We Love Cooking!:
peanut butter

On Monday I took the train up to Jonkoping to visit my best buddy Jonathan and his lovely family! Jonathan and I were in a boyband together a few years ago and we always had similar interests so ever since the band went its separate ways, we have always been in touch! He was in the Swedish version of Eurosong and released his second album this year so he's a bit of a celebrity over here!

Celeb status aside we spent the day baking! Every year his whole family traditionally do a huge amount of baking of Christmas goodies ahead of the big day, so by the time I arrived there was already a room full of cakes and treats! We made a gingerbread and blueberry loaf, the makings of a gingerbread house and these calorific but oh so worth it Peanut Butter Snicker Squares!

Peanut Butter Snicker Squares
This snickers recipe makes delicious squares which are miles better and totally different than the commercial bars you can buy in the shops, way more chewy, crunchy and chocolatey and totally worth it! We used 100g of white chocolate and 100g of milk chocolate when we made these and swirled the two together to get a super marbled effect to make our squares a little unique.

Makes about 20 squares
200g of smooth peanut butter
100g of caster sugar
200ml of golden syrup
100g Special K flakes
100g coconut flakes
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
200g of chocolate

Place the chocolate in a bowl over a small simmering saucepan of water and allow to melt gently.
In another saucepan, over a gentle heat, melt together the peanut butter, sugar, and golden syrup until runny and smooth.
In a large mixing bowl, toss the Special K flakes, flaked coconut, and vanilla sugar until combined.
Pour the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and using a wooden spoon stir until everything is nicely combined.
Turn the mixture out into a 2 inch deep baking dish and spread out evenly pressing down with the back of the spoon.
Pour over the melted chocolate and place in the fridge for a few hours until firm.

I very excited to tell you I am in London!!! For the next two weeks we are shooting the photos of the recipes for my new book which is going to out in March 2011. To say I am excited is probably a total understatement because for me this is the most interesting part of producing a cook book. The first time around for Good Mood Food I was a totally unorganised mess, when it came to planning the photography, I was coaxed along the way by my lovely Aunt Erica who did the majority of food styling, but this time around it's all rolled nicely into two weeks. It also helps that this time I have a far better idea of what I'm doing! My kit has been upgraded and I have a set work pattern which hopefully by this time two weeks will have held up long enough to have provided me with all the photos required! I'll try and stick up a few posts about the whole process if I can- for now enjoy these very cute whoopie pies which look very pretty indeed! :)

Go Nuts Nutella Whoopie Pies!
By dropping the cocoa powder from the original whoopie recipe and substituting flour you get left with really beautiful plain whoopie discs. As a filling I use a combination of nutella and smooth peanut butter but you could also use the chocolate frosting from the cupcake recipe.

Makes 16 whoopie pies
120g/4oz butter
190g/6 ½ oz caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
345g/12oz of plain flour
5g/1 tsp of baking powder
5ml/1 tsp of vanilla extract
250ml/8 ½ fl oz of buttermilk

For the filling:
80g of smooth peanut butter
80g of nutella

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350oF/Gas Mark 4 and line two baking sheets.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
In another bowl, using an electric whisk, cream the sugar and the butter until pale and fluffy. Add in the eggs gradually, mixing well to combine.
Add the vanilla extract to the buttermilk and, alternating with the dry ingredients, add to the bowl, mixing until everything is combined and you are left with a thick batter.
Spoon rounded teaspoons of the batter onto lined baking sheets, allowing space for them to spread while cooking. Place in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the tops have puffed up and spring back when lightly pressed.
When they are cooked, remove the mini pie halves from the baking sheets with a metal spatula and place on wire rack to cool.
Once cooled, spread a teaspoon of the nutella on the flat side of 16 of the pie halves. Spread a teaspoon of peanut butter on the remaining 16 pie halves and sandwich together with the nutella pies.
These little pies are heavy going so make sure to serve with a glass of cold milk.

