THE game hunting season may be coming to a close but you can still choose from delicious pheasant, partridge, hare, duck, snipe, woodcock … the list goes on. However, you can buy rabbit and pigeon, and some types of venison all year round so there’s no need to miss out.
Game is a fantastic, healthy alternative to red meats – it’s lean, low in cholesterol, versatile and so easy to cook. While the weather is still chilly, cosy casseroles, juicy roasts and warming curries all lend themselves beautifully to the rich, full flavour of game.
To whet your appetite, try this excellent game recipe:
Ramsay’s Claridges loses star…
THE TURBULENT year that was 2009 for Gordon Ramsay seems destined to continue in 2010 as Michelin have taken back their coveted star from one of the chef’s restaurants. Gordon Ramsay at Claridges lost its star last week as the results for the 2010 Michelin guide were leaked, but in better news, his flagship restaurant, at Royal Hospital Road, has retained its three stars for another year.
WHO tackle alcohol misuse…
EVERY year, without fail, we vow to do this and to do that as we aim to uphold the new year’s resolutions set in the early days of January. Some regard chocolate, fizzy drinks, cigarettes, alcohol or even to shed a pound or two as the must do for 2010.
It’s still only the middle of January and a few weeks in to the beginning of a new decade and already more than a third of us will have abandoned our good New Year intentions! In fact one in five of us (21%) broke our New Year resolution before we even finished the first verse of Auld Land Syne, and more than a third (39%) abandoned our vows by midnight on January 2!
While more than half (53%) of the population might not keep to their resolution within the first week, a third of the population (37%) ignores the resolution tradition completely, opting for a laissez-faire approach to the New Year tradition.
A recent survey has shown that we make one resolution a year and the majority that keep them are in the minority.
Deadly virus threatens Bordeaux
REPORTS from Bordeaux this week indicate that their precious crop yield from the region is under threat and attack following the outbreak of a deadly virus. The vine disease, Flavescence Dorée, is taking hold in the region, and threatening to become as big a problem as Phylloxera.
Decanter reports that the disease – the ‘golden’ name comes from the colour that it turns the leaves before they die off – is carried by the cicadelle (an insect known as a leaf hopper) and causes the slow destruction of vines. This leads initially to heavy loss of yields, and eventually to the loss of entire vineyards.
Industry professionals have said that; “This is a serious problem across France, and the authorities are watching it closely, adding that “legally, we have to pull up any vines that are affected by Flavescance Dorée, and carry out preventative treatments on all vines within the same area, including neighbouring vineyards.”
It’s now a wait and see for the winemakers of the famous French region.
THE Wine world reports that Champagne is being edged out of the sparkling wine market by cheap and cheerful southern cousins such as prosecco from Italy and cava from Spain.
Recession-hit drinkers are tightening their belts and forsaking the luxury of a bottle of Dom Perignon or Veuve Clicquot for something easier on the wallet.
Over Christmas and in the lead-up to New Year, sales of prosecco were up by 60-70 per cent at some Irish supermarkets, while Tesco and M&S saw a huge percentage increase in demand for its own-label prosecco.
Shipments of champagne to these islands plunged almost 32 per cent in the first nine months of the year, according to the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, the producers’ professional body, although sales picked up in the few weeks leading up to the festive season after supermarkets offered heavily discounted champagnes.
Despite the spike in champagne sales, consumers seem to have developed a taste for cheaper equivalents such as prosecco, the dry, fizzy white wine produced in northern Italy, and cava, most of which comes from Catalonia in Spain.
The report goes on to say that last year, for the first time ever, Italy exported more of its sparkling wine than it consumed, according to the Italian Food and Wine Institute.
Light-bodied and fruity, prosecco typically sells for between €9 and €16 euro a bottle. Mixed with peach juice, it becomes a Bellini, the drink which gave the famous Harry’s Bar in Venice world-wide cachet. It is more affordable because most of it is fermented in large sealed tanks and then transferred to bottles.
In contrast, champagne is produced bottle by bottle, as dictated by the traditional method invented by the French monk Dom Perignon in the 17th century, a process that takes longer and is far more costly. Italy’s prosecco makers hope to leverage the new-found popularity of their product to launch a long-term challenge to the supremacy of champagne.
AS THE New year kicks off to a cold and frosty start, Slow Food Limerick and Region bring us details of two items that food lovers should take note of. First is at home with the award winning Mustard Seed Restaurant bringing diners their excellent “Artisan Menu”. Available from Sunday’s through to Thursday between 7 and 8pm, the dishes that are up for grabs include; Smoked Haddock and pea risotto with a mustard veloute; Rigney’s free range pork sausage with a cannellini bean, chorizo and pea salad, and tomato fondue; Herb crusted hake with an aubergine and roast pepper ragout, salsa verde and slow roasted cherry tomatoes and from the dessert range, a warm, pressed, chocolate soufflé cake with brownie ice cream. Priced at €37 per person, this three course menu, with tea or coffee holds many local treats to savour. Seek a table at the Mustard Seed on 069-68508
