Romance Cookalong Challenge

I wouldn’t categorize myself as a food blogger. I post about food and recipes at times, but I don’t feel like I’m a fully fledged food blogger, unlike some of the lovely ladies on my blogroll. I also follow a lot these bloggers on Twitter and would see them doing a cookalong the first Friday of every month and was curious about this. When I looked into it, I discovered they were Irish Foodies Cookalongs and after a while of thinking I decided that while I don’t think of myself as a food blogger, I do think of myself as an Irish Foodie of sorts and decided I’d give it a go! So I hope others don’t mind me joining considering the above. If there is a problem, just let me know and I won’t participate in future cookalongs. I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes!

It was just my luck February was the first cookalong I joined, the theme being Food for Romance. And nothing says romance more to me than chocolate! I thought it would be a great chance for me to bust out my heart shaped chocolate mould and to also try a brand new recipe, Nigella’s Instant Chocolate Mousse.

Dark Chocolate Truffles coated in White Chocolate

Ingredients

225g good quality dark chocolate

120ml cream

2 tablespoons butter

About 100g White chocolate to coat, more might be needed

1. If using a mould, melt some white chocolate and brush along the bottom and sides to create the shell for the truffle to be added too. Using a clean paint brush would be best, I however forgot and used a pastry brush! Place in fridge to firm.

2. While the white chocolate is firming in fridge, bring the cream and butter to the boil over medium heat in a saucepan. Take off heat and pour over chocolate in a bowl (though I added to saucepan instead). Whisk to melt chocolate until completely smooth. If chocolate doesn’t melt completely, microwave for 20 seconds or heat gently over a pan of boiling water until smooth. If desired, liqueur or other flavourings like orange can be added at this step.

3. Remove mould from fridge and spoon in some truffle mixture, leaving room on top for final coating of white chocolate. Set in fridge again to firm.

4. Once truffle mixture has hardened, melt some more white chocolate and spoon over the top of the mould to complete the shell. Place in fridge to harden.

5. Once chocolate is set on top, pop out of moulds and enjoy! (I had trouble getting the first one out, so I placed in freezer for 3 minutes and they were then easier to remove).

If you are not using a mould, then make truffles as in step 2 and place the mixture in fridge to firm. Once firm, remove and use a spoon or melon baller to scoop out truffle mixture and roll into round balls (warning, very messy!). These truffle balls can be then rolled in different coatings (chopped nuts, grated chocolate, cocoa powder) or dipped into melted chocolate and left to harden.

 

Cheat’s Chocolate Orange Mousse

Adapted from Instant Chocolate Mousse from Nigella Express

Ingredients

150g mini marshmallows

50g soft butter

250g good quality dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces (though Nigella uses chocolate buttons)

60ml of hot water from a recently boiled kettle

1x 284ml tub double cream

1tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp orange extract (optional)

Chocolate shavings or shapes for decoration or some grated orange zest (optional)

1. In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, place marshmallows, butter, chocolate and water. Place over a gentle heat and allow to melt, stirring every now and again. Remove from heat once melted.

2. Meanwhile, whip the cream in a bowl along with the vanilla and orange extract until thick. Fold the cooling chocolate mixture carefully into the cream until it is smooth and consistent.

3. Pour or scrape into glasses or ramekins or whatever you would like to serve it in. Place into fridge to chill.

Now, I would like to add a few notes of my own in here. I didn’t have the right amount of dark chocolate so I chucked in some milk chocolate.

I think I also put in a bit too much water, I didn’t measure properly.

I also used a 227ml tub of cream, thus omitting 50mls or so. This made a huge different, because when I added the chocolate mixture, the cream melted and disappeared, instead of forming the mixture Nigella had promised! I panicked and so I decided to add some air to the mixture using my hand mixer and whisked for maybe 5 minutes. It was still rather liquidy, however I added them to the glasses and placed in the fridge. They took forever to set (ok,maybe 2 hours, felt like forever though!). This resulted in a rich mousse texture, it wasn’t light and full of bubbles but it was definitely moussey and very decadent!

