then you must mix a softer wood. For instance, you can mix apple wood so it has a softer edge without compromising a lot on the flavor.

Recommendation: Weber Mesquite Wood Chunks

Pecan Wood

This is not something that everyone uses, but pecan has a beautiful sweet and rich flavor that goes well with brisket.

If you want to lessen the sweet aroma a little, you can mix some oak to make it even. This way, the wood for brisket that you used will not be overpowering the flavor.

Recommendation: Western Premium Pecan BBQ Cooking Chunks

Maple Wood

Maple is a great wood to use for those who are new to smoking. Maple has a mild flavor that is a combination of lightly smokey and sweet taste on a brisket without overwhelming the aroma.

The good thing about Maple is that aside from it being one of the best wood chips for smoking brisket, it is also a great choice for other meats. You can use it to smoke poultry and pork.

Recommendation: J.C.s’ Smoking Maple Wood Chunks

We also reviewed the best gas grill in the market here: 10 best gas grill reviews for 2020

Apple Wood

It is not a surprise that apple has a fruity and sweet flavor, but you can also use it to dilute other woods to even out their strong flavor. Apple wood is great with brisket, you can also use it for smoking ham, turkey, and chicken.

Recommendation: Camerons Products Smoking Wood Chunks

If you want a more subtle flavor with a bit of sweetness, then you should go for apple wood.

Apple wood emits thick smoke, which is great for infusing flavor into the tough textures of a brisket. It will add sweetness and a subtle fruity layer of taste.

You can use apple wood as a primary or secondary smoking fuel. It can either be the focal point of the smoke, or you can add it to oak for some sweetness.

Olive

Olive wood is not always the first thing you think of when you are going to smoke BBQ, but it deserves to be recognized. It is a milder alternative to mesquite because they have the same flavor profile, but olive wood is not as overpowering.

Aside from using for smoking brisket, it also goes well with poultry or fish.

Recommendation: CharcoalStore Olive Wood Smoking Chunks

Size to Choose

  • Logs – It can have and intimidating size, but it is perfect if you have an offset smoker because of the large amount of smoke. They can be challenging to ignite, but works fantastically if you have the right smoker.
  • Chips – This is what people normally use for an electric smoker or charcoal grill. They are sometimes called scraps or wood shavings because they are very small. Hence, they burn out fast, so you should only use it for small brisket cuts.
  • Chunks – Chunks are also challenging to ignite, but they do not burn out quickly. These are what you must go for if you need to smoke for a long period.

These are the 7 best woods to smoke brisket for to get a very nice flavor and aroma. You can test all of them to determine which one you like best for your brisket. With the right recipe, you will surely make a delicious and tender smoked brisket.

Male View – The Eight Amendment – Repeal or Not

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This country as it is suffers

 from many mental health problems

 we need to make it better if we can

 not worse by burying our heads

 in the sand and say “sure it will be grand”

This is my perspective and opinion you may agree or disagree, that is perfectly fine on what stance you take. The one thing I have learned and tried to foster for myself this year is to challenge my own opinion, I have tried to learn from rival opinions to see if there was the smallest modicum of what they are arguing and understand why they have taken such a stance. I have already spoken about this subject in detail on our podcast linked at the bottom of this post. Let me state I am not an SJW, I am not a activist or affiliated to any political party and I am not a white knight, all I am is a normal (enough) guy.

Yesterday sat in traffic down in Limerick I noticed two guys erecting another “No” campaign placard. Just like Dublin everywhere is littered with No posters. In fact today driving back to the train station in limerick I counted 22 No campaign placard sand only 5 Repeal campaign placards. The campaign for retaining the 8th Amendment seems to be far more concerted than the repeal side. As the two gentlemen were finished erecting the placard they turned to us in the car at the traffic lights and gave us two thumbs up. Moments prior I had said to my brother, maybe these two were just the guys who erect placards as a service but when we got the thumbs up I reconsidered that maybe these gentlemen were very much in support of the No vote.  Let us begin, I sound like a priest saying “Let us pray” I will get back to that later.  I firstly understand where the No campaigners are coming from as being honest there are very small aspects of what they think that I agree upon. The campaign thus far though is sickening, I am forced to look at bullshit posters on a daily basis about voting no and the complete rubbish they propagate. I can’t even turn on a UK based radio app I listen to and every single morning I am greeted with a No campaign video at 6.15am it’s being shoved down my throat.

