Homemade Pasta Bake with Posh Sausages!

I have always loved pasta bake. It really comforts you on a cold winter's night, doesn't it? I suppose the most renowned and universally loved is the good old lasagne. You can take a look at my family recipe here.

For whatever reason, I always used to make up pasta bakes as more a side dish, rather than the main event, and I never really knew where meat could/would figure in the dish. Recently, randomly, my predicament was resolved; I found a purpose for the "posh sausage"!

Beef-tastic Burgers

Friday night - burgers and chips. You can't beat it really, can you? I generally love to add a few little thoughts and anecdotes in my blog posts (you could call it rambling on..!), but sometimes, you just have to get down to business. I feel this is one of those times. This recipe serves 4 burgers (perhaps less people, that's really down to hunger levels).

Chilli con Carne (A.K.A. Healthy Dins Part Deux)

So, I hope you're still ploughing through January. How many days left? Are we still not even half way though?! January, to me, always seems like the longest month. December has a total of 31 days too and it flies, every year - no questions asked, but January is another story altogether...

Asian Chicken & Veg Parcels

We have just rung in the new year 2014; the chocolates, biscuits, crisps, cakes etc. etc. are gradually being depleted and our want for a fresh, healthier start is setting in. So here comes a healthy dinner idea, which is nonetheless really flavoursome and satisfying. I have adapted this recipe from Neven Maguire's "Country Living Volume 2" cookbook, which he very kindly gave my husband and I during out stay in MacNean House last summer (ahh - the memories!) It is quick and simple to prepare and would make a perfect weeknight meal. The surprise element to opening up your tasty parcel is also a fun and unique twist!

Looking Back, Going Forward

First off - welcome one and all to 2014 and a happy new year to you! Every good wish and happiness in this new year.

Now to cast a little look back on the year that was 2013. For me, it was a busy one, an exciting one, a celebratory one, and a very special one. I happily spent year one with my husband, celebrating our anniversary on the shortest day of the year 2013, just a couple of weeks ago. I bid farewell to my twenties (in style!)...and I set up this food blog - a wish that I had long held.

Christmas Cookies & Festive Cheer!

Hello, hello, hello and sincerest apologies for my deafening silence in the blog-osphere! I am back again with Christmassy treats and a few seasonal photos to sweeten you up with! I love a nice, crisp, spiced cookie at Christmas time - they are such a good combo with hot tea, or even a hot port or mulled wine, if you feel so inclined. To me, citrus fruits, always have a deep connection to Christmas and the addition of orange zest and an orange flavoured icing really works well in these cookies. They are simple to bake and last very well in a tin or airtight container. The decorating part can be as effortless and insignificant as you choose, or even, wildly imaginative, if you feel like going all out! Let's just say, you'll be sure to win over your guests, when one too many USA biscuit tins have been thrust their way over the festive season!
This recipe makes about 40 star shaped Christmas cookies.

I couldn't resist adding some Christmassy swirling stars to the photo!

Red Velvet Cupcakes and the Heavenly Hummingbird Bakery

It’s taken me a while to blog about this but at the start of the summer, on a warm and sunny weekend visit to London, my husband and I took a jaunt out to the famed Notting Hill area in search of...

1. That blue door – don’t pretend you don’t know it ;-) and ...
2.  The Hummingbird Bakery

Alas, the former was not found, but we did get to visit and purchase a splendiferous cupcake each from the Hummingbird Bakery! Their cupcakes are perfectly formed, just the right size, with a delicious melt in your mouth texture and the most moreish icing toppings. I felt it my duty to go for the red velvet, which the polite and friendly shop assistant told me is their biggest seller. It was cupcake heaven! We sat on a pretty street bench, staring enviously across at one of those seriously appealing private gardens in beautiful Notting Hill, while happily and silently munching away. I have still kept the cute wine coloured box with the little hummingbird motif on it since then! And I have also tried out their recipe, which, though more complicated than a good old queen cake, is certainly delicious and well worth it for a treat. Oh and yes, of course, if you’re a cupcake aficionado, do pay a visit to one of their bakeries when in London!

Pad Thai

So, it has certainly been a while since I posted. My apologies. We're well into October and that autumnal/fall feeling sure is setting in, truth be told, I quite like it! Autumn for me has brought two outings to cookery classes, both Thai classes. My last post was Thai red curry and so the Thai theme continues! At the end of September, I visited the inimitable Saba Thai in Dublin for a day long cookery class. What a day! It was interactive, informative, fun and very filling too! I would highly recommend it and intend to devote a full blog post to it in the near future.

Red Thai Chicken Curry

During our visit last month to the amazing MacNean House and Restaurant in County Cavan, we were very fortunate to meet the main man, Neven Maguire, who kindly chatted to us and gave us a gift of a signed copy of his book, "Neven's Country Living Volume 2". You can read more about our fantastic experience here.
I sat down recently and went through his book, ear-marking various recipes I'd like to try, of which there were many. This is the first one I tried and I thought it was so delicious, simple to cook and so satisfying, I had to blog about it. Neven calls this his Curried Chicken in Coconut Milk. I have slightly adapted the recipe and it serves 4 people.

Double Chocolate Party Cake

Hands up who's addicted to The Great British Bake Off these days?! Me, me, me! Honestly, it's the first season I've really watched and I am thoroughly enjoying it. This cake is adapted from one of the baking queen, Mary Berry's, recipes. She calls it Celebration Chocolate Cake. It is a very simple and quick cake to prepare, it's delicious and light, and on top of all that, it's a bit of a showstopper really! I have baked it twice for two special birthday's; My sister's 25th and my husband's 30th, and both times, it went down a treat. I will forever be indebted to you Mary!
I have boldly changed the icing from Mary's version and I would advise that it's best to use a food mixer or a hand held whisk if at all possible.