My Limited French Vocabulary

I am about to share something really embarrassing.  I received a D in French class first semester of my senior year in college. In my defense it was the only D I ever received, I was pretty much an A/B student. The really embarrassing part however is that I spent the previous semester living in France for six months!  Oh how proud my parents must be. I chalk it up to two things. Number one, I was in college, where beer and pizza held more importance than grades; and number two some people just don't have a gift for foreign languages.

While my French language skills leave little to be desired, I have found there are several French words and phrases I actually managed to learn and retain over the years that come in handy when working in the kitchen. One of the most important  phrases "Mise en place"  has become  a crucial part of my limited French vocab.

Translated from French to English it  means "set up" or  "everything in place".

It is a professional kitchen term meaning to organize and arrange the ingredients that the chef will require to prepare the menu that evening. The ingredients are all washed, measured, chopped, and typically arranged in individual bowls.  I happen to love both of these sets of prep bowls from Crate & Barrel.

Having a variety of sizes is nice, but I also love the small ones with lids.  You can prep hours in advance and pop components into the fridge until it is time to start the show. 

Sadly, I left a nice set of prep bowls back in the states, therefore I am stuck working with the pots and pans and bowls that came with our rental apartment. So, the mise en place for my asparagus risotto adapted from this recipe might not look so pretty, but at least it was well organized! When cooking risotto I think having an organized mise is incredibly important, because once you start cooking the rice, you really cannot stop.  It is a good 20-30 minute stretch of stirring and slowly incorporating stock, and then stirring some more, and incorporating more stock, and then stirring again.  OK, you get the picture!

Being well prepared helped me to accomplish this!  Lemony risotto with peas and asparagus, and pan seared lemon pepper salmon.

So while I may have received a D in French that one semester in college, I would like to think if it was a mise en  place classe maybe I would have made an A! OK,  maybe a B- with my not so fancy prep bowls, and a little too much lemon juice, but still that is better than a D any day!

Satiating My Cheesy Desires

I have been hiding a box of Goldfish crackers in the back of my pantry for over two months now.  I just can not bring myself to open the box because once they are opened I will eat them.  Once I eat them they will be gone, and once they are gone, they are gone.  

That's right no Goldfish crackers over here in Ireland!  As you may have guessed the most popular Irish snack involves the potato in the form of a chip, or a crisp as they call them. Crisps are available in abundance. Salt & Vinegar and Cheese & Onion seem to be the most popular flavors.  

Don't get me wrong, crisps are grand, but what I really crave are the cheesy salty snacks tucked away in the back of the pantry.  I would kill for a goldfish cracker, a cheez-it, or even a cheeto!

So in an effort to satiate my crispy cheesy desires without breaking into my goldfish box stashed in the back of the cupboard I decided to try my hand at making my own! Found this recipe for homemade Cheez-its and got to work.  

It could not have been easier!  Cheese, butter, flour, salt, and water!  I don't have a food processor here so my shredded cheese may not have mixed in as well as I would have liked, but it did not prevent my crackers from tasting delicious, cheesy, and crispy!

I especially enjoy them with a little schmere of peanut butter on top!

Ice Ice Baby!

No, not a post dedicated to Robert Van Winkle (aka Vanilla Ice) but if that catchy tune gets going in your head consider it the theme music to this post about the Ice Bar London.

Alright stop, colaborate, and listen!

We made a silly decision to take part in a gimmicky tourist activity and have a drink at the Icebar London.  Do I regret it?  No.  The Icebar franchise is expanding and with bars open in London, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, and Tokyo, soon it will be among the ranks of the Hard Rock Cafes and Cheese Cake Factories of the world! That is part of the cheese factor, but it is still kind of cool none the less. Pun intended!

Clad in "designer" thermal capes and big black gloves we entered the -5C (23 F) Icebar and ordered ourselves a drink served in a block of ice glass!  During our 40 minute session we knocked back a fruity cocktail, surveyed the bar, seats, and tables, made of ice, giggled, and took lots of silly pictures!

Please do not lick the walls of this establishment.

Adam "chilling" out ;)

British Beer Festival Photos

As promised I wanted to fill you in on my travels over the past two weeks.  I don't want to bore you with all the details, so as inspired by my friend Pat who says she does not really read my blog but likes to look at my pictures, I thought I would just share photos and captions.

Part One of my holiday was a visit to London.  This post is dedicated to the reason we decided to stop in London, 

The Great British Beer Festival hosted by CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale).

Made use of London's excellent public transit and rode the tube a lot! 

If you stand near the front of the tube car you can catch a nice breeze of subway air!

Quick stop outside of Buckingham Palace.

Then onward to Earls Court Convention Center for the beer fest!
Check out how they spell organized! ;)

Cheers!

Schooled these old guys in the art of foosball!

Won a keg after entering a raffle!  Sold it later that night to a guy at a bar for £15

On the way out the door when I ran into these crazies and couldn't resist getting a picture!

Croissant Craic Travel Tip - #3 Dress Accordingly!

I mentioned in Croissant Craic Travel Tip # 2 that rather than packing a hairdryer or travel iron that you would be better off  to save that space in your luggage for an umbrella and an extra sweater. Which is why Travel Tip #3 is about the weather and what to pack!

even when there is a bit of blue sky it still seems to be cloudy here!

