Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Review : Fenns Quay, Cork

Fenns Quay is a hidden gem of a restaurant in the shadow of Cork's Courthouse and is naturally packed full of legal eagles at lunchtime, eager to sustain themselves before another hard afternoon of prosecuting and defending the citizens of Munster.  Don't let that put you off... Fenns Quay, headed by the very talented Kate Lawlor, produces beautifully cooked and reasonably priced food in a relaxed setting.  The service is quick, unobtrusive and incredibly cheerful thanks to the buoyant charm of Pennapa on front of house.


Sunday, August 26, 2012

Competition : Win Chocolates by Genevie *WINNER*

Don't say I never give you stuff.  This is the first of a series of competitions (I always go a bit mad around my birthday and give gifts as well as receive them...) to spoil you lovely readers. Recently, I was sent a box of chocolates from UK based Chocolate by Genevie who sell delicious Belgian chocolates beautifully presented in luxury boxes, hand decorated with silk and butterfly emblems and they taste wonderful.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Review : Martin & Paul's Surf 'n Turf

This is not just a cookery book, this is a highly entertaining television series on RTE One and if you haven't seen it, make it your business to do so.  Myself and The Hubs are big fans and every week he sits there bemoaning "poor Paul Flynn is always getting picked on by yer man with the fish".  I've no doubt that the newly crowned Munster Chef of the Year is well able to hold his own, based on his tweets but it's nice to be  perceived as the underdog every now and then...


Monday, August 20, 2012

Review : Plank Cooking with The Butlers Pantry

When Maria from The Butlers Pantry asked me if I wanted to try out their new BBQ plank cooking plank, I took one look at the grey, rain-sodden skies outside and thought why not...  Their Executive Chef Niall Hill has developed a new method of summertime cooking on the BBQ using a wooden plank.  The method is simple - soak one of the Butlers Pantry untreated Himalayan Cedar or Oak planks for at least 8 hours, put it on your BBQ, add the food, shut the lid and... out comes a fantastic meal.


I collected my pack on a Saturday, got home and unpacked the contents.  There was enough to feed a very hungry army including artisan French bread, pate, beetroot ketchup, salads, marinated chicken, vac packed salmon fillets and the plank itself.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Waterford Harvest Festival


Waterford City is getting ready to host the country’s biggest food festival Harvest from Monday September 10th to Sunday September 16th which will feature a variety of Ireland and the UK’s top Celebrity Chefs at locations across the historic city centre.  Neven Maguire, Kevin Dundon, Darina Allen and Richard Corrigan will all be out en force to showcase their culinary skills in addition to BBC’s Martin Dorey, the presenter of the hit TV series "One Man and his Campervan" and author of the Camper Van Cookbook.


Monday, August 13, 2012

Today I have been mostly... baking cake

Apologies for the radio silence over the past while - I've been a little bit distracted with Mum being in hospital (major op went well and she's well on the road to recovery, while raving about the food in St. Vincent's Private Hospital) and I haven't been feeling too fabulous myself in recent weeks but that should be sorted out pretty soon.

Anyway, back to business.  Today I was baking birthday cakes for twin boys who are 10 tomorrow.  Believe it or not, one of my Twitter friends had seen Ethan's Blue Birthday Cake and contacted me to see if I would make something similar for her boys.  James wanted a cake just like Ethan's with chocolate sponge, blue icing and lots of Maltesers.  Patrick had different ideas and wanted a red sponge, green icing and lashings and lashings of Minstrels.

Patrick's Green Birthday Cake