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 directly (Tel: 052 65565 Email: info@theoldconvent.ie).
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...
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 und kuchen and have been reading up on Berlin street food although I can't say that descriptions of the traditional Currywurst are exactly appetising!
The Husband is on a mission to try as many beers as possible – all in the interests of research, naturally, as his first batch of homebrew went down so well – and think he's already plotted several brewery visits into our two days. I think we're going to be there during Christmas Market season so I'm looking forward to plenty of Lebkuchen, Glühwein and roasted chestnuts. Ooh, I'm starting to feel all Christmasy already...
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 includes a sushi demonstration from Seiya Nakano, an Australian wine tasting with the entertaining John McDonnell of Wine Australia Ireland and an opportunity to get your hands on some food-orientated Christmas presents at a special discount of 10%. Don't miss the chance to pick up some of Greatfood.ie's award-winning Wild Cranberry & Apple chutney – there's every chance that you'll have it eaten long before Christmas! Tickets are just €10 and they are available to buy in advance from www.greatfood2buy.com.
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 great things to try – I've already got lots of pages marked for revisiting – but only had a chance to try out one of the recipes so far. A jar of peanut butter in the house meant that Rachel's Peanut Butter Blondies were crying out for a test run but I almost balked when I read that the recipe only made 12 small squares.
If I'm baking, I want there to be plenty for sharing around and so never make less than a swiss roll tin's worth, which – depending on the density of what I've baked – can be cut into 24 to 30 pieces. So I doubled the recipe but I couldn't leave it alone at just that! I used dark instead of white chocolate, added toasted walnuts to up the nutty quotient and, because I thought that.the mixture was much too thick, threw in an extra egg (have chickens, will use eggs). If you don't over cook them, they turn out nicely dense and nutty with surprise hits of chocolate all over the place. At the cottage, we especially like them warmed and eaten with some ice cream but they don't suffer too much from being eaten with a coffee or hot chocolate in work either. Well worth trying – but you definitely need more than 12 small squares.
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 time to linger. In search of some quick soup, we got Pasta e Fagioli, a sustaining bowl of borlotti beans and pasta in a rich broth, with a chunk of olive oil-soaked, salt-sprinkled foccacia. A cup of fresh mint tea (mint leaves in boiling water, sweeten as desired) finished off a simple and satisfying repast. Must go looking for that Pasta e Fagioli recipe in my new Carluccio's Complete Italian Food cookbook...
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 decorations, food and homemade presents.
There are lots of great ideas for decorating with easily sourced flowers and greenery and the book even inspired me to set some hyacinth bulbs back a few months ago, which are now slowly – it's a cold cottage! – growing into something that look as if they might actually flower in the New Year. Her recipes are gorgeous, with plenty of last minute things to make for the family as well as a could-be-very-useful last minute recipe for Christmas Pudding. Lucky me: Mum's already got that well in hand! There are ideas forentertaining over Christmas as well as things to do with all the leftovers and I've already got plenty of ideas for the post-Christmas mound of food. It never seems to last too long in my family! Give this as an early gift to someone you know who loves Christmas – they're going to love it.
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 from chef Kevin Crowley. And the price? A very reasonable €50 per person. You can call the restaurant directly (021 4279527) or check out the Bubble Brothers blog for more details. They're also running a competition to win a free dinner and there's more information on that here.
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 minimum effort.
This is based on a Jane Grigson recipe from her constantly referenced Vegetable Book. When we still had lots of vegetables in the garden it was a fantastic resource for the regular gluts; now as I do most of my vegetable buying at farmers' markets, it still comes in useful for the random piles of roots or brassicas that I end up with. I've been getting lots of cabbage from Morris from Gairdín Eden and, as I refuse to actually boil it (too many bad childhood memories!), I am always on the lookout for some different way to cook it.
For this recipe, which Jane calls Stuffed Cabbage in the Troo Style, you only need three ingredients but you can't skimp on them. Get yourself some good cabbage and make sure you pick up some fabulous sausages – I got some herbal Hodgins sausages, made locally in Mitchelstown and they had a great kick. I'll give the proportions that I used but I don't really think that it matters too much if you deviate from them. Tempted though I was to jazz it up a little, Jane does point out that she's tried adding different herbs, tomatoes and bacon but has always come back to the simplicity of the original. I made this in my lovely bean pot (a present from the Connoisseur) which ensured that not too much of the gorgeous juices evaporated. Serve with something simple to mop up – mashed potato is always good – or you can try the idea from Writing at the Kitchen Table and put a layer of sliced potatoes on top.
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 100 Best Restaurants guide is being launched in the Westbury Hotel, with Dylan McGrath of Mint chosen favourite chef by his peers. Other favourites in the People's Choice Award are Bentley's (avoid the Aviator Lounge at all costs), Café Bar Deli, Chapter One, L'Gueuleton, La Maison des Gourmets, Saba (great noodles), Town Bar and Grill, The Unicorn and the ever-fabulous Winding Stair.
