Consider an Irish Ballymaloe Cooking Holiday

Why sit at home & watch Martha have all the fun? Get on over to Shanagarry in County Cork, Ireland for a fantastic cooking experience!

Ballymaloe Cooking School was founded in 1953 and surprisingly is Ireland’s oldest private cooking school. Ballyaloe prides itself on welcoming chefs of all ages & talents to its doors. The school offers demonstrations & practical courses where you will work with groups of only six to eight people and produce a variety of dishes.

You can choose between half-day courses, full day, five day or if you’re in it for a longer a haul,a take the 12 week course. The classes range in interests from entertaining large groups, organic cooking & even keeping bees and honey recipes.

The main chef at Ballymaloe is founder Darina Allen, who is considered to be one of the best cooks in Ireland, in 2005 she was named the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ Cooking Teacher of the Year. Allen takes on cooking with a concentration on healthy ingredients and stylish meals.Â

Enjoy an Irish holiday & leave with not only culinary & travel experience, but cooking too!

Eat well & Laugh often.

The Acidity of Ratatouille & Why Oven-Roasting is Like Drinking a Coke

I came across an interesting cooking article on the BBC today. The article focused on one of my favorite foods, ratatouille and why the dish may be harmful to your pretty, white teeth.

“Cooking vegetables in different ways could cut down on tooth decay, scientists have claimed.
Certain methods of cooking them can make vegetables as acidic as fizzy drinks, according to a new study.

Researchers at Dundee’s dental school made the discovery while experimenting with the vegetarian dish ratatouille.

They found that, compared with stewing, oven-roasting significantly increased the acidity of vegetables such as green peppers, aubergines and courgettes.

Dr Graham Chadwick, who led the study, said its findings could be used by dentists when advising patients on ways to fight dental erosion.

The problem is caused by the direct contact of acid with the teeth, which destroys tooth tissues - leading to the need for expensive dental treatment.

Dr Chadwick said: “The acidity of ratatouille prepared by oven-roasting is the same as that of some carbonated drinks that, when consumed in excess, are believed to contribute to the development of dental erosion.”

The research, published in the European Journal of Prosthodontics and Restorative Dentistry, came following claims that vegetarians are at higher risk of dental erosion because of the large quantity of naturally acidic fruit and vegetables they eat.

The researchers also found the cooking method had no impact on the acidity of tomatoes or onions, but roasting resulted in more acidic aubergines, green peppers and courgettes.

Red peppers, they also discovered, were more acidic when stewed.”

Hmmm, two of my fav dishes, roasted red peppers & ratatouille, bad for my pretty whites. I dunno. I just don’t think I can give them up.

So, with that stay tuned for the upcoming ‘I Just Can’t Live Without My Ratatouille Recipe’ post.

Eat well & Laugh often!

The Key to Hispanic Cooking is the Cheese & Cotija Cheese Gazpacho Recipe

With today being “Day Without Immigrants” & Cinco de Mayo just around the corner, I thought we might step into Hispanic kitchens and discover a world of good food that does not breathe without cheese. I found this fascinating article from the South Bend Tribune on Hispanic food and wanted to share.

“Most cuisines do not look nor taste as good as they should unless the right types of ingredients are used.

This is particularly true of Mexican and Caribbean cuisines, especially where the cheese is concerned. Mexican or Hispanic cheeses not only look and taste different from American or European cheeses, but they also act differently when heated, making it worth the effort to learn a little about the hidden secrets of Hispanic cheeses.

These cheeses are divided into three main groups: soft (non-melting), melting and hard.

The soft, fresh cheeses have a unique ability to not melt when heated. That’s right! They don’t run, they don’t drip and they don’t error. They stay put, and this characteristic makes this mild-tasting cheese group well-suited for hot dishes.

An easy way to enjoy this cheese is to simply cube it and fry it in a hot skillet. Soft cheese varieties include queso blanco, panela, queso para freir and queso fresco. They are all mild-tasting and perfect in dishes where you want the cheese to stay put, such as enchiladas and burritos.

The second group, melting cheeses, are also unique in that they have the ability to not separate into oil and solids when heated, making them perfect for dishes where you want an “oohy-gooey” factor, as with quesadillas, tacos, pizzas, grilled cheese or even cheeseburgers. This mild-tasting group includes: queso quesadilla, asadero, queso de papa, Oaxaca and queso para derritier.

The third and final group is the hard, grating-style cheeses with strong flavors and dry, crumbly textures. These include cotija, anejo enchilado and duroblando. Cotija is used much like Parmesan. Anejo enchilado is rolled in paprika and used for topping or stuffing enchiladas and burritos. And duro- blando’s mild smoked flavor is often substituted for cotija.”

Let’s take our knowledge of cheese a little further with this Cotija Cheese Gazpacho recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts tomatoes, peeled & chopped
• 1 quart cucumber, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large sweet onion, minced
• 1 Jalapeño pepper, seeded & minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups veggie juice cocktail
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• S & P, to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 pound Cotija Cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 pound Manchego Cheese, shredded
• Chopped cilantro, for garnish

What’s Next:

In a large bowl- combine all the ingredients except cheeses.

Place mixture into bowls & top with cheeses & cilantro garnish.

Eat well & Laugh often.

Tom Bridge Reinvents the Welsh Rarebit & Food Network Recipe

According to Times Online, a rare invention will hit the eBay market soon, thanks to the master chef & historian Tom Bridge. Bridge has reinvented the Welsh rarebit and it is not a wee bit rarer at $605 a slice.

The Welsh rarebit snack dates from the 18th century and is also known as toasted cheese or cheese on toast. The snack is made by blending grated cheese with beer or a little milk and butter adding some seasoning (usually mustard) and spreading the mixture onto hot toast and then grilled.

The cheeses most often used in the Welsh rarebit are Lancashire, Cheddar or Double Gloucester. Tom Bridge will use the finest of ingredients for his Welsh rarebit, including Umbrian truffles and matsutake mushrooms which are so valuable that they are harvested under armed guard. Bridge has opted to use Warburtons Toastie bread and Lancashire cheese. The chef will be just in time for National Cheese on Toast Day on April 27.

A version of the snack is to be auctioned on eBay and the winner wll get a personal visit from the chef, who will cook the dish in the winner’s home. Wow, that is something I would love to see. Good luck & start bidding!

Here is a Food Network Welsh Rarebit Recipe for your eating pleasure:

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup porter beer
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 6 ounces (approximately 1 1/2 cups) shredded Cheddar
• 2 drops hot sauce
• 4 slices toasted rye bread

In a medium saucepan over low heat- melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, being careful not to brown the flour.

Whisk in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add beer and whisk to combine. Pour in cream and whisk until well combined and smooth. Gradually add cheese, stirring constantly, until cheese melts and sauce is smooth; this will take 4 to 5 minutes.

Add hot sauce. Pour over toast and serve immediately.

Eat well & Laugh often.