Check out this for a great addition to the Irish food blogging scene:
Italian Foodies – They have an Italian restaurant in Limerick called “La Piccola Italia,” a deli called “La Cucina,” and they post about Italian food, including recipes…
Kieran
Marzipan
Few Irish people seem to like marzipan, but I certainly do. Perhaps people don’t like it because most marzipan here is terrible, and finding the good stuff is very difficult indeed. It helps that I have a sister-in-law who is from Lubeck, and brings back Niederegger every time she returns from a visit home.
So I was thrilled when a friend recently showed me a recipe for making it, which I had never done before or even considered. My first attempt wasn’t nice at all – dried out and tasteless, and that got my juices flowing – things not turning out become an irresistible challenge!
So I tested several recipes. The best one I found in terms of method was here. Cooking the ground almonds as directed brings out the flavour, and the egg white keeps it soft. (There are recipes using raw eggs, but I kept away from them, in case I ever wanted to use the marzipan in the shops).
If you want to try it, a few suggestions:
1. Use half the quantities unless you want a huge pile of the stuff.
2. I ignore cream of tartar whenever I come across it.
3. I found I had to add another half cup of ground almonds because the initial marzipan turned out quite soggy.
4. Make sure your ground almonds are super-fine (I gave mine a whirl in the food processor).
In the end, I had soft, tasty marzipan, which I enrobed in 70% chocolate. Yum!
I do think it could use a bit of extra flavouring, and I’ll play around some more. Perhaps I’ll post a recipe when I’m completely happy with it…
Cycling in Killarney National Park
I have written here before about Killarney National Park, and I still remain in awe of the beauty to be found within its boundaries.
Just before this busy weekend, I had to visit our shop in Killarney to drop off a few things, and I decided to bring along the bicycle for a spin in the park. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this before!
After I was done with my errands, I pulled out the bike and spent a few peaceful hours with the birds and the scenery. The park is a cyclist’s dream, with perfect paths along the lakes and good protection from the wind that usually makes cycling in Kerry a challenge.
I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Killarney, since you will see much more than if you were on foot. If you don’t have your own bicycle, there are places in town to rent one. Pack a lunch if the day is fine, roll up your trouser legs, and head away…
Technorati tags: Killarney, Kerry, national park, Ireland, bicycle
New Music for the Shops
Anyone who has been in our shops knows how much we love our music. I wanted to freshen up the world category, which has more than 3,000 songs (on an Ipod) but has been a bit over-loaded with North African music after my trip to Morocco, so I bought a few albums. My favourite of the lot is Salsa Celtica’s “El Camino.” This Scottish band has a beguiling blend of salsa with a blast of celtic fiddle. Some of it went into our Irish category. The mix of Cuban and Celtic might sound lame, but it really works and the album is well worth checking out…
PS. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
More Good News About Cocoa
In case people still needed an excuse to eat good chocolate or drink cocoa, there is more out on the health benefits of cocoa. Professor Norman K. Hollenberg from Harvard Medical School spent years studying the Kuna people in Panama and found that cancer, diabetes, stroke and heart failure were reduced by 10% in people who drink up to 40 cups (!) of cocoa a week. It seems that there is a very beneficial chemical in cocoa called “epicatechin.” Chocoholics rejoice! Bottoms up!
Technorati tags: chocolate, cocoa, Kuna, epicatechin, health
Brown Bread & Guinness Ice Cream
We have made one of the nicest flavours to ever have come out of our production, and it is Brown Bread and Guinness ice cream. My brother Sean wanted a special flavour for St. Patrick’s Day, and this is what we came up with. Here it is:
Murphys Brown Bread and Guinness Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1 Cup (237ml) Sugar
5 Egg Yolks
1 1/8 Cups (266ml) Cream
1 1/8 Cups (266ml) Milk
1 Can (500 ml) + 2 tbsp. Guinness
2 Cups (500 ml) volume of stale brown bread crumbs (use a dense, dark brown loaf).
7 Oz (200gm) Dark brown sugar
Yield: 6 Servings
1. Measure out 100ml of Guinness and set aside.
2. Boil 400ml Guinness until it reduces to 100ml in volume. Cool.
3. Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until thick and pale yellow.
4. Bring the milk to a simmer.
5. Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar in a slow stream.
6. Pour the mixture back into pan and place over low heat. Stir until the custard thickens slightly (around 70C). Use a thermometer, as at 75C the eggs will scramble!
7. Allow the custard to cool.
8. Put the dark brown sugar in a pan, add the 2 tbsp. Guinness, and cook until it is melted and completely liquid. Remove from the heat.
9. Stir the bread crumbs into the melted sugar, then spread on a baking tray and cook in the oven at 175C (350F) for about 20 min, until the brown sugar is caramelised and the crumbs are crispy. Keep an eye on it, though, that it doesn’t burn.
10. Cool the crumbs, and add to the custard base.
11. Stir in both the reduced and non-reduced Guinness.
9. Whip the cream.
10. Gently fold into the custard.
11. Freeze using a domestic ice cream machine, or cover and place in the freezer.
Notes:
1. I havent made this recipe for home use, so I would love any feedback if you try it!
2. I combine reduced and non-reduced Guinness because using just reduced loses a bit of freshness in terms of flavour.
Technorati tags: brown bread, guinness, St. Patrick’s Day, ice cream, recipe, Irish
German Butcher, Killarney
 Anyone visiting or living in the Killarney area would do well to seek out the German Butcher Shop in Aghadoe (halfway up the hill on the road to Milltown). That is, if you’re not already one of their many happy customers. It’s the kind of place you’re most happy to have in your life.
Besides all sorts of meats, including Killarney Park venison, they have an interesting array of German foods that are not so readily obtainable. For people like me, with a serious sweet tooth, they have a tantalising selection of German biscuits and chocolates…
Technorati tags: butcher, Killarney, Kerry, German, Aghadoe, chocolate
The Season’s First Kerry Calf
One of my favourite times of year in Kerry is the Spring, when all the calves and lambs appear and start hopping around the fields. There’s something inspiring about the emergence of new life after a bleak Irish winter.
This morning, I had a text from Colm, the farmer who supplies us with Kerry Cow milk, saying that the first of his Kerry cows had just given birth, and I decided to go out and meet the little fellow and his mom, who will soon be improving our ice cream with her milk. (It’s amazing what a difference it makes).
Given that the Kerry Cow breed is under threat (only 277 were born in 2006), seeing a healthy new calf certainly brings me a lot of joy. It’s a shame he wasn’t born a she, but that’s the way of things.
I think Colm can’t quite understand my excitement about being on the farm and seeing the animals.
For a former New Yorker like me, however, there is little that is as exotic and filled with magic as a trip to his farm, especially when there is a brand new calf and the promise of the wonderful milk from its mother…