Feisty Salads

(c) Carol Dunne

Some feisty salads I styled for Catherine Fulvio in this months issue of Irish Country Magazine. This days challenge brought a location with no cooking facilities and so everything had to be cooked early in the morning before leaving home (with a lot of praying along the way that it would all stay looking good for the day). That's where lashing of oil and a small paintbrush comes in as a food stylist's 'tool of mass creation' in making everything look lush last minute. Helped along by gorgeous props from Pearl and Godiva.

My inner Masterchef

(c) Cliona O'Flaherty

Bringing out my inner Masterchef...thank goodness for many hours spent working with great chefs like Gary Rhodes and Neven Maguire - I'm hoping they would be proud of my dots, quenelles, soil and swipes!

As seen in a Masterchef Ireland supplement magazine in the RTE guide recently.

Back to School Lunch-boxes

(c) Joanne Murphy

My back to school lunch box ideas are packed with ideas for interesting packaging and fun flavor combinations for nutritionally balanced kiddie feasts! Check them out in this months issue of AIB bank magazine. Thanks to cutie model Oscar for holding the pasty-saurus rex so perfectly!

Irish Country Magazine, July Issue

(c) Carol Dunne

If you haven't already picked up the current issue of Irish Country Mag, then grab one quick as it is flying off the shelves. The magazine is a great new publication packed with all things home, garden, fashion, family and of course food. My kinda magazine!

Of course I had my finger in the pie and prop and food styled a couple of features. Catherine Fulvio's BBQ recipes were delicious and if I could cook and style them in the rain then you can too! The God's were against us that day but it didn't dampen our Summer spirit as you can see from the summery shot above.

The second feature was with fabulous Irish Cheese producers which was a very tasty job indeed. We won't mention the calories piled on from excessive cheese eating on the day. I couldn't name a favourite between Wicklow blue, Triskel, Knockdrinna and Durrus and the people behind them were equally as charming. Actually, it was lovely to read a bit more about their interesting stories recently when i nabbed a rare five minutes peace.

Try the mag yourself, a very enjoyable and relaxing read altogether!

Paddy's Day Pie

(c) Harry Weir

I made and styled these pie's for Superquinn's cookbook A Passion for Food. Beef and stout are a classic Irish combination so they would make the perfect lunch or dinner for St. Patrick's Day! Enjoy!

Beef, Mushroom and Stout Pie

Serves 6

4 tbsp sunflower oil
1kg (2 1/4 lb) round steak, well trimmed
2 onions, finely chopped
4 carrots, finely sliced
4 celery sticks, finely chopped
600ml (1 pint) stout
1 litre (1 3/4 pints) beef or chicken stock
250g (9oz) flat breakfast mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
600g (1lb 6oz) self raising flour, plus extra for dusting
300g ( 11oz) shredded vegetable suet
Sea salt and ground pepper

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pan with a lid and sauté half of the beef until it is well coloured. Transfer to a plate and repeat until all the beef is cooked.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan and sauté the onions, carrots and celery for 10 minutes without colouring.

Pour in the stout and simmer gently until reduced by half, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any sediment. Return the beef to the pan with the stout, stock and mushrooms. Season and cover and simmer over a gentle heat for 1-1.5 hours until the beef is just tender but still holding its shape.

Strain through a colander set over a bowl, reserving the liquid and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 220 C ( Gas mark 7/ 425 F).

To make the pastry crust, sieve the flour into a bowl, stir in the suet and add just enough cold water to make a firm dough - 400 ml (14 fl oz) is about right.

Rest for 5 minutes, then cut into six pieces and roll out each one on a lightly floured board to a circle that is about 1cm (1/2 in) thick.

Divide the meat among individual pie dishes that hold about 450 ml (3/4 pint) and pour over enough of the gravy to come almost to the top. Do not overfill. Cut any superfluous strip off each pastry circle, dampen the rim of each dish and press the pastry strip firmly into place around the rim. Dampen the pastry strip in turn and lay the pastry lids on top. Press down to fit the lid and then press all around with a fork and then transfer to baking sheets.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown.

Serve set on plates and straight to the table.

