Author: traleeculinarygangsters

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

Gary quigley culinary gangster

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NAME .. Gary Quigley

NICKNAME .. Gary G.Q. Quigley

POSITION ..Head Chef

PLACE OF WORK .. The Elm Leaf

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WHEN STARTED .. 1995 in the setanta hotel where I worked as a commie chef

WHY.. Its was a fun Environment to work in plus you never go hungry J

HIGHLIGHTS OF CAREER ..Cooking for.. Tina turner,Foo Fighters, Julia Roberts,Bono,Steve Collins,Conor mc Gregor , Shane McGowan

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT FOOD .. I love that you can do and try anything as there are no set rules , you are the scientist of your own creations

FAVOURITE INGREDIENTS  … Has to be Basil I love it in my starters, mains and desserts

wild strawberries

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Myself (chef noel) and chef paul cotter have both found wild strawberries in the last week in Kerry, wild strawberries are popping up now easy to find because of the flower and leaf

Flowering time: May-August. Perennial. Native.

White flowers, usually 5-petalled. Petals often over-lapping. Small edible
red berries.Long-stalked bright green trifoliate leaves. Mainly basal.
Leaflets oval, strongly toothed, flattened silky hairs beneath.
Long slender runners, forming new plants at nodes. Height:5-30 cm.

Very frequent. Woods, scrub, grassland, roadsides

Evidence from archaeological excavations suggests that Fragaria vesca has been consumed by humans since the stone age  The woodland strawberry was first cultivated in ancient Persia where farmers knew the fruit as Toot Farangi. Its seeds were later taken along the silk road  towards the far East and to Europe where it was widely cultivated until the 18th century, when it began to be replaced by the garden strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa), which has much larger fruit and showed greater variation, making them better suited for further breeding.

Woodland strawberry fruit is strongly flavored, and is still collected and grown for domestic use and on a small scale commercially for the use of gourmets and as an ingredient for commercial jam, sauces, liqueurs, cosmetics and alternative medicine

#cupcakehoue baking tips

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tips on the perfect sorbet

Therein lies the golden rule of great sorbet: start with good fruit and don’t screw it up

Sugar doesn’t just sweeten sorbet—it’s also responsible for sorbet’s structure

When you dissolve sugar in water you get a syrup with a lower freezing point than water alone

Remember the golden rule of sorbet? Use good fruit. No, scratch that—use the best fruit you can find

Fruit high in pectin (berries, stone fruit, and grapes) or fiber (mangoes, pears, and bananas) are high in viscosity and full of body

That’s because pectin and fiber act as thickeners

Also pay attention to how much sugar your chosen fruit brings to a sorbet. Sweet strawberry purée needs less added sugar than tart lemon juice

Four cups fruit purée to one cup sugar. That’s really all you need to know

You’ll also have to add acid (lemon or lime juice are best) and salt to taste

This ratio is simply a starting point; use your own taste as your ultimate guide

cooking fruit concentrates flavor, drives off water for a creamier final texture

But when I make sorbet I want it to taste like nothing but fresh fruit at its absolute best

Greek salad

a simple to make yet very tasty salad that takes minutes to make as either a starter or yummy lunch and very summery dish

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50g/2oz black olives 

3 medium tomatoes, diced into 2cm/¾in cubes

  • 1 cucumber peeled, diced into 2cm/¾in cubes
  • 1 red pepper  de-seeded, diced
  • ½ red onion sliced finely
  • 100ml/3fl oz extra virgin olive oil
  • 150g/5oz feta  diced
  • 1 generous sprig of oregano
  • 50ml/3 tbsp. red wine vinager

place all ingredients in a bowl and toss lightly

#cupcakehour baking tips

macroons

Use a Mat: If you can, buy a Moule Macaron, a silicon mat designed specifically for making macarons

Coloured Macarons: For coloured macarons, use food colouring paste not a liquid; using a liquid alters the macaron texture

Chocolate macarons are slightly different find a good recipe for it

Be Prepared: Weigh and measure all your ingredients before you start and always sieve the icing sugar and the ground almond

Clean and Sparkly: Use egg whites that are a few days old and at room temperature. Before whisking make sure your whisk and bowl are sparkling clean and grease free

Slowly Does it: Don’t add all the sugar to the egg whites in one go, in three parts is usually best. Whisk the egg whites really, really well, they should be so stiff you can turn the bowl upside down, and they will not fall out

Do not be heavy-handed: When mixing the almond / icing sugar to the beaten egg whites, use a slim spatula and fold quickly and gently

Less is More: Use a simple round nozzle in your piping bag, anything fancier is a waste of time

Tap and Wait: Once piped, tap the baking sheet sharply on the work top to remove any air bubbles and to help the mixture settle

Waft, Waft: Half way through cooking, open the oven door and quickly waft it a few times to allow any steam to escape

#cupcakehour baking tips

this week its all about choux pastry

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Bring the liquid just to a full boil: Cut the butter into pieces so that it will melt completely by the time the liquid just hits a full boil

Add the flour right away and all at once so that you don’t boil off too much liquid

Cook the dough: When the mass of dough comes together in the pan it will look a bit like mashed potatoes, but it’s important to continue to cook it for 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat

You’ll know it’s ready when it really cleans the side of the pan and a thin dry film forms on the bottom of the pan

the cooking process also helps break down the starch and develop the gluten

Cool the dough slightly before adding the eggs: If you add the eggs right away, the hot dough will cook them

Add the eggs one at a time: Don’t overwhelm the dough with all the eggs at once

Add them one at a time and beat the mixture until each egg is incorporated before adding the next

However many eggs your recipe calls for, add all but one of them, then test the dough

Form even-sized mounds: The easiest way to form consistent mounds is to use a pastry bag with a large plain tip

bake the puffs with a pan of hot water on the bottom of the oven