Thursday, April 28, 2011

Cookery Books

I am sure, like me, everyone has a mass of cookery books they do not use from one year to the next, given as gifts, bought yourself because you read great reviews , pretty pictures etc etc. As a professional chef for many years I felt a book paid for it's self if I go one good recipe from it. So, what our my favourites, my bibles.
The Joy of Cooking by Irma & Marion Rombauer - and not a picture in sight! If you had this book your really would not need another I cooked professionally in the USA for almost 15 years. Coming from Ireland in 1982 was a bit nerve racking without a clue of the American palate but boy did this book help.
At around this time I purchased Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course. Poor thing needs some serious TLC it has no back and very much the worse for wear, lots of bits newspaper clippings of recipes, and all the spare flyer pages full of notes. but still it is used all the time. Jenny makes wedding cakes and it is Delia's Rich Fruit Cake recipe she follows and is complimented all the time on the moist texture.
A classic of reference book for vegetables is Leaves from a Tuscon Village by Janet Ross & Maichael Waterfield. It was first published in 1899! This is the updated version, a must for every serious cook
If I tell you that the only other Italian recipe book,and I have about 15 in number, I use probably weekly due to it's pure simplicity was published by Sainsburys'! It is Pasta Italian Style by Patricia Lousada.
I also like books with history, everyone should have Theodora Fitzgibbons A Taste of Ireland "The best food of a country is the traditional food which has been tried & tested over the centuries" Another interesting little book is The Cookery & Cures of Old Kilkenny this was brought our to raise funds for St Canices Cathedral. I think a reprint is due!
I love books, but there are a generations coming behind me where going on line has all the answers, my daughter in New York doesn't buy a news paper. How is Sunday the same I ask? That is the one thing I look forward to, the lull between breakfast & check out and new guest's arriving, all those sections of the paper, the magazines, some even having great recipes that I clip out with every intention of using, I have two "neat" files full and of course can never find the one I am looking for!
So to keep up with the youngsters I recommend http://www.epicurious.com/. Excellent!
By the way Edwards launch was a huge success, he didn't have time to speak to me, surroundeed by his adoring fans. He deserves all of this and more, one of the nicest guys I know.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb!

The weather has just been great, we actually got the garden furniture out of the garage, I do not think it saw the light of day last year & I know it didn't the year before it still looks brand new after 4 year!
My sister-in-law went to Spain for Easter & the weather has been dreadful rained most days but fortunately Sunday was fine. As this is always the main topic of conversation"Whats the weather like" she was cheesed off last Tuesday when everyone who text told her how brilliant it was in Ireland.
Jenny & Darren have taken Lottie to Inistioge, she loves swimming and this part of the River Nore is safe. I think she looks like an otter in the water. She has figured out all about the current and how to swim out to retrieve the stick by making an allowance for how far it will travel before she can get to it. Such a smart dog - the girls think Phil & I spoil her which we do Can you have sibling rivalry between your daughters & the dog. We always refer to Jenny & Val as Lottie's sisters really to wined them up and it works every time.
Irish rhubarb is in all the green grocers and cooked properly is delicious. If you decide too grow yourself you cannot use the stalks the first year, so it is the second season before it is edible.
My father always like a little piece of fresh ginger added when poaching, a very "old fashioned" taste but lovely with whipped cream. I always add a teaspoon of rosewater to the syrup. This can be bought in any store that sells Eastern produce, we are so lucky with Shortis Wong in the city.
The basic syrup is
1 cup caster sugar,
2 cups water
1tsp rose water.
Dissolve the sugar in the water by gently heating them bring to a simmer add rose water a cook for a few minutes. Add your rhubarb about 1 kilo that has been washed and cut into bite size pieces. The cooking time depends on the thickness of the stalk and always remember to under cook as the fruit will cook on in the syrup as it cools. Try this with vanilla Ice Cream or English custard.
You can also use the drained rhubarb to make Eton Mess instead of using strawberries. So good it is dangerous.
The syrup can be thickened with 2 tsp of corn flour (cornstarch) dissolved in a little cold water. Add this to the hot fruit in the saucepan and stir until it thickens the juice then cook for a minute or two. This will be suitable as a pie filling or topped with crumble (crisp)
Rhubarb & Strawberry pie is mind blowing, and if you are rushed for time you can always use store bought pastry. If you do paint the top of the pie crust with milk and sprinkle with caster sugar it gives it the real home made look.
The filling is easy, enough for a 9" double crust.
2 cups rhubarb washed & diced
2 cups strawberries quartered
1/4 cup plain flour (all purpose)
1 -2 cups sugar (this depends on how sweet your tooth is)
1 tbs melted butter
1 tsp grated orange rind
Mix this all together and you have the filling.
A double crusted pie should take 10 mins at 450F (230C/Mark 8)
Then 30 - 40 minutes 350F (180C/Mark4)
We brought out commercial gas stove with us from the States, the Bowery in New York City is the place to go it's just one long row of shops with all the equipment you would ever need. I still work in fahrenheit and of course cups! I also have a pound & ounces scale and have just purchased a metric electric scale. My recipe collection is so diverse & old I need all three.
Rymthm & Roots Music Festival next weekend, lets hope the weather holds as long as it does not pour rain & folks can enjoy the city.
My good friend Edward Hayden has his book launch on The Springhill on Friday. This is his second book "Food to Love" if it is as good as the first it will be one of the must have cookery books for your collection. Edward took over my position on the board of Savour Kilkenny as the secretary, a bit of a sly move on my part, he also teaches, gives demonstrations as well as TV appearances, oh to be young & have all that energy. To add to his repotoire he has promised to sing on Friday night at the launch - that should be interesting!
Well, thats another week done & dusted.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

