I rumbled into Geoffrey’s room early on Saturday morning spouting a crazy chirpy, “Tally Ho!”
There were still dishes in the sink from last night’s meal shared with kindred visiting friends from America; an epic curry feast of food and fodder that lingered long into the wee hours of the morning.
But, the wash-up could wait. I was captaining a magical mushroom mission five counties away, and time was of the essence.
“Awww mom…Janey!  Continue reading »

‘Put the Kettle On: The Irish Love Affair with Tea‘ is a brand new book by Juanita Browne, which tracks the Irish obsession with a hot drop.  We Irish are only bleedin mad for tea, and are the highest consumers of it per head of population in the world.  It’s used for everything from a relaxation aid to a pick-me-up, from a treat to a consolation.  To put together the book, Browne spoke to tea experts and amateur tea enthusiasts from all over the country and the world, and gathered stories from anecdote, history and culture.  Continue reading »

Taste of the Week

Hadji Bey’s Turkish Delight
from the Food Emporium at Brown Thomas (Cork).
For much of the 20th century, the Hadji Bey
shop in McCurtain Street was a favourite
destination for many Cork children. And their
parents! Made by the Batmazian family, the fame
of their Turkish Delight spread throughout the land.  Continue reading »

The Autumn evenings are so much cooler and the leaves crisp on the ground and pumpkin season is well and truly here. I sent Chub out to buy me a pumpkin a couple of weeks ago and he came back … Continue reading →.  Continue reading »

Trouble Brewing’s new one, Fuzzy Logic, was commissioned by the Bull & Castle for their “Irishtoberfest” (sigh) which runs all this month. It’s a 4.7% ABV weizen and arrives an opaque and murky pale orange-yellow with little by way of head. Its aroma is probably its most striking element: sulphurous, with more than a suggestion of cabbagey flatulence about it.
Past that there’s a very dry weizen: all crunchy grain and completely lacking in banana fruitiness.  Continue reading »

My friend Chris Cassidy wrote a song in 1999 about Monica Lewinsky at the height of that particular scandal.  The Master Tape was lost until last week when we found it in a box and this week just happens to be Monica’s 50th Birthday!Chris’ dad was a butcher so all his family have the ‘local family name’ of “Pie” eg Chris ‘Pie’ Cassidy etc.  Continue reading »

Saturday night was supposed to be quiet. It was a work weekend for me, the day spent talking at and attending Jim Carroll’s Banter in Kinsale, with a side trip to check out an Ummera smoked chicken sandwich at the book-lined Poet’s Corner. I came home to two post-bath, pj-clad little girls sitting up at the table to have their…  Continue reading »

Saturday night was supposed to be quiet. It was a work weekend for me, the day spent talking at and attending Jim Carroll’s Banter in Kinsale, with a side trip to check out an Ummera smoked chicken sandwich at the book-lined Poet’s Corner. I came home to two post-bath, pj-clad little girls sitting up at the table to have their favourite “Daddy’s dinner” – baked beans (not homemade!) on toast.  Continue reading »

Dream Deli. The new book from Lilly Higgins

Ballymaloe’s Rory O’Connell
launched Dream Deli, the second book by Lilly Higgins, a past pupil of
Ballymaloe, at The Farmgate Cafe this (Wednesday) morning.

Rory said he had been
flicking through the book for a while before he realised that Lilly, as well as
writing it, had also shot the many photographs that illustrate it.  Continue reading »

Breaking bread together is one of the most fundamental things we can do as a family. I believe that the basis of a good community is in the family. It is the first place where we learn to behave as a group. I believe that the basics of interaction as a community are set at the dinner table. How to care, share, talk, communicate, support and so much more.  Continue reading »

I haven’t seen Bernard Walsh, founder of The Irishman and Writers Tears whiskey brands, around of late. At Whisky Live I asked brand manager, Shane Fitzharris, if Bernard was busy working on a new distillery but his perfect poker face wasn’t giving anything away.
The cat’s out of the bag now though.  Continue reading »

I’m so pleased to share the news with you that forkful was nominated in the Best Video Blog category at this year’s Irish Blog Awards. It made it all the way to being a finalist! And then, to my spluttering surprise last weekend at The Irish Blog Awards 2013, forkful actually went and won.
Forkful has taken myself and Mark on a bit of a journey this summer.  Continue reading »

I haven’t seen Bernard Walsh, founder of The Irishman and Writers Tears whiskey brands, around of late. At Whisky Live I asked brand manager, Shane Fitzharris, if Bernard was busy working on a new distillery but his perfect poker face wasn’t giving anything away.
The cat’s out of the bag now though.  Continue reading »

Remember my sister NiNi got married to France-whah this summer? So, in the week before the wedding, our French in-laws arrived in Ireland and I offered to cook for everyone at my family’s home so that the parents could get to know each other. The invitation prompted a beautiful response from France-whah’s lovely mother and word came back that the in-laws were excited about having a meal cooked for them by a “famous” food blogger.  Continue reading »

It’s all coming to a head, the Great British Bake off’s final is next week, and the Great Irish Bake Off is getting into it’s stride. 

TV is now full of baking shows, it’s really the time for any keen bakers to sit down, relax and watch some brilliantly made programs. And, why not, baking is something that became a ‘forgotton‘ skill for many years, until the recent resurgent of home baking.  Continue reading »

How to make the best of Horgan’s ‘Blas na hEireann’ award winners,

their Irish Angus Silverside Roast Beef and Pastrami.

Michael Horgan.

Horgan’s Delicatessen Supplies, based in Mitchelstown (North Cork), has scooped two awards at the 6th annual ‘Blas na hEireann’ National Irish Food Awards (2013).  Continue reading »

Image from chezmax.ie

Chez Max is a French restaurant in Dublin with branches on Baggot St and Palace St beside Dublin Castle.  I took my little girl there once and she referred to it afterwards as ‘Cheese Max’, which I think is one of the most apt mispronunciations ever.  I recently went to their Baggot St restaurant for lunch with my pals Catherine and Itayi, and took the opportunity to Maximise Cheese.  Continue reading »

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/fgMOUUQN-R/.  Continue reading »

Taylor’s Tasting in City

Chris Forbes of Taylor’s was in the Ballymaloe Wineshop at Brown Thomas for an early afternoon tasting. We started off with the White Chip Dry Port. This may be mixed into a long drink, with tonic water for instance, but I like it just the way it is, straight from the fridge. 

Then we moved on to the Crofts Late Botted vintage (LBV).  LBV ports are the product of a single year’s harvest and tend to be lighter bodied than a vintage port.  Continue reading »

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