Video Ads on iFoods

How do we pay for the videos and keep all the great features at iFoods free? Simple, advertising! Now banner ads can be a bit annoying and can sometimes make sites ugly so we have a better solution! Video ads! First ads start running next week and here is a little sample of what they will be like. Let us know what you think and if you would prefer banner ads or 10 second video ads before an iFoods video. As always we on iFoods we'll listen to what you guys, the users, have to say!

Bitter Orange Marmalade: Recipe

You know how sometimes a whole crop of citrus is destroyed due to frost or unseasonably cold weather? If my mom had her way, none of that fruit would go to waste. My mother is the queen of finding a use for everything. I suppose it's a kind of variation on turning lemons into lemonade or utilitarianism.

Sadly her amazingly prolific orange tree took quite a hit this year. And while she questions if the tree will survive, she went ahead and harvested the seemingly inedible fruit and made absolutely delicious marmalade out of it. She may not have actual Seville oranges, but she certainly has a solution for unripe oranges. Their tangy sour bite is mellowed in the marmalade but brightens up your morning English muffin, toast or scone.

My mom's recipe came from the Complete American Jewish Cookbook, a book I don't have, but she made a few changes to it. I'd never made marmalade before, but having a recipe that didn't require pectin and processing jars made me game to try it. Making your own marmalade means you can make it as thick or thin as you like and as sweet or bitter as you like. Around here we like it plenty bitter and a tad thin so it spreads easily. While bitter oranges are a very seasonal item marmalade is happily enjoyed all year long.

Bitter Orange Marmalade
(more a formula than a recipe)

Ripe or unripe oranges
Sugar

Wash and dry the fruit. Cut unpeeled into quarters lengthwise then slice very thin crosswise. Measure fruit, place in a large pot and add twice as much water. Let stand overnight.

The next day, bring to boil covered then uncover and simmer 1 hour. Let stand 24 hours.

Measure the fruit and liquid and add no more than 1 1/2 cups of sugar per 2 cups of fruit mixture. Boil until it reaches the consistency you like, probably between 10 and 20 minutes or so, it will thicken slightly as it cools.

Sterilize jars in whichever method you prefer. (I wash them with soapy water then fill them halfway with water and microwave for about 5 minutes, until the water boils, remove with potholders and empty them just before filling.) Pour marmalade into hot jars and seal. If your jars do not seal airtight, just keep the jam in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Brilliant Gordon Ramsey Videos

Last week I showed a 50 second video of Gordon Ramsey on Boiling point 10 years 8 years ago and it shocked some people to see the transformation in the man. Today just under the surface of the swearing lunatic personality lies a very polished media savvy superstar chef who know how to work his audience. These videos show just what he was like back in the day and just how he has changed! You will never see a better insight into how a real restaurant actually works than watching these clips, magic!

iFoods Coming out of BETA

After 5 months of non stop testing and a brand spanking new design we are ready to come out of BETA on Friday and become fully fledged members of the internet fraternity!
As you can see from the screen grab below we have implemented text recipes to help all our users who are slowly making the transition from cookbooks to Video recipes, a sort of hybrid recipe if you will! Add to that profile widgets, embeddable YouTube videos and lots of other exciting additions and we have a great little place for foodies to hand out!
There are still a few last minute tweaks to be made and we are implementing some new features as we speak to help keep our users as happy as possible! Let us know what you do and don't like and hope you enjoy the site.

La Havana, George's Street, Dublin Review

After travelling the world several times over working on super yachts and tasting some of the best and most diverse food on the planet there will always be a special place in my heart for Cuba, it's people and especially strangely it's food. The reason I say strangely is that for those of you not familiar with the Cuban political situation lets just say that Tesco's or Wallmart don't exactly have a shop on every corner. There are pretty much 2 ingredients that you will see with every meal in Cuba and they are rice and beans.Even ingredients like chicken and beef are rare commodities so to say that Cuban Chefs have very little to work with is an understatement. What they do turn out and the passion they have while earning next to nothing blows my mind. Now at the other end of the scale was La Havana on George's Street in Dublin which is one of many Cuban inspired restaurants popping up around the world.

La Havana sits on George's street in Dublin in what must be the the area most densely populated with restaurants in Ireland. We arrived by pure chance on a busy Saturday night looking for some fast food and lured in by the offer of jugs of mojitos and to be honest that is about as good as it got! Now don't get me wrong, I don't expect to be served poor quality rice and beans but I never saw chorizo once in the 3 weeks I spent eating out in Cuba but it featured 6 times on a limited and boring menu in La Havana. Not only was the chorizo heavily featured on the menu it also happened to be the nasty cheap variety that I suspected came straight out of a packet pre-sliced and my suspicions were confirmed when i saw a chef opening a packet as I walked by the kitchen! Now in fairness my sister can open a fecking packet of sliced meat, cut some bread and put it on a plate and she is only 10 but she doesn't charge me 10 Euros and call it tapas! You know what else wound me up? The prawns. Now I'm sorry but if you are going to serve prawns in a so called tapas bar its very simple; peel them, fry them in garlic, chili and lemon, toss in parsley and charge me what ever the hell you want to. When I go out I like to concentrate on conversation and drinking cocktails and resent the fact that I have to spend 10 minutes of my precious time peeling greasy tasteless prawns that some lazy chef has thrown on a plate and called them tapas!

