May 20, 2011

The May Loaves&Fishes Menu


Last Saturday night I went to a lovely pop up supper club in Ballymaloe Cookery School held by Gill Hegarty. It was brilliant to go to someone elses supper and Gill really pulled out all the stops! Her homemade ravioli was amazing and  I actually can't stop thinking about the beef carpaccio with beetroot and horseradish sauce! There were 4 courses and for dessert she made an almond, prune and brandy tart which was absolutely gorgeous! I must get that recipe. Gill is hoping to do the supper club once a month and you can find out more on her facebook page.
Meanwhile I have the menu for next weekends supper all planned out. One thing I definitely learned from going to Gill's supper is that I was so full by the end of the night! I give people massive portions so I actually need to tone it down a bit! I'll be emailing everyone who's booked in with the finer details on Sunday. Hopefully the weather will be nice and summery and will set the tone for this middle eastern delight of a night!

Mezze Plate (Hummus, Dukkah, Olives from The English Market, Beetroot dip & pittas)
Green Salad
Ottolenghis' Open Kibbeh, Carrot Salad, Tzatziki & Green Couscous
Strawberries with hibiscus tea, vanilla cream and Pistachio shortbread
Almond and Orangeflower Moroccan Snake
Tea & Coffee

I've put a link to the kibbeh above, it's unbelievably tasty. I've made it a few times now, it works really well as a packed lunch/picnic and is lovely warm in a pitta bread with salad too.
The Moroccan snake (in the photos above) is a gorgeous theatrical pastry that I learned to make in Ballymaloe. It's really lovely with strong coffee or Mint tea. I love the idea of having one of these on each table when we serve the coffees!
Lilly x


May 3, 2011

Homemade Christening Cake


I love a challenge! So a few weeks ago when my friend Susan asked me to make her baby Oscar's christening cake I was delighted. I hadn't made a proper big celebration cake before so couldn't wait to get started on it. It was a joint Christening between Oscar and baby Lauren so hence the pink and blue! I bought a set of flower cutters from a kitchen shop in Cork and must warn you that making sugar paste flowers is addictive! I bought a block of sugar paste and added food dye to colour it 6 different shades of pink and blue.I then watched Beverly Hill Cop II and made over one hundred little flowers. Best Friday night in ever.
I made the cake a few weeks ago but still have some of the left over flowers in a jar for when I'm making cupcakes or something! Very handy and I made some in light yellow that look like primroses. Someone's been bitten by the sugarcraft bug.