Chocolate Caramel Bites - Speedy Sweet Canapes

This post isn't even a recipe, I couldn't call it that, as these bites are just a simple assembly job. In saying that they taste amazing, too good not to share! I love to have something nice and sweet greeting all my guests arriving to the Bed and Breakfast. Sometimes I have time for cupcakes or brownies,  but there are some busy days when I don't have enough time for anything other that pimping up melted chocolate!

For these little bites from heaven, I use all butter shortcrust pastry case from Marks and Spencers. I have made these from scratch before using shortcrust pastry, but these shop bought ones are great, especially if you are on a time budget

A staple in everyone's pantry should be Nestle's Carnations Caramel Sauce, it's awesome! So good in so many treats.

The final ingredients were some dark chocolate and some candy sprinkles. Here's the assembly recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 can of Carnation Caramel
• 1 100g bar of good dark chocolate 
• Sprinkles
• Ready made mini  all butter shortcrust pastry cases

Method

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second bursts
2. Place 1/2 tsp of carnation caramel in each pastry case
3. Pour 1/2 tsp of melted chocolate over the caramel and place your sprinkle of choice on the melted chocolate.
4. Put in the fridge for 20 minutes and they are ready to eat.

Perfect for a tea party, last minute guests, or a canape for a drinks party. I myself put them on a table in the hallway of my Bed and Breakfast, so chocolate is the first thing that my guests see when they walk through the door.

Chocolate & Pear Crumble Pies - Not Just Another Mince Pie

I love a mince pie as much as the next person. But wouldn't it be nice to have a mince pie with a twist for a change. I was trying to think of alternative mince pie recipes without compromising too much on the concept, and I got to thinking of good flavour combinations.

I knew I wanted chocolate chips to make the final cut, so what goes well with chocolate? Pears!!! Chocolate and Pear go together like Simon and Garfunkel!And what also goes well with chocolate from the mincemeat family? Well dried cranberries are a good call, and there is a heavy chocolate-type flavour from dates also. Very moorish. So there you have it: chocolate chips, dried cranberries, pears, and dates make up the 'dry' mince meat ingredients. Now for the quick fix 'wet' ingredients, Some marmalade and some cream liqueur will do nicely . Oh don't forget the mixed spice.....It is Christmas after all!

I like to make my mince pies look really rustic and homemade! So instead of putting a lid on the pies, I have made a super fast crumble to top the pies with. If a crumble doesn't tickle your fancy, grab a star cookie cutter with the same diameter as the circle ring you use to cut out the pastry discs and you have really pretty star studded pies instead. Either way, they are anything but another boring mince pie.

Ingredients

• 80g of chocolate chips
• 2 pears, diced
• 35g of dried cranberries
• 3 tbsp of orange marmalade
• 1 tbsp of bailey liqueur 
• 125g chopped dates
• 1 tsp of mixed spice
• 1 ready rolled sheet of all butter shortcrust pastry

Crumble

• 25g of cold butter
• 25g of brown sugar
• 25g of ground almonds
• 25g of flaked almonds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
2. First make the 'mincemeat' filling. Add the following to a large bowl and stir well to combine : chocolate chips, diced pears, dried cranberries, chopped dates, mixed spice, baileys, and the marmalade.
3. Then make the crumble by rubbing the butter into the sugar and then add the ground and flaked almonds.
4. Roll out the sheet of pastry and cut out circles with a round cookie cutter. (Measure the circle cutter to make sure its a small bit bigger that the muffin tin holes.
5. Oil the muffin holes, and place one disc of pastry in each muffin hole.
6. Spoon in the mincemeat mixture and top with the crumble mixture. You can tray freeze them at this stage and just cook them from frozen for an extra five minutes.
7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and place muffin tin on a wire rack. The liquid will be bubbling so be careful, they are very hot. Run a knife or spatula around the rim of the mince to release from the tin while the liquid is still hot. If it cools too much it will stick to the walls and be more difficult to remove without them breaking.
9. After 2-3 minutes, remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. 
10. When ready to serve, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with cream, custard, or icecream. 

Boozy Lemoncello Jelly Shots

With party season fast approaching, here's a recipe I came across in Lorraine Pascale's Fast Fresh Simple cookbook. These are amazing (and addictive <hic>) jelly shots. They bring me back to my college days of vodka jello shots; however these have a sophicated playfulness about them. I brought them as a gift to a dinner party I was recently attending and they went down a storm. So much so that I decided to share the recipe with everyone. 

