The Daring Bakers #12 Orange Tian ...

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.

This was quite unusual DB challenge for me as... it's my first anniversary since I've joined Daring Bakers community :) THANK YOU all fellow DB and DC bloggers for support, kind words (when sometimes something didn't exactly go as planned...), great fun and what's more - opening my mind (and my kitchen) to all those amazing new recipes!!! I still remember my first challenge - which was a lasagna... it was hard but rewarding work :)



How to make it...

Coq au vin - by Julia Child...

I know I'm mad about Julia Child recently - I finally decided to cook as many dishes from her 'Mastering the art...' as I can (and the second part of that great cookbook was already ordered and is on its way to may home :D ). My Hubby once attempted making coq au vin but it was completely his version, out of his head, how he thought it should be - and it was delicious. For comparison we decided to cook Julia's version - and it was amazing! As with all her recipes it involves quite a work but way less than her famous boeuf bourguignon... Again all the work was worth it and we enjoyed it a lot! It gave us 2 amazing dinners: first one served with baguette, second with potatoes - one whole chicken will give you four generous portions.



"Coq au vin is a French braise of chicken cooked with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and optionally garlic. While the wine is typically Burgundy wine, many regions of France have variants of coq au vin using the local wine, such as coq au vin jaune (Jura), coq au Riesling (Alsace), coq au Champagne, and so on. The most extravagant version is coq au Chambertin, but this generally involves Chambertin more in name than in practice... Various legends trace coq au vin to ancient Gaul and Julius Caesar, but the recipe was not documented until the early 20th century; it is generally accepted that it existed as a rustic dish long before that. In 1864 a similar recipe, poulet au vin blanc, appeared in Cookery for English Households, by A French Lady. In one of the earliest printed recipes, published in 1913, the text claimed the recipe dated to the 16th century." - by Wikipedia.org

How to make it...

Champignons sautés au beurre... Sautéed Mushrooms...

Another principle from Julia Child. You can use these mushrooms either as a vegetable alone, with other veges or as a part of stews etc. It's very easy to make them and I assure you that they are delicious (I used them in a scramble eggs - yum!). They have that burn, buttery, almost like wild mushrooms taste. So as per Julia's 'Mastering the art...' here it is.


How to make it...

Oignons glacés à brun... Brown-braised onions...

Brown-braised onions are used when you need a brown effect for example in coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon or in a mixture with other vegetables. I know that I've already placed this recipe in my other post (about boeuf bourguignon) but it's used it many other Julia's recipes (so it will be easier to just link to it in the future) and it's perfect for ex. in stews. So here we go with a full Julia's instructions.



How to make it...

Happy Birthday to me!...

I know it's 14th today.... and that I've missed DC challenge... :( With the trip to Poland, my recent stay in the hospital, I just wasn't up to it... But - today is also very important day for me - my BDay :D Oh, I'm old... and unfortunately, I didn't even have a birthday cake today, with all that's going on all around me - that doesn't mean though that I didn't have anything 'sweet' with my morning coffee ;)



I went to a bakery/patisserie near me - The Brudair's - and bought little something. This is a great place if you want a nice bun, cup cake, scone or a whole cake (but choose the one with fresh cream, as their icings and other creams can be quite 'heavy' and sometimes too sweet). Today it was an apple/custard/cream cup cake on a shortcake base x 2, and a marshmallow cupcake x 2 (also based on a shortcake pastry). That was enough for me and my Hubby. So, not to delay anymore - and to enjoy my day properly, not in front of the computer ;P - I'm leaving you with those little treats and talk/write to you soon! :)




P.S. Even my flowers know it's my BDay, they bloomed today for the very first time - what a nice surprise was waiting for me in the morning :D

The Station House and Twenty One Restaurant - gourmet cuisine in Kerry? Don't think so...

As it's my Bday tomorrow... my Hubby took me to the restaurant (or more I took my Hubby, cos he preferred to stay home, but I didn't want to cook and wanted some change, something different). The choice was made and it was The Station House in Blennerville, Tralee. The Station House Bar, Grill & Twenty One Restaurant is quite famous in Tralee and whole Kerry. It wasn't my first time eating there. I had lunch twice - which I have to admit was very good, but the service and whole 'ambiance' is somehow different compared to the evening one (which is more 'posh'..). I had only one dinner there (besides today's) - it was my Hen Night, which I enjoyed a lot! The food and atmosphere were fantastic, but that was way back in April 2008 and lots of things could change since then. We were at The Station House on a private party as well - our friend's 21st Birthday. It was great - mainly thanks to the great people who were with us. There was finger food available and the bar of course. So after reserving a table for two, nothing else left but waiting for Saturday night out...

As soon as we arrived we felt very welcome. We were seated down and received the menu. I wanted to go ahead with 'early bird menu' but... because of my BDay we decided to go ahead with dinner menu and today's specials. After placing an order we got a complimentary pre-starter snack - cracker with sun dried tomato, small pickled herring, vinegar and chocolate sauce. That was very nice and great start of the evening.

