There was no time for baking last weekend as my gorgeous hubby whisked me down* the country for a couple of days r&r. We were due to go a couple of weeks back but the Big Freeze of 2010 hit and sure don't you know it the whole place ground to a halt. So, we pushed it out by a week and sure wouldn't you know it the feckin' snow decided to hang around and with the salt and grit scarcer than a tan on an Irish farmers belly we had to once again postpone. We had plans for the two weekends that followed meaning last weekend was the earliest we could slip away for some time together. I swear to God, you'd mobilise a military invasion quicker than you'd get the pair of us down the road to Kilkenny! Saturday morning arrived and I jumped (crawled) out of the bed, pulled open the blinds and what did I see outside only a nice thick layer of frickin' frost on the road. Now at this stage someone up above is having a bit of a giraffe with us.
Off we set on our precarious way happily singing along to my hubby's new 'weekend away' play list thinking that we were no longer going to let the weather stand in our way, I mean this time it was just a little bit of frost and the occasional random ice patch, right. Wrong!!! When we hit the M50 it would appear the heavens were falling down around our ears as the thickest fog I can remember engulfed the car, and so we drove from Dublin to Kilkenny in a thick white cloud not able to see 6ft in front of us at any given time. We made it to the hotel in one piece despite the non existent visibility and deposited our bags pronto before heading back out (into the thick fog, fun) to do a spot of shopping and perhaps have a little bite to eat.
Kilkenny is a very lovely place, and with the construction of some new by pass roads is no distance from Dublin making it a good weekend destination. We have been at least a couple of times a year for the past few years and at this stage must have seen everything it has to offer, so you are probably wondering why bother going back now, why not try somewhere new? The answer to this is simple, Rinnucini's restaurant, that's why.
I can't remember when we first dined here but it was a few years ago now. We stumbled across it on one visit coming out of the castle and ever since it is our sole reason for visiting Kilkenny and never overlook it when down there. I think it is probably my favourite restaurant in Ireland for its combination of fantastic service, perfect bustling atmosphere and always faultless food. I have been to many restaurants with stunning decor, Michelin star food, celebrity chefs and waiting lists as long as your arm, none of which tick all of the boxes in the manner that Rinnucini's does. I have never once walked away form the restaurant with a complaint or a but which is more than I can say for any other Irish restaurant I have visited.
Saturday was no different. Instantly on entering the din of animated conversation hit us smack on the face, the glow of the table lamps melted away the cold from the fog outside and the aroma of delicious creations immediately reminded my tummy that I was STARVING. As we left the hotel too late to have a drink we arrived about 5 minutes early and were shown to our table which I wasn't very happy with. Now I know, I know that I just said I have never had a complaint with this place so bare with me. We addressed our problem with our waiter who explained that as we were slightly early our allocated table was not yet ready but if we were happy to wait he would move us asap. He did move us, and to a very nice table in one of the main areas just perfect for soaking up the lovely atmosphere.
The hubby ordered a bottle of bubbles which was only fabilis, lovely and fruity, I think moreish would be the word for this one. Then we munched away on the lovely bread brought to us while we waited for our food. I ordered Antipasto Rinnucini to start and Tortelloni al Gorgonzola for my main, both were gorgeous. Hubby ordered Capesante de Giacomo (scallops) to start and Pasta del Giorno Frutti de Mare (seafood pasta to you and me) as his main, and it pains me to say it but the bugger made better choices. Whilst all of the dishes were delicious his just had the X factor, gorgeous.
Now he may well have won rounds 1 and 2 but round 3 will always be taken by me. Rinnucini's is the place to go if you want expertly made fresh pasta but for me my visits are motivated by one thing and one thing only, dessert. Always on the dessert menu (thankfully) is the most delicious chocolate mousse. It is smooth, rich, dense, chocolatey heaven on a plate, topped off with a scrumptious dollop of homemade vanilla ice cream cradled in a brandy snap basket. I have sampled many a chocolate mousse in my time (my absolute favourite is that served up in Town Bar & Grill in Dublin) but this one is right up there and this alone makes the 3 hour round trip, the cost of a new guna and shoes and the added expense of a hotel for the night sooooooo worth it.
