Apple, Apricot & Cinnamon Swirls

If I'm ever stuck for a sweet baked treat in the morning for my guests and time is not on my side, these apple pastry swirls are a life saver!!!! Made with minimum effort but allowing for maximum taste they are a winner every time, and can be made even in the most stressful of kitchens.

This is another example how utterly versatile ready rolled puff pastry is..... helping us create the perfect breakfast treat. Guests have been really impressed with these bite size pieces of pleasure, and its almost shameful to admit how easy they are, and that they didn't take me hours of slaving in the kitchen.....opps...my secret's out!

Ingredients

• 1 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry (room temperature)
• 1 cooking apple
• 2-3 tbsp of apricot conserve
• 3 tbsp of brown sugar
• 2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp of buttermilk (or beaten egg)
• Icing sugar to decorate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
2. Line a baking tray with baking parchment
3. Allow your puff pastry to come to room temperature. (If you try to roll it straight from the fridge, it will crack)
4. Unroll the sheet of pastry.
5. Place the apricot conserve in a dish and microwave for 30 seconds.
6. Brush the entire surface of the pastry with the melted conserve.
7. Grate the cooking apple over the conserve and redistribute to ensure an even spread
8. Scatter with the brown sugar and the cinnamon. 
9. From the longest side, roll the pastry as if your rolling a swiss roll.
10. Cut into bite size pieces.
11. Brush with the buttermilk and spread out on the baking tray as they tend to double in size.
12. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
13. Remove from the oven when they are golden and bubbling and cool on a wire rack.
14. Once cooled sieve icing sugar over each swirl.

These are not only a breakfast treat, but also can be turned into a delicious dessert after a traditional Sunday roast. Simply make the swirls larger and serve with some creamy custard.

Raspberry, White Chocolate and Orange Muffins

Finally……I’m back!!!!! What a crazy few months it’s been… Can’t believe I didn’t have any time for food blogging and recipe hunting/testing over the last 3 months.

It certainly was a crazy few months, with a great learning curve. Being up to my eyes in pancakes and full irish frys and whatnot, Serena’s Medium Rare unfortunately had to take a back seat.

When I initially started the B&B people said, ‘its hard work you know’……..and I did understand that it would be, but boy oh boy I couldn’t have imagined how much work it takes. Not that any day felt like work, mind you. In fact the summer flew and I relished cooking for guests and getting great feedback on my cooking and baking, not to mention chatting with a vast variety of interesting people on a daily basis. It’s most definitely the job for me!

Now that the B&B is closed until Summer 2013 and I’m back to my ‘day job’, I’ve had time to breathe and reflect on what has been a wonderfully successful summer.  We brought our modest little B&B from #89 on Tripadvisor, to …….(drum roll please)…. #3 on Tripadvisor!!!!!

I really found a big passion for baking this summer, which before used to scare me. After many experiments with muffin recipes my Raspberry, White Chocolate and Orange Muffins proved to be the most popular. I ended up baking these so often in the finish I’m convinced I could bake them in my sleep.

It must be said this recipe is adapted from Clodagh McKenna’s Blueberry Muffin recipe from her book Homemade…

Ingredients

·         400g Plain flour

·         150g Caster sugar

·         85g Butter

·         2 eggs

·         1 tbsp Baking powder

·         Zest of an orange

·         Juice of half an orange

·         260ml Buttermilk

·         Salt

·         200g raspberries

·         200g of white chocolate chips

Method

1.       Sieve the flour into a bowl, along with the baking powder, salt and sugar.

2.       Melt the butter over a low heat.

3.       Zest the orange over the flour mixture

4.       Lift the flour mixture high from the bowl and let it fall between your fingers, do this maybe 10 times. This helps to lighten the flour.

5.       Beat the eggs in a jug with the buttermilk and add the melted butter once its cooled slightly and the orange juice.

6.       Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

7.       Add the raspberries and chocolate chips and gently fold.

8.       Have the oven preheated to 200 degrees.

9.       Line a muffin tray with paper cases and using a dessert spoon fill each case.

10.   Bake in the oven for 23-25 minutes.

11.   Remove and cool on wire rack.

The Full Irish Pasta Bake

The Full Irish Pasta Bake..... I know it sounds wierd but I'm never one to waste food, and this is surprisingly delightful and comforting. The other day I'd  a full house, so I threw down a few sausages, rashers and pudding couple of minutes before hand in anticipation that I'll have a few Full Irish takers. Often guests just opt for bacon and eggs, or my Irish Pancakes, which was the case this time. This left me with a few cooked breakfast leftovers. I hate to throw food away, hate hate it. So I decided to cool the leftover sausages, rashers and pudding and use in a pasta bake for the evenings supper for my husband. This is not a low fat dinner, so I won't pretend it is, but it certainly hits the comfort spot in the belly, and the men in your life will go crazy for this carb meat feast!!!!

