New Cream Cheese from Cashel

Cashel New

Cashel Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers, the makers of Cashel Blue, have come up with a creamy beauty. I was introduced to Cashel Cream Cheese in Carrigaline at the weekend and it could well be a long lasting affair.

It is basically a mix of the famous Blue Cheese matched by Natural Cream Cheese and then they add some more cream! It has a mild and creamy flavour and a gorgeous rich creamy texture. No stabilizers, no additives, just all natural ingredients.

So why did Cashel bring out this new product? “This is an easy to eat everyday treat, which is not as strong as Cashel Blue and therefore appeals to teenagers and people who may think blue cheese is not their thing."

So go on and give it a try. I’ve tried it in various ways: simply on crackers, also on toast and also stuffed into mushrooms and baked as a simple starter. Just take it out of the easy to use tub and try it, maybe as a dip with carrot sticks, perhaps with chicken wings or in a burger or in a hot Panini with Roast beef, chicken or roast peppers. Delicious!

For more info, including recipes, check out the Cashel Blue site here. 

And here is one that was posted on Twitter this week:

Cashel Blue Cheese ‏@CashelBlue25s

Shaved asparagus and Cashel blue salad - Recipes - Food & Drink - The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/shaved-asparagus-and-cashel-blue-salad-8558589.html … via @Independent

Note: It is suitable for vegetarians but not for pregnant women.

Food and Drink Spotting. A Wine Geese Special.

Food and Drink Spotting

The Wine Geese Events

Next event in the series of WineGeese events,sees one of Ireland's most gifted and respected wine writers and broadcasters visit Ireland's wine capital!

Tomás Clancy, well known Wine Writer and Presenter of the Irish Wine Geese series on RTE's Lyric FM, will talk about the incredible influence that the Irish have had (and continue to have) on the world of wine. He will also guide us on a wine tasting of his personal selection of Irish Wine Geese wines. It promises to be a wonderful evening

If you would like to listen to his brilliant four part radio series on the Wine Geese, the link can be found on Tomas Clancy's website here

A special visit deserves a special venue and the WineGeese oranisers are delighted to be hosting this talk and tasting in the Sculpture Galleries Room in the  Crawford Art Gallery in Cork's City centre.

Thursday April 25th. 6.30pm Cost: €10

Venue : Crawford Art Gallery

Booking is strongly advised as all events to date have sold out quickly.

To book, please contact Colm McCan on 021 4652 531

or by email on colm@ballymaloe.ie

Another one for the diary

Thursday May 16th

Venue : Latitude 51

Fleur McCree of Little Beauty, Marlborough, New Zealand, will retrace her family steps back to Cork in a presentation and tasting of her wines in association with Maurice O’Mahony of Wine Alliance.

A Dublin Bay Wine Experience 

Thomas Barton wines are sponsoring the one-woman play ‘A Wine Goose Chase’ by Susan Boyle as part of the ‘Bringing the Wine Geese Home’ initiative at the Dublin Bay Wine Experience, which is taking place in Dun Laoghaire on May 18^th and 19^th.

‘Bringing the Wine Geese Home’ is a wine initiative, in association with The Gathering, which will feature wine events and promotions that focus on wineries with an Irish connection.

 ‘A Wine Goose Chase’ play is the story of the Irish men who left Ireland in the 18th Century and established themselves in the wine industry around the world. It seems only fitting that Irishman Thomas Barton is a part of the storyline as he established Barton & Guestier, Ireland’s most loved French wine brand, in 1725.

Originally from Fermanagh, Thomas Barton travelled to Bordeaux and set up business as a wine merchant. When Thomas died in 1780, his grandson Hugh took over the business. During the French revolution, Hugh Barton was imprisoned and condemned to the guillotine in Bordeaux in 1794. He escaped and sailed back to Ireland with his wife, leaving his business in the hand of his French friend Daniel Guestier. Hugh came back to France in 1802 where he and Daniel Guestier teamed up and the brand Barton & Guestier was born.

