Articles

The image of “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…” pretty much sums up the best and cosiest of winter activities, especially the sociability of the festive season. Not to be confused with the unrelated and inedible horse chestnuts which grow prolifically in Ireland, the European sweet chestnut, Castanea sativa, is actually a cousin of the beech.
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Lucy Madden ponders, among other things, the increasingly prolific (and obscure categories of) hospitality awards... We are told, and no surprises here, that airbrushed stars in magazines leave young girls stressed and wanting to drink. It's the same effect that the annual round of hospitality awards have on me, especially when we haven't received one, or even been shortlisted. They swish around, these awards, and the categories become ever more obscure. Soon there may be an award for the receptionist with the best teeth. At a stage in life when the onlv accolade I am likely to receive is a cuddly grandmother cup at the local fête, I gnash my teeth (I still have them) at pictures of the beaming recipients and sometimes wonder, in sour and bitter mood, how the hell did they get that?
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The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for November is West restaurant, at The Twelve Hotel in Barna, just west of Galway city. A former winner of our annual Wine Award, this contemporary hotel has had quality food at its heart from the outset and their motto “True to The Region, True to The Season” sums up the philosophy which can be seen at work in every aspect of the operation, including their excellent bar food as well as the fine dining restaurant, West.
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It’s an exceptionally good year for cookery books so, for a lot of gift lists, that could be Christmas pretty much sorted. The only question is, which ones suit your nearest and dearest best? The season’s crop breaks down roughly into three groups – first there are the heavyweights (serious books that you’ll want to keep for life), secondly the chef cookbooks (which, ironically, mainly focus on home cooking this year) – and then (don’t laugh), many of the others seem to major in cupcakes…
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Christmas is coming and there’s nothing a good cook likes better than the orderly preparations that begin with making the puddings and rich fruit cakes – once they’re made and stored, there’s a sense of things being under control…This month’s recipes tie in with the new season cookbooks (see Book Reviews). Recipes include Roly's Christmas Pudding from Roly's Café & Bakery Bookbook; Edward Hayden’s Christmas cake from Edward Entertains and Bûche de Noel from Julie Duff's Cakes Around the World.
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Home made sweets and little treats are always welcome gifts - and perfect for these recessionista times. The following article contains recipes that have been taken from some of the wonderful cookbooks that have been reviewed by us and include Turkish Delight from Rachel Allen's Home Cooking, MacNean Mint Chocolate Truffles from Neven Maguire's Home Chef and Sugar Cookies from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.
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My son likes to remind his prurient mother that she once, when driving through Gloucester, suggested making a detour to see the house where murderers Fred and Rosemary West carried out their foul deeds. I can't remember this, but it is possible. I admit to a fascination with gruesome venues. I also like to see places where famous people have lived and died; cemeteries are irresistible...
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Autumn and winter bring many treats to the kitchen and, for many people, wild game is one of the most exciting. What fun it used to be walking down past Sawyers in Chatham Street, when all the feathered and furred game was hung up on display, the beautiful pheasants with their tail feathers on and a kaleidoscope of colours gleaming in the winter sun – as good a reason for going in Dublin as there could be, yet all that is banned now. But that hasn’t quite spelt the end of wild game, which is supplied oven-ready in season to good specialist shops and supermarkets by, for example, the Wicklow company, Wild Irish Game.
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“The pig was probably the first domestic animal to be brought to Ireland and many country people can remember the time when most rural households killed at least one pig a year. It was a complicated business, with the men and women each having their particular jobs. The men did the killing, cleaning, butchery and salting, while the women dealt with the trotters, internal organs and any other parts which were to be cooked fresh. The hams were usually put into a blend of salt, saltpetre and brown sugar for several days and then smoked, preferably over oak chippings. Afterwards, they were hung up on iron hooks from a beam called 'the meat stick' which ran across the kitchen, where turf smoke from the open hearth gave it a special Irish flavour...
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The cream of the hospitality world gathered at Bord Bia in Dublin Thursday 15th October, for the announcement of the 2010 Georgina Campbell Awards, associated with the respected Georgina Campbell’s Ireland independent hospitality guides, and Ireland’s most popular independent hospitality and travel website www.ireland-guide.com. Unlike most other award schemes, the Georgina Campbell Awards are completely independent, and in no way affiliated with trade associations or marketing groups; it is this independence which has earned them special respect in the industry, and public trust.
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