Tuesday 30 November 2010
Tá sé ag cur sneachta i gCionn tSáile
It is snowing in Kinsale. A few pictures from the town this afternoon.
Thursday 25 November 2010
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in USA.
Today is Thanksgiving in USA and it is the first time since 1995 that we are not eating Turkey on this day. In fairness it is probably one of the nicest times of the year in the states. You get a nice long weekend and what is basically Christmas dinner and that's it. If you are into American Football there are a couple of games on TV one of which always has the Cowboys and the other Detroit (I think). Why these teams get these prime-time games every year I have never figured out but it was quite handy living in Dallas.
So Thanksgiving in Ireland is just a normal Thursday. Girls went to school as normal, I did a full days work and and we did not even have a turkey sandwich. Gwen and Jessica headed up to Dublin on Wednesday leaving me home alone with Anna and Sarah and I have been spoiling them rotten! We have had a lovely few days together and last night the three of us walked into town for dinner at the Blue Haven. They were great company!
I do have an interesting observation for you all. Earlier in week I asked Gwen to pick up my favourite cheese (Gabriel) at local cheese shop. Owner of the shop in Kinsale informed her that he did not have any and will not have any for a few weeks at the guy that makes has been sick but expects to be fully recovered and making it again very soon. How local/cottage industry is that? Anyway Gabriel cheese maker, please get well soon! If you need any help let me know. I'd love to learn how to be a cheese maker!
Just a few pictures follow...
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| Making Pizza on Monday |
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| Pizza Night |
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| Heading out to Dinner with daddy. (it is quite cold right now) |
Sunday 21 November 2010
Glandore, Union Hall, Roast Chicken and a very nice weekend
Saturday morning Gwen ask me what I wanted to do and I suggested that we do nothing and just hang out with the girls, cook a big tasty dinner and watch a movie. She agreed and we had a lovely lazy day. The car never left the driveway and the furthest I went was a walk into the town with the girls so Sarah could spend her tooth fairy money (she lost a tooth on Friday). She bought sweets/candy for herself and Anna and an Irish Times for me which I read in the Grey Hound.
Dinner on Saturday night was superb. We stuffed and roasted a lovely free range chicken. Gwen made the stuffing very traditionally using bread crumbs, fresh thyme, parsley, onions, butter, salt and pepper. We served it with potatoes roasted with the chicken and turnips boiled and then finished in pan with bacon fat and a really good homemade gravy made from the deglazed roasting dish and chicken stock. Simple but has to be one of the tastiest dinners we make.
After the girls went to sleep we took to the couch with a nice Rioja and watched "Adventureland".
Sunday was a lovely day, sun was shining, blue skies and relatively warm out so we hit the road heading west to Glandore and Union Hall. Gandore always sounds like a place on Harry Potter! We had heard it was lovely but did not expect how beautiful it was (see pictures below - its stunning). On the way we stopped at a Ford Model-T statue in Ballinascarty where Henry Ford's family emigrated from in 1847 (Cork to this day still loves Ford cars!).
Friday 19 November 2010
Proper cooking
Last night I worked alongside the French owner/chef from one of Kinsale's best and most popular restaurants on main courses from 6pm 10pm serving about 70 people. It was so much fun and learned so much from it and after a while was doing some dishes by myself. He and his wife let parents from our girls's school take over two nights a year with proceeds going to school. Gwen is head of the fund raising committee so she got me job last night. She also put in a shift on Tuesday waiting tables. Great experience and great fun and the owners are such lovely people and obviously very trusting letting us amateurs take over! Food was superb too and am looking forward to volunteering again next year!
Here is the set menu from the event.
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| Anna drew a picture of me as a chef! |
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