Lorraine Pascale is my new girl cook crush. She makes everything seem effortless and simple; while putting an wonderful twist on classics. Such great twists that time and again I'm saying to myself "Class!! Why didn't I think of that!!! " .If you are in look of a new muse and haven't read her books yet, then start dropping some hints for Christmas.

Now on with the recipe

Ingredients

• 7-8  6.5 x 11.5cm leaves of gelatin
• 7 medium lemons or 5 big lemons
• 135 pack of lemon jelly
• 350 ml of water
• 150ml of lemoncello
• 1 tbsp of caster sugar

Method

1. Put the kettle on to boil. 
2. Then put the gelatin leaves into a small, wide bowl, cover them with cold water and set aside to soften.
3. Cut the lemons in half lengthways and, using a spoon, scoop out the juicy flesh. It takes a bit of wiggling and getting squirted by the juice, but you will get there!
4. Set each lemon shell half, cut side up, on a large tray or put each one in the hole of a 12-hole muffin tin. If you have 14 shells, then nestle the remaining two on top in between the others and they should sit still.
5. Next, break up the lemon jelly a bit and put it into a heatproof measuring jug, then pour over enough hot water and limoncello to reach 500ml in the jug.
6. Pick up the gelatin leaves – they will feel all soft. 
7. Gently squeeze out as much liquid as you can from them, discard the bowl of water and then put the soft gelatin leaves into the jelly and hot water. 
8. Stir constantly until it dissolves.
9.  Then stir in the sugar until dissolved.
10. Use the jelly to fill each lemon shell right up to the very top so it is almost overflowing. 
11. Let them cool down for about 5 minutes then whack them in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up. They will set I the fridge also, but allow double the time.
12. Once they are firm, remove them from the fridge or freezer. 
13. Then, using a sharp, non-serrated knife, cut them in half, straight down, lengthways, and there you have it!

These are a wonderful way to finish a dinner party or a completely awesome addition to a party table, but make sure to tell your guests they are alcoholic.

You can leave out the lemoncello and just use water for child friendly versions for birthday parties.

Recipe taken from Lorraine Pascale "Fast, Fresh & Simple" 

Breakfast Crostini - Roasted Balsamic Strawberries on Honeyed Ricotta

Stuck in a breakfast rut?! Fancy something sublimely different for a weekend brunch? Then tried out these simple to assemble breakfast crostinis. The balsamic strawberry combination is like a match made in heaven. The balsamic vinegar lends a hand to bring out the beautiful sweetness of the strawberries. That then coupled with the tangy creamy ricotta cheese......well its simply dreamy! You could actually make these crostinis for a drinks party also and they would go down a treat. 

This recipe is not paleo friendly by any means, but cheating a couple of times a week is allowed. But here's an idea, if you don't want to eat the bread, why not use thick cucumber slices cut on the diagonal as the base instead. I only made this yesterday for the first time and already I know I  will be making very often for my B&B guests.

Ingredients

• 1 day old french baguette cut into slices, on the diagonal
• 250g of hulled strawberries, sliced
• 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp of white sugar
• 6-7 basil leaves, shredded
• 1 carton of ricotta cheese
• 2tbsp of honey, and extra to drizzle

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and place the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer.
2. Toast for 5-6 minutes, keeping eye they don't burn.
3. Mix the strawberries with the sugar and vinegar and place in a oven dish and bake for 10 minutes in the oven. Then remove and allow to cool completely. You can prepare both the bread and strawberries a day in advance if you cool completely and store separately in air tight containers.
4. Add the honey to the cheese and whip up with a fork.
5. Spread a generous amount of ricotta over the crostinis. Add the shredded basil to the strawberry mixture and top the ricotta with the balsamic strawberries. Drizzle with a little more honey if desired.

Spicy Monkfish Ceviche

Ceviche is a method of cooking fish in lime juice, no heating element required. This would make this a super dish for 'cooking' on a camping holiday or even on a picnic. However, you must ensure to use the freshest possible fish from your fishmonger.

Some people would have an automatic aversion to the thought of eating monkfish after just been soaked in lime juice. But once you taste the fish and experience the utter tenderness of the monkfish (when overcooked on heat can be chewy and tough), you'll never want to cook monkfish the conventional method again. 

This is a superb dish to cook as a starter for a dinner party, or simply for a drinks party using tortilla chips as you spoons.

