My jazzed up panettone bread + butter pud...

This dessert is an oldy but definetly a goody my granny "Nanos" made a fab bread+ butter pud. And as a consequence my dad is obsessed with the dish I told him I would make this for him over crimbo + he said "now make sure you add plenty of raisins"..

Iv jazzed up this oldy a touch, check it out.

For this dish you will need...

880mls of creamy warm custard

1 large panettone loaf 

1 cup of cranberries

1 cup of raisins

1/2 cup of sliced almonds

1/3 cup of caster sugar

You can either bake one large bread pudding or do what I did + make two Puds in two 2lb loaf tins!!!

Firstly cut the panettone into long slices + then cut them in half. Next start placing them in your tin {which I lined with loaf tin liners} around the sides to begin with and then in the centre.

Once all the panettone is tucked in snuggly in the tins sprinkle in your raisins, cranberries + almond slivers all over the the panettone { don't be to concerned about sprinkling the raisins etc between the slices as the panettone has raisins in it already...

Now it's time to pour over your warm creamy custard, onced it's all covered don't be afraid to squish it all down to make sure all the panettone soaks up the custard...

Pop the loaf tins in a pre heated oven and bake for 55mins @160" and not a minute more...

This is my last blog for 2013 and also the last dessert iv eaten for 2013... Happy New Years my lovelies...roll on 2014

Wonder what my first blog if the year will be....

Enjoy

Rebecca xx

160 55mins

Buttermilk chocolate chip waffles

Anyone that has been to America or Canada over the years will have experienced "the diner". With their gigantic laminated menus, and everything on the menu comes with a side of bacon or can whipped cream.

For me it's always a toss up between the all American pancake or the whopper sized waffles {topped with freakily glazed strawberries and cream}. My obsession with waffles started way back when I watched this movie called Don't tell mom the babysitters dead {I love odd movies}.

So iv been on the hunt for a waffle iron for the past year and to my surprise I couldn't find one..and then two months ago lidl had them for sale JACKPOT..

For this recipe you will need:

A waffle iron lol

1 cup of plain flour

1 cup of buttermilk

1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda 

1 free range egg

1/4 cup of plain choc chips

1 teaspoon of vanilla paste

In your bowl beat your egg and pour in the buttermilk and vanilla paste. Next sift in the four and bicarbonate soda. Once your batter is smooth and frothy.

Slowly ladle in a small amount of the batter into each waffle section and close the iron down. When its ready the light will go off on your iron, I was able to get six waffles from this mixture which is amazing and extremely cost effective!!!

I dusted these bad boys with some icing sugar...DELISH...

Enjoy

Rebecca x

Scones glorious scones

 What is it about scones that gets people excited. Is it because they're bordering on a cake but its fully acceptable to have them for breakfast!!!!

Iv always had a soft spot for the little things and often tweet pics of gorgeous scones I come across, Kilashee Hotel been one scone Mecca that iv gushed about in the past. Their scones are so god dam good they are always so so fresh and have that lovely short crumbly taste to them. And just to tip you over the edge they arrive to your table with little pots of butter, jam and freshly whipped cream.

It's those little touches that make me come back time and time again. Unfortunately this is where some establishments fail to focus on, Fresh is always best!!!!

So last week as I made my recipe to do list scones were up there amongst other delectable ideas. Over the next few blogs there are some fantastic flavor combos

Firstly is my sultana + cranberry scone, for this recipe you will need:

230g of plain flour

45g of sugar

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 egg

3 tablespoons of milk

75g of real butter at room temp

40g of sultanas

40g of dried cranberries

Pre heat your oven @220'

In a bowl add all your dry ingredients and combine well with a whisk {this makes sure there are no lumps and everything is thoroughly mixed}. 

Next add in your butter and crumble together with your fingers and thumbs like you would if you were making short crust pastry. 

Once the butter has intermingled{HA} with the dry ingredients pour in your whisked egg + milk then with your hand fold it altogether then sprinkle in your dried fruit folding them in also.

Flour your surface a empty your scone mixture out sprinkle lightly with flour then gently and briefly roll out {the less you handle the mixture the nicer the outcome} try to keep the scone mixture quite thick. Cut out your scones and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, lastly paint on a beaten egg + sprinkle with sugar.

These only need to be baked for 15 minutes, the smell will be glorious so be strong and try not to eat them all the minute you take them out, I popped a few in the freezer to have on such a gloomy day as today!!!