For that reason I think it shall remain that myself and my hubby make an excuse a couple of times a year for that trip to Kilkenny and the obligatory visit to Rinnucini's to stuff ourselves full of the truly delicious offerings of the wonderful chef and kitchen staff. (I would post some nice pics of all of the lovely things we ate but alas we were so busy scoffing and quaffing that I forgot to take some, soz!)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
So Many Cakes, So Little Time!
OK, so I kinda predicted this at the start, that any grand aspirations to bake deliciously sweet delights every week, photograph and blog about them would possibly become derailed quite easily. Funnily enough I was right. Life can be a bit of a bugger though can't it, and just get in the way of all those things that we love to do. I generally have grand plans to bake some mouth watering delight on a Friday to be enjoyed over the course of the weekend. Then, the phone rings. Yep, the phone, such a wonderful invention, but by Jaysus is it incessant in our home and usually involves plans being made that put paid to my determination to don the apron.
Some of these plans are made with oodles of advance notice. But, more often than not they involve a moments notice and taking into account my inability to say no to anybody there are quite a lot of things left to balance precariously on my long finger. Now don't get me wrong, I love nothing more than spending time with family and friends and if someone is in need I will bend over backwards (not literally, I'm not that nimble) to lend a hand, so that's the chocolate brownies out the feckin' window for another week, and so the cycle begins. At this time of year I also find myself faced with the guilt of New Years resolutions and my determination to be healthy and that little voice in my head telling me I do not NEED that slice of caca milis. I knnooow I don't need it, but I feckin' well want it, right!!!
What I can try to do though, is commit to jotting down a few lines more often, even if they are not baking related. I sometimes amaze myself with the amount of random rubbish that floats into my head, most of which would be of absolutely no interest to anybody. But every now and then I am invaded by lovely thoughts that bring a smile to my face, make me chuckle out loud(these usually occur in public, when I am alone and therefore deemed crazy lady by passers by) or fill me with that lovely warm fuzzy feeling we are blessed with every now and then. So for now I shall endeavour to fill in the long lonely gaps between baking experiments with a bit of random blathering about anything and everything that happens to grab my attention.
I do hope to make some yummy cupcakes next week and am determined to follow through on this as these are my absolute favourite scrummy delight. I also wish to follow up on a cake I enjoyed in one of my favourite cafes but am struggling to perfect the base. I felt what could be a rather moreish delight was somewhat marred by a rather lacklustre Digestive base and so am on a one woman crusade to perfect this offering before I share it with others.
Some of these plans are made with oodles of advance notice. But, more often than not they involve a moments notice and taking into account my inability to say no to anybody there are quite a lot of things left to balance precariously on my long finger. Now don't get me wrong, I love nothing more than spending time with family and friends and if someone is in need I will bend over backwards (not literally, I'm not that nimble) to lend a hand, so that's the chocolate brownies out the feckin' window for another week, and so the cycle begins. At this time of year I also find myself faced with the guilt of New Years resolutions and my determination to be healthy and that little voice in my head telling me I do not NEED that slice of caca milis. I knnooow I don't need it, but I feckin' well want it, right!!!
What I can try to do though, is commit to jotting down a few lines more often, even if they are not baking related. I sometimes amaze myself with the amount of random rubbish that floats into my head, most of which would be of absolutely no interest to anybody. But every now and then I am invaded by lovely thoughts that bring a smile to my face, make me chuckle out loud(these usually occur in public, when I am alone and therefore deemed crazy lady by passers by) or fill me with that lovely warm fuzzy feeling we are blessed with every now and then. So for now I shall endeavour to fill in the long lonely gaps between baking experiments with a bit of random blathering about anything and everything that happens to grab my attention.
