Better Late Than Never!

I mentioned the other day about my let down in not being able to host and prepare a Thanksgiving dinner last week.  So in order to feed my hubby the turkey and stuffing he missed out on and feed my need to be all domestic we decided to have what I have been calling "Better Late than Never Thanksgiving!".

I was hoping to document the preparation of the meal making, but once I got humming along chopping, sauteing, and mashing, I completely forgot.  I only managed to snap one picture! However it is of something that I believe is a crucial part of the Thanksgiving meal.

Like so many of the American foods you can not easily come by in the grocery stores in Ireland a can of French's Fried Onions is one of those things.

I have been told by several people that they can be found every now and then in various stores, but much like my applesauce debacle a few weeks back I never came across them. So I set out to make my own fried onions! They were quite easy albeit a little time consuming! I simply followed this recipe and voila! I know they look greasy but that's what you get from deep frying and that is the reason they taste so good!

The recipe claims they can be stored in an airtight container. However, they will loose their crunch. Like most fried foods they are best consumed immediately. Fortunately they crisped up again quite nicely in the oven on top of the green bean casserole!

So that is it for my the cooking portion of today's blog! I know it doesn't make up for not chronicling the whole meal but here are a few snapshot of my coveted stash of leftovers.  I had a piece of pumpkin pecan cheesecake for breakfast!

Oh and guess what else?! I got to unleash my inner Martha and pulled together a simple little tablescape! I used clean empty jam jars wrapped in burlap and twine as votive holders. I used these same jam jars to hold the greenery when decorating for the woodland themed baby shower I hosted a while back. I also tied simple handwritten place cards to small pears. Like the jam jars they will also have a second life... as a tart!

Sweet and Blog Worthy!

While trying to decide what to feature today on What's Cookin' Wednesday I realized that all past WCW posts showcase savory cuisine; and almost all are about dinner. I guess this is because I am not much of a baker. In fact I am not into precise measuring and recipe following in general, so baking is not something I do often. Additionally when given the choice I would probably choose savory over sweet. However on the rare occasion I do choose something sweet it is usually because dark chocolate is involved!

So off I went in search of something sweet and blog worthy. I came across this recipe for dark chocolate & caramel salted truffles while cruising epicurious.com and drool formed in the corners of my mouth. I took that as a sign that I must attempt to make these tempting truffles! Christmas is coming up and I thought they might make a nice hostess gift should we be invited to any holiday parties. So a trial run was necessary before adding it to my holiday treats list.

I skipped taking pictures of the caramel making and chocolate melting as they required my full attention and Adam was not home to help take an action shot.

I basically just followed along with the recipe but took suggestions from several reviews to up the caramel quotient by doubling the sugar and water used to make the caramel.  The amount of cream remained the same. Once the chocolate and caramel mixture was firm it was rolled into bite sized balls and then dusted with coco powder before taking a little nap in the fridge overnight!

Woke up this morning, tempered more dark chocolate in my make shift double boiler, and the chilled truffles went for a dip!

Topped them with a few flakes of salt, (the recipe called for fluer de sel, but I used Maldon sea salt flakes) then tucked them back in the fridge to cool down after their warm chocolaty swim.

Final step, ENJOY! They are very rich, but the dark chocolate, caramel, and salt balance each other so well, so they are not too sweet.

These are totally hostess gift worthy, now I just need a party invite! Hint hint!

Tackling Tzatziki

Hello all! Sorry I have been such an MIA blogger. No real excuse. Just laziness combined with a  little busy-ness. I have joined a new gym and have been making an effort to go almost daily. I am also getting back to my oil painting. Between that and daily emailing, Facebooking, Pinteresting, and house cleaning I guess my blog is suffering a little. Unlike my blog I always make time for cooking. No one will ever go hungry in my house!  Today for What's Cookin' Wednesday I decided to tackle tzatziki!

This traditional Greek appetizer/condiment is a cucumber yogurt sauce made to accompany a variety of foods from grilled meats and fish to bread and veggies. Back in the states, I would normally grab a readymade container of tzatziki in the store, but because I have the time I thought I have given it a go.

Simple ingredients: yogurt, cucumber, garlic, dill, parsley, mint, and lemon.