Up till maybe 6 months ago I was firmly in the “I don’t know camp” what to vote for, fuck I firmly believed I am a man I am not going to vote in this whole referendum, it has got nothing to do with me, it is not like I have a vagina or womb to bear children. Then I decided to educate myself, I wanted to understand exactly what the whole thing meant to repeal the 8th. There are 1000’s of people out there who were like me they don’t know how to vote, they don’t know the intricacies of what we are being asked to repeal. You couple indecision and these rubbish placards you are either going to be turned off the referendum or vote No.  You know the placards, like these utter lies ( thankfully I believe the top part of the picture is photoshopped in):

Even outside my local church down in the area I grew up in Limerick they have lovely big “No” campaign posters. I will state this for posterity, I have always revered my local church, school and community I am from as well as my faith in Catholicism. Over the past few years however my faith has dwindled and when I see continued support for the No campaign by the Catholic church you turn me right off. Fuck it they did the exact same thing with the Equality Referendum. The irony is lost on these people, Jesus thought everyone to love one another not turn them away and now they are doing it again based on teachings in the main from a group of men. You see I can see where they are coming from because lets call a spade a spade here. The church is one of the main driving forces  behind this whole No campaign. I am hearing about No to abortion referenda since I was a kid in church. Be that inside the church via the weekly sermon, having speakers in to tell the congregation and 11 year old me why women who seek an abortion are committing the worse of sins imaginable. Similarly outside the church itself there would be numerous collections for pro life groups. This is the day they have been waiting for and collecting money for so they can ram raid everyone in to voting No or turning people off altogether. In fact on the lamp posts outside the church I am from in Limerick they have their posters right beside the main voting centre for the area which is surely in violation of something. Yet again it is deliciously ironic that people will be voting in the Catholic girls school on whether we Repeal the 8th or not.

The last time we had referendum on this subject was in 1983 when the church had their stranglehold on this country. Some would say they have since lost that stranglehold but like a boxer in the 10th round they are certainly trying to have a second wind. The last experience I had personally of this rhetoric was when Joanne and myself went to our marriage course in 2014 the first day was grand as it was a Friday evening. Then came the full day on the Saturday which was the hammering home of your marriage serves one purpose and that is pro creation no more no less. Well news fucking flash lads what happens to the couples who cannot have children are they for the scrap heap?

The Catholic church has blocked a number of changes to society over the past 60 years, here is a snippet of such rejections:

  1. 1)Use of tampons because women must suffer a period or do the right thing and get pregnant
  2. 2)Use of condoms and contraceptives, see point one.
  3. 3)Mother and baby scheme of the 50s.
  4. 4)Divorce – breaks marital bond which means yup you guessed it no babies which means less christenings, less communions and confirmations.
  5. 5) Equality referendum – yup again no babies being produced

You must remember I am challenging the Catholic church’s teachings not the parishioners as they take direction from their church.  In saying that also there is a lot of religious people and specifically Catholics who fly in the face of the above. Faith and Freedom can co exist for these people and I am specifically one of them people.

You could challenge me to stay I am bitter because we can’t have kids. This couldn’t be further from the truth, you don’t spend a fortune to come out the other side bitter that would only make me and Joanne assholes. It’s on the contrary, we still very much hope we can have kids one day.

No one in their right mind wants to see abortions or the killing of babies but the point is sometimes there is very good reason in early pregnancies whether be it medical or mental causes justify the decision.  Remember I said I was a man that didn’t think he should vote, well I should vote because I have the opportunity to show I support the women of this country, they deserve choice this is not the catholic totalitarian state of 1983 it is 2018. Everyone deserves choice, this is what the whole thing is about, choice, if you are pregnant and happy fair play, not one person is forcing you to have an abortion but your friends or family may find themselves in a scenario where they need to seek medical attention rather than forcing them to the UK or Europe as a penance.

Read up and educate yourselves before the 25th of May, do not let posters sway you, arm yourself with knowledge and legitimate facts then make your decision be that Repeal or No at least you will have made the effort to understand both campaigns. I respect the No campaign I can see they want only the best for this country but they need to look beyond that. This country as it is suffers from many mental health problems we need to make it better if we can not worse by burying our heads in the sand and say “sure it will be grand”

If you have not registered to vote or you may have fallen off the register you should use the site below. You have until May 8th to register to vote Yes or No.

Babymakers & Proposed Government IVF Support

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I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. 

