Loire Lesson #5 Red all over

Loire Lesson #5
Red all over

Jean-Max Roger Sancerre 2005, Cuvée La Grange Dîmière, 12.5%, €21.35 Karwig Wines.

This red has red fruits, traces of vanilla, on the nose. On the palate it is light with typical Pinot Noir raspberry flavours, also hints of wild strawberry, with a good long dry finish.

Roger is one of the top Loire growers and 2005 was a very good year there. If you get your hands on one of these, why not try it with a salad featuring one the Ummera smoked products (duck, chicken, salmon). Very Highly Recommended.

Le Pensée de Pallus, Chinon 2010, 12.5%, €25.50, Ballymaloe Wines (at Brown Thomas)

I’ll be in Chinon next month, hoping to get better acquainted with the local reds, especially after sampling this one from the new Ballymaloe pop-up wine store at Brown Thomas in Patrick Street. This is a top cuvée from a top producer and worth getting to know.

“Made in the modern style”, this is light and elegant. This Cabernet Franc is fresh, savoury and juicy on the palate, well balanced though with good length. Highly recommended.

Al Fresco at Cobh's Titanic Bar & Grill.

Titanic Bar & Grill

Hard to beat eating by the water when the weather is as good as this. I enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the Titanic Bar and Grill in Cobh yesterday. On the outdoor deck, of course, watching the harbour cruise and Spike Island tour boats come and go and the kids diving into the deep cool water from the nearby pier.

Had started the morning with a visit to Fota Wildlife Park. Great to see the car park close to full and many punters, including lots of children, who are well catered for with special events and play and activity areas.

On then to the harbour town itself which was quite busy as well, people out and about and that five foot walk (by the deepwater quay) proving popular. Parked there and made my way on foot for a hastily arranged rendezvous with another couple at the Titanic.

I went for one of the specials: the Pan Fried Hake Fillets served on a bed of rocket with cherry tomato and spring onion salsa and rustic potatoes (11.95). Another winner at the table was the Green Thai Curry (13.95). This came with sauté vegetables and basmati rice and you had a choice of chicken, prawn or beef. Beef was the chosen one here.

Quite a choice of mains as you could pick from a Prime Irish Beef Burger, Traditional Fish and Chips, Smoked Salmon and Gubbeen Bruschetta, a Cajun Chicken Wrap and many more.

No shortage of choice in the Starters either. One of our gang enjoyed the Hot and Sticky Chicken Wings (extra napkins provided without you having to ask for them). Mussels were also available as was a Traditional Chicken Caesar Salad and A Sesame Crumbed Brie Cheese. More too including soup of the day, which was Celeriac, Apple and Sage.

Great to eat outdoors but quite a few were inside as well, closer to the bar! It is of course a full bar so you have all the usual choices but they also have some craft beers including Galway and Dungarvan and the popular Stonewell Cider is also available.

Food and Drink Spotting

Food and Drink Spotting

Ballymaloe Pop-up at Brown Thomas

Ballymaloe have hit the city with their new pop-up wine shop upstairs at Brown Thomas, by the Table Restaurant. Their new space has quite a catchy design and you can’t miss it!

The shop opened last Thursday and I called this week and had a great chat with Colm McCan and Fionn Little. Colm, the sommelier at Ballymaloe, tells me the older wines and natural wines are being kept in their on-site Eurocave which has three temperature settings. “It will be just like getting the bottle from the cellars in Ballymaloe.”

Colm, as you probably know, is very keen on his sherry and has quite a few on display here, including some En Rama. But Port lovers are not forgotten and Madeira fanciers have a good selection to choose from.

Colm is looking forward to having a few tastings in the store over the coming weeks and he is also high-lighting the Wine Geese events with a fine display of wines with Irish connections.

The wine shop has something for everyone. Colm: “We have wines from €12.50 upwards, bubbles from €14.95.” So why not pop in to the pop up and have a chat with the friendly folks there and see what suits you from the large selection on offer.

Cloudberry Bakery 

Cloudberry Bakery are also new to the Emporium in Brown Thomas. Had a chat with Sam and she told me they make artisan cakes and desserts - anything from colourful cakepops and cupcakes, to show-stopping wedding cakes. “Our ingredients include Belgian chocolate, unsalted butter, Madagascan vanilla and local free-range eggs.”