In the 1830s Hugh Barton came back to Ireland to retire, where he first bought and lived in Barberstown Castle, before buying some land in Straffan in Co. Kildare to build his family home, the Straffan house, which is now the East Wing of the K Club. In the late 1830’s Hugh’s son, Thomas Johnston Barton, bought the Glendalough estate in Annamoe in Co. Wicklow.

And....the Irish connections don’t stop there! Thomas’s daughter Anna married Professor Robert Caesar Childers and their grandson was Erskine Childers, who went on to become the fourth President of Ireland in 1973!

Samples of the exquisite Thomas Barton Reserve Medoc will be available throughout the performance for the audience’s added enjoyment.

Tickets €15pp and can be purchased from:

 The offices of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Chambers or from www.dublinbaywineexperience.ie

https://www.facebook.com/Dublinbaywineexperience

Shorts

 @Latitude_51 New Wine Fundamentals Course Level 2 starts this Sat at 3.30 for 4 weeks, costs €25/class (€90 for 4) pic.twitter.com/H0TN13l1wa

 Gurnard Goujons   http://www.foodspotting.com/reviews/3368027

What to do with left-over sushi - http://www.foodspotting.com/reviews/3387314

Ailish Drake ‏@AilishDrake

Do you like home grown, organic vegetables? Would you like to learn how to grow them? Next workshop focuses on... http://fb.me/FhVw1wQv 

River Lee Hotel's authentic Cork tasting menu.

River Lee Hotel's

 authentic Cork tasting menu... 

This new ‘The Gathering Package' menu gives visitors to the Rebel County an opportunity to sample foods sourced from local producers in every corner and coast of Ireland’s largest county, without having to take on such an epic journey.  Instead you can take a culinary journey of the senses from scenic West Cork to the fishing villages of East Cork as you whet your appetite with starter options such as ‘Truffle & Honey Scented Ardsallagh Goat’s Cheese’, ‘Sugar Cured Skeaghanore’, and ‘Castletownbere Crab Brulee’. 

Sample a salivating taste of the famous English Market with fresh dishes such as ‘Grilled Fillet of Ballycotton Cod’ and get a sense of the character of Corkonians with the aptly named ‘Optimistic Salad’ - jam packed with superfoods, it provides a witty play on the Cork sense of humour.    And because The Weir Bistro has a policy of making good healthy food available to kids, they also have joined the Irish Heart Foundation's Food for Kids programme so it is focused on healthier options making it perfect break for families. Read more here including full detailed menu,

Counting Calories at El Vino

El Vino at The Elysian

From the top: Monkfish and black pudding, bream, duck, crab croquettes.

El Vino

There is something extra to read on the menus at El Vino in the Elysian Tower. Quite a lot to study actually as you have an Early Bird Menu, an Evening Menu, a Tapas Menu and a Set Menu. But what distinguishes El Vino from most other restaurants is that they actually show you how many calories are in each dish.

It is a Bistro style venue, first opened in 2009. Made my first call there at the weekend and settled in to a comfortable seat as I took a look at the menus which were already on the table. Service overall was smart and friendly and the food was good with some local produce, such as Clonakilty Black Pudding and Bantry Bay Mussels, mentioned on the menus.

Indeed, the famous black pudding featured on one of our starters (which also doubles as a tapa):
Pan-fried Monkfish served on Clonakilty Black Pudding with a Red Pepper Dressing. It will cost you €10.95 and weighs in at 402kcal. This fairly unusual match worked out pretty well, a nice mix of flavours and textures.

The other starter, was Crab, Lemon and Roasted Red Pepper Croquettes served with a Garlic Aioli. The tasty croquettes (coquettes almost slipped through there!), six of them, weighed in at 486kcal and cost €9.50. This also appears on the tapas menu and indeed would be ideal for sharing among a group of three or four.

On then to the mains and must say I was happy enough with mine: Pan Seared Duck Breast
with Artichoke Puree, Borettane Onions, Herb Roasted Baby Potatoes and a Red Wine Reduction (996kcal, €23.95).  Nicely executed, with a good accompaniment on the plate and a well cooked set of vegetables on the side-plate.

The other mains on the table was: Pan Fried fillet of Sea Bream with a sundried Tomato and Oregano Ragout and a crispy Olive Polenta Cake (€19.95). Again quite an acceptable plateful of flavours and textures. You’re probably fed up of calories by now but this was a very healthy 368.

