And the Winner Is...

I really don't know what I am going to do without my Masterchef fix of an evening. I had really gotten into it.
I remember when Lloyd Grossman used to present it on a Sunday evening and my mother insisted on watching it, while we ate our usual Sunday tea of crisp and cheese sandwiches! (80's craving alert!!!) Oh how times have changed. You couldn't have dragged me away from the TV tonight. Each and every dish and mouthful of food warranted a text message to Hellers, my MC soul mate.

In my opinion, the right person won. From day one, Mat wanted the title so badly. He wore his heart on his apron, and made no secret of the fact that winning the title would mean better things for his family. He wants to open a restaurant that serves tasty, simple food. I think that he cried every single round!

Tonight, in the final challenge, the contestants travelled to Michelin Starred restaurants in Europe. Mat visited restaurant noma, in Copenhagen (www.noma.dk). This restaurant focuses on Nordic food using simple, natural robust ingredients. Mat played a blinder!

In fairness, the other two competitors, Christopher (who has only been cooking for 3 years!!) and Andy, who was a comeback from last year, also did exceptionally well, and came on in leaps and bounds since the first round.
But, I am very very happy that Mat won. And Hellers and I will definitely be two diners only too happy to visit his restaurant. Anything for a weekend away!

Hooray for Mat!!! I don't know how I am going to manage without my Gregg and John fix each day! Ah well. Celeb Masterchef is being filmed at the mo!

Orls xxx

Oh the trip to Cobh is off. Mrs. D is unwell, so I would like to send her get well soon wishes. I will be baking tomorrow evening and will be making yummy cup cakes for my granny who headbutted her coal bucket last week. She's okay though!

Flipping Marvellous.

Well the pancakes were a treat.
After a terrible day at work, it was nearly 9pm by the time I got home and even thought about food. So Mr. C came round and we had a lovely dinner of Pancakes with lemon and sugar...
I even managed to flip some of them perfectly. It just happened to be when Mr. C wasn't in the room. Doh!

And then we had some with chocolate and bananas, for dessert! They were just what the doctor ordered, and I am sure that the banana's can be counted as part of your five a day.

I think that this picture shows that they were thoroughly enjoyed!!

A trip to Cobh at the weekend will be a lovely break. I haven't been there in about 4 months and I am really looking forward to a trip with Mr. C and my good friend, A-M. I have never travelled there empty handed and I am not about to start now.

So right now, I am watching a programme about the rise of the Super Chef, with a muffin book beside me trying to decide which ones to make,

On the programme, The Rise of the Super Chef, is a very interesting programme about how the "celebrity" chef has come about and how they have, very cleverly, maximised their income through things like endorsing cookery items (or in Antony Worrell Thompson's case, toilet cleaner??) and owning the rights to your programmes (Jamie! he is worth about £40mil)

It is interesting how the public latch onto someone and their "style" of cooking and subsequently buy all their books or the products that they endorse. I know that I am guilty of seeing a chef I like, usually on a TV programme, and buying their book. I currently have about 30 cook books that I browse through regularly. However, I can't say that I have cooked all the recipes from any one of the books.

Perhaps my Lenten promise should be not to buy any more books until I cook all the recipes from the ones I have. However, I fear that I would fail before the weekend is over!

Muffin decisions to be made and shopping lists to write.

Orls xxx

Brighton Rocks, Pancakes and Berts!!!

I spent a very nice and relaxing weekend in Brighton with Mr. C's sister and her lovely husband. After what were a few very busy days, it was nice to get away for a day or two and to just relax and catch up with them both. It is a very exciting time for them as they are moving to their lovely new house! Horray for them!

Brighton is a really lovely place to visit. Apart from the world famous Brighton Pier there is loads to do. Walk along the seafront prom and see all the little beach huts that are so well known. The Lanes are a cornucopia of fudge shops, boutiques, record stores and so much else that it is impossible to list it all. (I must plug the fab leather shop where I bought a Mulberry look-a-like bag for all of £30) If you go, you have to visit the Royal Pavilion, which is a building that is similar in look to the Taj Mahal. It is bang in the middle of the city (this is where Mr. C's sister got married last year!) The vibe in the city is very relaxed and it is the place that the London pretties spend their weekends. I can highly recommend it. Fly to Gatwick and the train will bring you to Brighton or Hove in about 30 mins. Check out http://www.visitbrighton.com/ for more information on things to do and places to stay.


