Cooking Irish can also be found at Pinterest and PETITCHEF.
For those of you just beginning to read this blog, my children Erin and Eli and I lived in Ireland during the mid-eighties. We traveled through all of the British Isles and holidayed in the Canary Islands for Christmas and toured Israel and Egypt before finally returning home to upper New York State. Most, but not all, of these recipes are from restaurant menus during that time. I have been posting many hors d'oeuvres recipes because we had such an incredible variety during our Egyptian cruise. I will include two more in this post. Most of these recipes are taken in some form from my bible: Hors D'Ouevres by Eric Treuille and Victoria Blashford-Snell but altered to more duplicate the Egyptian cruise hors d'oeuvres.
While living in Ireland, we made lifelong friends. Some friends I have lost contact with and hope they might some day read this blog and contact me. Others I communicate with often. I will include some photos of our friends. Only my son Eli did not really like living there. He missed his friends from home. The Irish boys in his class seemed much more immature for some reason. He could not believe how they behaved especially in class. As the months went on, he made friends and seemed to adjust somewhat, but not without some failed attempts on my part.
During the first month of our arrival we were settling in to our townhouse and a daily routine of school and writing. The son of the O'Mahoneys, who ran the B & B where we had stayed our first week, asked to bring Eli to Trim's boxing club to begin lessons. Eli was ten when we arrived in Ireland. He was a very athletic child and played soccer and baseball at home. Whenever he was at the plate or got the soccer ball, the sideline chanted, "E! E! E!" I hated it though because I do not care for nicknames. That is one reason I named him Eli. I could not think of any shortened form for the appellation. Little did I know my son's name would be reduced to a vowel!
I thought this would be a good way for him to learn a new sport and meet some new friends outside of school. What a mistake. My neighbors encouraged me to send him saying it was what all Irish boys did. Boxing was a part of their youth. All I could think of though was John Wayne as Sean Thornton in the 1952 film The Quiet American. [If you remember he was a boxer in Pittsburgh who traveled to Ireland in the 1930s to reclaim his family's farm in Innisfree. Back in the States as heavyweight champion, he had accidentally killed an opponent in the ring.]
After a few weeks, one night my beautiful little son came home with two huge black eyes and said he had been hit in the nose. And he said he truly had hated every minute of the boxing nights. He was not a quitter--had never asked to quit anything before--but said that he would rather not pursue a "boxing career." I concurred, and thus ended his sojourn into the world of the boxing ring. One example of the disparity of our cultures.
In the next post I will explain why I decided to take my children across the pond to beome European residents. For the first time in many years, I have been reading the journal I kept faithfully each day, and it is bringing back so many memories and providing some real belly laughs. I will begin to share some of it with you.
This photo was taken on our last day in Ireland. Many friends of Erin and Eli and our neighbors came to say goodbye. I get a bit teary-eyed when I look at all their faces. They remind me of so many wonderful times spent on that charming island, but this was a very sad day for my children and me.
Now to those easy and yummy hors d'oeuvres recipes.
FOCACCINE FARCITE WITH BLUE CHEESE AND ARUGULA [Makes 20]
Ingredients:
1 recipe of unbaked bread dough [ Recipe included below]
1 cup of gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
½ bunch of arugula leaves
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. of quality olive oil [I use Colavita®.]
Essential Equipment: 2-inch plain pastry cutter
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 40 rounds with the pastry cutter. Place 20 dough rounds onto a floured baking sheet. Top each focaccina with 1 tsp. of cheese, 2 arugula leaves, and ½ tsp. of diced tomato. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place remaining rounds on top. Press the edges down to seal. Dimple focaccine with your fingertips. Bake until crisp and brown, 15 minutes. Brush with olive oil and serve warm.
Tips: Bake these focaccine up to 1 day in advance. Store in an airtight container. Crisp for 10 minutes in a preheated 400° oven. Another option is to freeze the unbaked focaccine or up to a month. Spread them out on a baking sheet and place in the freezer uncovered until hard, 30 minutes. Once the items are frozen, pack into plastic freezer bags or an airtight container and return to the freezer. Remember to label clearly for easy retrieval. Bake frozen in a preheated 400° oven for 20 minutes.
FOCACCINE FARCITE WITH RAISINS, FENNEL, AND GRAPES [Makes 20]
Ingredients:
1 recipe of unbaked bread dough [ Recipe included below]
½ cup of raisins
20 purple or red grapes halved and seeded, if necessary
2 tbsp. of fennel seed
Essential Equipment: 2-inch plain pastry cutter
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°. Pour boiling water to cover raisins and let them soak until plump, 30 minutes. Drain and discard water. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 40 rounds with the pastry cutter. Place 20 dough rounds onto a floured baking sheet. Cover with raisins, and top with remaining dough rounds. Press the edges down to seal. Top each focaccina with 3 grape halves, and sprinkle with fennel seeds. Bake until crisp and brown, 15 minutes and serve warm.
