Sinful Popcorn

Red Velvet Popcorn

Ingredients

• 8 cups popped popcorn, 1/2 cup unpopped kernels
• 3 cups red velvet cake crumbs
• 0.56kg white cooking chocolate

How to Make

1. Pop the popcorn using an air popper into a large bowl.
2. Melt your white chocolate according to package directions.
3. Pour the melted white chocolate over the popcorn. Stir to coat completely.
4. Pour the popcorn onto a waxed paper lined counter and sprinkle with your red velvet crumbs.
5. Let dry completely before eating.

Recipe adapted from Cookies and Cups

Christmas Cocktails

White Christmas

1/2 oz. Creme de Cacao, white
1 oz. Southern Comfort
4 oz. Eggnog
1 sprinkle Chocolate Shavings
Shake with ice, strain into a snifter. Sprinkle chocolate flakes on top.


Snowflaketini

1 1/2 oz. Alizé (Bleu)

1 oz. Vodka
1 splash Cranberry Juice, White
1 wedge Lemon
2 sprinkles Coconut
1 twist Sugar
Add the ingredients into a shaker with ice, shake well and serve. You can sugar the rim of the glass if you want. Sprinkle coconut on top.

Gingerbread Man

1 part Irish Cream (Bailey's)

1 part Goldschläger
1 part Schnapps, butterscotch
1 part Vodka
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into shot glasses.



Blau x


Image via We Heart It
Recipes via DrinkNation

Blue Velvet

I really dislike mince pies so this Christmas lets make red velvet and blue velvet cupcakes instead.....

Ingredients

CAKE:

2 cups Sugar
2 sticks Butter, Room Temperature
2 whole Eggs
1-½ Tablespoon Liquid Blue Food Coloring
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
1 drop Violet Gel Food Coloring (optional)
2-½ cups Cake Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Buttermilk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ teaspoons Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar

FROSTING:
1 pound Cream Cheese, softened
2 sticks Butter, Softened
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
4 cups Sifted Confectioners Sugar


Preparation InstructionsPreheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cupcake pan(s) with paper liners.
Cake:
In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time and mix well after each addition. Mix cocoa and food coloring together to form a paste, and then add to sugar mixture; mix well. Sift together flour and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture.
Pour batter into cupcake papers. Batter will be thick! Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy. Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a big star tip.

Blau x


Recipe from SprinkleBakes

Baileys Cheesecake

Ingredients

Base
300g Packet Chocolate Digestive Biscuits (crushed)
125g/4oz Butter
Topping
50g/2oz Toblerone Chocolate (or plain or milk chocolate)
200ml Fresh Cream
450g/1lb Philadelphia Cream Cheese
125g/4oz Icing Sugar
1 Measure of Bailey’s Irish Cream

Method
1.Lightly butter a 23cms/9” springform or loose bottomed cake tin.
2.Melt the butter. Add the biscuits and mix until butter is absorbed.
3.While warm, spread mixture into the base of the prepared tin using the back of a spoon. Press down well. Leave in fridge for about an hour until 'set'.
4.Meanwhile, grate the chocolate, using coarse side of grater.
5.Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is soft. Beat in the icing sugar and the Bailey's.
6.Fold in the cream and chocolate until the mixture is smooth, spread evenly over the biscuit base.
7.Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.
8.Decorate according to taste e.g. whipped cream, grated chocolate, fruit etc.

Recipe via Odlums,
Blau x

Tomato Bread

Bread is my guilty pleasure, my downfall, that addiction I have to stash away in the toilet cistern away from judging eyes. I love it in any shape or form and love it even that little bit more toasted. I'll easily eat an entire loaf in one go and it doesn't even need to be buttered. That stall at the farmer's market that I make a straight line for on my moment of arrival, yeah you've guessed it; the bakers stall. Right now my favourite is tomato bread and I'm gonna settle down next to the fire and listen to the wind and hail outside the darkened window whilst tucking into a freshly baked loaf of tomato bread. I just so happened to have found this little recipe to follow.

Blau x

Making Moussaka

I don't know what it is about the weekend that makes my mouth water, oh yes having the time to cook! Tonight I'll be working from this Antony Worrall Thompson recipe for a marvellous moussaka.

