Donal Skehan's blog

Donal Skehan brings home the best recipe on the Bayou: Boo's Barbecue Shrimp

10/05/12 at 11:59 PM | 0 Comments

One of the highlights of my trip to Louisiana last week was a visit to the New Orleans Cooking Experience, a cooking class presented by Janice B. Macomber or "Boo" as she is affectionately referred to. Boo is an advocate of real Southern home cooking and proper hearty food so it was wonderful to see her speak so passionately about the dishes she grew up eating. The demonstration was peppered with some unbelievable tall tales and stories about living on the bayou - we could have listened to her all day! We cooked southern classics like gumbo, a deep smoky soup made with a roux and spicy bourbon pecan bread pudding (with a splash of Tabasco sauce for good measure), a really sweet and fluffy dessert typical of the region. It was a wonderful way to get an introduction to some classic New Orleans dishes. Boo was also kind enough to give me a copy of her cookbook, which is full of her wonderful stories and make her recipes extra special.

Turn up the heat with Donal Skehan's spicy Tabasco ribs...

03/05/12 at 11:52 PM | 0 Comments

This week I'm in New Orleans in the USA soaking up the history of the iconic American brand Tabasco. We've spent the week learning about the process that goes into making this wonderful hot sauce, which dates back to 1868. The most exciting part was seeing the warehouse where they keep a mash of chillies in huge wooden barrels, which are left to ferment for long periods of time. We also spent a wonderful afternoon at Trappers Camp, which is just off Avery Island where the hot sauce is produced. It's setting in the middle of swamp lands was perfect for a feast of crawfish boil and a big old American barbecue. These ribs are my take on what we ate at Trappers Camp, they served them alongside some barbecued oysters, which were crazy delicious!

Donal's latest dishes are designed to appeal to frugal foodies and gastronomes alike...

26/04/12 at 11:55 PM | 0 Comments

Food has an incredible way of bringing people together. As with any interest, once you find like minded people you can talk for hours and hours. This was one of the things I enjoyed most while filming the new series of Kitchen Hero. Throughout the series we met people from all walks of life, all with one common interest: their love of food and good quality ingredients. From firemen to students, from butchers to fishmongers, everyone I met had something to say about food, even if they weren't the best cook in the world, the minute food was brought up a passionate conversation always followed!

Your dinner guests will go wild for Donal Skehan's garlic pesto

20/04/12 at 07:03 AM | 0 Comments

My earliest memories of wild garlic are from school, where it used to grow along the pathway covered by trees. We used to pick the leaves and flowers and bring them into class, only to be told off because of the unbelievably pungent smell. While we never ate it back then, little did I realise that this wonderful free food could be transformed into so many delicious dishes.  Wild garlic has been used in Irish cooking for hundreds of years. Known as 'creamh' as Gaeilge, it grows in covered forest areas and now is the perfect time to go out and pick some, the woodland floors are completely covered in it and it's incredibly hard to miss with it's broad green leaves and pretty white flowers. The key way to identify it is by smell, pick one of the leaves and you will immediately notice a distinct garlic scent.  Use a scissors and pick the leaves and flowers at their stems.

Who can resist an oven-fresh chocolate chip cookie?

13/04/12 at 07:14 AM | 0 Comments

I'm always on the lookout for vintage and retro cookbooks, and over the last few years I've amassed quite a collection. Not only are they wonderfully nostalgic, there are plenty of delicious recipes which are still bang up-to-date. Of course there are also plenty of recipes for aspics and animal innards, things which most people these days would turn their noses up at.  Some of the old American baking cookbooks are the most exciting and last weekend I spent the afternoon going through one of them. The oddest thing I came across was a recipe for Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake and a spiced confection which uses a tin of condensed tomato soup. I'll have to give them a go first before I subject you to them!  In amongst all the quirky ones I came across this fantastic recipe for Oat and Raisin Cookies. I've adapted them and added chocolate chips for an extra sweet hit, but you could also add any extras to the basic mix you wish.

 

Donal Skehan discovers the perfect pastry recipe at the Brown Hound Bakery

05/04/12 at 11:57 PM | 0 Comments

I'm finally finished filming for the new series of Kitchen Hero: Great Food For Less! After some fairly full-on days in the kitchen recording back-to-back recipes, we spent a rather enjoyable week filming out and about. One of my highlights was a visit to the Brown Hound Bakery in Drogheda, Co. Louth. A totally unique and incredibly inspirational spot in the most unlikely location, the bakery is the brainchild of owner Jeni who, with her husband Reuven Diaz, runs the fantastic restaurant Eastern Seaboard and Mo's, a rather unusual takeaway which blows other fast food joints out of the water!

It might be too early for a barbecue, but Donal Skehan's healthy paella is the perfect meal to enjoy al fresco

29/03/12 at 11:56 PM | 0 Comments

When I discovered this dish, I drove everyone mad by cooking it every chance I got. In this recipe I'm using brown basmati rice which is unrefined and retains much more nutrition than its refined version. This recipe is very adaptable and I have made it with different vegetables, with and without prawns, so make it to your taste.

The quickest way of cooking this dish is to prepare everything beforehand; that way things move a little more smoothly and it also prevents any stopping and starting.

Serves 4

2 chicken breasts
120g peeled prawns (or use good quality frozen ones, defrosted)
300g chorizo sausage, cut into chunky slices
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
170g brown basmati rice
400ml chicken stock
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 small squash, peeled and chopped into small pieces
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp of olive oil

Pop Donal Skehan's Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake in the oven before dinner and enjoy it for dessert!

22/03/12 at 11:59 PM | 0 Comments

After the madness of last week it's quite nice being back in the house filming again. We have about a week left and the recipes are really looking great on camera, I can't wait to share them with you. Today's recipe is taken from my first book, Good Mood Food. Simple and quick, you could easily whip it up in the evening and enjoy a nice slice with your tea. This is my Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake, enjoy!

Fresh from filming the Today Show in New York City, Donal whips up a dish you can use any day of the week at home...

16/03/12 at 07:04 AM | 0 Comments

Filming for the new series of Kitchen Hero is well underway and after seven days of non-stop recording, I've finally had a couple of days off. Not just a normal couple of days off though; a few weeks ago I was approached to appear on the Today Show on NBC in the USA so instead of relaxing I have been to New York City and back! It was an amazing experience and the short nature of the trip made it feel even more surreal!

The theme of the new programme is great food for less, so lots of low cost dishes have been on the menu- this one in particular is one of my favourites and makes a wonderful mid-week meal.

 

Throw away the weighing scales and tear up the diet plan: Donal Skehan's Monkey Bubble Bread is a weekend indulgence you won't regret.

08/03/12 at 11:55 PM | 0 Comments

"I came across monkey bubble bread on my travels in New York and I knew the minute I saw it that I had to make it! It's basically a sweet bread loaf made up with a collection of dough balls dipped in butter and sugar... I know it won't win any healthy eating awards but it is truly amazing and so, so tasty. Go on, spoil yourself or your family this weekend..."
 

Monkey Bubble Bread

Makes one loaf
 

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