A Rare Aul Roasht Beef...

If there is one dish that has stood the test of time in the western world, it's roast beef. Sunday dinners, wedding menus & sliced-pan sambos at wakes wouldn't be the same without it. 

One can procure a fine joint of beef from any good local craft butchers. They usually come tied up in string, so as to keep the meat from falling apart during cooking, help retain some of the juices and promote even cooking.

To cook the perfect roast, make sure your meat has been out of the fridge for 30minutes and your oven is pre-heated to 240c. 

All you need is to do is scatter whatever seasonal root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, celery) you can find, a bulb of garlic (skin kept on but broken into cloves) & a few fresh sprigs of rosemary & thyme, onto the base of your roasting tray.

Then spread some olive oil and pepper on your meat. I used to rub salt into my meat until I heard that the salt draws the juices during cooking, no point in that at all! Best to salt just before the end of cooking. 

Place you meat directly on top of the veggies and into the hot oven it goes but then turn down the temperature to 200c. and leave to roast, turning after 20 minutes and overall cooking time is less than an hour.

I have an electronic thermometer which I highly recommend you get to ensure your meat is cooked perfectly to your liking every time. 

To achieve a beautiful medium-rare, the internal temperature should be between 55-60c. and it takes approximately 40minutes. 

Once your meat is cooked, remove the strings, cover it in tinfoil and leave it for 20minutes, allowing your joint to breathe, yet keep the meat warm.

Timing is everything with roast dinners, so your potatoes should be steaming 10 minutes before you remove your meat from the oven & any additional veg should be timed appropriately.

More juice will have secreted after 20minutes, add it to a pot with some of the garlic & herbs from the roasting tin, add butter and a glass of red wine and allow it to reduce to a syrup consistency.

Simple yet succulent, how devine yet easy-to-do-dinners should be.

Winter Sun Wonderland

My first family holiday to the Canaries was when I was 15. Flying down the Kamikaze in the waterpark, touring across Mount Teide volcano and watching unicycling parrots on tightropes was amazing fun! 

During the summer, Blackfish, a film about whales in captivity was released. This eye-opening documentary explains how how psychologically damaging this tourist attraction is to one of the world's biggest mammals. 6 of these poor creatures are located in Loro Parque, where one of the trainers was mauled to death during a performance. I have no intention of supporting the exploitation of wild animals or holidaying here again.

So where to holiday in November on a budget with guaranteed sunshine? There are other Canary islands but the only one with daily flights by Ryanair is Lanzarote. I love adventure and cultural holidays, going on a package tour didn't initially appeal to me but this island delivered a delightful surprise.

We stayed in some mediocre 4* resort in Costa Teguise. B&B was cheap as chips but the pool temperature was Baltic, one cd of cheezy music blaring on a loop and we were an awful hike from the beach, so after one day we rented a car and hit the high road.

My partner knew of the most idyllic setting of Arrieta, so there we went and thoroughly enjoyed jumping the fat Atlantic rollers. We returned here again on a choppier day and following uber-fresh fried red snapper, potatoes boiled in seawater, and their unique to Lanzarote 'Mojo' sauce we enjoyed watching the surfers at play.

We journeyed up to Orzola, passing a nudist beach, where the white sand, although more rocky and turquoise waters were reminiscent of Dreamland in Bali. 









We continued up the mountain climb to Mirador Del Rio, where the cliffs overlook the stunning Chinijo Archipelago. 

By simple walking around the side of this tourist trap you      can enjoy the views for free!

The winding hilltop roads are great for driving and have some awesome vistas in all directions.

As the sun started to dip, we decided to chase it South West to the fishing village at Punta Gorda. A restaurant that serves giant seafood platters overlooking the sea was recommended to us by a friend. So we sat and feasted for hours while watching the most sublime sunset dip into the Atlantic Ocean...

Lobster, crayfish, cuttlefish, langoustine, razor clams, cockles, mussels, crab claws, scallops, gambas, periwinkles grilled with garlic, lemon juice & olive oil.

Picture perfect :)

Other noteworthy beaches are surf-central Playa Famara, and the National Park at El  Papagayo, where once you cross the arid landscape before the turn of for Playa Blanca, there are three hidden beaches: Caleta Del Congrio, Playa de las Coloradas and Playa Mujeres.

We spent our final day in the city of Arrecife, watching the Moto GP final in a local café, with an all-Spanish line-up in the top 3, it made for a great ambiance and the Cruz Campo grande went down sweetly. To clear the head we waltzed around the seafront.

We finished off our fabulous few days with a tasting menu dinner in the tallest building on the island, Arrecife Gran Hotel where the views were spectacular and numerous delicacies divine.

If I return to Lanzarote I wouldn't bother with a hotel/resort. There are funky eco-cottages with private pools and barbecues available all over the island, car hire and petrol is really cheap, as are food and drinks from the markets. 

Beautiful beaches, glorious scenery, surf, scuba and a delicious dinner & diner at sunset is what this often misconceived gem of an island is all about.

