Happy New Year!

It's New Years Day here in Ireland and it is bucketing down rain.  We have had some serious storms over the last while which had left large parts of the country without power. for a little while.  Luckily the rain held off for the large open air concert in Dublin City last night.  We were not in the city, we rang in the New Year with friends in the local pub which was good fun!

 

Here's how my day panned out yesterday.  I was in work for a half day and had planned to take the bus in but instead Ciaran gave me a lift and we went for coffee beforehand.  I finished work and took the short bus ride to my parents house for lunch.  It was really nice and I enjoyed a glass of wine too.

 

Here is the table all laid out for dinner in my parents house.

 

For dessert there was a chocolate cake from the Butler's Pantry.  Yum!

 

At 7.30 we met friends in the Tap House for food.  The gang split at about 10.30pm with some going in to the City Centre for the NYE concert which "Madness" playing at.  About 8 of us stayed in the pub to ring in the New Year, leaving for home at about 12.30pm in 2014!

The sliders were great!

As was the platter of steak bites

Here I am pretending to be a giant while eating my slider!

All in all we had a good night, I hope you enjoyed your celebrations too!

Dessert Buffet!

Here's some pics of the dessert buffet at the Sandos San Blas Hotel in Tenerife (no wonder I put on 8lbs in 7 days!!)

We sat out for lunch every day - I had to eat my ice cream quickly before it melted.  The cake behind the ice cream was chocolate coconut cream cake - it was my favourite!

Macaroons - really good!

I like mille feuille!

I always sampled the chocolate desserts......

Pink cake!!!

 

More pink cake!!

Ranelagh Village

We went for a short stroll after breakfast, in Coffee Society, this morning.  It is cold but nice and bright so I took a few pics of some of the different shops in the area.

 

Here's "Goodfello's Pizza" - we have never had pizza from here.

Dahlia Shoe Boutique

Galvin Estate Agents (that's Ciaran looking in the window!)

Ranelagh Credit Union

One of two chippers in Ranelagh

Subway

 

Wine Buff - wine shop

Kinara Kitchen (the speakeasy is above this restaurant)

Bow & Pearl Boutique

Nick's Coffee - with a fresh paint job!

Beautiful Kitchens (February 2014)

On arrival back from Tenerife, Ciaran found that a copy of "Beautiful Kitchens" (February 2014) had been sent in the mail to him.  Our kitchen, handcrafted by Dean Cooper Furniture, is featured in this edition.

 

Photography in the Beautiful Kitchens feature is by Rory Corrigan while the feature is written by Judith Robinson-Lyttle

A picture of our kitchen made the contents page!  

The caption is "There is always room for extra guests in this glass-walled dining space with bench"

"The Right Angle: Every inch of space has been maximised to incorporate sleek innovative kitchen design"

 

Myself and the dog posed for the picture on the right hand side

"Ciaran designed a light-filled structure to house the new kitchen and dining area, which opens into a small courtyard"

"Clever Storage: This tall larder is deceptively spacious with ample room for dry-food storage.  No need for handles or recesses, simply push to release"

* BTW, I'd like say that my larder always looks like this but it was actually styled for the shoot :-(

"Old meets new: the original Victorian stair spindles provide a contrast with the modern kitchen beyond"

"Blending in: Appliances are neatly concealed behind pocket doors and, even when they are in use, Ciaran ensured that they blend with the overall scheme"

"Free flowing: the huge glazed doors open onto a little  courtyard looking inside and out, while the stone boundary wall adds a unique dimension to the room"

Ciaran says "If you find it difficult to describe the look you're hoping to achieve, create a scrapbook of styles you like"

"Design Solution:  Dean Cooper explains......"

I know the adage is to never work with children or animals but honestly Bones was so good in order to get this picture!

Follow ODKM on Facebook to lots more of their fabulous work!


Kitchen of the Week on the Beautiful Kitchens website!


 

Los Roques - Tenerife

On our last night we ate in the Michellin Rated "Los Roques" in Los Abrigos, Tenerife.

It was a stunning night, perfect temperature with no discernible breeze and we were seated just in off the open terrace.  I had a lovely view of the Los Abrigos harbour which was wonderfully atmospheric.

We chose the 7 course tasting menu with our gracious host Peter allowing us to switch out the dessert for an alternative.

There was an excellent cocktail menu so for pre-dinner drinks I had a cosmopolitan while Ciaran had an Old Fashioned.  My cosmo was perfect the cranberry juice had a just sharp enough taste with a nice kick of alcohol.

 

We both enjoyed the amuse bouche of Orange & Carrot soup (best carrot soup I've ever tasted!)

First dish up was a prawn bisque which we both agreed was very good.

Next up was a smooth pate with caramelised onion - I adored this. It's a dish I order regularly in most restaurants.  It is a restaurant staple but it was done exceedingly well by Los Roques - the caramelised onion was nearly like a jam.

Best tasting Thai fish cake - our favourite dish (which surprised us very much as looking at the menu we would have not thought it would have been a contender for us)! The cucumber salad it was served with was light and refreshing with flavours that amused and delighted the palate.  The salad was in a dressing that I would describe nearly as a watery broth.  The liquid was divine - I wonder what was in it?!

 

Even at the end of the meal we agreed that the fish cake was our favourite.....with maybe the dessert coming a close second.

Served on a slate was Gado-Gado which was a supremely tasty peanut dish with lots of lovely crunchy vegetable. It had a little heat added (to your desired level).

The fish course was sea bass which was in the richest deepest tomato stew/sauce with tasty beans - delicious!

 

And then the most tender beef rib - again gorgeous but served with the one item on the menu that neither Ciaran and I cared for - this was a side of aubergine puree.  The aubergine puree was a little unappealing looking and not to our taste.

Finally the chocolatiest of chocolate desserts - Baileys Ice cream in a chocolate egg seated atop the most amazing brownie.  The brownie was deep and dark as well as being perfectly gooey.  I am still dreaming of it!

Needed to smash it like an egg to break open the rich dark chocolate - fun!

We enjoyed our night in this restaurant so much.  It was the perfect ending to our Tenerife Trip.  We both loved every single piece of food and agreed that it was very good value for money.

Along with the food being superb the staff are excellent.  The pacing of the tasting menu was excellent with us spending just under 3 hours over dinner. 

I should also mention that we did order a bottle of wine which was very good - it was a French wine - Chateau Gravier Figeac, Saint-Emilion and we followed dinner with a further cocktail.  Another Old Fashioned for Ciaran with a Belvedere Vodka Diet Coke for myself.

All in all a great night and a relief to get away from the Buffet in our hotel!!
If you are ever in Tenerife you need to eat here!