THE WEEKEND CATCH

A bumper Weekend Catch, fresh from the Net.

THE WEEKEND CATCH

Restaurant Wine & Food Scene

via Twitter & Facebook

Control and click to follow the links and find out more.

Killavullen Farmers' Market The next market is on Saturday the 19th of Febuary from 10.30am to 1pm. We hope to see you there.

No.5 Fenns Quay Restaurant

Good morning !! We are pleased to announce our Michelin sticker & recommendation arrived in the post  :-)

Nash 19

Staying in this weekend.........
Why not have a dinner party. Nash 19 Bolognese Sauce,Piece of Parmesan, Martelli Pasta from Contry Choice and Organic Leaves from Kinsale. Only €22.80 Serves 4.

WdFoodFestival Waterford Food Fest 

Application forms now available to download from our website for our festival Farmer's Market on Sunday 17th April http://bit.ly/eUpDnh

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No.5 Fenns Quay Restaurant

quick and easy steak sauce !!
you have pan fried your steak now it needs to rest in the pan you cooked the steaks add a sliced red onion a few twists of your pepper mill soften the onions ,
add 1/2 glass of red wine and reduce until it is almost eveaporated
add 250ml of double cream cook for 5 minutes on a medium to low heat
season to...See More

mariannegusto Marianne Delaney 

Maurice from Ballyhoura apple farm at #Mahon point. His Juices will be on the shelves of @cafegusto next weekhttp://twitpic.com/40pse2

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Elephant Island Restaurant

We have teamed up with Cottages for Couples in West Cork to offer any of their guests a complimentary bottle of house wine with a minimum spend per head in our restaurant.
Cottages for Couple have some beautiful and luxurious properties available to rent by the night or by the week. West Cork Self Catering Cottages to Rent for couples Skibbereen Holiday Homes Accommodation Skibbere www.cottagesforcouples.ie

libertygrill Liberty Grill 

Specials this month, Monkfish & Prawn Kebab - Barbary Duck#FriFotos http://twitpic.com/40zaz0 http://twitpic.com/40zaz2

Hartys Cloyne From Sunday 6th - Friday 25th February in association with Irish Restaurant Awards 2011 & Sunday Independant Life Magazine, 20% off customers food bill - Vouchers availabe from Sunday Independant Life Magazine - Click on link for details & participating restaurants.

GoodFoodIreland Good Food Ireland Try Fish & Chips like you've never tasted before! Check out this delicious recipe from GFI Member Ballycotton Seafood http://bit.ly/i6p2x3

donalskehan Donal Skehan 

I'm the ambassador for Temple Street's 'The Great Irish Bake' Campaign 2011! Ooh Ambassador! :) Details on the blog :)http://ow.ly/3XKhp

richysbistro richy's bistro 

Cooking class for kids in Richy's Bar and Bistro. Wed 23rd Feb 3pm-5pm!Should be great fun to cook in the professional kitchen with Richy!!

EpsteinTravels Jonathan Epstein 

Do you follow any chefs, vineyards, restaurants on Twitter? Let them know this week's #FriFotos theme is #food & #wine!

winerepublic Martin Moran 

 by rednosewine

Wake up FG, increasing wine duty didn't raise income for FF as people shop cross border. They had to cut it to increase tax take again #ge11

foodforlivingie Food for Living 

Just tasted @ummera smoked duck at the @corkfoodforum ... Delicious

BullseyeFood BullseyeFood 

 by anygivenfood

THANK YOU! 250+ at last nights Cork Food Forum! Presentations will be available on the www.WCEB.ie http://twitpic.com/40ngqw

1 hour ago Favorite Undo Retweet Reply

whhoganQuintas William Hogan, Cork 

 by DeesWholefoods

@DeesWholefoods congratulations on your latest venture | Cork food firm launches range of burgers on British marketirishexaminer.com/business/cork-…

ummera Anthony Creswell 

RT @guardianfood: Gourmet salt - how did it get so trendy?gu.com/p/2n6z9/tw #wom >Worth a read for anyone at #wcebfoodlast night

IrishFoodies Irish Food Bloggers 

RT @adriancummins 8 week Sommelier Training Certificate Course. More details .... http://fb.me/RXG34zL1

GoodFoodIreland Good Food Ireland 

Check out GFI Member Eamonn from Knockanore Farmhouse Cheese who was on Nationwide last nighthttp://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1091889

foodforlivingie Food for Living 

Tesco customers keep asking for more Irish products on the shelves. So says tesco at #wcebfood

umnumnum_cork Margaret Smith 

Carrigaline Farmhouse cheese is very yummy. My fave was the garlic & herb http://plixi.com/p/77885287

