Amuse Bouche

In France…, there is a correct way to approach the cheese. Round ones, like chèvre or Saint-Felicien, are cut from the center like tiny pieces of pie. A triangular wedge of Brie or bleu must be cut from the side, into ever thinning slivers, and a large rectangular slab of Comté or Cantal should be approached from the inside edge, working towards the hardened croûte until it is roughly the length of your knife blade, in which case it should be sliced from the side. The idea is never to leave any diner with just the mouldy crust. And, of course, to avoid, if at all possible, taking the last piece.

from Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard (2010)

Aroi. Happy Birthday Boy! Plus Tips on Cooking Asian.

Aroi. Happy Birthday Boy!

Plus Tips on Cooking Asian.

Duck rolls

Aroi are celebrating twelve successful months serving Asian Street Food in Carey’s Lane. They have quite an extensive menu there. If you are not familiar with some of the Asian words, the staff will help you out and will also point out the spicy dishes (even these are marked with an “S” on the card). All mains cost a tenner and the sides a fiver or less.

I have eaten there a few times, enjoying mostly the duck dishes. This time I picked something different, the Pad Se-lew which consists of  Pork strips, Thai green vegetables, egg, keoteow, Thai soya sauce and is from the Wok Noodles section. I very much enjoyed the pork, cut into slivers the size of a small finger, and the amazing crispness of the green vegetables.

Chicken skewers

The other main dish we picked was Khao Pad, tomatoes, broccoli, Thai pepper, onion, egg, and chicken (or beef) and this came under the Rice heading. This too, with the chicken, was a winner, full of flavours. By the way, they have two sauces on the table for you, one a hot chilli sauce, the other a soya.

The main dishes are quite substantial and quite a few people settle for that, great value at a tenner. But we usually get a side or two, a fiver each, as well. On one occasion we ordered three but that was too much!

Pad Se-lew

The two we shared the other night were Porpia Bpet tod: duck rolls, sweet chilli, pickled chilli and cucumber and Satay Gai: -  chicken skewers with peanut sauce. Those duck rolls - I’ve had them here before - are simply outstanding, quite spicy with the chilli. The chicken skewers are a much calmer dish but delicious.

Aroi has a short wine list but we ordered a couple of Asian beers: a Bottle of Chang and one of Tiger. Lots of soft drinks on the menu too including refreshing palate cleansers like ‘white tea with lemon and ginger’.

Khao Pad, with Chicken

We spoke with Vincent Richard, Manager of Aroi Cork: “Our healthy cuisine avoids the obscure chemicals and additives so common in our food today. We do not use M.S.G. in any of our preparation, and our focus is on market fresh local produce, that is naturally low in fat.   You can single-handedly battle the winter sniffles with our spicy beef noodle soup - it heals you from the inside out.  Our fresh and healthy approach, along with the phenomenal value of dining at Aroi, is what sets us apart from others.”

But it is not just the food Aroi had to get right, after all they had being doing that in Limerick for several months before opening in Cork. He emphasised that getting the right staff and giving them the right training is also key. And Aroi have passed on some tips if you’d like to try Asian at home.

~ Tips on cooking Asian food ~

·         Always cut, wash and prepare ingredients in advance of cooking.

·         Use a wok when steaming vegetables for a stir fry – the curved edge allows for varied cooking temperatures which is beneficial when cooking meat and vegetables together.

·         Ensure you have other necessary utensils for Asian cooking like a steamer, sharp knifes (for cutting ingredients), tongs and a pestle and mortar (for grinding spices).

·         Use chop sticks only with rice bowls as they don’t work well when eating from a plate.

·         Rice cookers are the quickest way to cook rice and can be used in microwaves.

·         Use natural flavour enhancers like mushrooms, herbs and spices which do not contain monosodium glutamate (MSG).

·         Always use fresh vegetables.

·         Choose dark soy sauce over a lighter colour as it is low in salt.

·         Use fresh ingredients like ginger or garlic for delicious taste and strong smells. Garlic has many health benefits too as it is rich in vitamins and low in calories.

·         Use different mixes of meat and vegetables to create optimum flavours. Asians like to use the ying and yang method in their cooking – They balance flavours by using both hot (ying) ingredients and cooler (yang) ingredients. An example of this would be having a hot sauce over plain chicken pieces.

