Coming soon to Ballyknocken…

Our stunning 4 bedroom Blackberry Barn here at Ballyknocken House, Cookery School & Farm is available for self catering and holiday rental. Fitted to the highest standard, with each bedroom en suite and a beautiful patio / BBQ area offering stunning views over Carrick Mountain and Forest, Blackberry Barn is available for weekend or weekly holiday rental and is ideal for groups of friends and families interested in updating their cooking skills at Ballyknocken Cookery School and for those who enjoy the great outdoors. There is fantastic walking and cycling facilities on site and nearby. Close to Glendalough, Powerscourt and Mount Usher Gardens, leading golf courses and Brittas Bay Beach. Dublin 48 km. For enquiries contact us: reservations@ballyknocken.com

 

Super Foods for Super People

 

Happy New Year from all of us here at Ballyknocken House & Cookery School and I hope you enjoyed a fantastic Christmas and a well deserved break.  I am excited for the year ahead and all the plans we are ‘cooking up’……. pardon the pun !. The Cookery School opens its doors again on the 16th of Jan with Super Foods for Super People. I am sure that one will be a hit considering its the right time for a new year and new you.

It really is a great class as our budding chefs learn all about how to use these power packed super ingredients in everyday cooking for all the family.

We are going Italian then on Sunday the 17th with our always popular Southern Italian class, with  such Italian gems like Caponata, Fresh Pasta and Open Ravioli with wild Mushroom & Chicken Sauce, Polpette de Melanzane, Char Grilled Squid and our delicious Amaretto Truffle Torte to name but a few.

This class comes complete with tasting plate/ light lunch. If you would like a full list of all our classes you can find them here on our cookery calendar. 

In the spirit of Super Foods, I am including this week a recipe for a gorgeous salad that is so feel good it’s amazing !

Warm Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Cabbage Salad

Serves 4

A warm “feel good “ salad that is so simple to prepare. The butternut squash is a good source of Vitamin A as well as fibre and potassium.  By adding the orange zest to the dressing one does not need any salt.

1 small butternut squash, cut into wedges

1 red apple, sliced into wedges

1 tsp honey

½ tsp cumin

1 tbsp olive

½ red cabbage, thinly sliced and blanched

Pepper for seasoning

For the dressing

1 orange, juice and zest

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

A little black pepper for seasoning

2 tbsp hazelnuts, chopped and toasted

Basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 180°C / Fan 160°C / Gas 4.

1. Sprinkle the cumin and honey over the butternut squash and roast for about 30 minutes until lightly golden and cooked. Add the apple wedges about 10 minutes before the end of the roasting time.
2. Heat a frying pan with a little oil, sauté the red cabbage.
3. To make the dressing, combine the orange juice, vinegar and olive oil in a small bowl.
4. Place the roasted butternut squash, and red cabbage in a large bowl, drizzle with some of the dressing.
5. Spoon on a serving platter, arrange the apple wedges, drizzle over a little more dressing.
6. Sprinkle over the hazelnuts and the basil leaves.
7. Serve immediately

Tip: Try adding crispy pancetta or even pumpkin seeds.

 

Edible Christmas Gifts & Stress Tips

Hi everyone and I hope you are all set now on the home stretch before the festive holidays. We have had a such a fantastic last week here at Ballyknocken House & Cookery School .  Our 12 days of Christmas recipes are still going out every day in the lead up to the main event and are packed full of great recipes gadget ideas and top tips such as edible gift ideas, turkey roasting tips and how to spice up those sprouts.

The phone has been buzzing with all our lovely customers picking up Ballyknocken Christmas Vouchers thank you so much for choosing Ballyknocken for the special gift for your loved ones. You can  still pick up a last minute voucher here or call the office on 0404 44627 and Sharon will take care of you.

This week I would like to share this idea for edible gifts that really shows thought and they are loved by all. They can be put in a lovely jar and look really fab under the tree.

Amaretti Biscuits

Tip : Edible gifts show you’ve taken the time and effort to make them for the lucky recipient! It can be a great way of spending time with the kids at this busy time of year. We know they’re popular because our edible gift class always sells out!

Amaretti Biscuits

Makes 40

350g ground almonds

350g caster sugar

4 egg whites

1 ½ tbsp amaretto

Butter, for greasing

Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas 4.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Gently mix in the sugar, amaretto and almonds.Place some baking parchment on a baking tray and butter lightly. Using a teaspoon place small dollops (about 2cm) onto the sheet. Bake for 12–15 minutes until a pale golden brown. Leave to set on the baking tray, as they are quite soft at this stage. The will harden as they cool. Tip: Add 2 tbsp of dried cranberries to the mixture.