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 cookery courses on offer throughout Ireland.
Nigel Slater, my favourite cookery writer, wrote a piece on squash and marrows in Sunday's Observer and, seeing as I'm probably not the only one to have lots of squash to use, I thought it might come in useful. You'll find it here. Speaking of squash, check out 101 Cookbooks for a version of Denis Cotter's recipe for Borlotti Bean Mole with Roast Winter Squash.
The Tannery cookery school has just opened and Paul Flynn has lots of tempting courses on offer, including his Irish Adventure With Food demonstrations and practical classes focusing on winter food like turnips, kale, parsnips and slow cooked beef. I recently borrowed his cookbook from the Clonmel-based cousin and am thoroughly enjoying it – if his classes are as accessible as his writing then he's on to a winner.
Just came across this article on 20 Cheap Eats throughout Ireland in the Sunday Tribune which mentions lots of my favourite places, including Gruel, the Farmgate Café, Ard Bia, Cornucopia, the Cake Café – and there's another 15 to try out.
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 realised that our newly planted leeks, beans and kale were an all-you-can-eat buffet. The only things that survived were a few plants of perpetual spinach, some Swiss chard – and, thankfully, the squash.
After last year's success with the Ushiki Kuri squash we planted lots more, alongside some pumpkins. Despite the weather and fortunately ignored by the rabbits, the squash took off and we managed to gather a decent yield, most of which is hanging up around the kitchen in old onion net bags. The pumpkins – the variety was, I think, Queensland Blue from the ISSA – never really did very well and we only managed to salvage one. Still, at least there's enough squash so that we can make winter warming soups like this one, adapted from Nigel Slater's Bean and Black Cabbage one, especially good for killing colds if you have some good chicken stock in the freezer.
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 weekend of the 15 and 16 November. More details below.
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 restaurants a waitress, manager and chef for seven years, is the beating heart of the book: she knows the recipes from all angles, having been the chef preparing squash for the savoury Butternut Squash, Pumpkin Seed and Rosemary Scones (she always used the easy-to-chop, straight end!), dealing with the customer who wanted to buy an uncooked Apple Crumble for baking at home to impress a date, and noticing which of the dishes are most demand when they arrive on the counter (Sweet Potato, Broccoli and Lentil Sambar, White Bean and Roast Mediterranean Vegetable Pie with Basil Mash and Chocolate Marble Silken Torte are just a few of the favourites). With atmospheric photography and food styling from Orla Keeshan and Orlagh Murphy's colourful graphic design/illustration, the book is both testament and tribute to the ideals behind Cornucopia.
Cornucopia was set up in 1986 by Neil and Deirdre McCafferty. This Irish couple had just returned from nine years living in Boston and, having being influenced by the vegetarian and raw food cultures in America, decided to set up a health food shop and cafe on Wicklow Street. Successful from the start, after a few years, the food side of things expanded into the entire premises and so it has remained, under Deirdre's stewardship – Neil died suddenly of pancreatic cancer in 1993.
The restaurant has remained true to their original ideals: constantly aiming to achieve a happy union between health and taste. Quality seasonal ingredients, organic when possible, cooked simply are the basis of these recipes which will appeal – as does the restaurant – to those who are on special diets, are vegetarian or vegan, or who just appreciate good food.
The cookbook contains the greatest hits of Cornucopia, recipes chosen by democratic and diplomatic means, snapshots taken of staff behind the counter, educational information on ingredients and scenes from the life of the restaurant. Divided into five chapters – Soups, Salads, Mains, Breads and Deserts – each is subdivided into sections which make it easy to find your way around. In Salads, basic information is set alongside recipes for potato salads (including my favourite Garlic Mayonnaise Potato Salad with Toasted Hazelnuts), bean salads, grains and noodles and raw salads. The Bread section has a particularly useful table of bread preparation tunes, along with the ever-fantastic and exceptionally simple Spelt Bread that is ever-present on the counter.
Recipes are clearly laid out, easy to follow and, in the main, very uncomplicated. Just a cursory flick through will give you lots of ideas for dinner – take a look at Moroccan Chickpea Tagine with Orange-Scented Bulgar Wheat, Butter Bean, Roast Fennel, Pepper and Rocket Salad or Tomato, White Bean and Savoy Cabbage with Basil Oil Soup. For anyone who is restricted to a special diet, there are plenty of ideas, with some particularly good recipes for gluten-free and sugar-free baking.
There's no doubt that this book will be snapped up by the restaurant's many long-term restaurant customers – but they're not the only ones that are going to enjoy, appreciate and cook from Cornucopia at Home.
Cornucopia at Home is published by Atrium. Read more about the cookbook here.