I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times,

 I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. 

I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. 

And that is why I succeed.

Michael Jordan

That is a long title isn’t it but it does what it says on the tin, I hope what I am about to say makes sense. These past 4 weeks like so many others on this fair isle of ours have been glued to the tv show on TV3 by the name of The Babymakers. Since my previous blog posts earlier this year about IVF, people talk to me a lot about IVF these days. People have read my blog, watched Joanne’s Snapchats, listened to our podcast episode on IVF, it is no longer a taboo subject for us. The best thing I could have ever done was talk about it all, it has made the transition smoothly in to realising we cannot have kids easier barring a miracle of sort. The Babymakers show these past few weeks has helped immensely in bringing the subject of fertitlity and IVF in to the public domain. I have seen so many people on social media, friends and family talking about it. I even went to great lengths to explain how IVF works to my brother and his wife Friday night. It has been a massive eye opener for everyone.

I suppose the question though for me is did I enjoy the show? I did and I didn’t. I loved finding out about other people going through this. I don’t mean that in the sense it is written, but in the way we were not the only ones out there going through or have gone through this torture. I found so many couples on the show relatable to our own scenario none more so than the Limerick based couple in the first episode and also Fiona/Eoghan in the last two episodes. Everything these couples went through just brought back the shit times, the endless highs and lows of something so torturous. Seeing the drugs being administered and the soul destroying phone calls delivering negative results. It was horrible to go through it all and then re-live it again on tv. In fact I remember saying to Joanne I don’t want to watch this show, I lived this already with her I didn’t want to re-live again.  That was two fold, I didn’t want to have something that I was slowly pushing to the back of mind, brought right back to the front again and then drag all those feelings back. Yesterday morning I was speaking to my friend in work about this all who had been down the IVF road herself with her husband. It was the first time I had been actually able to talk to her about it properly since December of last year. Even though we chatted candidly about our experiences, however maybe like a loss of a friend or family member I still had processing to do. The 23rd of December 2016 was the most horrible day of my life, I think Joanne feels the same but it was just heartbreaking. Hearing you can never kids, it made for the most horrible Christmas I have been through, I operated on auto pilot with Joanne for quite some time following that day. It was the final kick in the stomach at such a happy time of the year.

We have since gotten on with our lives, we know we will not have children we are at peace with that thought. We did consider the donor route but mentally we didn’t believe it is something we could do. Viewing the couple on the Babymakers who did donor egg it was a good insight in to how that process worked. I was worried though watching them it would change my mind on donor eggs and Joanne felt the same. Thankfully it didn’t re light our interest in that side of fertility, it is not for us and we both agree on that, in fact I only checked in with Joanne yesterday morning on that having had my IVF chat with my friend in work. This year our relationship is back on track, alot of couples however want to keep pushing and rightly so but for us, for us to be truly happy with each other we need each other thats all for us and this year showed us that. One of the girls on the show, in the first episode said “It is only worth it in the end if you have a baby”. Is it though? from failure there can most definitely be success, galvanising our relationship and moving past such dark times will be our success.

Overall with regard to the show there were a few things I didn’t like and I figure I should at least mention them. I wish the show was able to give a little more information on the process of IVF from an actual in workings stand point. One of the main things we struggled with especially in the clinic here in Ireland when we did IVF was actually understanding how IVF worked. We were given no information about it and how it worked. From that stand point I wish the show gave timelines and what certain terms mean. There was one point the Polish girl had endometriosis, then had cysts on her ovaries but they didn’t highlight how long this process took. I think I would have also liked to see maybe more than one clinic involved in the programme just for some balance as it did feel at times I was watching an advert for the SIMS clinic. Also speaking of advertisements, I didn’t feel having ClearBlue pregnancy tests suited the tone of the show. Finally for me I would have liked more discussion around the mental health side of the show for the couples be it the woman or man and how it affects their life and relationship. Even for the man to show his role in the process and their support for the woman as-well as their own thoughts rather just the sperm giver.

At the end of the day the show has done a tremendous amount of good for fertility and getting people talking about such a taboo subject. Continuing on from the show it is very timely that the government is considering support for couples going through IVF. Right now the HSE offer the Drug Payment Scheme which after a long process of IVF helps alot and helps recoups some funds. I am bit unsure on how the whole government assistance will pan out, I read it will also be means tested too which could narrow who would be able to avail of the service. I did read alot of comments on Facebook and The Journal yesterday about people naturally delighted but alot of hatred too with a lot of people suggesting there alot more worthy ways of spending taxpayers money. I can understand in some ways the people who think the money should be spent elsewhere but I guess what can you do, I do however agree more money should be spent on homelessness and the existing health system. If the government however do want to help IVF couples I can only welcome it and be happy for these people.

