The Ireland's Blue Book Bake Off

 

The Ireland's Blue Book Bake Off 

Whether you fancy yourself as the next celebrity Masterchef, aspire to be a Michelin-starred chef, dream of competing in The Great Irish Bake Off
 http://www.tv3.ie/shows_new.php?request=thegreatirishbakeoff
or you are more of a culinary novice, Ireland's Blue Book have a cookery course that's just right for you.

Dunbrody House Co. Wexford   

                

  

Dunbrody Cookery School has been designed to cater for all levels of cooks, from budding enthusiasts (Back to Basics) to the experienced gourmet (specialised courses). All of the courses at the Dunbrody Cookery School have been personally designed by Celebrity Masterchef Kevin Dundon. The emphasis at Dunbrody Cookery School is on freshness and sesonality of locally-sourced ingredients and utilising these to achieve fabulous dishes without the worry of overly-complicated recipes. Courses range from a variety of one day courses to the ever popular two day "Dinner Parties for Six course".

 

Ballymaloe House Co. Cork

 

                 

The internationally renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School run by Darina Allen is located just 5 minutes from Ballymaloe House. Its beautiful gardens are open to the public from Easter to October, highlights include a maze and shell house. There is a huge variety of short courses available ranging from half a day to 5 days. Cookery demonstrations take place almost every weekday at the School from 2.00pm to 4.30pm. People who cannot spare the time to take an entire course often enjoy attending a demonstration session to see and taste the magic of creating Ballymaloe food.

 

Belle Isle Castle Co. Fermanagh       

 

    

At the Belle Isle Cookery School in Northern Ireland you will discover the delights of cooking in a relaxed atmosphere, with expert tuition, using top quality seasonal Irish produce. The schools hands-on cookery courses and demonstrations will introduce you to some of Irelands most exciting and innovative culinary ideas in a cookery school in one of the most beautiful settings in Ireland. At the Belle Isle Cookery School courses vary in duration from one day to 4-weeks and are designed for any level of cooking ability, from beginner through to experienced cooks. Each course takes a maximum of 14 people, allowing for a very 'hands-on' approach in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

 

Castle Leslie Estate Co. Monaghan      

 

                        

Following major restoration, the original Victorian kitchens in the Castle opened in July 2006 as the Cookery School. The learning space is a chef's dream and houses one of the famous Molteni ovens, an unrivalled masterpiece handcrafted with the Castle and its guests in mind. One of the best known cookery schools in Ireland, it is open all year round and offers cookery courses personally designed by our expert team of chefs. From time to time, we also invite speciality chefs to take over the kitchen at Castle Leslie Estate to share their expertise with our guests. So whether you're an experienced cook or a culinary novice, we have the right course to help you develop or enhance your skills.

 

 

For more information on how to book any of the courses mentioned above please see: http://www.irelands-blue-book.ie/cookery.html

 

Why Ballyportry Castle is one of the most interesting places to stay in Ireland?

 

 

 

Why Ballyportry Castle is one of the most interesting places to stay in Ireland?

 

·       Ballyportry Castle located at the edge of the finest surviving archaeological and most interesting botanical and geological landscape in the west of Ireland.

 

·       It is one of the best restored Gaelic tower houses in the country and the most intact that is offered for rental.

 

·       Fullest evocation of late 15^th century castle atmosphere of any Irish buildings.

 

·       Home of the late medieval Gaelic chieftains, the O’Brien’s, who sprung from an ancient Celtic sept whose most famous king, Brian Boru was High King of Ireland.

 

·       Ballyportry is almost half a century older than Trinity College, Dublin. It was built in the decade of Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the Americas.

 

·       Interesting Times: The late 15^th century Gaelic chiefs would have lived lives of privilege, culture, politics and warfare. It was a time of shifting political alliances.

 

 

 

 

·       Next year, 2014 will be a year of remembering Brian Boru as it will be 1000 years since the most famous battle in Irish history when he was the leader of the Irish forces against the Vikings. He decisively defeated the Vikings at the bloody battle of Clontarf at which he lost his life.

