Talk about washed out of it… The weekend was just horrible weatherwise. Foodwise and rugbywise, not so bad due to a smashing win for Munster and lots of great meals enjoyed. I’ve no recipes for you as the recipe that I wanted to try out was a complete disaster and made way for one of my blondest moments so far – more to follow.
We began on Friday night with an Indian meal in Mayur Tandori on Steamboat Quay. Talk about delicious; I had spicy crab claws to start followed by a fish curry served with lemon rice. It was so light and the rice was perfect with the delicate fish; I’m usually too full to finish off an Indian meal but this was devoured. The service was excellent, the staff were so friendly and brought out poppadums on the house with some really tasty chutneys & dips. We didn’t order dessert and they still offered us a drink on the house which was a really nice touch.
It’s unfortunate but a lot of people still think that Indian food is heavy but it really isn’t. There are so many really light tomato based dishes available with subtle flavours. Start with something like a jalfrezi, a bhuna or a balti and ask the chef to make it mild to medium if you’re not used to chilli and you’ll be a convert like me before you know it!
We have a bit of a Saturday morning ritual when we’re in Limerick. We get up, go out for breakfast and head to the market. Last Saturday was miserable but we made it into The Sage Café for brekkie before the market. I’m so predictable when I go there; poached eggs with brown bread & peppermint tea (it’s usually earl grey but I’m a bit addicted to peppermint at the moment). I love it there, it’s friendly, the food is always spot on, everything is fresh, the décor is inviting and, best of all, there’s a fair chance that you can nudge whoever is beside you and whisper “there’s Mike Hogan from The Cranberries” which leaves you with a real sense of smugness if you’re entertaining someone from outside Limerick! I left fed, happy and with a loaf of their homemade brown bread (which I think is the best around) under my arm.
The new recipe I was attempting at the weekend was Kieran Murphy’s banana / choc ice cream which was to be made to follow a Sunday lunch that the boyf was cooking. I followed the recipe to a T and had a lovely, rich, creamy mixture to go into the ice cream machine which I procured from my mother’s kitchen. Unfortunately, I didn’t procure the instructions which meant that I didn’t put the bowl of the ice cream machine into the freezer over night so the churn did nothing but leave me with a banana sorbet that had horrible creamy lumps going through it! It was very disappointing but I made a mammoth pavlova with the egg whites not used in the ice cream instead. I don’t think I’ll let the banana ice cream beat me, might try it again this weekend and see what happens.
The boyf cooked a fab dinner on Sunday; Blind Finches in beer gravy… Don’t be alarmed and don’t go calling animal welfare just yet! It’s a Belgian dish and it isn’t made with blind finches – just battered out steaks wrapped around a minced pork stuffing. It was really delicious and there wasn’t a scrap left on any of the plates. I made spicy potato wedges & peas to go with it which were perfect as the spiciness of the wedges cut the richness of the gravy. The recipe was taken from our book of the moment – The Hairy Bikers Ride Again. Have a look here if you’d like to try it out.
Sounds like some good eating experiences, but that makes me so sad with the ice cream! If you've kept it refrigerated (important for food safety) and haven't thrown it out, simply put it in the freezer let it freeze that way. At least you'll have something! Hope it works better the next time.
Posted by: Kieran | January 21, 2008 at 02:40 PM
No, I wasn't so lucky. All the churning in the unfrozen bowl curdled the cream so when I did freeze it, the result wasn't great. I'll try again though Kieran - the ice cream ain't gonna beat Sarah!
Posted by: Sarah@lettersonlunches | January 21, 2008 at 03:04 PM
Oh Sarah definitely try it again and if you forget the ice-cream maker bowl like me then leave it in the freezer it'll be gorgeous. So creamy and bananay (is that a word) and divine!
Posted by: Rachel@fairycakeheaven | January 25, 2008 at 08:15 PM