Here are my six stress busters for Christmas that I would like to share with you all

1. Take a walk on the wild side – get fresh air and down time, five mins meditation can go a long way
2. It’s not a competition – it’s about family time
3. Plan – write lists, call it old-school but I am a great believer in writing lists
4. Delegate – usually people want to help so share the load
5. Prepare what you can ahead of time
6. Less is more – alternate your alcoholic drinks so you’re not over-doing it.

Finally my  Christmas dinner gadget of the week I love is this gorgeous flour sifter from Brown Thomas   

Have a wonderful time with family and friends this Christmas and I will be back in the New Year with more recipes, tips and news

Catherine

Parmesan Breadcrumb Chicken

 

Parmesan Breadcrumb Chicken with Creamy Lemon Orecchiette  Serves 4

They can be used straight from the freezer over lasagne or for a crispy topping for any vegetable bake.  I usually flavour them up with herbs, grated cheese and even spices such as paprika.

For the filling

4 tbsp ricotta

10 baby spinach leaves, shredded

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 4 supremes of chicken

 For the topping for the chicken

6 heaped tbsp. brown or white breadcrumbs

2 very finely chopped garlic cloves

3 tbsp finely chopped parsley

4 tsp mixed fresh herbs such as chives, rosemary and dill

¼ tsp paprika

4 tbsp. grated parmesan

Freshly grated black pepper

For the sauce

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

½ leek, finely sliced

1 finely chopped garlic clove

100ml crème fraiche

100ml vegetable stock

100ml cream

1 lemon, zest only

4 tbsp. grated parmesan

300g orecchiette or pasta of choice e.g. penne, farfalle, spaghetti

Sprig of dill, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Line a roasting tray with parchment.  Combine the ricotta and spinach with a little salt and pepper.  Slice a “pocket” into the breast of the chicken and spoon in the stuffing.

Combine all the ingredients for the topping and mix well.

Move the supreme of chicken onto the roasting tray and generously sprinkle over the seasoned breadcrumbs, carefully patting down and drizzle over some rapeseed oil.

Roast for about 25 minutes depending on the size of the supreme of chicken. Check that the chicken is cooked, the juices should run clear.

In the meantime, cook the orecchiette or pasta of your choice according to the packet’s instructions. Drain and keep warm.

To make the sauce, heat a medium saucepan with oil, add the leeks and sauté until softened but not brown. This will take about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute.  Stir in the crème fraiche, vegetable stock and cream and simmer for 1 minute.

Add the lemon zest and grated parmesan. Check the seasoning adding more parmesan to taste.

Combine the pasta with the sauce and serve with the chicken. Garnish with sprigs of dill and serve immediately.

Tip: if you prefer to fully coat the chicken in breadcrumbs, then flour the chicken, dip in beaten egg to milk and then into breadcrumbs.  This method works very well for frying of deep frying the breaded chicken.  

I would like to share some tips that I prepared for the Southern Region Waste Management Office as part of the wonderful prevent food waste campaign

you can Follow on Twitter  @preventwaste

And use the hashtag #Do1morething

My TIPS for using up your not so fresh bread…

•  I process all stale or leftover bread into breadcrumbs, spoon them into a sealed bag and freeze – it’s the easiest and simplest trick of all!
• Herby Crumbs – again this may seem obvious but why not add herbs to your breadcrumbs before you freeze them. Simply choose your herb seasoning, I like Italian, and a sprinkle of sea-salt and you have the perfect crunchy topping for your next lasagne or pasta bake.
• French Toast, in fact it is recommended to use bread that is a few days old for best results. It’s original name “pain perdu” means lost bread! Whisk together egg and milk and sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl and dip the bread in to soak up the mixture before frying in pan with a little butter till golden on both sides.  Serve with fruit for a perfect after-school snack or weekend brunch.
• Summer Pudding – a traditional summer pudding can be made all year round. Just line your pudding bowl with stale bread fill with fruit cover the top with a last slice of bread and cling-film overnight in the fridge. Serve with crème fraiche.  This could be a light alternative to Christmas pudding too!
• Add breadcrumbs to meatballs and home-made burgers and for a softer lighter texture soak your breadcrumbs in milk first for the best results.
• French onion soup or indeed most soups benefit from a delicious crispy crouton topping. They can be any size and there’s no doubt home-made croutons taste so much better than the shop bought alternative. Simply bake in oven with a drizzle of olive oil, for garlic croutons finely grate garlic into the oil before drizzling, you can also add herbs and even a little parmesan for extra flavour.  Croutons can be kept in air tight container for a few days before using
• To use up stale Brown Bread why not try a Brown Bread Ice Cream for something a little different.
• For a through back to the 80s try making Melba Toast, a thin dry toast which makes a delicious base for canapes. Again stale bread is recommended for this, simply dry out in oven and your toasts can be kept in air tight container for up to a week before using.  Divine with hummus, pate or simply spread with cream cheese.
• An all-time favourite growing up was Bread and Butter pudding another great way to use up stale bread. This is delicious at Christmas with Cranberries and mixed spice for a seasonal twist.
• And finally I leave you with something Italian which I feature in my first cookbook, Panzanella, an Italian Bread Salad where the bread and good quality ripe tomatoes are the star ingredients. You can also use whatever veg is left in the fridge from peppers to red onion and cucumber.  The more colour the better drizzle in light vinaigrette and let sit for at about 30 minutes to let flavours infuse. Great for using up the end of sourdough or other artisan bread.

