Making a Piping Bag with Greaseproof Paper

Making and baking and decorating and filling! In common these jobs all use, at some stage, 

a Piping Bag!

These useful catering bags come in all shapes and sizes and are made from a variety of materials. There is a massive selection of nozzels available to buy depending on the type of job you're doing. They are used for cake decorating, making choux eclairs or swans etc, piping potato dishes, making biscuits and hundreds of other uses.

There are times when a small pointed piping bag is required for a simple wee job like writing a name on a birthday cake or such and you are only going to use a little bit of cream or icing.

That is when you need to be able to fold together a quick little Greaseproof-Paper Piping Bag.

Well... here is how you do just that!

Fold a sheet of greaseproof paper corner to corner. It doesn't matter if it's a square or rectangle piece to start with as long as you fold it corner to corner, giving you a long fold in the centre

Keep the fold smooth and straight as you cut it with a sharp knife

The general stating position is to point the right-angled corner to your elbow, letting the smallest corner drop

Catch this bottom corner and fold it around your hand

Do not let go of the inside corner and complete the wrap around to look like this

Moving your two hands, slide the two corners gently up and down to tighten and sharpen the point of the cone  

Don't worry if it doesn't seem to be working, first time, as this part will take a little practice!

When you have a sharp point on the piping bag pinch the two top ends of the paper cone together and hold them tight - nearly there!

Fold the ends of the cone back on themselves, to tie the ends of the bag together and stop it from falling apart

It is now ready for use. It's a good idea to make a few of these in advance - they will sit inside each other for storage and you can keep them ready in a little plastic tub for easy access. Like many things in life....practice makes perfect on this one!

Fill the piping bag with your cream or icing and snip off the point to the desired piping size. Use a new bag if you need to. Don't try to re-fill the first one,  it doesn't work!

You can also go to the website http://www.irishfoodguide.ie/

and check out the Best Irish Food Guides, our Blog, IFG Daily News or chat on Twitter

all from the one place!

Don't forget to Feed the Fish at the end of this post!
zack

LocalMarkets.ie Celebrates National Launch !

Online Irish Food Producer Marketplace Goes National!

An innovative online retail business, that offers customers the convenience of having premium quality food delivered to their own home, is celebrating the launch of its new nationwide service.

 LocalMarkets.ie, a Cork-based business that was established last year, aims to help consumers throughout Ireland connect with the thriving local producer food scene – even if the pressure of their daily lives means they don’t have time to regularly visit their much-loved local farmers’ market or favourite local producer!

The company’s delivery service, which initially extended across Cork city and county, has now been expanded to include the entire 32 counties. Founder of LocalMarkets.ie, Rory McCann, says it’s a decision that’s been driven by repeat requests from prospective customers:

“The decision to go national had always been part of our long-term business plan, but with the number of queries coming in we decided that we couldn’t delay the launch of our nationwide service any longer. Commuters, rural-dwellers, busy parents and those following gluten-free or other special diets, have been especially keen to see the website go national. There’s certainly a substantial number of people out there who are eager to shop for authentic local Irish food, but because of their location or hectic lifestyles, some food enthusiasts just don’t get an opportunity to visit their local market, producer or specialty delicatessen. For these people, a site like LocalMarkets.ie is the ideal way to support Irish producers and the most convenient way to enjoy superior quality food”.

The English Market in Cork

Much of the food available on LocalMarkets.ie is offered by producers who operate stalls and retail outlets in Cork’s renowned English Market as well as from Mahon Point Farmers’ Market (voted Best Farmers’ Market in Ireland 2010 by Good Food Ireland and The Bridgestone Guide). As the website grows in popularity, it’s expected that more producers from all parts of Ireland will begin to utilise the website in order to sell their fresh fish, smoked fish, premium meat cuts, charcuterie, cheese, condiments, baked goods and much more, to a wider, national customer base.

A Larger Selection of Irish Cheeses

According to McCann, LocalMarkets.ie is not a traditional retail website, but is styled along the lines of a food ‘movement’.