Serves 2 as a starter

Ingredients

• Monkfish, 2 portions (get fishmonger to take the membrane off and to fillet it)
• 4 limes, juiced.
• 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced thinly (or red chilli)
• 4 spring onions, diced.
• 2 tbsp of oil
• Salt & pepper

To Serve

Chopped Fresh Coriander, extra limes and tortilla Chips

Method

1. Cut the monkfish into very small pieces and place in a wide shallow bowl.
2. Add the lime juice, half the jalapeno pepper and half the spring onions. Also add the oil and pepper.
3. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes and then drain to prevent further cooking.
4. Place in a clean bowl, season well and freshen it up with the remaining spring onions and jalapeno pepper.
5. Serve with fresh coriander, lime wedges and tortilla chips.

Seriously addictive!!

Chicken, Mango & Mint Fresh Spring Rolls

I don't know if I mentioned before that Vietnam is my favorite country in the world I've visited, partially because of the food and partially because of the people! Well I was introduced to so many new flavors/foods on my trip to Vietnam, but one thing that stands out from memory has to be fresh spring rolls!

I remember even exactly where I came upon them for the very first time. It was in a cute little restaurant in the little tailoring town of Hoi An. It was along the river and the restaurant came recommended to us by travelers we had met in our hotel. We had been in Vietnam 2-3 weeks at this stage and at every meal we always ordered spring rolls, the gorgeous small deep fried morsels of heaven!!! Here they asked did we want fresh spring rolls and to me that meant freshly made, not frozen. I remember being embarrassed when the fresh spring rolls and I ask why they weren't cooked!!!

Now I'm on the lookout on every Asian menu for fresh spring rolls!!! They are divine and not to mention so healthy. It's such a shame down here in southern Ireland there are no Vietnamese restaurants. But luckily my local supermarket just started to stock the rice paper wrappers, so now I can make them myself any time I want them

Ingredients

Makes 10 spring rolls

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips and poached. (or leftover roast chicken is great)
• 1 mango, cut into thin strips
• 100g of thin rice noodles (soaked in boiled water for 10 minutes)
• 10-20 mint leaves
• 10 rice paper discs

Peanut Dipping Sauce

• 2 tbsp of peanut butter
• 1 tbsp of hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tsp of chilli paste
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 1 tsp of tomato paste
• water to thin the sauce to desired consistency

Method

1. First make the sauce. Add all the sauce ingredients to a pan and bring to the boil, add water to give you the consistency you require.
2. To assemble the spring rolls, have all your ingredients lined up assembly-line style.
3. Drain the noodles well, and ensure the chicken is seasoned.
4. Take a wide shallow bowl and fill it with water.
5. Take 1 rice paper disc at a time, soak it in the water for 10 seconds or until it become pliable.
6. Lay it on a flat surface in front of you.
7. Add a strip of chicken, mango and some noodles to the bottom quarter of the rice paper. Top it with mint leaves and roll it away from you tucking the end under the ingredients wrapped. 
8. Take in both sides of the roll to the centre and then continue to roll up till the end.
9. Place on a plate and cover with wet chicken paper, whilst you repeat the process with the remaining 9 spring rolls.
10. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

Tip: You can use any fillings you wish, i.e prawns or pork and carrots or red pepper strips. Mix and matching is great!

Swedish Style Low Fat Meatballs

In honour of tomorrow nights Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo Sweden, here's a dish in that can be a big hit for those tacky but great fun Eurovision House Parties I love so much. The meatballs have a salute to Sweden, and are the perfect canape, great for drinks parties of all kind.

The meatballs are normally made with a mixture of beef and pork mince, but as theses are low fat, we are using turkey mincemeat. The meatballs are also baked not fried, thus reducing the fat further.

I'm serving these with two different dips; a low fat tomato sauce and a parsley yogurt.

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 400g turkey mince
• 1 slice of wholemeal bread
• 6 tbsp of low fat milk
• 1/4 tsp of mixed spice
• 1 tsp of fennel seeds
• 1 large egg
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp of chopped flat leaf parsley

Parsley Yogurt

• 1 tsp of flat leaf parsley chopped
• 8 tbsp of low fat yogurt
• 1/4 of a garlic clove, grated
• salt and pepper
• Juice of 1/4 of a lemon

Tomato Sauce

• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• 3/4 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 small fennel bulb, chopped
• 1 tsp of chilli paste
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Blitz the bread to crumbs in a food processor.
   