 The most important thing when it comes to making your own tzatziki is straining! You can certainly go without straining off all the excess water in the cucumber and yogurt, but then you run the risk of having runny tzatziki. So I like to spoon the yogurt into a sieve or colander lined with a paper towel, muslin, or a coffee filter and allow it to rest in the fridge for a minimum of an hour. I also do the same with my diced cucumber to allow some of the water to strain off.  Lightly salting the cucumber helps to draw the water out. 

Straining the whey is the key to tzatziki success!

Make sure to remove the seeds from the cucumber!

Fresh herbs left to right:  parsley, mint, dill

Mix it all up, chill and serve with your favorite food!

I served my homemade yogurt dip with grilled chicken, couscous, and the best  zuchini fritter recipe I have come across! Totally forgot to snap a final photo, but the outcome:  tasty, terrific, tongue-tantalizing, tzatziki!

• 1 pint plain greek style yogurt 
• 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled and seeded cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh mint
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 
  

Kris Cross Applesauce!

Yesterday I was out picking up a few things on my grocery list. I ticked off the first few items and then moved onto the next. Applesauce. I checked first near the canned fruits; no luck. Next, I tried looking by the jams and jellies; no luck. Not near the fresh fruit or fruit juices either. No worries I thought. Because we live in the city the shops are small and do not always have the largest selection. Fortunately there are at least a half dozen groceries all within walking distance. So onto the next shop I went in search of applesauce. Guess what? No luck!

By this time I am starting to get a little frustrated so I sent a text to my friend, Evin. I probably text her once a month to ask where I can find certain items. Last month it was celery salt (not available here in Cork). She is always so kind and never fails to answer my query, and then gently points me in the direction of her blog post listing where you can find most American foods here in Ireland. Once again forever helpful Evin pointed me in the right direction. However, I was on my third grocery store at this point searching in vain for applesauce and growing more and more frustrated; and a trip backtracking across town to the organic food market was not going to happen. So I grabbed four apples at the last grocery store and headed home.

When life hands you lemons make lemonade apples make applesauce! So I channeled my frustration into peeling and coring apples, and this is what I came up with!

To be fair, applesauce does exist here. My friend Maire sent me a picture of a jar in her fridge just to prove it! However, it is just not as common as in the states where we have 50 different varieties. Think about it, we have multiple brands, chunky, smooth, natural, with cinnamon, blended with other fruits, individual snack packs, etc. I think a big part of my frustration yesterday had more to do with that lack of variety. Variety is the spice of life! Fortunately, I now know I can make my own variety! My friend Margaret even suggested adding pears to the applesauce mix. Sounds tasty! Maybe next time!

Applesauce

5 medium apples
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup water
dash of cinnamon to taste

Peel and core apples
Cut into 1/2" pieces
In pot mix apples, water, sugar and cinnamon
Bring apples to a boil, and then turn down to a simmer for 20-30 min.
Allow apples to cool before mashing them with either a fork, potato masher, food processor, or emulsion blender.

Bread Baking, and More Soup Making!

Believe it or not after last weeks excitement over the boot wearing and soup making weather, I still haven't come down from the high. Still not ready to show you my sweet dance moves just yet, I am not sure you can handle it. Hopefully you can handle all this soup I've been dishing up lately. Since the white bean chicken chili last week I have stirred up two more pots of soup. 

The first was a lovely roasted red pepper and tomato soup served with a green salad topped with goats cheese and pecans, and a crusty warm baguette. I was lucky enough to share this soup with friends along with several bottles of wine! Food and wine are really best when shared with good company, don't ya think?!

The second soup was last nights dinner. A cheesy creamy broccoli cheddar soup served in a....wait for it... bread bowl! I had it in my head that broccoli cheddar would be much more exciting in a vessel made of bread. Sadly it was not nearly as exciting as I had hoped it would be. This is not to say that my bread bowl wasn't any good. I have however decided that I'm simply not a fan. Problem number one; the soup to bread ratio is way off in favor of the bread. Problem number two; I am not a huge fan of soggy bread. My husband on the other hand seemed pretty happy. He is a cup of crushed crackers in his bowl of soup kind of guy anyway. So lots of soggy bread is right up his alley. 

All excitement was not lost for me. I had a great time making the bread, and the presentation was so much fun all disdain for the bread bowl went right out the window. 

