2011 at FoodFight.ie
Photo by peterastn
A post by Kieran at Ice Cream Ireland
Those of you who know Ventry, know that it is rare to have waves on the beach there that are more than a ripple.
Yesterday, however, when I went for a late afternoon walk on the beach with the pregnant one, we were quite astonished to see quite a few members of Dingle’s surfing brigade packing up for the day.
Surfers in Ventry? Continue reading »
A post by rercy at CheapEats.ie
Christmas and New Year are over, there’s no real excuse to celebrate until St. Paddy’s. Grumble grumble. But wait – not so! This weekend, I fully embraced Chinese New Year and cooked up a traditional New Year’s feast which was inexpensive, healthy and very delicious. I’m already planning Mardi Gras in February; any excuse to… Continue reading »
A post by rercy at CheapEats.ie
I noticed in The Sunday Times ( Page 2 of the main paper) that they have a restaurant offer on:
Next week, treat a friend to a pizza at Milano; buy one pizza and get another one free, in our special offer for Sunday Times readers in next week’s paper. Simply use the exclusive voucher that… Continue reading »
A post by jean at CheapEats.ie
Conor Pope mentions One Pico in Pricewatch today, and coincidentally my friend Ruth also mailed to tell us how great their lunch offer is:
Really top quality food at not much more than the cost of an overpriced panini and latte. Crab risotto to start and a slow roasted pork belly to follow with all the… Continue reading »
A post by jean at CheapEats.ie
Don’t shoot the messenger folks, but the price of chocolate is set to increase after a sudden jump in the price of cocoa. Boo!
All the more reason to enter our chocolate giveaway, of course! Continue reading »
A post by Julian at BUBBLE BROTHERS - CORK WINE MERCHANTS
I’m just recording the fact that I did go along to last Tuesday’s tasting of New Zealand wines in Dublin.
Catching the train meant I could mug up on my NZ wine knowledge on the way, by listening to some informative podcasts from Chris Scott’s UK Wine Show. I found out things about places where I didn’t even know New Zealand had places. Continue reading »
A post by jean at CheapEats.ie
Thanks to our reader Susie who tipped us off about frozen food half-price offers in SuperValu. I was just in the branch on Aston Quay at lunchtime (it’s my most frequented lunchtime shopping stop) and they had the following on offer in their frozen food section:
Ross Fish Cakes – were €2.69, now €1.34
Birdseye Seaside Specials… Continue reading »
A post by jean at CheapEats.ie
Thanks to our reader Peter Whelehan who tipped me off about the great deal at the M&S Restaurant on the top floor of their Grafton Street shop. They currently offer a dinner special – a main course, dessert and a glass of wine for €12.50. I went to try it out on Friday with one… Continue reading »
A post by ollie at olliesplace: organic food, farming, research, news & views with Oliver Moore
The long awaited vote on the use and classification of pesticides in the EU was held on the 13th January.
The vote was opposed by Spain, Hungary, the UK and Ireland. The deal struck will,according to the EU news portal EurActiv, will : “lead to a ban of a number of hazardous substances that pose a potential threat to human health and the environment”. It will also oblige “member states to embrace more sustainable use of pesticides”. Continue reading »
A post by Ivan at Messy-Chef
I discovered a chef called Todd Wilbur at the weekend. Apparently Todd, based in Las Vegas, has sold a couple of million recipe books on how to fake food from chains such as McDonald’s, TGI Fridays and KFC. I have never tried any of his stuff or read any of his books but he’s a pretty entertaining cook and has screen presence.
Here is his take on the Big Mac. Continue reading »
A post by noreply@blogger.com (John Ferris) at Food and Drink
Sunday mornings were made for such things, weren’t they? I lay in bed watching What About Bob, the great Bill Murray film, before getting up to some American waffles, strawberries and maple syrup and a big batch of coffee.Iz, of course, managed to do what she loves to do now with food – hide little pieces of strawberry and waffle in various toys so she could pick them up later when she got hungry again.I’m sure to a one-year-old it’s probably a good idea. Continue reading »
A post by Deirdre at the food.ie warblings
So the doctor called me the other day to tell me that I dont have anything strange growing in me after my trip to India and then proceeded that lovely sentence with the word “yet”. As a result I have been sticking away from anything my Grandparents would have deemed strange food and decided to go all wholesome and make a stew.