The remaining mixture I placed into a plastic Chinese takeaway container and placed into the freezer, stirring every now and again until it set. This gave me a rich mousse like ice cream which was very nice I must say! I felt like the Kitchen MacGyver or something after it!

Truffles in a heart shape around chocolate mousses!

Colour gradient, I think because of milk chocolate added, nice effect I think!

Position of truffles on mousse reminds me nipple tassels or something!

Not too bubbly but still very nice!

In inside of my beautiful truffle! Drool

Things I Like: #1 Cute Animal Pictures

There’s so many things I like in this world but seeing as I lean more on the pessimistic side of life, I sometimes forget them. So I want to make some posts of things that make me warm and fuzzy inside!

I’m not the world’s biggest animal lover but I’m a total sucker for cute animal pictures. This post is for cute ones, I also love funny LOL Cats but I’ll leave that for another day! If I ever want a fix of cute animals, I go straight to Cute Overload and within minutes, I’m melting from all the adorable pictures. Though some make me giggle too. Here’s a tiny selection of ones that I like.

All from Cuteoverload.com

30 Day Music Meme: Day Twenty Eight

Day 28- A song that makes you feel guilty

So first off, this would have been finished on time if it wasn’t for the internet switching off and not being fixed until five days later. I could rant about how the person in the call centre insulted me by saying I couldn’t fix it myself and that I should wait until my husband got home. But I won’t, that’s another story.

So anyway, I don’t think there’s any song that makes me feel guilty. If you look through the list of songs I’ve already posted you’d see that! I don’t feel guilty about liking any songs. Nor does any song make me feel guilty, for not talking to someone in ages for example. I had to think about songs I should feel guilty about liking and thought that maybe this would do.

I love Disney songs. I grew up on Disney, I know all the words to songs and have no shame in admitting it! I used to work in a children’s playzone and Disney would be blasted it all the time. People used to say ‘Does it not wreck your head?’. Nope, because I love it!

Disney songs is a broad topic, there are a few I don’t like of course. But I can’t pick my favourite. I will pick one I used to listen to outside of work, Chim Chim Cher Ee from Mary Poppins. Am I the only person who likes Dick Van Dyke’s accent in this?! Probably.

 

What I did in 2010

So I thought I was finished harping on about 2010 and resolutions and stuff, but I saw this at something that speaks and I wanted to do (even though it’s a New Year Challenge and January is almost over). I suppose I just need to remind myself that 2010 wasn’t that crap!

1.

• Graduated from college
• Passed my driving test
• Went to London and Oxford for a weekend away to meet some friends. And did a ghost tour!
• Went to my first college ball in January. And then went to my boyfriend’s in February
• Saw the hilarious Dara O Brian live
• Went for a weekend away with my boyfriend to Waterford and meet up with some college friends
• Met the awesome Ms. Cakes (otherwise known as my friend Katie), a girl I knew from online, when she came to study in Ireland. And became instant friends
• Also met Sophie of The Cupcake Life and her boyfriend Joe
• Went to some amazing nights out, various 21st parties, Halloween, Christmas Jumper pub crawl, Eurovision Fancy Dress Party and my first UV Party
• Explored the area around me by going on adventures (Cliffs of Moher boat tour, Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle, Crawford Art Gallery, Mahon Falls, Burren Perfumery)

2.

3.

Well, not so much plans but what I actually did. I spent it alone at home, which is pretty much how I like spending New Year’s Eve (well bar the countdown when I went downstairs to my Dad).

4.

I wish we didn’t drift apart, it happened for no real reason. I don’t know whether to try and salvage things or just them settle as they are. I guess time will tell.

5.

6.

My overall attitude really.

7.

My siblings, my bf, K + S, Ms Cakes, my aunt G

8.

Resolutions post from the beginning of the year can be found HERE!

Foodie Friday: Asian Chicken Noodle Broth

 

So I recently rediscovered my local library. As a child, I used to LOVE going to the library. I’d go every week, maybe twice a week. I had to beg my Mum to let me go on my own. I used to use other family members’ library cards to get out extra books (like my Dad’s to get books for the adult section). And I just couldn’t wait to be able to get my own adult card, so I could get more books out. It was at the library where I started using the internet as well. This changed when I moved out to the country and while I wasn’t far at all from the library, I got distracted with school, friends, boyfriends, college, well you get the drift.

