Pull 'n' Roll in All Weather

In Ireland it is impossible to count on the weather forecasts. It may rain, or it may rain - or it may not. The past weeks have mostly been rainy and, for June, chilly. With a few sunny spells between the rainy ones and some hailstorms, the saying 'in Ireland you can experience all four seasons in one day' has certainly proved itself to be true. 

The more rain, the more talk about the weather. In the school yard, in the shops, in the parking lots, in Facebook. Besides rain, my friends have been complaining how they even need to heat their houses this time of the year ('never after March... neverever in June until now'). To be honest, I do not quite get why having your heating on or off has anything to do with the calendar, especially in a country where 'there is no climate, just weather', like another saying goes. If it is wet and cold outside I know nothing better than a warm house. Ask my cats, and they agree, too!

The past Sunday was supposed to be rainy so for our dinner I bought a nice pork shoulder from my favourite meat counter at JC's Supermarket. It is to be cooked in the oven on a rainy day for four hours so as a bonus the chef can enjoy the extra warmth coming from the oven while preparing other necessities for the meal. 

Pulled Pork Sandwiches are something the whole family just loves. We are all fans of the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, where this guy, literally Guy, as his name is Guy Fieri, drives around North America visiting local (often family) restaurants in many of which slowly cooked pork plays a huge role, so we have wanted to give pulled pork a try in our kitchen, too, and it has always been a success. With home-made coleslaw and freshly baked sandwich rolls even bigger a success.

Oh, how did the weather turn out? Not a single rain drop the whole day! Lovely sunshine and blue sky. But a chef's got to do what a chef's got to do. Forget the barbecue and be stuck in enjoy the hot kitchen.

Coleslaw:

I started with making coleslaw to go with the sandwiches. There must be as many coleslaw recipes as there are chefs - mine is simply putting together the basic ingredients, that is, cabbage (half of a small one), carrots (3) and mayonnaise (about 400g), and some red onion (one small), raisins (1 dl / ½ cup) and fresh lime juice (of half a lime):

To grate the cabbage, carrots and red onion I used my kitchen-aid although my husband would prefer coleslaw with a more rough texture, simply cut with a knife.

To the grated vegetables I added mayonnaise, raisins and lime juice, a pinch of salt and black pepper. I let the coleslaw rest in the fridge for a few hours checking it occasionally and adding a little more mayonnaise.

Pulled Pork:
Pork shoulder (mine was 3,3kg)
 
½ tbsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp celery salt
2 tbsp ground garlic
3 tbsp oregano
1 dl / ½ cup sugar
4 tbsp salt
3 tbsp dried parsley
3 tbsp paprika
3 tbsp mustard powder
2 tbsp ground black pepper
½ tbsp hot chili powder 

1. Mix the spices together:

 2. Rub the pork carefully with the spice mixture, put it in an oven-proof dish and cover with tin foil. 

 3. Cook the pork in the oven at 160°C / 320°F for about 4 hours.

 4. The meat should be very tender and easy to pull apart even with your hands.

Sandwich Rolls (makes 12):
5 dl / 2 cups water
50 g fresh yeast or 14 g (2 sachets) dried yeast
1 dl / ½ cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp salt
5 dl / 2 cups wholemeal flour
About 10 dl / 4 cups strong white flour

1. Heat the water until slightly warmer than lukewarm. If you are using fresh yeast, dissolve it into the water. If you are using dried yeast, mix it with the flour.
2. Add sugar and salt and about half of the flour and mix.
3. Add the vegetable oil and gradually more flour until your dough is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 10 minutes.
4. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.
5. Put the dough on a floured surface and cut it into 12 equally sized pieces. I use my kitchen scale to make sure my rolls are all the same size.
6. Shape the pieces into ovals, dust some flour on them and let the rolls rise for about half an hour.

 7. Bake in the oven at 225°C / 435°F for 12-15 minutes.

Fill the rolls with the tender pork, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, pickled cucumbers and coleslaw or enjoy coleslaw and pickled cucumbers separately:

Cook's Notes:
*Never trust the weather forecast. Always have a plan B, that is, BBQable meat in the fridge, too.
*Next time use some rye flour in the roll dough.
*Change the mayo in the coleslaw into a low-fat one. The husband won't notice.

