Month: June 2008

Taste of Dublin

Taste of Dublin Sean and I have headed to Dublin to take part in Taste of Dublin, which will start tomorrow and go until Sunday in the beautiful Iveagh Gardens.

We will be sharing a space with Valrhona chocolate. Ice cream and chocolate. Couldn’t be too bad, could it?

Sean and I will only be around tomorrow, and we have an interview on Phantom 105, I think around 2 pm. However, Niamh, Eddie, and Claire will be around for the whole few days selling the ice cream (and the book), so do say “hi” if you’re around. 

Taste toiletsWe shouldn’t be that hard to find. We’re next to a really big fountain and not far from the toilets.

I didn’t get a chance to really walk around and see who’s there and what’s on, but hopefully I will get a good look-in tomorrow.

Then, we have to face the long drive back home to Dingle, hopefully with our bellies full! 

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Kerry Cheese and Paté Anyone?

Cheese If you’re driving to Dingle from Tralee and feel a bit peckish, there’s a fantastic foodie stop along the way. Maya Binder and her partner Olivier Beaujouan live in Kilcummin Beg, Castlegregory, on the Conor Pass Road to Dingle. You’ll see a sign for “Artisan Producers” on the main road, and then you’ll go up a bumpy lane to their cozy little compound with stunning views across Cloughane Bay.

Dingle Peninsula CheeseMaja makes Dingle Peninsula Cheese and Olivier makes a wide variety of products, from tapenades to seafood patés. You might know them from farmer’s markets around the place, but most people don’t know that you can visit their workshop and buy directly from them.

It’s worth a detour! If the scent of slow-cooking patés and rows of delicious cheeses don’t get you salivating, I don’t know what will…

(Lost? They are on the Irish Fresh Food Map).

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Murphys Mango Sorbet

Mango Sorbet The sun’s been shining here in Dingle, and with the onset of summer, I always think about sorbets. Fresher than ice cream and completely dairy-free, sorbets are often my ice cream of choice for warm weather.

Mango sorbet is one of our favourites. It’s a flavour we have chosen to sell in our 500ml tubs, and it’s rarely out of the scooping cabinets in our shops. Make it, and you’ll see why. You will, however, need fresh, soft, ripe mangos!

In our cookbook, I wrote:

Mangos are considered in some cultures to be a food of the gods, and in my opinion one of the sexiest fruits in the world. Smooth, juicy, and utterly delicious, eating a ripe mango is an experience to relish. It might be messy, but it’s also sensual and delivers an explosion of taste. In sorbet, mangos are just as appealing. The texture of the fruit makes this frozen treat almost as creamy as an ice cream. We have made mango ice cream as well (including an award winning mango lassi flavour), but our favourite by far is this recipe, and we;re not the only ones to like it. It’s proven so popular in our shops that we have added it to the list of ice cream we supply to shops in our 500 ml tubs.

Mango sorbet can be served at any time or any occasion. Well able to stand on its own, it pairs perfectly with almost any ice cream or pastry. Viable as a sorbet course, it also excels as a dessert. It is light enough to be perfect after a heavy meal and flavourful enough to satisfy if the meal is simple. I am sure this versatility is why it’s so popular with the restaurants we supply, and you can hardly go wrong including it in your own dinner menu. I might suggest that because the fruit originated in Asia, it’s especially great with Indian or Thai food. If you’ve cooked up a spicy curry, then mango sorbet served after will cool, balance and restore the taste buds as well as sweeten the evening.

Murphys Mango Sorbet

Mango SorbetIngredients:

  • 300 g sugar
  • 500 ml boiling water
  • 2 ripe mangos (ca. 300 g each before they are peeled and pitted)
  • Juice of 1 orange
  • Juice of 1 lemon

What to do:

  1. Add the boiling water to the sugar in a heat-proof bowl.
  2. Cover and refrigerate until it is completely cool.
  3. Peel and slice the mango.
  4. Juice the orange and lemon.
  5. Combine the lemon and orange juice with the mango in a blender or food processor and blend thoroughly.
  6. Add to the cooled sugar syrup.
  7. Freeze using a domestic ice cream maker until it has a semi-solid consistency. This could take up to 20 minutes.
  8. Transfer to a freezer-proof container and freeze until it is solid.
  9. Mango Tub of SorbetOtherwise, simply place in a covered, freezer-proof container and place in the freezer, stirring every two hours to break up the ice crystals.
  10. Remove from freezer and allow to thaw for about 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Yield: 8 Servings

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Irish Mail on Sunday

 We have no fewer than 3 pages in today’s Irish Mail on Sunday in the TV Guide supplement! There’s recipes from the Book of Sweet Things and a bit on us. I don’t think they have an on-line newspaper, so I can’t point you to it.

Since they gave this web address instead of the company website, here it is if you’re looking for it…

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