Fine Dining In Cork

Despite being pro cooking your own food, I am going to give ye a few recommendations for restaurants, it being Valentines this week and all, maybe you would like to treat you significant/insignificant other! These are just some that I have visited and have been really inpressed but if you have any more suggestions please leave a comment.

Isaacs

You can always rely on the food in Isaacs being top quality and absolulty mouth watering, it caters for the fussy eaters to the adventurous. Its a popular spot so I would recommend booking ahead, especially if your going to go there on valentines.

monday – Saturday

Coffee: 10am – 12.30pm

Lunch: 12.30pm – 2.30pm

Dinner: 6pm – 10 pm

                                                48 MacCurtain Street, Cork City

                                                     Tel: +353 (0)21 450 3805

Luigi Malones

Absolutley love this place, their food is always delicious and they give massive portions so you wont be leaving the place hungry. They have a well stocked bar as well if your going to be hitting the sauce over dinner. Its pretty big inside so you could chance walking in off the street but you can find the number below incase you would prefer to play it safe.

Emmet Place, Cork

 t: +353 21 427 88 77

    

Liberty Grill

I'm sure everyone is aware at this stage that liberty grill is just the bomb. Their food is extermely good quality and is never short on flavor. They are big into their gourmet burgers so if that tickles your fancy your on to a winner. Their wont be a crum left on your plate. Definitely book this if you plan on going their for valentines. They also do an epic breakfast menu if you don't make it there valentines night!

                                                   

                                                      32 Washington Street  Cork, Co. Cork
                                                       021 427 1049

 Tony's Bistro

They don't do evening meals but they do a cracking all day breakfast, its not all they do, there are other options on the menu but its what it is famous for. Its particularly tasty if you've had one too many the night before and bowl of dried cardboard cereal just wont fill the gap. Its next to mad for those of ye who dont know where it is. Yum!

Valentines Dinner

With Valentines day falling this week I am going to give you a recipe that wont fail to impress, whether its the guy or the girl doing the cooking this looks like you made a serious amount of effort when it actually couldn't be easier!

So while all the couples are off enjoying their romantic dinner there's speed dating in the Old Bar UCC for the singletons! 

Spicy Pasta

You will need

• Olive Oil
• 4 Fresh, Ripe tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped (or use one tin of chopped tomatoes)
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp of dried rosemary
• sugar
• 1 length of Chorizo sausage
• Dried Chili Flakes
• 100 mls of cream
• Some grated cheese - preferably Parmesan
• Penne or spaghetti pasta (quantity of your choice)

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the chopped tomatoes, garlic and rosemary. season with salt, pepper and add a pinch of sugar. cook for about 5 mins until the tomatoes soften.
2. Add the chorizo to the pan and the chili flakes, then add the cream, allow to simmer with the lid off until the mixture has reduced. This should take about 15 mins, don't forget to stir frequently.
3. remove from heat and season to taste, adding more chili, salt pepper if needed.
4. Meanwhile cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water, this should take about 10 mins to cook.
5. Once cooked, drain and combine with the sauce and serve.

To really impress throw some garlic bread in the oven and serve with it.

Come back tomorrow for more meal and dessert recipes!

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Looking for a recipe?

Hey ladies and gents,


Here are some great sites if you looking for some more easy recipes...

For the cream cheese lovers...
http://www.philadelphia.co.uk

For those seeking inspiration...

http://www.cullyandsully.com/

For the health conscious...

http://www.flahavans.com/

For the bakers out there...

http://www.odlums.ie/

Easy Vol au Vents

Hey Guys,


Today I'm going to give ye a really easy to prepare recipe for Vol au Vents, their really tasty and couldn't be easier to make, they are great if you just want to make something quick and easy for dinner and their a great idea if your making dinner for a big group of people.


As this is the lazy chef, we are going to take the east way out and but those froze vol au vent cases, they are available in most shops so you wont even have to go to the supermarket to pick them up.

You will need

• Frozen Vol au Vent Cases
• A glass of milk (for brushing the frozen cases, this will give them a lovely golden glow when they come out of the oven)
• 1 Packet of rashers.
• Half an onion
• 5 Mushrooms
• 5 Tablespoons of Philadelphia (low fat or full fat, Your choice)

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 200 Degrees.
2. Remove as many of the Vol Au Vent cases you need.
3. Brush or dip the top of the cases with milk.
4. Place in the oven for 15 mins.

While they are cooking, make your filling.

1. Chop the onions mushrooms and rashers.
2. Place all the chopper ingredients in an oiled frying pan.
3. Fry for 4-5 minutes until the rashers are cooked and the onions and mushrooms have softened.
4. Add the Philadelphia and stir until melted and fully combined with the other ingredients
5. Season to taste
6. Remove the cases from the oven and spoon the contents of the frying pan into the hollow spaces of the vol au vent cases

Hey Presto, Dinner Time.

Pancakes...


I'm going to take a little break from healthy January to give you a really tasty pancake recipe. Everyone loves pancakes and you don't need to have 12 of them on pancake Tuesday and then none for the rest of the year. Their really easy to make! 

All you need is
1 cup of white flour

• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

They couldn't be easier to prepare.

1.In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in milk, egg and oil. Mix until smooth

2.Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the pan, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

My pancake is topped with chocolate and cream, a really easy and fast way to make chocolate sauce is to spoon some nutella into a bowl and stick it in the microwave for a minute, alternatively you could have this with sugar and some lemon juice!


Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Healthy January

So its January and everyone over did it at Christmas,  Its time to get health again!! This week I will be posting some healthy food recipes that should set you along your way to recovering from the festive season!

Raspberry Smoothy

Ingredients

• 1 container (6 oz)  Fat Free vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup unsweetened frozen or fresh raspberries
• 1 medium banana
• add a few ice cubes if you don’t use frozen raspberries
• Blend together and drink

Pina Colada - Pineapple Smoothy

Ingredients

• 1/2 pineapple
• 1 apple
• 3 Tbs of low fat milk
• 1 banana
• 1 orange
• coco nut shreds - can be found with the dried spices in supermarket
• Blend together and drink