I was absolutely over the moon to receive an e-mail today informing me that I am a finalist in Taste Factor.
Next Friday morning I will travel to the TV3 studios and cook my dish - Mushroom Brioche with Creamy Philadelphia, live on television with celebrity chef Edward Hayden. I will be live at 9.10am and the show is then repeated on 3e, so I will be on at 12.10pm on that channel. I'm so excited and this itself is as good as any prize but I am then in with a one in four chance of winning a trip to Philadelphia with 1,000 euro spending money. If that wasn't enough the winner also gets 4 VIP tickets to Taste of Dublin and gets to demonstrate their dish on stage with Edward!!!  Pretty amazing-I think so!!
After Friday the public will get to vote on their favourite dish and this is when I will need your help. I will post the details on how to vote and I would really appreciate if you would take the time to vote for me.
Until then I will be busy trying to perfect my dish. Happy Days :)

I think most will agree that a roast dinner is fairly high on their list of favourite dinners. Is it that one meal can guarantee such a great fusion of flavours or is it the feeling of nostalgia that this meal can conjure up? When I was growing up a roast dinner was obligatory on a Sunday, be it chicken, beef or lamb it was always served up with all the trimmings. I am still quite partial to a roast dinner but what hinders me from making this every other day is all the washing up it produces. There seem to be so many bowls, pots and pans needed for the roast and all the necessary accompanying dishes. 
This recipe that I am sharing with you is one that I have relied on in times when I have needed to feed a crowd but was really pushed for time. With this recipe, you can have a delicious roast dinner any day of the week with very little effort. To make the most of a whole chicken I get my butcher to chop it into 10 pieces, of course, if you are handy with butchery you could attempt to do this yourself but most butchers are most happy to oblige, which means less work for you in the kitchen. This not only cooks the chicken quicker but it results in a lot less waste with every possible piece of meat available for the eating. Feel free to experiment with what you add to the uncooked chicken. I am serving the potatoes and vegetables cooked separately but a few new potatoes, scrubbed well, would also cook perfectly in this dish. Likewise, root vegetables roughly chopped would cook to perfection in this dish.  I am always in search of "easy entertaining" recipes and this couldn't be simpler- just pop the tray in the oven a couple of hours before your guests arrive and it is ready for the table, served straight from the oven. The lemons and roasted garlic almost caramelise while cooking and the smokey flavour from the chorizo and paprika add a gratifying flavour to the cooked chicken, which leaves the chicken tasting equally as good served cold with salads. Do try out this way of cooking a roast chicken and believe me you will find it so convenient and tasty that this will be your new Roast Dinner. All you will need now is a plan of what to do with all the extra time you will have on a Sunday!

Ingredients
1 x 2-2.25kg Chicken cut into 10 pieces
100g chorizo cut into large chunks
1 head Garlic separated into unpeeled cloves
1 unwaxed Lemon cut into chunks
Sprig of rosemary
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
150 ml white wine
Black pepper

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC / gas mark 4.
2. Put the chicken pieces into a roasting tin and add the chorizo, garlic cloves, lemon chunks and the rosemary; just pull the leaves off the stalks.
3. Sprinkle over the smoked paprika. Add the oil and using your hands mix everything together, then spread the mixture out, making sure all the chicken pieces are skin side up and the chorizo is nestled under the chicken pieces.
4. Pour over the white wine and grind on some pepper, then cover tightly with foil and put in the oven to cook for 1 1/2 hours.
5. Remove the foil from the roasting tin, and turn up the oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6.
Cook the uncovered chicken for another 30 minutes, by which time the skin on the meat will have turned golden brown.

6. Serve straight from the oven in the roasting tray.


This article was published in The Westmeath Independent on 11th May 2011.
Photos & styling by Nessa Robins.

 

I have been busy in the kitchen over the past few weeks with family occasions and get-togethers. I also took the time to enter a few recipe competitions. There seem to be so many recipe competitions at the moment, such as Taste Factor, and all have amazing prizes up for grabs, so I just had to rustle up a few recipes and enter - if you're not in, and all that! 


This recipe is one that comes in handy at times when  I am really busy and need something quick for supper or tea.

This is a dish that is thrown together very quickly with whatever ingredients you have at hand. Quesadillas are a popular dish in my house and they are a great way to use up any leftovers including roast chicken. Ham could also be used in place of the chicken however after watching What's Ireland Eating, last week on RTE 1, I'm not sure if many of us will be adding any regular ham to our shopping baskets for a while!