ByTheGlassUK By The Glass® 

Are you serving wines at the correct temperature? http://bit.ly/fFqysL

FreckledPast Evin 

Mini vegan cocoa cakes! The best part is licking the bowl.http://yfrog.com/h41vtxwj

Bramley Apple Recipes: http://www.bramleyapples.co.uk/apple_recipes.html

Bordeaux Wine

Sooner or later it happens to everyone, a broken cork! Here's how to solve it:

How to remove a broken cork

bit.ly

Beppi Crosariol shows you what to do the next time a cork crumbles before you've got it out of the bottle

We search the net, via Twitter and Facebook, each Thursday evening and early Friday morning, for the latest from the Cork restaurant and bar scene. If you don't have either of the above, reach us at cork.billy@gmail.com. Deadline 9.00am Friday.

WHEN WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH

GATTUSO: MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY 

Italians use hand gestures a lot, especially in the south of the country, but rarely the head as fish-shop owner Gennaro Gattuso  did against Spurs.

Born in the south, Gattuso’s hand has also gotten him into trouble: In a UEFA Champions League group stage match against Ajax in September 2003, he was sent off during second-half injury time after slapping Ajax striker and current team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimović in the face with the back of his hand. (Wikipediia)

All ties in nicely with a bottle of Primitivo that I recently received as a present. It is called Parlare Italiano and the label illustration is a series of hands in various poses.

Anyone who watches Italian football regularly will know a few of these gestures. Perhaps the most common is where you press your hands together as if in prayer, then move them up and down. You usually do this with the ref when he has ruled against you. Like most gestures it can mean different things: Why don't you listen to me? or You’re going to be the death of me! It is also a favourite gesture among Italian mothers.

Interesting, isn’t it. Found it in a very informative book on Italian Wine called, believe or not, Vino Italiano!

A bit more interesting really than this bottle which comes from the hot region of Puglia, Italy’s heel. It is made from the Primitivo grape, which has proven strong links to America’s Zinfandel and is the most consumer friendly grape of the region.

Colour is a fairly dark red and there is an aroma of dark fruits. On the palate, this softly structured wine is fruity, reasonably flavoursome with good acidity and just a bit more to it than a simple quaffing wine. Just a little bit.

Parlare Italiano, Primitivo Salento, 2008, 13.5%, **/***

FOOD AND WINE SHOWCASE

 FOOD AND DRINK SHOWCASE NEEDED  

West Cork’s Charlie Costello (@charliecostello), restaurant owner and hotel manager, is never short of an idea or two and lately he has been thinking about expanding the interaction of food and wine people on twitter, especially producers and suppliers.

“What about meeting up with your tweeting suppliers. We could feature their food & wines.” 

Just been wondering what form this could take. And duration? 

Perhaps, it could it start off with a tasting night? Something like that evening when LocalMarkets.ie launched their service in the English Market. Should it take place in a restaurant with the menu for the night drawn from the suppliers?

Should it be a weekend festival? There are so many suppliers in the Cork area that I suspect more than one restaurant might be needed. Hold the event in a town or area, like Clonakilty for example, where there is a cluster of restaurants. First course here, second course there, dessert over there. Maybe erect a marquee?

I know there are some very enjoyable food events around the city and county but don’t we need a really grand showcase? One that would draw the punters in from near and far, especially now that the reputation of Irish food is so high.

Any ideas out there?  Here is a link to some American food and wine festivals.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_Network_South_Beach_Wine_and_Food_Festival Have a look and let us have your comments in the facility below or via twitter!

Thanks to @Jaq_Stedman Jacqueline Stedman, via Twitter, you can see how they do it in one part of Australia here

SPICE UP YOUR MORNINGS

GREEN SAFFRON

The fragrant Green Saffron stall is a regular stop for me whenever I’m in either the Mahon or Midleton Farmers Market.

Met Arun (did you see him on RTE yesterday making a tempting gingerbread?) in Mahon last Thursday and spotted a couple of granolas for sale. These were new to me and, with some advice from the man himself, I settled for a pack of Breakfast Granola, rather than the more expensive luxury one!

Paid just over 4 euro for 500 Gms and I am delighted to say that I am really enjoying my purchase. It certainly has spiced up breakfast time but please don't be put off by all my talk of spice. The Green Saffron Juicy Fruit Spice blend is moderate but does provide a pleasant taste and a pleasing aroma even early in the morning.