Thanks for reading

Will

It keeps coming back

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My heads in a mess and I’m stressed

But I guess it’s a test

In the quest for happiness

And the rest of that mess

So I best just acquiesce

Mr Pip.

It isn’t getting any easier, it really isn’t. I thought it would but it doesn’t. For the past 3 weeks I have felt in a mire of a hole, a dark place full of darkness. I have been utterly miserable without knowing why, I couldn’t place the reason. I have felt lethargic, angry, snappy and introspective when I walk in my own company. Like a clap of thunder it hit me Friday lunchtime why I have been feeling this sub conscious shit feeling within myself. All it took was for me to walk around with Joanne for a lunchtime to suddenly come to some clarity. Like a lot of things I do, I talk about something, bring it out in to the open and then put it away again. I am however finding this hard to do with IVF. Do I hate talking about it? Yes 100%, do I hate those three little letters? Yes 100%. I thought for the first 4 months of this year chatting about the whole thing was so cathartic but it doesn’t last long. Without me even knowing the thoughts of November and December of 2016 were creeping back in to my mind.

This time last year Joanne and myself were so full of hope, we thought we had cracked the nut of IVF and were doing everything right this time. We jumped through the hoops one last time in Spain to try and achieve something we had waited so long for. Everything seemed right, we were pros at this IVF thing by now, we even had our mums there to back us up. Everything seemed right, meant to be. I will forever be haunted by this time of the year, I feel the dread and sick feeling in my stomach right now writing this. I am writing this for more help, I get and share help with Joanne, we are a very talkative and supportive couple, but I need to write things like this down to further help my mind. To think back on going from such positive thoughts to drop like a penny in to the ocean on December 23rd 2016 of complete despair for us both. I cannot forget it, I want to try and forget it but right now I can’t seem to forget it. That Christmas was my worst experience in life to date. It has at times felt like a bereavement of sorts knowing you cannot achieve life, you cannot reproduce and be the dad and mum you always wanted to be.

I always wanted to be a dad and Joanne always wanted to be a mum, to take that away from a person is hard. Something so hard to even fathom nearly a year later. For these past 3 weeks it has gnawed away at me knowing we are coming up to that day, December 23rd. Last week I feel was the hardest, I felt it was like a tonne weight bearing down on me trying to think about things otherwise. Joanne and myself in the main have a had a good year, we have got us back to where we once belong, but if I could change one thing is to forget and blot out the dread and pain of IVF. I hope that as each year goes by, the older we get, the easier it gets but 1 year in to this new landscape of our lives, those three letters are continuing to gnaw away at me. Do I wish we have kids? sometimes I sit and think I do, but I see how hard a job it really is for family and friends, the flip side is to think how or if I would have been a good dad which is far more harder in your mind to deal with. Is it hard seeing so much in life geared at family and kids? Yeah to be honest that part has gotten more difficult. It is like a club you are not allowed be a part of despite the longing and want to be included. Christmas has slightly become that in my head, my desire to be Santa Claus to my own son or daughter is now gone. Even this time last year I asked to be a volunteer for the 2017 work kids Christmas party, thinking oh this time next year we might have our own child to bring along. I got the meeting invite in September of this year to join the team in work for the party. I withdrew because I just couldn’t involve myself with something so close to that club you could never be a part of. It may sound petty or childish on my behalf but my mind couldn’t allow it.

My wish for this Christmas is despite how much it has given us strength as a married couple is still I wish we had not gone through it. Despite everything else, my love for Joanne is unwavering. I think we are two strange weird individuals sometimes because we are so alike and talk too much. Recently someone jokingly said to me why do I hold my wife’s hand walking down the street? I hold her hand because she is my best friend and would be a lost soul without her. I hope to be with her till we are old and grey.

Today is International Men’s Day, yeah it means zero like these other days to celebrate something. The one thing is though if men as a collective could be more expressive and let their families and friends know how they feel especially in this country we may have less people suffering from depression or committing suicide. This month I am walking around with a hairy moustached lip, I have previously done Movember in aid of cancer research but this year I am supporting Pomegranate. They operate a charity for IVF patients in Ireland. I am just happy to be giving back to other couples facing this life changing state.