Sticky Toffee Pudding, served with a Bushmills Butterscotch Sauce and Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream was the main temptress but, staying on the healthy path, we avoided the dessert course altogether. Did have a couple of glasses of wine though; they have a list that covers most bases, and I enjoyed my Verdejo while CL loved her Riesling, each at €6.50 per glass.

·         If you are checking the El Vino website, just be aware they they also have a restaurant in Douglas and not all menus or opening times are the same for each.

·         The Indigo Brasserie, on Washington Street, also lists the calorie count on their menu.

Loire Lessons #1: Cuvee La Grange Dîmière

Loire Lessons #1

Jean Max Roger, Cuvee La Grange Dîmière, Sancerre 2010, 12.5%, €21.35 Karwig Wines

Pinot Noir

Will be heading off to the Loire later this year and thought I’d better get a bit of practice on the wines. Karwig’s have quite a selection, indeed a whole shelf full, and soon, with no little help from Emily, I had enough to start my Loire lessons.

This Rosé was the first and very pleasant it turned out to be. The immediate pressing of the Pinot Noir grape “gives a unique salmon colour, along with lightness, elegance and finesse”.

But, dare I suggest, it is a rosé with backbone. Maybe backbone is too strong a term. It sure has the pink colour of the salmon and I think I can safely suggest that it also some of its suppleness.

A very pleasant combination of colour, texture and flavour. A winner for me and Very Highly Recommended.

It is called "La Grange Dîmière" in reference to one of Bué’s ancient tithe barns which constitutes the oldest part of the winery. Bué is the family village.

Bird on the vine

* On the subject of the Loire, if anyone has any tips, not just on the wine, I'd be glad to hear from you!

A Cafe in a Butcher’s? Dinner for a fiver!

A Cafe in a Butcher’s?

Had dinner in the butcher’s today! Not too many can say that. But O’Crualaoi Butchers will serve you up quite a meal in some of their branches, including Carrigaline where I called, looking for good food and good value. Think I got both as two massive platefuls of meat, potatoes and vegetables cost us just a tenner. Yes. A tenner. For two!

With O’Crualaoi’s being well established butchers – they were founded in 1957 in Ballincollig – you may be sure that meat will feature heavily on the carvery menu. And it does. Fantastic choices here and also a fish dish (haddock) added in.

I went with the Roast Loin of Pork with Apricot and Sage stuffing. And everything they could throw at the plate: mashed potato, potato gratin, vegetables, stuffing, gravy etc. And quite tasty it was. True, I had to carry it to the table! But remember it cost just a fiver. And was every bit as good as most carveries and better than quite a few.

Very few Irish butchers have cafes attached to their shops. Indeed, this is the only one I know of. It is quite spacious. There is also an outside dining area with an awning and room to play for the small ones, even a substantial playhouse.

It is value all the way here. Check it out at the salad bar. Even desserts such as Apple Crumble cost just two euro while a cookie might set you back one. They also have quite a deli here, so if you don’t have time to dine out, then you may pick up something for later, again at a good price. 

They also do party menus here, handy for confirmation or communion groups. Spotted a sign in the store that offered their “celebration foods” package, to be shared with family and friends. This costs €130 and feeds about twenty people.

Mon - Fri: 8:00 am - 7:00 pm

Sat: 8:00 am - 6:30 pm

Sun: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

021-4376716.

Amuse Bouche

Amuse Bouche 

Our table companions were other editors and writers for the Telegram, men I saw all day and felt no desire to speak to. Like good newsmen everywhere, they knew what was important and homed in on their dinners. On the menu there would have been fresh oysters, inevitably, all of New York was crazy about oysters, they were served in hotels, in "oyster bars", in saloons, they were sold from pushcarts in the street......wonderful fresh oysters in abundance, cold, whole, alive, and dipped in a sharp red sauce. If we were a nation, they were our national dish.........And rack of lamb that you rely on not to be served, as you understand the term, but, more nearly thrown. The odor of the unwashed sommelier tinctured the bouquet of the wine he poured. But no matter. The newsmen were an island of quiet absorption in the roar.