 

Healthy Butternut Squash & Beef Casserole One Pot Wonder

This is just gorgeous for those cold winter nights to enjoy with the family and its packed full of goodness too

Enjoy

C

 

 

Butternut Squash and Beef Casserole

This is from my Family Kitchen Cookbook (G&M) and although Butternut squash and beef might not be the first combination that springs to mind, but they do work very well together and are very colourful for presentation. Add more veg such as red pepper or carrots if you wish…

 

Serves 4

700g round steak, trimmed and diced

100g seasoned flour

Extra virgin olive oil

3 red onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 small butternut squash, peeled and diced

1 red pepper, roughly chopped

1 yellow pepper, roughly chopped

2 sprigs of thyme

650ml beef stock

3 tbsp tomato purée

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steamed rice or garlic Mashed potatoes

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4.
2. Toss the beef in the seasoned flour in a Ziploc bag and shake the beef until coated. Remove the beef from the bag and shake off the excess flour.
3. Heat some oil in a casserole over a medium heat and add the beef in batches. Brown well on both sides and set aside.
4. Add a little more oil to the casserole. Reduce the heat to low, add the onions and sauté for 8–10 minutes, until the onions are soft. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the diced butternut squash, peppers, thyme, stock, tomato purée and balsamic vinegar and return the beef to the casserole.
5. Cook in the oven for 1 1⁄2 hours or until the beef is tender, stirring occasionally. Check for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as required, and serve.

Prepare this a day or two ahead. As with all casseroles, the flavours improve over time

Cooking Demo news & Low Fat Lemon Rosemary Chicken Recipe

Hi everyone, well it is coming into that time of year again and I am excited to be taking to the road around the country for my many festive Cookery Demonstrations. This week I enjoyed a fantastic Christmas themed demo in Joyces Wexford for Whirlpool Ireland. I use all Whirlpool state of the art ovens in the cookery school, and they really are amazing.

Here is my upcoming schedule for cooking demonstrations and events and I really would love you pop along and chat to me if they are local to you.

November 19th – Thursday

Get into the Christmas Spirit with an evening of Cookery & Chat at the Bridge House Hotel in Tullamore – in aid of Coolanarney National School Mulled Wine and Artisan and Craft Fair starts at 6.30pm followed by Cookery Demonstration by Catheirne Fulvio at 7.45pm

Friday 20th November –  Friday Food Forum in conjunction with the Irish Times Food Month

Send the Irish Times your queries and have your culinary conundrums answered by Catherine Fulvio as part of  The Irish Times food month on Friday between 1pm and 2pm

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/friday-food-forum-ask-us-your-questions-now-1.1585612

European Week for Waste reduction is 21-29 Nov – Cookery demos Wed 25th & Thurs 26th d)

In conjunction with European Week for Waste Reduction Catherine Fulvio is working hard with Laois and Westmeath County Council to create awareness around this important topic.  Catherine is an advocate of the Stop Food Waste programme in Ireland and will host two Cookery Demonstrations as follows:  The Killeshin Hotel, Dublin Road, Portlaoise on Wednesday 25th November and in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Athlone on Thursday 26th November at 7pm sharp.

So they are the events and other happenings from me and Ballyknocken Cookery School, don’t forget we still have some spaces left on our Cracking Christmas and Head Chef Junior Chef classes this coming December so visit the site to see all the details.

I leave you with this simple healty recipe for your Sunday Roast and will check in with you all again next week.