Ragù alla Bolognese aka Spag Bol

Spaghetti Bolognese by which it is most commonly known, is one of the most popular dishes in all the world, whether you eat out or in. There are so many variations and bastardisations of the recipe that when I was a youngster, I would always order it in an Italian restaurant so that I could to compare it to my Dad's and give what I thought would be an accurate evaluation of the place. If they couldn't get spag bol right then they weren't much use. Inevitably they all paled in comparison with mio padre whose recipe was a mixture of his brother's, mio zio Pascal, who lived in northern Italy and the recipe my mother taught him via the Godmother of Mediterranean cuisine Elizabeth David. 

Over the years I have added my own little touches to my father's Spag Bol recipe which is in fact  virtually identical to the Accademia Italiana della Cucina's in association with the La Camera di Commercio di Bologna's recipe for ragù. 

The first thing I changed was the stock, I made my own instead of using a flavourless cube. It is really easy to do and can be made with the leftover carcass of a chicken, a carrot, celery, an onion (no need to peel or slice) and a bunch of fresh herbs, then chuck them all in with boiling hot water and leave to simmer for an hour or two, then strain.

You can use any kind of bones to make stock:

fish -sublime base for a seafood risotto

lamb -wonderful base for a vegetable soup

beef -beautiful addition to a Daube de Boeuf

Now for the ragù prep: slice 3 carrots into thin disks, chop 2-3 pieces of celery into bitesize pieces and dice your onions super-finely (if you have a food processor, use it).

• Sweat the onions in a pan with a knob of butter and olive oil (onion don't soften as well without butter and butter wont burn as quickly with a drop of oil).
• Get a butter-paper to your Le Creuset/cast-iron pot and then transfer your onions.
• Flash fry your other vegetables with a drop more oil, then add them to the onions.
• Brown your mince (.5kg of pork and 1.5kg of round steak) and add them to the pot.
• Add 2 tins of organic chopped tomatoes and half a tube of tomatoe purée.
• Crisp up 6oz of squared streaky bacon and throw them in too.
• Pour over your strained chicken stock until all the meat and veg are covered.
• Grate half a whole nutmeg, add a glass of reasonably good red wine, sea salt & cracked black pepper.
• Leave to cook for an hour or two, add fresh basil 20 minute before serving.

Because You're Worth It...

Throughout my teens and early twenties I had 'problematic' skin as my mother used to call it. I suppose I unwittingly ate a fair bit of junk food on the sly, drank my weight in vodka & red bulls, combined with a lack of sleep, did nothing to help matters. The only thing I could think of was to wear tonnes of make-up. Thankfully I had the sense to get the palest shade of ivory for my Irish skin so I never looked like I'd been tangoed but I often resembled Casper's sister. My Dad felt my pain and sent me to http://www.annemcdevitt.com/beauty/ where I underwent a series of Glycolic face peels, blue light therapy and became a willing guinea pig for a range of expensive products. The beautician did make an excellent discovery when trying to find the source of my angry red spots at my hairline -eggs!

When I told her I ate possibly 2 eggs per day -she said that this was the cause for these kind of spots and I should cut down to 2-4 eggs per week! This simple change in my diet resulted inthese spots disappearing completely within a fortnight. 

The other change I made was to my beauty regime. My aunt told me about Clinique and their famous 3-Step program. I was hooked instantly especially with the great special offers available with Bonus Time. I started to use their gel facial wash every morning and my skin felt so much fresher and cleared up significantly. 

When I hit 30, I felt my skin begin to feel much tighter and more flaky and thought perhaps my moisturiser wasn't doing the job, so I began to use Clinique's Superdefense which was good but didn't really address the imbalance in my skin. So I spoke to another beautician who  told me that in fact the correct cleanser is even more important than a moisturiser. She recommended I start using Cetaphil, available from most pharmacies for less than €15, which for my tight budget was excellent value for my potentially irritable skin. 

Upon my return to the salon, the beautician informed me that after some thorough investigation they were going to start doing Neo-Strata face peels and stock their products. She gave me a sample of the facial cleanser which contains  4% gluconolactone. This does   loosen and allow the removal of flakey dead skin and dirt. It is like a very light chemical exfoliation everyday. My highly sensitive skin has been super clear and soft ever since, although it's double the price of the former.

Now I'm not one to give recommendations without doing some further research myself, so I Googled the aforementioned products and came up with some surprising results. Cetaphil was slated by all (except dermatologists keen on instantaneous results) because it's packed full of nasty parabens. http://www.wellandgoodnyc.com/2010/07/20/cetaphil-why-the-popular-cleanser-isn%E2%80%99t-doing-your-skin-any-favors/

Neo-Strata got rave reviews worldwide from all my co-bloggettes because of its excellent results on their skin, except when you search in conjunction with the word 'natural' -this is what pops up first    http://www.goodguide.com/categories/152698-facial-cleanser##products.  I for one don't agree with large corporations making their profits at the expense of their workers and the environment. So once I work my way through these products I plan to head for a Health Shop and see whats availble so that my next skin care review will be ethically viable. 