One thing that I do have to mention is that the service was fantastic and one of the waitresses chased me down the street twice after I left my scarf and phone at the table so even if they havn't trained their chefs properly the staff have certainly know a thing or two about Cuban hospitality.

So if you are thinking of going to La Havana or any other poncy place claiming to be a Cuban Tapas bar this weekend I say don't bother and save up your money instead and go to the most magical country in the world!

Epic Roasthouse & Waterbar Opening Party

Last night's party at Pat Kuleto's two new restaurants along the Embarcadero was more like a New Year's Eve party than a typical restaurant opening. For one thing, the party was for two restaurants, not just one. Epic Roasthouse is headed up by chef Jan Birnbaum and is his contemporary take on a steak house, but I suspect there will be a lot more on the menu than beef. Waterbar its next door neighbor is a seafood restaurant with spectacular views and live fish tanks. Chef Mark Franz is co-owner and Parke Ulrich is executive chef.

For starters, the party began at 4 pm and roughly around 6 pm the two restaurants and a tented piazza in between was at capacity and a line began to form. Waiters headed out in the rain to serve nibbles to the estimated 250 people waiting to get in.

Local chefs including Roland Passot, Joanne Weir and Joey Altman were there, as were two past "villainous" Top Chef competitors. For those who follow the TV show I can say that in person Marcel is quite friendly and does not come across as egotistical. Tiffany lived up to her on-camera persona. After asking if I could take her picture, to which she said yes, I innocently asked what she was up to, she snapped "I'm talking to my friend, if you don't mind." Yikes! Wouldn't it have been just as easy to say "I'm opening a restaurant in LA, thanks for asking." If you're Tiffany, I guess not!

The band featured the amazingly talented 17-year-old daughter of one of the founders of the band the Doobie Brothers. And yes, her father did join her on stage for a set of Doobie Brothers hits.

As for the food and drink, there was plenty of wine and a fennel infused gimlet garnished with orange slices was the signature cocktail. It went particularly well with the seafood at Waterbar. I snacked on crisp salt cod cakes with aioli, fried risotto balls with a green olive tapenade, a sea bass ceviche on shrimp chips, steelhead trout tartare and ate more oysters than I can can count. There were also shots of a seafood soup, little prosciutto sandwiches and slices of pizza to feed the crowd.

At Epic there were meatballs, spicy tender pork ribs and a divine flaked salmon appetizer served on flatbread. Desserts created by Emily Lucchetti were also standouts. Luscious tiny panna cotta cups were topped with pineapple and granola, creamy brownie sundaes were my favorite along with endless cookies, sorbet and crispy apple pastries. While at Epic a Chinese dragon made it's entrance, in San Francisco this is considered good luck even if your restaurant isn't Chinese.

To top it all off, there was a fireworks display set under the Bay bridge! Pat Kuleto is known for his over-the-top fantastic interiors and partnerships with some of the best chefs around, turns out he also throws one hell of a party.

Most shocking food video ever

I was sent this this food video today and must say they really have gone for the shock factor! It's from canada and am guessing that the TV regulators must be pretty liberal there as there is no way you'd ever get away with that on this side of the pond! Actually when i was about 20 i saw a guy do excatly the same thing with a pot of soup but he missed the face and only burnt his arm and chest so i suppose it does happen, just that am not sure i want to see it on TV as i sit down to my dinner!

5 shocking chef's secrets

One of the first questions people ask you when you are introduced as a chef is "Have you ever spat in the food?". There just seems to be a fascination with what goes on behind the closed doors of the kitchen! Now i can personally say that I have never done anything remotely like that although you can be pushed to the limit by needy customers especially working for the rich and famous. There are countless stories, a lot of them being a mixture of urban myth and the inevitable exaggeration the story receives as it gets passed on from person to person but the following stories are all 100% true as I have witnessed them with my own eyes! These are my top 4 favourite stories of annoying customers and funny kitchen incidents and how they have been dealt with over years....

4.This is one that never goes down well but believe me happens a lot on a day to day basis! Even Gordon Ramsey said it on Hells kitchen (although he later retracted it as a joke!) and I have seen it happen countless times all over the world. Basically vegetarian soup usually tastes like nothing so chefs add chicken stock to make it actually have flavour. Terrible practice and totally shocking to our vegetarian friends but believe this happens a lot!

3.Nothing shocking actually happened here but I was cooking for Posh Spice and she ordered a bowl of fresh berries with sweet mascarpone and she sent it back 4 different times. First she wanted the mascarpone removed, then the anglaise sauce, then the icing sugar and finally the lazy bony waif sent it back cause she didn't want the piece of mint on top, I mean come on, lift your manicured finger and lift it off yourself you lazy $"$$!