If you follow me on twitter, you will probably be sick of me talking about it, but we (Industry) are currently on tour with JLS for their tour dates in Ireland. It makes a stark contrast to all the cooking I have been doing lately! The one question I have been asked the most since the book came out is which I prefer, the singing or the cooking, and to be honest after Saturday night, when we performed in Dublin's o2 arena, the singing gives the cooking a good run for its money! Though I think I will always have that hunger for performing on stage, it is just one of the most amazing feelings to stand in front of a crowd that size and sing! All the excitement and nerves aside, I have been managing to eat really well despite the lack of time, and these noodles are just one of the dishes which have kept the band well fed the last few days.

Crunchy Peanut Satay Noodles
I am a huge fan of Asian flavours, and I absolutely love exploring Asian supermarkets to find new weird and wonderful ingredients. Noodles are one of my favourite things to buy there, and there are so many varieties to choose from thin rice vermicelli to the thick chunky udon noodles I use in this dish. You can use whatever noodles you can get your hands on for this recipe, and don't be afraid to experiment with the veggies, just use what you have, Chinese cabbage, carrot, or bok choy all work really nicely here. The beauty of this recipe is that it is just basically combining all these fantastic flavours with noodles and fresh veg which gives it that extra crunch factor!

Serves 2
400g of udon noodles
1/2 cucumber, sliced thinly
1 red pepper, sliced thinly
5 spring onions, sliced finely diagonally
A handful of salted peanuts, roughly chopped

For the peanut sauce:
1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 small thumb sized piece of ginger, finely minced
1 small chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
200ml coconut milk
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the pack, rinse under cold water, drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a small sauce pot, add the garlic, chilli and ginger and fry for about 30-40 seconds stirring continuously.
Add in the coconut milk, lime juice, peanut butter and soy sauce. Bring to the boil, stirring to melt the peanut butter, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Add the cooked noodles to a large mixing bowl and add in the spring onions, red pepper, and cucumber. Pour in the peanut sauce and toss all the ingredients together until combined.
Serve with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts and some extra sliced spring onion.

I spotted these amazing cupcakes in Leila's book when I first scanned through it, they really pop out! They would be absolutely perfect for kids parties as I am sure they would get a great reaction. In fact there is a whole chapter in "A Piece Of Cake" dedicated to Leila's fab cupcake creations, including flavours like, raspberry, lemon and poppy seed, banana fudge, blueberry corn, and carrot, ginger and walnut!

I know I have been talking about Leila all week but as I said I am a little bit in love! :) I hope you have been enjoying learning a bit about her and some of her recipes. Tomorrow I have a really exciting competition for you to win a copy of the book, so make sure you stop by to enter!

Leila Lindholm's High Hat Cupcakes
These fantastic-looking cupcakes should be served cold. You can keep them in the fridge for about three days, but cover them carefully in clingfilm to keep them fresh. They are the yummiest of cupcakes.

Makes 12 cupcakes
3 organic eggs
225g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
50g unsalted butter
100ml sour cream
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cold coffee
210g plain flour
4 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
1 pinch of salt
100g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

For the meringue topping
6 organic egg whites
850g caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar

For the chocolate coating
350g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Prepare the cupcakes according to the basic recipe.
Preheat the oven to 175oC/350oF/Gas Mark 4.
Beat together the eggs, butter and vanilla sugar until pale and fluffy.
Mellt the butter, add the sour cream and coffee and blend with the egg mixture.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt and carefully fold into the mixture.
Chop the chocolate coarsely and melt it in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Add the the mixture.
Put paper cases in a muffin tin and pour in the mixture until the cases are two-thirds full.
Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool.

In a stainless steel bowl mix together the egg whites, caster sugar and lemon juice. Beat by hand for about 1 minute until fluffy.
Rest the bowl over a pan of boiling water. Beat until the sugar crystals have dissolved and the mixture has a consistency as fluffy as meringue. You should see the trail from the whisk to them foam.
Remove the bowl from the pan and beat the vanilla sugar into the foam. Use a hand-held electric beater to mix the meringue for a few minutes until it is thick and cool.
Put the meringue in a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe the meringue on top of the cupcakes in spirals. Leave about 1cm around the edges.
Leave to set in the fridge.

