Irish Masterchef is coming

I am a big fan of BBC Masterchef - where amateur chefs are fighting for the title of Masterchef. John Torode and the most annoying Greg Wallace are the judges in this show - and their favourite quote is: 'Cooking doesn't get tougher than this'. The standard expected is very high - and I mean VERY high. Candidates have to create a meal from selected ingredients, have to work in a professional kitchen and have to create 2 courses they have designed themselves - and that is only to get through to the next round.

Anyhow, this is an amazing show as it gives people the chance to prove that they can cook for food critics, can survive the busy kitchen of a restaurant and cook for Michelin Star Chefs .... and it is coming to Ireland. RTE is looking for participants. If you are interested, log on to RTE and apply online - you can also download the application form. The Irish judges will be Dylan McGrath (he used to run the Mint restaurant in Dublin for which he received a Michelin star) and Nick Munier (best known as restaurant manager in Hell's Kitchen with Marco Pierre White and now owner of Pichet in Dublin).... can't wait to see the show and good luck to all candidates....

My Kitchen Garden

My dad is an amazing gardener and as green-fingered as one person could and up to last year, I was very lucky to have him showing me the ropes of a good kitchen garden. He left Ireland in 2010 and my great kitchen garden laid bare until now. I was so used to my dad doing all the work and me just helping out at weekends but coming with my little basket and pick my vegetables straight from the ground - I missed that so much last year that I decided that I will give it a go. And lucky me - a wonderful man is helping me with it. Since I am quite lazy at heart, I asked Terence to build some raised bed and we started with 4 (more to come of course). So far we have set our potatoes (not in a raised bed tho - but 4 rows already), beetroot (have to give you a great recipe for beetroot chutney - yum), onions (white and red), peas, cauliflower, salad and cabbage. My courgettes are coming on nicely in the greenhouse as well as the pumpkins. We have different types of tomatoes as well as leeks..... more to come as the months progress. I am so excited about getting my kitchen garden back - watch this space for updates.

If you want to start your own kitchen garden - make sure you tune in Monday's at 8:30 on RTE1 where Kitty Scully is transforming a plot at Fota House into a kitchen garden. You can follow her blog here . Her garden will be completely focused on food - her partner in crime on the other hand will create a family garden with only a small bit of fruit and veg. Kitty is working with several experts who help her choosing the right varieties. Yesterday, she worked with Jim McNamara from Co Limerick V.E.C.s Organic College in Dromcollogher and planted some interesting types of potatoes in a lazy bed (didn't look that lazy to me). Kitty also explained the importance of crop rotating - therefore it's a good idea to have a layout plan of your garden so that you know what you planted where for next year's planning. You can watch some the videos on their website.

Great British Menu is back

From now on for a few weeks I will be clued to the telly from 6:30 until 7:00 - no phone will be answered and not a bit of work will be done for these precious 30 minutes. This year's theme is 'Street Party' with ingredients having to be sourced as locally as possible.

Yesterday's show started with the North East region and chefs Andrew Pern, Stephanie Moon and Tim Bilton created their starter - potted venison with watercress and crisp fennel salad, 'Salmagundi' of North County produce and sticky pigeon breast, forager's relish, hedgerow and beetroot crisps. The Salmagundi (a plate of local produce with a homemade egg mayonnaise) looked like a painting, but I think it is the sticky pigeon breast that Stephanie Moon cooked is my favourite - although she cooked it very pink (don't know many people who would be brave enough to eat the meat like that).

I have had the plan a few years back to cook every year's winning menu - so far I have cooked one of them. Really need to get my skaters on to catch up.... but for the next few weeks - don't expect too much from me as I am watching some amazing chefs celebrating the best of local produce (although it's British - I love it that they celebrate their producers).

Tonight is Fish Night and I can hardly wait to see what these talented chefs are coming up with.

Richard Corrigan: Christmas Cook-a-long

Richard Corrigan will be cooking live on Tuesday (tomorrow) a complete Christmas Dinner....and you can call in with questions. Selected viewers will cook a long Richard in their own homes. This concept was quite successful with Gordon Ramsay and it is highly entertaining. The show will be broadcasted in 2 parts starting at 7pm on RTE1 and again at 8:30.

'Live from Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park, Richard Corrigan - with the help of Mary Kennedy - cooks the perfect Christmas dinner in real time. The show will be transmitted live in two sections, 19:00-19:30 and 20:30-21:00. The Meath master chef will interact live with the audience at home, allowing viewers to participate with their questions about this once-a-year culinary challenge. The show will also feature festive choral music.'