3. Add the crumbs to a bowl and mix with the milk
4. Add the remaining meatball ingredients and mix well to combine.
5. Using a wet tea spoon, divide out the small bite size meat balls on the baking tray.
6. Wet both hands and mould the meatballs into balls
7. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, turning half way.
8. To make the parsley sauce just combine the ingredients and place in a serving dish
9. To make the tomato sauce, add the chilli paste, onion, fennel and garlic to a frying pan, with the oil and saute on a medium heat.
10. Add the tomatoes and cook until they are broken down. Pour into a jug and blitz with a hand held blender. Return to the pan and season and heat. Place in a serving dish. (This basic tomato sauce can be used for just about anything! e.g. the remaining sauce is perfect for my pizza party)
11. To serve, scatter some rocket over a plate and place the balls on the plate and put toothpicks on each meatball. Serve with the sauces.

Spicy Thai Crab Cakes

Crab cakes are one of the easiest things in the world to make, and because crab is considered a luxury decadent ingredient; an ingredient one wouldn't use daily; these cake cakes are seen as a little treat, reserved for a special occasion. Perhaps it's the fact that in this part of the world, crab doesn't come too cheap, unfortunately.

To add flavour and spice to these little cakes, I'm adding all the typical Thai ingredients that makes just about any dish sing.

These cakes, on this occasion are cooked for a main course, so I made really big balls and flattened them into cakes. For a dinner party starter, you can make smaller versions, and perhaps shallow fry them for a wonderful crunch.

Makes 5 large cakes

Ingredients

• 200g of fresh white crab meat
• 200g of potatoes
• Lime zest and lime juice of a half lime.
• 1 inch size piece of ginger
• 1 inch size piece of red chilli
• 1/2 a garlic clove
• 4 spring onions, sliced finely
• 1 egg
• 4 tbsp of fine bread crumbs
• 4 tbsp of fresh coriander
• Salt/pepper
• 1 lemongrass, chopped.
• 1 tsp of fish sauce
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• Oil for frying
• Sweet chilli mayo for dipping.

Method

1. Cook the potatoes, until tender, Peel the potatoes and mash them. Allow the mash to cool.
2. In a food blender, add the lime zest & juice, ginger, chilli, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, crab, lemongrass, fish sauce, and soy sauce and coriander.
3. Blend until a smooth paste is formed.
4. Season and add the spring onions and the mash potato.
5. Mix to combine.
6. Get a baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Divide the mixture into even balls, using an ice cream scoop is handy.
8. Flatten each ball and roll in plain flour.
9. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
10. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
11. Fry the crab cakes, 4 minutes a side and then drain on kitchen paper.
12. Serve with lime wedges and quick sweet chilli mayo (to make 3 parts mayo with one part sweet chilli sauce and a squeeze of lime juice.)

Dips n' Chips for Christmas Drinks

It’s the drinks party season, and when I usually have friends over for a few glasses of wine, I normally whip up some homemade dips to go with toasted pitta crisps and shop bought tortilla chips. For me once the second glass of wine is in the belly the munchies set in and the dips go down a treat.  With a mini blender they are super-fast to prepare or simply just using  a potato masher, and if you wish to be a bit more health conscious, then why not chop up a few crudités of red pepper, carrot and cucumber to use as your dipper instead of chips.

My top 5 dips for chips/crudités are:

·         Hummus

·         Guacamole

·         Refried Beans (black eye bean mash)

·         Olive Tapenade

·         Spicy Tomato Salsa

Here are a few of my favourite dip recipes, tried, tested and approved!

Refried Beans

Ingredients

·         1 tin of black eye beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 garlic clove, grated

·         1 red onion, finely diced

·         3 slices of jalapeno chilli

·         2 tbsp of chopped flat leaf parsley

·         3 tbsp of olive oil

·         1 tbsp of cumin powder

Method

1.       Fry the garlic and onion in a little oil and cumin powder.

2.       Add the beans and heat through.

3.       Finely chop the jalapeno slices and add to the pan

4.       Stir for a minute or two and then take off the heat.

5.       Using a potato masher, mash the mixture well, adding more oil if necessary.

6.       Stir in the parsley and season well with salt and pepper.

7.       Transfer to a serving bowl.

Guacamole

Ingredients

·         1 ripe avocado, chopped

·         ½ garlic clove, minced

·         2 spring onions, finely chopped

·         4-5 slices of  spicy jalapeno peppers (from a jar is fine)

·         Juice of a lime

·         Salt and pepper

·         1 tbsp of olive oil

·         3 tbsp of chopped coriander

Method

1.       Add every ingredient to a bowl and stir well to incorporate the mixture well.

2.       Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.

Harissa Hummus

Ingredients

·         1 tin of chickpeas,  drained and rinsed.