A picnic with House & Home Mag

I am thrilled to announce I am now the new food feature writer & stylist for House & Home Magazine. My three page feature gives me a chance to combine my love of food, props & homely top tips. My first feature is all about picnics and is currently out in the May / June issue. Watch out for BBQ's up next in July.

Fab photographer Elisha Clarke took the gorgeous food snaps, Paul Sherwood took my mug shot & Hilary O'Hagan was a great help with the food (particularly as I was a week off my due date & could only waddle about out of breath!). Typically we were challenged by the elements and were actually sliding around in mud & with brollies but that's what picnics are mostly like anyhow don't you think?!

Cover Girl

So I've finally made it. It's every girls dream to be a cover girl and my dream came through this week. Now, admittedly it's not Vogue Magazine as expected but much thanks to Country Living Magazine for featuring me in their current issue and popping me on the cover too. It's a fab mag, read and loved by thousands around the country so I'm more than happy with that!

The lovely Imen McDonnell from I Married an Irish Farmer did a great interview and feature with me. It's mainly about what I do with work and my love of all things food. In fact, the husband kept winding me up about my "everything about food makes me happy" quote. I simply asked him to think what his life would be like if my quote was "everything about food makes me unhappy". Hum. Shut him up.

Also, I have to thank fab photographer Jack Caffrey who took amazing shots as always. I work with Jack on Neven Maguire's food feature shots for the same mag so it made a bit of a change for Jack to get my mush in instead of the food I cook. Anyhow guys, thanks for making a great feature of me...it can't have been easy!

Oh, and it's not a case of who ate all the pies...I'm proudly showing my baby pie off here at about the six month mark.

Check out the recipe for those spiced banana muffins over on my Friendly Cottage blog.

Have a 'Merry' Christmas

Here's my donation to your consumpton of a tipple or two this Christmas....My Jewelled Mulled Wine Jellies....why stop at drinking the stuff when you can eat it too?!

Find the recipe here as it appeared in The Time's Magazine last weekend.

For the Love of Pork

I'm very excited about the food bloggers event coming up this Thursday. The fabulous Donal Skehan has organised it on behalf of Bord Bia - you can read all about it on his blog. An army of food bloggers and tweeters will be attending so it will be exciting to put faces to names. I am also really looking forward to catching up with food photographer Jocasta Clarke and meeting fellow food stylist Erica Ryan for the first time.

Bord Bia sent out pork packs to the first of the attendees who have been busy cooking, eating, blogging and tweeting about Pork since the weekend. Here is my offering from a feature I styled for Food & Wine Magazine. Recipe by Hugo Arnold & Shot by Cliona O'Flaherty.

Homemade Jammy Dodgers

Uuummmmm...This is Neven Maguires recipe for Homemade Jammy Dodgers. I tested them for his latest book and got to make them again recently for a Country Living magazine shoot.

JAMMY DODGERS

Makes about 16-18

FOR THE SHORTCAKE

73g (3oz) plain flour plus extra for dusting

25g (1oz) icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

Finely grated zest of 1 lime 50g (2oz) butter, softened

FOR THE FILLING

100g (4oz) raspberry or strawberry jam

Quarter tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp crème de cassis

To make the shortcake, sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl. Stir in the lime zest. Then beat in the butter with a wooden spoon to give rough crumbs. Bring the mixture together with your hands to form a soft, smooth dough. Wrap in Cling flm and chill for at least 30 minutes.

To make the jam flling, place the jam, vanilla extract and crème de cassis in a small saucepan and simmer over a low heat for eight to 10 minutes, until melted and slightly thickened. Allow to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas mark 5. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 3mm (one eighth inch). Stamp out about 32- 36 circles using a 4cm (1.5 in) fluted cutter and arrange on baking sheets lined with non-stick baking paper. Using a 1cm (half in) plain nozzle (metal is best) stamp out holes in the centre of half of the circles. This will allow the jam to show through later. Bake the biscuits for eight to 10 minutes, until crisp and lightly golden.

