Cook like Ross Lewis

Christmas Time is the time of year where more cookery books are sold than the rest of the year (that's one reason, we get so many new publications at this time of year). And I have to admit - I have a list as long as my elbow on books I REALLY need (but that is for another post). 

One of the last books I bought, was Ross Lewis' Chapter One. It's a beautiful book, celebrating not only the years of success in Chapter One but also the producers, people who gave him inspiration and his amazing team. It is a book that is easy to read with lovely anecdotes and gorgeous photos. 

The recipes are long and labour intense and one might leave the book on the coffee table and just dreams of re-creating the dishes in the book. 

Now, here is your chance to learn how to re-create the recipes in their full glory. Let me introduce you to the Master the Star @ Kinsale Gourmet Academy. Under the gentle guidance of David Rice of Kinsale Gourmet Academy, students will be divided into groups and cook a course each from the Chapter One Cookbook. David has worked with Ross Lewis, Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver. All dishes in the book have been prepared by David while working in Chapter One - so no one (apart from Ross Lewis himself) is better suited to teach the techniques, tricks and tips. 

David will assist in the preparations, will give tips on how to re-create components of each dish, explains the different techniques and ingredients.

After cooking has finished, the students will sit together and enjoy the 'fruit' of their labour. 

This class is a unique opportunity to learn from one of Ireland's best chefs and to become confident to cook on the highest level. So, join us on Saturday, 1st February from 10am - 4pm.

It is a perfect Christmas gift for the foodie in your life. Tickets for this class go for €145 and include all recipes and ingredients for the class.

Bookings can be done via 087/3168855

Dine with the Chef

Cork has some amazing chefs and I am delighted that some of them have been willing to share their recipes and tricks of the trade with us. I have organised a series of cookery demonstration in Brennan's Cookery School starting 17th September 2014, 6:30pm. 

Over 7 weeks, we will see 7 of Cork's best chefs showing you how to create restaurant dishes at home. Tips, tricks and stories behind the food - our chefs have tales & talent. 

The series kicks off with Yoann Avignon from L'Atitude 51. He will share with us his French Country cooking - French cuisine is so much more than Fois Gras and Snails. Open your mind and enjoy wonderful food.

Each evening is €40 each, discount for multiple bookings available. 

For bookings, please call 021/427 82 83. 

Firehouse Bread - A Piece of Heaven

I really really want one of those

It is not very often that I am impressed with a cookery/baking course but wow - what a day I had recently at Firehouse Bread Bakery in Heir Island. A beautiful spot in the depth of West Cork - 27 people are living on Heir Island and you are happy about the low number as that is the charm of this heavenly place.

The ferry arrived bang on time at 10 o'clock on Cunnamore Pier - it was a frosty but calm morning and the view from Cunnamore made the almost 2 hour trip worth the while. No sound other than what nature intended and I enjoyed the peace for the few moments until the ferry arrived.

I was joined by a mother/son/girlfriend team and together we boarded the ferry. The short trip (about 5-7 minutes) took us to Heir (or Hare) Island where Laura waited already with her jeep to pick us up. It was as if we all had been friends for years and just met again. The short spin took us to the Firehouse Bakery with views over the bay. We were greeted by warm tea, homemade mince pies and wonderful shortbread biscuits. We were chatting away until Patrick Ryan joined us and took us out to the clay oven that gave the name to the bakery. A beautiful constructed outdoor oven, wood fired and perfectly crafted by Hendrik Lepel who runs regular workshops on how to build a clay oven. Wood blocks were burning away and you almost forgot the chill on the air.

Back inside, we were shown into the workroom and our stations. I was introduced to my new friend, Sourdough (mine had died previously and I was happy to see a future for my sourdough plans). Patrick is not only a damn talented baker but also a natural teacher - generous with his knowledge, easy to follow his instructions and always there to help when one of us struggled. After we made out sourdough bread - we left it to rise and got on with our other tasks. Patrick had a few recipes laid out upside down and we had to choose one recipe each (so that we could cover several different recipes) and I ended up with Brioche. This is normally thought of as a sweet bread but I learned now that this is actually not the case (unless you buy the industrial prepared ones). Brioche is meant to be rich and indulgent - either way, it was the first time that I tried my hands on Brioche. Again, the instructions were easy to follow and the result was a beautiful rich, almost flaky bread. I will make mini Brioches for my Christmas Party on Saturday. It will go perfectly with my liver pate. From the rest of the dough, I made cinnamon rolls with mincemeat.  The others were making Baguettes, Flower Pot Breads and Focaccia.

After all that kneading, we worked up an appetite and Laura served us a wonderful lunch with sourdough bread that was slightly toasted, crisp bread, beetroot dip, hummus - again, it felt as longtime friends were sitting together.

The View

After the break, it went back onto the work stations were we tried our hands on soda bread. I am making my own soda bread for years, sometimes mixing in fruit and sometimes herbs - but Patrick showed us how many versions you can make with this one dough. Again, we had to pick a recipe out of a pack and I ended up with apple & cider bread, while the others were doing a beetroot, tomato & feta muffins and walnut & honey loaf.