“Before a new product becomes available on LocalMarkets.ie, we like to know that its producers share our philosophy – that truly great food is only created by taking the time to use the very best ingredients and the very highest standard of food production techniques. We’re passionate about local food and we believe that sustainable food production and offering producers sustainable profit margins are important aspects of encouraging growth in Ireland’s valuable food sector."

Fresh Fish Every Day

"It’s also why we represent producers at outdoor events and food markets, particularly when the logistics of reaching a faraway venue or staffing an additional food stall pose difficulty for a small food business that may have limited resources. It’s a broad and novel approach to business, but so far we’ve been bowled over by the positive response – from both producers and consumers”, he explains.

Gluten-free and many other types of Bread

“We’re not just a retail website. We have an ethos that’s not too far from a traditional co-op approach. We’re passionate about local food and we believe that sustainable food production and offering producers sustainable profit margins are important aspects of encouraging growth in Ireland’s valuable food sector. It’s also why we represent producers at outdoor events and food markets, particularly when the logistics of reaching a far away venue or staffing an additional food stall pose difficulty for a small food business that may have limited resources. It’s a broad and novel approach to business, but so far we’ve been bowled over by the positive response – from both producers and consumers”, he explains.

Fresh Vegetables to your Door!

Irish foodies who are interested in finding out more about the food movement, or availing of the new nationwide delivery service, can log on to www.LocalMarkets.ie, where they can create a user account.

Once registered with the website, customers can browse product sections by category (e.g. by food product, by producer/food label etc.), collect reward points and use the website’s convenient re-ordering service for their favourite products.

Producers who would like to sell their produce via the LocalMarkets.ie website, are invited to register their interest by emailing info@localmarkets.ie

Don't forget to feed the fish at the bottom of this post!

zack

Ulster Regional Finals of the Irish Restaurant Awards 2011 #raiawards

The Restaurant Association of Ireland #raiawards11
The Irish Restaurants Awards for the Province of Ulster were held on Monday 4^th April 2011, in The Merchant Hotel, Belfast. Over 250 people from the hotel & restaurant trade attended the ceremony and came from all corners of the region.

Sponsored by Santa Rita / Sunday Independent LIFE Magazine the awards are organised by the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI). The event recognizes achievement and excellence in the Restaurant and Hospitality Industry throughout the Island of Ireland and celebrates all aspects of the Industry.

Full List of Regional Winners for Ulster are:

2011 Best Customer Service Award Donegal            Harveys Point Hotel

2011 Best Customer Service Award Armagh             Pretty Marys

2011 Best Customer Service Award Antrim               Shu Restaurant

2011 Best Customer Service Award Cavan               The Olde Post Inn

2011 Best Customer Service Award Derry                Beech Hill Country House

2011 Best Customer Service Award Down               Jeffers By The Marina

2011 Best Customer Service Award Tyrone             Oysters Restaurant

2011 Best Customer Service Award Monaghan       Snaffles Restaurant

2011 Best Wine Experience - Ulster Winner              Alden's

2011 Best Casual Dining Award Armagh                  Yellow Door Deli

2011 Best Casual Dining Award Donegal                 Kealys Seafood Restaurant

2011 Best Casual Dining Award Antrim                    Boca Restaurant

2011 Best Casual Dining Award Tyrone                    Rue Bar & Grill

2011 Best Casual Dining Award Cavan                     Murph’s Bistro

2011 Best Casual Dining Award Derry                      Halo Pantry & Grill

2011 Best Casual Dining Award Down                     Coyle’s Bistro

2011 Best Casual Dining Award Monaghan             Conor’s Bar Castle Leslie

2011 Best Hotel Restaurant Award Armagh             Newforge Country House

2011 Best Hotel Restaurant Award Donegal            Castlegrove House Hotel

2011 Best Hotel Restaurant Award Monaghan         Snaffles Restaurant

2011 Best Hotel Restaurant Award Antrim               The Dunandry

2011 Best Hotel Restaurant Award Cavan               Slieve Russell Hotel

2011 Best Hotel Restaurant Award Derry                 Beech Hill Restaurant

2011 Best Hotel Restaurant Award Tyrone              Tullylagan Country House

2011 Best Hotel Restaurant Award Down                The Olde Inn

2011 Best Gastro Pub Award Donegal                    Harrys Bar & Restaurant

2011 Best Gastro Pub Award Armagh                     Digbys

2011 Best Gastro Pub Award Antrim                       The Morning Star Bar & Restaurant

2011 Best Gastro Pub Award Cavan                       The Blackhorse Inn

2011 Best Gastro Pub Award Derry                         Metro Bar

2011 Best Gastro Pub Award Monaghan                Andy’s Bar

2011 Best Gastro Pub Award Tyrone                      The Coach Inn

2011 Best Gastro Pub Award Down                        Boyles of Drumore

2011 Best Chef Award Monaghan                          Raymond mcArdle

2011 Best Chef Award Tyrone                                James Divine, Deli on the Green

2011 Best Chef Award Derry                                  Ian Oar, Brown’s Restaurant

2011 Best Chef Award Cavan                                Nevin McGUire, McNean House

2011 Best Chef Award Down                                 Joery Castle, The Boat House Restaurant

2011 Best Chef Award Antrim                                Brian Mc Cann, Shu Restaurant

2011 Best Chef Award Armagh                             James Neilly, Manor Park

2011 Best Chef Award Donegal                            Darren Iddon, Solis Lough Eske

2011 Best Chef Award Fermanagh                       Noel McMeel, Lough Erne Resort

2011 Best Restaurant Award Tyrone                     Oysters Restaurant

2011 Best Restaurant Award Fermanagh             No.6

2011 Best Restaurant Award Cavan                      McNean House

2011 Best Restaurant Award Down                      The Boathouse

2011 Best Restaurant Award Derry                       Browns Restuarant

2011 Best Restaurant Award Donegal                 The Mill Restaurant

2011 Best Restaurant Award Antrim                     Telfords Restaurant

2011 Best Restaurant Award Monaghan              Restaurant at Nuremore

2011 Best Restaurant Award Armagh                  Uluru Bistro

The County winners will now compete for the Regional and All Ireland Titles in the Burlington Hotel Dublin on Wednesday 25th May 2011.

See www.irishrestaurantawards.com for more.

Congratulations to all those took part from Zack at the http://www.irishfoodguide.ie/

Book of Recipes & Stories to support Cancer Services

“In the Pot” is a collection of recipes and anecdotes from well known personalities, cancer survivors & their
families. Devised and co-written by Linda Kinsella, the book contains over 80 delicious recipes, ranging from
traditional Irish stew to Foie Gras Parfait to Orange Cointreau Jelly, with many contributors sharing heartfelt
stories and anecdotes on food, love and life!

Throughout the cookbook you will also find expert wine pairing suggestions by Kevin O’Brien of O’Briens
Wines.

All proceeds of the cookbook are in the aid of the Cancer Clinical Research Trust and patient care at
St. Vincent's Hospital

The cookbook was complied and created by Linda Kinsella and Frank Buckley, who recognise that “In the Pot” would not have been possible without the help and goodwill of many individuals including : Gay Byrne, Jenny Buckley, Joe Duffy, Sen. David Norris, Brent Pope, Niall Quinn, Jeremy Irons, Podge & Podge, Miriam O’Callaghan, Cathy Kelly, Maeve Binchy, Darina Allen, Bertie Ahern, Ken Doherty and Prof. John Crown.

You can find out more about the book and where to purchase it here at
http://www.inthepot.ie/index.html

Or you can phone the author Linda Kinsella direct for a copy on 086 660 7901

Don't forget to Feed the Fish at the bottom of this post!
zack

Recipes from Ireland required for Rachel Gaffney's new American TV Show

Rachel Gaffney has lived in the US for 15 years.

