Simple Short Crust Pastry.....Simples.

If i had a euro for every person who asked me for a pastry recipe...etc etc.

Look! Pastry is very simple, there are a few does and don'ts, but overall it is in the realm of any armature cook.

Firstly...Don't use Margarine...I beg you. Why you might ask? Because its horrible is my answer.

Secondly....Use fresh free range eggs or a duck egg.
Thirdly...Use strong Bakers flour.
Fourthly......DO NOT allow your pastry to get warm...People with cold hands make better pastry :)
Finally....Keep your recipe simple.

My pastry recipe is so simple that i will never forget it, and I've used it for years.

400g flour
300g butter
200g Castor sugar
1 free range egg
drop of water if needed.

Combine dry ingredients in a mixer, add butter and when mixture starts looking like biscuit crumbs, add the whole egg.

Once mixture forms a ball, remove from bowel, wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge until firm enough to work.

Use as little flour as possible when rolling out.

And that's it folks ....The 4,3,2,1 recipe.

You can always add orange zest, vanilla or whatever you want to flavour it with.

Try it!

Yummy Chicken Wings!!!

Chicken Wings are a firm favourite with us here in Ireland and are seen on the menus of many restaurants although quality seems to differ hugely from place to place.

They can go from super tasty finger licking crispy wings to soggy slimy morsels covered in sweet chili sauce. YUCK!

Here is a recipe that will guarantee you delicious crispy wings.

The butter can be made in a batch and kept in the freezer for your next "Wingathon".

Marinating the wings isn't essential but does improve both the texture and flavour.

I find marinating the wings over night in buttermilk really adds to them.

For the butter you will need,

1lb of real Butter

3 Whole Chilli's

2 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper

3 Limes (Juice)

3 Lemons (Juice)

4 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar

Salt to Taste

Leave the butter out of the fridge to soften up.

In a blender add the whole Chillies with their stalks removed, the juice of the Lemons and Limes, the Cayenne Pepper and the White Wine Vinegar.

Blitz it up for a few seconds before adding the soft Butter.

Blitz it up again and add Salt to taste.

(Add less Chili if you prefer it a little milder)

Now the wings themselves, cut the wing tips off and keep them for making stock, cut the wing at the joint, you can feel it and the knife should slide through effortlessly.

The Wings need to be cooked in oil at 180 degrees C. Depending on your fryer it should take about 5-8 minutes.

You can always check if they are cooked by cutting into the centre of the wing with a knife.

While they are cooking melt some of your butter in a bowl, when the wings are cooked you can throw them into the bowel and give them a good toss.

Serve with some fresh cold celery sticks.

Enjoy!

Nude Food Café Restaurant & Deli Dungarvan

Dungarvan is a bustling town in County Waterford with lost of shops, bars and restaurants, probably the most known and written about restaurant in Dungarvan is The Tannery, a fine establishment owned by chef Paul Flynn, but just down the road is a charming shop front with inviting smells coming from it with Nude Food written over the door.

Nude is located on O' Connell street, it is owned by Louise Clark who started of as a market trader in the town market trading under the name "Naked Lunch" so when the opportunity came to open the cafe she jumped at it.

As you enter you are greeted by the beautifully aromas, coffee, chocolate, baking, things that cafes should smell of.

Just inside the door are fridges and shelves displaying produce, cakes scones and drinks, all good so far.

It is a long room with the seating towards the back with old missmatched furniture, old lamps and old flooring.

We were greeted by a friendly guy who seated us and gave us menus promptly, he seemed a bit hurried and under pressure as the cafe was busy and he was the only person on the floor, but i guess in recessionary times this is understandable to keep overheads down and more importantly the prices down for the customers.

A quick look over the menu shows some very interesting options, pasta with meatballs, spiced lamb burgers , sandwiches, a good few interesting vegetarian options, sourdough bread and lots more.

We went for a sandwich with ham, cheese and pickle and a pasta with meatballs.

The sandwich came on a grainy bread with piccalilli and Carrigaline cheese.

It was very tasty, good home cooked ham, home made pickle and yummy Irish farmhouse cheese, my only gripe would be with the bread, it just didn't match up to the quality of the other products.

The Pasta came in a deep bowel with a tomato sauce and a few meatballs at the bottom.

The meatballs were plump and tasty and nicely caramelised but the sauce while homemade was lacking a little zing, it was accompanied by some good char grilled sourdough bread and a small dish of shaved Parmesan cheese.

A good Illy coffee and a pot of tea served in an old silver teapot with old china wear finished our lunch.

Its refreshing to see places like Nude Food, its a welcome break from the usual cafes serving paninis and toasted specials.

Places like Nude Food will raise the standard of food in Dungarvan and in turn the palate of its inhabitants.

Would i go back?

Definitely.

Service- 7/10

Atmosphere- 8/10

Food- 7/10

Value- 8/10

Overall- 30/40

Nude Food

86 O'Connell Street, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford.
Phone : 058 24594

http://www.nudefood.ie/

Where we stand today.

Without food we would all perish, next to air and water it is the most important element to our survival, so why do so many of us not take our diet seriously.
In the producing of wine the wine maker will tell you that you only get out of the bottle what you have put into the bottle, so a good years harvest will produce a fine wine in years to come that will more than likely improve with the passing years.
A poor years harvest will produce an average wine that will not last in the bottle due to the lower quality of grape.
So we are all the same as a bottle of wine, you only get out what you put in.
So if you want to be a bottle of cheap plonk.....then eat and drink rubbish.
If you want to be an exceptional bottle of Chateau Margaux you must look after yourself and watch the quality of what you are eating.
America has a huge problem with obesity , an estimated 97 million adults are obese and also suffer from obesity related illnesses including diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, gout, stroke, physcological problems, some forms of cancer and the list goes on and on.
Anyone who has visited America will always come home and talk about the variety of foods available and the size of the portion.
There are chain restaurants on nearly every street and often more than one, some are names we all know (MC Donald's, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut) allot are names we are not so familiar with, here is a link to a list of chain restaurants....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_restaurant_chains_in_the_United_States
So i guess there is still allot of scope for some of these to come into Ireland.
At the moment we are seeing more restaurants both independent and franchise offering cheap food in large quantities (meal deals, all you can eat etc.)
Its very simple really, the cheaper you offer food and the larger the quantity you give, the lower the quality will be.
If we continue on like we are doing we are going to end up with the obesity epidemic that America has, so now is the time to act.
We are eating and drinking more crap than ever.
We have never had more access to fast food
There is only one way to reverse this and that's to act now and listen and take advice from people who know.
As any good Chef will tell you, the quality, seasonality and freshness of the produce is the most important factor in cooking.
We all need to start hunting down that quality and freshness for ourselves, the rest will follow.