The full ingredient list: Rapeseed Oil, Jumbo Oat Flakes, Figs, Golden Syrup, Light Brown Soft Sugar, Rye Flakes, Barley Flakers, Butter, salt, Pistachios, Almonds, Sultanas, Rosewater and Green Saffron’s Juicy Fruit Blend.

Tempted? I bet you are. Try it and let me know what you think.

VILLAGE TALES

VILLAGE TALK

The hype on wine labels never ceases to amaze me. Take this for example, from an ordinary Beaujolais-Villages: “...like a dream,...a poem, or perhaps a symphony”.

My notes for this Pierre Ponnelle 2009 Beaujolais Villages were more down to earth. Leave the orchestra out of it; the string quartet will do nicely!

Colour: Light cherry red.

Nose: Tame fruit.

Palate: Light red fruit flavours, simple, easy drinking dry wine, smooth and nicely balanced with not a bad finish at all. The grape is 100% Gamay and ABV is 12.5%. Rating: ***

They say “it is .. richer than any other types of Beaujolais”. But we don’t believe everything we read on the back label. Do we?

It didn’t always have such skilled defenders as today’s PR firm. Gamay was once banned. Duke Phillip the Bold took a dislike to it back in the 14^th century. But it grew its way back. The revival really took a hold in the 1960s when local grower Georges Duboef promoted, with great success, Beaujolais Nouveau.

That usually arrived in November, still does but to much less fanfare, and was meant to be drunk young and that applies to much of today’s Beaujolais (Nouveau or otherwise) though there are exceptions.

Not overly keen on this fairly average one and you, and I, would do better to find a Beaujolais Villages with the village name on the bottle – see the map (click to enlarge).  A wine made from the grapes from one of these villages is called a Cru Beaujolais, and the AOC label will name the village.  It will be a little bit more expensive but not overly so. Must say I do enjoy one every now and then, especially in summer time.

Much the same goes for Cotes de Rhone Villages. Get one with the village name on the bottle. I hit the jackpot here with a Christmas present: Chateau de Marjolet 2009 Laudun, Cotes de Rhone Village, Cuvee Tradition, 14.5% ABV, Gold Medal winner Orange 2010 ****.

(This present got mixed with others so I don't know who gave it and canl;t ask where they bought uit. Jay Fox of jay_at_hollands has been in touch: "its hitting Ireland in about 3-4 weeks. I'll be stocking it.")


Marjolet is “an independent producer” in the village of Laudun where some of the region’s finest reds are made. Hugh Johnson has praise for it in his 2011 writings: Most happening area, bundle of good wines,...., all very drinkable.”

On the evidence of this Laudun, I agree with him. Colour is medium red with an aroma of red fruits (strawberry and cherry). On the palate, it is peppery, juicy, medium bodied and well balanced and rich with a pleasant lingering finale. 

ELECTRIC

ELECTRIC

Just a few years back, I had my first encounter with Sauerkraut*, in an Austrian monastery on the banks of the Danube. Not a very pleasant meeting, very sharp stuff indeed and the English ex-pat alongside was having a laugh: I told you so!

Got back on the boat and headed for Vienna. A few days later at a Heurigen (wine tavern that serves food, and the only place I ever got wine in a half-litre tankard ) near the city, the Sauerkraut was on the menu again. Never afraid to research in depth, I tried it again and found it much milder and every enjoyable.

And, thankfully, it was the latter type (this from Alsace) that accompanied my Pheasant (€20) on a dinner visit to Electric.  Bacon and Morteau sausage were also in the pleasing mix, along with some mashed potato. A really well balanced dish and one happy customer.

The other side of the table was delighted with her Roast free range chicken with carrots, parsnips, goose fat roasties and onion gravy (€17). The chicken was exceptionally flavoursome, the whole combination so well done and a pleasure to eat.

We had skipped the tempting starters and so had room for desserts. Again these were top notch. The Cocktail Alexander (brandy panacotta with espresso chocolate mousse) looked classy and inviting and it sure was a treat.

Unusually, I went for the tri-partite Chocolate Explosion (€8.00): a dark mousse, a light mousse and a chocolate cake, each separate in the well presented dish. Quite a substantial dessert but there was nothing left!

Drinks included Brown Brothers late harvested orange muscat (€4.5 a glass), Les Jamelles 2008 Vine De Pays d'Oc Merlot (€4.9) and NZ Old Coach Road 2009 Nelson Riesling (€5). Decent wines at decent prices.

The new restaurant is on the second floor with views, depending on where you are seated, over South Mall, end of Grand Parade and the adjacent river. It is a very pleasant place to visit with good food and good people at all levels of the interaction.

*Choucroute in France

TALL, DARK AND HANDSOME!