Jury's Comments:
"Meat, more meat... can I just skip the roll and have more meat?" (The Little Brother)
"Can I just have a roll with lots of butter, please. The rolls smell so nice." (Friend of The Little Brother)
"Don't eat it all, I want to take some for lunch tomorrow [and show my roll around in the office]!" (Husband)
"He'll eat it [I make him to taste it]." (Daughter, 17, forcing his boyfriend to have some coleslaw)

Sheridans Cheesemongers Food Festival

Do you have summer traditions? Do you visit a food fair which you know is there at a certain place in a certain summer month? What makes it a tradition? Does something become a tradition when you do it the second time (and you know there will be a third, fourth, fifth... time) or does it take years and years before you can say 'this is my tradition'? And if you skip one year, let's say, simply due to bad weather, have you given up your tradition?

This year I went to Sheridans Cheesemongers Food Festival the second time in my life and I do feel it is a tradition now. I sort of knew what to expect, what to buy, what to look forward to, and the family did so, too. 

So, for the second time, we drove all the way to Virginia Road Station in County Meath on a lovely, sunny and hot May Sunday and surely all our expectations were met! (except this year there was no cow poo on the field where visitors could park their cars...) Lots of samples to taste, delicious foods to enjoy, activities for the kids, new ideas to be implemented in the kitchen.

These little piggies were already at the market...

...while these little piggies had roast beef were being roasted...

When entering the festival area, we could not pass this stall but had to stop...

...for crepes, that is!!

Marshmallows and chocolate chips in a crepe...

... make your day!

          There has been a lot of debate whether or not selling raw milk should be banned in Ireland but at the moment it is legal.

Say CHEEEESE...

...and go for it: lots and lots of cheeese...

...blue cheese...

...and sheep milk cheese...

...to take home with some black crackers for the black metal husband.

Very Irish: Shamrock and Sour Cream cri(s)ps...

...to be taken home secretly enjoyed in the back seat of the car.

Smoked mackarel, kipper and tuna. "Let's have a second round of tasting now that there's a new lady behind the table..." I said the kids said...

Smoked kippers by Woodcock Smokery were delicious!!

Cherry ice cream by Llewellyn's Orchard :b

***

Ceviche of Cold Smoked Herring:

4 small cold smoked kipper fillets (about 100g each)

1 red onion

1 tomato

Cucumber or pickled dill cucumber

1 lemon

1 dl / ½ cup capers

Fresh dill and chives

Black pepper

1. Scald the tomato and peel it.

2. Chop the herring, onion, tomato (discard seeds) and cucumber into small cubes.

3. Squeeze the lemon.

4. Mix all the ingredients together and let set in the fridge at least half an hour before serving.

I made two slightly different batches as somebody in the family dislikes capers and somebody else cucumber...  In the first batch I added only tomato and pickled dill cucumber, in the second batch  cucumber, red onion, capers and herbs.

In addition to herring ceviche two ways, I served smoked mackarel with chives and cold smoked sea trout with sour cream and fresh dill:

Hot and Spicy on a Hot Summer Day

I think the first time I tasted chorizo was years and years ago in Barcelona. It was one blazing hot week in July - the streets of the beautiful city being red-hot and the hotel room boiling hot. The perfect escape  seemed to be the tiny tapas bars where air conditioning worked surprisingly well  *not* so in addition to the burning sun on my skin I got to turn on the heat inside of me as well, in the form of heavenly hot chorizo cooked in red wine and enjoyed bowl after another with a glass of refreshing cava.

