Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine

On Saturday, after dropping some of our animals to their respective babysitters, Ali and I headed to Cork for the Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine. We were blessed with glorious weather and filled ourselves with great food (and wine for me) all day.

We arrived at 12.50 pm and proceeded to the box office to get tickets for two of the talks. Although the first was starting at 1 pm, we hurried to the big shed for lunch. Annie's Roasts provided the perfect hunger cure. Free range chicken, pickled cucumber, sundried tomato, salad and mayo on a delicious sourdough bap; we were set up for a wonderful day.

We ran over to the drinks theatre to catch a talk. The theatre is a rustic barn with interesting, colourful decor, perfect. Alice Feiring, Tomás Clancy, Raymond Blake and John Wilson discussed  "Does Terroir Really Exist and How Can You Tell?" It was an interesting talk between 4 wine experts who came to the conclusion that it does, of course, exist but there's no way to tell. The wines for tasting threw up a couple of surprises for me. Never a fan of white wines, I particularly enjoyed a Riesling and Chablis, never again will I have to rely on reds for everything. Quite a bit of this talk went straight over my head but sure, where there's wine, there's a way!

After the talk, feeling a little merry from all the wine (who needs a spit bucket?) we took a walk around the beautiful gardens at Ballymaloe House. They are kept impeccably well and striking in the bright May sun. We went back to the big shed for some juice (from My Goodness) and a wonderful lamington (from Diva Boutique Bakery and Cafe). I had never had a lamington before but will be on the lookout from now on. A moist sponge dipped in chocolate and coconut. I could eat them all day!

Stuffed and content, we stayed in the big shed for a talk by Debbie Shaw (Apple a Day Nutrition) on how bone broth (or stock) is the elixir of life. I enjoyed it with a glass of Sicilian red from the bar.

After a quick browse around the book shop where Rachel Allen was doing a meet and greet, we hopped into the car and drove to The Ballymaloe Cookery School for a talk by J.P. McMahon. John McKenna and J.P had an insightful chat about his book, restaurants and food in general. I was quite taken by J.P.'s attitude and assertion that he would rather do his own thing and survive than change everything to please everyone and make a ton of money. 

After J.P.'s talk we had a look around the cookery school shop (luckily I didn't have much cash on me) and although we had planned on heading straight home, we decided to head to the big shed for dinner. I had a fantastic Broughgammon Free Range Rosé Veal Milanese. The veal was delicious, tender and moist, it's a wonder we don't eat more of it here.

There was one more thing to do before hitting the road.....ICE CREAM! We went to Yum Gelato who make all their own ice cream in Cork. I went for the tiramisu ice-cream which was delicious. It's a good thing I wasn't driving though as the alcohol content was exceptionally high. Drunk on ice-cream, is there a better way to finish the day?

Maybe with a 3 hour drive, thanks Ali!

Here are a few more pictures taken throughout the day:

One side of the Broughgammon Menu

Rory O'Connell being interviewed for the telly!

The Kerrygold area

Hipster heaven?!

Christmas 2014 Roundup

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....! A rancid ham, beautiful turkey, a smashed tiramisu and gallons of Chianti just about sums up my intake this past Christmas but I think I just about came out on top. I nearly managed to make sprouts edible too.....a great feat for any man, maybe next year I'll get them all the way there!

Christmas for me started on the 10th of November when I started to cure a 4 kg piece of pork leg in order to add to my very DIY Christmas. Unfortunately, 10 days later, I noticed that said leg was smelling particularly foul and had to be flung into the bin. I instead went on the hunt for a dry cured ham but after searching Kildare and Cork City I had to settle for a more standard, wet cured piece. It was delicious, maybe I was being a little too pernickety. The turkey, on the other hand, proved to be no such hassle. Cairns Farm is owned by Ali's cousin Jo-Ann and supplied us with a beautiful 17lb Free-Range Bronze Bird.

The main event

Lard Roasted Potatoes

A couple of days before Christmas I made the Lamb's Liver Paté for the Christmas starter while Christmas Eve was our baking day with both myself and Ali getting stuck into the desserts. My Mam cooked the ham on Christmas Eve and also made her Turkey Soup from the giblets. This left me with a manageable amount of cooking on Christmas morning. The turkey took a little under 3 hours while the lard roasted spuds and roast veg completed the oven work for the day. The traditional sprouts had to be served and so I blanched them for 5 minutes before frying them with some delicious pancetta to try and hide their sock like character....it didn't quite work but I'd be fairly confident it would if the sprouts were chopped up before frying.

Nearly nice sprouts

The dessert turned out to be a bit of a disaster with my mam DROPPING the Tiramisu just before it was to be served but there was plenty of other delights to feast on! The wine flowed (a little too easily for me!) and before long the house was asleep, everyone cultivating their own little food baby. 

My "Rustic" Christmas Cake

Leftovers - Turkey and Ham Pie

New Years Day

As well as Christmas Day, I decided I would also cook on New Years Day. I was very excited about the menu and got stuck in nice and early. The starter was wonderful. I wanted to go with fish to contrast the beef main and decided on Mussels and Prawns with Hogao Sauce. The Colombian sauce is a great accompaniment to almost anything and went down a treat. I wasn't so lucky with the main as not only did I overcook the Beef Wellington, it also fell apart. Plenty of lessons learned here! Dessert went great though, I made another Tiramisu (which made it to the table this time) while Ali made a delicious Panettone Bread and Butter Pudding.

Mussels and Prawns with Hogao Sauce

Our last hurrah for this festive season was a pizza (and wine) night with our friends Anna and Pádraig. We had a lovely night to say goodbye to the most wonderful time of the year.