TALL, DARK AND HANDSOME 

Kangarilla Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, McLaren Vale, 14% ABV, €15.99 RRP, ****

Just in time for Valentine’s - a tall, dark and handsome visitor from South Australia.

Colour is dark red and the aroma is of dark fruits and a hint of mint. Rich dark fruits on the palate, it is a smooth well balanced wine where the tannins play their role with a pleasant ease, all ending in an equally pleasant lingering finish.

Couldn’t ask for anything more from this highly rated winery. The wine itself doesn't do too badly either and picked up 90 points from Wine Spectator. It is rich, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon and has been aged for 18 months in both French and America oak.

In the past few months I have tasted other products of Kangarilla Road and have been very happy with them. So if you like this one why not try these:

Kangarilla Road Shiraz 2008, 14.5%, €15.99, McLaren Vale (Aus.)

Kangarilla Road Charlie’s Blend Shiraz Cabernet 2008, 14%, €11.99, McLaren Vale (Aus.)

Kangarilla Road Leaf Series Shiraz (15.99) or the 2Up Shiraz (11.99).

Distributed by Wine Alliance and available in Off Licences at independents nationwide.

THURSDAY IN MAHON

Hens on point of lay for sale in Mahon

MAHON POINT FARMERS MARKET

All calm at Mahon Point Farmers Market yesterday after the

THE WEEKEND CATCH

English Market

A bumper Weekend Catch, fresh from the Net.

THE WEEKEND CATCH

Restaurant Wine & Food Scene

via Twitter & Facebook

Control and click to follow the links and find out more.

market_lane Market Lane 

Seasonal special jack mac black pudding with

CATCH 'EM YOUNG

Kerpen

CATCH THEM YOUNG   

Kerpen 2009 Riesling Blauschiefer Trocken, 12.5%, Karwig Wines (€14.05) ****

On a Christmas visit to Carrigaline I picked up this

WEXFORD DOUBLE

Kilmore Quay gull is buying Irish

FOCUS ON BUYING LOCAL

You really need your thinking cap on when

HOW LOCAL DO YOU GO?

TIPP DOUBLE FOR THIS CORKMAN!

Just been reading the always entertaining and

THE RISING TIDE

THE RISING TIDE

Enjoyed a terrific meal at Glounthaune’s Rising Tide Brasserie on Friday night. Quality local produce featured strongly across

SPANISH RIESLING!

 WINE STORE SHOUTS OUT FOR A SPANISH RIESLING 

Some big names in the wine game are coming out

GRAND CRU SPECIAL

GRAND CRU SPECIAL 

Looking for something for a special occasion? Well, here is something From Vineyards Direct  for an occasion that is on the horizon or up to maybe twenty years away.

Chateau Teyssier Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2008 
Double Magnums :  "Abundant quantities of sweet black fruits, a natural, lush texture, ripe tannin, and a heady finish."  (Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate)

With aging potential of up to twenty

THE WEEKEND CATCH

This Casanova is ready for love!

A bumper Weekend Catch, fresh from the Net. 

THE WEEKEND CATCH

Restaurant Wine & Food Scene

via Twitter & Facebook

Control and click to follow the links and find out more.

Augustine's Restaurant

Wondering where to go for Valentine's - Join us at Augustine's Restaurant for something truly special... Book now on 021.4279375

Hartys Cloyne From Sunday 6th - Friday 25th February in association with Irish Restaurant Awards 2011 & Sunday Independant Life Magazine, 20% off customers food bill - Vouchers availabe from Sunday Independant Life Magazine - Click on

CAFE GUSTO

CAFE GUSTO

Is Cafe Gusto  in Washington Street in a class of its own when it comes to cafes in Cork? Coffee and scones (and more) in the morning, followed by

MARMALADE. If I can make it, anyone can!

EASY MARMALADE  

Last week, on a whim, bought some Seville Oranges at

CAN YOU MAKE IT TO HEAD CHEF?

International superchef Conrad Gallagher offers 8 kitchen hopefuls the chance of

Les Gourmandises

Les Gourmandises 

Delighted with my most recent visit to Les Gourmandises . Fine French Dining is printed on their card and it is no empty motto. They live up to it. Making your way through the courses here is an exercise in delicacy.

If you find yourself in

SAMBA ON A COLD MONDAY MORNING

COFFEE: BRAZILIAN BRUZZI 

Now it’s official: I am a

FLESH ON SUNDAYS

Ian from An Crúibín has been in touch:

'The Sunday Munch returns

ARDSALLAGH GOATS CHEESE CRANBERRY ROULADE

GOATS CHEESE ROULADE 

Had been on the lookout for Ardsallagh’s Goats Cheese Cranberry Roulade and spotted it in On the Pigs Back on a run through the English Market on Friday. 


