Though I had been baking for years, I actually never attempted a meringue roulade until I was a student at the Ballymaloe Cookery School.  I know this sounds selfish, but since it wouldn’t be my first choice of desserts, I just didn’t have an interest in making it.  But because it was part of the curriculum of our course, I didn’t just make it, I went all out!  In fact I made a special Irish Coffee flavored version complete with a Whiskey Whipped Cream and shamrock shaped meringue details.  And it was so well received I chose to remake it for my final exam “pudding” at the end of the course.

My Hubby happens to be a massive fan of my roulades and the one I make for him is the version with fresh cream and berries.  Sometimes I like to mix through some lemon curd with the whipped cream to give it a nice tangy taste.   Though the recipe is meant for 6-8 people, it can often get polished off by the two of us (mostly him) without much effort.  It is so light and yet the outside of the meringue has a crunchy texture which practically melts in your mouth like cotton candy (also known as candy floss in this part of the world).

The recipe instructions are actually not that difficult at all.  But I found that many of my cookery students admitted they had mixed results when making any type of meringue (for instance a Pavlova) previous to my class.  I  think there are a couple of main points that must be adhered to in order for the efforts to lead to success.  First is to start with a spotlessly clean bowl.  Sounds simple.  Then there is the issue of making sure the egg whites are separated properly so no egg shell or egg yolks have managed to find their way in.  Right, makes sense. Lastly beating the egg whites and sugar until they have become stiff peaks is the key before putting it in the baking tin.  If it isn’t beaten enough, then while it is baking it will totally flop.  So this step really takes patience.

The issue of patience reminds me of my dear Hubby.  While he himself admits that patience is a virtue that is not necessarily his strong suit, he sure showed a bountiful amount of it while waiting for me.  I suppose I gave him what is known in American style football as the Stiff Arm.  Not a step I recommend in a recipe, or more specifically a recipe for a relationship. But as a single mom of two teenagers, maybe it was a subconscious mommy maneuver.  I didn’t want to upset their boat anymore than it had been with the divorce of their parents.  So the stiff arm was solid and went on for years!  And I mean years.

Once we finally got married there was a period I felt really badly about what I had put him through.  But I don’t like to live with regrets and so I began to look at our situation a bit differently.  I realized that things happen for a reason and at a certain time. There was a silver lining to it all. Or maybe we could say, a bronze lining.  Why?  Well, if you are really up on your stiff arm trivia, you’ll know that the Heisman Trophy (awarded every year to a college football player) is made from bronze. The statue is of a football player posed in a stiff arm tactic.

Just like making the perfect meringue, once the egg whites and sugar are beaten until a stiff peak, there is also a nice shiny gloss to it.  A sort of alchemy takes place.  The two, become one.  And that is exactly what happened in my relationship with my Hubby.  Our marriage is actually better for it and all we went through to get here.  All of his patience and all of my stiff arming helped whittle away negatives and forge a better and stronger bond.  It was a gamble as it could have flopped like a bad meringue.  But it paid off and we are both grateful for the sweet but tangy, light but crunchy result!

Meringue Roulade with Lemon Curd Cream and Berries

 

Serves 6

 

4 egg whites

225 g (8 oz) caster sugar

150 ml (5oz) double cream lightly whipped

150 ml (1/4 pint) lemon curd

300g (11 oz) fresh mixed berries

icing sugar for dusting

mint leaves for decoration

 

1. Preheat oven to 180 C/350F/Gas mark 4

 

2. Line the swiss roll tin with foil, folding the sides up to make a frame 4 cm (1 ½ in) high and squeezing the corners together. Brush lightly with vegetable oil.

 

3. Place the egg whites in a spotlessly clean bowl (stainless steel is best) and whisk until soft peaks form

 

4. Add the caster sugar all at once and whisk at full speed for about 4-5 minutes until stiff peaks form.

 

5. Smooth the meringue into the prepared tin with a palette knife and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until faintly browned and firm to the touch.

