My New Year's Resolution - Pizza, Calzone and Focaccia at the Italian School of Cooking

For anyone who follows my blog they may realise that I have a slight obsession with pizza! I fell in love with proper pizza the day I moved to Italy. The thin bases covered with the most amazing toppings were a revelation to a 19 year old who up until then was used to eating the ones that came out of boxes. So on moving back to Dublin I was constantly on the lookout for great pizzas places. And these days I have my favourite places to go in Ireland that fulfill my pizza cravings. But for my New Year's resolution I decided to try my hand at learning to make my own. Probably a bit of a cheat as it's a fun resolution to keep!!

So who better to teach me the skills than the lovely group at the Italian School of Cooking. On arriving we were treated to samples of bruschetta and good quality italian products which went down a treat seeing as all that was left were a few crumbs in the baskets. Then it was down to the hard work. We were shown how to make and knead the dough which was surprisingly easy but it does involve a bit of elbow grease!

What also surprised me was the sheer number of different things you can make out of the one dough. First off we made a margarita pizza and a calzone which I was very happy with as I ADORE calzones. The oozing cheese with mushrooms and ham you cant beat it!!

We then went on to make focaccia which is also very versatile as you can make it plain with just salt and rosemary or you can dress it up with tomatoes and mozzarella and make focaccia ripena which is just a filling between two layers of focaccia. Finally we made 'Treccia' Bread which can be done by twisting two ropes of dough together or as Guiseppe showed us by rolling out the dough, filling it with mozzarella and twisting the dough over it. It's both delicious and impressive looking.

 

So Saturday morning was a morning very well spent. Guiseppe and his team know what they are talking about, put everyone at ease and make cooking italian style very easy. I got to meet some lovely people, have a good laugh and come away with skills that I know I will put to good use! Well that's my intention anyway. Oh and also did I mention that we got to eat everything we made!!

For more info on the Italian School of Cooking and all their classes have a look here.

Beating the January Blues - Eat and drink for only €10

So it's January we're all back to work and broke to boot. Christmas seems like a distant memory and we want to go out but the bank balance says NO. Well I may have the solution!! Having been in town all afternoon  on a last minute christmas shop I was desperately trying to find something to eat around 9pm before heading out for the evening. It turned out to be extremely difficult to find somewhere to get a quick bite to eat that didnt involve sitting down for a proper restaurant meal.

So while wearing the ear off my boyfriend about how hungry I was we stumbled upon a hole in the wall with the delicious smell of fresh pizzas wafting from it. It was a christmas miracle!! It took me a moment but it got even better when I realised that  it was Dave's Wood - Fired Pizza Company who make delicious pizzas but which I have only ever experienced at festivals. This pizza company is now part of  the Speak Easy Bar and Cafe which used to be home to Shebeen Chic. The place was packed and it was obvious why - for only a tenner you can get a delicious pizza and a pint and sit down and eat in a great venue. The menu isn't huge but there is something for everyone on it including a weekly special which when we ordered it included brussels sprouts and stilton. I have to admit that one took a bit of convining on his part to get me to try it but it was delicious and I would eat it again!! The venue has live djs, a really casual laid back atmosphere and you can go there for just drinks or just pizza the staff don't seem to mind.Though I would happily bet that noone leaves that place without having tried at least one pizza!! So banish those January Blues and get yourself down there. 

For more info on the Speak Easy Cafe Bar have a look at their facebook page.
For more info on Dave's Wood - Fired Pizza Company look here

Christmas Cookie Exchange

Tis the season for giving, baking and eating and I have started mine off with a bang!! As part of the IFBA's Christmas Cookie Exchange Farmer Melly and I exchanged our favourite christmas recipes. She sent me her Baileys Irish Cream and Chocolate Cookies recipe  which makes amazing american size cookies and which have a lovely festive kick.

This recipe calls for Baileys but if you dont have baileys you could try it with another liqueur such as creme de menthe, coffee liqueur or whatever you like. I used Coole Swan, an Irish liquer from Co. Cavan. The recipe was given to me in cup quantities so a cup is approximately 225 grams. The recipe is quite dense so use a LARGE bowl and if you have a mixer instead of hand one use that as I really thought my hand mixer was going to die of exhaustion. I actually gave up using it at the end and got the hands in instead. The end result was worth it though and I have been asked all week to make them again!

I also think that this recipe would be quite versatile perhaps leaving out the cocoa and chocolate chips  and adding cranberries and white chocolate which I will have to try out myself this weekend and keep the family happy!!

The cookies also looked wonderful all wrapped up as edible gifts. 

My own recipe was for my Granny Salisbury's Chocolate Coconut Pyramids and if you would like to see how Farmer Melly got on with them have a look at her blog http://farmermelly.blogspot.com

So if you are looking for something new to add to your Christmas Cookie plate or as impressive edible gifts then this is a great recipe to add to your collection.

Baileys Irish Cream and Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons of Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).           
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Gradually add eggs and Baileys while mixing. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Cookies should be at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 23 to 25 Minutes.  Immediately transfer cookies to cooling rack after baking. These keep well at room temperature or refrigerated.

National Crafts and Design Fair 2011

Now I know this is not strictly to do with food but this weekend the National Crafts and Design Fair is taking place at the RDS. So myself and the mother headed down last night to see if we could find any good gift ideas and with over 500 designers, artists, and craftspeople  we were spoilt for choice. Within about 10 minutes of being in the place we had both managed to find gifts that we loved. Gifts for ourselves might I add!! The place is packed with beautiful and unique gift ideas and there is something for everyone's budget. 

After two hours of oohing and aaghing at many an item in the main hall we made our way to the food hall where over a 100 food producers were present. We executed our plan of action which is basically making our way around the stalls eating the samples! While we loved all the stands, one stand that we were particuraly taken with was The Scullery whom we had never encountered before. From Nenagh in County Tipperary they make wonderful relishes, compotes and glazes and delicious christmas puddings. There is also a packed agenda of cooking demos which covers entertaining at christmas, cooking with leftovers and baking with craft beer to name but a few.

So if you haven't started your christmas shopping yet or even just have a few hours to spare a visit to the Fair this weekend would be well worth the trip. My mother and I bought 2 hats, a necklace, candles, jam, relishes .......

For more information on the National Crafts and Design Fair: http://www.nationalcraftsfair.ie/
For more information on The Scullery: http://thescullery.ie/