• We were guests of the restaurant, as part of its birthday celebrations

Swing Low, Sweet Cherry. Sweet Captivating Italian

Swing Low, Sweet Cherry

Sweet Captivating Italian

QA Velenosi Visciole NV, 13.5%, 50cl, €18.95 Karwig Wines

I was introduced to this beauty by Betty Karwig a few weeks back but it didn't get serious until the other night when I sipped it for the very first time.

When I got close, there were sensual aromas, intense and rich. Then the deep ruby red passed my lips and all heaven broke loose, a gentle riot of sweet fruit flavours, captivating cherries, full bodied, fresh and so well balanced. I just sipped and sipped this intriguing stranger, new to Karwig’s and new to me too. Very Highly Recommended, by the way.

So where did this perfectly formed dessert wine come from. I’ll let the winery explain:

The basic ingredient for this cherry wine is an ancient variety of wild cherry, namely “visciola” (Prunus cerasus), which has a deep red colour and sour taste. Based on the traditional recipe, sour cherries are harvested when ripe, during the first weeks of July, and left to soak in sugar, partly whole and partly smashed; thus fermentation starts and slowly brings the juice to a delicate and aromatic syrup. This product is then decanted for a few days and finally filtered. The result is a syrup with a high sugar concentration, which is added to the wine starting a second fermentation. So wine and syrup are blended together. Fermentation is stopped when 14% alcohol by volume is achieved, with a residual sugar which makes this product more enjoyable.

Financier

They recommend pairing it with petit fours with bitter chocolate. It can also be drunk as a wine for meditation or as a digestive at the end of a meal, they say. 

But I've been working hard on your behalf and have come up with these matches, tried and tested:

with Almond and Raspberry financiers (not the kind you'll find in a bank!);

even better with the dark chocolate made by Allison of Clonakilty Chocolate;

and also with Crozier Blue cheese.

Will let you know if I find anymore, but my bottle is nearly finished!

AA Foodie of the Year Awarded to Gourmet Grazing

AA Foodie of the Year Awarded to Gourmet Grazing

For the very first time, the AA added a Foodie of the Year category to their annual Hopsitality Awards and the winner was Niamh O Shaughnessy, better known on Twitter as Gourmet Grazing.

The others on the shortlist were: 

Niamh Mannion

Rosanna McInerney

Caroline Hennessy

Aoife Ryan

Chef Adrian

Joanne Cronin

EatDrinkRunFun

Billy Lyons

Patrick Hanlon & Russell Alford

Melanie May

Vanessa Greenwood

The major award of the pleasant function held last week in Dublin's Westbury Hotel saw Powerscourt Hotel Resport Spa get the AA Hotel of the Year Award, taking over from the Maryborough.

Other winners were:  
AA Courtesy & Care Award: The Lodge at Castle Leslie, Glaslough, Co. Monaghan.
AA Guest Accomodation of the Year Award: The Red Door, Fahan, Co. Donegal.
AA Delicious Dish of the Year Award: Faithlegg House Hotel, Waterford for Jenny Flynn's Scallops and Black Pudding in Cider Sauce.

The first function of the evening for the foodies listed above and others was an introduction to the Westbury's Irish Design Afternoon Tea. The Westbury is part of the Doyle Collection and they are partners with Irish Design 2015 and the desserts were inspired by PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2015-16. 

For instance, Jack Doherty's "Duo Porcelain" was the inspiration for my favourite, the Blueberry Roulade, Chocolate, Mascarpone and Chantilly (top picture). The Sour Cream Mousse, Blackberry Cremoux (another beautiful bite) was based on Angela O'Kelly's "Sculptural Necklace". The other designers are: Cillian Ó Súilleabháin, Karl Hannon and Liam Flynn.

Afternoon tea in The Gallery at The Westbury

It fell to executive pastry chef, Tatjana Upelniece-Kiselova, to bring the desserts to fruition and she succeeded with some style. The tea includes a collection of beautifully handcrafted pastries, cakes and sandwiches and is inspired by the work of the five Irish designers, showcased through a range of ingredients and techniques. And you too can enjoy the Westbury Irish Design Afternoon Tea for €45.00, add a tenner and you can have a Champagne Afternoon Tea.