 

6. Allow the meringue to cool for a few minutes, then turn out onto a sheet of foil bigger than the roulade (or a clean tea towel) that has been dusted with icing sugar. Carefully remove the foil on the base and allow to cool completely.

 

7. Make the filling by combining the cream and lemon curd. Spread over the cooled meringue. Cover the cream with the fruit.

 

8. Roll the meringue away from you, using the foil (or tea towel) to help guide and keep the shape of the roulade.

 

9. Transfer to a serving dish and dust with more icing sugar and decorate with berries and mint leaves.

So while these day I regularly use some stiff peak moves, I have officially retired my stiff arm maneuver!

Roulade Roulove,

YDP

Did you ever hear of that popular band from the 90’s called Smashing Pumpkins?  I actually saw them in concert.  I took my then ten year old son to see them.  In fact as I have mentioned on here before, I have taken my kids to many a music concert. Great memories!  What is not a great memory is the time I once smashed a pumpkin. Maybe I learned about food fights from my parents.  But it was during a time my ex husband and I were estranged.  I had already found out about his numerous infidelities and though he wasn’t living in the house with us at the time, he and I had an argument outside the back door. The kids were asleep and I was holding back emotion so as not to waken them.  As well it was the night before Halloween and I wanted to make sure they were well rested.  When the ex finally left, I went over to a pumpkin that I had carved (luckily not anywhere near the ones the kids had carved) and picked it up and totally smashed it to smithereens.  If you read yesterday’s post you know how much I love my pumpkins.  And I am all about peace and harmony.  I avoid conflict at every turn. But I have to say, I felt such a sense of release and relief by letting that thing fly and come crashing down to obliteration! It was therapeutic I guess you could say.

Though I cleaned it all up, also a therapeutic part of the process, the next morning my son noticed a few remnants strewn about the driveway. I had to be honest and admitted to him what I had done, but not the details of the fight.  But he laughed which put me more at ease. Then I laughed too thinking about how it was quite literally a smashing pumpkin affair.

Well, enough about that, now on to why you are really here.  For a recipe!  And this one is quite possible the best tasting surprise you will eat.  It is perfect before a night out trick or treating, and it super easy to make.  If you can’t find the pumpkin puree in the tin/can then you can make it yourself while you are still able to find pumpkins in the shops.  Here is a link on how to roast them.  Otherwise, butternut squash is usually available all year and you can substitute that as well. This is a super recipe to make up for a festive buffet as the colors are on point for Autumn…so BOO-tiful

Pumpkin Pasta

Serves 6

1 lb whole wheat penne pasta (or gluten free if you desire)

1 tin (15 OZ) pumpkin puree

3 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

3-4 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled and grated

2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

½ cup cream (can use a non dairy substitute if you prefer)

2 cups (16 oz) chicken stock (can use veg stock if you want it to be a veggie dish)

1 tsp hot sauce, to taste if you like a bit of heat

Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

2 pinches ground cinnamon

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to taste

7-8 leaves of fresh sage, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (if desired)

1/2 cup cooked and crumbled parma ham (if desired) for garnish

Sea Salt/Freshly Ground Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. On the stove top bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook pasta according to package instructions, until al dente, then drain out the water, reserving some of the liquid. You may or may not need it to thin out your sauce if it is too thick.

 

2. For the sauce, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Cook shallots and garlic until soft, about 3 mins. Add the chicken stock along with the pumpkin. Stir and then add the cream. Season the sauce to taste with the hot sauce, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt/pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 5-6 mins or until the sauce thickens a bit.

 

3. To serve, toss the pasta with the sauce. Add the sliced sage and grated cheese. Top with a pine nuts and parma ham (if using) and a sage leaf for garnish!

Keep in mind that pumpkin is super healthy and can and should be eaten all year long.  Not just around Halloween!  It is loaded with fiber (great for digestion) and packed with vitamins such as vitamin A, which super charges your vision.  Helpful when you are out trick-or-treating on that spooky 31st night!

Love all you little pumpkins!

YDP

P.S. So what are you waiting for? Make it TONIGHT!

