At last! Tomorrow, Aldi are opening up in Sandyford, south county Dublin. If, like me, you refused to drive past several branches of Lidl to get to Aldi in Nutgrove, this will be very good news indeed. Aldi don’t stock the very amazing Fruchtsaft or cheap organic potatoes – until they do, I won’t be [...]
I’m determined to find sick and twisted ways of forcing history’s five greatest foods – anchovies, honey, mustard, raspberries, and chicken wings – to live together in one tiny room and swap each other around in surprising combinations (I know, I know, mustard is a condiment not a food). Honey and mustard are in love, [...]
The blackberries are out and it’s your chance to get free food. You can use them to make jam, cakes, ice cream, compote, crème brulée, coulis and even tea. You can also use blackberries in savoury sauces. Venison goes well with autumnal purple-red produce and this Pan-fried venison with blackberry sauce is very fast and [...]
My good friend Jimmy Dalton sends us this handy guide to excess mayonnaise. Specifically, Hellmann’s mayonnaise: umpteen moons ago, Snackbox snubbed his nose at a fancy organic mayonnaise I picked up in some snooty Dalkey shop. He then proved a point by eating Hellmann’s straight from a jar, with his hands. In fairness, he was [...]
Although it has been out for a couple of years, I have only just come across the incredible Italian cookbook ‘Made in Italy – Food and Stories’ by Giorgio Locatelli. I have been a fan of his since seeing his recipes in the Observer Food Monthly but having over 600 pages of his dishes is [...]
Asian food absolutely rocks but I always feel that shop bought noodles let a good stir-fry down. However, I have recently discovered wholegrain noodles which are a complete revelation. As a general rule I try and eat as much wholefoods as possible; I’ve eaten brown rice for years and changed over to wholegrain pasta a [...]
I love prawns but I usually only get to eat the frozen kind because fresh prawns are often pricey. Frozen prawns are great in curries but if you want the full flavour, fresh is better. I was delighted to fall upon a great offer at M&S where you can get a whopping 20 large prawns [...]
Dunnes are doing a great deal on organic chicken wings at the moment. For €4.99 there are enough wings for three to four people and married with a blue cheese dressing, this is one tasty dish. I particularly like the ‘Spicy Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing’ recipe from the book ‘Falling Cloudberries’ by Tessa [...]
A couple of years ago, I received a jar of jam for Christmas. This may seem like a stingy present but it was actually one of the nicest presents I got that year. It wasn’t any ordinary shop-bought jam but homemade, wrapped specifically with me in mind and had my name printed on the jar. [...]
I made this for dinner recently as a side for my Roast Chicken in Butter Sauce. Each time I make a tomato sauce, it’s different. It’s a wondrous, organic, changing thing and can taste so different each time, redolent of memories from the past, spag bol when I was a kid, bruschetta on my first [...]
