St Patrick's Day 3 Course Menu

St Patrick's Day is two weeks today, so you still have time to dust off your leprechaun costume and shamrock sunglasses and put the Guinness and Baileys to chill.

I'm working with Ocado and Bord Bia, the Irish food board, and have devised a menu for a St Patrick's Day feast for 4 people that is easy to prepare and uses ingredients from Ocado's Irish food shop.

For a first course I have chosen some thick Irish pork and herb sausages, which were baked in a sticky sauce made from Irish marmalade and Ballymaloe jalapeno pepper sauce and served with an Irish soda bread, made from a pack in just 30 minutes.

For main course I've made a traditional Irish stew, enriched with Guinness, and served with colcannon. There's no need to spend time peeling, boiling and steaming though as Ocado sell a deliciously creamy ready made colcannon in their chilled aisles.

For dessert I made individual chocolate Baileys cheesecakes using Baileys Chocolate Luxe, which at present has an offer of a free glass. Each were topped with a few green M&M's in keeping with the St Patrick's Day theme.

Sticky Sausages

60g Irish fine cut marmalade

50g Ballymaloe Jalapeno pepper sauce

400g Irish Pork & Herb sausages

• Mix together the marmalade and pepper sauce
• Cut each sausage into 4 pieces and add to an ovenproof dish
• Pour the sauce over the sausages and toss to coat them
• Cover with foil and bake in a 200C oven for around 30 minutes, removing the foil for the final 10 minutes, and stirring every 8-10 minutes
• Serve with cocktail sticks and Irish Soda bread

Guinness Stew

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, chopped

4 sticks of celery, finely sliced

1kg lean diced beef

2tbsp plain flour

ground black pepper

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

500ml Guinness

2 beef stock cubes

• Heat the oil in a large ovenproof pan
• Add the onions and celery and fry for a few minutes until softened
• Add the beef and fry until browned
• Stir in the flour to coat the beef, along with a few twists of black pepper and the thyme
• Add the Guinness and stock cubes and bring to a simmer
• Place in a preheated 160C oven for 2 hours
• Serve in a bowl with Colcannon and crusty Irish soda bread

Chocolate Baileys Cheesecakes (makes 4 individual)

154g pack of Oreos

50g butter, melted

300ml double cream + 200ml for topping

150g dark chocolate chips

100g full fat cream cheese

3 tbsp Baileys chocolate Luxe + extra for topping

• Crush the Oreos in a food processor until they're a fine crumb
• Mix in the melted butter
• Press into the bottom of 4 glasses or small dessert dishes and place in the fridge
• Bring 300ml double cream to the boil
• Add the chocolate chips to a large bowl and pour on the hot cream and leave for 5 minutes
• In the meantime whisk together the cream cheese and 3tbsp Baileys until smooth
• Whisk the chocolate chips into the cream until smooth
• Whisk 1/3 of the chocolate cream into the cream cheese until smooth
• Slowly pour in the remainder of the chocolate cream, whisking continuously 
• Pour the chocolate mix into the glasses, on top of the Oreo base
• Place in the fridge for a couple of hours to set
• Whisk together the 200ml double cream and a splash of Baileys Luxe, until soft peaks form
• Spoon over the set chocolate layer and refrigerate until you serve

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

I received an Ocado voucher to enable me to purchase my ingredients

Baked Banana & Cinnamon Porridge

Last March we had a bit of a heatwave. I bought a new car around this time last year; a convertible, and I had the roof down on the test drive, the way home a few days later, as well as for most of the rest of the month.

Today the conservatory roof was being battered by hailstones and a gail was blowing. Come on Winter, you've had your go, it's time to let Spring have a turn. I want to get that roof down again and feel the sun on my face.

In the meantime I'm warming up after the school run with a healthy baked porridge, which is completely Weight Watchers filling & healthy friendly. If you have a bit of a sweet tooth you may want to add some extra Maple syrup, or add some chopped nuts to give it a bit of a crunch.

Baked Banana & Cinnamon Porridge - serves 1

1/3 cup porridge oats
2/3 cup skimmed milk
pinch of cinnamon
1 banana, sliced lengthways
1 tsp pure Maple syrup

• Add the oats, milk and cinnamon to a small ovenproof dish
• Lay the banana slices on the top & drizzle with maple syrup
• Bake in a preheated 180C oven for around 20 minutes, until the milk has been absorbed and the dish is golden brown & puffed up