Sampled their chocolate brownie which was gorgeous but the bite that really caught my attention was of one of their tempting Macarons. This was the lemon, made using with their own lemon curd. It was different to the norm and absolutely delicious! So now you have two calls to make when next you’re in Brown Thomas.

Shorts, from the net

Amicus Restaurant We attended the Eat the Street Awards Ceremony at the weekend. A very entertaining and fun event! Not only are these girls excellent restaurant critics, they are also talented singers, dancers and actors! We took away two awards: Spiciest Food for our chicken wings and Best Service for the warm welcome, friendly staff and the nicest Manager they had ever met. (Damien)

O’Donovan’s Off Licence Do YOU want to win tickets to INDIEPENDENCE Music & Arts Festival this Summer? All you have to do is create an object out of empty cans or bottles and upload the picture of your finished piece through our competition tab or through private mail!

Manning's Emporium We are looking for an experienced barista and deli counter assistant. Ideally someone who would have basic knowledge of Irish Farmhouse cheese and an interest in artisan food products. If this sounds like you or someone you know please email laura@manningsemporium.ie with contact details.

Griffin’s Garden Centre
Tomorrow is Fiver Friday and what a great menu:
A Home-grown Salad Dish and Granny Griffin's Home-baked Brown Bread with Free Tea or Coffee for just €5!
Aghabullogue Angus Beef Hotpot topped with sautéed potatoes (gluten free)
or
Breaded Fillet of Haddock served with chips and a homemade tartar sauce
served from 12:30pm, only while stocks last!

Check out the Poacher’s Inn Newsletter http://www.poachersinnbandon.com/poachers-newsletter-july-2013/

All the way from Cairo...Raspberry Dirt Cake at DUKES Pâtisserie & Tea Lounge in Cairo, Cairo Governorate, Amazing raspberry butter cream! http://www.foodspotting.com/reviews/3751878

Amuse Bouche

...there is only one way to eat a piece of Battenberg as far as I’m concerned, so let me explain.

First, I’d delicately peel off the lightly dusted yellow marzipan and leave it on the side of my plate, saving the best till last as usual. Next I’d pull apart the squares as if I was a forensic scientist looking for clues to a crime. Then, one by one, pink first and then yellow, I’d pop the squares in my mouth, the spongy sweetness dissolving into a ball in my mouth. Finally came the almondy, sugary, cloying strips of marzipan, sticky on my fingers. I still adore anything marzipan or with almonds or amaretto. Funny how some childhood tastes remain. I even had a tier of Battenberg on my wedding cake.

from Life on a Plate by Gregg Wallace

Mustard Seed. An oasis in Limerick.

Mustard Seed. An oasis in Limerick.

Baked plaice, sep puree, prawn dressing and fritter, buttermilk froth.

Enjoyed a few days in County Limerick recently and our base, The Mustard Seed in Ballingarry, had much to do with it. The former convent has been, over the past 18 years or so, converted into a very comfortable place to stay. You get a warm welcome here every time you walk in the door, tea and shortbread at the ready, even if you’ve been gone for only a few hours.

Warm Strawberry with lime puree, walnut powder, beet meringues, balsamic and elderflower syrup

And you relax with the cuppa, sitting back in the most comfortable sofas with the fire blazing away in front of you on the colder days. Comfort is to be found all over the Mustard Seed. Here too is some very interesting furniture and a massive collection of paintings, arts and crafts (many with an eastern theme). 

Pan-fried Irish Hereford rib-eye of beef, served with a goat cheese and celeriac risotto, roast almond mousse, Iron Age rare breed pork profiterole

And then there are the gardens with trees, shrubs and flowers to the front and mainly fruit and vegetables at the back but no shortage of herbs either. Some flowers scattered here and there and even a Buddha shrine.

Cheese plate including Cashel Blue, Milleens, local cheddar

The Mustard Seed is renowned for its food. Deservedly so. Breakfast is a treat here. Of course you may have your full Irish but my favourite was the Ummera Smoked Chicken in an omelette. Lovely breads too, available at breakfast and dinner. At dinner, there are great choices, local produce well handled and presented and served.