2.Working in a very prestigious Michelin star restaurant one of the senior chefs made the ultimate mistake of over cooking a steak that had been requested rare. I watched as he removed it from the oven and tried soaking it in blood on a tray he had in his fridge to try and make it appear it was rare and get past the monster of a head chef who was plating the dish. He got it past the chef only to see it return 2 minutes later, I'll let you figure out what happened next!

1.The chef bought the fish on Friday but it didn't sell over the weekend so now its Monday evening and he wants to get rid of it. He washes the smell off under running water for 10 minutes then puts it on the menu with a spicy rub to mask any remaining smell! Horrible but seen it at least 100 times! The rule i go by is if i wouldn't eat it myself i wouldn't serve it.

The good news is that 99.99% of chefs are well trained professional operators who ensure you get the best food possible but like any industry there will always be a few rogue operators out there! The difference with other industries is that even though their actions might effect you directly you don't have to put it in your mouth and eat it!

Gordon Ramsey Quotes

Following on from the best food quotes of all time the other day and having watched Mr Ramsey on Kitchen Nightmares USA last night I feel that he actually deserves his own post on it's own so I've assembled a selection of his best rants and raves here.....

3.She thought that the price of the meal would be on the house. I told her that the only thing on the house was the roof.

Talking about Joan Rivers


2.“The problem with Yanks is they are wimps.”

Speaking about our American Friends


1.Everyone thinks you’re an asshole to work for because you get straight to the point. I’ve the most amazing relationship with my guys, and yeah, if things go wrong, they have to take it.

"Take it" is an understatement

To be honest quotes from Gordon don't actually seem that passionate when you read them, it's in his delivery and the mannerisms he uses that they Really come alive.

The interesting thing about Gordon is that he has actually been making TV for an incredibly long time and his personality has evolved considerably. He now knows exactly what he is doing and works it very well but I'd like to show you this clip from a behind the scenes documentary they Had about 10 years ago which shows the real face of Gordon. This footage shows exactly what it is like to work in a 3 star Michelin restaurant and the pressures that are involved. Quite a different Gordon, you certainly wouldn't argue with him! Scary!

Hotel Chocolat Contest

Waiting until the last minute to buy cheap chocolates and flowers is not very romantic. Plan ahead and win more than affection, win luxury chocolate! This Valentine's Day a heartfelt story will win a prize. If you can romance the judges, you could win a collection of Valentine's Day chocolates from Hotel Chocolat.

In fact, at least one person who enters the Hotel Chocolat contest, using this link, is guaranteed to win. To enter, explain in 200 words or less why Hotel Chocolat should surprise your loved one with a luxury chocolate gift. Dig deep and tell a moving tale, as the most compelling entry will win! And it can be a funny story, an inspiring story, a beautiful story, or even a romantic story. The competition closes on February 8th, 2008 and entries will appear live on the Hotel Chocolat site. Don't forget, at least one Cooking with Amy entrant will win!

To see what Hotel Chocolat has on offer, take a look here. I'll let you know what my favorite chocolate picks are once I get a chance to sample them...

Mr Balls and the Chubby Brigade

Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary in England who is rather better at his job than his name might suggest yesterday introduced a fantastic initiative that should rapidly be adopted by other countries before our school doors need to be widened and the seats load tested for the little chubsters! We are all blue in the face hearing about the growing obesity problem but apart from the forward thinking Mr Balls there are very few innovating ideas out there.

"hey hey you, yeah you, supersize me"

The idea is to introduce at least an hour of cooking every week for teenagers with the focus placed on educating them rather than just stuffing the canteen full of spinach and apples rather than the chips and sausages they are used to. Nothing pushes you towards something more than being told you can't have it! Another major advantage with this idea is that with the current trend of celebrity chefs showing no signs of abating the world of food has never been as appealing, so allowing the kids to get a taste of it so early will inevitably lead to a whole new crop of Gordon's coming up through the ranks.

"Hey has anybody seen my chair? I'm sure there was one here a second ago"

There are a few weak points in the strategy though...It's all well and good the 12 year old learning how to make a wholesome soup in school but is Mrs Chubster really going to let him cook the family dinner when he gets home? See the biggest cause of children becoming more and more obese is the food that their parents feed them. Why not have a weekly class where the parents and kids cook together and not only improve their diet but get to bond with each other. What really annoys me is people saying that their kids are just genetically obese** and there is nothing they can do about it! WHAT? You can't do anything about it??? How about turning off his Wii, Xbox or playstation and telling them to move their ass around a sports pitch and not feeding them processed beef burgers with chips and milkshakes! Oh yeah and while I am on a rant about this why not leave your big people carrier or SUV at home for a couple of days this week and cycle to school with the kids scoring a tripe whammy of saving them from future heart disease, fitting into your tight jeans next time and cutting CO2 emissions. Fat Chance I'd say!

Help Clear the streets and leave the SUV at home tomorrow!


**I am talking about people who are massively overweight through laziness and over eating and not people who may have a genuine weight problem.