For the starter I ordered chili & garlic prawns on a piece of bread - nice, with a hint of chili, garlic and creamy sauce. Nothing spectacular, but good. My Hubby ordered an Italian's style fish soup - which was a normal tomato soup with onion and dry tomatoes (not even on a fish stock!) with squid, mussels, prawns and clams. He wasn't impressed with it at all, as one big prawn which he wanted to eat (used as a 'garnish') smelled rather bad and he left it... After our starters, there was a nice surprise of a mint and lemon sorbet, 'to clear our palette' before the main meal. That tasted nice and fresh.
For the main I went with the special of the day - oven baked hake, mash with a hint of basil, grilled vine tomatoes and lemon buerre blanc sauce. Hmmm, fish was OK, but I'm quite sure it wasn't super fresh (frozen? which is amazing considering location of the restaurant!), mash wasn't a mash, as I found lots of quite big potato chunks inside... Sauce split a little. All in all good, nice idea, but not amazing execution and it didn't convince me to go back there for another meal...

Unfortunately my Hubby didn't make a better choice either. He ordered sandwich with grilled chicken breast, rocket salad and big cut chips. Chips were the best part of it all! Nice crispy on the outside and soft inside. Chicken... hmmm, tough like hell! It was almost impossible to cut through it with a knife. Hubby was pretty sure that it was cooked/grilled some good time ago and only reheated just before serving. His only comment about whole restaurant was: "great, amazing service and atmosphere, but awful food" (those are his exact words...).
I wanted to finish the evening on a positive way, so I went ahead with a dessert. I always wanted to try traditional bread & butter pudding and I finally did. If all bread & butter puddings taste like this one - I don't want any more. It was heavy, chewy(!) and cold.

In general food in The Station House looks amazing. When they bring you the plate everything is like a piece of art. Your expectations and hopes are high. But when you finally try it... well, that's another story. Service couldn't be better though! We were very surprised that the restaurant was full! I think that it's mainly restaurant's old reputation (or current reputation that it's good to be seen there...?), great level of service and a person of the chef?/owner Lee Bradshaw himself, which are the reasons why they are so busy - cos it can't be the food!
All in all I have better ways of spending EUR 70.00 and I know better restaurants to go to. I'm slightly disappointed by the whole evening, as that was my birthday present... well, lesson learned.

No. of visits: at least 5
Prices: pricey
Wine selection: very good (from around the world)
Reservations needed?: I would advise you to make a reservation for the evenings, especially if you want to go during the weekend. For lunch you can just 'walk in'.

Photos thestationhouse.ie

Diet... no way! But I can make some changes...

On our recent visit to Poland my Hubby had some bad blood test results. It seems he has to go on a diet - which he already did. I can't go on a diet (you can't do that while pregnant!!! even when not pregnant I'm not a big fan of dieting... love eating too much ;P ) but I can make some changes in my menu - to help and support my Hubby and avoid 'double cooking'. We already dusted our steamer and we're planing our meals slightly different. With all that in mind, I thought of a nice, but quite healthy dessert. Not difficult at all and something which will satisfy cravings for sugary snacks.



How to make it...

Kołduny aka Pyzy aka Pyry - Polish dumplings...

"Kalduny or kolduny are stuffed dumplings made of unleavened dough in Belarusian, Lithuanian, and Polish cuisines, akin to the Russian pelmeni and the Ukrainian vareniki. The origin of kalduny is uncertain: they may have originated with equal likelihood in the West (Germany or Czech lands) or in the East (brought by the Tatar-Mongols across Siberia and the Urals). Kalduny come with a variety of either savory or sweet fillings." - by Wikipedia.org


I just got back from a trip back home - to Poland. As always it was very busy time - meet the family, doctors :/ do some necessary shopping and of course... lots of good food :)
This is one of my all time favourites. What's funny though is that I hated it when I was a child - maybe because of the ingredients ;) My Nan makes them, my Dad makes them and I hope I will make them too. Those were made a week ago by my Dad. I was just sitting and observing. Luckily it's not that complicated at all :)


How to make it...

Leg of lamb with creamy mint sauce...

As you know it was a little quite lately on my blog. The reason is I was in Poland for over a week (last time I could travel with my baby still 'inside me' ;) ). Of course, as always when going back to my family home there was a lot of cooking. This time it was my Hubby in the kitchen. We decided to introduce to my parents a lamb. They never ate it - being it not a popular meat in Poland, very hard to get and VERY expensive too - they just didn't have a chance to try it. Hubby decided to cook it in a rather traditional, Irish way - the way that lamb is the best (of course that's only my personal opinion). The only 'not so Irish' was vodka, rather than Guinness, which was drank with it ;) It was served with: first boiled and then fried new potatoes (pealed of course after not before boiling) and carrots - boiled, pealed, cut into thick sticks and fried on butter and a tablespoon of oil. Lamb itself turned out delicious, tender and flavorsome. My parents liked it a lot!



How to make it...

Vegetable soup...

This soup was created more cos of necessity than anything else... I got back home from a whole day of work and had nothing(!) for dinner, but... My fridge was full of veges, some leftover boiled potatoes - so what do you need more...? Nothing! I didn't have any recipe at all. I'm sure that if you have some other veges in your fridge than me this soup will work as well (for example I HATE peas but you may have a can of those in the cupboard) - just use your imagination ;)



How to make it...