GuacamoleThis makes a batch of kick ass guacamole - Brian P. Ingredients 1 large or two small ripe avocadoes 1 clove of garlic 2 if you wanna really go for it. ½ large lime (much better than lemon) 1 tsp Tabasco sauce Optional extra is some coriander leaves (say 8-10 leaves) Method Mush up the avocadoes. Chop then crush the garlic until its super fine, ensuring all the juice gets in the mix. Stir into the mix. Squeeze in all the lime juice. If adding the coriander: Strip out ALL the stalk material and chop the leaves to a fine paste, stir in to mix. Add a teaspoon of Tabasco, or more to taste. Stir and allow to sit in fridge. Note To make a guacamole dip stir in a small tub of crème-fraiche into the mix. This works better than soured cream as it does not really change the flavour but makes it less thick, with a milder taste. Cliffy's "Toad in the Hole" Special .....Discovered how to make this when I was living next door to JC and have used it to prove that you can feed 10 people with under £5 - Cliffy Ingredients Flour Eggs Milk Sugar Lemon pieces .... no rind .... 1 ½ lbs of fresh sausages Method Chuck the Flour, Eggs and Milk in a big bowl. Use dustbin if no bowl is available. Whisk until it resembles the pancake batter that Mom used to make. You may need to add extra flour/eggs/milk until you reach the desired consistency. Don't fret about this too much as the more you add, the more food you will have when you're finished. When you have the desired consistency/amount of pancake batter you should slap the sausages on the grill. Grill the sausages. Now find a baking tray. Use the dustbin again if a tray is unavailable, or you simply don't know what a baking tray is. Pour some of the batter into the tray. Place the sausages in the tray. Sprinkle the non-sausage areas lightly with the sugar and lemon pieces. You do this away from the sausages cos the mix near the sausages will be very moist after cooking due to the sausage juices anyway. It's a hit and miss thing that doesn't really matter. Pour in the rest of the batter and then the remains of the lemon and sugar. Just don't go mad with the sugar - i.e. you should not have used more than two tsp. Throw the lot in a pre-heated oven (approx. 275 degrees 'cos our oven in Plassey was crap). Should take around 20 mins ... but you should really do what I did .... check it every 2 mins or so 'cos this stuff has a habit of over cooking and going dry very quickly. When ready .... serve it up .... NOT a glamorous meal, consider using the dustbin again. Goes well with a glass of cold milk. Note If you're in a bit of a rush and don't have the time to experiment with getting the quantities for this one right then you can always follow the following guidelines: Serves: 4 Preparation: 1-1 ½ hr Ingredients 450g (1lb) pork sausages 120g plain flour a pinch of salt 1 egg 300ml (0.5 pint) milk Method Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas mark 7 Arrange the pork sausages in a 1.2litre (2 pint), heatproof dish and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and crack in the egg. Gradually beat in the milk to make a smooth batter. Pour the batter round the sausages and bake for 30-40 minutes until well risen and nicely browned. Serve with creamy mashed potatoes. Avocado Starter with Sauce VinaigretteFor those of you who don't like avocados this should be a revelation (ask John) and for those of you who like vinegar this will be heaven. For the accompanying wine I would suggest a Chardonnay - Anita Serves: 4 Preparation time: 20 mins Ingredients 2 Avocados Sauce Vinaigrette 1 red pepper or tomato 1 pickled gherkin (optional) or ½ teaspoon of capers (optional) 1-2 cloves of garlic ½ onion (optional) 1 teaspoon of French mustard 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard 100 ml olive oil or sunflower oil (suit your taste) 150 - 200 ml white wine vinegar parsley, salt & pepper to taste Method Start off preparing the vinaigrette: Dice the pepper/tomato, gherkin/capers and onions. Add this and all the remaining ingredients (except the garlic) into mixer. Crush the garlic and add it in - push the button and mix. Note: ideally you will want to be able to distinguish the ingredients so stop mixing before it becomes a vinaigrette slush. Cut the avocados length-wise in half and take out the stone. Pour the vinaigrette into the hole left by removing the stone and serve half an avocado per person as starter. Serve with fresh baguette or foccacia, preferably the DIY types you get from Cuisine de France or M&S.. Hash BrownsCourtesy of AjD - Waider Ingredients A sufficiently filling amount of potatoes. Oil for cooking 