Posted on Mar 23, 2008 in Bake, Food for Friends | 2 comments

Chocolate for Easter: Chocolate Hazelnut Mini-Puds

Chocolate for Easter: Chocolate Hazelnut Mini-Puds
I think my mother has one of her legendary Pavlovas already in the works for the aftermath of the Easter family lunch but, if you’re not going to be as lucky, these Chocolate Hazelnut Mini-Puds, adapted from a Nigella recipe, are well worth trying. This mixture makes eight – serving our family...
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Posted on Aug 7, 2007 in Bake, Kitchen | 21 comments

My very own KitchenAid: Passion Fruit Cake for afternoon tea

My very own KitchenAid: Passion Fruit Cake for afternoon tea
I have a confession to make: I’ve just bought myself a shiny, glossy red KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer! The workhorse of many American kitchens and beloved by cooks like Nigel and Nigella, I’ve been lusting after one of these babies for quite a while. I first fell in love with one I saw in the...
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Posted on Jun 13, 2006 in Food for Friends | 3 comments

A mountain of couscous: Seven Vegetable Couscous

A mountain of couscous: Seven Vegetable Couscous
The Tax Advisor had decided to have another bring-a-course dinner party and, because the Boyfriend and I have plenty of space in our current Dublin flat – as well as small but useful items such as cooking utensils, crockery, chairs and a table – I volunteered us as hosts. Although there were to...
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Posted on Apr 4, 2006 in Cookery Books, Read, Return to Ireland | 31 comments

An old favourite: McDonnell’s Good Food Cook Books

An old favourite: McDonnell’s Good Food Cook Books
One of the big advantages of being settled back in Dublin, with book shelves once again, is having all my old cookbooks to pore over and rediscover. Although I did manage to build up a fair collection in New Zealand, it couldn’t really compare to my beloved older stacks of books by Nigel Slater,...
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Posted on Sep 16, 2005 in Read | 2 comments

Some favourites from the 2005 World Food Media nominees

Just taking a look at the World Food Media awards website and some of my favourite food writers appear on their list of nominees. No Nigel Slater, alas, but Stephanie Alexander, Dean Brettschneider and Lauraine Jacobs, Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain and Cuisine magazine are among those nominated for the...
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Posted on Jun 17, 2005 in Bake, Living in New Zealand | 0 comments

Ginger nuts: Chocolate Gingerbread

Ginger nuts: Chocolate Gingerbread
Ginger is big business in New Zealand. Whether it’s the pieces of Ginger Crunch available in every café and bakery, gingernut biscuits beloved by the Boyfriend’s parents, the many brands of commonly available ginger beer (not in the least bit like the insipid ginger ale mixer common in Irish...
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Posted on May 26, 2005 in Bake | 2 comments

Queencake central

Queencake central
I’ve been temping lately and Friday was my last day of work in a lovely office so I decided to make some queencakes aka buns aka muffins aka cupcakes aka fairycakes (take your pick!) to bring in for morning tea. The cookbook that I would normally turn to in this kind of situation would be...
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Posted on May 4, 2005 in Food for Friends | 3 comments

An Indian feast: Mughali Chicken

An Indian feast: Mughali Chicken
We were having five people over for dinner on Saturday night and, as I was digging through the cookbooks looking for inspiration, the Boyfriend asked if I had ever cooked an Indian curry from first principles. Well, with a challenge like that it didn’t take me too long to dig out a few recipes that...
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Posted on Apr 1, 2005 in Cookery Books, Read | 0 comments

Feast: Food That Celebrates Life by Nigella Lawson ****

Feast: Food That Celebrates Life by Nigella Lawson ****
I’ve been a fan of Nigella’s writing since Nigel Slater (my other favourite cookery writer) gave his readers a tip-off about her first cookery book How To Eat. In fact, How To Eat was so beloved in our house that both I and my housemate had a copy – just in case we parted ways and one of...
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