Christmas 2014 Roundup

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....! A rancid ham, beautiful turkey, a smashed tiramisu and gallons of Chianti just about sums up my intake this past Christmas but I think I just about came out on top. I nearly managed to make sprouts edible too.....a great feat for any man, maybe next year I'll get them all the way there!

Christmas for me started on the 10th of November when I started to cure a 4 kg piece of pork leg in order to add to my very DIY Christmas. Unfortunately, 10 days later, I noticed that said leg was smelling particularly foul and had to be flung into the bin. I instead went on the hunt for a dry cured ham but after searching Kildare and Cork City I had to settle for a more standard, wet cured piece. It was delicious, maybe I was being a little too pernickety. The turkey, on the other hand, proved to be no such hassle. Cairns Farm is owned by Ali's cousin Jo-Ann and supplied us with a beautiful 17lb Free-Range Bronze Bird.

The main event

Lard Roasted Potatoes

A couple of days before Christmas I made the Lamb's Liver Paté for the Christmas starter while Christmas Eve was our baking day with both myself and Ali getting stuck into the desserts. My Mam cooked the ham on Christmas Eve and also made her Turkey Soup from the giblets. This left me with a manageable amount of cooking on Christmas morning. The turkey took a little under 3 hours while the lard roasted spuds and roast veg completed the oven work for the day. The traditional sprouts had to be served and so I blanched them for 5 minutes before frying them with some delicious pancetta to try and hide their sock like character....it didn't quite work but I'd be fairly confident it would if the sprouts were chopped up before frying.

Nearly nice sprouts

The dessert turned out to be a bit of a disaster with my mam DROPPING the Tiramisu just before it was to be served but there was plenty of other delights to feast on! The wine flowed (a little too easily for me!) and before long the house was asleep, everyone cultivating their own little food baby. 

My "Rustic" Christmas Cake

Leftovers - Turkey and Ham Pie

New Years Day

As well as Christmas Day, I decided I would also cook on New Years Day. I was very excited about the menu and got stuck in nice and early. The starter was wonderful. I wanted to go with fish to contrast the beef main and decided on Mussels and Prawns with Hogao Sauce. The Colombian sauce is a great accompaniment to almost anything and went down a treat. I wasn't so lucky with the main as not only did I overcook the Beef Wellington, it also fell apart. Plenty of lessons learned here! Dessert went great though, I made another Tiramisu (which made it to the table this time) while Ali made a delicious Panettone Bread and Butter Pudding.

Mussels and Prawns with Hogao Sauce

Our last hurrah for this festive season was a pizza (and wine) night with our friends Anna and Pádraig. We had a lovely night to say goodbye to the most wonderful time of the year.

World Cup, Quarter Finals

World Cup, Quarter Finals

Day 20 & 21

The quarter finals provided a return to normality as the bigger teams eventually came through. Both nights I celebrated countries who were knocked out but the dishes were a great success!

World Cup, Day 20 - Colombia

Salmon with Hogao Sauce

While researching Colombian cuisine, I found several mentions of 'hogao' sauce. The mix of spring onion, tomato and coriander intrigued me, so I decided to base my dish around it. I was unsure as to what the sauce should accompany but after passing Nick's Fish in Newbridge, I noticed some Irish organic wild salmon. I'm not sure if it's served this way in Colombia but I couldn't pass it up. Wanting to stick to a healthy meal, I served the fish with quinoa (cooked as per packet instructions in a light vegetable stock) and stir fried vegetables - sugar snaps, mini sweetcorn and broccoli, boiled for 2 mins, drained and stir fried for 5 minutes with rapeseed oil. Add a splash of soy sauce for the final minute for an extra blast of flavour. This was my favourite dish of the World Cup so far, it just about overtook the Brazilian Shrimp Stew of Day 1.

Serves 2

For the Hogao Sauce:

2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
5 Spring Onions (white and green parts, finely chopped)
300g Cherry Tomatoes (halved)
2 cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp Cumin Seed
12g Fresh Coriander (stalks included, finely chopped)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

For the Salmon:

2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 fillets of Fresh Salmon (enough for 2, skin on)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Quinoa and Stir Fried Veg to serve (see above)

1. To make the sauce, heat the oil over a medium heat and add all of the ingredients except the coriander and seasoning to the pan. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the coriander and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. Stir and crush the tomatoes with a wooden spoon as it's cooking. Add a little boiling water if it gets too dry (depending on tomatoes). Check for seasoning and set aside until needed.

2. For the salmon, heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the salmon, skin side down and season the top with salt and pepper. You will see the fish change colour as it cooks. Allow it to cook like this until the colour changes almost to the top. Flip it over and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove the skin from the top with a knife. Serve the salmon on a bed of quinoa and top with the hogao sauce. Surround with the vegetables.

World Cup, Day 21 - Costa Rica

Roasted Fish, Costa Rican Style

I love my fish dishes! I was researching Costa Rica when I came across some recipes for roasted fish. I wasn't particularly looking for fish recipes after the salmon the previous night, but the style really grabbed me. I found it interesting to marinade the fish in orange and lime juice. I had never tried it and yet it made perfect sense. It was delicious! The cooking times may vary depending on how thick your fish is. Any white fish can be used here, I used haddock as it was cheap and available when I was in Naas.

Serves 2

200g Rice
300-400g White Fish Fillets
juice of 1 Orange
juice of 1 Lime
2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
12g Fresh Coriander (finely chopped)
1 clove of Garlic (finely chopped)
350g Fresh Broad Beans (podded)
2 Tomatoes (chopped)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Cook the rice in plenty of salted boiling water until tender. Drain and set aside.

2. Pour the orange and lime juice, oil, coriander, garlic and some seasoning into a baking dish and add the fish. Coat the fish and set aside for 20 minutes.

3. Blanch the podded beans in plenty of salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes and drain. Run the beans under the cold tap for a minute or two. This will make it very easy to remove their tough outer skins. The bean itself is dark green, the skins are much paler. Remove all the skins and set the beans aside.

4. Put the baking tray with the fish and marinade into a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees. Allow to cook for 10 minutes and remove. Carefully lift the fish out of the tray and pour in the cooked rice. Stir well to coat in the marinade and juices. Place the fish back on top of the rice and top with the beans and chopped tomatoes. Season well and place back in the oven for another 7-10 minutes. Serve.