I do hope to make some yummy cupcakes next week and am determined to follow through on this as these are my absolute favourite scrummy delight. I also wish to follow up on a cake I enjoyed in one of my favourite cafes but am struggling to perfect the base. I felt what could be a rather moreish delight was somewhat marred by a rather lacklustre Digestive base and so am on a one woman crusade to perfect this offering before I share it with others.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Let it snow, let it snow.....alright enough already!
My childhood memories of snow are few and far between an quite frankly a little hazy. I could most probably count on both hands the amount of truly snowy days that I have experienced in my whole lifetime, that is up until now. We would very occasionally be blessed with a day off school because the pipes had frozen and when I did build a snowman it was generally of the anorexic variety because if you had an inch of snow be God there must have been an all out blizzard.
Having lived only in Ireland I have only once before experienced weather similar to that of the last two weeks. My very first trip to New York was in January of 2003 and the temperatures there were a crisp -15C. Now this was my first trip stateside and New York is very obviously used to these Baltic temperatures, life functions unhindered with safe roads and pavements, the weather was seen through very romantic eyes.
Their were nine of us in total on that trip, seven of us travelled together and two more joined us a day later. We all came prepared with warm coats, hats, scarves and gloves, and sensible shoes. All apart from my sister in law who walked the snowy streets of Manhattan in 6 inch stilettos. We all grinned like Cheshire cats as we huddled in a group to have our photo taken in front of the Empire State Building, walked around the city in sub zero temperatures without complaint, marvelled at the sight of Central Park with its thick blanket of snow, giggled at the the amateur skaters on the ice in Rockefeller Centre and braved the temperatures at night in order to dress in our finery for dinner and cocktails.
On our first night we phoned home to our late arrivals to advise them of the extreme temperatures and advise them to pack for the North Pole. They took our warnings as nothing more than the Irish abroad exaggerating as we have a tendency to do and each packed a heavy 'Irish winter' coat and no accessories. They snickered when we met for pre dinner drinks the evening of their arrival and layered ourselves up before departure to the restaurant. I would say approximately 2 minutes later when we hit the streets in hunt of taxis it was the rest of us snickering as they could barely speak with the cold and looked up and down the block frantically for a street vendor from whom to purchase hats, scarves and gloves. Very stylish 'I Love NY' hats et al were soon secure on their person and remained so for the rest of the holiday without any remarks of our exaggerating prior to their arrival.
And so it was that for the remainder of the holiday we layered ourselves up like the Michelin man, tramped around the streets of New York and stopped when necessary for an alcoholic beverage to warm our cockles without a second thought and more importantly without a grumble. Fast forward 7 years and to Ireland and non holiday mindsets and it would seem that our bodies have somehow forgotten how to cope with this weather phenomenon we are faced with. I personally have not left the house except when necessary for the past two weeks, engagements have been cancelled, daily walks have been abandoned and the cupboards are almost bare.
I think some of it is rooted in our biological make up. We live in what is probably best described as a tepid climate, never too hot, never too cold just somewhere nicely balanced in the middle. For this reason our natural thermostat is thrown into a tizzy on the rare occasions that we experience a heatwave or a cold snap. Our natural response to this cold weather is therefore to slow down, eat plenty of hearty, warming comfort food and to cocoon ourselves in layers of clothing and blankets and basically hibernate. In a heatwave our bodies slow down (any excuse it would seem) we strip back the layers (hence our poor eyes are assaulted by the sight of lily white beer bellies wobbling unabashedly in public), graze on our food in an attempt to shed some unnecessary insulation and wait for the rain to return.
The common denominator of these two extremes in weather is the love that Irish people have for a good old moan. By God if moaning was an Olympic sport we'd take home gold, silver and bronze every time. At the moment everybody is moaning about being trapped inside for fear of breaking a limb stepping foot outside the door onto the icy surfaces that the government haven't bothered to grit. In hot conditions we complain that there isn't a breath to be had and that we can't function properly in the heat. And when there are no extremes but just bog standard Irish rain we complain that were sick of the cold and the wet and would love to live in a Mediterranean climate.