She is an American mother with and Irish soul. She teaches cooking classes and does frequent cooking segments for ABC, CBS. She has guested on 'The Martha Stewart Show' - a very popular American syndicated TV Cooking Show.

Rachel is looking for creative recipes from Ireland for a new American look at Ireland's food with a view to rejuvenating America's view of what Irish modern food is all about. She wants to feature a recipe from all 32 Counties in Ireland!

Rachel showing Martha Stewart how to make Irish Butter Shortbread!

The object of the program is to reflect the essence of your county in the dish that you are preparing. This is totally dependant on your location whether it be on the coast with it's abudance of fresh fish and seafood, or inland with the lush green patures giving dairy product and lean meats.

They will reproduce 50 of the submitted recipes for on line videos. Each will be expertly produced by Bob Altman, Emmy Award winning producer, former executive producer of The Martha Stewart Show, producer of Everyday Food Series for PBS, Martha Stewart Weddings for Style Network and many more on American network TV.

Full credit will be given to you and your business, linking people to your website, making this a great way for home cooks and artisan producers to gain some extra exposure to your blog or business.

Simple rules apply and the recipe will be re-created by professional TV chefs for broadcast.

You must live in the county you are representing.

You must use fresh ingredients (no processed foods)

The recipe must not be too complicated (as it will be condensed into a 2-3minute video clip)

It can be an Appetizer, Bread, Dip, Drink/Cocktail, Entree, Dessert or any other type of dish.

Remember you have to Highlight your County and some of its local produce in order to be considered.

Full details are here on her website at:

http://rachelgaffney.blogspot.com/

and here
RECIPES FROM IRELAND

Farmgate Café, Cork awarded Bord Bia’s Just Ask! Restaurant of the Month for April 2011

1^st April, 2011 and Farmgate Café, Cork has been awarded Bord Bia’s Just Ask! Restaurant of the Month for April 2011.  Situated overlooking Cork’s famed English Market; Farmgate Café is an example of what is best about sourcing ingredients locally. Farmgate Café prides itself on using fresh Irish food that has travelled as short a distance as possible to reach customers’ plates, with almost all of the produce coming straight from the market counters downstairs.

Farmgate Café only uses beef, lamb, chicken, eggs and vegetables produced in Ireland. Against the backdrop of a bustling market, freshly shucked oysters are brought straight to the table from O’Connell’s fish stall downstairs. Meat, locally reared, comes from trusted Market craft butchers, and the finest of fresh fish is chosen every morning from O’Connell’s and Ballycotton Seafood – the Market is the café’s larder. Cork cheese makers, Molaga Honey and Thornhill Organic salad leaves from West Cork are delivered directly to the Café.

Just Ask! is a Bord Bia campaign which aims to encourage consumers to look for information on where their food comes from when eating out and encourages chef’s to provide the information on their menus. According to recent research from Bord Bia, 81% of Irish diners believe it’s important that restaurants use local produce with 72% deeming it important that the origin of meat is listed on the menu.

Farmgate Café owner, Kay Harte said, “Situated in the oldest Market in Ireland, centuries old traditional, seasonal, regional, even ‘forgotten’ foods are at the core of Farmgate ethos, and a visible link between the menu and the wonderful array of produce downstairs in the Market plays a key role in how our menu is written each day. We work closely with Market traders, as well as an array of local and regional producers to bring simple but wonderful Irish food to the table.”

Georgina Campbell said, “Farmgate provides a uniquely Irish eating experience and plays a role in supporting a vibrant Irish food culture while truly embracing how good indigenous ingredient and food products are and as virtually all ingredients are purchased from the market downstairs daily, or from other trusted suppliers nearby, it doesn’t come much fresher or more local than this.”

As part of Bord Bia’s Just Ask! programme, restaurants listed on Georgina Campbell’s ireland-guide.com website are invited to submit copies of their menus and sourcing statements.  On a monthly basis, a Just Ask! winner is chosen by Georgina Campbell in agreement with Bord Bia. In addition, an overall Just Ask! annual award winner is selected as part of the Georgina Campbell Awards which take place during October.