Thanks for reading.

Will

Donal Skehan’s Cottage Pie

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I have to admit for so long I wasn’t all that impressed by Donal Skehan, I just didn’t get it. I felt his cooking wasn’t aimed at someone like me, I think most of his cooking was aimed at a younger audience or more beginner type of cooking which is fair enough. Although over the past year I have really enjoyed making some of his recipes on www.donalskehan.com, they are very accessible and make for very easy and in the most part quick cooking. This recipe below has to be one of Joanne’s and mine favourites to make, it is a bog standard cottage pie but it is bloody good. If you love good comfort food this is most definitely for you.  Give it a go you will not be disappointed and it is easy to make.

Donal’s recipe is a Shepherd’s Pie as he uses lamb but mine is a Cottage Pie as I use beef.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 onion chopped finely
  • 3 carrots chopped small
  • 700g minced beef
  • 400ml beef stock ( I am not particular about stock, I use Oxo)
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce ( My fave is Lea and Perrins)
  • 2kg of potatoes, peeled and quartered
  • 75g butter
  • 100ml milk
  • 6 spring onions, finely sliced
  • Salt and Pepper for seasoning

Method

  • Heat the oil in a big frying pan on medium heat and sweat off the onion for 5 minutes.
  • Remove the onions from the pan, turn up the heat and add the beef, break up and brown for 5 minutes.
  • Add the onions back to the pan with the beef stock, tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 40 mins. I used my Le Creuset pan for this whole process.
  • Boil your potatoes until soft, and ready to be mashed.
  • Remove from the heat and drain your potatoes. Mash with the butter and milk. Add in the spring onions and season with the salt and pepper mixing all in to smooth creamy mash.
  • Preheat the oven to 180°C/170°C fan /350°F/Gas Mark 4.
  • Transfer your beef to a pyrex dish or any oven proof dish, taste and season with salt and pepper. Top the meat with the mash and smooth over with a fork.
  • Cook for about 25-30 minutes depending on your oven, ideally the mash should have slightly browning on top.
  • Take out of the oven and serve.

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Donal Skehan's Cottage Pie

I have to admit for so long I wasn't all that impressed by Donal Skehan, I just didn't get it. I felt his cooking wasn't aimed at someone like me, I think most of his cooking was aimed at a younger audience or more beginner type of cooking which is fair enough. Although over the past year I have really enjoyed making some of his recipes on www.donalskehan.com, they are very accessible and make for very easy and in the most part quick cooking. This recipe below has to be one of Joanne's and mine favourites to make, it is a bog standard cottage pie but it is bloody good. If you love good comfort food this is most definitely for you.  Give it a go you will not be disappointed and it is easy to make.  Donal's recipe is a Shepherd's Pie as he uses lamb but mine is a Cottage Pie as I use beef.
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Ingredients
  

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 onion chopped finely
  • 3 carrots chopped small
  • 700 g minced beef
  • 400 ml beef stock I am not particular about stock, I use Oxo
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce My fave is Lea and Perrins
  • 2 kg of potatoes peeled and quartered
  • 75 g butter
  • 100 ml milk
  • 6 spring onions finely sliced
  • Salt and Pepper for seasoning

Instructions
 

Method

  • Heat the oil in a big frying pan on medium heat and sweat off the onion for 5 minutes.
  • Remove the onions from the pan, turn up the heat and add the beef, break up and brown for 5 minutes.
  • Add the onions back to the pan with the beef stock, tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 40 mins. I used my Le Creuset pan for this whole process.
  • Boil your potatoes until soft, and ready to be mashed.
  • Remove from the heat and drain your potatoes. Mash with the butter and milk. Add in the spring onions and season with the salt and pepper mixing all in to smooth creamy mash.
  • Preheat the oven to 180°C/170°C fan /350°F/Gas Mark 4.
  • Transfer your beef to a pyrex dish or any oven proof dish, taste and season with salt and pepper. Top the meat with the mash and smooth over with a fork.
  • Cook for about 25-30 minutes depending on your oven, ideally the mash should have slightly browning on top.
  • Take out of the oven and serve.