In the middle of all that - we returned to our sourdough bread and knocked it back and placed it on the lovely proofing baskets that creates the wonderful patterns on the bread (and I finally got 2 for myself). We left it to proof again and turned our attention to cakes....

Fresh bread & mulled Cider

I am a very good baker but I am not really bothered about cakes but Patrick had some tricks up his sleeve for us. I got the recipe for Chocolate & Guinness Cakes which I spooned into mini muffin tins. The batter was silky and rich and turned out amazing muffins which I then topped with a cream cheese toppings to make it look like mini pints of Guinness - guess I will make these also for the Christmas Party.

The kitchen was a hive of activity with us four bringing our goods to the ovens and Laura preparing dinner for us - bliss for any serious cook or baker.

Finally we brought our sourdough out to the clay oven and marked them with the razor - for us to recognise our bread when it came out again. These type of clay ovens were very common in earlier times where a village would have one of these ovens and every family would bring their bread to be baked and everyone was responsible to maintain the oven and keep the heat going. I can see this tradition being revived by Patrick & Laura and that the people of Heir Island are bringing their loaves to the Firehouse Bakery.

Lovely dinner - perfect ending to a prefect day

After all that baking and cleaning up, we worked up quite an appetite and sat down at the dinner table were Laura served up a scrumptious dinner. Hearty vegetable soup, chickpeas & bacon, red cabbage slow, roast and of course our own bread - I could have stayed so much longer and I wasn't the only one. It felt like home or at least at home with close friends. But the ferry was waiting for us and it meant to say goodbye. We were all given a goodie bag with a dough scraper and a razor cutter, recipes and some reading material. I bought the book which Patrick signed for me and I persuaded him to sell me also 2 of the proofing baskets and a portion of his sourdough (which got fed straight away when I got home).

The Team

Firehouse Bakery is also a B & B and I am planning to take Mr T for a relaxed weekend away during spring. Heir Island has no shop or pub and you would have time to just relax and enjoy life - while being surrounded by the smells of homebaked bread. A piece of Heaven on Earth.

Breadmaking courses run throughout the year and I can only recommend the course. Even if you think you are a good baker, I bet Patrick will still be able to teach you a trick or two.
All recipes are structured for use in a home kitchen - and they work

Gift Ideas for Foodies

It is this time of the year again - what to buy your loved ones and friends for Christmas? You don't want to buy some 'rubbish' that no one needs or want but you also don't want to break the bank. My gift guide below will make it easier to get the perfect gift for your foodie friend - and let's face it, we all have one of those (in my case, it's actually me). All gifts below are made in Ireland (apart from the cookbooks). What ever you decide to buy this year, try to make it Irish. For each € spend on Irish Goods, jobs are saved.

A Breadmaking Course at Firehouse Bakery

Patrick and Laura of Firehouse Bakery

This is a gift that every aspiring breadmaker will love. The Firehouse Bakery is located on the idyllic Heir Island and is run by Patrick Ryan and Laura Moore. Patrick has been on TV and has published his first book this year. What makes Firehouse Bakery so special is not only the location in one of the most beautiful spots in West Cork but the fact that they are using a wood fired clay oven which produces the most amazing breads. Day Courses run throughout the year and costs around €110 which include the following

• Return ferry to Heir Island
• Full day hands on baking experience
• Bake your very own hand made bread in a wood fired clay oven
• Lunch with wine, with Roaringwater Bay serving as the back drop
• An artisan baker's goodie bag to take home
• And as much freshly baked bread as you can carry 

I was lucky enough to win a course with Firehouse Bakery and can't wait to get my hands into the flour.

Smorgasboard Game

A game from foodies for foodies - a fun new game for foodies created by Irish husband & wife entrepreneurs, Richard Kelly & Maggie Leonar. Players take on the guise of aspiring chefs as they work their way around the board in search of gastronomic success. The object of the game is to be the first team of chefs to graduate from Rick’s Culinary Academy! This game would be the perfect after dinner entertainment.

Subscription for Food Magazines

Food & Wine

Easy Food Magazine

We have some wonderful food magazines in Ireland - Food & Wine and Easy Food to name just two. Why not give a subscription this Christmas? Irish publishers are struggling these days and any sold subscription can make a big difference and your friend can learn and improve their cooking skills in the process - win win for everyone.  Which one you are going for is absolutely up to you but keep in mind what your friend likes. Food & Wine is for the serious foodie - great recipes, reader events and the latest news on top notch restaurants makes this a great read. Easy Food is a great magazine for all who want to take up cooking or want to improve their skills and try new ideas. A year's subscription for Food & Wine cost you €41.80 while Easy Food is €30 per year.