So just before Christmas I decided to join again. And I’m glad I did. Mainly cos I can now read all the cook books I wanted to read! One of the first ones I took out was Jamie Oliver’s Ministry Of Food. And the recipe for Asian Chicken Noodle Broth jumped out, it looked just like something I had at Wagamama in Cork. So I was dying to try it. I changed it a bit, not too much really, mainly because I didn’t some things on hand (such as ginger!). It’s quick and easy to make too.

Asian Chicken Noodle Broth

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 tablespoon mixed seeds (I used pumpkin and sunflower)

1 handful of cashew nuts

1 litre of chicken stock

2 pieces of chicken breasts

2 teaspoons of mild chilli powder

1 cloves of garlic

1 sweet pepper

100g noodles

Mixed veg of choice (I used sugar snap peas, baby corn, baby carrots. Asparagus is suggested in original recipe)

Soy Sauce

Salt and pepper

 

1. Put frying pan on medium heat and while it’s heating up, add nuts and seeds. Put a large pan on high heat and add stock.

2. While nuts are heating through, slice the chicken breasts into 3 long strips and put into a bowl. Add chilli powder (or Five-Spice powder), salt and pepper and stir.

3. Once seeds and nuts are done, remove from heat and set aside. Replace pan on medium heat, add some cooking oil and cook chicken for 5 minutes or so, until brown.

4. While chicken is cooking, crush, peel and dice garlic and slice up sweet pepper. Remove lid from the chicken stock and add half the sweet pepper, garlic, noodles, vegetables and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. By the time the veg and noodles are finished, the chicken should be ready.

5. Check chicken is done by slice on piece lengthways. If cooked all the way through, remove all chicken from pan and cut in half length ways.

6. To serve, pour broth mixture into bowls and add the chicken to each bowl. Scatter with seeds, nuts and remaining sweet pepper.

Adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food

2011 Homemade Pay It Forward

 

I saw this going around on Facebook the other day. Basically it was status pledging to send something homemade to the first five people to reply to status, though only on the condition that they repost the status and promise to send to five of their friends. The only conditions are that it’s homemade by you and that it’s sent some time in 2011.

I love this idea! I had four people reply to it and I’m having a great time trying to decide what to make for each of them. So far I have one idea I want to try for one of the people, it’s more what I want to incorporate into the craft, but I’m not sure how I’m going to make it yet. I don’t want to give away too much but I’m pretty excited about it.

I also wanted to do this here, so I’ll do this for the first 3 people to leave a comment here saying they want something sent to them. Ideally they will have to pass this on, but if they don’t that’s cool. I’m just excited to do some more crafting. Don’t be shy in posting a comment either!

Foodie Friday: Chocolate Orange Cupcakes with Baileys Buttercream Icing

 

So, seeing as January is usually a month of dieting and ‘being good’, I should be posting a healthy recipe. But in my books, January is a month of debt, depression, damp darkness and general gloominess and there’s no way people should be depriving themselves! Life is too short and miserable to be doing that. So my Chocolate Orange Cupcakes with Baileys Buttercream Icing is the perfect way to indulge yourself.

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes with Baileys Buttercream Icing

Makes: About 12

Ingredients:

100g sugar

100g butter, room temperature

125g self raising flour

25g cocoa powder

1 large egg, beaten

Zest of one orange/few drops orange essence

75g butter, room temperature

150g icing sugar

1 teaspoon Baileys Irish Cream

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Cream butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy

2. Add half the flour and cocoa and half the egg. Mix together.

3. Add remaining egg and orange zest (or essence) and mix.

4. Fold in remaining flour. If mixture if a bit too dry for you, add a dash of milk. Spoon mixture into bun cases.

5. Cook for 10-12 minutes, or until a knife stuck into the centre of cake comes out clean.

6. To make buttercream icing, cream icing sugar and butter together until smooth. Add in Baileys (you can add more for taste if you wish) and mix together.

I decorated mine with a Haribo orange sweet and some chocolate sprinkles but you can do it anyway you want. Let me know what you think of them!