ICED CHOUX BUNS

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There is nothing I love more than Choux, its my favourite of all pastries to work with and last week I made some iced choux buns for a going away party in work. I think everyone in work liked them aswell as the girls in Joanne’s office so whilst I am looking after what I eat, I think I am finally able to make desserts for others now without tasting what I have just made. Trust me it takes alot of my will power and determination not to eat them.

Iced Choux with white chocolate ganache filling

Ingredients

Choux Pastry

  • ¼ litre water
  • Pinch of salt & sugar
  • 100g butter
  • 125g strong flour (Orange label Odlums)
  • 4 eggs

White choc Filling

  • 400g of crème fraiche
  • 360g of white chocolate

Chocolate Glaze

  • 200g white fondant
  • 1–2 tsp water

Method

Choux Pastry

  1. 1) Bring the water, sugar and butter to the boil in a saucepan. Remove the heat.
  2. 2) Add the sieved flour and mix with a wooden spoon.
  3. 3) Return to the heat and stir continuously until the mixture comes away from the side of the pan.
  4. 4) Remove from the heat allow to cool for about 4-5mins. Pre heat the oven to 220c/200c Fan.
  5. 5) Gradually at the beaten eggs, mixing well. The mixture should be a dropping consistency.
  6. 6) Pipe into small rounds on a greased baking tray. If there is a peak on the choux buns, lightly dab with cold water, tapping down the peak.
  7. 7) Bake for 30 mins. Remove and allow to cool.

White Choc Ganache

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

Poke a small hole in the botton of each choux bun and pipe in the ganache.

Glaze

In a wide saucepan over a low heat, gently warm the fondant to make it easier to work with. Stir in water until evenly combined. One at a time, dip the top of each choux into the mixture to glaze. Place on a board or rack and allow to set in the fridge before serving.

DOWNLOAD OR PRINT THIS RECIPE

ICED CHOUX BUNS

ICED CHOUX BUNS RECIPES

There is nothing I love more than Choux, its my favourite of all pastries to work with and last week I made some iced choux buns for a going away party in work. I think everyone in work liked them aswell as the girls in Joanne's office so whilst I am looking after what I eat, I think I am finally able to make desserts for others now without tasting what I have just made. Trust me it takes alot of my will power and determination not to eat them.
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Ingredients
  

  • Iced Choux with white chocolate ganache filling
  • Ingredients
  • Choux Pastry
  • ¼ litre water
  • Pinch of salt & sugar
  • 100 g butter
  • 125 g strong flour Orange label Odlums
  • 4 eggs
  • White choc Filling
  • 400 g of crème fraiche
  • 360 g of white chocolate
  • Chocolate Glaze
  • 200 g white fondant
  • 1 –2 tsp water

Instructions
 

  • Method
  • Choux Pastry
  • Bring the water, sugar and butter to the boil in a saucepan. Remove the heat.
  • Add the sieved flour and mix with a wooden spoon.
  • Return to the heat and stir continuously until the mixture comes away from the side of the pan.
  • Remove from the heat allow to cool for about 4-5mins. Pre heat the oven to 220c/200c Fan.
  • Gradually at the beaten eggs, mixing well. The mixture should be a dropping consistency.
  • Pipe into small rounds on a greased baking tray. If there is a peak on the choux buns, lightly dab with cold water, tapping down the peak.
  • Bake for 30 mins. Remove and allow to cool.
  • White Choc Ganache
  • Melt the white chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of boiling water.
  • Once melted remove from the heat , add the crème fraiche and bring together into a ganache.
  • Allow to set for at least 2 hours.
  • Poke a small hole in the botton of each choux bun and pipe in the ganache.

Notes

Glaze
In a wide saucepan over a low heat, gently warm the fondant to make it easier to work with. Stir in water until evenly combined. One at a time, dip the top of each choux into the mixture to glaze. Place on a board or rack and allow to set in the fridge before serving.

Castle Lodge Bed & Breakfast – Malahide

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In November of last year with Joanne and her family shopping till they drop in New York city, I had my own little holiday trying to look after Joanne’s sister’s dog bailey out in Malahide. As I was all on my lonesome my mum decided to come up for some retail therapy in Dublin and Belfast, so I managed to find her this absolutely charming B&B near Malahide castle. Castle Lodge is run by Jerry and Eithne Raftery in this stunning property pictured above. Myself and my mum arrived on a Friday evening just after 6.00pm to the warmest welcome I have ever experienced from a pair of B&B hosts and I have been to Lawcus house!

