Saturday, June 13, 2009

Week 8 Cooking School

Foraging With Darina






Evening tea at
Ballymaloe House

The Wine Cellar at the House




The Kitchen
Myrtle Allen and Myself

http://ballymaloe.ie/family/myrtle-allen.html
Darina ,Myrtle and Myself
Evening tea


Some of week eight food









Some of the students go fishing in Ballycotton and on Friday last they caught some mackerel . They cooked them up on the BBQ at the back of the Blackbird .

KimChi in Ballymaloe

Darina Allen requested I make kimchi so I did .
I have been missing kimchi so much. No Joking.
I am really pleased with how it came out.
I will be having kimchi jiggae next week.

Cookie Monster

My boyfriend has a pretty insatiable sweet tooth. Throughout our relationship every birthday, anniversary, Valentine's day and Christmas present has generally included some sweets and desserts, with cookies topping the list. Hershey's kiss cookies, homemade fortune cookies, shortbread, sandwich cookies...the list goes on and on. But as I continue to look for new and improved cookie recipes that are better than the last, Adam's favourite continues to be the boring-but-dependable chocolate chip oatmeal cookie.

This is a really simple, basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. Gooey and chocolatey, with just a bit of cakeiness so that they stay soft for days (though I don't necessarily remember the last time they lasted so long). I can't make these fast enough. It's a feat if a batch manages to last for two days. I usually make a double batch and freeze half the dough so that we have some homemade dough readily on hand for a cookie emergengy, be it a last minute get-together, birthday or just a cookie craving.

I'll continue to try new recipes for future birthdays and anniversaries. But I doubt that the requests for these cookies will ever stop coming.


Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit

1. Cream sugars and butter together in a large bowl (to "cream" basically just means to beat together until the mixture gets light and fluffy, and the butter looks lighter than it was before. You can beat the butter first for a bit and then add the sugar. I usually use a wooden spoon for this)
2. Add eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated
3. Add vanilla
4. In another bowl, combine flour, oats, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add to liquid mixture and stir to combine.
5. Add in chocolate chips

At this point, you can chill for 15-10 minutes to firm up the dough a bit but if you're in a rush (as I usually am) just skip to the next step. Also you can take some dough and freeze it in a log at this point for future "emergencies"

6. Drop by spoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and serve.

Note: You can also substitute half or all of the butter with peanut butter for an equally yummy peanut butter chocolate chip cookie.

just stop.



frankly, honestly speaking.

i'm just an ordinary girl. a very bery ordinary one.

and yet, no-where-near perfect.



so please.

stop being a copycat.

stop pretending to be like me.

stop making bad stories bout me.

stop acting nice in front of me.

and most of all, stop hating me.

and stop feeling jealous towards me.


i have nothing. nothing.



u're wayyyy lot better than me with ur life.

appreciate ur life as u r.

n be urself. that's what i've and u don't.

i always 4give u.







Steak and Sausage Pie

Steak and Sausage Pie - or simply Steak Pie as it is more commonly known - is a very popular dish in Scotland. Particularly at New Year, but by no means exclusively so, Steak Pie forms a very prominent part of the traditional food of Scotland. It is most often made at home but those looking to buy Steak Pie from their butcher's shop on New Year's Eve - or Hogmany - are likely to have to place an order in advance if they wish to avoid disappointment.

Steak and Sausage Pie is an extremely easy dish to make. Very often, when making a pie such as this, I will substitute half the quantity of stock for cheap red wine, which gives an extra lush appearance to the gravy and flavour to the dish. This is optional, of course, and I have not used the red wine in the instance where I took the photograph pictured right.

The quantities below will make a steak pie which will provide a hearty meal for two people with accompaniments of choice.

Ingredients

1lb of Scotch beef (stewing steak)
4 quality beef link sausages
1/2lb of puff pastry (I tend to buy this pre-made)
1 pint of fresh beef stock

Method

Add the steak to a large pot or pan and brown - or seal - it over a high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. This is to seal as many of the juices in to the meat as possible.

Once the steak is fully sealed, add the beef stock, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer gently for half an hour.

After half an hour, add the sausages to the pot and put your oven on to preheat to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6.

Carefully roll out your pastry to a size where it will just be enough to cover a rectangular pie dish, about 9" by 5" by 2".

Put the steak and sausage in to the pie dish with enough stock to almost cover them. Put the pastry carefully on top and press down around the edges to seal. Do not forget to make a "+" shaped cross in the centre of the pie, each arm of which should be about 1" long, in order to allow the steam to escape during cooking.

It is common to use beaten egg to glaze the pie prior to putting it in to the oven but I simply use milk. Ensure that you do not use too much glaze or you will make the pastry soggy and cause it to collapse and/or tear.

Place your pie in to the oven and cook for half an hour, until the pastry has risen and turned a beautiful shade of golden brown. Serve with vegetables of your choice.