Since yesterday was a bank holiday in Ireland and many of my snapchat friends over there were feeling down today, I thought a treat was in order!  So I took them along with me on a visit to the famous London biscuit bakery Biscuiteers.  It was an all day affair doing what I love doing best:  Making people happy and making desserts!  Cookies, icing, sugar and fun are the best way to brighten up anyone’s day.  And with Halloween coming up in a few days, this was just the thing to get in the festive mood!

Though you can find the Biscuiteers Cookies for sale online and even at U.K. stores such as Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, Harrods and The Conran Shop, it is far more pleasurable to go into one of their own boutiques.  They have two branches, one in Notting Hill and one on Northcote Road.  With the charmingly elegant black and white decor the colorful cookies stand out that bit more.  And there are loads of baking equipment essentials such as cookie cutters on sale for foodie enthusiasts like me.  When you pay for a class you get a 10% off discount on items purchased on the day you attend. Whoo hoo!

However, the best part of going to the boutiques is the amazing customer service.  There is such a lovely warmth about the staff and it is particularly evident when there are classes or impromptu icing cafe sessions happening.  The staff goes above and beyond to assist and instruct eager cookie decorators.  This really helps to calm the nerves, especially for those that are a bit on the perfectionist side, expecting to perfectly ice a cookie in 2 minutes flat!  But it is wonderful to see the metamorphosis from start to finish.  From a naked cookie to a beautifully decorated colorful creation!  Our teacher for the day, Michelle, was beyond patient and she just so happens to be an amazing artist herself.  She makes it all look so easy, but I know its not.

When you take a course at Biscuiteers, all of their expert artists guide you through the step by step instructions from making and baking the cookie dough, to learning the different icing techniques.  The real trick is getting the basic icing recipe down. The mixture of icing sugar, Merriwhite  (powdered egg whites), and water is beaten to the perfect consistency where it just has a bend on the end of the spatula.  Then you add the color (which can be gel or powder) and place it in the piping bag for the “line icing” which you use to make the outlines on your cookies.  It is important to hold back a little bit of the icing in the bowl.  Then you add water to that icing that’s left over to create a “runny icing”.  In this way you make sure you have a color match for both the line and runny icings.  You use plastic squeeze bottles as the container for the runny icing since it is easier to manage in order to” flood” the inside of the cookie.

Once you have decorated the cookies they need to be baked to help set the icing.  The oven temp is quite low (50 C) and they stay in for about one hour. You can add more detail to the cookie after this stage.  And the sky is the limit in terms of creativity.  This is such a nice stress relieving activity.  I can see why many corporates, hen parties and school outings are booking in for these sessions.

As if the fun wasn’t enough, you get to take home the cookies that you have made on the day in a lovely tin case.   You just have to attach your cookies to a cushy cardboard base (with the help of a dot of icing instead of glue) and arrange inside the gorg keepsake container.  As well, the apron you have used, is now yours!  Hello!  I’m loving this!  Plus you get a gift voucher for future use.  Right,  I’m on it !

During the day long class we were treated to an unlimited supply of teas or coffees (I had the best cappuccino since I moved to London) and a slice of one of their gorgeous cakes. Yes they make cakes and chocolates as well as their famous biscuits.  I had the white chocolate passionfruit cake and it was so fresh, moist, tender and tasty!  I was in heaven!

Since there is only my husband and myself in the house and I made eighteen cookies I decided to create a contest for my snapchat followers.  They had to send me a snap of themselves doing their best impression of me (which would include one or all of the following: Bad singing, bad dancing but good recipes and possibly an American accent) and I would award the winner later in the evening.  Well it was a hard choice as there were so many great entries.  But since I had so many cookies anyway, I decided to award three winners!  Since I take snapchat along on many foodie adventures and they can’t taste or smell the goodies it can almost be torturous.  So, this is a great pressie for the lucky three then!