Most Expensive Meals Ever

The Dome Restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand recently served up what was billed as the most expensive meal ever sold. The six chefs who prepared this expensive meal were flown in from France, Germany and Italy. The ingredients were flown in from all over the world and nothing was spared in making this the most unbelievable banquet ever
witnessed! After 10 courses, prepared by some of the most famous chefs in the world, each accompanied by its own rare wine, each diner was presented with a bill for one million Thai baht. That's about $30,000, and the tax and tip were not included.

The Dome in Bangkok where the meal took place

Worth every penny, Italian chef Heinz Winkler told the Associated Press.

"I believe the diners tonight will experience a culinary level unseen before," he told the AP.

Nothing was overlooked. Even the wine pairings were carefully thought out. About $200,000 of some of the finest wines in the world, including rare Rothschild estate wines, considered some of the best of the last century, were included, according to Britain's Guardian newspaper. The menu also featured some of the best French champagnes.

Now I don't want to burst their bubble but i have actually cooked a far more expensive meal than that before! When I was working on a super yacht that was over 100m(330 feet) in length and cooking for some very rich and very well known clients that record meal was made to look like a bargain! We had two guests arriving and they forwarded their list of preferences for their short stay on the boat which included caviar, Kobe beef, fois gras and a huge selection of fine wines and champagnes. I ordered the food and it was delivered to the boat (mostly by helicopter as we were out at sea awaiting their arrival) and when the supplier arrived with a bill for $88,000 none of us flinched as a)this is fairly standard on a boat that size b)it wasn't my money and my life wouldn't be worth living if their favourite caviar wasn't on board!


A 100m yacht similar to the one I was working on for the $88,000 meal

So you have already done the math I am sure and worked out that my meal easily tops the Bangkok meal at $44,000 per person but the story doesn't end there! One of the guests had a change of heart at the last minute and didn't fancy the boat option and redirected the private jet to the Caribbean! So basically it was an $88,000 meal that was happily shared not by 2 famous guests but by 20 very happy crew members!

Super Bowl Onion Dip: Recipe

What I consider "a super bowl" is not THE Super Bowl. It's a sophisticated little serving dish from Villeroy and Boch that's perfect for serving onion dip. I'm of the opinion you can never have too many bowls. Perhaps there is a food stylist somewhere deep inside me, struggling to be free.

Recently I had a creamy mushroom soup with chopped green beans and a topping of crispy onions. It was soup based on that classic, and in my opinion somewhat disgusting, Thanksgiving side dish, the green bean casserole. But the soup was delicious, proving some classics really are good if made with great ingredients. That was my idea for this dip which, coincidentally I served at Thanksgiving this year. But I think it would be great for that other major American holiday, Super Bowl Sunday.

I basically increased the seasonings and onions in a dip recipe I found on the Whole Foods Market website, which has lots of great ideas, by the way. The dip is filled with onions, leeks and garlic, a few seasonings and a rich and a creamy base that is vegan and healthy. Ok, it's tofu. I use a "light" firm soft tofu for a myriad of recipes, when pureed it becomes a creamy bland canvas, ready for flavor. This recipe is a good one for converting tofu-haters and for those who are looking for dairy-free recipes.

Onion Dip
makes about 2 cups

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion
1 leek
3 cloves garlic
pinch salt
12 ounces soft firm tofu, drained
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Peel and cut the onion in half. Thinly slice the onion halves, you should have about 2 cups of onion slices. Slice the white part of the leek and garlic. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onions, leeks and garlic and sprinkle with a little salt. Cook the onions, stirring from time to time to keep from sticking until brown and caramelized.

Transfer the onion mixture to the food processor and pulse a few times then add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Taste for seasonings and adjust to your liking. Chill overnight in the refrigerator and serve with vegetables, potato chips or pita chips.

Note: If your tofu is very moist you may need to slice it and drain it on paper towels.

Enjoy!

Top 10 Food Quotes

10."I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead. Not sick, not wounded, dead."
Woody Allen.

9."Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffiene, sugar and fat."
Alex Levine

8."I refuse to spend my life worrying about what I eat. There's no pleasure worth foregoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward."
John Mortimer

7."In England, there are sixty different religions—and only one sauce."
(Attributed to Voltaire, 1694-1778)

6.I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli.
George W Bush

5.“I love you like a fat kid loves cake.”
Rapper 50 Cent

4.“Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live."
Ancient Greek Philosopher

3.Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.
Albert Einstein

2."Last night I dreamed I ate a ten-pound marshmallow, and when I woke up the pillow was gone."
Tommy Cooper

1."The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not!
Mark Twain

Selection of fine food pictures

We have been working away for the last few weeks on a project that we are about to launch (blog readers as always will be first to get wind of it!). The project requires some really clean food photos so I thought i would share them here with you seeing as most people who read this blog are foodies! Can anybody guess what the project might be after seeing the photos?