Easy low-fat Lemon Rosemary Chicken

2 Skinless, boneless, chicken breasts split
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 c white wine
1 tbs butter or spray product
1 lemon
1 Tbs rosemary (fresh is best)

Instructions

Grease frying pan use either butter or reduced fat sprays. Brown chicken on both sides. Remove chicken and place in casserole pan. Add garlic to frying pan and cook until you smell garlic then remove to casserole pan.

Add wine to deglaze the pan and add to casserole pan.

Slice lemon and top each piece of chicken with a slice of lemon and rosemary.

Cover with foil and cook in a 350 degree oven for 45 min or until chicken is tender

Autumn Warmer Carrot, Cumin & Lentil Soup

Hi everyone, this week I would like to share one of my favourite soup recipes for these Autumn evenings when it’s getting chilly. After a busy day in the Cookery School, there is nothing nicer than a hot steaming bowl of soup and some fresh baked bread from the oven.

I hope you all have a lovely Halloween and it won’t be long before we all start planning for Christmas and this week we are all so excited here in Ballyknocken as we launched our brand new website, we would really love to hear how you are finding it, we  hope that is is easy to navigate and you can book everything online now including those all important Christmas Gift Vouchers with ease and comfort.

If you have any problems at all please do call the lovely Sharon Kelly or Debbie Gartland in the office and they will be delighted to help you out. 0404 44627

Take care and hopefully see you at one of our cookery classes soon, the full Winter calendar is on the website

C

Carrot, Cumin and Lentil Soup

Serves 4 -5

 

2 tbsp butter

5 medium carrots, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

3 potatoes, chopped

1tsp ground cumin or to taste

Salt and freshly ground pepper and sugar (good pinch)

1.2l chicken stock

4 tbsp red lentils

50ml milk

Cream for garnishing

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the chopped vegetables, cumin, salt, pepper and sugar. Cover with parchment paper to retain the steam and cover with saucepan lid.
2. Leave to simmer for approximately 10 minutes. Remove lid, add the stock and simmer until the vegetables are soft.  Add the lentils and simmer for a further 6 minutes.
3. Place the vegetables and liquid in a food processor and puree / blend until smooth. Check for seasoning and stir in the milk.
4. Garnish with a swirl of cream and serve immediately.

 

 

Bank Holiday, Roast Breast of Duck with Spiced Plums

Roast Breast of Duck with Spiced Plums Serves 4

Hi everyone, this is a marvellous recipe for when friends are visiting for the bank holiday. Everybody loves duck, so here’s atwist on the usual recipe. We have an abundance of plums in our garden in early autumn, but this is also delicious with apricots.

Ingredients

4 x 170g duck breasts, skin on

1 tsp ground cumin

salt and freshly ground

black pepper

sunflower oil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2cm fresh root ginger, grated

3 oranges (juice of 3 oranges and zest of 1 orange)

100ml chicken stock

2 star anise

4 tbsp honey

1 tbsp soy sauce

1⁄2 tsp ground coriander

4 plums, stoned and quartered

egg noodles with a dash of soy sauce, to serve

orange zest thinly sliced into strips, to garnish

1. Score each duck breast with a sharp knife and rub with the cumin, salt and pepper. Heat some oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a high heat and fry the duck, skin side down first, for 3 minutes. Turn over, reduce the heat and cook for about 7 minutes more, until tender. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
2. To make the sauce, retain the duck fat in the pan, adding more oil if necessary. Gently cook the garlic and ginger until slightly golden, about 1 minute. Add the orange zest and juice, stock, star anise, honey, soy sauce and ground coriander. Bring to the boil and allow to reduce for 4–5 minutes. Add in the plums and simmer for a further 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Place the soy noodles on a platter. Slice the duck breasts and place on top of the noodles. Scatter over the orange zest. Spoon the sauce over the duck breasts and serve.

Halloween is fast approaching… Creepy Spider Cupcakes

Hi all, I hope you are all well and enjoying all the beautiful colours of autumn. Here at Ballyknocken Cookery School we are getting very excited about our Head Chef Junior Chef Halloween special class. It is always a hit every year with grown ups and kids alike.  All the classes I teach here at the school are great, but the Head Chef  Junior Chef is always extra special to us.

To celebrate fast approaching Halloween this week in my recipe blog, I would like to share a firm favourite of mine that I worked on as Brand Ambassador for Whirlpool Ireland. This is a recipe that is great fun to make with the kids at this time of year. I hope you all enjoy the class and remember we still have some availability in the house for anyone who would like to take a well deserved break that weekend.

In other news, I am delighted to see the videos I worked on with my friends in Mummy Pages, go live this week on their amazing site. Be sure to keep an eye out on my Facebook and Twitter for all the links to recipes such as, Slow Roasted Pork, or a healthy alternative to Fish & Chips, Coconut Fish Goujons & Lime Wedges with Mushy Peas.