If you’ve been following for a while you know that my pretty pit Stella plays a big part in all YDP activities (where allowed).  So she was quite curious about my Biscuiteers adventure. She loves a treat, and might have even eaten a bit in spite of it being in a kitty cat shape!  But I wasn’t sure how dog friendly the ingredients are.  So I think when I do a follow up assessment of the course I might suggest they actually include doggie biscuits to their menu. I know there would surely be one happy customer!

Decorated with Love,

YDP

P.S. If you are new to the blog you are very welcome!  And if you are on snapchat you might like to follow along there as well (user name:  blissbakery)

 

 

 

Due to certain reasons, which I shall divulge shortly, I’ve never really been the biggest fan of mustard.  Though a staple with a baseball game hot dog, I would tend to defer to the red stuff, ketchup, on my ball park frank.  In fact, I even avoid the color yellow in my wardrobe.  I own not a single piece of clothing in the color.  But this recipe changed all that for me.  It is seriously the simplest, quickest and tastiest dinner ever!  Served with a side of mashed potatoes or rice pilaf and something green (a nice steamed broccoli or a dressed mixed leaf salad) and you are good to go.  Very helpful on a busy Monday, especially the week of Halloween when there are tons of last minute errands to run!

The thing about this recipe is that you literally only need four ingredients.  However, the key is you have to get the proper type of mustard as it is the star of the show.  That can be tough as there are so many varieties on the market these days.  And considering that mustard is thought to be one of the world’s oldest condiments it is understandable.  Some chefs swear by mustard as their go to ingredient for everything from sauces to salad dressings.  Famed British chef Nigel Slater is quoted as saying, “Almost anything is edible with a dab of French mustard on it.”  Can I emphasize, as I am now a resident of the U.K., it is massive for a Brit to say that about something from France.

Mention the word mustard to some people and they usually fall into one of three camps: French, English or American.  In fact, for some maniacal mustard fans, there is even a Mustard Manual.  Check it out for yourself if you are a yellow hued yoke!

Even if you aren’t so nuts about mustard that you have to know every detail, you can still enjoy this recipe tonight!  And if you make enough to have left overs, it is tasty as a warmed sambo, like an Italian meatball Sub type.  Only this is lighter since it is made with poultry.  You can also put it on a wholewheat roll to make that bit healthier.

Ingredients:

Skinless boneless chicken breasts (I use free range and organic)

Dijon French Mustard

Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

French’s Crunchy Onions (if you can’t find this in your supermarket you can make them yourself by following this recipe which also happens to be gluten free)

*I deliberately left out the amounts. You can make two chicken breasts or more depending on how many servings you want. Just increase the amounts of mustard, onions and cheese you need to accommodate.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F

Grate some Parmesan Cheese on the bottom of an oven proof baking dish.  Spread a generous tablespoon or more of mustard all over each of the chicken on both sides.  Place on top of the grated cheese in the baking dish.  Grate more cheese on top of the chicken. Sprinkle with the Crispy Onions.  Cover with aluminum foil.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove the foil.  Bake another 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the Crispy Onions are browned.

I like to serve this on top of mashed potatoes. Then when you cut into it and have a “combo bite” of chicken and the mash, you get the perfect balance of flavor and textures.  It is so delicious!  The Parmesan mellows out the mustard and the onions add that bit of crunch to make it totally and completely Yummer-ific!

 

So the story goes that my mom and dad used to have rip roaring fights. The kind that sent us kids to hide under our beds or in the closets.  On one occasion, like many, things started to go flying around the kitchen.  I heard a few crashes and bangs and then silence.  That was a sign that it was safe to re-enter.  What I saw was a mound of yellow mustard dripping down the wall like a Jackson Pollock painting.  Thank God many varieties of mustard now come in plastic bottles!  So while I may only use the Dijon variety myself for this recipe, I have come to appreciate one other form of the color yellow.  It is in fact a song by the band Coldplay.  However, this is actually a version done by an all female choir from Belgium called Scala.  It is quite haunting and beautiful.  My favorite line “look at the stars, look how they shine for you”.

I hope you try this recipe and it shines for you.  And thanks for being a star and following along with me on this journey!

Yellow Mellow Mustard Love!

YDP