Great British Menu is back

...the new series of Great British Menu starts tonight at 6:30 on BBC2. This time they will be competing to cook for the soldiers who return from Afghanistan to welcome them back to the UK.

Tonight, the chefs of the Central Region prepare their Starters: Glynn Purnell makes home corned beef with English mustard cream and textures of beetroot and radish, with brown sauce, whilst Daniel Clifford cooks asparagus with crispy hen's egg with smoked duck and fresh truffle. I have looked at the recipes.....and I have no idea what a candy beetroot is... (anyone?????)

Soooo.... for the coming weeks, please do not call me between 18:30 - 19:00....your call will not be answered :-) (no kidding)

City Gardeners - you are called

Richard Corrigan and RTE are planning a new TV series about allotments in Cork City, Blackpool and Mahon. So, if you have an allotment, garden and you grow your own or would like to, write to 'Corrigan's City Farm, RTE, Fr Matthew Street, Cork' or email to corrigan@rte.ie or click here for an application form.

The project will show people that they can become self-sufficient by growing their own fruit and vegetables as well as killing their own pigs and chickens for their dinner table (my dad is doing that for years - although we haven't got any pigs yet but we eat our own chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits). In the recession times we are in, it hopefully will bring people back to basics. My grandparents all had their allotments and I remember that the tomatoes were a revelation.....compared to what supermarkets sell us these days.

Let me know if you are going to apply and what you have grown so far.....I think it is more of a challenge if you live in a city where space is limited and people tend to be busier than in the countryside....but I love the idea of it and can't wait.

Masterchef is back

John Torode and Gregg Wallace are back at it and the 5th series of BBC Masterchef has started today at 20:30 on BBC2......I just wish the two hosts would come up with a new slogan.....it will change your life and cooking doesn't get tougher than this...it is getting boring now... but I am looking forward to the talent and new recipes....so far my favourite contestant of all series needs to be Hannah from 2007....her cakes are just the real thing (her cookbook is coming out soon). The show is aired from Monday - Friday at 20:30

Happy Watching...

How was the Salmon.....

Last night was one of the few nights where I just simply came home and didn’t have to do anything (apart from the usual chores). Anyway, I had time to sit down and watch telly for a bit and what a good timing. Guerilla Gourmet was on RTE1 and Kevin Dundon created a restaurant in a boxing club. They put up his kitchen in the middle of the ring so that he was seen from the tables around him. 40 guests paid € 25 to get in and eat a 4 course meal. This is a repeat and has been shown last year or so….(you see, I am not a telly person to begin with as i missed it completely then).

Next week, my food hero, Dennis Cotter, will set up a restaurant in a cattle shed… will make a note in the diary not to miss that one.

But now to the detailed report about the final stage of the Great British Menu. I test-cooked the last dish of the GBM last Sunday and it turned out quite well, apart from the fact that I forgot to buy the cockles for the cockle popcorn and that I didn’t even attempt to try the potato crisps filled with salmon and crab meat. Even Stephen Terry had difficulties with that….and life is too short…

So, I got some lovely salmon belly from the English Market (not Kay O’Connels but the lovely old man opposite – keep forgetting his name). He cut me some nice slices of the salmon belly. The smoked salmon I got from the Midleton Market, Frank Hefferman being still the number one when it comes to smoked salmon.

I cut the trimmings off the smoked and unsmoked salmon, mixed the trimmings with crabmeat and processed it with a bit of cream to a mousse. Line a terrine tine with clingfilm and spooned the mixture into it. Covered it with more clingfilm and baked it in a bain marie for about 15 minutes. Left it to chill. Since

I wasn’t going to do anything else from the recipe (having no cockles etc), I started on my pommes dauphenoise for which I sliced potatoes very thinly and cooked them in a milk-cream mixture which I seasoned with herbed salt and nutmeg. After a couple of minutes, I spooned the lot into a baking dish, sprinkled some lovely mature cheddar over it and baked it in the oven for 45 minutes. Just before serving time, I heated some oil in a pot and made a tempura mixture of flour, egg yolk and cold water

Dipped the samphire into the mixture and deep fried them until crunchy. Heated some olive oil in two frying pan and pan-fried the smoked salmon in one and the unsmoked salmon and the terrine slices in another pan for a few minutes on each side. Arranged the lot on a plate (it would have looked a lot nicer on a oblong plate), a slice of the potatoes and some samphire….the presentation lacked a bit finesse but the flavour of the salmon made well up for it. At least Wendy ate it all – and I love the samphire….