So there you have it, there is absolutely no pleasing us and while we may be thwarted by the weather at present it suits us just grand cos we can have a good old moan and a right go at the government for their ineptness in dealing with the situation at hand and plunging us into a state of natural emergency.
Why is it that the entire country has ground to a very frosty halt? It is fair to say that we rarely have weather so cold for longer than 2 or 3 days and snow rarely sticks to the ground for long and for this reason national and local contingency plans while effective initially have well and truly been stretched to there limits and beyond. Our belief that we had had our 3 days worth until next Christmas I'm sure delayed the ordering of fresh supplies until eventually someone in a council office somewhere probably said, 'actually lads I don't think this is actually gonna blow over in a couple of days so maybe (just maybe) we should order in a bit more salt'. Said supplies are supposedly en route and it's a good thing they are as we are said to have another 10 days of snow and frost stretched out ahead of us, this is the third consecutive day that I have heard news reports state 10 days as the duration!
To ride this out I have opted for hibernation. Apart form necessary tasks and travel I have taken to lounging on my sofa with a warm blanket, plenty of chocolate and the remote control. I am quite enjoying the excuse to divulge myself in so much guilt free inactivity. When I settle down each evening basking in the soft glow of lamplight, the flickering of deliciously fragrant candles and look out at the moon illuminating the snowy blanket, I wrap my hands around a steaming mug of hot chocolate and I must admit that I am completely and utterly intoxicated by the beauty of this fluffy, marshmallow like weather phenomenon. It has rendered my brain all but useless and for this reason I have not ventured into the kitchen to indulge in my favourite pass time of baking, but if you would like something delicious to warm you on these wintry nights I suggest one of my favourite indulgences - a Bailey's hot chocolate. The creamy liqueur transforms a humble hot chocolate into a silky, internal hot water bottle that will melt away any post Christmas blues. So enjoy (obviously in moderation, you don't want to wake up face down in the snow now do you?) and stay safe when out and about on the ice.
Bailey's Hot Chocolate
Having lived only in Ireland I have only once before experienced weather similar to that of the last two weeks. My very first trip to New York was in January of 2003 and the temperatures there were a crisp -15C. Now this was my first trip stateside and New York is very obviously used to these Baltic temperatures, life functions unhindered with safe roads and pavements, the weather was seen through very romantic eyes.
Their were nine of us in total on that trip, seven of us travelled together and two more joined us a day later. We all came prepared with warm coats, hats, scarves and gloves, and sensible shoes. All apart from my sister in law who walked the snowy streets of Manhattan in 6 inch stilettos. We all grinned like Cheshire cats as we huddled in a group to have our photo taken in front of the Empire State Building, walked around the city in sub zero temperatures without complaint, marvelled at the sight of Central Park with its thick blanket of snow, giggled at the the amateur skaters on the ice in Rockefeller Centre and braved the temperatures at night in order to dress in our finery for dinner and cocktails.
On our first night we phoned home to our late arrivals to advise them of the extreme temperatures and advise them to pack for the North Pole. They took our warnings as nothing more than the Irish abroad exaggerating as we have a tendency to do and each packed a heavy 'Irish winter' coat and no accessories. They snickered when we met for pre dinner drinks the evening of their arrival and layered ourselves up before departure to the restaurant. I would say approximately 2 minutes later when we hit the streets in hunt of taxis it was the rest of us snickering as they could barely speak with the cold and looked up and down the block frantically for a street vendor from whom to purchase hats, scarves and gloves. Very stylish 'I Love NY' hats et al were soon secure on their person and remained so for the rest of the holiday without any remarks of our exaggerating prior to their arrival.