Finally, I really do hope you are all enjoying The Taste of Success, Tuesday nights on RTE1 at 8.30, I know I am loving every minute and excited for the winner announcement and just to end on a high note I was absolutely thrilled to find out that Lords and Ladles, the series I worked on this year with Paul Clarke and Derry Quinn has been nominated for an IFTA award. I may get red carpet ready and soon.

So have a fantastic weekend and I will speak to you all very soon.

Catherine

The children will love to make these and it will keep them busy for a good while, measuring, mixing and decorating. 

Creepy Spider Cupcakes

Makes 12 small cupcakes

 

For the cupcakes:

100g caster sugar

100g unsalted butter, softened

3 eggs, lightly beaten

100g self raising flour

3 tbsp cocoa powder

4 tbsp milk

 

For the vanilla butter cream:

90g butter, softened

180g icing sugar

4 tbsp cocoa, sifted

2 tbsp milk

12 cupcake cases

Black licorice strings or wheels

24 “smarties” for eyes

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/Gas 4. Line a muffin tray with cupcake cases.

To make the cupcakes, cream the sugar and butter until pale and fluffy. Whisk in the beaten eggs.

Fold in the flour, add the cocoa powder and carefully stir in the milk.

Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for about 12 to 15 minutes or when a skewer is inserted into the centre it should come out clean. Allow to cool completely before decorating.

To make the butter cream, cream the butter, icing sugar and cocoa together until smooth.

When the cupcakes are cool, spread the cupcakes or pipe the chocolate butter cream over the top.

To decorate, cut the licorice into 8 x 4cm equal lengths and place 4 on each side and place 2smarties for “eyes”.

 

Tip: Add 2 tbsp chopped walnuts and 1 tbsp of white chocolate drops into the cupcake mixture. 

Have

Whirlpool Recipe, Pasta treat….

Hi everyone,

Hope you are well today and enjoying this lovely September weather. It has been another busy but great week here at Ballyknocken Cookery School. I was in Cork on the RTE Today Show, Gorey for a Whirlpool Demo in Dominic Smith, we had our RTE photo shoot for the RTE Guide ……wow I am so glad I have my lovely Volkswagen Passat to get me to all these places in comfort and on time !!!

The recipe I would like to share with you this week is for a gorgeous simple pasta dish, one I demonstrated in Dominic Smith in Gorey this week. We had such a wonderful turn out and I enjoyed myself so much, I really love my role as brand ambassador for Whirlpool Ireland, so much so that my whole cookery school is kitted out with their amazing state of the art ovens.

Here I am here in full demo mode modelling my lovely ovens 🙂

Here is one of the lovely recipes I did this week in Gorey for Whirlpool. Just to get the last bit of summer sunshine food into us 🙂

Summer Spaghetti with Prosciutto, Peppers, Lemon and Olives

Serves 4

This is a really tasty yet light pasta dish, ideal for the summer but I enjoy it all year round!

It’s very quick to prepare especially when you use the Whirlpool Induction hob  that is so fast to heat, and stops when you remove the saucepan, so also saving you on energy”

1 tbsp olive oil

4 sliced prosciutto, torn

1 red onion, very thinly sliced

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 yellow pepper, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 tsp chopped oregano

150ml double cream

½ lemon, zest and juice

50ml vegetable stock

A handful of baby spinach, washed and trimmed

6 black olives, sliced in half (optional)

300g spaghetti

Oregano sprigs, to garnish

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium to high heat. Add the torn prosciutto and sauté for about 2 to 3 minutes until crispy.  Remove from the pan and set aside on a clean plate. Add the onion and sauté for 4 minutes before adding the red and yellow pepper strips and sauté until softened.  Add the garlic cloves and oregano and cook for 2 minutes.

Return most of the prosciutto and stir in the cream, lemon juice, zest and stock. Simmer for 2 minutes. Retain a little prosciutto to use as garnish.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the package and drain.

Stir in the spinach and wilt, add the olives and check the seasoning, you may only need to add a little freshly ground black pepper.

Using a pair of tongs, lift the cooked spaghetti into the sauce and toss.

To serve, twist the spaghetti around a large fork and slide onto a serving plate, spoon some of the sauce into the centre of the nest and lightly over the top.

Place a piece of prosciutto on top and sprinkle a few sprigs of oregano and a drizzle the olive oil.

Tip: During the winter months, add some finely shredded kale – it’s good for you!

 

Here