From The Waterworks by EL Doctorow.

Quarter One: The Restaurant File. Cafes too.

Good start to 2013

Meat Pie at Treyvaud's

It has been a fairly busy start to the New Year (not so new, I suppose!) and I've been able to visit quite a few restaurants and cafes, including some new to me.  Not all made the list below. You may check the reports by clicking on the names and you'll see that fish is a strong thread all the way through. Met Paolo Tullio late last year in Ballymaloe and he commented on the great availability of fish in Cork (as compared to Dublin) and these visits underline his experience. It is also very encouraging to see the trend of using local produce increasing all the time.
The lists, by the way, are in no particular order!

Chowder at Oysters

Restaurants
Fleming's Tivoli
The Barn Mayfield
Rico's Mardyke
The Rising Tide Glounthaune
Raymond's Midleton
Bunnyconnellan's Myrtleville
The Chapel Steps Bandon
Finn's Table Kinsale
Oysters at the Clarion
Mabel Crawford's at Vienna Woods Hotel
Bramley Lodge at Cobh Cross

Cafes
Idaho Caroline Street
Manning's Ballylickey
The Duchess Tea Rooms (Bandon)
The Lemon Leaf Kinsale
Diva Boutique Ballinspittle
Vikki's at Sunday's Well

Gastro-Pubs
Charlie Mac's Fermoy

Dublin
Toscana Dame Street
Brown Thomas The Restaurant Grafton Street

Kerry
La Cascade at Sheen Falls Kenmare
Mulcahy's Kenmare
Treyvaud's Killarney
The Strawberry Field (cafe on Sneem - Moll's Gap Road))

Food and Drink Spotting

McGeogh's Air dried Lamb

Food and Drink Spotting

Vikki’s a new kid on the Sunday’s Well Road

Did you know you can get Arbutus Bread in Sunday’s Well? Also Terrines and Pates made by On the Pig’s Back? Even Air dried Connemara Lamb?

Well, the old Post office is the place to go. It has been transformed into a cafe deli by Vikki. And she is stocking some really good food by local producers. I brought home a pack of that lamb from Connemara, air dried by McGeough who also do other meats.

But I had a big choice. Glenisk yoghurts, O’Flynn’s Gourmet Sausages, Gubbeen meats and cheeses, Blue Haven foods and Janet's Country Fayre are all to be found on the well stocked shelves. And lots of sweet things also, including the irresistible Mella’s Fudge. Settled for the sumptuous Rum and Raisin.

Had called in for a cup of coffee but just had to nose around. Lots of seating scattered around, some of it by the fire, some by the window and even a few high seats at the counter. Coffee is fine and you can have a scone or something sweeter to go with it.

Vikki’s Cafe Deli  is opened for just about a month and lots of the seats were taken when I called on Saturday afternoon. Expect it to get busier as the fine weather comes in. They have a garden out the back and also some tables and seating on the pavement on the front.

Tue - Fri: 10:00 am - 7:00 pm

Sat: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

(021) 439 6575


Nash Delight

Cork city centre restaurant Nash 19 is one of the McKenna top 100 Best Restaurant in Ireland and proprietor Claire Nash and her staff are thrilled. Claire: “ We are honoured  to be included in this year’s #100 Best. It a massive achievement for all our team. We are delighted to support so many local producers and showcase them daily on our menu. It is as important as ever to support local thus keeping and creating local jobs”.

Well done also to Kevin and his team at Sage in Midleton for making the top hundred and great also to see Clare's Wild Honey Inn (one of our favourites last year) on the list. The 100 Best Restaurants in Ireland  2013 is just one of the Guides produced by John and Sally McKenna yearly. It is published by Estragon Press and available in all good book shops.

Franciscan Well Festival

Had intended doing a bit more on the excellent craft beer (and cider) festival in the Franciscan Well at the weekend but someone told me I wasn't allowed drink and write!

There was a terrific line-up of brewers in the North Mall, including Beoir Chorca Dhuibhne, Carlow Brewing, the new Seven Windows Cork (with Mi Daza, a rich stout), Porterhouse, Trouble Brewing, Dungarvan Brewing and White Gypsy.

