Wine course results...

Well, the moment I had been dreading... would I have passed the wine course exam? I got the results recently, and nobody was more flabbergasted to see that I had got a Distinction in both the written and the tasting exam! What a result - definitely down to the help I had got from both Colm (my brother and business partner) and from the course tutor Mary Gaynor. And maybe a little bit down to the many years of wine drinking coming into their own at last!

BBQ recipes

Wow, what a great day - all of a sudden, summer has arrived, and the bbq beckons! Well, that is unless, like me, it needs a major cleanout as it hasnt been used all winter and it has been so wet this spring that only the truly deranged would have attempted to cook outdoors! Here are a few tips and tricks to make your BBQ successful - exerpts from my Tips and Tricks Guide that accompanies our BBQ Workshop...

How to create the perfect marinade for BBQing food

Different tastes that must be balanced to achieve a really good marinade:

sweet, - this can be achieved using honey or fruit juice – sugar is not a great option unless you don’t have an alternative – it is too non-subtle!

sour, - from acid – so lemon, lime, vinegar etc

bitter, closely associated with sour for many people, coffee, plain chocolate, beer etc

salty – obviously from salt or its derivatives…

umami has been added in recent decades – this is about a savoury flavour such as soya, ketchup etc – very important for this to be blended into BBQ flavours!...

For most dishes, you also need to add in some ‘piquancy’ in the form of pepper (either chilli pepper or black peppercorns), paprika (either smoked or unsmoked) and/or herbs and spices to add that unique set of flavours. You need to be careful not to over-complicate matters when it comes to this lot of tastes – a little can go a long way!

Think about your bbq as a total taste experience, but adding in some simple flavours to give your taste buds a break! The breaks can be provided by potatoes, breads, even simple salads such as couscous or green salads will give a contrast to the stronger more pungent flavours

Recipes and guidelines for BBQ food… just a few options to add zing to plain old chicken breasts - I would recommend that you try and get the best chicken you can afford - cheap efforts often have water added, so you end up with an unpleasant texture to the finished dish.

Mediterranean Citrus Marinade – this will work for chicken or fish…

For 4 breasts of chicken…

o 3 tablespoons of olive oil (one that doesn’t have too strong a taste – doesn’t have to be extra virgin)
o rind and juice of one large lemon or two small ones
o 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
o 1 teaspoon of runny honey
o 3 large sprigs of thyme – you could also use oregano or a smaller quantity of rosemary
o Sea salt and black pepper to season)

Combine thoroughly. Cut each chicken breast into three-four strips and then coat the whole lot with the marinade for about 15 minutes.

Thai-style chicken marinade

o Juice and rind of one lime
o 1 inch knob of ginger, finely chopped
o 1 stick of lemongrass, outer leaves removed and inner core finely chopped
o 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
o 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
o 1 teaspoon of runny honey
o fresh coriander – about a tablespoon finely chopped
o 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds (optional)

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and then mix with strips of chicken; leave to marinade for 15 minutes minimum.

Sticky tomato and fennel marinade

o Five tablespoons of good tomato sauce
o 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire or other tangy sauce
o some drops of Tabasco or fresh chillies (this depends on how hot you like your food!)
o Fennel seeds – about a teaspoon, crushed with a mortar/pestle
o Tablespoon of olive oil
o 2 garlic cloves
o salt and pepper
o Some fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and then mix with strips of chicken; leave to marinade for 15 minutes minimum

Enjoy - get in touch if you would like more ideas for that BBQ, and which wines to match with the different tastes!

Life and death matters

A very good friend recently died very suddenly, which was a great shock to us all. It kind of knocked the stuffing out of us for quite a while, so we are only getting back to normal now. It is amazing to think that we blithely ignore the fact that there is a very thin line between life and death, and we spend most of our time on things that in the greater scheme of things are fairly meaningless. Lets face it, if you really thought that this weekend might be your last, would you be doing what you are planning to do?? If so, that is absolutely fantastic! However, if not, then change your plans now... For myself, I'm re-iterating my motto of live life to the full, only do things that you truly believe in and enjoy whatever you are doing to the fullest extent possible. And that means that I am finishing work now, I am going to sit outside in the late evening sun, and in a little while I will have a great dinner and a few (hopefully not too many!) glasses of wine and raise a glass to Selwyn - may you be doing likewise where-ever you are...