Now a few things should be noted here about said decision to make a stew:
I gave up eating pork, beef and lamb when I was 16. Continue reading »
A post by jean at CheapEats.ie
Beaut.ie is one of the great success stories of the Irish blogosphere: even scruffbags like myself know it’s the only place to go for helpful, friendly and funny beauty advice.
The fabulous Kirstie, one of the co-founders and editors of Beaut.ie has kindly shared some excellent tips on eating for cheap in posh Dublin restaurants. These… Continue reading »
Photo owned by jgodsey (cc)
What the Sundays said about food.
By Sinéad Keogh
MERRION FARE
To celebrate Chinese New Year, the Merrion hotel in Dublin is holding a festival of Chinese cooking, says the Sunday Business Post. From this Thursday 29th until the 8th of February, chef Ken Hom will be working in the Cellar restaurant with chef Ed Cooney. Dinner will be served between 6pm and 10pm nightly and booking details are available at 01-6030630.
GIVE IT OX
Today sees the beginning of the Chinese year of the Ox. If you’re in the mood for celebrating any sort of tenuously important occasion and you can’t make the Merrion, you could do worse than pick up ‘China Modern’ or ‘Chinese Food Made Easy’ – the cookbooks of Chinese chef Ching-He Huang. Proving that chinese food can be healthy and easy, according to the Trib, they’re worth a look – or at least a perusing of www.bbc.co.uk/food where some of Huang’s recipes are featured. It’s worth noting that there’s no deep frying or MSG in this chef’s kitchen.
TAKE FIVE
The latest recession buster, as reported by Tribune magazine, is Odessa’s ‘Fivers’. The restaurant at 14 Dame Court will be serving €5-a-plate meals, described by the Trib as “somewhere between tapas and main meal proportions” between 5pm and 10pm Tuesday – Sunday.
HEALTHY FAST FOOD?
Superquinn’s new range of ready meals is all about healthy eating says the Sunday Business Post. The meals contain no artificial colours, flavours, preservatives or hydrogenated fats. Each one also has at least one of the recommended five daily portions of fruit and vegetables, and contains less than 30 per cent of a typical adult’s guideline daily amount of calories. With three available – chilli and ginger salmon, Thai red vegetable and spicy Moroccan chicken, they’re priced at just €3.68 each until January 27th.
FORKING OUT
The restaurant reviews in brief.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
In an interesting move, Katy McGuinness from the Tribune invites one of her readers to join her in reviewing Wicklow Street’s Imperial Chinese Restaurant. McGuinness, having been taken to task for her review of China Sichaun by Dublin Paeditrician Angie Chong, takes the opportunity to learn from a native and finds herself eating from the extensive authentic Chinese menu at the Imperial. Though the dim sum was delicious and the bill was just less than €75 for an amount of food that was described as enough for 4 people, the service was billed as “offhand” and when the Tribune’s photographer showed up to snap an image to accompany the piece he was refused permission. Not quite the dining experience one dreams about.
D1 AND ONLY
Talbot Street hasn’t been much to write home about in the dining stakes, says the Sunday Independent’s Lucinda O’Sullivan, but that’s all changed with the arrival of Le Bon Crubeen. Vegetable soup, Caesar salad and duck and spiced-pear salad all impressed while the Sindo reviewer also commented that the lunchtime menu with hot options from €11.50 to €12.50 should be a hit with locals. There was plenty of praise for mains of five-spiced pork belly, an apple crumble dessert and the “laid back, helpful atmosphere”. Heads up, they do a lunchtime steak (8oz sirloin) with herb butter, salad and fries for €12.50.
KESHK BAR NONE
Ross Golden Bannon sings the praises of Leeson Street’s Keshk in the Sunday Business Post, a big fan of their good portions and good prices. With mains being served with either basmati rice, potatoes or spicy potatoes as standard and no price for corkage for bringing your own bottle (Keshk don’t have a liquor licence) the restaurant endeared itself early on. Golden Bannon had particular words of praise for his baked tiger prawns. Though the chocolate fudge cake and lemon cake didn’t match up to the culinary delight of the savoury dishes, Egyptian Coffee impressed and a mere €24.50 a head when the bill was broken down was very well received.