Make the chocolate coating. Chop the chocolate and melt it with the vegetable oil in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
Pour the chocolate into a small bowl and leave to cool.
Take the cupcakes out of the fridge and dip each peak in the chocolate. Brush on additional chocolate if there are any gaps.
Leave to set on a plate in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

I have mentioned Leila Lindholm on this blog quite a few times at this stage, she is my baking hero, plus I think I might have a little bit of a crush on her! Leila is from Sweden and I was given a present of her book "A Piece Of Cake" in Swedish last year by Sofie's dad. I have been hooked on her delicious recipes ever since. She has been in the kitchen since the age of three helping her grandmother and still remembers the first batch of muffins she ever cooked. I love hearing about those sort of stories when you read other cooks books, it gives a much more interesting sense of where the recipes come from.

Leila is extremely successful in her native Sweden and has released 3 cookbooks there, including my favourite "A Piece Of Cake". I speak a good bit of Swedish, enough to read a cookbook, and having worked over there in a restaurant, my Swedish food vocab is pretty up to scratch, so I have worked my way through a good few recipes in the book. However I recently got sent a copy of her book in English, as it has just been released in the UK and it has rekindled my love for her recipes. The ones without pictures, which I may have skipped over in Swedish, I am now salivating over and reading properly! It's all very exciting, so I have decided this is going to be Leila Lindholm week here on the blog, featuring a recipe everyday from her fab book "A Piece Of Cake". The first recipe I have chosen for today is these fantastic Peanut Butter Cupcakes". As you might have noticed I have a bit of a weakness for cupcakes and I have been meaning to try these ones in particular for so long! Enjoy!

Leila Lindholm's Peanut Butter Cupcakes
There are loads of delicious frostings you can use to ice your cupcakes, and there are no limits to how you decorate them. This frosting is as tasty as it is simple to make.

Makes 12 cakes
3 organic eggs
225g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
50g unsalted butter
100ml sour cream
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cold coffee
210g plain flour
4 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
1 pinch of salt
100g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
150g salted peanuts and extra for decoration

For the peanut butter frosting:
100g soft peanut butter
240g icing sugar
4 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
150g cream cheese
1 tablespoon warm coffee

Preheat the oven to 175oC/350oF/Gas Mark 4.
Beat together the eggs, butter and vanilla sugar until pale and fluffy.
Mellt the butter, add the sour cream and coffee and blend with the egg mixture.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt and carefully fold into the mixture.
Chop the chocolate coarsely and melt it in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Add the the mixture.
Put paper cases in a muffin tin.
Chop the peanuts and add them to the paper cases, layering them with the cake batter until two-thirds full.
Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool.
Stir the peanut butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla sugar and cream cheese until creamy. Stir in the coffee.
Spread the frosting on top of the cakes and decorate with extra peanuts.

One of my favourite food related movies has to be "Waitress" it's full of beautiful imagery and has a cute little story to match! The story is based around Jenna who is a waitress, trapped in an unhappy marriage, her one escape is creating and baking the most amazing, inventive pies you could imagine. If you haven't seen this great movie make sure to go out and rent it, it's not deeply intellectual but it's a warm, clever and cute one which serves a purpose, here's the trailer:

I was searching on the internet a few weeks ago for some of the fantastic recipes from the movie and it turns out when the movie was first released, promo cards were printed with 5 of the pie recipes! I stuck the link up on my twitter and it got a great reaction with lots of retweets, so much so it inspired a group of us on there to start our very own blog event! So I would like to proudly introduce to the first monthly:

We had originally planned to just bake the pies from the movie, but as time went on we thought it would be great to try and start something that others could join in too. So I hope you enjoy this post, and stick a comment below and let me know if you would be interested in joining us next month for the great big pie bake off!

Check out the other bloggers and their pies from the movie:
Lori: Recipegirl - I Can't Have No Affair Because It's Wrong & I Don't Want Earl To Kill Me Pie
Sandie: Inn Cuisine - I Don’t Want Earl’s Baby Pie
Tiffany: The Nesting Project - Falling In Love Pie
Patsy: Family, Food Friends- Baby Screamin’ Its Head Off In The Middle Of The Night; Ruinin’ My Life Pie

Marshmallow Mermaid Pie

This is definitely a once a year pie, it is most likely one of the most unhealthy desserts I have ever cooked in my life! Saying all that, it is delicious and extremely therapeautic to make. This is the orignal recipe but I used digestive biscuits in the place of graham crackers and toasted dessicated coconut on a baking tray in the oven.