 

·       Restored by the American architect Bob Brown who, although without obvious Irish roots, fell in love with Ireland and it’s castles in the late 1960s.

 

·       Sympathetic restoration and subsequent researched conservation programmes have achieved the best example of medieval stone building conservation anywhere in Ireland.

 

·       Ballyportry Castle is between Kerry and Connemara, and inland from Galway Bay. It is beside the Burren National Park. County Clare is a peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, which is about 45 minutes away by car from Ballyportry Castle.

 

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

 

Christmas Recipes

Mince pies with pear & brandy

From Belle Isle Cookery School

 

Ingredients -Makes 12

For the pastry:

225g/8 oz plain flour

50g/2 oz ground almonds

140g/5 oz butter, chilled and cut into cubes

Zest of an orange

1 egg yolk

2 oz icing sugar

For the filling:

225g/8 oz good quality sweet mincemeat

75g/3 oz toasted hazelnuts/almonds

Good dash of brandy or rum

1 comice ripe pear, unpeeled and grated

Zest of a lemon

1 apple, unpeeled and grated

Icing sugar for dusting

1 egg, beaten for glazing

 

 

 

Method

• Preheat oven to 200C/400F/gas 6.
• Put all the pastry ingredients into a food processor and whiz until it comes together into a smooth dough.
• Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
• Butter and flour a muffin tin.  Roll the dough out thinly between two sheets of cling film (this will prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin and you will not need any extra flour) and cut out 12 x 7.5cm/3 inch rounds.  Line the tin with the pastry.
• Roll out enough smaller rounds to fit over the top (if you are feeling patient, roll out tiny balls to sprinkle on top). Mix the mincemeat together with all of the other ingredients and add brandy or rum to taste, if you do this the night before it will taste even better!
• Put 2 tsp. of mincemeat in each case and cover with the smaller rounds.  Glaze with egg wash and bake for 12-15 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.  Cool in tins for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack.

 

N.B.

Make different toppings using a crumble or biscuits cutters to make shapes such as stars etc.

 

 

 

 

Dunbrody Mulled Wine Recipe

 

“Mulled wine recipes tend to vary as the taste is very personal.  This is one we use at Dunbrody as we like the sweetness added by the 7UP where many other prefer to use Sparkling Water. This recipe makes enough for 15 glasses and reheats very well if you want to make it the day before.”  Catherine Dundon, Dunbrody Country House Hotel.

 

Ingredients

Method

• 1 large orange sliced • 2 pears, cored and quartered • 3 plums halved • 250g brown sugar • 6 whole cloves • 3 cinnamon stick • 1 whole vanilla pod, halved     • pinch of mixed spice • pinch of nutmeg • 2 star anise • 2 bottles of full bodied red wine     •750 ml Cranberry Juice •750 ml 7Up or Sprite (Sparkling water if you prefer)

This is really easy to make and tastes like Christmas in a glass. It’s a lovely celebration of those traditional festive spices like cloves and cinnamon and vanilla adds a wonderful aroma.         Pour the wine and cranberry juice into a large pot and slowly heat.  Add in your fruits and sugar stirring continuously.  Add the cloves, cinnamon, mixed spice, star anise and nutmeg. Throw in your halved vanilla pod and stir in.  Bring to the boil for about 4 to 5 minutes, reduce the heat and slowly add in the 7Up (or the sparkling water) stirring continuously.     Allow to cool and store in a cool area until needed.  Reheat as required.

Handmade Rose Water Marshmallow

From Ballymaloe Country House 

Once you taste handmade marshmallow you will never go back to the mass produced version. This recipe makes delicately flavored and lighter than air marshmallow that is best enjoyed within a few days of making.