So here is how the whole broccoli cheddar bread bowl thing went down:

I made the bread the night before using this recipe. 

The next day I got busy prepping ingredients for the soup.

I sautéed the onions, carrots, and celery in a little butter and olive oil. 

Then in goes the garlic and broccoli. Saute for a few more minuets before adding chicken broth. Cover the pot and allow broccoli to cook.

When the broccoli is just on the verge of being cooked all the way through remove a little more than half of it and set it aside to be added back at the end.

Simmer the soup for about 10 minuets longer until remaining broccoli is soft. Use emulsion blender to puree contents of the pot. If you don't have an emulsion blender, carefully ladle the soup into a food processor to puree.

Add cream or milk, up to you! Obviously cream is best!

If the soup seems too thin you can mix up a small amount of flour and milk together and add that to the soup to thicken it.

While soup is bubbling away and thickening you can begin prepping your bread bowls.

Using a bread knife slice off the top half of the bread ball.

Then without cutting all the way through to the bottom remove the center portion of the bread. I had to remove it in a few different pieces. And FYI the insides can be toasted and made into croutons or bread crumbs for other uses. 

Finally add the cheese to the soup and allow it to melt stirring thoroughly to incorporate.

Add the remaining broccoli back to the soup about five minuets before serving. 

Ladle into bread bowl and enjoy! Or in my case eat all the soupy goodness and give your husband 75% of your soggy bread.

1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium/large chopped onion
1/2 lb fresh broccoli (chopped into bite sized pieces)
1 cup carrot, julienned
2 stalks of celery finely diced
2 cloves garlic minced
3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream (or milk) + 1/2 cup mixed with 2 heaping tablespoons of flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Boot Stompin' & Soup Makin'

Ireland has very moderate weather, rarely does the temperature go below freezing, and in the peak summer months we only average about 18C (64 F). However, it only takes a slight dip in the mercury to persuade me to pull on my favorite knee high boots and bust out my fall cooking repertoire.

Favorite Boots

When I think of fall food I think warm apple cobbler, hearty roast with mashed potatoes, and above all I think of soup! I love that something as simple as a one pot meal can also be complex at the same time. The way flavors come together swimming in brothy harmony.

So last week I put my boots on for the first time this fall and I did a little dance, or at least what I call a dance.  Mostly just bouncing around excitedly and erratically. I am really not a good dancer, but that's a discussion for another post. However, it was that little boot dance spasm that signaled to my brain that it was time to make soup. With so many soup options out there how to decide what kind of soup becomes a whole new challenge. Classic chicken noodle? Creamy baked potato? Tangy roasted tomato?

Luckily, I came to a decision easily. My Aunt Jane was recently here for a visit and she did not arrive empty-handed.  In addition to some of our favorite American candies, and cheesy snacks, she managed to squeeze four cans of Hatch fire-roasted green chilies into her suitcase for me! 

I couldn't wait to put these green chiles to use! So I decided to make a white bean chicken chili. You probably know by now that I am not much for exacting measurements. I usually find a recipe online that I deem acceptable and then I loosely base my dish around it.  I love tasting and tweaking throughout the cooking process. I know that off-the-cuff cooking is not for everyone so I am including below the recipe that I used as my jumping off point, with my changes and additions in red.

 

I hope this post will inspire you to pull on your favorite boots, warm up the dance floor (hopefully you're a better dancer than me), and warm up your kitchen with a little taste of fall!

White Bean Chicken Chili 

2 T vegetable oil
6 chicken legs ( I used 3 large chicken breast)

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

(3-4 med fresh green chiles)

(1 yellow bell pepper, chopped)

1 serrano chili pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

(2 cans diced green chiles, hot or mild)

1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano (Mediterranean or Mexican is fine)

2 sprigs fresh thyme ( I omitted the thyme)
1 bay leaf

2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups chicken stock

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

0. Season chicken legs or in my case breast well with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper
1. Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a skillet. Brown chicken legs.
2. Take out and set aside chicken legs. Drain excess oil.
3. Add onions, bell pepper, and various chiles
4. When onions are translucent, add ground cumin and oregano and cook with onions until lightly brown.
5. Add garlic.
6. Add the cannellini beans, and can diced tomatoes and cans of green chiles.
7. Add chicken stock.
8. Put back the chicken legs and add the thyme and bay leaf.
9. Simmer until chicken legs are tender, about 35-45 minutes.
10. If desired, debone chicken legs and put back the shredded chicken meat into the pan.  

