Author: traleeculinarygangsters

Chef, food truck owner, Gardner, forager, blogger, author , columnists,

james on cooking demo

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My first cooking demo at Tralee food fare.
my day began at 10.00 in the morning where me and paul went to collect the freshest of ingredients by the sea shore for my dish we collect a verity of sea vegetables from there then we headed straight to the demo
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. Where I bought my shell fish locally at quinlans.the fish I used for my dish where crab claws, mussel and langoustines prawns.
as the time neared for my first demo under the name Tralee culinary gangsters
I could feel this pressure to preform in front of a crowd to start to grow in me when we went on the stage
I could see the crowd growing Kevin went on first to start his dish then Paul went on back to Kevin,
next up was myself when I got up there first I was nerves as hell I could fell my hand shanking trying to remember the order in which I was adding the ingredients into the frying pan was something different what I usually do on a day to day basics I was now trying to remember how to do it but the minute I turned the gas on and lit fire to it and I could hear and see the butter melting and sizzling I relaxed
and said I got this and before I knew it was over I had produced this dish which was all about flavour and freshness everything that was in that dish was hand picked that morning and all the fish was bought a minute before I went on stag. the excitement inside me after we came of stag all I want to do was go back up again .hopefully this well be the first cooking demo of many to come under the Tralee culinary gangsters .
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follow the culinary gangsters on twitter chefnoelk  @boilingjames  @chefpaulcotter @parsnip78

#cupcakehour macroon

macroons

Aging the egg whites dehydrates them, resulting in a firmer, more stable meringue

Be sure to bring the egg whites back to room temperature before using.

 

old almond meal causes a macaron to lose its glossy luster.

Liquid food coloring can alter the texture of your macarons, making your batter too runny

I use gel color and add it while whipping the meringue.

Don’t be afraid to use a little too much: incorporating the almond meal mixture slightly diminishes the potency of the color

The idea is to press out just enough air from the batter so that it runs off your spatula thickly, slowly, but consistently

If you find that the tops of your macarons are cracking in the oven, allow your piped macarons ample time to dry with the next batch

You’ll know they are adequately dried when you dab the tops with your finger and nothing sticks

Forgo the unreliable temperature gauge in your oven and get a trusty oven thermometer instead

Try using a wooden spoon handle to prop open the oven door just a smidge for the first two minutes of baking

. Get ready for a baking adventure, but when you create the perfect, airy-light macaron, it will all be worth it

macroon recipe

macroons

125g/4oz ground almonds

  • 200g/7oz icing sugar
  • 3 free-range egg  whites
  • 2 tbsp. caster sugar
  • ½ tsp cream of tartar
  • pinch red powdered food colouring

For the chocolate filling

  • 200g/7oz dark chocolate chopped
  • 200ml/7fl oz double cream
  • 1 tsp brandy
  • 15g/½oz unsalted butter

 

  1. Blend the ground almonds and icing sugar in a food processor until well combined. Set aside.

  2. Using an electric whisk, slowly whisk the egg whites in a large bowl at a low speed until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Slowly whisk in the cream of tartar and caster sugar until the mixture is smooth and glossy, increasing the speed of the whisk as the mixture stiffens.

  3. Gently fold in the food colouring and blended ground almonds and icing sugar until the mixture resembles shaving foam.

  4. Spoon the macaroon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm/½in round nozzle. Pipe 5cm/2in circles onto the baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. If a peak forms, wet your finger and smooth it down. Sharply tap the bottom of the tray to release any air bubbles from the macaroons, then set aside for 60 minutes (the macaroon shells are ready to go in the oven when they are no longer sticky to the touch).

  5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160C/315F/Gas 2½.

  6. Bake the macaroons in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully peel away the greaseproof paper and set aside to cool completely.

  7. Meanwhile, for the chocolate filling, heat the double cream and chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth and well combined. Add the brandy and butter and stir until smooth, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.