Tips: Bake these focaccine up to 1 day in advance. Store in an airtight container. Crisp for 10 minutes in a preheated 400° oven. Another option is to freeze the unbaked focaccine or up to a month. Spread them out on a baking sheet and place in the freezer uncovered until hard, 30 minutes. Once the items are frozen, pack into plastic freezer bags or an airtight container and return to the freezer. Remember to label clearly for easy retrieval. Bake frozen in a preheated 400° oven for 20 minutes.
Bread Dough Recipe [Makes ¾ of a lb.]
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups of bread flour
¾ cup of salt
5/8 cup of tepid water
1 tsp. of quality olive oil
1 tsp. of dried yeast
Preparation:
Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Place the salt along the raised edge of the flour. Pour the water with the oil into the well. Sprinkle the yeast over the liquid. Let stand for five minutes; stir to dissolve. Draw in the flour from the sides of the bowl with a spoon. Mix to make a rough, sticky dough.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly-floured surface. Use the heel of one hand to gently push the dough away from you. At the same time, use your other hand to rotate the dough slightly towards you, guiding it around in a cirlce. Repeat these kneading actions until the dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, 10 minutes.
Put the dough in a large clean bowl, and cover with a dish towel. Let it rise until doubled in size, about 1½ hours. Deflate the dough by pressing down with the palm of your hand. The dough is now ready to be shaped.
Tips: Make and knead 12 hours in advance. Cover and let it rise in refrigerator overnight. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before shaping. Shape and bake according to the recipe. Also, the quantity of liquid required will often vary according to the type of flour used, as well as the level of humidity and temperature on the day of breadmaking. It is best to err on the side of making a dough too soft rather than too dry. Add extra water after drawing in the flour to form dough, as necessary 1 tbsp. at a time.
Using a Machine: Follow recipe and method for bread dough, but place ingredients after they have been mixed to a rough dough, into the bowl of a standing mixer equipped with a bread hook. To knead, set the mixer at low speed for 10 minutes. Or use the bowl of a food processor fitted with a plastic dough blade. To knead use the pulse button for 30 seconds at a time until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.
For those of you just beginning to read this blog, my children Erin and Eli and I lived in Ireland during the mid-eighties. We traveled through all of the British Isles and holidayed in the Canary Islands for Christmas and toured Israel and Egypt before finally returning home to upper New York State. Most, but not all, of these recipes are from restaurant menus during that time. I have been posting many hors d'oeuvres recipes because we had such an incredible variety during our Egyptian cruise. I will include two more in this post. Most of these recipes are taken in some form from my bible: Hors D'Ouevres by Eric Treuille and Victoria Blashford-Snell but altered to more duplicate the Egyptian cruise hors d'oeuvres.
While living in Ireland, we made lifelong friends. Some friends I have lost contact with and hope they might some day read this blog and contact me. Others I communicate with often. I will include some photos of our friends. Only my son Eli did not really like living there. He missed his friends from home. The Irish boys in his class seemed much more immature for some reason. He could not believe how they behaved especially in class. As the months went on, he made friends and seemed to adjust somewhat, but not without some failed attempts on my part.
During the first month of our arrival we were settling in to our townhouse and a daily routine of school and writing. The son of the O'Mahoneys, who ran the B & B where we had stayed our first week, asked to bring Eli to Trim's boxing club to begin lessons. Eli was ten when we arrived in Ireland. He was a very athletic child and played soccer and baseball at home. Whenever he was at the plate or got the soccer ball, the sideline chanted, "E! E! E!" I hated it though because I do not care for nicknames. That is one reason I named him Eli. I could not think of any shortened form for the appellation. Little did I know my son's name would be reduced to a vowel!
I thought this would be a good way for him to learn a new sport and meet some new friends outside of school. What a mistake. My neighbors encouraged me to send him saying it was what all Irish boys did. Boxing was a part of their youth. All I could think of though was John Wayne as Sean Thornton in the 1952 film The Quiet American. [If you remember he was a boxer in Pittsburgh who traveled to Ireland in the 1930s to reclaim his family's farm in Innisfree. Back in the States as heavyweight champion, he had accidentally killed an opponent in the ring.]
After a few weeks, one night my beautiful little son came home with two huge black eyes and said he had been hit in the nose. And he said he truly had hated every minute of the boxing nights. He was not a quitter--had never asked to quit anything before--but said that he would rather not pursue a "boxing career." I concurred, and thus ended his sojourn into the world of the boxing ring. One example of the disparity of our cultures.