The Garden

This week we looked at our garden, in a very sad state after the winter. Anne Marie came by with a plan, it will certainly looks welcoming a lot of work to set up but hopefully just maintenance after that. I get to keep the climbing roses, Phil was not so keen, and those Berginia are staying which we both dislike. The slugs love them, eating massive holes in the leaves. To be truthful they have sent up a mass of pink flowers this year which is the only colour in the front of the house. In the States they are nick named Elephant Ears for the way they flap in the breeze if they get big enough. Like so many gardens in Ireland we lost our Griselina hedge. This variety would not normally have been grown here, but Ireland experienced years of mild winters, global warming we all thought, and them 2 humdingers of winters where temps in Kilkenny were recorded at -15c. Griselina is only hardy at around -12c. If any survived the first winter they were all zapped out by the time the second cold winter came. I am going to plant potatoes this year, got the seed spuds today. I am looking for that new potato taste that is just missing from most of the one you purchase. Having just re read this I end up saying stuff my parents said that I swore I would never say as I got older. I hope Lottie does not do a repeat her performance with these as she did with the daffodil bulbs a few years ago. As fast as I was planting she was digging them up & giving them to me. In the back garden we have 2 sets of French doors, once nicely decorated with daffie's the other side bare - I just gave up! The herb garden is replanted & I notice mint springing up all over the place, hard to keep that down. On the weed side the dandelion seems to love these cold winters, have you noticed the verges etc at the side of the roads a mass of yellow & it doesn't matter how many I pick daily from the lawn (well that's rather a grand name for the green patch at the back of the house) there seem to be even more the next morning. Next week some rhubarb recipes

Friday, April 8, 2011

Keeping a promise!

I look at my blog and realise I have not written in over 18months! Gary, who came to help me sort out my web site, pointed this out to me several weeks ago and I promised him I would update every week - of course I have not. I will now endeavor to do this weekly, so to start off I am going to catch up on the news from Rosquil. Georgina Campbell came to visit! I had contacted her when we won Guest Accommodation of the Year 2010 with the AA. When she rang the door bell I did not recognise her "Hello my name is Georgina" "Georgina?" I replied. When she told me her last name I want the ground to swallow me up. We had a great chat about food, the guest house business & the future. A couple of days later we heard we had been accepted for her book & website. The next week we had a visit from Good Food Ireland, their inspector stays the night and has breakfast in the morning. Very nerve racking. The ethos is to serve Irish products firstly from local producers, if not available then guaranteed Irish from other regions. Phil & I have always put a huge emphasis on out breakfast as those who have stayed know, three kinds of cake, brown bread, poached fruit, Rosquil Granola etc. The cooked choice was just as varied with the traditional breakfast, omelette's and the daily special. Brown bread is not my forte! A lovely lady stayed with us & gave me her fool proof recipe (she actually called home during her visit to get all the ingredients right) and I managed to produce a beautiful loaf. The result is that we are the only accommodation providers in the county or city to belong Good Food Ireland Phil's quote of the day is:- It only took 5 years to become an over night success. We are expecting a secret visitor from another guide book that I am not aloud to talk about - yet! If we get this I will be yelling from the roof tops. With all that is going on around us, the economy, real bad winter weather which put a stop to travel & the struggle small & medium businesses are experiencing especially with credit from the banks the tax payers own, it's good to spread some good news. ............ and Obama might come to Kilkenny. I am planting the herb garden totally wiped out after the second bad winter. The bay tree that I raised from a plant I bought in Dunnes 4 years ago is the only survivor and that looks pretty sick. This year we are at last getting chickens, my friend Anne Neary from Ryelands will have them in six weeks so Phil has to get building the coop & run. Watch this space.