Meatball night

Meatballs were on the menu tonight - a complete nightmare to photograph, particularly on the winters night.  But they were good!  Here's a snapshot. 

My meatballs - beef and lamb.

I am slowly but surely trialling different meats, mixes of meats, herbs, frying vs oven vs combination, breadcrumbs vs no breadcrumbs, small vs medium vs massive, .....the methods are endless. 

These were good. Ovened, on a rack, beef and lamb, rosemary and parsley, tomato sauce prepped separately, red wine to finish the sauce. 

Just a little cheese!

Crottin.... (french goat's cheese).  I just like the picture. And love the cheese.

Beery Brownbread with smoked salmon

I have a been a bit lax (d'ya get it?) with my posts. So I made some brownbread last night, continuing my experiments with different beer based recipes.  Thus far I am happiest with the Smithwicks Pale Ale version.  The Budweiser and Carlsberg attempts were fine but unexceptional.  The Guinness recipe I did as scones rather than as a loaf - they were good but not exactly Guinness-y. The Pale Ale version actually smells and tastes.....beery. 

Nolan's Smoked Salmon on Smithwicks Pale Ale Brownbread

The idea stemmed from a lack of buttermilk in both the fridge and the local shops one evening. A quick google noted that beer was a sufficient replacement. I have used my Mum's brownbread recipe as the base for the experiments.

My Brownbread 

Ingredients:
- 2 Mugs of Wholemeal Stoneground Flour
- 1 Mug Plain Flour
- 1 Heaped tsp. salt
- 1 Heaped tsp. baking soda
- 2 Heaped tblsp. sugar
(Nice additions - pinhead oatmeal or pumpkin seeds.  The pinhead requires more liquid).

- 1 Bottle Smithwicks Pale Ale

Mix all the dry goods together. It's recommended to sieve the baking soda so there are no lumps in the mix. I am not so.....attention focussed and just rub it in.  Add in the ale in decent glugs but not all in one go. Give it a good stir until you have a good sticky wet mixture but not loose and flowing. You may not need to use the whole bottle.

Grease a loaf baking tin with butter.  Pour in the mixture. Throw it in the oven at around 190/200 degrees C.  An hour normally works.  The wetter the mix, the longer the loaf will need.  

Allow to cool (or not) and serve with smoked salmon (Nolan's  from Ballina in this case) - or with honey or.... blackcurrant jam or..... some robiola tre latte or .... tomatoes or.... cucumber.... or ..... you get the point! 

Tip: If you cut the mix into scone sizes, these will cook in 25/30 minutes. The buttermilk version was a stalwart on our Sunday breakfast table when we were kids. 

Pale Ale and Brownbread