I arrived late on Friday night after an awful flight (I hate flying anyway so any flight as far as I am concerned is awful) so it was an early night. I was only delighted on Saturday morning when breakfast was served to me, and consisted of freshly made pancakes with chocolate and strawberries! Can you credit it? Warm light pancakes, with a few squares of melted chocolate wrapped up and served with chopped strawberries and blackberries, and a large mug of strong, hot coffee. I am going to attempt the same for Mr C tonight, it being pancake Tuesday and all that! I will, hopefully, have perfectly formed pancakes to report on tomorrow....


The recipe that I have used to make my batter (which is resting in the fridge as we speak) is from Nigella's Feast book and calls for :

30g of melted unsalted butter,

150g plain flour,

1 large egg

325ml of milk.

Melt the butter and leave aside to cool.

In a large bowl, sieve the flour to get lots of air in it. Make a well in the middle and break the egg into the centre. Whisk it around until it starts to come together and slowly pour in the milk while whisking continuously, to ensure that there are no lumps. You may find that a second person comes in very handy at this point to hold the bowl!!

Once the mixture is all combined, pour in the melted butter and whisk a little more. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge until ready to make. I made my batter yesterday for use today so here's hoping!

While I was in Brighton, Mr C's sister, who is as, if not more enthusiastic about baking and cooking than me, brought me to the wonder that is Berts Homestore. Situated on George Street in Hove, it is a little Aladins cave of all things kitsch, and very very useful for the home, especially the kitchen. Very large cookie cutters for 85p, Jam pot covers and preserving kits, floral bowls. I was like a deer in the headlights. Who could live without a magnetic measurement conversion chart that tells you the weight of fluid ounces??? Not me!

Check out http://www.bertshomestore.co.uk/ for more information and if you are like me, and can't resist a bargain, go the next time you are there! However, probably best not to only have hand luggage as it will be very hard to leave things behind!!!

Orls xxx

Key Lime Cup Cakes

As we all know St Valentines Day was on Saturday. To celebrate, the Alison Curtis Show had an outside broadcast upstairs in Whelans, and I was delighted to provide some treats for the couples that were there, to make things a little fruitier.
One of the bakes was Mini Key Lime Cup Cakes.
Line a 24 hole mini cupcake tray with small cupcake liners. Pre heat the oven to 175C.
For the Cupcakes
1 cup of softened butter , 1 cup superfine sugar (regular sugar, blitzed) 2 cups self raising sugar, 4 eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla extract
For the Filling
one third cup of lime juice, one can of condensed milk
For the Meringue
3 egg whites, one quarter teaspoon cream of tartar, one third cup regular sugar


Place all the cupcake ingredients in a blender and beat together until pale and creamy (about 2 - 3 mins)
Place a clean tea towel over the top of the blender until the mixture starts to come together. This should stop it going everywhere.
Pipe the mixture into the tin and bake until risen and golden (about 10 mins) and until a knife comes out clean. Take tin out of the oven and allow to cool. Remove from the tin to a wire rack.

Take the lime juice and condensed milk and mix in a small bowl.

Cut the top off the cupcakes and scoop out a small amount. Fill with the lime mix, and place the top back on.

Make the meringue by whisking the egg whites, and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add one third of the sugar and and beat for one minute. Repeat until all the sugar has been added and the mixture is thick and glossy. Pipe onto the top of the cupcakes.





Increase the oven temperature to 230C, and bake the cupcakes for 5 minutes until golden.


Store the cupcakes for no more than one day in an airtight container.

I found that just eating them as fresh as possible (while still slightly warm in the middle) was the very very best. But even colder, I was assured that they were delicious!!