Nectarine cheesecake, sorbet and honeycomb

And that five star friendly service runs through the whole operation. You are treated like one of the family from start to finish. So well done and a big thank you to Dan and John and to the entire team for looking after us so well over the three night break that we will remember for a long time.

The Mustard Seed is a terrific base to see Limerick, both city and county. This time we decided to concentrate on the county, a county that has quite a lot to offer. It is easy to reach, easy to get around as distances are short. So why not give it a try rather than just passing through to somewhere else (which is what I did for many years, I must admit).

Clockwise from top left: Mustard Seed, a "blue" window, a petit treat, artichoke
and resident Buddha.

Limerick
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

Special category for Baby Food at Blas Awards

Special category for Baby Food at Blas Awards 2013

The Blas na hEireann, National Irish Food Awards, which are supported by Invest NI and Andrew Ingredients, has just announced that there will be a special category for Baby Food at this year's Competition which will take place at the Dingle Peninsula Food Festival on the 4 - 7 October 2013.  This is as a result of an exciting new sensory analysis programme which the Food Science Department of UCC has developed specifically  to judge the taste and quality of baby food.

"This is an entirely different system of evaluation than the one used for other food products as quality baby food typically doesn't contain ingredients such as salt and sugar for example," says Artie Clifford, chair of the National Irish Food Awards.

"There has been huge growth in this area as time poor parents struggle with convenience versus quality in the foods that they give their babies at this vital stage of development.  By creating a special category for babies and toddlers, which will be judged separately by a panel of sensory analysts overseen by Prof Joe Kerry of UCC, we will recognise and reward the best tasting and most nutritious baby foods made in the country.  This can help reassure parents that they are giving their 'treasures' only the very best, when they are under time pressure to cook themselves."

There are over 40 categories of food products which producers can enter into the Blas Awards, ranging from chocolate to cheese, at the biggest blind tasting of Irish produce on the Island.  These Awards have become the ultimate benchmark for quality Irish food, and the Blas Gold, Silver and Bronze logos on winning produce are eagerly sought out by shoppers.

The deadline for entering this year's Awards is the 15th July.  For further information on how to enter, and what winning has meant to previous winners click on www.irishfoodawards.com.  This year's winners will be announced on Saturday 5th October.

Your chance to become the next MasterChef Ireland Champion!

A Bordeaux Evening in Cork

The Winegeese Team announce:

A Bordeaux Evening in Cork

'A Bordeaux Evening in Cork' with Pierre Lawton, Bordeaux and Ted Murphy, Irish Wine Geese, and author 'A Kingdon of Wine - The Story of Ireland's Wine Geese', in the Sculpture Gallery, The Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, Thursday 11th July, 6pm €12

Pierre Lawton is an eight generation Bordeaux-based wine merchant specializing in top chateaux wines. He is the owner of Alias. His family has been selling wine in Bordeaux since 1739.

He is one of the most interesting and knowledgeable people in Bordeaux and we are very much looking forward to welcoming Pierre back to Cork. His family have great connections with Cork, and there is a portrait of one of Pierre’s ancestors, a Lord Mayor of Cork, on display in the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork

Pierre will also be joined by Ted Murphy (left), author of ‘A Kingdom of Wine – The Story of Ireland’s Wine Geese. Ted is the expert of all things to do with Ireland’s Wine Geese – Irish people, both long ago, and present generations, who are involved in winemaking all over the wine world.

This promises to be one of the highlights of the wine calendar in Cork – the wine capital of Ireland.
To reserve places, please contact Beverley, Maurice, or Colm, or e-mail colm@ballymaloe.ie

Wanted: Ireland's Best Fish Dish!

Wanted: Ireland's Best Fish Dish!