And so it was that for the remainder of the holiday we layered ourselves up like the Michelin man, tramped around the streets of New York and stopped when necessary for an alcoholic beverage to warm our cockles without a second thought and more importantly without a grumble. Fast forward 7 years and to Ireland and non holiday mindsets and it would seem that our bodies have somehow forgotten how to cope with this weather phenomenon we are faced with. I personally have not left the house except when necessary for the past two weeks, engagements have been cancelled, daily walks have been abandoned and the cupboards are almost bare.
I think some of it is rooted in our biological make up. We live in what is probably best described as a tepid climate, never too hot, never too cold just somewhere nicely balanced in the middle. For this reason our natural thermostat is thrown into a tizzy on the rare occasions that we experience a heatwave or a cold snap. Our natural response to this cold weather is therefore to slow down, eat plenty of hearty, warming comfort food and to cocoon ourselves in layers of clothing and blankets and basically hibernate. In a heatwave our bodies slow down (any excuse it would seem) we strip back the layers (hence our poor eyes are assaulted by the sight of lily white beer bellies wobbling unabashedly in public), graze on our food in an attempt to shed some unnecessary insulation and wait for the rain to return.
The common denominator of these two extremes in weather is the love that Irish people have for a good old moan. By God if moaning was an Olympic sport we'd take home gold, silver and bronze every time. At the moment everybody is moaning about being trapped inside for fear of breaking a limb stepping foot outside the door onto the icy surfaces that the government haven't bothered to grit. In hot conditions we complain that there isn't a breath to be had and that we can't function properly in the heat. And when there are no extremes but just bog standard Irish rain we complain that were sick of the cold and the wet and would love to live in a Mediterranean climate.
So there you have it, there is absolutely no pleasing us and while we may be thwarted by the weather at present it suits us just grand cos we can have a good old moan and a right go at the government for their ineptness in dealing with the situation at hand and plunging us into a state of natural emergency.
Why is it that the entire country has ground to a very frosty halt? It is fair to say that we rarely have weather so cold for longer than 2 or 3 days and snow rarely sticks to the ground for long and for this reason national and local contingency plans while effective initially have well and truly been stretched to there limits and beyond. Our belief that we had had our 3 days worth until next Christmas I'm sure delayed the ordering of fresh supplies until eventually someone in a council office somewhere probably said, 'actually lads I don't think this is actually gonna blow over in a couple of days so maybe (just maybe) we should order in a bit more salt'. Said supplies are supposedly en route and it's a good thing they are as we are said to have another 10 days of snow and frost stretched out ahead of us, this is the third consecutive day that I have heard news reports state 10 days as the duration!
To ride this out I have opted for hibernation. Apart form necessary tasks and travel I have taken to lounging on my sofa with a warm blanket, plenty of chocolate and the remote control. I am quite enjoying the excuse to divulge myself in so much guilt free inactivity. When I settle down each evening basking in the soft glow of lamplight, the flickering of deliciously fragrant candles and look out at the moon illuminating the snowy blanket, I wrap my hands around a steaming mug of hot chocolate and I must admit that I am completely and utterly intoxicated by the beauty of this fluffy, marshmallow like weather phenomenon. It has rendered my brain all but useless and for this reason I have not ventured into the kitchen to indulge in my favourite pass time of baking, but if you would like something delicious to warm you on these wintry nights I suggest one of my favourite indulgences - a Bailey's hot chocolate. The creamy liqueur transforms a humble hot chocolate into a silky, internal hot water bottle that will melt away any post Christmas blues. So enjoy (obviously in moderation, you don't want to wake up face down in the snow now do you?) and stay safe when out and about on the ice.
Bailey's Hot Chocolate
- 1 Mug of steaming hot chocolate
- 1oz Bailey's or similar cream liqueur
- Whipped Cream (optional)
- Flaked Chocolate (optional)
- Simply make a mug of your chosen hot chocolate according to instructions.
- Add 1 oz of Bailey's and stir to combine.
- Add 2 tablespoons of whipped cream to the top if desired and crumble some flaked chocolate over the cream.
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