Makes approx 100

455g (1lb) granulated or caster sugar
1 tablespoon liquid glucose
9 gelatine leaves or 5½ rounded teaspoons of powdered gelatine
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon good quality rose water

Red food colour paste
4 tablespoon icing sugar and 4 tablespoon cornflour sieved together

1. Line the bottom of a 30x20cm baking tray with parchment paper. Dust with sieved icing sugar and cornflour.
2. Place sugar, glucose and 200 ml of water in a heavy bottom saucepan. Stir to ensure all of the sugar is wet. Using a pastry brush dipped water, remove any sugar crystals from the side of the saucepan. Place the saucepan on a medium heat and bring to the boil. Once boiling do not stir, simply tilt the pot from side to side to ensure the solution heats evenly until it reaches 127°C. It is important to keep an eye on the temperature using a sugar thermometer.
3. Meanwhile, rehydrate the gelatine in 140ml water.
4. When the boiling syrup reaches 110°C start whipping the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
5. Add the rehydrated gelatine and water into the syrup when it reaches 127°C and stir with a wooden spoon. The mixture will foam slightly, this is normal. Pour the hot syrup onto the egg whites and whip on full speed for 5-10 minutes until the marshmallow thickens and the bowl of the mixer is warm to the touch. Turn the speed of the mixer to low and whisk in the rosewater and enough food colour paste to turn the marshmallow baby pink.
6. Spoon the thick marshmallow mix onto the lined baking tray and smooth with a palette knife. Allow to set (usually takes 2 hours).
7. Dust the top of the marshmallow with the icing sugar and cornflour mix. Turn out onto a work surface, peel off the paper and cut into cubes. Roll each marshmallow in the cornflour and icing sugar mix to finish.

 

Houses, Castles & Gardens of Ireland - Sprucing up the Tea Rooms

Guest Blog from Sara Waldburg of Houses, Castles and Gardens.

All around this island grand houses and castles that open to the public are drawing back the shutters, sprucing up the tea rooms and memorising histories both fact and legend from long, long ago!   It’s all about being ready for the first visitors of the season.   They are in for a treat this year because property owners and managers have been planning their events schedule for months now and finally the websites are starting to fill with an array of activities that makes you dizzy with anticipation … I want to go to them all but here are just a few to entice us from hibernation.

Powerscourt Gardens.

Powerscourt Gardens at Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow is an ideal site to start.  Powerscourt has a range of events stretching as far as June.   Gardeners could be there once a week to learn about growing vegetables and flowers, taking photographs or joining a guided tour of the magnificent trees on the estate in the company of tree expert, Michael Carey. 
Not to be missed either is Carol Bone’s demonstration of Spring Flowers taking place in the Pavilion Garden Centre near the car park.   Carol is the Chairperson of the Association of Irish Floral Artists and her arrangements are extraordinarily creative, yet, she is able to impart that ‘have a go’ feel as soon as the demo is over!   I discovered some lovely gardens to visit on the AOIFA website which presumably specialise in plants suitable for all kinds of flower arrangements.  

Mount Stewart

Our Motorways in Ireland are so good now that day outings and short weekend breaks are a perfectly feasible way to get to know parts of this island once considered too much trouble to be worth the effort.  Now some of the most handsome examples of architecture and landscaped gardens are to be seen in Northern Ireland. In early May there will be the Tulip Festival at Glenarm Castle on the Co. Antrim coast and at Mount Stewart we have already missed an event called ‘Rise & Shine’ when the doors were opened on the visitor season with demonstrations and handy hints for spring cleaning in your own home.   I can smell that beeswax polish from here!

Kilruddery House & Gardens

So where can you get an overview of what is taking place in these glorious properties throughout this island?   Houses, Castles & Gardens of Ireland has recently redeveloped its website to reflect the wonderfully diverse range of activities taking place at properties such as Lismore Castle, Brigit’s Garden, the Victorian Walled Garden at Kylemore Abbey and Killruddery House & Gardens to name a few.  

Lismore Castle

Of course, these are the better know ones but other jewels in our crown are the delightful Deepwell, Coolcarrigan and Primrose Hill which are as much pleasure gardens of today as was the original intention when garden design took off in the sixteenth century.  

Deepwell

See the Houses, Castles and Gardens website for more lovely ideas for days out this Summer.