To celebrate its brand new All You Can Eat Everything offer on Bill Pay, Three mobile is searching for Ireland’s Best Fish Dish. Irish foodies are being challenged to battle it out in the kitchen to have their fishy creation judged by a panel of foodies including Masterchef UK star John Torode and have their dish crowned, Ireland’s Best Fish Dish

Three, Ireland’s largest high-speed network is asking fish fanatics across the country to submit their tasty entries to IrelandsBestFishDish@three.ie by Thursday July 11^th. Entries must include the recipe and supporting imagery of the finished dish. They will be judged on technique, ingredients, creativity and presentation by top Irish foodies Ross Golden-Bannon and Andrew Rudd (left). The chosen two finalists will then go head-to-head in a once-in-a-lifetime cook-off event in Dublin’s Medley restaurant and have their dishes judged by Torode and his Irish foodie panellists

The winner of the competition will be treated to the ultimate foodies weekend away for two in the stunning Cliff House Hotel with dinner at its famed Michelin star restaurant and a brand new Samsung Galaxy S4 handset.

Speaking of the competition, John Torode said: "I'm delighted to be travelling over to Ireland to help find Ireland's Best Fish Dish. I have heard many stories about the quality of fish in Irish restaurants that I look forward to seeing a high standard of entry from the amateur chefs across the country, seeking to create their perfect dish. I have always expected a high level of cooking and this competition will be no different."

Arthur Mayne’s. Cool spot!

Arthur Mayne’s

Found a cool spot in the hot city centre a few days ago and enjoyed a tasty lunch there. This longish narrow outdoor area is at the back of the Arthur Mayne’s Pharmacy, the relatively new wine-bar in Pembroke Street.

Not now a chemist, though many interesting artefacts remain on view. Indeed, you might well think you are making a visit to the chemist when you see things such as  Senna Leaves, Brylcream and Wrights Coal Tar Soap on display. These and much more were found during the renovation and, luckily, not thrown away! Indeed, the ladies can check out some old style lipsticks.

Had been there a few weeks earlier on the Tapas Trail and noticed quite an extensive menu. On this follow-up visit, I was there for lunch. And was glad to get a seat in this outdoor oasis where the concrete is softened by the addition of some greenery overhead.

Had a look at the menu, set up by head chef Darren Connolly, and decided to start with the Mushroom Soup. Got a big bowl of it, an excellent soup and the brown soda bread was also spot-on.

I rarely pass up a chance of trying the local spiced beef and didn’t miss out on their “stack”: a Sandwich Stack to be precise, packed with the spiced beef, with caramelised onions, cucumber pickle, mixed leaves, seasoned tomatoes, and served with a seasoned mustard aioli.

I was well fed and so too was CL. She had also enjoyed the soup and her mains was a very tasty Asian Infused Chicken salad (with chicken, bean sprouts, noodles, onions and peppers with a sesame, chilli and honey dressing).

Finished off with some of that excellent coffee from Maher’s. Oh by the way, I did have to try something from the long wine list. There is quite a choice of wines available and a prescription (yes, I kid you not) will allow you sample from the 24 kept fresh on their state-of-the-art enomatic system.

Didn’t go for the prescription but did order a glass of their Obra Prima Reserva, a smooth strong Merlot from Mendoza. Took my time with that as I enjoyed my lunch break in the sun. Cheers, Arthur!

Limerick,Day 3: Mustard Seed Delights.

Limerick, Day 3

Mustard Seed Delights. Adare's Old Creamery. Curragh Chase Woods. The Lottery Dog.

Rabbit terrine

Back to the Mustard Seed for this evening’s dinner and that meant a return to a culinary paradise and tasty temptations in the former convent in Ballingarry, super food and service and a four course meal, fit for a Gourmet Superior, in a pleasant and unhurried ambience.

A smoked salmon Amuse Bouche was followed by a couple of terrific starters. Mine was the Rabbit Terrine (with pickled wild mushroom, tarragon puree, chicken mousseline, and Guinness gel). CL went for the Warm Strawberry with lime puree, walnut powder, beet meringues, balsamic and elderflower syrup, another winner.

Guinea fowl

Hit the jackpot also with the mains, hard not to be a winner here, such is the high standard of the produce and the team.  I choose the pan-fried Irish Hereford rib-eye of beef, served with a goat cheese and celeriac risotto, roast almond mousse, Iron Age rare breed pork profiterole.  A long way from your usual onions and fries!

Mine was excellent but I think CL’s may have been even better as the sheer quality of her Guinea Fowl was out of this world. And that quality was illustrated in a number of ways as you can see from the menu description: Pan seared breast of guinea fowl, confit leg and pressed thigh, parmesan custard, vegetable fricassee and sauce basquise. Excellent produce handled well all the way to the plate. Different class!