Jerry brought us in to the kitchen to meet Eithne, sat us both down, cracked open the biscuits and put on the kettle. It was like sitting down in a friends kitchen, so full of chat and welcoming. Their kitchen is magnificent and you can see so much hardwork has gone in to the house with everything having a story. I actually said to Jerry about where I was staying myself and he was able to give me all the history of the area which I would have never known before. Whilst my mum was chatting away to Eithne, I was whisked away for a tour of the house. First off Jerry showed me the back garden area complete with a bar! which is so well setup and designed. Then off to see the bedrooms, and for a B&B its 5 star hotel quality with massive bathrooms and strong showers in all rooms. The whole house is truly capitivating, and I would recommend them to everyone I know, its even good enough to take a detour here from the city and get the dart in to Dublin city itself. Both Eithne and Jerry are the perfect hosts and encapsulate everything that makes the B&B business my favourite way to travel these days. Even the following morning Jerry said to my mum would I like to come down for some brekkie, but she thought I wouldn’t as we were in a rush for Belfast, she thought wrong! I would have easily given a full Irish a good home. Most importantly my mum had a great time there and excellent sleep.

Christmas Baked Ham

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This is the recipe I always use for our Christmas baked ham, its from Delia Smith and always produces the most gorgeous ham. Ham is my favorite part of the Christmas dinner, the turkey for me generally plays second fiddle, that maybe different this year however as I am doing Jamie Oliver’s Christmas Turkey which I will blog on.

So here is Delia’s amazing recipe, thanks and credit goes to her.

Ingredients:

  • 4kg Ham Fillet ( naturally this is quite large but we love ham )
  • 3 tbsp of Honey
  • 2 heaped teasp of English Mustard
  • 2 tbsp of demerara sugar

Method:

  1. You need to check with your supplier about soaking the ham – the length of time needed depends on the quantity of salt used in curing the ham. A large plastic bucket seems to be the most suitable container for soaking a ham – and I have found that a picnic cool box is just the right size, too. Cover the ham completely with cold water and leave for as many hours as the supplier recommends. Smaller joints can be placed in the cooking pot, covered with cold water, brought up to simmering point, then the water thrown out (if you’re in any doubt about the saltiness, taste a sliver of the meat to make sure).
  2. Begin by placing one sheet of foil length ways in the roasting tin and another piece width ways  Remove the ham from the soaking water and place it in the middle of the foil. Wrap it in the foil to create a ‘tent effect’, so that it is tightly sealed but with room for the air to circulate around the ham. Bake the ham in a pre-heated oven, gas mark 3, 325°F (160°C), for 20 minutes per lb (450 g). That would be 4 hours for a 12 lb (5.5 kg) ham or 4 hours 40 minutes for a 14 lb (6.5 g) ham.
  3. Thirty minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the ham from the oven and turn the oven up to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C). Using a tea cloth to protect your hands, take the skin off the ham – make a cut with a sharp knife right along the length of the ham, then slide the knife beneath one half of the skin and peel it away, leaving behind as much fat as you can. Repeat with the other half.
  4. To score the fat, simply make cuts cross ways and length ways with the knife forming a diamond pattern.
  5. With a palette knife, quickly spread prepared English mustard and honey mix all over the surface of the ham.
  6. Sprinkle about 2 heaped tablespoons of demerara sugar all over and press it on to the mustard with your hands. Place the ham, uncovered, back into the hot oven for another 30 minutes, or until the surface has a glazed golden crust.
  7. If the ham is going to be served hot, allow it to rest for 45 minutes after removing it from the oven so that the juices will seep back into the meat and the meat will firm up and be easier to carve.

Enjoy this truly awesome ham!

Will

PS : Do not throw out the skin, place it on top of a wire tray and bake at the same time as final part of the ham. This skin gives the most insanely good crackling, HEAVEN!