Ever since chorizo has been one of the regulars on my shopping list. I do not only cook it in red wine  (or eat straight from the package) but bake little bread parcels filled with chopped chorizo and make pasta sauce of sliced chorizo, pineapple, blue cheese, jalapenos and cream. Bagels with chorizo are a favourite in the kids’ lunchboxes and chorizo suits deliciously on a pizza. Chorizo goes well with chicken, too, and I have always wanted to create The Perfect Dish combining these two ingredients with an 'extra-something’. I have tried various cheeses, cream, tomatoes… and finally I think I have found the combination which gives my tastebuds the most pleasure: chicken fillet stuffed with chopped hot or at least medium-hot chorizo, sliced Manchego (sheep milk) cheese, seasoned with lots of smoked paprika, quickly fried on a pan and then cooked in the oven.

Before sharing my recipe I would like to share a story first: I was recently at Fallon & Byrne in Dublin with The Little Brother. We were standing at the meat counter when he noticed a huge (about 20cm in diameter) chorizo sausage there and wanted to buy some. I asked the shop assistant if the chorizo would be very hot so she gave us a slice to taste and decide ourselves. “Tooo hot-hot-hot!!!” commented The Little Brother, and pointed at another chorizo sausage asking me if we could maybe taste that one, too. We got a slice, and this chorizo, made by Irish Gubbeen Farmhouse Products was delicious and not too spicy for him. “100 grams, please”, I said before The Little Brother would start asking for more samples (because I knew he would). After I got our chorizo neatly sliced and packed I gently but firmly took his hand and headed to the cashier. Just in time for him to live happily with his chorizo slices the rest of the day and not knowing about the barrels full of olives beside the meat counter. Otherwise I would not sit here writing but most likely stand eye-witnessing a never-ending tasting session with lots of debating if chorizo tastes better with black olives or green olives stuffed with garlic...

Chicken Fillets Stuffed with Chorizo and Sheep Milk Cheese (for 6):

6 chicken fillets (mine weighed about 170g each)

180g Manchego (sheep milk) cheese

200g chorizo

Salt and black pepper

3 tbs smoked paprika 

 1. Using a sharp knife cut a pocket to each chicken fillet. Open the fillet and gently pound each side.

2. Chop the chorizo into small cubes and cut the cheese into thick slices - I cut mine into twelwe slices, two for each chicken fillet.

3. Fill the pocket with chorizo and cheese and use cocktail sticks to close it.

4. Fry the stuffed chicken fillets quickly on a hot pan on both sides and put them in an oven-proof dish brushed with vegetable oil. Rub the fillets with smoked paprika and add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Cook the chicken fillets in the oven at 200°C / 390°F for about 20-25 minutes. 

6. Serve with tomatoes stuffed with bulgur wheat.

 

Tomatoes Stuffed with Bulgur Wheat and Herbs (for 6):

6 large tomatoes

1 dl / ½ cup bulgur wheat

3 tbs olive oil

Fresh herbs (basil, chives, oregano, parsley)

Salt and black pepper to taste 

1.  Boil the bulgur wheat on low heat for about 10 minutes and drain.

2. Wash the tomatoes and cut a thin slice from each stem end. Scoop out centres. Discard seeds and chop the rest into small cubes.

3. Chop the fresh herbs and together with olive oil, salt and pepper and the chopped tomatoes add to the cooked and drained bulgur. Check the taste.

4. Stuff the tomatoes with the bulgur mixture and put the 'lid' on.

5. Bake in the oven at 200°C / 390°F for about 15 minutes.

Chicken Stuffed with Chorizo and Manchego Cheese & Tomato Stuffed with Bulgur and Herbs:

Cook's Notes:

*A thin fish fillet knife is handy when cutting the pocket to the chicken.

*You can never use too much smoked paprika...

*There are lots of Irish sheep milk cheeses. I will have to try them, too, and not always stick to the old brand(s)!

Jury's Comments:

"I don't want anything green in my tomato!" (Son, 13)

"Is there any more chicken?" (The Little Brother, after eating his stuffed fillet)

"Would taste good BBQed [too]." (Husband, who'd BBQ everything when the weather is sunny and nice)

Liver Lover

I am a Liver Lover. To the extent that my favourite James Bond movie is Liver and Let Die, one of the best books I have read is Gabriel García Márquez’s Liver to Tell the Tale, and when I am in the mood for liver I listen to Uriah Heep’s Easy Liver. More liver than clever but I am not letting these darlings die – instead, I tell my tale of how to cook easy liver.