Butter at Mustard Seed

At the creamery!

Never heard tell of the Adare Old Creamery store until the other day. Visited it today and now feel like I should tell you all about it. It is just a few hundred yards from the County Limerick village and it quite fascinating.

Maybe you want to buy a doll’s house or furniture for it. Some beautiful scented candles perhaps. Maybe high quality china such as Ainsley or Belleek. Well, this is the place to check out – see it on Facebook.

Adare's Austinian Friary

Downstairs there is an old style sweet shop (including ice-cream) and upstairs a gorgeous tea-rooms (with the best apple pie ever!). Books and clothes and much much more in this treasure house. And later in the year it turns into an incredible Christmas store. A must visit.

Had done a fair bit of walking in Adare during the morning, calling to the Franciscan Abbey ruins on the golf course and the more intact Dominican Abbey, now part of the Adare Church (Church of Ireland), maintaining on that site a tradition of Christian worship going back seven centuries. Enjoyed a fine view of the Castle from the bridge near the entrance to the golf club.

Doll's House at the Old Creamery

Still enough "teaspai" left for another walk and so we headed to the much recommended Curragh Chase Woods and its now ruined house, once the home of 19^th century poet and author Aubrey Thomas de Vere. 

Curragh Close

Ger McDonnell's tree.

Some lovely walks here in the 313 hectares of lakes, mixed woodland and parkland. But the memory I’ll take away is the tear that fell as I unexpectedly came across the tree planted by local mountaineer Ger McDonnell to mark his conquest of Everest in 2003, about five years before the dreadful events on K2 that ended his life and that of ten others.  

As we worked our way towards Ballingarry, I spotted the Croke Park pub. Walking is thirsty work so popped in and we had a great chat with our genial hostess Deirdre and the visiting dog Judy, a one-time stray that was raffled off in the pub one night and thereby found a home. Her second home though is the pub itself where she is well known to all the customers, even sitting it on card games.

Back to Day 2

Back to Day 1

Limerick Day 2: Superb Wild Geese. Medieval Kilmallock. No go at Gur.

Limerick Day 2
Superb Wild Geese. Medieval Kilmallock. No go at Gur. 

Crab in Smoked Salmon

Not the best of days but a superb finish. And not just the ending back here at the Mustard Seed, sipping some red wine in front of a blazing June fire!

That final luxury came after a superb meal in Adare’s Wild Geese, run for the last 14 years by David Foley and Julie Randles. Enjoyed a tasty Goat Cheese Amuse Bouche and then followed two of the best starters you are likely to find.

CL’s was a Terrine of lamb fillet, with a chicken and basil mousse, wrapped in smoked bacon served with Lentil dressing and homemade tomato chutney. Not listed were orange bits and an apple puree. Nothing superfluous, all added up to perfection.

Dominican Friary, Kilmallock

Mine was also high class: a parcel of Kenmare smoked salmon stuffed with crabmeat and served with a cucumber and dill salsa. Sharp and tasty, it woke up those taste buds, just like a flurry of sea foam coming over the cliffs and waking you up on the morning after the night before.

For the mains, I went for the trio of Barbary Duck: Roast Breast, Spring roll of confit and a warm salad of smoked duck. Three out of three! And CL’s Roast Atlantic Cod, topped with crab meat, on a bed of rösti and with a sauce of mussels was a happy dish, like the fishing fleet coming in.

Wine was something of a compromise between white and red but the Round Hill Merlot from sunny California lacked nothing in quality and gained a couple of fans on a drizzly night at the Munster crossroads of the tour buses.

Lough Gur

Nearby Kilmallock, once the crossroads of Munster, has a wealth of history and the buildings, or at least the remains of buildings, to prove it. Most visitors will be familiar with John’s Castle on Sheare’s Street. Built in the 15th century, it is a “fine example of a ‘Peel’ tower. It has been suggested that it saw use as a town gate; other uses included as an arsenal during the war against Cromwell, a meeting place for the local corporation, a school, even a blacksmith’s forge!

Also visited the Priory, a 13^th century Dominican abode. The five-light east window of the church is one its impressive features. Not too much of the cloister remains. Another 13^th century ruin, that of the Collegiate Church, stands nearby.