Ingredients

• 75ml/6fl oz olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 675g/1½lb lamb mince
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1.25ml/¼tsp cinnamon
• 1.25ml/¼tsp allspice
• 2 x 400g/14oz tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp fresh, soft thyme leaves
• 175ml/6fl oz white wine
• 4 medium aubergines, cut into 1cm/½in slices
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Plain flour, for dusting

For the topping.

 

• 85g/3oz unsalted butter
• 85g/3oz plain flour
• 900ml/1½pt milk
• 85g/3oz parmesan, grated
• 115g/4oz gruyère, grated
• 2 free-range egg yolks
• 1 free-range egg

Preparation method

1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large casserole dish. Add the onion and cook gently for 10 minutes or until the onion is soft, but not coloured. Brown half the lamb in a frying pan and add to the onion. Add the garlic and break up the meat with a wooden fork until it has a loose texture. Brown the remaining lamb.
2. Stir the cinnamon, allspice, chopped tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves and thyme into the casserole. Add the rest of the browned lamb and de-glaze the pan with white wine. Pour straight into the casserole dish, reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 1 hour.
3. Place the aubergines in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 minutes. This draws out any bitter juices.
4. Meanwhile make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a non-stick pan and stir in the flour. Take off the heat and gradually stir in the milk. Return the pan to the heat and stir continuously until the sauce thickens. Simmer over a gentle heat for 5-8 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in 55g/2oz of the parmesan and 55g/2oz of the gruyère cheese and season with salt and pepper.
5. Rinse the aubergines and pat dry. Dust the aubergines with flour and fry in batches in the remaining olive oil until golden on both sides, about 8 - 10 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper. Set aside until ready to construct the moussaka.
6. The white sauce should now have cooled enough to whisk in the egg and egg yolks.
7. Cover the base of an ovenproof dish (30 x 20cm/12 x 8in) with a third of the mince then cover with half the aubergine slices. Repeat the layers, ending in the last of the mince, then pour over the cheese sauce. Sprinkle over the remaining parmesan and gruyère. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F/Gas4 for 50-60 minutes, until bubbling and golden. Allow the moussaka to settle for 5 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.
8. Serve the moussaka with a chunky tomato, cucumber, parsley and mint salad and crusty bread.

Blau x

The Wholesome 'Brownie'

What is it about sunshine that triggers that innate want and desire to 'go healthy' and detox, to make your body a temple and cleanse it of all those nasty toxins? Ah yes, having to show off more skin than normal. Well, I've decided to embark on a life of nutrition and exercise with the first step being to 'go brown'; brown bread instead of white and wholegrain pasta. With its darker and more moist whole wheat perfection I love it with a softly boiled egg, it's a better start to the day than my usual.

Ingredients.

320g Wholemeal Flour
260g Irish white flour or unbleached flour
80g Wheat germ
2 teaspoon Honey
½ teaspoon Bread soda
½ teaspoon Salt
3 teaspoons Butter, at room temperature
1 Large egg
0.5 litres Buttermilk or sour milk

Method.  

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC/Gas Mark 6). Do not start until the oven is hot.

• Spread the wheat germ on a baking tray and place in the hot oven for 3-5 minutes until it is lightly toasted. In the meantime mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk together the egg, oil, honey and about ¾ of the milk.
• When the wheat germ is done, leave it for about 2-3 minutes to cool a little then mix it in with the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into small pieces and with the tips of your fingers rub it into the flour.
• Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the milk mix. Quickly and bring the flour in from the edges and mix with the milk, until all the ingredients come together into a soft slightly wet dough. It should not be overly sloppy, you should feel you could pick it up without it running through your fingers, but it should be soft enough that it sinks slowly down and takes on the shape of the bowl. If it is too dry add a little more buttermilk. There is no need to knead this dough.
• Put into a 9″ x 5″ loaf tin, the inside of which has been smeared with a little butter or oil. Place in the oven. Bake for 50 minutes. The bread should be nicely browned, have a good crust and sound hollow when you tap it. If it seems a little underdone, put it back in for 10 minutes.
• Allow the bread to cool in the loaf tin before turning it out.
• This bread keeps for a few days, and is much easier to slice thinly if you wrap it in aluminium foil and keep it until the next day.