Tribeca Restaurant Dublin

People are always asking me if I am fussy about food when I eat out being a chef, and I always tell them that i am not in the slightest. See when you spend your entire life behind the stove it is such a pleasure for somebody else to actually be cooking it for you that i really enjoy the simple things like a good roast dinner or a simple homemade soup. One of my other favourites and a Saturday morning ritual that I share with a couple of my friends is to have a big fry up in a little local cafe that is slap bang in the middle of D4 but so well hidden away that only a privileged few know about it. It's basically a greasy spoon but it's not unusual to see Colin Farrell and a whole host of other stars in there having there there Saturday morning treat. Of course you are now wondering where it is and the bad news is that there is no way I could possibly share that information as there are literally 10 seats in the place and it's already packed by the time I get there. Due to work commitments we had to push our sacred fry back to Sunday morning and panic broke out when we arrived and found the cafe closed! Undeterred we sought an alternative venue and after much discussion settled on Tribeca in Ranelagh.

Now I have only ever heard good things about the place and it all started very well as we were greeted with the newspapers and ushered to our seats swiftly. Being simple folk and in the absence of a full cooked breakfast we ordered 3 "full Irish breakfast omelette's" and sat back licking our lips in anticipation. What arrived was a disgrace and only for the fact that we all had a mild hangover and were staring I might have said something. It was a little miserable omelet that resembled something out of a 70s canteen. There was literally a quarter of a sausage, half a rasher and some weird aniseed flavoured black pudding. Now i love fusion cooking and am all for chefs being creative but don't go trying to reinvent the wheel, if it's not broken DON'T TRY TO FIX IT!!!

   Give me a nice breakfast in the cafe any day!!

I have no problem paying big money if it is good as I understand all the hard work that goes into it but paying 11 euros for crap like that really winds me up! Ireland has changed and evolved at breakneck speed over the last 10 years and since coming back I have noticed that people are adapting their taste in food. The thing is if you go to New York or Sydney they have the most amazing food and tons of variety but if they put waffles or steak and chips on the menu that's exactly what you get! You won't have some idiot poaching the steak and setting it on a bed of wilted rose flowers! See cooking is about playing to your strengths and the cafe we usually go to does that, there is lots of bacon, the toast is warn, the sausages are plump and service is fast. So as far as i am concerned you can take your fancy aniseed black pudding and stick it, you'll find me in the cafe this weekend!

Something really cool!

Now i am not really sure what you can do with this funky little widget apart from embedding it into your profile but it is pretty to look at and unusual so i though i'd share it with you. Just in case you are not familiar with Blinkx it is the biggest video search engine in the world and we have just launched an iFoods channel there.

Gordon's Cookalong Live Video

With TV becoming saturated with Cookery programmes C4 and Gordon Ramsey tried a new format tonight with the live cookalong. After watching it (without cooking along) i must say i was a bit underwhelmed. I think they make the cardinal mistake of trying to give Gordon a script which is a big mistake as we all know how witty and precise he is with his comments off the cuff. Quite a lot of his jokes had been pre written and it just doesn't suit his style at all. Because of the nature of the show and the speed it needs to flow at it just feels a little aggressive and jumpy. Anybody who works in TV will tell you that working live is the hardest thing to master and given that Gordon has to fit a three course meal and various other snippets into his show we'll have to take our chef hat off to him and give him the benefit of the doubt and put it down to the fact that it was the first show.


Until recently they had a similar show in America call Emeril Live and it wasd a fantastic success, the fact that I saw it towards the end of it's ten year run must have helped! I am pretty sure Gordon and the team will have to do a fair bit of tinkering to find the right format and i'd be surprised if people consistantly "cookalong" with him every Friday night but there is every chance that people will tune in to see Gordon's entertaining antics.

So has Gordon lost his magic touch with TV? Temporarily yes! Will this show make it in the long run? Yes, and don't rule it out becoming a huge success stateside either

The Pineapple Room: Restaurant Review

The Pineapple Room is one of chef Alan Wong's restaurants in Hawaii and it's located in the Macy's at the Ala Moana shopping center. Here you can try some of Alan Wong's style of Hawaiian cuisine without spending as much as you might at some of his other fancier restaurants. At dinner, entrees are in the $20-30 range and are ridiculously huge. I had a green curry braised short rib that came with tomatoes, green beans and eggplant and so many enormous prawns, it was enough for dinner plus two lunches.


I really enjoyed the stir-fried soy beans with garlic, chili peppers and soy sesame sauce. This is one of his signature dishes and was enough for the whole table. I inspired me to begin experimenting with a number of variations on this theme.


Lee had a wonderful fish dish with a buttery sauce sprinkled with sesame seeds.


My father made a meal out a few of starters including a goat cheese tart, a salad and French onion soup that had kahlua pork at the bottom of the bowl.

Dessert was also memorable, it was called Peanut Butter Sesame Crunch, 
and had layers of milk chocolate peanut crunch, peanut butter cream cheese mousse, caramelized bananas, bittersweet chocolate and Hawaiian salt caramel sauces and vanilla ice cream. 
It was crispy, soft, creamy, sweet, salty, nutty, chocolatey--it had it all.


Service is just great here so if you are looking for somewhere to splurge, this is a good choice.

