y o j n e o t ll a s e p i c e r e e r f s s u f , y t s a T
Cooking
Creamy chicken and mushroom pasta with spinach
This is the perfect dinner to make after a long day at work when you don’t want a lot of washing up. You literally throw it all in one pan – so handy and easy. Serves 4 350g chicken breast, chopped olive oil, for frying 1 onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed 200g mushrooms, sliced 240ml (1 cup) white wine 480ml (2 cups) chicken stock 120ml (½ cup) cream 250g penne pasta 50g baby spinach 45g (½ cup) Parmesan, grated Fry the chicken in a little oil in a large pan until cooked through, then remove. Fry the onion, garlic and mushrooms in the same pan for a minute or so. Pour in the white wine and cook for about 2 minutes over a high heat, till the steam dies down. Stir in the stock and cream. Sprinkle in the uncooked pasta, cover and cook for approximately 12 minutes or until the pasta is soft. Add the chicken back in. Add the baby spinach and stir through. Stir in the grated Parmesan, reserving a little to sprinkle over the top, and serve.
Birthday cookies
These are ideal for birthday playdates and parties. They are pretty chunky and don’t spread as much as most cookies, so you can make more at one time. If you make them smaller, you can fit even more on the tray. Makes 10 120g unsalted butter, at room temperature 100g (½ cup) brown sugar 70g (1 /3 cup) granulated white sugar 1 egg 2 tsp vanilla extract 300g (1¾ cups) self-raising flour ½ tsp salt 250g chocolate chunks 100g sprinkles Preheat the oven to 200°/180° fan/gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Mix the butter and sugars with an electric mixer (or by hand if you don’t have one) until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Add the flour and salt. Mix till well combined. 82 Senior Times | May - June 2022 | www.seniortimes.ie
Fold in the chocolate chunks and sprinkles. Make into balls about ⅓ or ¼ cup size, and place on the lined baking tray. Bake for about 12 minutes, until nicely browned. Leave on the tray to set for about 5 minutes after taking out of the oven, before removing and allowing to cool completely. Tip - You can also freeze the uncooked dough balls and bake from frozen the same way as above – just give them an extra few minutes!
New York baked cheese cake with butterscotch sauce
This restaurant-quality dessert may seem daunting but, trust me, it’s actually super easy, and it tastes incredible. Just remember to make it a few hours or even the night before you want to serve it. Serves 12 For the base: 200g digestive biscuits 2 tbsp light brown sugar 100g butter, melted For the cheesecake: 800g full-fat cream cheese 200g light brown sugar 3 tbsp plain flour ½ lemon, juice only 1 tsp vanilla extract 4 free range eggs 200g sour cream Butterscotch sauce: 100g caster sugar, 50g butter, 100ml cream Preheat the oven to 240°/220° fan/gas mark 9. Grease and line a 9 inch/23cm springform tin. To make the base, blitz the biscuits in a food processor, add the brown sugar and melted butter and mix together. Press the mixture into the bottom of the tin and bake for 10 minutes. To make the cheesecake, place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl, add the brown sugar and whisk until smooth. Add the flour, lemon juice and vanilla and mix. Gradually whisk in the eggs. Stir in the sour cream and pour the mixture into the baking tin. Gently tap the tin on the counter a few times. This will bring any bubbles to the surface and level out the top of your cake. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 130°/110° fan/gas mark ¼ and bake for a further 45 minutes. Turn off and let the cake cool in the closed oven. Once cooled, pop it in the fridge to set. (It can take several hours to cool and set, so make sure to give yourself plenty of time.) To make the butterscotch sauce, add the caster sugar to a pot and heat until melted. Add the butter and cream. Stir until it forms a sauce – about 5 minutes. Don’t worry if there are lumps, as they will dissolve as it heats. Remove from the stove and cool a little before drizzling over the baked cheesecake. You can also drizzle some melted chocolate if you have it. Then put it back in the fridge for 10 minutes before serving.