Recipe from dochara.com

Blau x

Keep Calm and Curry On

If there's one thing that I've really grown to love the past year it's curry, my top pick being the Thai Green variety. So here's Jo Pratt's recipe for Thai Green Chicken Curry that I almost know off by heart.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp Thai green curry paste (according to taste)
• 1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
• 1-2 thick stalks lemongrass, fat ends bashed with a rolling pin (optional)
• 750g/1½lb skinless, boneless chicken, cut into chunks (use breast and/or leg meat)
• 6-8 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces (if unavailable, use the grated zest of 1 lime)
• 400ml/14fl oz coconut milk
• Good shake of Thai fish sauce or light soy sauce
• Small handful of coriander, roughly chopped
• ½-1 lime, juice only

Preparation method.

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the green curry paste and sugar and cook over a fairly high heat for about a minute, stirring with the lemongrass, if using. Reduce the heat slightly and stir in the chicken pieces and lime leaves or zest until coated in the paste. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce or soy sauce and bring to a simmer, cooking for 25-30 minutes until thickened slightly. Stir in the coriander and lime juice. Check for seasoning, adding more fish sauce or soy sauce if needed.

The curry is now best left to sit for a few minutes so the sauce becomes creamier. You will also taste the true flavours of the curry paste ingredients when it's slightly cooler. Serve with lots of fragrant Thai jasmine rice.

Blau x

I'm Dreaming of a White....Russian

My favourite cocktail long before the popularisation by the Dude in The Big Lebowski, a fact nobody ever believes. With its cramy texture and sweet taste, it really is a must know recipe for all. If you think you can handle it why not try a Blind Russian, made with Bailey's Irish Cream instead of cream.

Ingredients for a White Russian

• Vodka
• Coffee Liqueur
• Light Cream
• Chocolate flakes

Quantities for one drink:

• 2 oz Vodka
• 1 oz Coffee Liqueur
• Light Cream

Blending Instructions:

• Pour vodka and coffee liqueur over ice cubes in an old-fashioned glass
• Fill with light cream
• Garnish with chocolate flakes and serve.

Blau x

To Dot Your Heart

The name dim sum, literally means "to dot your heart" may refer to small dishes Chinese eat between meals, for snacks or tea time. These small portions, bite-size Chinese food consists of a variety of steamed, braised, baked and deep fried dishes, are not only pleasant to the eyes but delicious too. I'm finding it difficult to find dim sum in Cork and refusinf to that the Marks and Spencers option I might just attempt this myself.

Steamed Dumpling with Meat & Vegetable Filling

Ingredients:

Pastry:

* 1 ½ packages active dry yeast

* 2 ½ tsps sugar

* 3 tbsps lukewarm water

* 4 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 ¼ cups lukewarm milk

Filling:

* 1 lb pork tenderloin, diced

* 2-3 scallions, finely chopped

* 3 tbsps soy sauce

* 1 tbsp sesame oil

* 1 lb cabbage, cored and finely chopped

* 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in water. Leave in a warm place for 15 minutes until frothy.
2. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Gradually pour in the yeast mixture and milk and mix to a smooth, firm dough.
3. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead well for 10 minutes. Leave in a warm place for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in bulk.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Mix together the pork, scallions, soy sauce and sesame seed oil. Mix the cabbage with the salt and leave for 5 minutes, then squeeze dry, discarding the salty water. Add the cabbage to the pork and mix well.
5. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, then form into a long sausage shape, 2 inches in diameter. Slice the roll into about twenty-four 1 inch thick rounds. Flatten each round with the palm of the hand, then with a rolling pin, roll out each piece until it is 4 inches in diameter.
6. Place 2 tbsps of the pork filling in the centre of each round. Gather the sides over the filling to meet at the top, then twist the top to close tightly. Let the dumplings rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
7. Place the dumplings on a damp cloth on the bottom of a steamer, leaving 1 inch space between each. Steam vigorously for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

 Blau x