All posts filed under: appetiser

Garlicky Rasher Baked Beans (on Toast)

Published by

And hey, bacon made everything better. – Jennifer Estep Last weekend I was craving baked beans on toast. I didn’t have any tins of baked beans in the house and I kept forgetting that the nearest grocery shop doesn’t have any there. Sigh! (I should also admit that I was too lazy to walk the extra 2 minutes to the next nearest store where I KNOW they have them. Don’t judge me—it was the weekend!). By Monday evening I was desperate. So after work, armed with a semi-empty bag, I marched into Homeplus. And, of course, I purchased a tin of beans…or five. I decided to make what has become one of my favourite ways to make baked beans, after these scrumptious Kale Baked Beans. It’s really simple and so tasty. The smell of the bacon, onion and garlic together is already enticing enough, never mind adding those baked beans in. Served on warm, buttery toast or with a nice baked potato, here’s a nice little meal that you can make up in a jiffy on a busy week day night or …

Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup

Published by

I know, I know! I’m crazy, right? A soup recipe? Don’t I know that it’s summer and the days are warm and long for the most part? Rest assured, I do! However, growing up in Ireland taught me that summer can be fleeting and while one summer maybe be glorious (2006, anyone?), another summer can be completely horrendous (2007!). Cue moving to Korea where the summers are a mix of hot, sweaty humidity and thundering, lashing rain. On those days, I don’t find myself craving salads or barbeques but rather warm buttery toast dipped in piping hot soup. Even if my a/c is on, I want nothing more than to be cuddled on the bed with a mug of tea in one hand and a bowl of soup in the other. The recipe I am going to share with you this week is one of my favourite soups. I found it on the BBC Good Food website and it has been one of my staples for more than a year. I have only ever made the …

Guest Post – (Almost) Raw Stuffed Mushrooms with Cilantro Pesto and Sundried Tomato Spread

Published by

There are few things I enjoy more than sharing good food with friends.  Give me a bottle of wine and a story to tell, and there might be nothing I love more. When Maggie invited me to write a guest post after our Wine and Mushroom night, I immediately said yes. My eagerness may have been due in part to the wine buzz, but I was genuinely excited for the opportunity to do so many things I love at once. Cooking is one of my favorite ways to create and feel inspired. I love to experiment with ingredients and flavor combinations. Recipes are just a suggestion, for inspiration only, so I prefer dishes that lend themselves well to experimentation.  Stuffed mushrooms were the perfect choice for our evening: they’re such a forgiving dish. As long as the mushrooms are cooked properly (which is just a matter of setting the right temperature), there’s not much you can do to mess them up. Even if you’ve had a few glasses of wine. After moving to Korea, I …

Balsamic Roasted Caprese Stuffed Mushrooms.

Published by

A number of rare or newly experienced foods have been claimed to be aphrodisiacs. At one time this quality was even ascribed to the tomato. Reflect on that when you are next preparing the family salad.                                                – Jane Grigson Firstly, sorry for the delay. Last week was a bit exhausting – on Monday after a delicious dinner of donkatsu at a local restaurant, some friends and I were hanging out in the park and I suddenly felt ill. Cue the next three days getting as much sleep after school as I could. I had a wee temperature the first few days along with a scratchy throat and general “weak” feeling. Then on Friday and Saturday our local education office whisked us off to Jeonju, a city famous for bibimbap, which is one of my all time favourite foods here in Korea. Actually, it’s up there as one of my favourite dishes ever. So, …

Kale and Rasher Stuffed Mushrooms

Published by

You can’t just eat good food. You’ve got to talk about it too. And you’ve got to talk about it to somebody who understands that kind of food. – Kurt Vonnegut, Jailbird A couple of weeks ago, there was a three-day weekend starting on the Friday. As a result, I invited some of my teacher school-friends to come for dinner on Thursday—no school the next day meant I could be lazy with the clean up! I decided to introduce them to some Irish food, and some Irish inspired food. For starters, I had a cheese board with Edam, Smoked cheese and Brie (I know, I know none of those cheeses are Irish but we DO love cheese!).  I made that quintessentially Irish dish, Shepherd’s pie, using beef as the main ingredient and I chose to serve some side dishes using traditional ingredients of rasher, kale, cabbage, celery, onion and leek. I made my Kale Baked Beans and Stuffed Mushrooms. Everything was a hit with my friends, but the Stuffed Mushrooms stood out as a clear favourite! Mushrooms are one of those …