Review: Dew Drop Inn, Kill

The Dew Drop Inn

Kill, Co. Kildare

The Dew Drop Inn is a "Gastro-Pub" located in the village of Kill, Co. Kildare. Last Thursday Ali and I decided to give it a try for dinner as neither of us had been there for a couple of years.

The Dew Drop is a nice, bright restaurant with comfortable seating and a bar at one end. The bar stocks a fine range of craft beers including Kill's own Trouble Brewing Company Beer. We were seated close to the main door in the restaurant, the only table that wan't reserved. We were handed the large menu's and told the specials of the day. I decided to go for the a la carte menu as the specials are not included in the set menu option.

For starter I ordered the "Chicken Liver Parfait, Pistachio Crumb, Apple and Vanilla Chutney, Toast." It arrived promptly and looked very elegant and appetising. The parfait (or paté to you and I) was a little mild flavoured for my tastes. I'd like to taste more liver and feel they may have overdone the butter here. The pistachio crumb was a nice addition and added to the texture of the dish while the chutney was excellent, cutting through the rich paté perfectly.

Starter: 6/10

For mains I settled on the special: "Pulled Pork Burger." Served on a board in a soft bap with chips, this dish has lots of potential but unfortunately it just falls short on flavour. The pork was tender and the bap beautifully fluffy but the coleslaw and mustard on the burger was a little lost on me. I would've preferred something a little more tart to cut through the pork. Apple with pork is a standard for a reason and I think this burger would've been better served with a dollop of tart apple sauce. I would've been willing to forgive all of this but this dish contained my pet peeve; soggy chips.

Main: 5/10

The dessert was a lot better! "Sticky Toffee Pudding, Nut Crunch, Salted Caramel Ice-Cream." It was delicious. The pudding was just sticky enough while the salted caramel ice-cream was the perfect accompaniment. The espresso was of good quality too.

Dessert: 7/10

The service in the Dew Drop was excellent. Our waiter/waitress were exceptionally helpful and friendly and tended to our every need. The only draw back was the time it took to remove our plates after courses but this is only a small point.

Service: 8/10

As for the price, we paid €69 for 3 courses each (Ali was on the set menu, I was a la carte), a coke, a west coast cooler, a tea and an espresso. Pretty good value especially when you consider that it would have been €63 had I stayed on the set menu.

Value for Money: 7/10

Ambiance: 7/10

Overall: 6.5/10

Dew Drop Inn

Kill

Co. Kildare

(045) 877755

Pete's Perfect Portion 12

Pancakes with Bacon and Maple Syrup - Hoky Poky, Newbridge

You wake up late. You're tired, a little grumpy and dying of dehydration. It wasn't the bottle of wine you consumed last night, it was ONLY ONE bottle. It was on one such morning that Ali and myself decided to head into the Hoky Poky for breakfast. I was instantly attracted to the Pancakes with Bacon and Maple Syrup, what could be better for a hangover? They were delicious. Fluffy pancakes and crispy bacon with the perfect accompaniment to any breakfast; maple syrup. The coffee wasn't half bad either. Hangover cured!

Turkey Noodle Soup

It's 5 weeks to the day. 5 WEEKS!! Where has 2014 gone? I'd swear Christmas gets earlier every year. I'm not prepared at all. This time last year we had the cake and pudding made and a few big batches of sausage rolls in the freezer for the inevitable surprise visitors. This year I'm going with an even more DIY Christmas. I have the ham (a 4KG chunk of leg) curing at the bottom of the fridge and our turkey will come from Ali's cousin Jo-Ann at Cairns Farm in Bellewstown. The starter will be a paté made from the liver of the lamb I bought from the same farm while Ali will be on dessert duty, always a good move!

 Before I get into some Christmas recipes here's another great way to use up some leftover turkey. It's unbelievably quick and stupidly delicious, it's Turkey Noodle Soup! This is a nice way to use up some leftover breast meat as it won't dry out too much and become stringy in such a short cooking time. If you only have leg meat then even better, it will give the soup a deeper flavour. You really can't beat homemade turkey stock here but if you didn't bother making some (who would be bothered on Christmas day?) then a good chicken stock will work well.

Serves 4 as a starter or 2-3 as a main.

900ml Turkey Stock

2 Carrots (chopped into matchsticks)

1/2 thumb sized piece of Ginger (chopped into matchsticks)

1 clove of Garlic (finely sliced)

120g Whole Wheat Noodles

200g Cooked Turkey (torn into chunks)

1 Red Chilli (finely sliced)

4 Spring Onions (finely sliced)

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Bring the stock up to the boil and add the carrots, ginger and garlic. Simmer for 3-4 minutes before adding the noodles, turkey and chilli. Continue to cook for 3-4 minutes until the noodles are tender. Add the spring onions, season to taste and serve.

I told you it was quick!

Pete's Perfect Portion 11

Cracklings

A couple of months ago I got the crazy idea to buy half a pig. Actually I wanted a full pig but when I realised the size I decided on half instead. Last week my idea came to fruition as Richard took the long trip from Mayo to Kinneagh with 40Kg of fresh pork in his boot. After an apology for the lack of a head in the box and a quick chat about all things Pork, I got to work.