In the next post I will explain why I decided to take my children across the pond to beome European residents. For the first time in many years, I have been reading the journal I kept faithfully each day, and it is bringing back so many memories and providing some real belly laughs. I will begin to share some of it with you.
This photo was taken on our last day in Ireland. Many friends of Erin and Eli and our neighbors came to say goodbye. I get a bit teary-eyed when I look at all their faces. They remind me of so many wonderful times spent on that charming island, but this was a very sad day for my children and me.
Now to those easy and yummy hors d'oeuvres recipes.
FOCACCINE FARCITE WITH BLUE CHEESE AND ARUGULA [Makes 20]
Ingredients:
1 recipe of unbaked bread dough [ Recipe included below]
1 cup of gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
½ bunch of arugula leaves
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. of quality olive oil [I use Colavita®.]
Essential Equipment: 2-inch plain pastry cutter
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 40 rounds with the pastry cutter. Place 20 dough rounds onto a floured baking sheet. Top each focaccina with 1 tsp. of cheese, 2 arugula leaves, and ½ tsp. of diced tomato. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place remaining rounds on top. Press the edges down to seal. Dimple focaccine with your fingertips. Bake until crisp and brown, 15 minutes. Brush with olive oil and serve warm.
Tips: Bake these focaccine up to 1 day in advance. Store in an airtight container. Crisp for 10 minutes in a preheated 400° oven. Another option is to freeze the unbaked focaccine or up to a month. Spread them out on a baking sheet and place in the freezer uncovered until hard, 30 minutes. Once the items are frozen, pack into plastic freezer bags or an airtight container and return to the freezer. Remember to label clearly for easy retrieval. Bake frozen in a preheated 400° oven for 20 minutes.
FOCACCINE FARCITE WITH RAISINS, FENNEL, AND GRAPES [Makes 20]
Ingredients:
1 recipe of unbaked bread dough [ Recipe included below]
½ cup of raisins
20 purple or red grapes halved and seeded, if necessary
2 tbsp. of fennel seed
Essential Equipment: 2-inch plain pastry cutter
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400°. Pour boiling water to cover raisins and let them soak until plump, 30 minutes. Drain and discard water. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 40 rounds with the pastry cutter. Place 20 dough rounds onto a floured baking sheet. Cover with raisins, and top with remaining dough rounds. Press the edges down to seal. Top each focaccina with 3 grape halves, and sprinkle with fennel seeds. Bake until crisp and brown, 15 minutes and serve warm.
Tips: Bake these focaccine up to 1 day in advance. Store in an airtight container. Crisp for 10 minutes in a preheated 400° oven. Another option is to freeze the unbaked focaccine or up to a month. Spread them out on a baking sheet and place in the freezer uncovered until hard, 30 minutes. Once the items are frozen, pack into plastic freezer bags or an airtight container and return to the freezer. Remember to label clearly for easy retrieval. Bake frozen in a preheated 400° oven for 20 minutes.
Bread Dough Recipe [Makes ¾ of a lb.]
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups of bread flour
¾ cup of salt
5/8 cup of tepid water
1 tsp. of quality olive oil
1 tsp. of dried yeast
Preparation:
Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Place the salt along the raised edge of the flour. Pour the water with the oil into the well. Sprinkle the yeast over the liquid. Let stand for five minutes; stir to dissolve. Draw in the flour from the sides of the bowl with a spoon. Mix to make a rough, sticky dough.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly-floured surface. Use the heel of one hand to gently push the dough away from you. At the same time, use your other hand to rotate the dough slightly towards you, guiding it around in a cirlce. Repeat these kneading actions until the dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, 10 minutes.
Put the dough in a large clean bowl, and cover with a dish towel. Let it rise until doubled in size, about 1½ hours. Deflate the dough by pressing down with the palm of your hand. The dough is now ready to be shaped.
Tips: Make and knead 12 hours in advance. Cover and let it rise in refrigerator overnight. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before shaping. Shape and bake according to the recipe. Also, the quantity of liquid required will often vary according to the type of flour used, as well as the level of humidity and temperature on the day of breadmaking. It is best to err on the side of making a dough too soft rather than too dry. Add extra water after drawing in the flour to form dough, as necessary 1 tbsp. at a time.
Using a Machine: Follow recipe and method for bread dough, but place ingredients after they have been mixed to a rough dough, into the bowl of a standing mixer equipped with a bread hook. To knead, set the mixer at low speed for 10 minutes. Or use the bowl of a food processor fitted with a plastic dough blade. To knead use the pulse button for 30 seconds at a time until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.
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