Christmas Baked Ham

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Ingredients
  

  • Ingredients:
  • 4 kg Ham Fillet naturally this is quite large but we love ham
  • 3 tbsp of Honey
  • 2 heaped teasp of English Mustard
  • 2 tbsp of demerara sugar

Instructions
 

  • Method:
  • You need to check with your supplier about soaking the ham – the length of time needed depends on the quantity of salt used in curing the ham. A large plastic bucket seems to be the most suitable container for soaking a ham – and I have found that a picnic cool box is just the right size, too. Cover the ham completely with cold water and leave for as many hours as the supplier recommends. Smaller joints can be placed in the cooking pot, covered with cold water, brought up to simmering point, then the water thrown out (if you're in any doubt about the saltiness, taste a sliver of the meat to make sure).
  • Begin by placing one sheet of foil length ways in the roasting tin and another piece width ways  Remove the ham from the soaking water and place it in the middle of the foil. Wrap it in the foil to create a 'tent effect', so that it is tightly sealed but with room for the air to circulate around the ham. Bake the ham in a pre-heated oven, gas mark 3, 325°F (160°C), for 20 minutes per lb (450 g). That would be 4 hours for a 12 lb (5.5 kg) ham or 4 hours 40 minutes for a 14 lb (6.5 g) ham.
  • Thirty minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the ham from the oven and turn the oven up to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C). Using a tea cloth to protect your hands, take the skin off the ham – make a cut with a sharp knife right along the length of the ham, then slide the knife beneath one half of the skin and peel it away, leaving behind as much fat as you can. Repeat with the other half.
  • To score the fat, simply make cuts cross ways and length ways with the knife forming a diamond pattern.
  • With a palette knife, quickly spread prepared English mustard and honey mix all over the surface of the ham.
  • Sprinkle about 2 heaped tablespoons of demerara sugar all over and press it on to the mustard with your hands. Place the ham, uncovered, back into the hot oven for another 30 minutes, or until the surface has a glazed golden crust.
  • If the ham is going to be served hot, allow it to rest for 45 minutes after removing it from the oven so that the juices will seep back into the meat and the meat will firm up and be easier to carve.

FADE STREET SOCIAL – DYLAN MCGRATH’S NEW RESTAURANT

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Yesterday evening as part of a work dinner I got the chance to eat in Fade St. Social. This is Dylan McGrath’s new venture that has just opened. I was pretty damn excited to hear we were going here as I love the Rustic Stone ( which I never thought I would say, the whole thought of cooking your own steak put me off but it’s so much more than that). Anyhow we arrived last night around 7.00pm, our meal was for 7.30pm so we ushered upstairs to the bar, which FSS only recently won the license for despite strong opposition from neighbouring establishments. They were most likely scared, and judging by first impressions they better be scared, this seems to be on another level of innovation than most Dublin restaurants. Everything is so well done out, the front area is very communal in a way with benches and front facing kitchen pass with a team of chefs working on tapas, in the back there is a bigger dining room with another larger front facing kitchen. Upstairs then you have a trendy bar you can hang out before your meal, or retire after your meal to enjoy the rest of your night. My first impressions really were WOW this place rocks!

I digress, after a drink we headed back downstairs for our meal. At the moment they are only serving tapas, which I believe is to be joined by an ala carte menu later this month. I flicked through the menu so many times, there were tempting choices galore, I couldnt get my head around what I wanted to have, each tapas sounded better than the last. I decided because I dont drink anymore I am going to get the best food on the menu that I would never normally have a chance to eat, I picked out 4 tapas. What follows is each one in all of their glory:

Lobster Martini grapefruit, fennel,
blood orange and avocado

Whole Squab Pigeon poached
with thyme and smoked bacon,
roasted on coals

Truffle Pasta charred artichokes
and parmesan

Whole Soft Shell Crab in sesame spice
flour with miso mayonnaise, crab and
lemongrass dipping sauce

Chocolate and rose yoghurt ice cream
in a waffle cone

What can I say it was absolutely beautiful, each dish was so well presented and tasted amazing. The lobster in the Martini glass was so fresh and light, the pigeon was so tender ( very rare but I love my meat rare where possible) not in the slightest bit gamey. The truffle pasta was to die for, the nicest fresh pasta aswell. Then came my soft shell crab, which I never had before up till last night, it was superb, so light and with the dipping sauce… I could have eaten 10 of these babies!!! Finally my cone of lovelyness….steady! the frozen yoghurt was heavenly and the perfect way to top the meal off. I also had a good americano coffee to wrap things up. Of all my dishes everything seemed to hum the flavours are different but bang on the money with the pleasure factor. Mr McGrath has really got something here, something special indeed. I cannot recommend Fade Street Social any higher, no doubt I will be telling everyone man and his dog about this place, and bringing Joanne along too soon. Some people can be so critical of Dylan, but I think the man is credit to this city, he has two wonderful restaurants, and breathes innovation in each thing he does.

Get yourself to FSS soon you wont regret it !