Taste of the Week

Taste of the Week
Black Pudding with Teeling Whiskey
 by McCarthy's of Kanturk

 The picture below shows most of the ingredients you need to make black pudding. Add water and blood and you have it. But if you want something extra, then add some special ingredients just like McCarthy's of Kanturk did as they made this one (left), our Taste of the Week. As well as the blood and water, cream and some of the superb Teeling's whiskey were mixed in. We had a taste in Nash 19 on Culture Night and will soon be getting more. It is soft and flavoursome, spicy but not salty, crumbly and moist, just irresistible!

Dunne & Crescenzi. The Friendly Italian

Dunne & Crescenzi

The Friendly Italian

Tagliatelle con pancetta Tuscana

We were in the mood for Italian, food that is, in Dublin one night last week. We had Dunne & Crescenzi on our short list and a recommendation from Joanne (@dudara on Twitter), a Cork “exile” in Dublin for the past nine years or so, sent us off to South Frederick Street and a lovely meal.

Quite a big crowd in, though the two rooms weren't full and that gave us the chance to have  a look at the Italian wine (over 200 types, I think), stored in shelves on all the walls. We settled on a Valpolicella Classico Biologico La Corte Del Pozzo (8.00) and a Rosso di Montepulciano Fossolupaio DOC (8.50), both smooth, both perfect.

Just as well we weren't ordering a bottle - we could have been there all night, such was the extent of the list. As it was it took a quite a while to read through the menu, pages and pages of great choice. We had been nibbling at earlier venues so a small starter was in order and we found just the thing under the Stuzzichini heading.

The word means snacks (approximately) but still the plates were large enough, reasonably priced at six euro each. They were also very appetising. One was Porzione di salumi misti (Portion of Emilia Romagna charcuterie) and the other Porzione di Speck di Trento (Portion of smoked prosciutto). Big tasty snacks!

The "snacks" and Vinsanto

They had a couple of specials on the board and the translation was done with a friendly gusto - service overall was excellent.

I picked one from the board: Tagliatelle con pancetta Tuscana, olive taggiasche, carciofi e pecorino (15.50), that is, if I remember rightly, Tagliatelle with Tuscan bacon, olives, artichokes and pecorino. I loved it, every little bit, loved the colours, the textures, the flavours, not least the olives that added a salty contrast.  

CL went for the Salsiccia senese e fagioli borlotti, Slow cooked fragrant Tuscan fresh sausage, tomato and borlotti bean casserole (13.50). It was a cool enough night and this was a warming dish, that beautiful sausage and a small mountain of beans.

As I mentioned, we had been "grazing" elsewhere earlier, so reluctantly left the Tiramisu and the other desserts alone. Instead we settled for a delicious glass of Vinsanto Tuscany. This well balanced sweet wine was dispatched slowly, sip by sip, postponing all the sweet while our exit into the cool night. The hotel though wasn't too far away.

If you're looking for an Italian around Grafton Street or the Stephen’s Green area, then Dunne and Crescenzi is Very Highly Recommended.

Harvest Days in Waterford. Visiting the Viking City

Harvest Days in Waterford

Visiting the Viking City

Harvest Festival

Hadn't been in Waterford in a while until we headed east for the recent Harvest Festival. Just ninety minutes after leaving Cork City we were parking in Bolton Street. It was the day before the festival started and we had decided to see some of the city, like any visitor.

First on the agenda was the much heralded Viking Triangle. It is based around Reginald's Tower, the Medieval Museum and the Bishop’s Palace and you can see them on a combined ticket. Amazing collections of exhibits, everything from a 12th century dog’s collar and Brendan Bowyer’s Hucklebuck shoes to exquisite jewelry (12th century) and the sword of a Viking warrior (broken on his death and buried with him).  And don't forget to visit Christ Church Cathedral. It is all on an easy walk.

Wine vault under the Medieval Museum

 We started in the circular Reginald's Tower, once part of the town's defences, built in the beginning of the 13th century, with a second phase in the 15th century. It was also used as a mint, prison and military store and now houses an exhibition. Here you will see that broken sword and much more as you wander its three small floors.

The modern Medieval Museum, incorporating the 13th century Choristers’ Hall and the 15th century Mayor’s Wine Vault, is Ireland's only such purpose built medieval museum and the first thing you are offered is an opportunity to try out as an archer! You may also mint coins here.

Impressive vestments

There is an Art of Devotion Tour (with many statues having been collected from old churches), models of Waterford, the stunning Vestments Room, read (and see) about James Rice and Luke Wadding, see the Waterford ring brooch, the city’s huge involvement in the import of wine and so much more. Check it all out here.

