Man Friday not so Hot on Monday
I was recently out on a business dinner with some Dutch customers to “Man Fridays” in Kinsale. This appears to be one of the most famous restaurants in Kinsale and is nestled in a fabulous location overlooking the harbour. Parking in that part of Kinsale was, as ever, a nightmare. I eventually strapped two dinghys to my car and moored it off the promenade.
Overall I was very disappointed with the food but the Dutch guys loved it, so go figure.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Six Go Mad in Macclesfield
We finally bit the bullet and took a trip to Frank, Helen and the two boys in Macclesfield en famille. The six of us headed down to Cork airport last saturday morning bright and early.
The Servisair genius at check-in put us in three separate rows. She was either as thick as two short planks or bitter over her fabulous career. Either way, Catherine had Fionn, I had Ois & Shibs and poor Oscar had to sit on his own for take-off.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Thursday, October 13, 2005
Quick Health Round-Up on Stomachs and Nuts
Run off my feet this week so blogging has been even lighter than usual. Two health related stories caught my eye:
Discoverers of H.Pylori get Nobel Prize
This is fantastic. I’ve had the treatment and unfortunately it appears I am in the 10% for whom the little bastard bacteria are not the problem. My problem is more likely to be Curry, Coffee and Sauvignon Blanc.
The discovery that Helicobacter Pylori is responsible for the majority of stomach ulcers is often used by the alternative medicine brigade to beat up “traditional” medicine.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Thursday, October 6, 2005
Dammit, now I'll never have a shoe phone. Maxwell Smart dies.
Now listen carefully. Don Adams, who played Maxwell Smart in one of the best shows of my youth has died aged 82. The show actually aired from 1965 to 1970 in the US but I didn’t see it until well into the 70’s. A very very silly series which I will never forget.
I cannot walk through any building with more than two swing doors in sequence without that tune starting in my head duh duh duh duuuuuuh, duh duh duh duuuuh…
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Scoozi's - Good for a Friday night bash
Maria, our summer student, finished up on Friday. We bounced around a few ideas for nosh and settled on something we figured everyone would like - Scoozi’s on Winthrop Ave just near the GPO in Cork.
Great buzz in the place on arrival and no delay getting seated (well it was 5.30 on a Friday). A bit disappointed that there was no beer on the menu - I had imagined big jugs of the stuff in the middle of the table.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Monday, September 26, 2005
Mmm, spicy
The parents are in Spain and my mother gave me a shout to see if I wanted anything whilst she was there. The last time she got me a fab selection of Chorizo and Salami which I am still working through. So I just asked for the same again. But I also asked her if she would keep her eye out for Smoked Paprika - the main flavour in Chorizo. Fiona failed to find it on her last trip and I’m beginning to think that someone will have to find a spice emporium over there.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Monday, September 26, 2005
Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Update 19/09/2005: I had left out a few steps on this originally, so I’m re-publishing.
I have a recipe for Meatballs with Tomato Sauce which is based mainly on Sophie Grigson’s recipe in her Meat Course Book. That is one of the best Cookbooks of the past few years but sadly is out of print now. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Meat Book is a pretty good alternative for carnivores. My family rave about this meal when I cook it and I have to admit to being partial to it myself.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Monday, September 19, 2005
Quack Quack Quack. Homeopathy doesn't work shocker
The BBC has an article on the most recent study of Homeopathy showing, yet again, that it is no better than placebo.
Whilst I consider most alternative therapies to be rubbish being pushed by idiots and charlatans, Homeopathy has managed to inhabit that grey zone where one doesn’t want to completely dismiss it. This was down to a few factors - the fact that it has been around for a long time, the fact that they do seem to get some form of results and finally the desire of those who have followed a formal course of study to be officially recognised and to not allow actual charlatans to calls themselves homeopaths.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Sunday, September 18, 2005
Stormhoek not quite stonking but pretty damned good
My bottle of Stormhoek Sauvignon Blanc 2005 from the gapingvoid freebie arrived by courier this evening. I was going to wait until tomorrow to review but one dead linux server has fast-tracked the opening.
It uses a screw-cap which I support 100% for Sauvignons. I am sick to the back teeth of getting ruined bottles of Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé with their crappy corks.
On opening, a bit of a sniff tells me that it is along the same lines as other South African Sauvignons and not like the Marlborough ones.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Knife Sharpening Fetish
I have a small obsession with getting my knives very sharp. I think it goes back to my uncle Frank who is a carpenter and who showed me how he sharpened his chisels on a wet-stone when I was a very small kid. From that point on, I was always trying to sharpen knives. I think my first attempt was using Frank’s wet-stone on a butter knife. The outcome on that one was very predictable.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Sunday, September 11, 2005