1 med-largeish onion ½ or 1 bulb clove garlic 1-2 eggs Method Wash potatoes. Dice finely. Toss into a pan with pre-heated oil. I prefer a sesame/corn oil mixture. When the potatoes are about half-cooked (no longer white, and turning glassy), add the onion you've diced about as finely as the potatoes. When the onion is glassy and green, add the garlic that you've coarsely chopped. Finally, crack one or two eggs over it. Turn repeatedly; when the egg's done, you're done. Eat. Note The hotter it cooks, the quicker it cooks, and the crisper the potatoes will get. By the time you're done, the potatoes should be nice and browned. Genuine Aussie Fruit SmoothieThis is about the healthiest thing to eat - loads of Vitamin C, antioxidants, fibre, potassium, calcium, etc. Strawberries are among the healthiest of the lot. Excellent when you feel a cold coming on, or on a hot day - Broenwynn Ingredients 1 large, ripe (but not mushy) banana ½ cup frozen fresh strawberries (no additives) 1/3 cup frozen fresh blueberries (no additives) 2 slices frozen fresh peaches (no additives) 1/3 cup non-fat, natural vanilla yoghurt Method Place all ingredients in a blender. Mix until smooth. Enjoy. Note Using FROZEN fruit and NO ICE is the key to making a genuine smoothie. If you use all fresh fruit, it will be a runny mess. The consistency is created by using frozen fruit. Also, a banana as base is key - have tried making smoothies without a banana, and they're just bad. But try other fruit/berry combinations, i.e. mango instead of peach. Bacon & Cheese BitesThis recipe is one myself and JoeV evolved over a period of time while sharing the shoebox flat in Lennox Street. This became a typical Saturday morning breakfast in the pre-coffee-morning days. It also works great as a starter to a meal, when cut into smaller pieces. If using as a starter, I would recommend that the quantities here be used for 4-6 people. This is a greasy, messy breakfast - great alternative to a fry. Its biggest drawback is that its so filling you never get to enjoy enough of the food before you're stuffed. - JC Serves: 2-3 people Preparation time: 15-20 mins Ingredients 1 packet back rashers (6) 1 cuboid block of cheddar (Dubliner, or any similar cheese will do) Hoi Sin Sauce White Sliced Pan (I use batch bread normally, but whatever you like) Method Cut two medium-thick slices of cheese from the block, and three pieces of bread to the same size. Coat one side of two pieces of bread with Hoi Sin Build a "triple decker" of bread (w. Hoi Sin), cheese, bread, cheese, bread (w. Hoi Sin). The Hoi Sin should be against the cheese, not the outside of the sandwich Flatten out one rasher (you may wish to stretch it a bit with the back of a knife) Cover one side of the rasher with a small bit of Hoi Sin Now, place the "triple-decker" on the side of the rasher which has the sauce. You want to place it at the end of the "thick" side of the rasher. Now, roll the sandwich until it is wrapped completely in rasher. Repeat for the other 5 rashers Grill under a medium heat, turning every minute or so, until the rashers are cooked through. Serve as is, or slice each "bite" into 2 or 3 "nibbles". HummusThis is best done in a food processor, but I've made it using a potato masher as well - Broenwynn Ingredients 1 can garbonzo beans (chickpeas) 1 tbsp tahini 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 tbsp warm water 4-5 cloves chopped garlic 2 tsp cumin 2 tsp black pepper 2-3 dashes Tabasco 1 tsp paprika Method Place garbonzo beans in food processor and chop until almost a paste. Add tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and water. Blend well. Add remaining ingredients and blend until a thin paste. Increase water slightly for a more runny hummus, decrease for more paste-like consistency. There are many variations of hummus, and spices can be changed to alter the flavour. Key ingredients are the garbonzo beans, tahini, garlic, and lemon juice. The seasons give it bite and lasting flavour. Excellent as a spread on bagels or in sandwiches (lovely on a toasted cheese sambo with avocado). Hummus (II)- Ade Ingredients 1 tsp of baking soda 350 grams of dry chickpeas ½ tsp ground cumin 4 cloves of garlic Juice of 2 lemons Olive oil 1 tsp salt ½ cup of tahina (recipe below, without parsley) Method Soak the chickpeas in water overnight, with the soda. Cook them until soft, reserving a little of the cooking liquid. Reserve a few whole chickpeas for decoration. Mash all the ingredients together, but not too finely. If the consistency is too dry, add a little of the chickpea cooking liquid. Spoon the mixture on a plate and make