At the end of all my processing I was wondering what to do with all the remaining back fat. I decided to make lard (surely it'll come in handy over Christmas right?!) What I didn't think I would get is the delicious crispy bits leftover after the fat is finished rendering. With a sprinkle of salt these golden beauties become the most delicious savory snack. I'll be posting a recipe over the next couple of weeks but if you come across some back fat in the mean time, don't throw it out, stick it in the freezer, these nuggets are worth the wait!

Porchetta

Porchetta is a beautiful Italian dish which, along with Pecorino Romano, is probably the most important food to come from the Lazio region. Traditionally it was made by cleaning out and de-boning a pig, stuffing it with some of the entrails and herbs and roasting it whole over a wood buring fire. It is said to have been the favourite dish of the emperor Nero, clearly a man with good taste! 

This recipe is a slightly simpler approach to the classic. Pork belly gives the perfect mix of crackling, fat and flesh while the liver in the stuffing balances the sweet meat perfectly. Porchetta can be served as a roast dinner but to me it's at its best thinly sliced on a crispy bap. Whatever isn't eaten can be sliced and frozen.

Serves 6 as dinner or 12 sandwiches

1.5 KG piece of boneless Pork Belly
1 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 sprigs of Rosemary
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Butcher's String

For the Stuffing:

1 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion (finely chopped)
1 clove of Garlic (finely chopped)
150g Pork Liver (finely chopped)
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1/4 glass of Red Wine
Handful of Flaked Almonds
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. First make the stuffing. Add the oil to a pan over a medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Season lightly and cook for 7-10 minutes until softened. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the liver and oregano and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes before adding the wine. Cook off the alcohol for 2-3 minutes and remove from the heat. Stir in the flaked almonds and allow to cool completely.

2. Lay the belly out, skin side down, and season well. Spread the stuffing out evenly all over the meat and carefully roll the meat up so that the stuffing is on the inside with the skin on the outside. Tie up every few centimeters to hold the joint together. Cover and put into the fridge for a few hours (or overnight) to marinade.

3. Make sure the outside of the Porchetta is completely dry before putting it into a baking dish with the seem on the the bottom. Pour over the oil and scatter the rosemary on top. Season and put into a pre-heated 200 degree oven. Cook for 20 minutes before turning the temperature down to 160 degrees. Cook for a further two and a half hours, turning back up to 200 for the final 10-15 minutes.

Leftover Turkey Pie

Is it too early for the Christmas leftovers recipes? It's never too early! Turkey is a great, under utilised meat that really should be used a lot more. It has a reputation for being bland but, like any meat, this has more to do with the lives of the animals than anything else. Factory farmed, quickly reared animals will never develop the depth of flavour of their free range/organic cousins. A nice free range/organic bronze turkey is as flavourful and juicy as any cut of beef. Sure, it's more expensive but if you get the most out of it then it's worth the extra cash.

This is a great recipe to use up one of the leftover legs. The legs are often overlooked because of their stronger flavour but this is all the more appealing in this dish, the stronger the better. This dish can be made with almost any leftover meat, just use a corresponding stock. Give it a try on a lazy St. Stephen's Day, smothered in leftover Christmas gravy or on any Monday when the Sunday leftovers are sitting in the fridge begging to be brought back to life.

I had a version of this recipe in Paris last year but it was made with Duck and had a light gravy served with it. Simple and delicious.

Serves 4

1 Kg Potatoes (peeled, boiled and mashed with a little butter, milk and seasoning)
50g Butter
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion (finely chopped)
1 Leg of Cooked Turkey (Meat pulled from the bone giving 300-400g)
300 ml Turkey/Chicken/Vegetable Stock
1/2 tsp Dried Marjoram
1 Bay Leaf
2 tbsp Grated Pecorino/Parmesan Cheese
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Add the butter and oil to a pan over a medium heat and, when hot, add the onion. Season well and cook for 5-7 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the torn turkey meat, season well and cook for 7-10 minutes until it begins to brown on the outside. Add the stock, marjoram and bay leaf and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes until the stock reduces and thickens slightly.

2. Remove the bay leaf and add the turkey to a baking dish. Put the mashed potato on top and spread out evenly with a fork. Sprinkle the cheese on top and finish with a grating of pepper. Put the dish into a pre-heated 180 degree C. oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve on its own or with leftover Sunday/Christmas Gravy.

Pete's Perfect Portion 10

Hazelnut Coffee from Maher's Pure Coffee, Cork City.

A few weeks ago I found myself  the rebel city with work and visited all of my favourite food shops and the excellent English Market. One of my favourite shops is Mahers on Oliver Plunkett Street who sell numerous different types of coffees, teas and any accessories you could possibly need. I always get the Italian blend beans but Ali had asked me to pick up some of their hazelnut blend. I finally got around to tasting it at the weekend and it's fantastic. I had thought that the hazelnut flavour might take over from the coffee but that wasn't the case. It sits subtly in the backround giving the coffee a great depth of flavour. I'm just raging I only bought 250g!