Posted on Nov 27, 2008 in Do | 0 comments

The Old Convent

A typo made its way into my piece on The Old Convent published in today’s Irish Times Christmas Supplement so I would just like to clarify that The Old Convent offers two nights B&B and one eight-course dinner for two people for just €450. For more details check their website or contact them...
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Posted on Nov 27, 2008 in Work | 1 comment

Irish Times Christmas Supplement

Watch out for the Christmas Supplement in today’s Irish Times – I wrote a piece on Christmas present ideas for your favourite foodie and it is supposed to be in the paper today…
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Posted on Nov 25, 2008 in Do | 0 comments

Back to Berlin

Aer Lingus permitting, we’re off to Berlin for two nights early – very early – on Sunday morning. Ever since I was at the Prix Europa in 2006 I’ve been wanting to revisit the city, but with a little more leisure to appreciate it. This time round I’ve plans for lavish amounts of kaffe...
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Posted on Nov 24, 2008 in Do | 0 comments

Christmas Food and Wine Fair

Christmas Food and Wine Fair
If you’re in Dublin on Thursday 4 December, check out the Greatfood.ie/Dublin Cookery School Christmas Food and Wine Fair from 6pm to 9pm at the Dublin Cookery School, which is just off Carysfort Avenue in Blackrock, Co Dublin. Dublin Cookery School owner Lynda Booth will host the evening, which...
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Posted on Nov 21, 2008 in Bake | 4 comments

Peanut Butter and Walnut Blondies by way of Rachel Allen’s Bake

Peanut Butter and Walnut Blondies by way of Rachel Allen’s Bake
On the times that I’ve seen it – not having a television, I watch online from the RTÉ website – I’ve been enjoying Bake, Rachel Allen‘s new food show. As you may have noticed, I do very much enjoy baking and am always on the look out for new recipes. Her new book is crammed full of...
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Posted on Nov 18, 2008 in Eating Out | 1 comment

Carluccio’s Caffè, Dublin

Carluccio’s Caffè, Dublin
On a quick trip to Dublin today and enjoyed a brief visit to Carluccio’s Caffè on Dawson Street. Lots of gorgeous food to look at and buy – including some very presentable Christmas hampers and gifts in luxurious packaging – in the deli area at the front of their premises but we didn’t have...
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Posted on Nov 17, 2008 in Read | 0 comments

Sarah Raven’s Complete Christmas

Sarah Raven’s Complete Christmas
If you need any excuse to get into the Christmas spirit, pick up a copy of Sarah Raven’s sparky and seasonal Complete Christmas. I’m already a fan of her comprehensive Garden Cookbook and this is very much in a similar vein, with a big emphasis on using the garden as a resource for creative...
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Posted on Nov 14, 2008 in Do | 3 comments

Bubble Brothers wine tasting dinner in Cork

Next Wednesday, 19 November, if you’re around Cork you should head directly to Fenn’s Quay Restaurant, which is hosting a Bubble Brothers Cahors wine tasting dinner. Jean-Raymond Clarenc of Clos Triguedina will be there to talk guests through tastings of about six of his wines, matched with food...
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Posted on Nov 13, 2008 in Cook, Grow | 2 comments

Baked Stuffed Cabbage

Baked Stuffed Cabbage
Nights are dark and cold and my cooking has changed to correspond with the changing of the season. Anything that can be put into a pot and forgotten about in the oven while I get some work done scores particularly highly on my dinner scale and last night’s dish got full marks for maximum flavour with...
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Posted on Nov 12, 2008 in Do, Eating Out | 0 comments

Jo’Burger for The Dubliner 100 Best Restaurants

Just heard that Jo’Burger in Rathmines – the place that undoubtedly serves the best burger in Dublin and the place of our last meal before we forsook the capital for country life – has been named most popular restaurant by The Dubliner in a public poll. As I write, this year’s The Dubliner...
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Posted on Nov 10, 2008 in Do | 3 comments

What’s going on…

Greatfood.ie have just relaunched a much-expanded discussion board, with a dedicated area for bloggers to list their own blogs at www.greatfood.ie/forum. While you’re there, check out Clodagh McKenna’s cute aprons (although much too cute for a cottage kitchen!) and take a look at the selection of...
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Posted on Nov 6, 2008 in Cook, Grow | 0 comments

Squash for soup: Bean, Squash and Cabbage Soup

Squash for soup: Bean, Squash and Cabbage Soup
The vegetable garden suffered this year. Not only was the weather appalling but the Husband, lulled into a false sense of security by our bunny-killing machine (aka Puddy Cat), took down the rabbit-proof fence – the week before the cat up and died on us. It didn’t take long before the rabbits...
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Posted on Nov 5, 2008 in Do | 0 comments

Outdoor oven building

Outdoor oven building
I’ve written here before about my experience of building an outdoor wood-fired oven on a workshop held at Mallow Racecourse during the summer. My own oven is still not, ahem, built (or even started) but Hendrik Lepel, ovencraftsman extraordinaire, is holding another workshop in Nohoval over the...
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Posted on Nov 3, 2008 in Cookery Books, Read | 1 comment

Cornucopia at Home by Eleanor Heffernan

Cornucopia at Home by Eleanor Heffernan
There is a satisfying heft about Cornucopia at Home, an approachable collection of recipes from one of Dublin’s best-known vegetarian restaurants. Written, photographed and designed by former staff, this handsome volume is a labour of love – and it shows. Eleanor Heffernan, who worked in the...
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