Slowfood Membership

It is no secret that I am a big fan of Slowfood - I try to live by the motto, clean food, honest food and think globally - act locally. Slowfood Ireland has been founded by Darina Allen after a meeting with Slowfood founder Carlo Petrini. Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world. Becoming a member of Slowfood supports the organisation in supporting and promoting the Slow Life. Membership for a year is €50 - a new initiative for Youth has just been introduced where young people can join for €12. Each convivium is holding events throughout the year - so there is the social aspect of it as well. You can find out more about Slowfood here 

Cookbooks

I personally love cookbooks - you could even call me a collector. I have learned so much from my cookbooks without having ever followed a recipe. I believe that each household should have at least one cookbook in the house. And there is only one book I can honestly recommend for beginners and 'pros' alike = Miss Delia Smiths Complete Cookery Course. I have the first edition of this book at home and it has never ever let me down if I had to look for something. It has been recently re-published. If you are a beginner - stick to the recipe and I promise you it will work. Her recipes are based on simple facts, no gimmicks, no frills. If your child is leaving home for the first time to live on his/her own, if you just got married without having ever had to cook, if you want to ensure your mother-in-law that you are able to look after her precious son - this is your book. I mean, if even Marco Pierre White isn't giving out about Delia - she must be good. 

In the next few days, I will add more ideas but I hope that the suggestions above make it easier for you to find the perfect gift this Christmas.

Chocolate & Coffee - The End

This is the last part of our cookery class and the end of our dinner party together.

The hard work is done – you can relax now. Your guests are fed and it is time to wind down. I personally love it when people keep sitting at the table and talk about all and nothing. Just clear the plates from the table and bring out the goodies you prepared in advance. There is always room for a chocolate truffle or a light biscuit.

You can of course just serve tea made from a teabag or instant coffee but imagine how impressed your guest are when you serve them a proper cup of tea or a lovely steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee. Coffee with Advoccat is just a special coffee flavoured with Advocaat and topped with cream but which is just delicious. Coffee can be flavoured with any liquor you like – Amaretto (almond), Kahlua (coffee) or even a banana liquor. Your imagination is the limit. 

We have lost the art of tea making since teabags are so convenient. But why not step out of the 'norm' and treat yourself with a lovely cup of tea that actually taste of tea. We have 2 wonderful shops in Cork that specialise in loose tea and can recommend the right tea for you. They not only stock tea but also coffee beans, in case you like to get into 'proper' coffee drinking. Gurmans in 4, Fenns Quay and Little Buddha in McCurtain Street have everything you need to get you started. 

Chocolate is always a treat – especially when they are handmade. Don’t worry if you think they don’t look perfect – it shows that you made them yourself. It is quite easy to make wonderful delicious chocolates if you stick to a few rules. I will be showing you how to make free-formed chocolates as well as moulded ones. Chocolate needs to be tempered if using it for moulds as this will guarantee a glossy finish. With our free-formed chocolates, it’s not necessary as we will dipping them in shredded coconut. These chocolates also make a nice gift for your guests to take home – just put them into a nice box, a little ribbon around and you got a stylish gift for next to nothing.

When choosing chocolate, make sure to check the cocoa content. Never use chocolate flavoured bars – they are made of vegetable fat and some flavouring. It has never been near chocolate. The best chocolate of course is from your local chocolate shop where you can choose between different strengths of chocolate (there is a list of suppliers at the end of the leaflet). But here, I will be using white chocolate – which is basically cocoa butter – that I bought in Aldi. I am working with that chocolate for years, and can’t fault it. I am using mainly the milk and white chocolate.

Advocaat Coffee

1 cup strong coffee     

Sugar to taste

6-8 tsp Advocaat

2 tbsp whipped cream

Chocolate powder

Warm the cup, add the Advocaat. Sweeten the coffee to taste and pour over the Advocaat. Spoon whipped cream on top and dust with chocolate powder.

Indian Spiced Tea (Mix)

Chai can be bought in Gurmans in Fenn's Quay.

Add tea to milk in saucepan over low heat. Use 4 teaspoons loose leaf/4 tea bags for every three cups. Once added, stir the tea constantly. Use low heat to brew slowly and to prevent dangerous overflow. The milk will eventually boil into foamy bubbles. You will notice that the colour has changed from white to a caramel cream colour. At this point, reduce heat or remove it from heat.  It will still continue to infuse. The stronger you want it, the more you should heat it.

Strain it through a tea sieve into cups.

Coconut-Marzipan-Chocolates

20 glace cherries

250g Marzipan

100g icing sugar

250g shredded coconut

Egg Nogg or Advocaat

White chocolate for dipping

Delicious Easy-Peasy Chocolates

Mix the marzipan, icing sugar and egg nogg (add bit by bit until you have the right consistency) until it is well combined. Form little rounds (as bit or small as you like them – just keep in mind that we need room for the filling).  Fill each round with a glace cherry and mould into a closed ball. Set aside and continue until all of the mixture has been used up.

Place the coconut in a bowl.

Melt the chocolate over a bain marie and dip the balls in the chocolate.  Drop the balls into the bowl with the coconut, making sure they are completely covered. Place in little paper cases and serve.