We Love Cooking!:
white wine

I did promise some great winter warmer meals, and here is one! Coq Au Vin sounds fancy and complicated buts it's basically chicken cooked in a creamy wine sauce. It's a delicious meal which goes great with steamed vegetables, brown rice, or salad. The other thing to mention is that this is another dish which can be easily frozen and reheated at your leisure. Wait until the dish has cooled, place in a freezer bag and place in the freezer. It should last you up to 3 months.

Coq Au Vin

Coq au vin was a regular winter dish in my house when we were growing up. It's a wonderfully warming meal which is perfect for cold November evenings! Chicken joints like thighs and legs are often far cheaper to buy than chicken breasts and there is something special about meat cooked on the bone that adds extra flavour.

Serves 4
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
150g of bacon or pancetta pieces
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 chicken legs
200g of mushrooms sliced in quarters (about 10-15 mushrooms)
500ml of white wine
300ml of cream
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
A good handful of freshly chopped parsley

In a large heavy casserole pot, add the butter and olive oil.
When the butter has melted add the pancetta pieces and fry until crisp.
Add the garlic and onion and fry until soft.
Remove and set aside.
Brown the chicken thighs and legs on all sides in the same pot and then add the mushrooms, white wine, garlic, onions and pancetta.
Bring to the boil and simmer over a low heat for 20-25 minutes.
Turn the chicken legs halfway through the cooking time and remove any fat or scum that rises to the top.
When the chicken is cooked remove from the pot and set aside.
Stir the cream into the juices, add a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the sauce is has become a little thicker.
Place the chicken back in the pot, add the parsley, stir through and make sure it's hot when you serve it at the table!

Last month we stayed at Grouse Lodge, (the recording studios Michael Jackson used while he stayed in Ireland, don't you know!) to record Industry's new material which will be released in the UK. Now, when I'm "on the road" with the band I am usually fairly starved for foodie delights, however the lovely folks who own Grouse prepare the most amazing homecooked food! Not only that but they also have their own apple orchard, vegetable garden, and even a giant pumpkin patch. Not to mention the ducks and chickens which roam around keeping an eye on everything!

As you can imagine, I was fairly excited and spent every opportunity out taking pictures of the amazing garden! We had breakfast, lunch and dinner all freshly prepared, but one of my favourite meals was the delicious risotto which made a really tasty lunch. This is my version of it!

Pumpkin and Crispy Pancetta Risotto

I absolutely love this recipe, it is a real cosy dish, which leaves you full, satisfied and warm. Risotto may seem a little tricky, but it's just a case of giving it your full attention and slowly incorporating the liquid, so give it a go! If you can't get your hands on pancetta slices, use smoked streaky bacon.

Serves 4
850g pumpkin, cut into slices
A few fresh sage leaves
3 garlic cloves, roughly sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
8 slices of pancetta
1 litre of chicken stock
150g butter
1 red onion, finely chopped
300g risotto rice
75ml white wine
150g parmesan freshly grated
A good pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 220oC/425oF/Gas Mark 7.
Peel and gut the pumpkin and cut into slices. Make sure to save the seeds they are super tasty roasted with a little butter and sea salt.
Place the pumpkin on a roasting tray with the garlic, sage, salt and pepper, toss together.
Cover with tin foil and bake until soft for about 50 minutes.
10 minutes before the pumpkin is ready remove from the oven, lay the pancetta over the pumpkin and place bake in the oven till crisp.
Melt 75g of the butter and the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the onion until soft for about 15 minutes.
Add the rice and off the heat stir through until it is totally coated with the onion mix.
Return to the heat, add enough stock to cover the rice and simmer stirring until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid.
Continue to add a little more stock at a time until it is all absorbed. This should take about 15 minutes, until the rice has a creamy coating.
Add the remaining butter, roast pumpkin, white wine, garlic and parmesan. Gently stir though.
Serve immediately.

I remember first tasting duck confit on a family holiday in the south of France, which is where my love for this deliciously tender dish first sprang from. The dish is prepared in an age old traditional method by salting the duck meat and then poaching it in its own fat. By salting the meat the duck is preserved, before it is cooked extremely slowly at a low temperature for up to 10 hours. The duck is cooled and then transferred to jars or cans. It is then topped up with duck fat and some jars and cans can be stored for up to several years!

Duck Confit and A Tasty Bean Stew

I absolutely love duck confit and this little dish is a perfect compliment. If you don't order online you should be able to pick up some in most gourmet food stores, but beware they can be pricey so do shop around.

Serves 4
1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans
4 Confit Duck Legs at room temperature
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 large carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs of thyme
1 litre of chicken stock
1 x 250g tin of chopped tomatoes
1/2 glass of white wine
A handful of freshly chopped parsley

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat and add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and cloves, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are soft and tender, about 8 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, white wine and tomatoes and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the stew has reduced a little. Stir every few minutes and spoon off any froth that bubbles to the top. 5 minutes before you serve add the beans and stir through.

Place the duck confit legs on a baking tray and cook for 20 minutes at 200˚C/Gas Mark 6 or until the skin is sizzling.

Serve the duck confit on top of the bean stew and sprinkle with a little parsley! Serve straightaway!

I don't eat red meat that often but when I do, I always make sure to do it right, it's so worth putting in the extra effort for a really fresh piece of meat. I made these delicious steaks for dinner the other day and they went down an absolute treat. The rich mushroom sauce adds an extra moistness that could save even the driest steak! My dad picked up the steaks while he was passing through Mitchelstown in Cork last week and it was well worth going the distance for a fine auld hunk of country meat.

Simple Steaks with Mixed Forest Mushroom Sauce
Depending on the dried mushrooms you buy, you can use the water you soak them in as part of the stock added in this recipe- Simply substitute half the beef stock with the mushroom water. If you don't have dried mushrooms, they are not essential but give a real depth to the sauce, so feel free to substitute with any fresh mushrooms available to you.

Serves 4 people
40g of dried mixed forest mushrooms.
4 steaks.
1 tablespoon of butter.
1 tablespoon of olive oil (plus a little extra for the steaks)
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped.
1 onion, thinly sliced.
250g of button mushrooms, sliced thinly.
125ml of white wine.
250ml of beef stock.
4 tablespoons of cream.
A good pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Rinse the dried mushrooms with water and then submerge in a bowl with warm water and leave for 20 minutes. Prepare the steaks by drizzling them with a little olive oil, sprinkle over a generous amount of ground black pepper, cover and set aside. When the dried mushrooms have finished soaking, heat a large pan over a medium high heat and add the butter and olive oil. Fry the garlic and onion for 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms and continue to cook for 5 minutes or until they become soft. Add the white wine, continue to cook and reduce the liquid by half. Then add the beef stock and simmer for a further 2 minutes or until the liquid begins to thicken slightly. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream until combined. Season with sea salt and black pepper and set aside.
Heat a large griddle pan over a high heat and cook the steaks for 2-3 minutes either side for medium rare steak, depending on thickness. Remove the steaks from the pan and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes. Serve them with the tasty mushroom sauce and some steamed veg.