(I removed my breast and shredded the meat with a fork before adding back to the pot)
11. Stir in the chopped cilantro.12. Just before serving mix in cheese and sour cream until melted and well blended

13. Serve with a dallop of sourcream and some fresh cilantro

14. Enjoy!

Bringing the Baby Shower Tradition to Ireland

 I recently learned that the Irish do not have baby showers.  They consider a party before the baby's arrival to be bad luck. In fact, a mother of one of my friends here indicated that she would not even allow baby things into the house before the baby was born! Typically, the Irish wait until after the birth to bring gifts, and that is usually done at a party after the christening with friends and family. So no girls-only luncheon with silly games, crafts, and squeals of delight as tiny baby booties are unwrapped by the mommy-to-be.
Until now!

I know I have mentioned my friend Evin once or twice before on this blog.  If it were not for her I would be clueless and possibly friendless in Cork.  She is also an American expat, and when I learned she was pregnant I jumped at the chance to repay her for all her kindness and host a baby shower in her honor! Of course I have ulterior motives. I am not going to lie, I love any excuse to throw a party! So thanks goes to Evin for getting knocked up!

This past week I was in full swing party planning mode. With a lot of help from co-hosts Maire and Arlene come Saturday we put on our hostess hats and welcomed 18 of Evin's guest into my newly transformed woodland-themed apartment! Evin has a thing for garden gnomes and has also loosely based her nursery decor around woodland creatures, hence the theme! I am so excited to share with you photos from the festivities! Most of the photo credit goes to Evin, who in addition to being the guest of honor was also the official photographer, you can check out more of her photos here.

The fireplace mantel was decked out with felt toadstools, woodland critters, and foliage taken from a friend's yard.  I was thrilled to not have to purchase flowers!

We used rolls of brown craft paper to create large trees on the wall.  FYI "Og" is junior in Irish.

I spy a squirrel and a hedgehog.

Throwing a baby shower is not just about the decor, although I do love that part. There is food and drink to consider too, and just because the mother-to-be has to go without an adult beverage is no reason her guests should suffer! Festive mimosas and bloody marys were served up in addition to coffee, juice, and of course tea.  The Irish love their tea! Brunch was a nice mix of sweet and savory featuring quiche, ham biscuits (for the non-American readers, a biscuit is not a cookie, nor is it a scone), yogurt parfaits, and gorgeous cakes to name a few.

Moira showed off her cake decorating skills with a yule log cake topped with little fondant woodland critters.

Mommy-to-be Evin tucks into a slice of the adorable yule log cake.

Top to bottom: smoked salmon on brown bread with cream cheese and capers, mushroom and asparagus tarts, ham biscuts, and mini yogurt parfaits.

In keeping with the woodland theme I trimmed radishes to look like toadstools on the veggie tray.

 

In lieu of games, party guests had a chance to show off their creative skills by decorating bibs, burp cloths and onesies or "babygrows" as they call them here).  It was fun to see what everyone came up with!

 

Onesies were displayed  from a clothesline above the fireplace mantel.

Evin received a array of adorable and practical gifts. Many of her friends are talented knitters and now her baby is sure to be styling in handcrafted knitwear! Since my knitting skills are severely lacking I turned to a friend who has more talent with a needle and thread in her little finger than I have in my whole body. I commissioned Megan of textile-love.com to make a baby sleep sack out of a fabric pattern I knew was dear to Evin's heart. She also included an embroidered onesie with a matching Maryland crab (Evin's home state). Just in case you were wondering textile-love takes commissions for more than just baby things. In fact Megan has made me several fabulous articles of clothing. I hope you'll check out her website and she what she's up to!

Once all the adorable baby gifts were opened and the last mimosa was downed  guest left with a sweet little favor in hand. Roasted rosemary cashews were packaged in little blue squirrel tins I found while on holiday in Denmark, and simple burlap sacks.

I huge thanks to everyone who helped out and attended to make this party a success.

  I absolutely enjoyed planning and co-hosting, and I hope the guest of honnor took pleasure in this little American tradition!