A post by The Beer Nut at The Beer Nut
ICB’s monthly amateur night at the Bull & Castle recommenced on Thursday last, with a difference. We had the usual interesting variety from the home brewers – a fascinating dampfbier; a passable bitter; a cracking red ale; a powerful coffee stout and a tasty winter warmer – but the larger-than-usual crowd also included several representatives from our favourite trade, including a bar manager, an importer and, best of all, a brewer. Continue reading »
A post by Lar at Sour Grapes
How I Saved the World from Parkerization (by Alice Feiring) is a well thought out, clearly presented book about how wines are being made to suit one particular person’s palate.
The background
To gain the recognition and high scores from one of the world’s most influential wine writers, Robert Parker, winemakers will adopt certain winemaking techniques.
The result? Continue reading »
A post by peter at CheapEats.ie
There’ll be a lot about Chinese New Year on CheapEats this week.
This coming Thursday, Aldi will have a number of great products to match Lidl’s Chinese New Promotion, including:
Asian Cooking Oils – €1.69
SnackRite Prawn/ Spicy Crackers – €0.99
Coconut Milk – €0.69
Asia Specialties Stir-fry sauce – €0.89
Coconut Milk – €0.69
Fortune Cookies – €1.99
Not special offers as… Continue reading »
A post by peter at CheapEats.ie
Dunnes, Superquinn, M&S and now Lidl.
It’s Chinese New Year, and this German discounter seems like one of the cheapest places to stock up on soy sauce, coconut milk, curry pastes, cooking sauces, and Chinese ready meals. Although Aldi may have offers in and around the same price, Lidl’s Asian range is cheaper than the Oriental… Continue reading »
A post by lors at italian foodies
A post by lors at italian foodies
Pairing great wine with great holiday food is what CuriousWines.ie’s Cracking Christmas Case is all about, hand-picked favourites including holiday classics and some of their best-selling wines of 2011 are all brought together in this glorious mixed case, complimenting Christmas fare from roasts to puddings in spectacular style.
Curious cases start at just €95.00 with free delivery, and this particular case of festive delight retails for a deeply discounted €115. Happily, we’ve got one to give away to a lucky winner at FoodFight.ie. – all you need to do to enter is tell us in the comments below what you’ll be cooking up for Christmas dinner this year, and we’ll pick a winner from the entries on December 16th. (And if you don’t win and still want to grab yourself a holiday bargain, last orders for Christmas dispatch are December 20th!)
Every cook we know loves their iPad (or lusts after one) for clipping, reading and cooking from online recipes right in the kitchen. Well, Clickcase.ie has what may be the ultimate kitchen gadget for iPad lovers: the Speck Handyshell slots around your iPad 2 so it can be hung from any rack, drawer or cabinet knob, keeping your iPad at eye level and safe from spills and mess. Genius!
Clickcase, Irish retailer of brilliant iPad and iPhone accessories, is giving one crimble red Handyshell away to a FoodFight.ie reader just in time for Christmas. To enter, all you have to do is head over to the Clickcase Facebook page before December 8th and tell us why you love your iPad or iPhone in the kitchen!
Bake, sell, raise money and help Temple Street Children’s University Hospital.
This November The Great Irish Bake is back and Kitchen Hero Donal Skehan is helping out with sharing recipes and promoting the event. The Great Irish Bake is in aid of helping sick and seriously ill children get the treatment they need. Head over to The Great Irish Bake to register online and be in the chance of winning a trip to New York when you help raise funds for Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. The site also has hints, tips, recipes and all that goes with an event like this.
This is the Facebook for The Great Irish Bake and of course the Twitter hashtag is: #thegreatirishbake
The Great Irish Bake organisers have shared a recipe with us and also a picture of Donal Skehan with his kids from his first marriage. Some of this might be a lie.
Ingredients (Makes approx 30)
- 300g of plain flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon of mixed spice
- 100g of muscavado sugar
- 150g of butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 pack of foxes fruits or jolly ranchers
The Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a standalone mixture beat together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and
mix through.
3. Using a wooden spoon mix through the flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice
and vanilla extract until you have a biscuit dough.
4. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and roll out to about 1cm in thickness.
5. Cut out biscuit shapes, place on the lined baking tray, then using a smaller cutter
or a small knife cut out the center of each cookie.
6. Sprinkle the crushed sweets into the centre of the cookie and place in the oven
7. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire
wrack.