The Pineapple Room
Macy's, Third Floor
Ala Moana Shopping Center
Honolulu, Oahu
808.945.6573

We forgot all about the poor waiter!!

It seems that there has been a huge explosion in the "foodie culture" recently and nothing encompasses that more than the amount of food blogs popping up all over the world, at the last estimate there are in excess of 10,000! People are becoming more and more educated and eating out in the fantastic array of restaurants now available to us!

What a lot of people forget is that eating out is not just about the food but the whole package from the second you walk into the establishment! Service is just as vital as the meal itself, infact I've lost count of the amount of amazing meals ruined by poor service. On the flip side good service (which in my opinion is getting the bread there on time and keeping the booze flowing)can turn an average meal into a fondly remembered evening! The job of the waiter can be a thankless one which I think is similar to a referee in a sports match...they should not be noticed but just go about their job with effeciency and always there when you need them! Throw in a good personality, some knowledge and a corkscrew and you should have the perfect mix!


Now i want to point you in the direction of a blog that will give you a better insight into the brain of a waiter and what good service entails! This is the first "service blog" i have come accross, all we need now is a dishwasher or kitchen porter to start writing a blog and we'd have the whole dining experience covered! Enjoy the blog, it's a great read....

A sexy new companion!

I realise that this is a food blog and that this is probably totally irrelevant to the regular readers but i just have to share it with you! I recently was lucky enough to get an iPod touch and i have to say it is to techies what butter is to a true foodie! I think it is singularly the coolest thing I have ever owned and if i had a choice between the iPod and my mother i'd have a tough choice choosing but after discovering some new functions today i reckon the iPod just about shades it!


The thing is like me you will not understand or be prepared for the user experience until you actually get one in your hands! You will read this and shrug it off but I guarantee when you do get your own you will look back on this post and understand what i am saying! So go without booze this week, cut back on the kids dinners or steal from your granny, basically do whatever it takes to get one, you will not be disappointed!

3 Best Irish Food blogs

With the Irish Blog awards coming up on the 1st March I thought it would be a good time to give you my own list of favourite Irish food blogs. I started writing my own under a year ago and i remember looking around for fellow Irish food bloggers and struglling to find any at all! Well the good news is that they seem to be popping up everywhere now which is great news for the Irish food scene! I've based this list on content, design, regularity of posting and food knowledge of the author! Hope you agree....

3.Ice Cream Ireland
A man with a huge passion for ice cream! Big problem with reading this blog is that you always want some ice cream, not to be read by those on diets!















2.Vals Kitchen
A women passionate about food and doing it all in a city not renowned for its gastronomy, Limerick. Best thing about this blog; the photos!











1.The Humble Housewife
Great blogger with fantastic recipes and wonderful photos! Been fantastic watching this blog evolve from the early days to the critical acclaim it now receives!

Meet Alice Medrich at Charles Chocolates POSTPONED

Photo ©Abigail Huller

Since the 1800's, the Bay Area has been a delicious environment for chocolate. Early on immigrants like Guittard and Ghirardelli made their fortunes not in gold, but in chocolate and their companies exist to this day. Our cool climate is particularly very well suited to making confections and I don't expect chocolate will ever be out of style.

Great locally crafted chocolate came into my consciousness back in the late 70's and early 80's when Alice Medrich was selling her chocolate truffles and decadent chocolate cakes all over the Bay Area. Over the years her cookbooks have not only been a source of inspiration, but a showcase of innovative techniques and approaches to chocolate and other high quality ingredients. Her latest book, Pure Dessert was one of my favorite books of 2007. Not surprisingly she has also inspired many artisanal chocolatiers in the Bay Area.

Come to a book signing tomorrow to meet Alice Medrich, hear her experiences working with chocolate and try some locally made chocolate confections at Charles Chocolates. A visit to the Charles Chocolates retail shop is always a treat, because it is attached to the chocolate factory where you can see practically everything that goes into creating chocolates. Proprietor Chuck Siegel is also a chocolate innovator, creating beautiful edible chocolate boxes filled with chocolates and reinterpreting classic and new chocolate combinations.

I hope you'll join me at Charles Chocolate for this event with Alice Medrich, please RSVP here, to guarantee admission.

Thursday, January 17th, 6-8pm

Charles Chocolates Chocolate Bar
6529 Hollis St.
Emeryville, CA

This event has had to be postponed due to illness, I will let you know as soon as it is rescheduled, which is likely to be early February.

Chicken Run and Jamie's Fowl Dinners

I have to agree like most people these two programmes shown recently on Channel 4 in the UK opened my eyes to the terrible conditions chickens are forced to live in across the UK and Ireland. I had a fair idea that they weren't exactly skipping through the Meadows or living a fulfilling life but to have the conditions they are forced to live in beamed into my living room last week was an eye opener. I think it is a very noble cause that Jamie and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have embarked upon by I do harbour a few reservations...

What annoys me these days is that every chef seems to have to find a new cause every year that whips up a public outcry! Now the cynic in me is telling me that this is more about the bottom line and book sales rather than a lifelong passion for the chosen cause. I would like to say that MR Whittingstall would be the one exception to this rule, i think that he is a truly passionate foodie and deserves praise for what he does. His success and book sales are simply a byproduct of his passion and knowledge which he fully deserves.