Enjoy

Rebecca xx

Wicklow farmhouse cheese

A few weeks ago I got imvited to a cheese making day in one of Ireland's successful cheese makers the Wicklow farmhouse cheese. I automatically accepted as a prior foodie day out had gone so successfully and really got me fired up 

Then reality kicks in Rebecca aren't you slightly afraid of cheese, stinky mouldy ones to be precise. I felt maybe this wasn't the right day out for me but then I thought no this is ideal for you, go and educate yourself on cheese get out of your comfort zone and do it. I think I even described it to one of the bloggers as my version of I'm a celebrity get me out of here{slightly dramatic don't you think}

So on the bus we got and headed off to Clodagh McKennas new restaurant in Blackrock where we all got to catch up with familiar faces and got aquatinted with new colleagues. And what a treat it was stepping in to Chlodaghs restaurant was refreshing it was bright and airy but with a very welcoming feel. There was so many little private areas where you could escape to with friends or family and sit for hours indulging on her seasonally well thought out dishes.

I chose the crab cakes for my main which were jam packed with crab meat which was refreshing as it  is common for a fish cake of any kind to be bulked up with potato. This was accompanied by an amazing chili spiked guacamole, for me chili and seafood is a match made in heaven. All in all that dish was divine.

After a relaxed chatty lunch we bid fair well to Chlodagh and  headed on our way to Arklow where the family farm was. 

After some time we pulled into the dairy farm which has been run by John and his family for decades. John took over the farm from his dad in '73 when his dad became ill it was then and there he decided to reclaim the surrounding land which in time had to be developed and drained. John realized quickly that this was going to be a full time job.

They decided to focus on one thing and do it well, milk was the answer but unfortunately financially it was paying bad and certain companies were solely in control of 1/3 of the milk in Ireland.

Not afraid to look outside the box John decided to approach the Enterprise board where they mentored and work with him. He went on to do a start your own business course with them which helped him realize their was a niche in the market for farm cheese. Wicklow did not have anything like this so it was perfect and there the Wicklow blue was born.

They Initially started with farmers markets where they basically made the cheese to order, there they learned from the customers what people wanted from a cheese.

But the only way to grow the business was to go to the supermarkets. Which worked out for the better, this company has grown organically and has gone from strength to strength. They have 9 employees in the factory and the farm.

Mary Johns daughter took charge of making the cheese and over looks the quality for the past two years and John was pleased to tell us that thanks to Mary they received their BRCA grade last week which is a huge accomplishment for a small cheese company. Samples of the cheese are taken away every 5 to 6 weeks but in Johns factory they do positive release everytime, which means no cheese is released without the all clear.

From now until the end of November they are making cheese for Christmas. You can find their amazing cheeses inTesco, Dunnes , Aldi and Petits Supervalue.

We were lucky enough to be able to sample some cheeses at the end of the day and after listening and seeing what goes into the cheeses I can tell you as a novice I felt confident to sample the different flavors they had. 

My fave was a tie between the seaweed infused cheddar{ the seaweed comes from Mayo} 

and the tomato and basil mature cheddar. Amazing flavors that melt in your mouth, and a wee tip for you a good cheddar should always melt in your mouth. 

So the next time your out shopping restrain yourself from picking up the easy singles and go for a home grown creation like the Wicklow farmhouse cheeses.

My Pumkin pie

It's official when it comes to festivities I'm your only man for as long as I can remember  I just love the celebrations at the end of seasons...like HALLOWEEN.

When we moved to Canada earlier this year the thing that excited me was the thought of Fall all the gorgeous leaves in those multitude of jewelled shades. Then there's the pumpkin picking where you actually go and pick your own in Pumpkin farms not just from a giant box in Lidl {that still excites me by the way}

I had visions of my new front porch filled with all kinds of pumpkins in there crazy shapes and sizes. Anyway we are back home in good old Ireland + thanks to my obsession iv also found a pumpkin picking farm we can go to not far from ours so happy days.

So here we are in October so it's obvious this cake girl is gonna bake a pumpkin pie, for this recipe you will need:

9 inch short crust pie blind baked {in my blog}

1 can of Libby pumpkin purée

1/2 cup light muscavado sugar

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of ginger

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 tablespoon of flour

2 organic eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

1 cup of condensed milk

In a large bowl add your pumpkin purée, sugars, salt , flour + spices then mix together. Next beat in your two eggs + vanilla paste. Then lastly mix in the thick condensed milk, at this point the smells are making you salivate but hang on in there my lovelies in less than an hours you'll be tucking in :).