Serves 2 (or 1 hungry man)

Ingredients

• 2 cooked sausages (cut into slices)
• 3 cooked rashers (cut into strips)
• 4 pieces of black and white pudding (cut into pieces)
• 100g of penne pasta
• 1 tin of cherry tomatoes
• Half a diced onion
• Half a diced clove of garlic
• 1 tsp of chilli flakes
• Salt/pepper
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1 tsp of dried oregano
• 2 tbsp of red wine
• 3 tbsp of cream
• 1 tsp of oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees
2. Cook pasta in boiling water for 10 minutes
3. Cook the onion and garlic in a little oil until translucent
4. Add the tomatoes, sugar, oregano and cook down for a few minutes
5. Add the chilli flakes and season.
6. Add the red wine and cook for a further 5 minutes
7. Add some of the cooking water from the pasta, stir and continue to cook
8. Add the chopped meat and the cream and stir well.
9. Transfer to a roasting dish and bake in the oven for 15 minutes

Feel free to add some mozzarella to the pasta before baking, I didn't as my husband isn't fond of cheese, but It would be scrummy. 

Or 6 minutes before the bake is finished make a little hole in the bake and gently break in an egg and return to the oven until the egg has just set.

This is a little on the sinful side so be mindful that perhaps a salad the following evening might make up for it. Why are wicked things the most pleasing!!!!

Egg Free, Nut Free Banana Muffins

It's only when guests come to stay with us with a food intolerance/allergy that I actually appreciate the fact that I am able to eat everything and anything I want to. I simply take it for granted!!! Today I had a lovely family visit us, with both egg allergies and nut allergies! Scary biscuits!! I never think about not being able to eat eggs, breads and cakes!!!! My breakfast's foundation seems to be my Beaufort eggs, be it in the Full Irish Breakfasts I cook, or the pancakes I make, or even the muffins and breads I bake. Being allergic to eggs has automatically eliminated alot of my dishes from the choice for my guests!!!

Always one to please everyone, I set about baking something that all my guests can enjoy! So thus came the arrival of my Egg-Free, Nut Free Banana Breakfast Muffins. I normally adapt my Banana & Walnut Muffin recipe from Jamie Olivers Spiced Banana Muffins, so I've made a few changes to make my Egg & Nut Free version today.

Makes 12 muffins


Ingredients

• 2 bananas
• 6 tbsp of sunflower oil
• 1 tbsp of honey
• 75g of brown sugar
• 200g of self raising flour
• 125g of buttermilk
• 1 tsp of cinnamon

First, preheat oven to 200 degrees and place 12 muffin cases in a bun tray.

Method

1. Mash 2 very ripe bananas together.
2. Add 6 tbsp of sunflower oil and 1 tbsp of honey
3. Add 75g of brown sugar and mix well. 
4. Measure 125ml of buttermilk and add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder and mix
5. Add the buttermilk mixture to the banana mixture and combine
6. Finally, sieve in the flour and gently fold
7. Divide the mixture amongst the muffin cases and bake in the oven for 20 minutes
8. Take out of oven and place on a cooling rack.

Low Fat Morrocan Inspired Meatballs & Couscous

Yes I do realise that its been FOREVER since I blogged, but the business has got me kept!! Business is good, can't complain, lots of lovely guests from all different and interesting backgrounds!!! This has resulted in putting the blogging on the back burner!!! Seriously though guys, each day I look at the clock and its evening time again!!! Time has yet again escaped me and my blog writing!!! Each day I promise to finish that sushi blog or  a blog about how the B&B is going! Writers block has seemingly affected me on those grounds, but in a return to tradition, over the weekend I cooked a really low fat morrocan inspired pickn'mix dinner!!!

It was very low in fat, yet I felt it was satisfying and felt like a 'treat dinner' all the same.  My meatballs are (as always) made from turkey meat, keeping the fat down and the protein high!!! The other 'pick n mix' options are salads, cous cous, and a yogurt sauce!!!

Serves 3-4 people


Apricot & Cumin Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

• 400g turkey mince
• 2 crusts of bread (whizzed to breadcrumbs) - any leftover bread will do
• 1 egg
• salt/pepper
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 5 dried apricots
• 1 clove of garlic, diced
• 4 tbsp of chopped coriander

Method

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and whizz until combined
2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
3. Place a sheet of baking paper on a tray
4. With damp hands roll balls of the mince mixture between your hand (I use an icecream scoop to measure the quantity)
5. Place all the meatballs on the tray and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, turning once.