A friend recently filled me in on a common saying that in Ireland you may experience all four seasons in one day.  After almost six months of living here I completely believe it. The weather is just so unpredictable! It is currently the middle of August and on my walk into town to run errands I may start out with a jacket or sweater on, then a short burst of rain requires me to fish out my umbrella, by the time I am leaving the store the sun is out and it is time to shed the jacket. I also don't leave home without a hair elastic because the wind can get pretty wicked here. 


Even with dramatic shifts within the day, the year round weather is not so fickle.  In fact, Ireland does not experience dramatic changes in weather over the course of the year.  The climate is very moderate. It hardly ever gets extremely hot, and rarely is it bitter cold. Check out the temperature averages in the chart below if you don't believe me!

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Temperature oC
Average	5	5	6	8	10	13	15	15	13	10	6	5
Temperature oF
Average	41	41	43	46	50	55	59	59	55	50	43	41

We have experienced a few days this summer in the upper 60's and lower 70's which make me drunk with happiness, especially on the days the sun is shining bright! I have never been much of a beach person, or warm weather person in general, but after six months of these averages I find myself dreaming about my toes in the sand and the warm breeze on my bare legs.


As for the rain, I'm sure you are aware it occurs fairly regularly here. It wouldn't be the Emerald Isle without it!  In fact, within the first month of our arrival I wrote a short blog post about the rainy weather here based on some information from my friend Evin's blog. Basically, the Irish have many, many ways to describe the rain.  Here are just a few: 


Dry Rain = Mist that doesn’t get you wet even though it’s technically raining
Lashing = Diagonal hard rain (think hurricane weather)

Pissing = Vertical hard rain (not as much wind as Lashing Rain)
Soft day = Cloudy weather with soft mist or drizzle (typical Irish weather)
Wet Rain = Not necessarily a heavy rain, but one that dampens you and soaks your clothes

Typical sky any given day in Cork

Typically the rain that I have encountered is a "dry rain". It normally comes in short bursts once or twice a day. Nothing a hood, small umbrella, or popping into a cafe can't take care of!

Hopefully this provides you with some inclination of what the weather is like.  Now if you are planning a visit, the question becomes what to pack?  My mother is struggling with this right now, as her visit is only a few weeks away.  


I find Ireland to be very casual, and I live in jeans, tee shirts, and sweaters. My suggestion is to think in terms of light layers, or things you can add or remove to accommodate the ever-changing weather. Camisoles, tee shirts and cardigans, paired with slim leg dark wash blue jeans, a raincoat or windbreaker, good walking shoes, boots for fall or winter, and a light weight scarf. Also, don't forget your umbrella! These suggestions are obviously aimed at women.  Men are lucky they never seem to have the same problems packing, they can figure it out on their own. 

hooded trench J.Crew, light weight wool cardigan J.Crew,  hand dyed silk muslin scarf, Laura Eliason Designs,  buckle boots with Nike Air technology by Cole Haan, comfy easy slip ons by Keen,

If you are looking for a beautiful scarf like the one featured above check out my friend Laura's secret boutique website.  These scarves are crafted with love here in Ireland and in addition to being beautiful, they are versatile!


OK, get packed and get on over here!  Don't let my talk of grey skies keep you from coming to explore such an amazing country, just dress appropriately!  Hope to see you soon!











  

I may not have cooked it, but I ate it! (and Drank it too!)

Wow, I cannot believe I have been away from my fun little blogging habit for two weeks now! I went on holiday with the best of intentions to keep up my writing; but you know how vacations are. Busy and lazy go hand in hand while on holiday!  So I dropped the ball, but I plan on sharing all about my time spent in London, Copenhagen, Berlin, and Prague over the course of the next few post. 

I only arrived home to Ireland last night. I have not gone to the market, and have not had a chance to make much of anything in my kitchen other than coffee and toast. However, in the spirit of "What's Cookin' Wednesday" I thought I would share with you a few photos of tasty treats I indulged in over the last two weeks. 

Copenhagen

Can't remember the name of the fish, but it was native to the waters around Copenhagen and  was served lightly pan fried with capers, almonds, pickles, and lots of dill and lemon zest!  Yum!

All over Copenhagen hot dog stands serve up what is known as a  French  hot dog, which is served in a hollowed out toasted baguette.

Adam's French dog was wrapped in bacon!

Sadly I did not have an opportunity to snack on one of the many famous Danish open faced sandwiches known as Smørrebrød, but they looked delish and gives me yet another excuse to return someday soon! 

Berlin

Did not indulge in much local fare as Berlin is such a large international city, however managed to enjoy a tasty bratwurst one afternoon!

Prague

Prague was by far my favorite city from a culinary perspective.  Their traditional grub while simple and rustic is  the best comfort food around!  Here a half a roast duck and a plate full of potato dumplings and cabbage!

Goulash might just be the official dish of the Czech Republic and with good reason!  And no meal is complete without potato pancakes and bread dumplings!

BEER

At the London World Beer Festival

Cruising the River in Prague Pilsner Urquell in hand!

Enjoying a Dunkel at the Prater Garten in Berlin.

Unique brews at the Mikkeller Bar in Copenhagen.

Czech micro brews at Zly Casy bar, far from the tourist trap city center!

Late night food in Prague looks just about the same as it does the USA! Greasy pizza and a Beer just before bed can't be beat!