For the grand finale I will only cook the terrine slices as the dish is very very rich (even without the baked potatoes) and it might be just simply too much as a second course. I feel a bit more confident now to be able to cook the lot in one day (might need a full vacation afterwards) and have to set a date now for the big day.

Gordon Ramsey *** Chef

Caz & Jan have a passion for food as much as I have. And when I saw on Saturday at the BBQ that they had *** Chef from Gordon Ramsey on their shelf....I had to borrow it. I was going to buy it myself but Waterstones were out of stock and I never went back to see if they got it back in. Anyway, I spent Sunday between weeding and getting ready for the evening, reading the book front to back - cover to cover. The book is not very detailed but it shows that Gordon Ramsey is very driven in his hunger to succeed. Is he passionate about food or just the success?? I couldn't tell. But it was definitely an interesting read. I went through all the recipes and picked out three I will try in the near future. They are:

• Butternut Squash Veloute with Mushroom and Truffle Tortellini
• Braised Pork Belly with Langoustine
• Pineapple Soup with Fromage Frais Foam

Won't be cooking it before I cook the Great British Menu (already invited some 'guinea pigs'). Haven't set a date yet for the complete dinner but I will start test cooking the lot. This weekend Sofie will be my 'victim' to test the BLT and maybe the Creme Brulee with marinated Strawberries. I will let yo know how this went.

And if my guests survived that dinner, I will tackle Gordon Ramseys dishes. I am not the greatest fan of Gordon Ramsey but that might be due to his behaviour. Saying that, I love the show Kitchen Nightmares as it shows that he knows how to run a business. Anyhow, this book looks good and the recipes are impressive. The photographs are great and it was a lovely read. Will I buy it in the end.....doubt it. Unless someone wants me to have it and wraps it up nicely...I wouldn't be disappointed ;-)

What's on Part 2

Almost forgot...Euro 2008 starts tomorrow. Kick-off is at 5pm and host Switzerland will face Czech Republic (I think everyone can imagine the odds for this one). I won't be watching the first match as I will be sipping on a glass of prosecco in Glencairn. But I will be watching Sundays game Germany against Poland (out of old solidarity ;-) I will be watching Tuesday Greece against Sweden as I want to see if Otto Rehhagel can repeat his success from 2004. I personally believe that either Italy or France are in for a chance to win the title but then, in 2004 I was dead surprised that Greece won the opening and the final match of the tournament.

And with a new Italian Trainer for the Irish Team....wouldn't it be great if we could see them 2010 in South Africa.....I still have hope....

Great British Menu Final

The judges and the British public have voted about 2 weeks ago who will be cooking for Heston Blumenthal and his guest in the Gherkin in London and the winners are:

Starter: Jason Atherton's Bacon, lettuce and tomato with Croque Monsieur for London and the South-east
Fish course: Stephen Terry's Organic salmon and smoked salmon with crab fritters and cockle 'popcorn' for Wales

Main course: Jason Atherton's Dexter beef fillet, ox cheek, smoked potato purée and marrow bone for London and the South-east

Dessert: Glynn Purnell's Marinated strawberries with tarragon and black pepper honeycomb with burnt English cream surprise for Central

I am thinking if I should cook this menu for the next dinner party but not sure if I can get all the ingredients. For the ox cheeks I will have to ask the O'Flynn brothers in Marlboro Street and it will be a lot of work.....but I think it will be a challenge.

If we were going for the Irish Great Menu.....what would that involve? Bacon & Cabbage??? What else....let me know your dream menu and I might cook it for the next dinner party.... :-)

Want to bake but can't??

Caroline from Bibliocook pointed me to a new TV show coming up. Cactus TV is looking for people who want to bake but have problems doing so. Cactus TV are looking for people to learn to bake as part of a new cookery series – so if you’d like to pick up some top tips from a TV chef, are aged between 20-40, are available at weekends in June, and live in or around Cork, then email Cactus with a photo ASAP at bake@cactustv.co.uk stating your name, address, age, and why you’d love to be part of the baking school.

I love baking and thanks God it is not a mystery to me (except scones - they never worked for some reason. They taste great but don't look the best).

Go for it.....and let me know about it.....

Clodagh McKenna on TV

Clodagh McKenna's show will start tonight on RTE1 at 7:30. She will be visiting Farmer's markets around Ireland and cook some dishes from the produce she got from the market. I won't be able to watch it tonight as I will be listening to Eric Friedlander instead.