·         1 tbsp of spicy harissa paste

·         ½ tbsp. of ground cumin powder

·         3 tbsp of olive oil

·         Salt and pepper

·         ½ a garlic clove, minced

·         Zest and juice of a lemon

·         3-4 tbsp of chopped coriander

Method

1.       Add every ingredient to a mini blender and blend until smooth.

2.       Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.

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)

Chicken Bruschetta Turnovers for Easy Food Magazine

I was very excited when I received an email from Easy Food Magazine asking me to be a taster for them for the May edition of the Magazine. I’m an avid reader of cooking/food magazines and I especially like to buy the Easy Food Magazine as its Irish and also it’s got easy everyday recipes that are simple to make and usually requiring ingredients that are readily available in your local supermarket.

I thought testing the recipe would be a bit of craic and a little bit of weekend fun and I used my unassuming family as my guinea pigs. Caroline in Easy Food asked me to just write a couple of lines about myself and what I thought of the recipe. They provided the photos for the magazine themselves, so the photos of the recipe in this post are from my own kitchen/camera. If you are a reader of Easy Food magazine, like testing new recipes and get a kick outta seeing yourself in print then I suggest simply email edito@easyfood.ie to let them know your interested.

The recipe I was asked to test was Chicken Bruschetta Turnovers. These are like little pastry pies using leftover chicken. I love any recipe that involves leftovers as I hate throwing food out and food wastage so these turnovers are right up my street. They aren’t on my Monday – Friday dietery plan, but are on the Weekend Treat list. I am a big anti-pasti fan, so I thought I might make a few substitutions of my own to give the turnovers a stronger Italian flavour, i.e. substituting tomatoes for sundried tomatoes and including some pesto also. The original recipe called for 500g of leftover chicken; however I struggled to fit all that chicken into the turnovers, so I was delighted when Easy Food took on board my suggestion to half the quantity for the published version of the recipe. I used Just-Rol ready-made Puff pastry. In hindsight I think I would have rolled the pastry out to stretch it as far as it could get, and with a ruler cut out a perfect square to make the turnovers easier to seal, my bad!!......... Oh well, definitely next time…

In my suggestion to Easy Food I also noted that you could make mini versions of these turnovers for canapés for a drinks party, and they used this in the ‘Tip’ part of the recipe.

The recipe below is how I made them myself, so it varies a little from the Easy Food recipe. (It’s easy to see why now I’ll never make a precise Baker, if I can’t stick to simple recipes!!! I’m always throwing in a bit of this and a dash of that. This for me is half the fun!!!!!)However the principal is the same, just a few little personalised twists in my version, fuelled by the control freak in me and my passion for pesto!!!

Chicken Bruschetta Turnovers

Serves 8

Ingredients

·         250g leftover chicken, pulled or cut into bite-sized pieces
·         3 sundried tomatoes, chopped and blotched with kitchen paper to soak up excess oil
·         ½ onion, chopped
·         2 tbsp of basil pesto
·         A small handful of fresh basil, chopped
·         1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
·         Salt and black pepper
·         2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
·         1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp of water
·         50g Parmesan, grated
·         50g Mozzarella, shredded

Method

1        Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6 and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
2        Combine the sundried tomatoes, onion, basil and oil in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
3        Unfold the puff pastry, roll out to expand the pastry by a further 10-20% and using a ruler make a perfect square out of each sheet. This will involve cutting off a strip of pastry on the side.
4        Cut each sheet into four even squares.
5        Brush the outer edge of each square with the egg mixture.

6        Add a tsp of pesto to the centre of each square.
7        Divide the chicken evenly and place a portion in the center of each pastry square, sitting on the pesto.
8        Top with one tablespoon each of the tomato mixture, Parmesan and mozzarella.
9        Fold the pastry over diagonally, making a triangle, and press the edges well to seal. Brush the top of each pastry with the egg mixture and cook for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling at the edges.

Everyone loved this recipe, even my cheese-hating husband. It has winner written all over it. For a simple bistro-style lunch with a green salad, or mini versions for a drinks party, or even a cold picnic companion. There is just no excuse not to try this!!!!

To make this vegetarian, may I suggest replacing the chicken with chopped marinated grilled Mediterranean veggies, e.g. Aubergines, courgettes and peppers, and use vegetarian friendly pesto and cheese.

If you like this recipe and have any interest in seeing more of these type of recipes, along with foodie cooking tips and news, log ontohttp://www.easyfood.ie/ and check out the monthly magazine, May edition, on the shelves now!!!