Another call was to the massive Church of SS Peter and Paul, built towards the end of the 19^th century and still functioning. Juts behind it is the Martyrs’ Monument, erected in memory of three priests hanged in the last quarter of the 16^th century and beatified in Rome in 1992.

Adare

Had been looking forward to my visit to Lough Gur but there was a big disappointment in store when I found the Heritage Centre closed. Checked their site and found it had been due to open in mid-June and now Sunday the 30th is mentioned as the re-opening. There are some walks around the lake and I enjoyed them but, without the back-up of information from the Centre was unable to do much more. Didn’t even see “the crannog or lake-dwelling which is still visible from the Lake shore” according to the website.

After the peace and quite of Lough Gur, the traffic through Adare was almost a shock. Got parking in the large lot behind the centrally situated Heritage Centre as did many more, including quite a few tour buses.

Wild Geese dessert

Needed a coffee after the morning’s exertions and got a good one in the Market Place, about 100 metres uphill from the Heritage Centre. The Market Place is a very busy spot with an extensive menu but, with dinner booked, I settled for the coffee and an excellent slice of apple tart, real chunky apple pieces!  Tasty stuff.

After that it was back to Ballingarry and a wee rest before heading out again to the Wild Geese.

Check out Day 1 here
Day 3 here

Faceless saint, unknown knight and wrong-way Corrigan

Limerick
Day 1

Faceless saint, unknown knight and wrong-way Corrigan

There is, in the Askeaton Franciscan Friary, a saint whose face is fading away. For generations, visitors with toothache and related problems have been kissing him on the face in the hope of a cure. Not too sure if the aches vanished but the saint’s face, at least the area round the mouth, is vanishing.

In the same abbey, there is a statue of Saint Patrick, high in one of the internal walls, easily missed. I’d not have seen it but for the help of a local man who also told me about the toothache saint and the unknown knight. The story is that this anonymous knight arrived in Askeaton and died there and is buried in a wall in the abbey with the following inscription: Pass me for I am strange.



But the real highlight for me is the cloisters (below), more or less intact in this 14th century building. These, plus the saint, the knight and Patrick are national treasures, open to the elements, including the criminal ones.

No chance that early aviator Douglas Corrigan would remain anonymous. Denied permission to fly from New York to Dublin, he was given the option of NY to San Fran. But the intrepid pilot headed east and landed in Dublin, claiming his compass had mal-functioned!

Heard that yarn and a whole lot more in the fascinating Flying Boat Museum in Foynes earlier in the day. Many stories are about the flying boats in their heyday at Foynes (late 30s, early 40s) and obviously lots are of Irish interest. The highlight though is a full size replica of the Yankee Clipper (built by Boeing and called the B314). This gives a terrific idea of what a flight in this type of machine was like.

Here also you’ll hear how, and why, Irish Coffee was invented. There is a little gift shop and also an impressive little restaurant, the B. O’Regan. ”Mouth-watering home cooking at very reasonable rates” they say. Soup and brown bread for €3.95 sounded reasonable but my plain scone cost €2.95! But it was of decent quality as was the reliable Bewley’s Coffee.

Mustard Seed garden

After that, headed out the Shannon estuary, as far as Tarbert where we saw the impressive car ferries come and go between the Kerry port and Killimer in Clare. Pity the day’s weather wasn’t the best. It was dry and generally dull but we still got a great idea of the impressive estuary,  Ireland's largest.

Mustard Seed garden

Headed back then, via Askeaton, to Ballingarry and the Mustard Seed, set in a former convent. Great welcome here, local cheddar, peaches and Prosecco in the room, and then a walk in the garden, a garden given over mainly to vegetables but with some gorgeous flowers and surprising mini-vistas, even including a little Buddha shrine!

Plate of lamb

All that was needed now was a good meal. And I got it at the Mustard Seed. Superb from start to finish. Briefly, it was Rabbit and Pig Terrine, Lemon Sorbet, Assiette of Lamb (above), and Selection of Irish Farmhouse Cheeses (including Milleens and Cashel Blue).  Five star. And then a comfy finish with the end of the wine and coffee in front of the fire! Happy days.

See Day 2
See Day 3