Great to meet up with some old friends, including Scott and Caroline of Eight Degrees and Jack Lynch of the Cotton Ball, and nice to meet some new ones like Ronan Brennan of Galway Brewing who introduced me to his new stout, the very drinkable Bonaparte, rich and creamy with a smooth finish.

Sampled quite a few beers and a few stood out for me. I do like my wheat beers so it was no surprise that I got on very well indeed with the Chameleon Equinox by Metalman from Waterford. This is an easy drinking cloudy wheat lager (4.65) and I’ll be watching out for it as the weather warms up.

It was a little chilly for the festival but Eight Degrees had the antidote: at 7%, Kindred Spirit warms you up from the inside! This very limited edition stout, aged in 25-year-old whiskey barrels from the Teeling Whiskey Company, was unleashed upon the world at the St Patrick’s weekend Irish Craft Beer Village and has been gathering rave reviews since. Justified, methinks!

There was a cider surprise from Daniel Emerson and Stonewell. The programme indicated that he’d have his regular products: Stonewell Dry and Stonewell Medium Dry. But he did even better, bringing a cask and a keg on Saturday.

The cider in the cask was not carbonated and went down a treat. Someone said “dangerous” as you’d sip this beauty away without realising you were downing an alcoholic drink. It was gorgeous. Must say there was nothing wrong with the cider, carbonated, from the keg, but the cask was the popular one..

Shorts

Spicy Pig Ears. Tender, chewy, spicy and just awesome http://www.foodspotting.com/reviews/3348218

Tim Anderson, the 2011 winner of Masterchef, looks at what Japan has to offer beyond sushi on a food tour of the country.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/japan/9966221/Japan-Masterchef-winner-Tim-Andersons-food-tour.html

Authentic Indian Cooking in Cork. Is Cork ready for this? https://www.facebook.com/AnnamFromMyKitchenToYours

This Friday is Fiver Friday at The Spinning Wheel Restaurant at Griffins Garden Centre. Start the weekend with a Traditional Irish Breakfast for just €5. Served from 9 - 12:00 (while Stocks Last).

100 points from Robert Parker!

Le Dôme Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2010

The good news is this wine got 100 points from Robert Parker. The bad news is that it is all pre-bought. Read more about it here

Macabeo. Little known but a winner here.

Macabeo. Little known but a winner here.

Cariñena is one of Spain's most traditional wine-producing regions. Soil is poor with short bush vines on unirrigated land that barely receive any treatment due to the 7 months of “Cierzo” wind which constantly hit this region and where the grape ripens more slowly, allowing all its potential to be fullfilled.

The Macabeo grape has had a hard time getting itself known beyond the North of Spain. Macabeu and Maccabéo are other names for this grape also grown on the French side of the mountains. More of you will know it better as Viura, the main white grape in La Rioja.

Macabeo is the Spanish name though and I’ve got a 1997 Wine Encyclopaedia (American, by the way) in my hands and it makes no mention of the grape. Fast forward to 2012 and there is no mention in Oz Clarke’s Handbook.

Even in Hugh Johnson’s 2012 Pocket Book, it is included and described as “the workhorse white grape of Northern Spain” though, in fairness, he acknowledges its “Good quality potential”. Much of that potential has been realised in this bottle.

For more on this interesting variety check this article by Jancis Robinson: the Cinderella Grape

El Circo Macabeo 2012, Cariñena DO, 12.5%, €9.99 to €10.99, Stockists.

Colour is light gold with an aromatic nose. It is full of gorgeous white fruit but, don’t fear, the flavours don’t overwhelm and indeed the wine is really well balanced with a terrific finish. Very Highly Recommended.

Fontanario de Pegoes 2012, Palmela DO (Portugal), 12.5%, 10.99 to 11.99, stockists

Only the fairly serious wine students will know of the grapes used in this white. It is based mainly on the Fernao Pires variety with a touch of Arinto.

It is a strawy colour with tints of green. Nose is quite aromatic, summer fruits and traces of herbs. The young fruit has a pleasant and moderate input to the overall experience. The wine is light and refreshing, ideal on its own or with fish dishes and salads. Recommended.

