Love Bites with Ireland's Blue Book

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

INGREDIENTS
1lb/450g fresh strawberries
7oz/200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids if possible)

METHOD

Firstly wash the strawberries (leaving the stalks in place) in cold water. Drain in a colander and dry completely on kitchen paper.

Line a baking sheet or tray with greaseproof or wax paper.

Heat some water to boiling point in a saucepan. Remove from the heat.

Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a large heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over the pan of hot water ensuring that it does not come into contact with the water. Stir regularly until the chocolate is completely melted & smooth.
Hold a strawberry by its stalk and dip into the chocolate, rotating it slowly. Lift it out of the chocolate and allow the excess to drain back into the basin. Place onto the greaseproof paper.
Repeat the process until all strawberries are coated.
Allow the strawberries to set fully in the refrigerate for about an hour.

Cook's Notes

Milk chocolate or white chocolate may be used in place of plain if you prefer.
This chocolate dipped strawberries can be completed up to 4 hours before you intend to eat them.
If you wish to get a perfect, even finish to the chocolate, insert a cocktail stick or skewer into each strawberry before dipping. Once dipped, secure the other end of the stick into a piece of styrofoam or large grapefruit. Once set, remove from the stick and chill before serving.

              Love apple soup with poached oysters 

Tomatoes were originally known as “love apples” and considered a very romantic food.
 
Ingredients
Serves 2
 

2 beets, washed, topped and cubed                                    1 tsp. chopped chives

2 carrots, washed and roughly chopped                          1 onion, finely chopped

1 stalk of celery, roughly chopped                                     1 egg white

1 tin (400g/14 oz) of chopped tomatoes                        1 egg shell, crushed

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped                                         1 tsp. caster sugar

1 bay leaf                                                                                      2 cloves

2 peppercorns                                                                            Salt to taste

4 fresh oysters

 
Method
·         Place the beets, carrots and celery in a pan with about 600ml/1 pint of cold water.  Bring to the boil and cook until tender.
·         In another pot, place the tomatoes, garlic, chives, onion, egg whites and shells, sugar, bay leaf cloves and peppercorns.
·         Using a potato masher, mix all of these ingredients together and cook over a low heat for 25 minutes.
·         Strain the cooked carrots etc, reserving the liquid. 
·         Once the tomato mixture has finished cooking, pour the mixture into a jelly bag or cheesecloth sitting on a large sieve.  Allow to drain. Add this juice to the vegetable cooking liquor.  Season with salt and reheat but do not boil.
·         Shuck the oysters about 10 minutes before serving (or ask your fishmonger to do it earlier for you!).  Poached oysters in the hot soup for 1 minute before serving.
·         To serve, pour 2 ladles of soup into a hot bowl with 2 poached oysters.  Garnish with ½ tsp. of chopped chives or chervil.
 
N.B.
You may think that this soup sounds like a lot of trouble but it is truly worth it.  Make the soup 2 days before and add the oysters just before serving.  If you can’t find fresh beets, use pre-cooked ones.

  Oysters with Champagne-Vinegar Mignonette

Ingredients
For mignonnette

2 teaspoons Champagne vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped shallot
Pinch of coarsely ground black pepper
Pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

For oysters
1 1/2 cups kosher or other coarse salt
1/2 dozen small oysters, such as Kumamoto or Prince Edward Island, shells scrubbed well and oysters left on the half shell, their liquor reserved and oysters picked over for shell fragments
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 small cluster Champagne table grapes or 2 finely diced seedless red grapes

Make Mignonnette

Stir together vinegar, shallot, pepper, and sugat and let stand for 30 minutes.

Prepare Oysters

Preheat broiler.

Spread 3/4 cup salt in an 8- to 10-inch flameproof shallow baking dish or pan. Arrange oysters on their shells in salt, then top each with a piece of butter.

Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat until butter is melted and sizzling and edges of oysters are beginning to curl, 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir parsley into mignonnette. Divide remaining 3/4 cup salt between 2 plates and arrange 3 oysters on each. Spoon 1/4 teaspoon mignonnette over each oyster and sprinkle oysters with grapes. Serve warm



 

 

 

 

Orange Semifreddo300g sugar
80g water
240g egg yolks (8-10)
350g Orange coulis
500g semi whipped cream

 

Boil sugar and water until it reaches 119 degrees. Mix with the egg yolks. Add the coulis and mix well.
Whip the cream and fold into the mixture. Freeze well.

Meringue
250 g egg whites
500g sugar

Mix the egg whites and sugar until stiff and shiny. Pipe into your desired shape and bake in a preheated oven at 100 degrees for 2 hours.


Chocolate Tuille
100g sugar
100g butter
10g glucose
75g flour
25g cocoa buter

Mix all ingredients until well combined and bake on a tray in a preheated oven at 170 degrees for 8-10 mins. The mixture can be shaped when still hot from the oven- to get a curved shape roll it around a rolling pin and leave to cool. 

 

CHOCOLATE MARQUISE18Og WHITES
440g YOLKS
2OOg SUGAR
750g CHOCOLATE (half 70% half53%)
2OOg MILK
12Og COCOA POWDER
lOOml STOCK SYRUP
8 Sheets GELATINE
I.5L WHIPPING CREAM

WHISK CREAM TO RIBBON AND PUT IN FRIDGE, SOAK GELATINE, MELT CHOCOLATE, MIX SUGAR WITH A LITTLE WATER, BRING TO 121 DEGREES, WHISK EGGS AND POUR IN SUGAR, WHISK FULL SPEED FOR 10 MIN, HEAT MILK, STOCK SYRUP, ADD SOAKED GELATINE AND PASS ON TO MELTED CHOCOLATE AND COCOA POWDER, WHISK UNTIL SMOOTH, FOLD EGGS IN TO CHOCOLATE THEN FOLD IN CREAM.

 
 MARQUISE GLAZE
240g COCOA POWDER
50Oml WHIPPING CREAM
560m1 WATER
720g SUGAR
12 GELATINE

BRING EVERYTHING TO BOIL, ADD SOAKED GELATINE, PASS, CHILL, REMOVE FILM THAT FORMS ON TOP WHEN CHILLED


MARQUISE BASE
5OOg PRALINE
250g FEUILLATINE
150g DARK CHOCOLATE


MELT CHOCOLATE, ADD TO PRALINE, FOLD IN FEUILLATINE, ROLL ON TO PARCHMENT.
 

 

 

SMOKED HADDOCK SMOKEY

 

Ingredients

 

2 Plum Tomatoes, seeded and diced

450g/1 lb smoked haddock fillet, skinned and cut into cubes

100g/4 oz Cheddar, grated

300 ml/1/2 pint cream

freshly ground black pepper

white bread rolls and sticks with butter, to serve

 

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Scatter half the tomatoes among four individual ovenproof dishes. Arrange the smoke haddock on top and sprinkle over half of the cheese. Scatter over the remaining tomatoes, season with pepper and pour over the cream. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for 15 -20 minutes until the smoked haddock is completely tender and the top is bubbling and golden brown.

 

To Serve

Place the smoked haddock smokey dished directly on the table. Arrange the bread rolls and sticks in a seperate baske and put on the table with a small pot of butter, then allow everyone to help themselves.

 

http://www.kevindundon.com/smoked_haddock_smokey.html





Castle Leslie's Romantic Recipe 

White chocolate crème Brulee

 

 

White chocolate crème Brulee. ( makes 12 crème brulee dishes)

Ingredients

12 egg yolks(280g)

750g cream

250g milk

20g kirsch

50g castor sugar

650g white chocolate buttons/ or shaved chocolate

Method:

Whisk the eggs and sugar together

Bring cream and milk to simmering point, add to the egg and sugar whilst continuing to mix

Whilst hot add chocolate pieces and kirsch, whisk slowly until it is all melted, allow to cool

Once cold pour into moulds/dishes, bake at 100 degrees for approximately 45minutes or until it shows no liquid in the centre when gently moved form side to side

 

Serve with fresh raspberries and a rich dark chocolate ice cream