a well in the centre. Put a little olive oil and the reserved chickpeas into the well and serve with pita bread. Variation Add extra tahina to taste. Tahina- Ade Ingredients 1 tsp finely minced Garlic 60 ml fresh lemon juice ¼ tsp Salt 100 grams sesame paste 60 ml water 2 tbsp chopped parsley Method Using a fork, blend together the sesame paste and water, then add the lemon juice, parsley and garlic, mixing well after each addition. Alternatively, mix all the ingredients together in a blender. The mixture will thicken later in the fridge. If Tahina is to be eaten by itself (e.g. with bread), add lots of chopped coriander and/or parsley. Keeps in the fridge for up to 10 days. Marmite Cheesy Toast ExperienceIt's a very simple but oft overlooked taste sensation - Tim Ingredients Tea Bread Cheese Marmite Method Put the kettle on Toast a slice of bread. Spread marmite on the toast to taste Thinly slice/grate some mature cheddar onto the marmite. Put under the grill, or put into the microwave (if you only have a toaster and microwave) until the cheese has melted Brew a nice hot cuppa Enjoy Fried Ham and Cheese SandwichWeird and all as this may sound it is actually quite delicious. I remember someone in Rhebogue first making this one evening - and it has become one of my favourite snacks, especially on those cold, wet winter nights we get in Galway - Paula Serves:1 Preparation time: 15 mins Ingredients 2 slices white bread buttered cheese ham mustard (optional) 1 egg 2tbsp milk ½ oz butter Method Make a ham and cheese sandwich to your own liking, with or without mustard (I find any of the grainy mustards great in this). The sandwich shouldn't be too full, otherwise things can get a bit messy. Beat the egg and milk together and dip both sides of the sandwich in this mixture, allowing it to soak well into the bread. Melt the butter in a frying pan (preferably non-stick over medium heat. Fry the sandwich on both sides till golden brown. The eggy bread should turnout like French toast, and the sandwich filling should be heated, with the cheese melting once the sandwich is cooked. Enjoy. Student Surprise- JC/Waider Method Cook some waffles or similar starch substrate. Actual healthy non-frozen food is probably bad for this recipe, I guess. Take mince, brown it. Add beans. Baked, not kidney. Waider doesn't like kidney beans. Add hoi-sin sauce. This was the magical ingredient, if I recall correctly. Add, hmm, chopped onion? Sure. Why not! Add anything else that seems plausible, or was available cheap at the Parkway. Except skanky ho's, of course. You don't eat them. Bob? Hello? Bob? Where are you going? When it looks cooked, eat it. DOH. After doing this: Cook some waffles or similar starch substrate. Actual healthy non-frozen food is probably bad for this recipe, I guess. Then: Chop your substrate into pieces and toss it into the mix once the mince has been browned. Peanut Butter PitaQuick munchie, straight from the top of my head - Tim Ingredients Wholemeal pita bread Butter (optional) Peanut butter (I prefer crunchy) Tea Method Toast the pita on both sides until the sides separate enough to cut. Slit the pita open. (Optional)apply some butter inside the slit pita Spread peanut butter inside the pita (to taste) Brew a hot cuppa. Takes the edge of my munchies anyway ;) Variation I have the same fav recipe with one small yet tasty addition. Trust me - Cliffy Insert fresh sliced strawberries, after the peanut butter. Garlic Mushrooms- James Ingredients Lots of butter 3 or 4 cloves garlic chopped up small 1 onion chopped small Salt, pepper & herbs Chopped mushrooms in slices (after washing and drying) Stock Cornflour Method Fry the garlic in the butter, then add the onions followed by the seasoning then the mushrooms. Finally add stock and bring to the boil. Add the cornflour, stir while thickening and simmer a bit. Serve with fresh bread. Beefsteak Tartare- Anita Serves: 4 as a starter, 4 as a main course Preparation time: 15 mins Ingredients 500g fresh beef mince (high quality `cause you are going to eat it raw) 1 tsp salt 6-8 drops Tabasco ½ tsp paprika 1 small onion diced 1-2 sprigs of parsley chopped 2 tblsp Cognac 1 tblsp Lemon Juice 6-8 drops Worcestershire sauce 2 egg yolks pepper to taste Optional Ingredients (use only one - I strictly recommend not to use the optional ingredients in combination with each other unless you suffer from weird taste....) 1 tsp capers 2 anchovy filets 1 tblsp ketchup 1 thinly sliced gherkin Method Put all the ingredients in a bowl and thoroughly mix with a fork. Serve with toast, capers, olives and garnish with an onion cut into rings | |||||||