See the thing is these campaigns do work for a short period of time but there are factors, usually economic, that make these practices common place worldwide. I was recently in a well known supermarket where 2 organic chicken breasts were 11 euros. Can a single mother on benefits afford that? No. Would she rather buy a whole battery raised chicken for 5 euros, a bottle of wine and still have some change? Yes!


See its all very well these chefs who earn 6 and 7 figure sums per year lofitly preaching to us about what we should and shouldn't eat but when you earn 1500 euros a month and have 3 kids to feed you can stick your free range up your arse! How about these chefs started showing us recipes that use simple organic ingredients that are under a tenner and feed a family of 4! On second thoughts here is one to start you off! You'll find the ingredients list here on iFoods and i'll leave the decision on what type of bird you want to use up to you!

Sensible Foods: Favorite things

This won't come as any surprise to you I'm sure, but people are idiots. One day I experienced this first hand when I placed my laptop, which was inside a big backpack into the security machine at the airport. This was before the days of the trays. Out of the machine it came and on the back a big smear of mushed banana. Yes, the dork behind me had put his banana on the belt heading into the screening machine. Sigh.

There are times you need to bring a snack with you on the road, and these days, into the sky. Finding healthy snacks is really not that hard to manage. Many fruits and all dried fruit don't need refrigeration and neither do nuts. Other decent snack options, in my opinion, are Asian treats like rice crackers and wasabi peas.

Listening to Michael Pollan on Michael Pollan on National Public Radio recently I heard him talk about the price we are willing to pay for packaged, processed food. He pointed out these foods are expensive, unhealthy, and generally not good for the environment. Really, they barely qualify as food at all. Adding insult to injury, much of them don't really taste all that good. Oh I guess they do if you grew up eating them, but most processed snack foods, like those bright orange squiggles that are supposedly cheese flavored, taste pretty nasty to me.

My plan was to review a bunch of healthy, low-fat, snacks. But the ones I tasted were so crappy I couldn't see the point. The one packaged/processed snack that I really do like is called Sensible Foods, Crunch Dried Snacks. Most of the line is organic, GMO-free and includes no artificial flavors or colors. There are sweet fruit snacks including the Cherry Berry blend of apples, cherries, blueberries and strawberries and Orchard Blend which has apples, peaches and apricots, as well as a couple of savory versions too such as Roasted Soy Nuts and Organic Supersweet Corn which has a pinch of sea salt added. They taste really good are healthy and convenient and will never leave a big messy spot on anyone's backpack.

Chinese Food in Hawaii

I guess it's the same everywhere. If you're not celebrating Christmas or going to a New Year's Eve party, one of your best bets for finding an open restaurant is Chinese food. In Hawaii I had two memorable Chinese meals this time around. One was at Little Village Noodle House and the other at Panda Cuisine (NOT Panda Express!). Both restaurants were attractive, had excellent food and were inexpensive to boot. They also each have parking, so there you go.


At Little Village Noodle House the menu seems rather standard, but even the classic dishes are done well. The orange chicken we ordered for the kids was one of the best versions I've ever had. We ordered mostly from the specials menu which I highly recommend. The volcano pork chops were served from a tin foil pouch and were crispy and salty and studded with garlic. The hot pot dishes were rustic and hearty--one had lamb and the other pork and bitter melon. This is a fun place to go with a group and whether you are adventurous or like to stick with what you know, you can't go wrong.


My Hawaii sources all pointed to Panda Cuisine as the place for dim sum. But I was unprepared for how good the dim sum would be. Really. It put my local favorites to shame. The noodle dishes here were outstanding--possibly the best chow fun I've ever had. The noodles with thick but not gummy and the sauce delicate and balanced. The dumplings were really made with care and there was a cold smoked fish dish that was rich and flavorful and hard to resist. Best of all, they serve dim sum all day and all night and the menu features pictures of everything so there are few surprises of the "did we order that?" variety. I will definitely be back on my next trip.

Little Village Noodle House
1113 Smith Street
Honolulu, HI
808.545.3008

Panda Cuisine
641 Keeaumoku Street
Honolulu, HI
808.947.1688

Hank's Haute Dogs: Restaurant Review

Despite mixed reviews I was eager to try Hank's Haute Dogs. I rarely eat hot dogs at home, but on the road there is sometimes a special one that calls out to me like a Chicago style or in New York a Papaya King dog or a Nathan's frank in Brooklyn.

The story of Hank's Haute Dogs is probably what sent me there even more than the dogs. Apparently the owner was a prominent restaurateur in Chicago before returning to Hawaii where his parents had run a hot dog stand in the 40's and 50's. His hot dogs range from the classic Chicago style to some unusual specials like reindeer dogs, duck and foie gras and even the no dog. The no dog is a bun with chunks of local avocado, tomato, onion, cucumber, spicy chipotle mayo, piled high with grated cheddar and garnished with cilantro.