The Bishop’s Palace, the city’s “exquisite Georgian jewel” starts where the Museum leaves off and brings us right up to date. It houses a lovely cafe, where we stopped, and here you can have breakfast, lunch, morning coffees and afternoon teas, even private functions.

Medieval Museum

 You enter the tour via the Garden Hall and its beautiful fireplace. Portraits and another magnificent fireplace decorate the Grand Landing. Later, see the 18th century painting of the city. Read about General Thomas Francis Meagher.  And bacon problems in the 1890s.

Here you will see old Waterford glass, including the Penrose Decanter (the oldest surviving piece), the John Redmond/Ballybricken room, stories of the First World War (read about 14 year old John Condon, the youngest soldier to die in WW1)  and wars nearer home. Then peace and poverty, and sport of course. And then the better times, the nights of dance and music as you enter the Showbands Room and see those white shoes!

Oldest piece of Waterford glass

That night, following a gorgeous dinner at La Boheme, we met Nollaig Brennan at Downes Pub, an old rambling building (even contains a squash court). Here in the snug, we sipped the local Metalman Pale Ale and were introduced to the pub’s own whiskey, Downes’ No. Nine, smooth as the darkness slipping into the narrow streets outside but much warmer!

Busy too the following day with a visit to Waterford Crystal. By Friday lunchtime, the Harvest Festival had started in earnest and there were stalls in virtually every square around the Mall and the Viking Triangle.

 We were looking for a snack after the visit to the Crystal factory and found it in the Enterprise tent where Walsh's Bakery and the Bodega had combined in a Reuben Sandwich, well maybe a Reuben-ish one. In any case, the spiced beef in the local blaa was absolutely delicious. Other stalls around were offering exotic foods with Portuguese, Kenyan, Polish and more available.

The threatened rain arrived later in the afternoon and we headed out the road to the Ardkeen Superstore, on the face of it a normal supermarket. But inside you'll see that a high proportion of the offering is from small artisan producers and we picked up some nice things there.

Elliot Organ in Christchurch

 That evening saw us head out in the rain to the Bodega. The warm colours, the buzz and excellent food inside soon warmed us up.

The sun shone the following morning and the crowds were out in force, walking around the stalls and sampling. We followed suit of course and had a lovely conversation with Maire Power, the Sea Gardener. She has some interesting produce and after a few tastings, we bought some of her Mushroom and Olive Caponata (with seaweed), some bars (including my favourite Coconut and Lime) and a wee bag of Dillisk!

Great choice at Ardkeen Superstore

Also had a chat with Jeni Pim, busy volunteer (husband Nigel was helping out too) in the GROWfest Demo Tent in Blackfriars. Time too for a coffee at the excellent Momo cafe.Then we took a break from the busy streets to call into Christ Church, which houses the tomb of James Rice - quite a story!

I had seen in the week previous two big organs, one at St Luke’s in Cork and the other at St Coleman’s in Cloyne. But the one here certainly caught my eye as it looked so well. This is the Elliot Organ, restored in 2003 after vandalism, at a cost of some €300,000 euro! Now it is in regular use for services and concerts. Read all about the cathedral and its history here.

Saturday's blue sky

Our visit was now drawing to an end. But we had  a lunch date before departure, guests at the EAT Waterford meal in the marquee on the Mall. After that, just time for a quick browse through the stalls on the Mall and a call to Mag of Goatsbridge to buy a few of her tasty trout products. Back to the car then and, with traffic light, we were back in Cork in an hour and a half, bags full and bags of happy memories too!

Down on the quays

Culture Night. Paintings and Plates

Culture Night

Paintings and Plates

Silvia of La Cocina

The Crawford Gallery was the first stop on Culture Night (18.09.15) with particular attention paid to two paintings. The first encountered featured Hugh Lawton, a direct ancestor of current Bordeaux negociant Pierre Lawton, who was Mayor of Cork City in 1776, and his enormous portrait hangs above the main staircase in the Crawford. Hugh would have quite a few more visitors later on as the L’Atitude 51 Wine Walk had the painting marked as one of their stopping points.

My second painting of interest was another large one, the Men of the South by Sean Keating. This features a group of rather good looking IRA men who, but for the rifles and pistols, could be on their way to a match or a dance even. But you can see the tension as they patiently wait to carry out an ambush. Perhaps I gave this painting more attention than usual because of the state funeral, earlier that day, for executed 1916 rebel Thomas Kent.