Carrot & Coriander Salad

This doesn't require instructions really, simple strip a carrot with a vegetable peeler, and sprinkle chopped coriander over the strips and drizzle with lemon juice. Fast, and yum! (zero calorie points)

Saffron Almond & Chickpea Couscous Salad

Ingredients

• 100g of cous cous
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of ground cumin
• salt/pepper
• 115 ml of boiling water mixed with 2-3 strands of saffron
• 1 tin of chickpeas (washed and drained)
• 40g of toasted flaked almonds
• Lemon Juice from one lemon
• Chopped coriander and/or flat leaf parsley

1. Place the cous cous grains in a bowl, and rub in the cumin, juice from half a lemon, salt, pepper, oil and ground cumin
2. Add the hot saffron water, cover the bowl and leave for 15 minutes
3. When the cous cous has soaked up all the water, fluff up the grains with a fork (don't use a spoon)
4. Add the remainder ingredients and stir to combine well.

Quick Yogurt Sauce

Blitz 100 mls of natural yogurt, with 3 tbsp of fresh coriander, juice from a lemon and season with salt and pepper. This sauce is a great quick accompaniment to the meatballs. You may wish to include some pitta breads or flat bread with this dinner!!!!

Chocolate Puff Pastry Balls

I made these little sweet treats this morning for my guests, as many of them have been with us now for a few days and I wanted to bake something different for them from the muffins I've been making daily.
The little pastries actually just took minutes to prepare, and only 20 minutes to cook in the oven. I'm almost embarrassed at how easy they are to make, and calling it 'baking' I think is probably a stretch!!!

Nonetheless they are soooo good. I normally do not eat any of my breakfast baking when doing B&B (if I did I'd wobble continuously), but I could not resist these little puppies this morning. They were gobbled up in minutes, will have to make double next time.
These balls are being served as a sweet breakfast treat, however it would be a great idea also to tart them up a little and serve them hot from the oven with some vanilla ice-cream as an easy dinner party dessert.

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 1 sheet of ready made puff pastry (defrosted if frozen)
• 12 tsps of chocolate hazelnut spread (i.e. Nutella)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp of oil 
• Icing sugar to dust

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees
2. Cut the puff pastry sheet in 12 even squares
3. Brush a mini muffin tray with oil
4. Place each square in each greased muffin hole
5. Place one teaspoon of the chocolate spread in the centre.
6. Fold down all the corners of the pastry.
7. Brush with the beaten egg
8. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes
9. Cool on a wire rack and then dust with icing sugar. (do not put the sugar on too early or the heat will melt it)

Sika's Simple Irish Pancakes

Sika Lodge's pancakes are by far the most requested breakfast option for the kitchen. It must be 60-70% of guests go for the pancakes surprisingly. In fact, a very surprising fact is that the 'Full Irish' is the least requested breakfast option!!! I know, I was shocked too!!!!!

A request from past guests (namely the utterly fabulous Lenochs from Kansas) for my pancake recipe, has prompted me to put the recipe I use daily up on the blog. I previously blogged about pancakes (low fat version), however this recipe has evolved from testing and re testing measurements. This batter I think is the perfect batter and I can now make this in my sleep. zzzzzzzz........

My mom always believed that pancakes taste best when the batter has 'rested'. Its for this reason that I always make the batter just before bed time.

The batter is simple to make, and it's just flour, eggs, milk, baking powder. If you have little kiddies, this is a great recipe to use to get them involved in cooking in the kitchen (under supervision of course)

Makes 9 pancakes

Ingredients

• 100g of flour
• 1 large egg
• 300ml milk
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tbsp of sugar (optional)

Method

1. Sieve the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar into a bowl.
2. Pour the milk into a jug and whisk the egg into the milk.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and using a wooden spoon, pour the milk mixture into the well and stir the flour into the liquid.
4. Keep stirring until the mixture is smooth (you may use an electric blender if you are short on time).
5. Pour the mixture into a jug and keep over night (if you have the time but the batter is just as good for immediate consumption)
6. To make the pancakes, get a non stick pan on a medium heat.
7. Pour a tbsp oil (sunflower or vegetable) into  the batter and mix through.
8. Add a knob of butter and a tsp of oil to the pan.
9. Use a ladle as the measure.
10. Pour a ladle full of batter into the pan and swirl until the pan is evenly coated.
11. You know the pancake is ready to flip when little air holes appear on the cooking pancake. This is normally 1-2 minutes. The pancake should come away easy from the pan, if it sticks, its not ready for flipping!!!
12. Flip and cook for a further minute or so on the other side.
13. Remove and keep covered in foil in a warm oven, while you repeat the process with the rest of the pancakes.

I serve my pancakes with Irish strawberries (in season) and maple syrup. But my own personal favourite accompaniment for this recipe is simple - lemon juice and a sprinkle of caster sugar, old fashioned I know, but its the pancakes that we grew up on, and how mammy used to serve them.