To assemble, spoon a teaspoon of the jam mixture onto the centre of each unstamped shortcake. Dust the remaining shortcakes with icing sugar and then place on the jam-topped biscuits, pressing down lightly so that the jam squeezes out just a little bit through the hole. Arrange on plates to serve.

me making shortbreads.

photographer jack caffrey shooting the boxed up jammy dodgers.

Death by Easter Feasting

If you are not already keeling over from all the Easter Feasting then these chocolate squares are sure to tip you over the edge. This recipe is a great way to use up all that Easter chocolate (if there is even any left at this stage!). Mind you, definitely a heart attack warning on this one with 6 small Mars Bars melted in all that butter AND another 250g of chocolate on top. Sooooo naughty but soooo nice.

MARS BAR SQUARES

6 x 65g Mars Bars

200g butter

200g Rice Krispies

250g milk chocolate

Cut the Mars Bars and butter into small chunks and place in a saucepan. Put over a low heat, and stir with a balloon whisk until melted. Add the Mars Bar mixture to the Rice Krispies in a large bowl. Stir well, until all the ingredients are combined. Put into a lined tin and press down with the palm of your hand, until firm. Melt the chocolate. Pour over the rice Krispies, spread evenly and leave to set. When set, turn out onto a board and cut into squares.

Photo: Jack Caffrey

Recipe: Neven Maguire for Country Living Magazine

Styling & Eating: Sharon Hearne-Smith

More Easter Feasting

Photography: Cliona O'Flaherty

Styling: Sharon Hearne-Smith

Assistant: Aoife Herrity

Recipe: Hugo Arnold for Food & Wine Magazine

I hope you're having a fun and food filled Easter Weekend. Here is a really delicious recipe for melt in the mouth lamb....

STEAMED LAMB WITH WHITE WINE AND ROSEMARY

1.5kg leg and shouler of lamb (Ask the butcher to bone out the shoulder part)

olive oil

12 garlic cloves

3 sprigs rosemary

200ml white wine

salt and pepper

Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large casserole dish and brown the meat evenly. Add the garlic cloves and rosemary to the hot oil. Cook for 2 minutes and then add the white wine.

Season the meat with salt and pepper.

Turn the heat to very low and cover. Cook slowly for 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until the meat is tender and falls off the bone. You will need to turn the meat occasionally. If the liquid looks like drying out, add a glass of water. When the meat is cooked allow to rest, and pour any juices in the pan over the meat.

Easter Feasting

Photography: Cliona O'Flaherty

Food & Prop Styling: Moi

Model & Assistant: Aoife Herrity

Recipe: Hugo Arnold for Food & Wine Magazine

I hope you have a super Easter weekend. So, being Good Friday we shouldn't be indulging in meat or booze. I can't commit to either I'm afraid. If you're being more saintly than me then this fresh and healthy vegetarian recipe is a good start....

GRILLED COURGETTE SALAD WITH FETA, MINT AND BROAD BEANS

1 kg broad beans

6 courgettes, thinly sliced lengthways

1/2 tsp picked thyme leaves

zest and juice of 1 lemon

olive oil

150g feta

bunch mint

Peel the broad beans and plunge into well-salted boiling water for two minutes. Drain, allow to cool and peel. Set aside.

Chargrill the courgettes until just marked, transfer to a bowl and season with salt and pepper and toss with the thyme, lemon juice and zest and 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Fold the courgettes on to plates. Scatter over the broad beans, feta and mint and serve.

Spring Greens

Lets just ignore the snow on the daffoldils today shall we? Here's a recipe by Hugo Arnold for Food & Wine Magazine. Shot by Cliona O'Flaherty and styled by yours truely x

WILTED SPINACH WITH LEMON ZEST & CRISPY CAPERS

2 tbsp olive oil

1 kg spinach

2 lemons

2 tbsp salted capers, well soaked

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saute pan or wok.

Add the spinach, season with salt and pepper and toss in the hot oil until just wilted.

Scoop out of the pan onto a serving plate and sprinkle the lemon zest over.

Gently squeeze the capers and saute briefly in the remaining oil until just coloured and crispy. Sprinkle over the spinach and serve.

Happy Christmas!

