Recipe for Our Hard Cider Ice Pops

Make these Hard Cider ice pops in the morning perfect for the barbi or grill out later this evening.

400ml apple juice
250ml stock syrup
juice of 1 lemon
1 bottle Cork cider (substitute for nonalcoholic apple juice for kids)

1. Mix ingredients together. 
2. Pour into moulds and put on level surface in the freezer.
3. Pull out of the freezer gently after 90-120 minutes. Add the sticks. 

Here are photos of the process from when we made a batch last week... Orange and passion fruit with a hint of star anise.

1. Mix ingredients together. 



2. Pour into moulds and put on level surface in the freezer.

3. Pull out of the freezer gently after 90-120 minutes. Add the sticks. 

Ta-da! Now they're done.

Then we wrap ours in custom wrappers for take-away or dine-in.

Irish Cider ice pops

Make them first thing so they are ready for that late evening barbque deliciously refreshing 

Longueville Brandy Truffles

Heat the cream then pour while whisking on to the chocolate and butter then add the brandy leave to set for 1 hour then ball and coat in cocoa powder

Our truffles made with longueville house brandy packed up nicely in there boxes

Cider, brandy, liqueurs & lamb roasting on a open fire... It has to be Longueville House

Sunday 21/4 a day when for the first time in a while I didn't have somewhere to go something to do or something to work on yes it was a day off so what to do ? Head off to somewhere where I could relax eat and gather some knowledge on cider making and brandy so with mum we headed to Longueville House Mallow.

Just passed Cork Race Cork you take a right hand turn and then take a left up the avenue that brings you through the estate you'll spot a pheasant or two the gentle giants of trees that line the way to the main house the view over the black water valley is breath taking we open the big door and the hall way is welcoming with the most amazing ceiling we are led into the drawing room where the fire lights and the lamb legs roast on the fire the friendly manager explains that is one of the main courses the room is full of the aroma and gets the taste buds going this room also beautiful .
We were early for our booking which meant it gave us time for coffee and a chat with Aishling O'Callaghan whom with her husband William are longueville house And third generation in this house the history of longueville house is very interesting and worth a read it explains what they are today

In the drawing room you are greeted by a waft of roasting lamb on the open fire this really sets the food craving going we are bought to the dining room where the buffet starters are all laid out the chef takes us through each dish from homemade sausage rolls from their own pigs to succulent lamb spring rolls many salad options terrines & pâtés

The linen the table ware the comfort the food the view I was truly for the first time in a while relaxing after seeing the lamb I decided that would be my main it did not disappoint it was superb after a little break we had dessert again a fabulous selection from brûlée to chocolate cake and a selection of cheeses

The service was superb and nothing i could fault and something I will take from it the experience the day the talk with William & Aishling it is a place where you can switch off from reality and relax

Welly with a difference

The traditional dish of beef Wellington is a great winter dish with richness of the beef the earthy flavours of the mushrooms and the buttery puff pastry served with a glass of red wine perhaps a merlot or a monte pullciano .

Cooking is all about experimenting finding out what works what doesn't work.

Venison is a wonderfully flavoured and rich and a good substitute for beef .

With plenty of wild mushrooms about it only seems right that they are paired together or do as I do get them from Ballhyhoura mushrooms, in this dish I used shiitake mixed with some sauté onion, toasted,walnuts, almonds butter and bread crumbs.

To keep in with the seasons I made a butternut squash purée with shallot chicken stock and infused with thyme and rosemary.

I used the loin of venison which is nice and tender I received it on the bone so I could make a venison stock reduce it and make a reduction with port and finished with dark chocolate .

I paired the wellington with red cabbage with cider vinegar and apples and brown sugar .

What ways do you cook venison ?

" A Head By Any Other Name is Appetizing "

 Creating a Dish & Naming It

After many years studying in collage to get my B.A in Culinary Arts where i specialised  in larder one thing struck me whilst flicking through twitter and looking at many chefs uses of the pigs head, i had never tackled one or used it in a dish so it had to be done !!

judging by some of the weighting staffs reaction to the head on my  bench it should have sounded alarms bells about putting it on the specials but i continued on regardless .

 

Myself  and Chef Donal got to work on removing the meat and skin from the head as i had never worked with the head before i followed his lead. As a chef i really enjoy this kind of work it intrigues me as to how the knife moves through the meat. 

The cooking of the meat once rolled took several hours of slow cooking nad resting in the cooking liquer over night .

 DoYou find You Get Attached to a Dish ?

A dish like this you spend time over you become very attached to it and also very proud as it develops into something that you believe and in your mind is a piece of art. At this stage of the development of the dish the customers views and thoughts haven't even entered my head.

Whats Next?

We taste it we approve it !! then its put on the specials to see how the paying customer reacts to the dish .