In case you were wondering where I have gone to...

This is a link to another blog that I am active on at the moment - it is about our plans to create our new business called Honest2Goodness.

http://honest2goodnessfarmersmarket.blogspot.com/

While I still plan on being active on this blog in the coming months, there is lots going on at my other one, so please check it out!

Habits...

You know the saying about old habits being hard to break - well, when does a new habit become an old one? How often do you have to repeat something for it to become a habit? Well, certainly longer than I would like for a 'good habit' and shorter for a 'bad habit' has been my experience. You'll know what I mean when I give a couple of examples, if that last sentence is a bit ambiguous. The good habit could be the daily exercise one. So, I had built up to an hour a day, and had got to the stage when I said to myself that this was now a lifelong habit, and one that I couldnt do without - that was probably my first mistake, which was to get smug about it! So then, a few things happened together - I did a bit of overseas travel, there was snow on the ground at home, etc, etc, and lo and behold, my good habit is no longer. I'm now back to square one, and even more discipline is required to get back into it. Why, I dont know. I really enjoyed the walking, knew it was doing me good, and yet, as we say in Ireland, there she was - gone! However, when giving up (or cutting down) on a bad habit e.g. drinking coffee, the reverse happens. I had it down to one a day and even skipped that one a few times, and yet, as soon as I took my eye off the ball, I was back up to 4-5 a day! Could someone who is better at psychology than me explain this to me...please!!

Wine course in Kilkenny

A couple of weeks ago, I braved the unusually snowy weather in Ireland to travel to Thomastown Kilkenny for a week-long course with The Wine Academy. This was the Advanced Certificate course, one of the WSET accredited courses, and it was delivered by Mary Gaynor, who runs the Wine Academy.

Well, I have to say that my bravery was amply rewarded, despite the freezing cold weather, which had me running into the Kilkenny Design Centre on the second morning to purchase some wooly socks!

We had a great week of it, learned a massive amount (although I am not sure if I remembered enough of it to pass the exam on the Friday afternoon - time will tell!), and were highly entertained into the bargain. Mary's hospitality was wonderful, her teaching talents and wide knowledge of the wine industry were only to be admired and each day flew by! Thomastown is one of those Kilkenny towns which will be transformed when it is bypassed, and even now it has a lot of charm despite all the large vehicles rumbling through on their way from Kilkenny City to Waterford City or Wexford. Mary can be contacted at www.thewineacademy.ie

Exciting moves and market days ahead...

After much thought and deliberation for the last few months, we are on the move to new premises and are planning to include a weekly indoor food market in our new location on Saturdays. The building is in Glasnevin in Dublin, and has about 6000 sq ft of available warehousing, as well as ample office and storage space, a stainless steel kitchen and space for our wine tastings and much more. It'll be full steam ahead in the coming weeks to prepare the space, meet all the Environmental Health requirements and be up and running by mid-summer. This is all part of our decision to join forces with Champagnes Unlimited, and grow our business jointly, with emphasis on good value wines in this time of economic recession, cookery demonstrations on how to use the produce from the market, and to have our own stall at the market. We will be able to have wine tastings and courses on the premises, although we will still be available for incompany tasting evenings.

Current plans are for a mainly fresh food produce market, lots of veggies, meat, fish etc with an emphasis on quality and good value as well. Of course we'll also have some produce for people to be able to treat themselves, but always with a healthy emphasis! So, I'm off to Borough Market in London this weekend to look at it with fresh eyes - not as a consumer of the food there, but to see how they have it set up from an operational perspective. Not much point in not aiming for the best we can be, and they are a good example in this part of the world... Barcelona would be even better, but maybe too ambitious... for now... So, if you would like to explore having a stall at our market, and your food produce is good quality and affordable, then get in touch with us at info@thetastingroom.ie or if you would just like to hear more about our plans...