Burdock & Bay

05/12/2021

Haven't posted any foodie stuff in a while 😁 But while I was organising my Sunday Roast Chicken with home made gravy & roasted veg, I thought you might take some tips from it that can carry over to upcoming festive meals 😋
*Tip 1 When doing any roast, I always make a trivet of veg off cuts, whole garlic cloves skin on & herbs to plonk the bird on...a great base for your gravy! At this point I also make up 400ml chicken stick with a stock pot and leave it to cool.
*Tip 2 Squeeze half a lemon over the chicken and then stuff it in the cavity with a bay leaf. Drizzle with rapeseed oil and season well with maldon salt and black pepper & plenty of fresh thyme. Ps I use about 2 tbsp salt...chicken needs it 😃
Roast the chicken for 80 mins at 180c fan - preheated. Having peeled & prepped your fave veg, pop them in a tray into the lower oven shelf half way through the roasting time...oh and season well & drizzle with rapeseed oil & herbs.
*Tip 3 Rest the chicken for 15 mins while you're making the gravy. I tilt the pan and carefully scoop off the fat...leaving the juices in the pan. Pour a large glass of white wine in over the veg trivet and allow to bubble vigourously for a few mins. Reduce heat fir the next step.
*Tip 4 Mix 3 tbsp plain flour with about 150mls cool stock (a roux) ...if the stock is hot the flour will bind into lumps...yuk!!
*Tip 5 Pour remaining stock into roasting pan, take out your veggie bits, and add half the roux, whisk in and bring to a medium boil to cook out the flour. Leave that cook for 5 mins and add more if you prefer a thicker gravy...bit by bit though! And remember cook out the flour each time 😁
Hope these tips help 🙏 🎄💚

06/06/2021

Shameless shout out for the amazing Falconer family at WildAbout in Wexford 😃 They make the most stunning chutneys, jams, syrups and one of my all time favourites...their outrageously good Sparkling Nettle drink! It's in Aldi nationwide from today so do yourself a massive favour and grab a load of it 😃 Brilliant hangover cure too 😂

05/06/2021

No filter needed here! And I just couldn't pass these figgy beauties in the supermarket today 😍 Plus I found a gorgeous recipe by Martha Rose Shulman whilst browsing through NY Times Cooking so I just have to give it a whirl right? DM me for the recipe if you want to try it out?
I'm planning on pairing it with my easy peasy baked beetroot, goats cheese and candied walnut tart...and I'm actually salivating at the thought of it 😆

24/05/2021

Inspired by a recipe for 3 bean chili today..link below..and it's just perfect for a chilly day...in May 😩😀
*I didn't have mushrooms so I added in chopped carrots....because they were there, looking at me from the crisper drawer! And I used a soya natural yogurt and fresh coriander as a dressing.
*The brown basmati is a little nuttier and a lot more nutritious than white which basically has little to no nutritional value.
*For 2 people...bring 1.3l water to the boil, tip in 130g brown basmati, keep at the boil for 12 mins...test for done-ness, give another 2 mins max and then strain well through a sieve, dry the pot, throw back in the rice and cover for 8 mins off the heat. 👍
*And the best thing....I've dinner sorted for a few days and it's very tasty, and very cost effective 😀 Give it a go...honestly it's delish!!
https://naturalbornfeeder.com/the-ultimate-easy-3-bean-chilli/

09/03/2021

Haven't baked in nearly 2 weeks...might have overdone it on the sweet treats 😆 But I really felt like baking so I whipped up some Melting Moments with a vanilla lemon buttercream filling...sure what else would you do?! But they're surprisingly easy and as light as a feather...even with all that butter 🧈😀
Recipe inspired by Women's Weekly Australia...the home of melting moments 😊 I've adapted it to include custard powder instead of cornflour! Trust me on this 😁

Ingredients for 12 sandwiches of deliciousness...

250g softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
80g icing sugar
225g plain flour
75g custard powder (I know! But it makes them super short)

Preheat oven to 150 fan
*With an electric whisk, cream butter, vanilla and icing sugar until really light and fluffy.
* Sift flour and custard powder into a bowl then mix into butter mixture...I use the electric hand whisk and it takes about 1 minute.
*Lightly dust your hands with flour and scoop mixture into 2 tsp size balls. Place about 1.5 inches apart on a parchment lined flat baking tray. You should have 24 scoops.
*Press each scoop down with the tines of a fork to make an indentation.
*Bake for 15 mins until pale straw like colour. They may still be soft but will firm up when left to cool. And cool for 30 mins.
*For buttercream...whisk 100g butter with 200g sifted icing sugar and the zest of a lemon with a squeeze of lemon juice. Make sure to beat until really light...like well whipped cream. Pipe or scoop onto half of the biscuits top with another bicuit 😋😋😋

is back!!

18/02/2021

Not food related for once! Need a huge favour FB friends...a really good friend of mine has a horse in a Handsome Horse competition (yes I know it's very Father Ted) and needs to get to 430 votes within the next 24 hrs. It might just be the most exciting thing you've done all day 😃😃 Just click on the link and tap the Heart icon! Go on...it'll only take a second!! https://gleam.io/sg/yOqU1/14t7dh?u=https%3A%2F%2Fredmillsstore.ie%2Fpages%2Fhandsome-horse-gallery

Our lovely pony Kilnaspic Lily enjoying sunshine at pony camp....

14/02/2021

OK, so I wasn't at all organised for a Valentine's Day dinner 🙄 plus I didn't have the wherewithal to go grocery shopping in the wind and rain!! I raided the fridge and cupboards and had sausages, a quarter carton of cream, a glass of white wine, a chicken stock cube, the end of a block of parmesan, shallot and some garlic and dried sage 😋
I took the casing off the sausages (5 left after a Saturday fry up!) and fried them in rapeseed oil until really crispy brown, threw in the chopped shallot and garlic to cook off, then the wine and reduced well after which I added the stock (about 130 mls) and bubbled that away for 5 mins, then threw in the cream and let that cook and thicken...about 6 or 7 mins. Then the dried sage and some black pepper and salt...not too much! Stir in the cooked pasta and a good grating of parmesan 😍 Doesn't look much but it was delish ❤