  8. Use the filling to sandwich the macaroons together then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

gangsters demo

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Puy lentil stew. 5-7 full portions
1 onion
1 leek
3 sticks of celery Roughly chopped small for frying
3 carrots (medium sized, because they have more flavour)
1 parsnip Diced
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper Sliced or juilliened
1 medium courgette Small dice.
3 medium potatoes Diced
250g of green puy lentils.
1/2 a glass of white wine.
3 vegetable stock cubes
700ml’s of water Start
: Fry off the onions, leek and celery with a little olive oil. Not to hot as you don’t want them to brown. Add seasoning (salt & pepper) as this will help the flavour and stop the browning. When the onions are soft and the flavour has been extracted add the white wine, carrots, parsnips and peppers. Reduce the wine. Then in a little boiled water from the kettle mix the stock cubes in a bowl until dissolved. Best to have this ready before hand as this is a quick recipe. Add the water and the lentils and bring to the boils and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the potatoes and cook until the lentils are cooked ( they will be soft to mushy to eat) Finally just before serving add the diced courgette. If cooked for to long the courgette will go mushy and not nice therefore it’s the final thing. Bring to the boil and serve.
Wild mushroom sauce
1 generic tub of wild mushrooms (shiitake a my favourite) chopped
1/2 a finely diced onion
1/2 a glass off white wine
250mls of pouring cream
2 table spoons of garlic butter
Fry off the mushrooms and onions in a hot pan in the garlic butter. Add the white wine when the onions are soft and the mushrooms are browned. Add the white wine and reduce until halved. Add the cream, bring to the boil and serve with a smile. For a more intense flavour in the sauce, some people may add dices of bacon at the frying stage but this is optional
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Salsa Verde
25g capers
3 garlic cloves
50g wood sorrel
50g wild mint
50g wild chervil
100ml olive oil

Wash all wild herbs
Puree the garlic with the blade of your knife and add to a bowl
Chop all the herbs and capers finely and add to the garlic
Add olive oil to bind
Salt and pepper to taste

Rosti

3 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
Butter

Wash and peel the potatoes
Grate the potatoes into a bowl
Squeeze all excess moisture from the potatoes
Finely dice the onion and add to the potatoes
Mix well and season with salt and pepper

Heat a non stick pan to a high heat
Make little rounds of the rosti mix (use a scone cutter to form a nice neat circle)
Place these rostis in the pan and colour then until crisp and golden brown on each side

Place in an oven at 180 degrees Celsius to finish cooking

Haw sin sauce

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500g haw berries

250ml cider vinegar

250ml water

250g castor sugar

Salt & pepper

Clean berries place in a pan vinager & water. Bring to the boil allow to boil till berries start to burst and start to go mushy.

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Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container and squeeze with a ladel or spoon .

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Return to a clean pot add sugar . Heat until boiling and goes syurpy

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Pour into sterilised jars

This is great with stir frys . Duck & pork belly .

@chefnoelk twitter @chefnoelkeane instagram

haw berry and sloes

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Art by @wattonarts instagram

Haws and Sloes

Both of these are common across Ireland and form a staple in the hedgerows of much of the Irish countryside. Depending on where you are you are more likely to see one more than the other, with the haws (hawthorn) preferring the more acidic soils and the Sloes (blackthorn) preferring a more alkaline soil.

For years I had known that Sloes were used with gin but did not know of any use for the haws. That’s the great thing about being a chef there is always something new, everyday a learning experience, a chance to try new things, create and experiment.

Traditionally haws were used in a variety of ways, including a haw sauce for use with roast dishes, haw tea drunk with the addition of sugar or honey (it needs it these berries are bitter), as well as medicinal uses which some believe helped in the remedy to bladder and kidney stones and a digestive aid and more recently has been linked to heart benefits and general well being.

Haw Tea

Place a handful of the berries into a mug and add boiling water, and leave to infuse for 10/12 minutes. Then remove the berries and drink with sugar or honey.

The Sloes are however have also some medicinal properties when boiled in water until they form a syrup they have been used as a purgative medicine.

The blackthorn can be found along roadsides and in hedgerows around the country and come into fruit around the same time as the haws in the late summer early autumn

Sloe gin

Collect ripe Sloes and wash thoroughly, traditionally each sloe is pricked with a thorn from the blackthorn, but freezing them overnight and defrosting then the next day has the same effect

Place into a wide mouth jar that can be closed tightly half fill with the berries and for every half litre of gin add 100g sugar (add cloves or cinnamon for some added flavour)
Invert daily for 2 weeks then once a week for 12 weeks.
Now it can be decanted into bottles through a fine sieve to ensure sediment and fruit stay separate from the gin.

These can then be turned into a really flavour full jam (so no waste)

Over the coming weeks I will be picking blackberries again see other posts here by @chefnoelk for ideas. (The chutney is really good on its own or on a slice of homemade bread)
Also it’s time for nuts to be appearing on trees soon so keep an eye out for a man climbing a tree with a black tub.

See pictures when I’m doing this on Twitter or Instagram @chefpaulc

cheesecake tips #cupcakehour

 

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if you are doing a baked cheesecake wrap the bottom and sides with foil before baking

whip whip and whip for a super creamy cheesecake

prebake your crumb for 10 minutes for a tastier base

use full fat cream cheese or sour cream for flavour

don’t stress over cracks in baked cheesecake you can spread a layer of sour cream over the top

bring cream cheese to room temp before using

when cutting cheesecake dip your knife in hot water first

allow cheesecakes to chill for 6hr or overnight

to freeze a cheesecake wrap in foil and place in a freezer bag