The Lounge 102

I attended the level 1 bread making course at Riotrye recently.  Riotrye is based in the Eco Village, Cloughjordan, Co.Tipperary and is run by Joe Fitzmaurice and Julie Lockett.  They specialise in baking sourdough and the emphasis is on natural products, organic flour and sustainability.  To involve you in the whole process and to get you thinking about sourdough you're encouraged to make your own starter about a week before you attend. The course ran from the civilised hours of 11am to 6pm, not a drill instructor in sight, and is aimed at the home baker. So jar of starter tucked under the arm I entered the bakehouse.  My fellow enthusiasts trickled in and soon the eight of us were sat at our baking stations.  People were from a variety of backgrounds and attended for a plethora of reasons.  The first hour or so Joe introduced us to the differences between grains such as wheat and rye, he explained the importance of soil management and the link bet...

This is going to be a bit of a rant, and it's been coming for a while. Where have our traditional foods gone?  We have become food snobs, no longer eating the foods associated with leaner times.  We now seek out anything but Irish.  Even where the dishes do not exist in their associated country they're more acceptable, more available than Irish food.  Spaghetti Bolognese, Chicken Masala, Sweet & Sour, none of these exists "at home" but its better than eating Bacon & Cabbage.  Because we're richer now and more sophisticated and traditional foods are backward, yet we'll gladly eat what we consider to be traditional foods from other countries. Not one Irish restaurant, to my knowledge, serves dishes like Skirts & Kidney, Ham Hocks, Eye Bones etc you may find these in a pub but not in a restaurant.  "Kiddies Meals" invariably consist of chicken nuggets or sausages that a vegan could eat given the lack of meat content.  Why have a kiddi...

With the impending winter darkness and shorter days approaching comfort food is always welcome to soothe the soul.  Nothing better than a warming stew or casserole to keep the spirits up.    I like to make this stew of chicken and chorizo for those very days.  Because I'm with  Jose Andres  when it comes to cooking, "Recipes are overrated" just follow the guidelines but don't be constrained. Perfect for weekends, or bung it in the slow cooker before you go to work, and hey presto dinner is ready when you get in. You will need Your choice of music, on as loud as you can stand A glass or two of some decent wine Chicken, Celery, Onion & Chorizo Chicken thighs or legs, but definitely on the bone A chorizo sausage  Half a head of celery Fresh garlic to taste, at least one clove Large onion Tin of chickpeas (any beans of your choice) 2 tins of chopped tomatoes Paprika (I use the mild one) Salt and pepper to taste A fairly larg...

The BMWA Nobody quits the book club, once you're in it you're in it forever The idea for this developed over a few pints with my pal Tony Morrissi.  Funny how ideas never develop over cups of tea, or sparkling water.  Anyway, Tony says "Will we form a book club"?  I gave it careful consideration and responded immediately "It has to include whiskey"  I think Tony was a little taken aback and was openly struggling to marry the two hobbies, "No problem" he said.  From there it was a natural progression to including movies and albums (music to those lucky enough to be asked for ID when buying booze) and so The BMWA (Books, Movies, Whiskey, Albums) was formed.   It was decided that the club would be men only.  Not for any anti-feminism ideals but rather following personal circumstances we felt that men needed a forum to hang out with their friends and to discuss their stuff.  We're told that men don't talk enough. Tony being the anal...

Limerick City and County has some fantastic small scale food and drink producers.  On Thursday October 19th The Lounge 102 is bringing together three of the best and most passionate in one place!! Sample locally made beer, taste local bread made with beer grains and get the great flavour of beer washed local cheese. Date: Thursday October 19, 8pm Venue: Mother Macs Public House, High St, Limerick Tickets: €10 available behind the bar Beautifully hand crafted beers, created using the finest all natural ingredients for your drinking pleasure. We are great beer. No additives, No preservatives, just fantastic quality beers. We make beer that YOU love to drink. Micro bakery specialising in Handcrafted sourdough bread & viennoiserie, based in Limerick City.  Organically driven using seasonal and local produce. The searing relationship between a farmer and his herd defines the Irish experience.  As a boy Jim O'Brien watched his father s...

They dined on mince, and slices of quince Which they ate with a runcible spoon And hand in hand , on the edge of the sand They danced by the light of the moon Edward Lear Whoever they were they must have been pretty sick after eating slices of quince.  Inedible in it's raw state, much like the crab apple, it's transformed by cooking.  The Spanish make membrillo to accompany Manchego cheese, a marriage made in heaven.  Similar to a pear, this fruit is as rare as hens teeth in Ireland but usually easily got in France and Spain during autumn.  So imagine my surprise when I came across a large supply of quince in Brittany last week as I killed time waiting for the ferry.  I text Barbara, Travis Bickles wife, and shared news of my bounty.  Yes I'll have some she replied.  So 2 kgs of prime quince were purchased, stored in the boot and transported home.  To make membrillo I took (weights approximate) 1kg of quinces 1...

Apple & Ginger Chutney with Tomme d'Ardeche Sunday, September 17th.  My phone buzzes.  A message.  It was my buddy, Travis Bickle.  "You're invited over to watch the All Ireland Football Final and have some lunch, see you later"  This was closely worded code for come over and drink some wine, chew the fat and chill out.  I went.  We drank some very nice Malbec from Cahors, ate a very nice pork stew, chewed some fat and chilled out.  We went into his orchard and collected windfall apples.  I never did see the game. Monday, September 18th.  I look at the bag of apples in my kitchen, there must be 5kgs.  What am I going to do with those?, I asked myself.  Chutney, I replied, chutney.  Apple and Ginger Chutney for Christmas. I took (all approximate weights, makes about 2.5kg) 2.5 kg of apples  150gr of fresh ginger 500gr raisins 250gr demerara sugar 300ml apple cider vinegar ...

Low n Slow is a barbecue cooking method that does exactly as it says on the tin, low temperatures and a slow pace.  This method is ideal for large items such as turkeys, hams, chickens and also for meats that benefit from long slow cooking such as brisket and pork belly.  Temperatures for low and slow are typically 150F/65C to 300F/150C.  Times will vary depending on what you are cooking.  My Christmas ham takes about 8 hours.  What most people refer to as barbecue is in fact grilling at high temperatures.  Your everyday common garden variety barbecue with burgers and sausages is to low and slow as a greasy spoon cafe is to a michelin star. Low n Slow to my mind is best done over natural lumpwood charcoal.  As the great Spanish chef Jose Andres said "I prefer natural hardwood lump charcoal, the other stuff makes your food taste like Goodyear tyres"  I won't even comment on gas. Low n Slow allows for smoking food with natural woods.  Thes...

Arán, bread, bood, brot, pa, pane, pain call it whatever, it is the staff of life. I don’t mean the industrial muck plied with chemicals to hasten its rising time and still “fresh” days after buying. I don’t mean the stuff cut in neat slices and dressed in colourful wrapping declaring the presence of wholemeal or grains. All muck. I’m talking about bread made with five basic ingredients, flour, yeast, water, salt and time, I’m talking about real bread. Last year as I sat in my kitchen convalescing and reading the paper on my iPad my attention was drawn to an article on real bread. It warned me about the disappearing act of bread making and the dominance of industrial bakeries and supermarkets. The prolific presence of tasteless rolls and baguettes in filling station shops. Local bakeries had disappeared, driven out of business by industrial scale baking and changing lifestyles. We now bought our bread weekly, we were sophisticated and modern. No more twice daily trips to the...