Craic Kitchen

Swipe to pickle 🥒

If you’re a pickle fiend like me, I’m here to let you know that it is incredibly easy to make them at home, with 10x the flavour that you could buy in the shop.

You can use this pickling liquid for lots of vegetables, but pickled red onions and cucumbers are classics.

- chop your veg of choice and place in a sterilised jar
- add any flavour enhancers of choice
- to a saucepan, add 2 parts white distilled vinegar and 1 part water (I did 400ml to 200ml for two jars). Stir in a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of sugar.
- place over a medium high heat and slowly bring to the boil
- once just boiling, remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly, then pour into the jars
- place the jars aside to cool until room temperature, then place in the fridge.
- store for up to 3-4 weeks

You can customise the herbs and spices you put in, I went with dill, mustard seeds, peppercorns and garlic for the cucumber, then chilli flakes, bay leaves and garlic for the onions.

Hope this tickles your pickle, grá mór

A taste of home 🇮🇪

Long time no talk/post, hope yis are keeping well! Bit lazy of me not to do a post since July last year, so here’s attempt number who knows what to keep Craic Kitchen going.

I’ve recently hopped across the pond to London and have started a job with a food company so that’s exciting. London recs are very welcome, and I’ll return the favour.

Recipes coming back soon I’d say. Stick around and you’ll find out 🤠

Porto bevs and bites 🍷

1. Port in the breathtaking Douro Valley
2. Suckling pig sandwich with some juicy orange, holiday crispssss and a short rib donut 🍊
3. Chicken and ovos rotos 🍗
4. Squid in garlic and coriander butter that I would like to swim in 🦑
5. One of the coolest bars ever
6. Pizza Valtellina at Grazie Mille 🍕with a refreshing Americano cocktail
7. Gnocchi alla Sorrentina is always a good shout
8. Pulpo in the very vibey 🐙
9. Pink brunch 🌸
10. Vinho verde and aperol with a view 🍹

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CAKE

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you had a good Christmas. Finally getting a chance to start working on Craic Kitchen again having been busy before Christmas and then getting hit with Covid haha. Determined to put a lot more work into the page this year so keep following and sharing for lots of new recipes and Irish music.

Here’s the recipe for the chocolate cake I had on my story a few weeks back.

RECIPE

Cake:
235g unsalted butter
300g granulated sugar
185g plain flour
120g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
120g mayonnaise
360ml stout (Guinness)
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
3 eggs
1 tbsp instant coffee
115g chopped chocolate (min. 50%)
Pinch of salt

1. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder, sift into a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the stout, instant coffee and vanilla.
3. In another bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time along with the mayonnaise until fully combined.
4. Add part of the flour mix and part of the stout mix to the butter mix alternatively until fully incorporated.
5. Add the chopped chocolate.
6. Pour the batter into three greased and lined cake tins. Bake at 160°C for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
7. Leave to cool completely (cover each layer in cling film and freeze for 30 minutes before assembly)

Buttercream:
230g unsalted butter
160g icing sugar
170g chocolate (dairy milk)
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp instant coffee
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste

1. Melt chocolate in a Bain-Marie until just melted, leave to cool to room temperature.
2. Combine the instant coffee with 2 tbsp of boiling hot water, leave to fully cool.
3. Whisk butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla, beat together for 3 minutes. Sift in one tablespoon of icing sugar at a time until smooth and creamy.
4. Finally stir in the cooled coffee and chocolate.
5. Assemble the cake.