I know, sorry, I probably shouldn't mention those two words yet, but take pity on all of those who work a season ahead and have christmas in the summer. I actually enjoyed this christmas shoot for once mostly because I got to relish in a yummy Christmas lunch (and for someone who is now without a kitchen at home, entirely to the point of having the wash the dishes in the bath, this is a very welcome thing!). The shoot was for Country Living Magazine in the Farmers Journal with photographer Jack Caffery and thanks to Denise for her fab help once again.

location location location

Our house extension has just started (horrah!) and as things are 'getting worse before they get better' I have to look at pictures of nice houses so I can at least dream I'm not living in hell. Here are some snaps I've dug out from features I've worked on for Food & Wine magazine (with photographer Cliona O'Flaherty and table settings by her assistant Aoife Herrity). I often get to work in lovely locations that inspire me and of course make me dream of the 'one day'. As well as the acres of props I drag along to shoots, working in locations like these unearths some other real beauties.

pasta feature

(c) Jack Caffrey

The husband made me a really yummy smoked salmon pasta for my tea last night and it reminded me of this delicious recipe of Neven Maguires in Country Living magazine (styled by yours truely)...just need to get the secret recipe out of Mart now!

Trout & Baby Spinach Linguini

Serves 4

300g trout fillets
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp lime juice
50g baby spinach
6 spring onions, finely sliced
400g linguini
2 tbsp chopped dill
DRESSING
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
100ml orange juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp chopped chives
1 tbsp finely diced red onion
crusty bread, to serve
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the grill on a high heat. Brush the trout with the oil, squeeze the lime juice over and season. Grill for 6-8 minutes and then leave to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin and any bones. Then flake the fish into large pieces and mix with the spinach, spring onions and half of the dill.

Next, cook the linguini in a large pan of boiling, salted water for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain well.

In the meantime, prepare the dressing. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl and season to taste.

Toss the dressing through the pasta and then gently toss the trout mixture through also.

Arrange the linguini on serving plates, garnish with the remaining dill and serve with crusty bread.

In Season...cod & beetroot

Uuuummm... Baked Cod & Beetroot. From Food & Wine Magazine...recipe by Hugo Arnold, shot by Cliona O'Flaherty, food & prop styled by moi...

8 small-sized beetroot
Olive oil
1kg prime cod fillet (ask for four thick
pieces, avoiding the tail end if possible)
4 tablespoons chopped dill
1 lemon, quartered

Pre-heat oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

Peel and quarter the beetroot, toss with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place on a shallow roasting tray in the top of the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until just tender.

Push the beetroot to one end of the tray, coat the fish in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and place at the other end. Return to the oven for 10 minutes, or until the fish is cooked.

Toss the beetroot with the dill. Serve the baked fish and beetroot with a piece of lemon.

BBQ Halloumi

(c) Hugh McElveen

Well, it looks like we might actually be having the summer weather we dreamed of (don't speak too soon though eh?!). We're definitely planning on getting the barbie out and as I totally love Halloumi we will have to include some amongst all that meat. This is a recipe from the Cooks Academy Cookbook, which I food & prop styled two summers ago. I remember it as being totally yummy so am looking forward to making and eating it again...

Halloumi Cheese Skewers

Serves 4

You can prepare these in advance indoors; fry them in a very hot pan until golden on the outside and then quickly reheat over the BBQ for that gorgeous smoky flavour.

250g halloumi cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
10 mint leaves, finely chopped
CAPER DRESSING
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lime, zest and juice
1 tbsp capers
2 small pickled gherkins, sliced finely into discs
salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1. Mix the dressing ingredients together, season to taste and add more oil if necessary. Set aside.
2. Slice the halloumi into 2cm thick slices. Brush both sides with oil.
3. Heat the BBQ until it's very hot and grill the halloumi slices for 1 minute on each side (remove them the halloumi starts to melt). Once grilled, allow to cool slightly before cutting (or tearing) the halloumi into large bite sized pieces and tossing in the dressing.
4. Just before serving, thread pieces of the halloumi onto skewers. Place on a platter and garnish with chopped mint.

Happy Father's Day!

(c) Jack Caffrey

Go on, make him Bangers & Mash!