Everybody who is into wine gets a certain buzz of excitement when there is an exceptional bargain to be had. This phenomenon is known throughout the wine forums of the world as QPR (Quality Price Ratio) and it is almost as important as the overall quality of a wine.  Continue reading »

I’m bored of rice pudding but not quite able to chew yet so I searched about for something yummy but yet easy to eat and I found it here. I’ve made this risotto from Lorraine’s site a few times and it has become one of the weekday favourites in our house.
People think that risotto is difficult, it’s not. It does require you to be around your kitchen for a good 30 minutes but it does not need the slavish attention that you might think.  Continue reading »

Did you ever hear the one about the woman on a date who ate her meal? I’ve never really believed in this phenomenon myself, why would you go on date and then not eat? Someone please explain. Being Irish I’ve also never been burdened with the concept of dating. Irish people do not date, preferring instead to go out in gangs of same-sex friends and then, twelve or twenty drinks in, drunkenly wander up to someone you can focus on at closing time and try your luck.  Continue reading »

Last week I showed a 50 second video of Gordon Ramsey on Boiling point 10 years 8 years ago and it shocked some people to see the transformation in the man. Today just under the surface of the swearing lunatic personality lies a very polished media savvy superstar chef who know how to work his audience. These videos show just what he was like back in the day and just how he has changed!  Continue reading »

Researchers using the massive blogoptic telescope at the Blackrock Observatory have discovered that Kevin Ecock has a blog, too. Here’s a sample post that mentions Sauvignon Gris, but not from the Loire or Bordeaux:
Free Running: Wine Labels Tell All.  Continue reading »

After 5 months of non stop testing and a brand spanking new design we are ready to come out of BETA on Friday and become fully fledged members of the internet fraternity! As you can see from the screen grab below we have implemented text recipes to help all our users who are slowly making the transition from cookbooks to Video recipes, a sort of hybrid recipe if you will!  Continue reading »

So one year ended, another began (who could have guessed) and somewhere along the way your humble scribe went missing. Christmas/New Years turned out to be a gluttonous feast of a time filled with spectacular meals and sumptuous wines and as a result I decided a retreat was required in order to recuperate. As a result I have spent the last number of weeks wine free on the island of Olhuveli in the Maldives.

What a fantastic place it is too.  Continue reading »

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Investigative journalist Bill Kurtis is well known for his time as an anchor for CBS News, his hosting of A&E news and crime documentaries, and now, his promotion of grass-fed beef consumption (as opposed to corn-fed beef).
He owns a cattle ranch that raises its beef with grass (and only grass) and sells it through his TallGrass Beef company.  Continue reading »

Once again I have been a bad blogger. I have no grandiose excuses other than the fact that I seem to have lost my cooking mojo. Or at least I had until Saturday night. I don’t know what happened. I would have been quite content to eat takeaway had the budget allowed for it.
Finally on Saturday Ella begged me to make cupcakes and I did and all of a sudden it was back, culminating in an incredible saffron and petit pois risotto with tiger prawns, recipe to follow.  Continue reading »

I was recently asked whether baking – particularly bread making – in Ireland is undergoing a recent resurgence or is it on the way out? Are people too busy/too tired to cook, never mind bake, for themselves? Judging by the amount of people that bake and blog about it, it doesn’t look like it! What do you think?  Continue reading »

Apologies for yet another lazy post, but I think this is a bit of fun for the weeks ahead.

Design a new logo (the current one is shown above) for Wine Blogging Wednesday, and you could win, ooh… there’s no telling what a grateful wine blogging community might come up with.Wine Blogging Wednesday Logo Contest (Deadline: March 31, 2008) | Wine Blogging Wednesday.  Continue reading »

FoodFight.ie has a sneak preview of the long list for the 2008 Irish Blog Awards in the Food blogs category, and there are some great ones in there and a few new to me. Congrats to everyone!

Well Done Fillet
Val’s Kitchen
English Mum in Ireland
The Humble Housewife
Sour Grapes
Little Bird Eats
What the Waiter Knows
Just Add Eggs
Food Lorists
Ice Cream Ireland
iFoods
Martin Dwyer
Italian Foodies
Eat Drink Live
The Mood Food Blog

P.S. Where is Bubble Brothers?  Continue reading »

There the recipe for the base of most of the hot emulsion sauce. It goes in the composition of a wide range of “hot mayonnaise” type of sauce, such as the mousseline sauce, sauce paloise, etc.

Recipe for 1/4 of a litre of finished sauce:

4+3 tablespoon water.

2 tablespoon white wine vinegar.

a pinch of cracked pepper.

5 egg yolk.

500g good butter.

1/2 lemon juice.

salt and pepper.

Procedure:
Clarify the butter and set aside in a warm place.  Continue reading »

1976. Paris. Californian wine kicked French wine ass. An American French-ass kicking the likes of which has never been seen again, unless you include Team America’s opening scene.

The film is Bottle Shock and includes what looks like a very decent cast.  Continue reading »

Black Forrest Gateau was one of the joys of a ’70s childhood. With its layers of chocolate cake, punctuated by cream and tinned cherries, then decorated with chocolate curls, it always stood proud on desert trolleys of the era during the infrequent times my family went out for dinner.  Continue reading »

After travelling the world several times over working on super yachts and tasting some of the best and most diverse food on the planet there will always be a special place in my heart for Cuba, it’s people and especially strangely it’s food. The reason I say strangely is that for those of you not familiar with the Cuban political situation lets just say that Tesco’s or Wallmart don’t exactly have a shop on every corner.  Continue reading »

Remember those awesome friends that had me over for pumpkin carving and apple crisp? Well this time, they have outdone themselves!
Last Saturday marked the sixth anniversary of their Annual Duck Dinner – a core group of friends’ cherished tradition that I was warmly invited to be a part of. Three weeks prior, I received an e-mail with instructions to bring wine, dress formally and be prepared to eat: duck confit (duck that has been soaking in its fat for a month).  Continue reading »

How to categorise Food Blogs?
The Irish Blog Awards have a month of lively debate,before the final judgement on 1 March.
If you feel like describing your ideal food blog,feel free to post in the Comment box here.
My idea of a perfect Food Blog is one with plentyof baking tips.
Ice Cream is also a very poplular topic,though I have to admit that the Italianbrigade have the most colourful presentation whenit comes to main courses.  Continue reading »

Downtown on Friday night
DUCK DELIGHT
THE PEMBROKE AT THE IMPERIAL
The waiter at the Pembroke in the Imperial suggested that we get the Roast Farmyard Duckling well done; otherwise we would miss out on the “smell”. He may not have had the words spot on but he knew what he was talking about. We took his advice and enjoyed the aroma of the well done duckling, not to mind the crispy fat.
It was simply gorgeous, very enjoyable, as were the accompanying vegetables and sautéed potatoes.  Continue reading »

The Sunday Times of a week or two ago gave us a nod: here’s Kieran’s post about the article, and we also figure in this interesting piece from the Sunday Business Post, though I’m not sure that the paper is exactly comparing like with like (some of our customers are in the list with us).
Winners and charmers of 2007: ThePost.ie.  Continue reading »