To get involved in Just Ask! or to find out more, see www.bordbia.ie. With so many great value restaurants right on your doorstep, eating out is still on the menu!

For more information on Farmgate Café visit www.farmgate.ie/corkhome.htm

Nouvelle Cuisine inventor, Paul Bocuse, named Chef of the 20th Century

The Frenchman credited with inventing nouvelle cuisine has been named 'Chef of the 20th century'. Frenchman Paul Bocuse, credited as the father of "Nouvelle Cuisine" and the first of the modern celebrity chefs, was named "Chef of the Century" by America's leading cooking school on Wednesday.

Frenchman Paul Bocuse, credited as the father of modern "Nouvelle Cuisine" and the first of his kind of international TV celebrity chefs, was named "Chef of the Century" by America's leading cooking school on Wednesday. The Culinary Institute of America named Bocuse the top chef of the 20th century, citing the 85-year-old's legendary career in which he transformed both food on plates and the lives of the people who cooked.

"He is one of the greatest, most significant chefs of all time," Tim Ryan, president of the institute said at an event with Bocuse in New York prior to the awards ceremony on Wednesday evening. Ryan said Bocuse led the movement in the 1960s and '70s in France that became known as "Nouvelle Cuisine" – The New Cooking Style, and was typified by experimentation, new care over presentation and attention to fresh ingredients.

He also brought cooks out of the anonymity of the kitchen and into the media, becoming the first celebrity chef of the modern era.

The term ‘nouvelle cuisine’ has been used many times in the history of French cuisine and in the 1890s even the cooking of Georges Auguste Escoffier was described with the term.

The Michelin Guide elevated Bocuse and his Lyon restaurant ‘L'Auberge’ to its top three-star rating in 1965 and has maintained him there ever since – the all-time record for longevity in that status. “While other cooks gallop after fads – orientalist cuisine, or fusion, or molecular or whatever next – Bocuse, they say, keeps the faith”. Considered a French icon, Bocuse, has said that the secret of success in the kitchen is simple food, simple ingredients and simple cooking. Here is a link to L'Auberge Restaurant Menu.

“You can not forget the good ingredients. If there are not good ingredients, there is no good cooking," he said at the New York event, adding: "There is no great or small cooking -- there is only good."

His impact on gastronomy has been described as “indelible”. But as for his role in inventing "Nouvelle Cuisine," Bocuse is less than eager to accept the honour, saying the term was a media invention and the cooking was not  "some incredible revolution."

The ‘Formula’ that defined Nouvelle Cuisine was based around 10 characteristics of this new style of cooking. The ten characteristics identified were:

• A rejection of over complicating the dish.
• Cooking-times for most fish, seafood, game birds, veal, green vegetables and pâtés were greatly reduced in an attempt to preserve the natural flavours. Steaming food became a new trend.
• The dishes were made with the freshest possible ingredients.
• Large menus were abandoned in favour of shorter menus.
• Strong marinades were no longer used to mask the true flavours of meat and game.
• They stopped using heavy sauces thickened with flour-based roux, in favour of seasoning their dishes with fresh herbs, high quality butter, lemon juice, and vinegar.
• They used traditional & regional dishes for inspiration.
• New techniques and modern equipment were embraced. Bocuse even used microwave ovens.
• The chefs paid close attention to the dietary needs of their guests through their dishes.
• The chefs were extremely inventive and created new combinations and pairings.

 By the middle of the 1980’s many chefs began returning to the classical style of cooking, although much of the lighter presentations and new techniques of Nouvelle Cuisine remain to this day.

Known for his humorous approach to the hard work of being a globe-trotting chef, Bocuse once joked: "Nouvelle Cuisine was nothing on the plate, but everything on the bill.”

He was not alone in this particular line of thought!

Don’t forget to feed the fish at the bottom of this post!

zack

References:

Yahoo.com

Wikipedia.com