East Cork. Well Worth A Visit!

In Praise Of East Cork. Well Worth A Visit!

Ballycotton cliff walk

 Many writers routinely extol the attractions of West Cork and its friendly people. That friendly bit annoys. As if, somewhere between Kinsale and Glounthaune, you draw a line between the friendly natives and the unfriendly.

But we know down here that East Cork is a gem of a place to visit and, yes, the people are just as friendly. From the fantastic 13^th century St Mary’s Collegiate Church  in Youghal to high class Fota House Gardens and Arboretum, with Barryscourt Castle in between, all free to enter, there is a treasure chest of places to visit in the area.

Chowder at Charlie Mac's

Let me take you on a day trip to see some of it. We’ll also enjoy some food  as East Cork is a foodie’s paradise with top notch restaurants including Barnabrow  (ideal for a Sunday lunch), Midleton’s pioneering Farmers Market and the food mecca of Ballymaloe. 

Youghal market

 Coming from the city on the main Cork-Waterford road, take the Cobh exit ramp and head for breakfast at Bramley Lodge.  Now, set up for the morning, go over the nearby bridge to Fota Island and its many attractions.

All tied up in Cobh

 If you have kids, go the Wildlife Park; if not, walk through the renowned Fota Arboretum  and maybe add a tour of the Georgian House. If you like it around here, you may also try the high class  Fota Island Hotel and Golf Resort. 

Ballymaloe free range cockerel

 Moving on, go over the Belvelly Bridge and you find yourself on Great Island where the cathedral town of Cobh is situated. Much to do here including the Sirius Art Gallery, walking tours (including the Titanic Trail), harbourside bars and restaurants and of course the Cobh Heritage Centre which tells of forced deportations  and also the tales of the ill fated liners, The Titanic and the Lusitania. Cruise liners now call here regularly.

Woodland walk in Killeagh (Glenbower Wood)

 Time now to head out of the islands and bear east for Midleton and a tour of the Jameson Experience. If you give the right answers here, you’ll end up with a certificate of proficiency in Whiskey!

Midleton food market. Natives are friendly!

 You may have lunch at the distillery cafe here. I have two favourites just outside: Raymond’s and Sage. There are many more, not forgetting Pat Shortt’s Bar  in nearby Castlemartyr. Prefer a pizza? Then try San Marco's in Midleton.

Fota arboretum

Next stop is Ballymaloe, the home of modern Irish food. You could spend a day here but, with time getting scarce, take a look at the impressive Cookery School gardens and call to the cafe for a mid afternoon coffee.

In the seaside village of Ballycotton, take a stroll down to the pier  and see the fishermen come and go. If you feel you need to stretch the legs, then there is a spectacular walk along the cliff tops.

Hake at Bramley Lodge lunch.

Time now for dinner.  Head back towards the city and make a stop at the estuary village of Glounthaune and the Rising Tide Bar Bistro. Enjoy your meal here, as Lady Gaga did, and take time for a deserved pint in the bar afterwards. An alternative is the Mabel Crawford bistro in the nearby Vienna Woods Hotel.

If heading east, then you’ll find a fine seafood dinner at Aherne’s in Youghal. If going north, why not drop into Charlie Mac’s  in Fermoy where French chef Fred will feed you well.

* Revised from original article 18 April 2011

Organic treat from Yalumba

Yalumba Organic Shiraz 2011 (South Australia), 13.5%, O’Donovan’s Off Licences

Colour is a deep red and on the nose there are sweet dark red fruits. Flavours are quite intense on the palate with spices and pepper. Fruit driven for sure yet there is a lovely softness here and a gorgeous savoury finish. Definitely one to look out for and try.

Founded in 1849 by Samuel Smith, Yalumba is Australia’s oldest family owned vineyard. Composition of this certified organic wine is 97% Shiraz with 3% Viognier and the winemaker is Heather Fraser.

Enjoyed this at a recent O’Donovan’s wine event where our host was Jane Ferrari of Yalumba. Didn’t waste any time and got in a small supply the very next day! Very Highly Recommended!