Open Top Sambo Stop

Tuna Melt is one of my favourite sambos -I first discovered it in Keogh's Café on Trinity Street in Dublin about 15years ago. Here they used a fresh brown bap, tuna steak, iceberg lettuce, onion, tomato, mayonnaise and melted red cheddar. I became a tuna melt addict immediately!

I love tuna fish, I always have but that's down to my Mom adding a little pizzazz to a fairly bland tin of John West (Steak in Sunflower oil or Water, never Chunks -what are Chunks anyway? and avoid yucky Brine at all costs!) 

Take 2 tablespoons of Helman's Mayonnaise, then the juice of half a lemon, 7 drops of Tabasco, a squirt of tomato purée and Maldon salt & cracked black pepper and mix it altogether until it forms a smooth pink paste. Now add you tuna and smash it in with a fork. Voilá tasty tinned tuna! 

These days quality line & pole caught tinned tuna or more locally caught Mediterranean Yellow Fin, like my personal favourite, Ortiz Atún Claro, are readily available from supermarkets.  http://www.conservasortiz.com/caste/productos/familia_productos.php?subseccion=9&es_delicatessen=no

Although this premium tuna in olive oil is delicious on it's own in salads, I still love to make my Mom's tuna mix for my sambos and here's how to re-create this mouth-watering open-top melter:

 

1. Take a slice of multi-seed bread (I used Lidl's freshly baked loaf), then mash a *quarter avacado onto it. 
2. Put your Roman and red chard lettuce on top, then add your quartered lovely yellow cherry & vine grown tomatoes, and sliced red/yellow baby peppers. 
3. Using your fingers, place your magnificent tuna mix on top, then add slices of Dubliner White Cheddar cheese http://www.dublinercheese.ie/ .
4. Finish with a smattering of spring onions, then grill for 30 seconds until the cheese is melted.
5. Garnish with a bit of the leftover veggies and a drizzle of Balsamic. 

                                              

*With your leftover avacado, always leave the stone in it, squeeze some lemon juice onto the exposed flesh and put it in a ziplock bag and keep it in the fridge, it should last a few more days without going brown.)

Whistlestop Tour of Barcelona

Food: 

For the tastiest tapas, try Tapeo on Calle Montcada
https://plus.google.com/103884012299134124056/about?gl=IE&hl=en-IE#103884012299134124056/about?gl=IE&hl=en-IE

Petra is an eccentric and eclectic restaurant that does quality Catalan Cuisine
http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d1081737-Reviews-Petra-Barcelona_Catalonia.html


Cool Bars:  

Loads of funky/super stylish cocktail bars around Raval square (Red light
area so stick to the square & mind the wallets/handbags). Barceló Raval Hotel is a cylindrical building that has a quality rooftop bar with 360degrees panoramic views of the city, just blaze in & up the lift.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g187497-d1083206-i60045254-Barcelo_Raval-Barcelona_Catalonia.html 

 Hotel Me has a brilliant rooftop bar/club plays sweet tunes & even more brilliant views.
http://www.melia.com/hotels/spain/barcelona/me-barcelona/index.html 

There is an abyss of restaurant/bars on the beach in Barceloneta, but beware the Chiringitos strip to the left when you face the sea are cheesy shiiiiite, to the right of Olympic Port are the more upmarket places. CDLC http://www.cdlcbarcelona.com/carpe-diem-lounge-club  is the very last establishment on this strip, featuring  giant Buddah statues, is by far my favourite because you could buy a bottle of Cava for €20 instead of €10 per drink and the music and atmosphere was great.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/mar/16/barcelona-barceloneta-bars-restaurants-spain

 

Things to do: 

Get the cable car to the top of Montjuic (the big hill overlooking the city). 

There is a secret bar (only open from midday to dusk) on the other side of the castle nestled in the woods. The Olympic stadium is here, the Miro museum is brilliant & the Magic Fountain does its thing every hour on the hour.

http://gospain.about.com/od/barcelon1/tp/Montjuic-Barcelona.htm

Rascal's Rainbow Rancheros

So I got up one Sunday morning & my Zippy fella was hankering for Huevos Rancheros after having them for brunch in Dillinger's Restaurant http://dillingers.ie/ one Sunday so, I looked in the cupboards & thought to myself, I can do that...

1. So I sweated a half diced, half sliced onion, added a few cloves of finely chopped garlic.
2. Chucked in some sliced leek & spring onions, 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes, then left it to simmer for 10mins. 
3. Then in went a finely diced whole chilli (seeds removed), fresh corriander & sage, roasted peppers, sundried tomatoes, & sliced chorizo. 
4. Finally handful of fresh basil, then I made space & cracked in my 4 eggs in & added a pinch of chilli seeds in the yolks & pepper, let cook carefully, maybe put the lid on for a bit of a steam. 

     5. Serve 2 portions on a multi-seed pitta (healthiest) or tortilla with diced avocado on top. 

Umbulé umbulé Rascal's Rainbow Rancheros at the ready!  :D

P.s I made my rancheros again last weekend and this time I added mushrooms, olives and chilli flakes into the just cracked yolks, then sprinkled grated cheese on top for divilment..  

And I had some lovely crusty french baguette to mop up all the gooey goodness, mmmmmmm....