RTE Cook of the Year

In early March, The Afternoon Show launched its search for a Cook of the Year. Since then the applications have been flooding in. Over the last few weeks, the judges have travelled to all four provinces to meet these cooking hopefuls and taste their signature dishes. 3 semi-finalists have now been chosen from each province!
Every day this week between Monday and Thursday the show will focus on a different province, see how the auditions went on VT, reveal who the 3 semi-finalists are with one judge in studio and talk about what happens next.

Trish's Paris Kitchen

The second episode of Trish's Paris Kitchen was broadcasted yesterday and again she showed the 'typical' French lifestyle. ...of course I believe that they eat Fois Gras, Truffles and Lobster all the time. Still, the information given was excellent. She went to Helene Darroze's Restaurant which has been awarded Michelin Star and watched Helene cooking up some Fois Gras like Fois Gras Brulee etc...doubt it that I will be able to cook that dish at home (apart from being unable to source fresh Fois Gras outside of France).

She then went on to show us Terre de Truffes, a shop and restaurant devoted to French Truffles. According to Trish, the best in the world....what would the Italians say to that??? Anyway, the shop even sells truffle jam and truffle caramel....hmmmm not sure about that now. Check out their website www.terresdetruffes.com they have recipes and a lot of information on that site (French only as far as I could see).

I think I really have to go to Paris one of these days...I might wait until the end of the series to have a list of shops I have to go to...(I think I need a truck to get back to Cork then ;-).

Recipes from this series can be found on the RTE website (wasn't updated this morning tho.)

New Cooking Show - An Irish in Paris

Ever heard of Trish Deseine??? Me neither - until yesterday. Born in Belfast but living in France for the last 20 years, she has apparently published already 9 cookbooks. Elle Magazine is calling her the French Martha Stewart. And now she got a show on RTE1.

The first episode was broadcasted yesterday. The show started off with a tour through Paris which of course as the 'Capital of Cookery' made perfect sense. But she didn't lead us to the first class restaurants and hotels but instead to a cookery school called 'L'atelier des Chefs' which offers courses with a difference. They offer lunch break courses where you cook for 30 minutes and you eat for 30 minutes what you cooked. I knew where I would spend every lunch break. Check out www.atelierdeschefs.com for their courses and info. The site is in French but some of the content can be changed into English with the little flag on the top of the page. The lunch course sets you back €17 but seriously...that's what you normally spend on a lunch anyway. I liked the idea....so Brennan's here is a challenge ;-)

The next trip send her to the Rue Coquillere at Les Halles where the oldest cookery shop is located. And oh my God.....it is a treasure chest full of gems...what ever you need for cooking....they'll have it. The shop was founded in 1820 and still going strong. Check out www.e-dehillerin.fr. They have the option of reading the site in English.

Trish then went on cooking some French dishes like Piperade (a stew served with eggs and ham), Souffle au Fromage (the 'cursed' cheese souffle) and a Pot au Feu (a beef and vegetable stew that is served separated into the broth and the actually meat and vegs).

I liked the show and will be watching the next episode next week.

Check out www.trishdeseine.com for more info on her and her books (some of which are only available in French). You won't find recipes on her website. For recipes cooked in the series go to www.rte.ie/tv/trishdeseine/recipes.html

Great British Menu

Since the last 2 weeks I am watching the Great British Menu (Weekdays BBC2 at 6:30pm). This is already the third series and I am glued to the screen as with the last two series. Matthew Fort spent the last 2 weeks tasting his way around Britain to find chefs to take part in the competition (hard job, glad he likes his job ;-). Anyway, he has found his 14 contestants and here they are:

South West: Elisha Carter & Chris Horridge

Northern Ireland: Danny Millar & Noel McMeel

London: Jason Atherton & Atul Kocchar

Wales: Angela Hartnet & Stephen Terry

North: Nigel Haworth & Anthony Flinn

Scotland: Matthew Gray & Tom Kitchin

Central: Sat Baines & Glynn Purnell

The dishes served to Matthew Fort were incredible just to look at and not for the first time did I ask for a TV that submits also smell ;-). The imagination of the chefs promises a fantastic competition. The final menu will be served to Heston Blumenthal and his guests in the Gherkin in London.

This week is the start of the 'proper' cooking as the chefs have to cook a 4-course meal which they have to present to the judges on Friday....guess what I am doing the coming 6 weeks....;-)

Check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/menu_index.shtml for more details and some of the recipes already cooked.

I assume that there will be a cookbook accompanying the series as it did with the first 2 series (although I only got the first one).