Recipe: A Quick Chili con carne

Lazy days are happy days...
Sometimes when I am really busy, like now working on my cookbook I need to cook quickly something up.
So here my very quick Chili con carne.

Carne is Italian and stands for meat, so take minced meat, cook it in a pot with some oil, add the chopped onion, a can of beans and corn and to Finnish up some chopped tomato. Spice it to taste, I think you get the Idea ?
Some Chili should be in it too, dont you think ?
Anyway, its prepared in 5 minutes, let it simmer a bit and serve with some toast, or with the famous Sopa paraguaira

Enjoy !

Planning a Xmas Party

It’s a bit early to mention the C word now,
but let’s don’t deny it, Christmas is coming up fairly quickly.
I am not a fan of Xmas decoration in shops and streets before December,
but believe it or not, some little elves are working already hiding away in conference rooms in a workplace near to you.

It’s the time of the year companies are planning their Xmas Parties to make sure they get a date in at the different venues. It’s easy to get confused what’s on offer and what should be planned for your company Xmas Party, gathering with club members or friends before the festivities.

Here a little guide if you are involved in the planning of a function for your workplace or club.
Gather Information:

How many people you expecting to attend ?
Are you up for a formal sit down dinner or does your team like it rather informal ?
What’s the budged per head for food/drinks and entertainment?
Which Date is preferred by management, party during the week or on the weekend ?

Once you gathered this information you should already have a good enough idea what offer is best for your crowd.

Offers available:
For small team night outs and informal gatherings where the craic is most important, with a low per head budget you will probably get the best deals if you talk to your local publican.
You can’t go wrong with tasty sandwiches and a tap, or two drink vouchers and that’s available for as low as 10 Euro per head.  In pubs they are offering menus at restaurant level and you can get more than just the finger a food option.

For groups who want the intimacy of a sit down menu, get your dates in now in one of the towns restaurants. Menus are available from around 20 Euro per head for a 2 course meal, up to 40 Euro for a 4 course meal deal. The spaces/dates are already limited, so make your bookings now.

Good advice for anyone reaching out to the venues for offers, call between 3 and 6pm to talk about your party, around lunch time and in the evening the staff is busy with their lunch/dinner service.
Or why not dropping them an email or text message with your contact details, so they can call you back and take time to discuss what you are looking for.

The last option I wanted to mention is one of the Xmas party nights organized by the local hotels.
There are food / entertainment packages available starting at around 27,- Euro up to 45,- Euro which include mulled wine reception, game entertainment and party music.
That’s good value too, especially if you up for a good night dancing and partying.

Whatever option is best for you and your colleagues is entirely up to you, most important is that you have fun and a relaxing time, doesn’t matter how big or small the budged is.
Make sure you prearrange transportation or have a designated driver so you get back home safely from your night out.

Richies Cooking Class

I wrote previously a review of Richys bistro & Restaurant cooking classes here in Clonakilty.
I had again a lot of fun with two different classes, cooking fish and game,
and I wanted to let you know there is one upcoming for the 27th of November which is focusing on Christmas Cooking.

The cooking classes are about fun but also to learn how to have all dishes ready in time.

To be honest, before the classes I could cook,
but my timing was way off. My wife can report you about evenings with delicious food at home, and the 1 hour waiting time since it just took me longer to get all ready than I expected.

Now, after a few classes, I learned to time the starter and main dishes perfectly. No more starving now, and with all the small tips here and there my overall performance in the kitchen improved a lot.

I can just recommend you, book a class, 50 Euro for a fun evening in the kitchen, with wine to each course is a superb value !
Book your place now at http://www.richysbarandbistro.com/

Vodka Berry revisited

I wrote earlier this year about the vodka berry mix I made. So after a few weeks on the shelve I dried now my creation, and what shall I say, smooth. I dried it but at room temperature and out of the freezer and have to say you taste the berries better when the drink is served ice cold.

I should have made more of that stuff....next time...

1 year anniversary

Time is moving quick, believe it or not, but this blog is 1 year old already.
I look forward to many more years bloging, even doh its hard sometimes to stick to the schedule and come up with new ideas !

This Fishing Season...

... was rather chaotic for me this year.
Didn't had the chance to go as often out with the boat as I hoped for due to the bad summer we had here in Ireland.

I recently went to the peer here in Clon again but I only caught small Pollock, no mackerel at all.

Well I can only hope its better next year, I keep you posted, in mean time I will put my gear in the storage.

Spiced Salt

Xmas is coming soon and many people look for gifts. Why not making a gift yourself  ?

I made already some spiced salt,Ii used some left over berries and mixed them with sea salt. After I tried the mix on a baking tray as seen in the picture.

Finally fill it once dried in a glass and decorate it nice, voila, a spiced salt as gift. It tastes great and i use it a lot now for cooking.

Snails - Escargot

Today I share a pretty easy recipe with you, Escargot. (Snails) First, get some Burgundy Snails in a can, (if you don't have access to alive ones) and snail houses, than make a garlic butter with herbs.
Place a bit of butter in the snail house, stuff back in the snail, and close the house with more butter as seen on the picture.
After place the tray in the preheated oven at 180 C for 5 minutes, than serve them hot.Tastes super, usually its served with some white bread.

Weekend Tip Rumleys Farm

I nearly forgot to blog this last few days since it was so busy with visitors over, Sophies Bday and Halloween.

We have been on the weekend to Rumleys farm close to Cork and it was really good fun. You should check it out yourself, they have all kinds of activities and animals there, your kids will love it.

here a link to their website