Picked up some

SWEET, CHEAP AND CHEERFUL

SWEET, CHEAP AND CHEERFUL 

Glad I got into sweet wines. Have enjoyed a few over the Christmas and still the sweets go on, the latest a Moscatel from Valencia, the “primary source of sweet budget wines”, according to Mr Hugh Johnson.

From grapes grown on

THE WEEKEND CATCH

Florentine Steak

A bumper Weekend Catch, fresh from the Net. 

THE WEEKEND CATCH

Restaurant Wine & Food Scene

via Twitter & Facebook

Control and click to follow the links and find out more.

RT @CometoCork The French equivalent of the Lonely Planet guide has showered praise on Cork restaurants http://ht.ly/3D6bG via @corkindo

Electric We are

A WINNER FROM KARWIG

ONE TO BUY. AGAIN    

The late Renato Ratti has been credited, at least in Vino Italiano, with being “The Father of Modern Barolo”. He took that wine by the scruff of the neck in 60s and his more accessible style became a hit.

The production of classic affordable Piedmont wines goes on, now under the direction of Pierro Ratti. “..the wines keep getting better” according to Vino Italiano.

Must say I didn’t know much about this producer and their wines until I got a bottle in the Carrigaline premises of Joe Karwig. I’m glad that I did. This was a Barbera d'Alba. The Barbera is the grape variety and the Torriglione on the bottle refers to the vineyards where it is grown.

The colour is an intense Cardinal Red. Remember that

MR ISCHLER’S DELICATESSEN

MR ISCHLER’S DELICATESSEN

Took a short cut through Kyle Street today and spotted a bakery with some tempting looking loaves in the window. Inside, there was quite a selection and also pastries and also fudges and chocolate truffles.

I stuck to

HARVEY'S: BETTER ON THE WEB!

HARVEY’S

Heard some good reports (mainly lunch/brunch) about Harvey’s of Academy Street. Checked out their website  and was quite impressed. Booked a table for dinner and was expecting great things.

But the website flattered the place. Both it and the entry in Whazon says it is fully licensed but they sell only wine, no beer. The expansive list of dishes on the web is a fiction as the actual a la carte menu was much more restricted, disappointingly so. Another letdown came when we asked for dessert. Just five on the list and two of those were “off”. Coffee on the web is set at €2.00 but its actual cost is €2.50.

Started with

THREE LEGS - THREE REDS

THREE FROM SICILY 

Three legs in the Sicilian flag and three reds in this post.

Italians, they say, love their rules. But it is in the way that George Bernard Shaw loved work: “I love work. I could watch it all day.”  Sicilians produce plenty of wine but only about a fifth of it under DOC regulations, much more of it under the looser Indicazione Geografica Tipica regime, the step above table wine.

If you go

BRAMLEY LODGE

BRAMLEY LODGE

Regularly make a call to Bramley Lodge if I’ve been

THE WEEKEND CATCH

A bumper Weekend Catch, fresh from the Net.

THE WEEKEND CATCH

Restaurant Wine & Food Scene

via Twitter & Facebook

Control and click to follow the links and find out more.

IrishFoodies Irish Food Bloggers 

RT @CometoCork The French equivalent of the Lonely Planet guide has showered praise on Cork restaurants http://ht.ly/3D6bG via @corkindo

Electric We are now taking bookings for

DUBLIN START FOR EATMAGAZINE

Mikey Maguire has been a busy man.  

Today, he launches a new free monthly food & drink magazine called EatMagazine. He will be

Penfold’s Winemaker visits Dublin & Cork

Penfold’s Winemaker visits Dublin & Cork

Tom Portet, Winemaker with legendary Australian winery, Penfold’s, will visit Ireland in February to host wine dinners at two of Ireland’s leading food-lovers’ venues. 

The first of these dinners takes place in

FLASH FOOD

Patron Silver Reindeer, a flash event by Waddington & Flack, designed by Gary Card

Are you free in Dublin between February 3^rd and 12^th?  Read on if you’d like a free meal.

Layni Joyce of PR company Thinkhouse has been in touch about it: “I thought you and your readers might like to know that 

SALLY BEE GOOD

SALLY BEE GOOD. VERY GOOD. 

Quite a few books came into this house over the holidays, including a pair of cookery books by

MABEL CRAWFORD'S (at Vienna Woods)

Once lost, now found. 

For years,  Mabel Crawford’s pantry was lost in