Panettone Pud

You know every year at Christmas when you vow won't overbuy? But you do.

I bought a Panettone for half price. Of course it sat on the sideboard and was picked at.

I had a carton of cream in the fridge also leftover so made a version of bread and butter pudding using the Panettone.


Panettone Pud Recipe

Panettone (I had about three quarters leftover)
450 ml milk
200 ml cream
3 large eggs
75g sugar

I used two quiche dishes measuring 21cm diameter.


Slice the Panettone up into small pieces and pack it into the two quiche dishes.

I didn't butter it as felt it was rich enough.


Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan and bring to just under the boil, remove from the heat and set aside.
Put the eggs and sugar into a bowl over a saucepan of water. As the water underneath heats up, whisk the eggs and sugar together.

Continue to whisk until the egg mixture is thick and creamy.

When the milk and cream mixture has cooled slightly add the egg mix into the milk and cream and continue to whisk.

Divide the custard mixture between the two dishes.  Press the panettone down into the custard mix with the back of a spatula.

Place in a pre-heated oven at 180 deg for 35 minutes until golden and puffed up.

Serve with whipped cream.

It's all about Family, Food, Fun

Annual Christmas Family Shindig

Our annual family Christmas get together is over for another year. Every year after Christmas we all gather in one of our houses and sit down to eat lots, drink lots, argue, shout, laugh and generally be merry. It is always noisy. One of my nephews said to me during the meal the other side of his family were polite, quiet and refined. Let's just say the rambunctious side gathered yesterday.

It was important as it may well be the last time dad will be with us. Dad has dementia and is getting progressively worse. He still knows us all thank goodness but in reality little else.

Food has always played a huge part in our family life. I suppose in a way that may not be considered traditionally Irish. Yesterday all fifteen (my daughter was only member missing) sat down to a four-course meal, lovingly prepared by my brother and his partner, from stunning ingredients all washed down by great wines, grappa and some very exciting Irish craft beers.

Christmas can be a stressful, lonely time for many. Standing in hateful supermarkets over the past few days watching people turn into greedy, ill-mannered, bad-tempered oafs makes me really hate it. But yesterday made me realise what's important. Family, food and fun.

Here's hoping we will all be together again for Christmas 2014.

Buyer Beware Rare Breed

Rare breed pork, the latest, newest buzzword popping up on restaurant menus. Rare breed usually refers to any breed that's not Landrace. Landrace are the familiar pink pig, commercially bred for specific characteristics such as leanness and to provide a good conversion of muscle to fat ratio. They have little hair and would not be as well able to cope living outside as rare breeds or the original pig breeds (but they can adapt). They also do not lay down a protective layer of fat as the rare breeds do to keep them warm.

Rare breed pigs such as Saddleback, Irish Grazer (Tamworth), Gloucester Old Spot, Duroc, Hampshire etc. are the original pigs our ancestors reared, usually outside but in more recent times in a sty. These were fed a mixed diet of vegetables, grains and slops. Feeding slops was banned after some wise guy decided that it would be an idea to feed a vegetarian animal (cattle) with animal protein and lo and behold BSE materialised. Since pigs are omnivorous like us, it is perfectly fine to feed them animal protein.  However probably not advisable to feed them pork or bacon slops. Although I'm sure in days gone by they were.

It is this mixed diet plus the freedom to root and forage for grass, vegetation, roots and grubs that gives rare breed pork it's flavour. Free range rare breeds are able to run, root and generally behave as pigs should. Landrace pigs are reared in concrete housing and fed concentrated feed. They get little or no exercise.

Unless rare breeds are reared outside and fed a varied diet their meat is no different from meat from a Landrace. So a restaurant stating that their pork is rare breed is as meaningless as stating a chicken that has the potential to stick it's head out a gap in the shed, is free range. Do you really want to pay more for something that is no different from conventional pork?

When next you see "rare breed" on a menu ask. Ask if it was outdoor reared. Ask what it was fed. I can guarantee the restaurant won't have a clue. In fact they probably never gave it a second thought. However for their beef they will know the seed, breed and generation and how long it was hung/aged etc.

Why should pork be any different?

Beware of buzzwords. After all arsenic is gluten-free.......