Cake

Happy Birthday S’tasty

February 1, 2012

Today marks my 75th post on the blog and also S’tasty’s very 1st Birthday. It’s hard to believe that a whole year of writing, cooking and creating has passed by so quickly. Through writing the blog, I’ve met a whole host of new people and have discovered some other amazing food blogs at home and beyond. The Irish Food Bloggers Association have arranged lots of great events and linked together a whole community of enthusiastic food bloggers from all over the country. When I first started my blog….my traffic consisted of me and the OH. Then it increased to three (me, the OH and my Dad). Next a few other family members started checking in and one day I had a whole 20 visitors! Then with the help of Erno Rubik, Rusty Blazenhoff @Laughing Squid and Vidya Rao @Today.com my audience began to suddenly increase. For the amateur food blogger – it doesn’t pay, so it really helps when your efforts are at least seen and appreciated. Continue Reading…

Appetizer

A Trio of Scallops

January 25, 2012

This dish looks a picture, but it’s actually an easy meal to make. Scallops are so delicious and take absolute minimum effort to prepare and cook. When I cook scallops, I like to pair them with simple flavours to accentuate them rather than drown them out. A quick flash on the pan is enough to release their delicious sweet juicy flavour. They are a little more expensive than most fish, but they’re worth it for their exquisite taste and texture. Minted pea puree and scallops are a tried and tested flavour combination, but still my favourite out of all. The creamy mashed potatoes make a meal out of this sumptuous starter. I love to use the scallop shells as little serving dishes for these sweet and creamy morsels. This dish is really easy to make but feels like restaurant food. No crazy cheffy techniques or trickery necessary, just simple and tasty food….wait a minute isn’t that my tagline! Continue Reading…

Cocktail

Prohibition Tea

January 16, 2012

It’s that time of the year again folks, Prohibition Day! On the 16th of January 1920, Prohibition officially began in the United States. Today, I am marking that anniversary with my own version of Prohibition Tea made with Tennessee Whiskey. With the rise of Gin Tea, I thought Whiskey deserved a similar treatment. There’s something kind of nice about cocktails served in fancy tea cups.

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Dessert

Mary Berry’s Tarte Au Citron

January 12, 2012

There’s something about Mary Berry. She’s the kind of cook that stands the test of time and produces recipes that can always be relied on. My mother’s favourite cookbook at home was the old Hamlyn cookbook and Mary Berry was one of the books contributing authors. Mary’s recipes were the ones we always used, her tarts, cakes and pies were always the crispest, the lightest and the tastiest. On the inside cover of the old Hamlyn cookbook there is a black and white photo of Mary as a young cook, she was quite a stunner in her day and still looks great. Mary’s career continues to thrive and her talent and charisma have wowed a whole new generation of bakers on the Great British Bake off. Mary Berry is somewhat of a baking icon and the kind of person you’d love to share a cup of tea and a slice of cake with.   Continue Reading…

Dessert

Pecan, Apple and Whiskey Tartlets

January 5, 2012

Pecan pie is one of my all time favourite desserts. We sampled a lot of delicious pecan pies when we were in America recently, it’s the kind of dessert I can never get enough of. I wanted to make my own pecan pie this week to use up my delicious stash of special pecans that I brought home from “We’re Nuts” near Vienna, Georgia. In America they say Pee-CON, in Ireland we say PEE-can, I say vee-EHN-uh, they say vy-ENN-uh. I love all the different words and pronunciations for food they have. Whoever knew a turnip is called a rutabaga! Continue Reading…