Even as a child, liver was among my top ten foods. Usually fried on a pan and spiced with lots of white pepper, but also cut into pieces and cooked in a creamy sauce and served with mashed potatoes and fresh lingonberries.  I cannot remember if I had had lambs liver before moving to Ireland but here it has become my absolute favourite - simply and quickly fried on a pan and enjoyed with lingonberry jam which you can buy at the IKEA food shop.

Liver casserole is a traditional Finnish food made of minced (pork) liver, rice, onion, raisins, eggs, milk, syrup and butter. In the old times liver casserole was usually made for Christmas, but nowadays you can buy it ready-made in every shop in Finland all year round (various brands, with or without raisins, lactose-free…), heat it in microwave or on a pan with lots of butter, or even enjoy cold.  I know people who love to fill their sandwiches with cold liver casserole and a dash of mayonnaise… - When I went to school in Finland in the 80’s, liver dishes, especially liver casserole, were frequently served in the school canteen. Now having a look at the school menus in Finland I can hardly find any liver on them.

I mainly use lambs liver in my kitchen and every now and then pork liver, too. It is not easy to find beef liver in Ireland, but when I see a piece I grab it. What comes to the family, my sons love liver and my husband eats it occasionally (‘best when wrapped in bacon and BBQ’d’) but the daughters and the cats never. 

When I need an energy boost, I treat myself to some lambs liver for lunch as it is best when enjoyed alone in the house (that is, no kids saying yuck and no husband seeing how much I actually eat...).  If there are any leftover mashed potatoes, it really is a quick lunch, and very inexpensive gourmet, too, the price of lambs liver being about 6-7 € / kg.

My Easy Livers:

Pan-Fried Lambs Liver:

Fresh lambs liver, about 150 g / person

Butter

Salt and black/white pepper

1. Heat a frying pan, add a knob of butter and fry quickly on high heat so that the middle is reddish, but cooked.

2. Enjoy immediately, preferably with mashed potatoes and lingonberry (or cranberry) jam.

Minced-Liver Hamburgers (makes 10):

300 g minced beef liver

3 medium-size potatoes

1 onion

1 apple

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground white pepper

1. Mince the beef liver. I use my food processor to get it very smooth.

2. Grate the potatoes, onion and apple and mix with the liver.

3. Add salt and pepper.

4. Fry on a pancake pan on low heat (takes about 5 min / side). 

5. Serve with potatoes/mash and, again, lingonberry (or cranberry) jam.

Liver Casserole (for 4):

2 dl / ¾ cup rice

300 g pork liver

2 tsp salt

½ l / 2 cups milk

1 egg

1 onion

½ tsp ground white pepper

2 tbsp syrup

1 dl / ½ cup raisins

Butter

1. Cook the rice until tender and drain it.

2. Mince the pork liver in a food processor.

3. Chop the onion.

4. Mix the rice and liver and add egg, milk, finely chopped onion, raisins, syrup and spices.

5. Grease an over-proof dish with butter and pour the casserole mix there. Add a few knobs of butter on top if you like.

6. Bake in the oven at 175°C / 350°F for about 1 h 15 min.

7. Serve with lingonberry (or cranberry) jam.

Cook’s Notes:

*I usually buy liver from a butcher’s or from the counter at a supermarket, as I trust it is fresher, but after buying packed liver from Tesco, I have to say it was a delicious surprise.

*If you are a bit suspicious with liver and/or find the taste of liver strong, replace half of the liver in the hamburgers with minced beef.

*Liver casserole may not be the most beautiful dish in the world but it sure is worth trying!

Jury’s Comments:

“What’s the smell in the kitchen… yuck, the liver looks like something I have inside of me!” (Daughter, 9, smelling and seeing fresh liver in the food processor)

“Yummy!!” (The Little Brother, 6, eating a minced-liver hamburger)

“Better than Saarioinen [a brand in Finland].” (Son, 13, Liver Casserole Monster)