The show from Whelans was great fun and had some amazing music provided by One Day International, Anne Scott and the wonderfully talented Duke Special. This picture is especially for my lovely girlie G who has relocated temporarily to the sunnier climes of Sydney Australia, and who I miss a lot!!!! While email rocks, 'tis not the same as running 10 miles and righting all the wrongs of the world. Right ??? So G, I hope that you like the picture below and the ones that are also on www.flickr.com/orlak

Orls xxx

I have just realised that my blog has become about baking and some photos with no running at all.
I have had very little energy recently and I have not been able to get up early in the mornings and I have been too tired to go out in the evening.
I have just realised that the Great Ireland Run is just 7 weeks away! EEK!!!!

AND, the marathon in Edinburgh is just 15 weeks away this Sunday. For the love of all things healthy, I need some inspiration.

Fitting into my clothes properly should be enough!

RIGHT, Here and now, I am vowing to get my ass in gear. Literally and get out running again.
I have my flights and accommodation booken and, lets face it, in the CC (Current Climate) I cannot afford to just fling the guts of €150 into the bin (between entry, hotel and flights)

All encouraging notes and words are very much appreciated!

Orls
xx

Vote Early, Vote Often!!!

Okay, you can only vote once on the website, but you can text as many times as you want!!!!!

Right, for all you face bookers out there, visit the link below and vote for the lovely Alison Curtis as Best National DJ for the Meteor Awards.

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=61255901018&h=7ekv-&u=agKSJ

As the only girlie nominated, she deserves to show the boyos how its done.
Oh and she is brilliant!!

Gimme an "A", Gimme an "L", Gimm an "I", Gimme an "S", Gimme an "O", Gimme an "N"

Night now!

Orlsxx

I "HEART" chocolate!

Photos, as promised of all the lovely things that I am making for tomorrow's Alison Curtis Show.
The first is a sample of the truffles.
Chocolate Truffles are surprisingly easy to make. They take a little care when mixing the cream and chocolate and making sure that they do not split, but over all, a lot easier than you think!

Take 275g of good chocolate, with a cocoa content of no less than 60%. Break into very small pieces and place in a large heat proof bowl.
In a saucepan. bring 250mls to the boil. Take care not to over boil!
Once boiled, pour the cream onto the chocolate and leave to sit for 2 mins. When the 2 mins are up, stir the mixture carefully, and bring the whole thing together.
Take 50g of unsalted butter and add half to the mix and encorporate. Then take the 2nd half and add, by mixing slowly.
If the mix starts to split, put into a blender and whisk until it all comes together again.

I usually, allow the mix to cool until it is a fudgy texture. Using a wide nozzle, pipe the ganache onto a baking sheet in long log shape lines. Allow to cool completely and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours. When you are ready to shape, take out of the fridge and cut into small half inch log shapes. To make rounds, get some of the latex gloves you can buy in a pharmacy and wear them. Roll the truffle in the ball of your hand into the shape you desire and drop into a bowl of cocoa powder. Move them round to make sure they are completely coated.
THe truffles will keep for about a week in the fridge. Keep in an airtight box and they will keep for about 2 weeks.



I have coated these truffles in cocoa powder AND I took some chocolate that is chilli flavoured that I had knocking around, and I blitzed it up into a powder, and coated it in that too. I reckon that should raise some temperatures and all that!!!
Bagged and ready to go, I think that they look kind of cute!

TH next treat are shortbread with cacao nibs, which are a natural aphrodisiac

THe recipe is the same as for the lemony men I made for James back in November. One small change is that I added about 75g of cacao nibs to the flour and butter mix. I made sure they were well mixed through before adding the sugar and bringing the whole thing together.

As with the lemony men, cook for about 8-10 mins at 180degrees, but keep a close eye on the ones at the edge of the tray as they can turn from golden and sweet ,to a little too brown and not as tasty in the space of a minute!!! I usually set the buzzer on the oven for 8 mins and then watch them for the next 2 mins just to make sure.

Allow them to cool completely before you move them to an airtight container. They break easily when very fresh!

:)

Right, and so to bed. I have dreams to catch up on as I have not slept properly in about 4 days!

Orlsxxx