This is where i chose to just go for broke and call it pigs head croquette with celeriac puree nameko mushrooms (Ballyhoura Mushrooms) and Stonewell cider reduction . I was confident it would sell! 

My confidence was shattered when it was relayed to me that customer reaction was it sounded disgusting ....

if they could only see and taste and know how much work was put into this dish .

That evening i posted my work, the picture above on twitter to see how it would fair it got a blast of encouragement and support i was overwhelmed and confidence was restored but what did come out in conversation whilst chatting to people on twitter was that perhaps i should drop the "Pigs Head" in the dish title, Pat from Alexis in Dun Laoghaire suggested calling it a "crispy pork croquette" , Bryan Mc Carthy from Springfort suggested i call it "Piggy Noggin" 

Lunch Special "Crispy Pork Croquette"Sir?     

The answer to this question was yes please and the dish was proclaimed a success even the staff who didn't like the idea where won over . I was pleased with the name change but it began to question how i word my dishes, whilst tastes are changing and people are being more adventurous wording of dishes still has to be more carefully through out or do I carry on and try and convert the public to the lesser known cuts ?or are these unusual cuts exclusive to the higher end restaurants where unusual is the norm ?.........

Making Pate the Heston way !! Note to all: Buy a digital thermometer and away you go

I recently purchased Heston at home and what a book it certainly lives up to expectations with wonderful photography and exciting recipes new methods and an education on the siencie bits , where to start was my issue so i began with the flick through the read through and flick through again !! did this help on a decision no not one bit !

A hint if there is one recipe in the book that is a recipe similar to one you have done before for instance i picked the chicken liver parfait , something i have made many times before but Hestons method is different so familiar with the base ingredients but not the method.
 The methods seem long and difficult a tip here is to read the method twice and make your own bullet points .

the other reason i decided to do this is the method is designed for a waterbath which i don't have but Heston gives you the alternative method using the freezer bag and it works 

 in the recipe i replaced the white port and and brandy with Pedro Ximenez sherry so it is possible to change bits and pieces and experiment with flavours in this recipe ,

so i set to work reducing the liquor and following and rechecking the recipe constantly your almost nervous that you may mess up that the constant rechecking is done . As a chef when using another chefs recipes you almost want to find a flaw in the recipe or try and find a way to change it and make it your own

what is obvious about this parfait is that it is smooth and velvety and so tasty as i decanted it into its ramekins and placed in the oven to Cook i wished it luck and hoped fro the best that i had followed the recipe and it would all come together and had the temperature probe ready to hand

 true to the recipe once it hit 62c the parfait were set . now what to pair it with we make our own wonderful apple chutney and for toast i made a wonderful seaweed brioche

this is a book that is must for the person who wants to learn more about food or improve there skills and knowledge of methods and food this dish why not too sciencey but a good introduction to the way Heston works with food its a book that hooks you in and gets the mind working in an exciting way !!

the nerves and excitment that was the first "Chef Du Jour" @fennsquay

On the 22nd & 23rd of November i invited two people in to my kitchen to produce and serve there own four course menus Paul Callaghan and Jeni Pim were the first two people in the last six years that i let take over my kitchen .
Head Chefs kitchens are a sacred ground we feel very territorial there is that imaginary line that only chefs are aloud cross its almost and those that have crossed it have  earned the respect of the chefs of the kitchen, so to let two strangers in and take over was for me was a mix of emotions having to stand back and let two people whom only had spoken to over the phone and emailed take charge i  quickly gathered that Paul and Jeni were going through similar emotions .
I had belief in the two final chefs i had chosen and that was confirmed when i met them both they both fitted well into the team at Fenn's and earned there right to cross that line and me to let leave of my the grip on my kitchen all chefs will understand this is not easy to do.

Jeni with myself, Nick & Olivier

Paul with Nick & Olivier

                          
                                              
The first night went well and indeed we missed two (sorry) of Paul's ingredients cloves for the cabbage were missed and cider vinegar but was replaced by our lovely Stonewell cider and dash of white wine vinegar and the cloves by our special blend of spices we keep ,i really enjoyed working with Paul easy to chat too and seamed to enjoy himself once the nerves had settled down . We had a great walk around the market where he met the harvester of the mussels Jamie Dwyer of Haven shellfish whilst he was delivering to Pat O' Connells. Paul worked hard but did keep quiet and that's one thing in a kitchen "communication is the key" to quote an old boss . his food tasted exceptional fine flavours and great execution we all enjoyed tasting every bit of his menu from sauces to desserts ,and it gave me great pleasure to introduce our chef to his public , our judges that night were Billy Lyons , Elke O'Mahony and Evin O'Keeffe they awarded Paul his 3 & 1/2 stars and gave him some wonderful complements and encouragement the main thing that struck them was this was his first time in a professional kitchen he wowed with his food and set the bar for "Chef Du Jour"