Roast Chicken Quesadilla

Ingredients

2 whole wheat tortilla wraps

1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato pesto

A small handful of grated cheddar cheese

2/3 sprigs of chive/red onion, sliced finely 

Handful of roast chicken

Method 

1. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Spread the sun-dried tomato pesto on one of the tortilla wraps, top with some grated cheese, a generous amount of spring onions, and lots of lovely roast chicken.

2. Place another tortilla wrap on top. Fry on both sides over a high heat, until the quesadilla is golden brown and the cheese inside has melted.  

Serve the quesadillas sliced in quarters with a green salad.

Taste of Dublin has teamed up with Philadelphia to launch ‘Taste Factor – The Search for Ireland’s Best Amateur Chef’ on TV3’s Ireland AM. The winner will cook live alongside a celebrity chef at the Philadelphia Chef Theatre at Taste of Dublin, will get four VIP tickets to Taste of Dublin and a trip for two to Philadelphia in the US with $1,000 spending money. But hurry - the deadline is Friday, 13 May!


Here is my entry for Taste Factor 2011!!

Mushroom Brioche with Creamy Philadelphia

Ingredients

25g butter

Drizzle of olive oil

225g mushrooms, sliced

1 shallot, finely chopped

pinch sea salt and freshly ground pepper

100mls white wine

50mls philadelphia / cream

a squeeze of lemon juice

freshly chopped parsley or chives

4 slices of Brioche, toasted

Method

1. Melt the butter with a drizzle of olive oil in a large heavy pan, over a medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and chopped shallot. Season with a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes. 

2. Add the wine and allow to bubble for a few minutes.

3. Turn down the heat under the pan and pour in the philadelphia/cream, stirring well to combine all the ingredients together. Add a little squeeze of lemon.

4. Taste and correct the seasoning, and add the parsley/chives. 

5. Serve over some sliced toasted brioche.

Enjoy!

With all the beautiful weather we have had over the past few weeks, the barbecue season seems to have starter early in Ireland. It is certainly a great way to entertain a crowd, with some good meats marinaded and a few bowls of tasty salads, so many mouths can be fed. This is one salad dish that I make to accompany grilled or barbecue meats. So many times recipes that I use regularly are ones that originally came recommended from someone. This recipe comes from my sister's sister in law, Yvonne, who seems to come up with fantastic salad combinations. The broccoli and carrots are kept raw and just roughly chopped into small pieces. This is such a nutritional dish and it is delicious even without any accompaniments.

Nutty Carrot and Broccoli Salad

Ingredients
1 large Carrot, diced into small pieces
100g Broccoli florets, chopped into small pieces
40g Salted Peanuts, roughly chopped
2 tbsp Mayonnaise

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix well.
2. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

If you are planning on entertaining a few guests and would like to make it an occasion to remember then Rachel Allen's new book Entertaining at Home would certainly be the book to get you on the right track!
The book does not only focus on entertaining for formal occasions but also on how to make the most of entertaining a few friends informally with some irresistible nibbles and drinks.
There are so many amazing recipes and in true Rachel style all the recipes are easy to follow. Unlike many of her previous books there are many dishes that require more extravagant ingredients, that being said this book is focusing on special occasions which deserve dishes that wouldn't be on your average daily menu.
Chapters are Brunches and Lunches, Casual Meals, Eating Outdoors, Canapes and Small Bites, Small Celebrations, Dinner Parties, Larger Gatherings and The Buffet Party. Each chapter closes with menu selection ideas which proves very useful when organising an event. The book is complete with a pink ribbon marker which is one feature that I love in a cookbook!
'Entertaining at Home'  isn't over saturated with photographs; I sometimes find that in cookbooks, recipes can be lost if not photographed as a photo always tempts the reader that little bit more to cook the dish. However there are 351 pages in this cookbook and to photograph each or even every second recipe would lead to a very large book indeed! The book is delightfully illustrated and the photography is beautiful with very elegant ideas on table decorations and settings.
There is a fantastic variety of recipes and decoration suggestions which are tailored for very different forms of entertaining. There are meal plans to suit any entertaining scenario, whether you are planning on entertaining a crowd or maybe looking for ideas on creating the perfect romantic meal for two you will find all the inspiration you need in 'Entertaining at Home'.


 
This cookbook is available to buy here on Amazon.