ITALIAN FOODIES

How nice has this weather been and it’s coming back on Sunday - yahoooo!! It’s been a pretty hectic week here, we are finally moving in to our new house next week so it’s all about the final touches now, going accessory shopping the weekend, Bru is very excited as you can imagine - cushions and candles are his favourites;) I will probably have to watch extra football as punishment:)

The new place is also keeping us busy, how nice to be moving house and opening a new business and running the old business at the same time, I’d recommend it to anyone, no stress involved at all - I DON’T THINK SO!!:) I think there is so much going on that I actually am not getting stressed at all but then me and Bru are pretty laid back, probably a bit too much sometimes but it helps in times like this!! I hate this stage of the new business as it’s all the legal and engineering stuff which I’m a bit allergic to, I prefer the nicer stage of doing the menu, design, PR, sourcing wine etc etc but it has to be done! We met with the engineer last week and one thing I’m really bad at is reading a plan so I was so confused by the end!! The thing is they think you understand all the architect and engineering jargon so I had to tell him to stop him at one stage and explain what the hell ME was as he kept saying it, for anyone who doesn’t know it’s Mechanical Engineering. He thought it was funny so I asked him what were the ingredients of pesto????? he got the message:) They are doing the plans for the layout of the kitchen, toilets etc and the main specs for the fire cert!! When opening a new restaurant the Fire Cert is the most important part in the initial stages and it takes 2 months so the pressure is on!!

We also met with the solicitor yesterday for the initial reading of the contracts so that’s all been sorted out next week, once that’s through I’ll start posting some pics so you can get an idea of the place. We also met an Interior Architect yesterday as we are going to need some help with the design as it is such a big space, we will bring all the furniture and bar from Italy but we need someone to put it altogether and make it look good and not something we threw together ourselves!!

With the busy week we’ve had and the lovely weather there hasn’t been a huge amount of cooking but we had this bruschetta the other day as I got some lovely bread at the french market and really good sliced gourmet mushrooms in Superquinn.

what you need:

 - 400g mushrooms - sliced

 - 250g sliced gourmet mushrooms(optional)

 - crusty bread

 - 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley finely chopped

 - juice of half lemon(optional)

 - 2 garlic cloves finely chopped

 - half white onion finely chopped(optional)

 - olive oil

 - sea salt and black pepper

 - 50g unsalted butter (about 2 tbsp)

 
what to do:

 - toast your bread under the grill on both sides.

 - melt your butter over a low heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add your mushrooms and cook for about 10 mins. If you like cream you can add some here if you like but I’m watching the hips;)

 - add your lemon juice and parsley and season well. 
 
 - serve the mushroom mix on your toasted bread and dine “al fresco” with a glass of “vino bianco”!!!

You can vary this recipe by adding some pancetta, parma ham or a poached egg on top!!

buon appetito!!!

p.s. there is something wrong with blog.com so apologies for the layout and to anyone trying to use the tag list or read older posts!! I have to move but I don’t even know where to start, a friend of mine has promised he’s going to move me to wordpress so hopefully it will happen soon!!

I can’t believe Christmas is around the corner, I say this every year and tell myself that next year I will be more organised but of course this will never happen, I will still be doing my shopping on Christmas Eve as usual. I can’t even use the princess as an excuse as I’ve always been the same:) I actually miss the restaurant this time of year as December is a great month in the restaurant calendar, mainly for the turnover;) but also the atmosphere and buzz of the party dining season. Everyone is glammed up to the nines, the vino is flowing freely and everybody eating out is there for enjoyment and celebration which makes the restaurant a happy place to work in at this time of year! The Christmas season doesn’t really affect La Cucina as it’s a take-away so we don’t actually get much busier, if anything the weekend’s get quieter. We close from the 22 Dec until Jan 3 just to give ourselves a break and give us the option of going to Italy if we want to. We’re not going this year as everybody is staying put so there will probably be up to 25 of us at the MIL’s again this year - BRING ON THE FEAST:)

I’ve been dying with the flu for the last few days so I’ve been trying to incorporate more veg into my diet at lunch instead of the regular ham and cheese ciabatta so I made this yesterday after having a big bowl of minestrone. I know asparagus isn’t in season but I’m forced to buy it from my local supermarket and it never was in season as it was coming from Peru during the summer and still is! This bruschetta is great for a light lunch or a simple starter and is quick and easy to make.

WHAT YOU NEED:

 - 1 bunch asparagus spears

 - 2 slices bruschetta bread or ciabatta

 - 1 garlic clove

 - extra virgin olive oil

 - sea salt and black pepper

 - balsamic vinegar

 - shavings of Parmesan cheese

WHAT TO DO:

 - snap off the hard woody bases of asparagus about halfway down the spear.

 - season spears and brush with some olive oil

 - heat a griddle pan and cook your asparagus until it has the charred marks on it. Put a heavy pot or pan on top and press down to cook faster.

 - using the same grill pan or a second one cook your bread on both sides until lightly browned and charred.

 - rub your garlic on one side of your bread and drizzle some olive oil.

 - arrange your asparagus on the prepared bruschetta, sprinkle with the balsamic vinegar and garnish with shavings of Parmesan cheese.

  Buon Appetito!!

p.s. there is another great new Limerick food blog on the blogging scene, Sarah has always been a great Italian Foodies commenter and is a big foodie,  if her recipes so far are a taste of what’s to come, we are in for a real treat!! Check her out here!!

p.p.s - I’m trying to organise my sister’s hen party in Dublin in Feb and have no idea where to eat, I was thinking Eden or Venu, would love some suggestions if anybody has any ideas??? HELP MEEEEE!!!!