By now your pie crust will baked so pull out the shelf in the oven + simply pour in the pumpkin filling making sure not to flood it.

Bake for 15 minutes @200' then turn down to 170' for 30 minutes, this will be gorgeous with vanilla infused whipped cream or even some yummy ice cream

Enjoy

Rebecca

Tried + tested Glenisk's pop up shop

Back in the day I was in Dublin city 5-6 days a week doing my Leaving Cert and then on to a few years of college. But these days it's with a lump in my throat that i say that it's once in a blue moon that I get to saunter through St Strephens Green or ogle after the macarons in Brown Thomas.

So when I was up in town a few weeks ago for a foodie day out I knew there was a few foodie spots I had to check out while I had the opportunity. One place that has been buzzing on twitter in recent weeks is Glenisks pop up shop on Dawson street.

When I first walked into the pop up shop I was so impressed with the whole look it was so airy with big windows kitted out with fabulous old milk jugs that I would love for my own collection. Their organic products were displayed all on one wall it reminded me of Willy Wonka but for yogurt lovers HA.

Hats off to the girls working there they were incredibly inviting they couldn't have been more helpful, they went through every dish on their menu board I really couldn't decide.

One of the dishes that did excite me on the menu was their Irish smoked salmon for me that was a no brainer. 

This pot is so ridiculously More'ish il be ordering seconds next time. Firstly you have these chunky pieces of Irish smoked salmon along with  a small handful of capers, a sprinkling of freshly chopped dill, freshly crack black pepper and a drizzle of lemon infused olive oil YUM.

Now that combo alone is a match made in heaven but Glenisk go one further and rest this winning combo on top of a generous dollop of their organic Greek style yogurt. It's super light and velvety and doesn't have that overwhelmingly tangy aftertaste some Greek style yogurts can have ...

So put this altogether and you end up with a rocking little pot perfect for that impromptu picnic in St Stephens green or even better yet leg it in there for a lunch pot and don't forget they do dessert pots too..

Glenisks organic yogurts for Children are a winner with my wee girlies too and now that Lottie-daisy will be starting pre school next week the portion in the pots are perfect for her morning snack along with her fruit...

Well worth a walk up Dawson's street 

Enjoy

Rebecca xx

My orange + poppy seed cake

Big things were happening this weekend in my house, the hubby was coming home from Canada for good + all I can say is there is two little girlies who were bursting with excitement. It was as mad as Christmas Eve last night. We were like the Walton's in my bed I was hanging out the side while the mini num nums were like star fish HA...

it's a given that we'll be having visitors + that also we'll be calling round to family + friends, so any excuse for mento come up with a cake recipe for the blog. And I know iv mentioned the love affair my grand dad had with all things sweet before but a real favorite for him when he and my Nanos would come stay with us down in the sticks was an orange cake I can still smell the fragrant cake that filled the kitchen. 

So I'm using this occasion to finally give an orange cake with a twist of course a go..

For this recipe you will need:

2 cups of butter

2 cups of sugar

4 eggs

1/2 cup of orange zest

Zest of 1 1/2 oranges

3/4 cup of buttermilk 

3 cups of plain flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 cup of poppy seeds

This recipe will make two 2lb loaf cakes

Firstly cream your butter + sugar until pale in colour, next add in your 4 eggs one at a time what I actually like to do is beat the eggs together in a separate bowl + add that to the mixture I find its less likely for the eggs to split.

Once their all combined add the juice + zest of your oranges well. In a separate bowl sift together all your dry ingredients + by hand fold it in to your wet mixture along with the buttermilk .

Lastly sprinkle in the gorgeous blue, grey + black dots that are your poppy seeds into your batter and evenly combine.

Pour your cake batter into two loaf tins which you must grease and flour before hand so the yummy cakes don't stick.

Bake for 45 minutes @ 160'

Once out of the oven I trickled a simple syrup over the cakes

made from 1/2 cup of orange juice with 1/2 cup of sugar. The when the cakes were completely cooled I drizzled the cakes with an orange glaze made from 2 cups of icing sugar + just enough orange juice that it makes an oozy consistency...

Enjoy

Rebecca x