Hugh Lawton

For me, there is always a food call or two during Culture Night, usually to the English Market. But the Crawford Gallery Cafe were offering an intriguing menu, with a touch of Swiss and Spanish, and here we stayed for a pleasant while.

My fondue was based on a humble cheddar from East Cork but, enhanced by the kitchen, it proved a gem. Meanwhile CL tucked into a plate of Tapas that featured Rosscarbery Black Pudding and Gubbeen chorizo among other interesting flavours.

And La Cocina proved a very sweet ending indeed, “not too much sugar” though. From quite a selection we picked and shared a wedge of No Flour Almond and Lemon and a luscious custard cake (almost like a profiterole). Believe it or not, each went well with the last of the Biohof Pratsch Riesling.

Tapas

More art and food next at Nash 19. Indeed, both are always on the menu since Claire Nash opened the Sternview Gallery about a year ago. Rebecca Bradley’s Provisional View is the current show (until October 15th). The Irish Times critic Aidan Dunne summed it up as “Outstanding textural paintings based on landscape”. It is just that the landscape - suburbs, coastlines, fields and bogs - is never quite the same, “our sense of place not certain” as the handout says.

Time then for more food and with a goodly group of her producers on hand, there was no shortage. Got some lovely tastes of Hederman’s pate and Ardsallagh cheese from Claire. More cheese from Tipperary with Cashel Blue and Crozier Blue (my slight favourite) on hand.

Restaurant manager Mairead was handing out samples of the outstanding Longueville House cider and nearby the O'Connell’s were generous with their spiced beef, now in demand all year round.

All smiles: Champion pudding and spiced beef

 Kanturk’s Timmy McCarthy, not for the first time, had mixed booze and blood to great effect.This time the Premium drop was Teeling Single Malt and the result was top class. We also tasted the Jack McCarthy Smoked Air Dried Beef that last week won the Supreme Champion Award (and a lovely trophy) in the Speciality Foods Competition and the McCarthy’s were similarly awarded for the White Pudding in these Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland awards.

Timmy is rarely puzzled but he did have a quizzical look on his face as he spoke to three Danish visitors. They didn't know what black pudding was, saying they don't have blood puddings on Denmark, once the leading producer of bacon. Different cultures on culture night!

• If truth be told, our first stop of the evening was at a No. 208 bus stop. It turned out to be a long wait. Two scheduled bus times came and went, without a bus in sight, before we finally set out some forty minutes later, very poor service for around four o'clock on a Friday. It was no much better coming home, with two arriving together after another forty minute wait.

Amuse Bouche

Our HQ was an old, disused cow house with a leaking roof; it was cold and damp, with broken doors and windows….

We were guarded twenty-four hours a day by local Volunteers, while the Cumann na mBan women prepared our meals, and we were never short of food. The local people of Baile Mhúirne and Clondrohid brought us daily supplies of bread, milk, butter, eggs, bacon and turf. The present generation will, I am sure, find it hard to understand the generosity…..  They had a humane, kind-hearted streak in their hearts for us, and I can tell you seóinins [selfish people] were few and far between during that period early in the twentieth century.

from Memoirs of an old Warrior, compiled and edited by Dónal Ó Héalaithe

The Krawczyk Family in Conversation

THE ART OF LIVING

IN CONVERSATION

WITH THE

KRAWCZYK

FAMILY

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

URRU CULINARY STORE

5.00PM / FREE

Schull-based Frank Krawczyk (left) is one of Ireland’s best known and most respected salami and sausage makers.

His son Robbie is an award winning chef currently at the much acclaimed Tankardstown House.

Join Frank and Robbie in an around-the-table conversation format event. 

Of Russian-European ancestry, Frank will recount his family history, from gulags to re-settlement camps through London to the story of his, and his wife Anne’s, adventures into the West Cork of the ‘70’s, with us.

He will recount his battles with bureaucracy in his endeavours to establish a world class charcuterie business and, more recently, his championing of the Slow Food movement in West Cork. 

The conversation will be facilitated by food writer, Dianne Curtin. Active audience participation will be encouraged. Refreshments will be served.

This event is part of Engage Arts Festival 24 – 27 September at URRU. 

ruthhealy@urru.ie