I had the Portuguese sausage which is commonly served in slices, as a breakfast side order, in Hawaii. It was topped with scrumptious melt-in-your-mouth grilled onions. If you are lucky, you can also get this sausage at the Kukui sausage stand at the farmers' market on Saturday mornings. The fries and onion rings are a must. The onion rings are made with Maui onions and are very lightly battered with a bit of panko crumbs. The fries are home made and crispy they way I like them. On the side we ordered what turned out to be a very mild wasabi tobiko cream and a spicy ketchup.

My biggest complaint about Hank's was that the buns were a little mushy. That said, I would probably go back. It was fun choosing a dog and the sides were particularly memorable.

Hank's Haute Dogs
324 Coral Avenue @ the Nimitz
Honolulu, Hawaii
808.532.4265

Cinnamon's Restaurant: Restaurant Review

Before I left for vacation I put out a call for restaurant recommendations. In the comments section I took particular notice of this entry:

For a casual breakfast/brunch, check out Cinnamon's Restaurant in Kailua. I love the loco moco there. A few blocks away is Agnes' Bake Shop. The malasadas are the best, better than Leonard's! Have fun, I'm jealous you are in Oahu.
 Chuck

Chuck, who by the way has a terrific food blog called Sunday Nite Supper, was right on the money.

Ending up in Kailua around lunch time one day, I suggested we give the place a try. Cinnamon's is hidden away inside a business complex in Kailua which is on the east side of Oahu. The menu is extensive and serves breakfast well into the lunch hour, which pleases the proponents of "second breakfasts" in our group. The friendly waitress typified the kind of hospitality you find almost everywhere in Hawaii--making suggestions, giving us extra time to figure out what to order and chatting with the kids at the table.

So what did we order? Lots of delicious things from both the breakfast and lunch menu. I had the Hawaiian plate which was enormous. Sumo size I'd say. I couldn't eat the whole thing. The lau lau was possibly the healthiest thing on the plate. A goodly portion of steamed taro leaves was filled with chunks of pork. The Kahlua pork was very smoky despite having been made in the oven. It was also juicy and not the least bit greasy.


Lee had what he proclaimed to be the best loco moco ever. Loco moco is a crazy dish of a hamburger patty, fried egg and gravy served over rice. It's filling and rich and somehow manages to be comfort food. Is the oozing egg yolk? The gravy and rice? I'm not sure. But it was tasty.


My father had a special item called guava chiffon pancakes. The buttermilk pancakes were just perfect--luscious and tender and topped with two tropical sauces. Delish.


Thanks for the comments and though I don't ask that often, thanks especially for your recommendations next time I'm leaving room for the malasadas...

Cinnamon's Restaurant
315 Uluniu Street
Kailua, Oahu
808.261.8724

BonBonBar: Favorite things

So on the day I vow to return to the gym there is a severe weather alert, bridges close, roofs and scaffolding blows into roadways as rain pours and winds approach 80 miles per hour. I dunno. Perhaps the universe is trying to tell me something? I'm pretty sure the message is "stay home and eat candy."

I've been following the blog Sweet Napa for ages and have to admit I was taken with Nina's idea for creating really high quality candy bars and confections from the moment she shared it with her readers. Now many moons later her company, BonBonBar is a reality. The philosophy behind the company is to use fresh ingredients that are organic and local whenever possible, that chocolate should only mingle with equally spectacular ingredients, like butter, cream, California nuts, vanilla beans, and sea salt and to banish artificial ingredients, including high-fructose corn syrup.

When Nina offered to send me some of her products I was thrilled. Of course my house was filled with candy and chocolate at the time but being the professional I am, I managed to give it a try nonetheless. Ah the sacrifices I make! One bite and I was smitten.

BonBonBar is selling only a few items at the moment and I can proudly say I have tried them all. The Malt Bar is like the world's best Kit Kat bar. It comes in both dark and milk chocolate and I was amazed that I actually liked the milk chocolate version best. The shortbread is crisp and buttery, the malty layer is rich and the chocolate coating just the right balance.



The Caramel Nut Bar is a combination of fresh and toasty mixed nuts, cocoa nibs, with a slightly salty caramel filling that is soft and gooey all covered in a deep dark chocolate.



The bars are a bit pricey at $5 a pop, but a really decadent treat. I shared them and found a little goes a long way. The marshmallows which come in passion fruit and vanilla were the biggest revelation. Frankly, I've not been impressed by "artisanal" marshmallows in the past. The ones I've tried have always been too rubbery and didn't have that strong a flavor. Worst of all, they didn't melt well in hot chocolate or in s'mores. The BonBonBar versions are light and fluffy and have a lovely texture, just like I was hoping for, and in addition they actually smell and taste like the flavors listed on the package.



None of these treats are fancy pants sophisticated confections, but are like idealized versions of things you probably loved as a child. For me, BonBonBar offers not just delicious and high quality treats, but the cure for candy nostalgia. Here's hoping Nina takes on a few of my other childhood favorites, a Chunky bar, and a Violet Crumble...