Serves 8
9 graham crackers
1/2 Cup sweetened, flaked coconut, toasted
5 tablespoons. butter or margarine, melted
34 marshmallows (8 oz.)
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine coconut and graham crackers in food processor until coarse crumbs form.
Combine crumbs and butter with fork. Press to bottom and side of 9-inch pie plate. Bake 10 minutes and cool on wire rack.
Heat marshmallows and milk in 3-qt. saucepan over low heat until smooth, stirring constantly. Remove saucepan from heat. Cool completely (30 minutes.)
In large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Fold marshmallow mixture into whipped cream with grated chocolate. Spoon filling into cooled crust. Refrigerate pie at least 3 hours or overnight.
Top with mini marshmallows, maraschino cherries and rainbow sprinkles.

I was interviewed earlier this year for a blogging feature in Irish Tatler and a few weeks after I was offered the chance to become a regular contributor. This is the recipe I wrote for the October issue!

Asian Chicken Salad with Chilli, Ginger and Lime Dressing

Packed with tasty ingredients, this recipe is perfect for entertaining. You can prepare all the ingredients separately, stick them in the fridge and assemble the salad when your guests arrive. Don’t be afraid to add other vegetables here, peppers, cucumber, spring onions and bean sprouts are all tasty additions.

Serves 4
Marinade:
2 tablespoon of soy sauce
Juice of ½ lime
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
½ red chilli, finely chopped
½ thumb sized piece of ginger minced

Dressing:
3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of smooth peanut butter
Juice of ½ lime
2 teaspoons of honey
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
½ red chilli, finely chopped
½ thumb sized piece of ginger minced

4 chicken breasts, sliced thinly into strips
1 Chinese cabbage, slice thinly
3 carrots, sliced thinly
1 red onion, sliced thinly
100g of sugar snap peas, sliced thinly
100g of chopped peanuts to serve
A handful of chopped coriander to serve

Add the chicken strips to a mixing bowl with the marinade ingredients and mix through. Cover and place in the fridge while you prepare the salad and dressing.
In a small bowl add all the ingredients for the dressing and whisk to combine.
Place the Chinese cabbage, carrots, red onion, and sugar snap peas in a large salad bowl. Add half the dressing and combine until all the vegetables are well coated.
Fry the chicken strips until golden brown and cooked through. Approximately 2 minutes either side.
Serve the salad in individual bowls topped with the chicken, a sprinkling of chopped peanuts, a little chopped coriander and a extra drizzle of the dressing.

There has been a few new Irish food blogs but check out the latest blog I came across CheapEats.ie which is great for spotting shopping bargains on offer across the country! Another cool one particularly for its travel pics is thefood.ie warblings check them out, it's always great to see new blogs!

This recipe is actually one I wrote for the book. I had toyed with whether or not to include a Sweets chapter, and in the end decided I couldn't do without. The cookies took a few tries to get the mix right especially using whole wheat flour, but the end result is a chewy sweet cookie which is really tasty. They literally take minutes to make and have quickly become my solution to the TV watching munchies!

Peanut Butter Cookies
These are incredibly tasty little cookies which are so easy to make. Perfect for cooking with kids!

Makes approximately 9 cookies.
4 rounded tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter.
1 large egg.
2/3 cup of dark brown sugar.
1/3 cup of whole wheat flour.
Place the sugar, and flour in a large mixing bowl and combine. With a wooden spoon create a well in the center of the bowl and add the egg and peanut butter. Beat the egg and peanut butter with the flour and sugar until a thick dough forms. If the dough is too moist simply add a little extra flour. Allow the dough to sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
Remove from the fridge and place rounded tablespoons of the dough onto a greased baking sheet.
Bake in the oven at 180oC/ for approximately 15 minutes or until the cookies brown slightly.
Remove from the baking sheet and allow to cool.