Larder Waterfords newest foodie treasure

This week i stumbled upon one of Waterford's newest foodie ventures and i fell head over heels.
If you like condiments, jams and cakes and breads this is the place for you.

They pride themselves on using local produce and rightly so the owner comes from a very wide background in sales for multinational companies and the idea for the larder was a very straight forward one. like many of us often wonder would we rather work incredibly hard every day to pay the bills selling our soul or would we rather take a chance and do the thing that would bring us the most joy? Patrick very bravely chose to take the dive and open his very own dream store.

and to stock locally found producers and some specialty products such as high end flavored oils and even the finest italian products.To provide gluten free freshly baked goods by Josephine and her family who use spelt. you can literally taste the love in every bite of these wonderful breads. they even have spelt pizza bases which are a wonderful idea and the prices on these items are very fair. So far he has been selling out of bread almost daily. Which is wonderful for such a new venture. He also made a very smart choice in getting Niamh from savage kitchen to bring him wonderful treats. She makes the finest tea cake i have ever had and now she is after upping the game further with her yumyums/cronuts. I am officially hooked on those bad boys. and her savoury scone creations are so inventive and tasty. from pear and blue cheese to feta and olives,simply incredible. she has her own company and creates wonderful cakes for all occasions. Here is a link to her facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SavageBaker?fref=ts

 the variety in the store is amazing they have joan and bobs juicy james and aurelias cordials. I could go on and on but i suggest you visit for yourself and see the variety in store.

The way the lay out of the store has been done is adorable and made all the more amazing by the fact that every single shelf is made from recycled materials. I have loved my time here. the only thing I could not get 100 percent behind was the coffee. It is bewleys and a fine blend of bewleys at that. definitely one of the better i have tasted but unfortunatly did not amaze me as much as the rest of the store. I will say i am incredibly fussy when it comes to coffee and my tastes are very much so my own. It was by no means a bad coffee just not my favorite in town

Please pop down to this store and support a brand new exciting venture.

sea bream with ginger, garlic,orange and scallions and sweet potato wedges

So i find working in a fish mongers people do not appreciate how easy fast and tasty fish can be.
Fish is without a doubt incredibly good for you also but lets forget about that side of things for a minute. lets purely see fish as a lazy mans dinner, lets try and convert you all into forgetting the healthy side for a moment and purely do it as an easy dinner. it took 20 minutes in all to make this dinner and that was including all the prep. it would take me more than 20 minutes to select what take away i wanted to eat on an average night and it would then take me time to ring them and wait for it. i would then spend about €10 on my one meal. Where as if you buy fish all the tasty ingredients and all it will be ready in 20 minutes tops, will taste amazing and will cost you a fraction of the price.

Seriously easy to make. chop up some veg stuff it in the fish put the fish in tinfoil in the oven and take it out plate it up and its done. I often have people come into the shop and ask me how do i cook the fish.and being honest not so long ago i would have had no idea myself of how easy fish is to cook.

I had a fear of fish, when i was a child i choked on a fish bone and swore i would never again eat fish. this seems to be a common issue many people have with fish. others just hate the smell or the idea of fish for whatever reason. Had i not by pure luck started to work in a fishmongers i doubt i would ever have gotten over my aversion to fish. But like all the jobs i have ever done i take it very seriously so every week i try a new fish, try a new flavor with it. and every single week i am surprised by how easy quick and tasty the fish is.So i have decided to try share simple ways to make fish to help anyone who like me was not always brave about fish.

If you have a fear of bones? a fishmonger will make sure all the bones have been removed for you. so you need not worry. there are also many fish that do not actually have any bones once filleted.


this week we tried sea bream. it was both our first time having it. my husband is not quiet as brave as me fish wise so i got his filleted. (he did not want his food looking at him, so head on was not an option) sea bream was on special offer in billy burkes €5 per fish so we spent €10 on fish. we then went to local veg grocer and purchased sweet potatoe,and orange, ginger,garlic and scallions all for under €2. so basically €12 for a meal for two fit for a king and queen.

i cut up the scallions put them in a bowl squeezed half an orange on top grated one garlic clove and half a ginger on top. cut the other half of the  orange into segments stuffed the fish with along with the scallion mix.  put the fillets in the same way as the whole fish but only put it in for 15 minutes instead of the full 20 for the full fish parceled up in aluminium foil

the sweet potatoes i put in earlier. all i did with that was wash it cut it into segments put seasalt paprika and oil on it and pop it in the oven shaking it every so often.

you really could not look for easier better value or cheaper.Please try it and let me know how you get on.

chop your spring onion

 cut up your orange

 add your garlic and ginger and orange juice

 stuff your fish

 do the same with fillets if you are not brave enough for a whole fish but add butter on top of the fillets and leave it in less time. so as to not overcook

 pick an exceptional fishmonger and insure quality and good prices :D

The last supper class 10 at the hook and ladder with Michael quinn

This was to be the last class of our 10 week course I spent most of the day sad about it but once I got there I was very excited. Not to be leaving such a great learning environment but to be learning more sumptuous recipes. We did a crab and apple salad to start, followed by turbot in an orange and beurre blank sauce , accompanied by baby jem lettuce that was poached in white wine. Absolutely divine!this class was the perfect way for us all to use our new gained skills and sit down and enjoy the delicious food with a wonderful glass of white wine gifted to us by the Hook and Ladder. Everything worked together perfectly and we got to use our new sauce skills to make the mayo for the dressing of the crab and also so that we could have the perfect beurre blanc for the turbot. Turbot is now on my list of favorite fishes. Really meaty really delicious.

This week the easiest to explain is the crab and apple salad.

for this you will need:

crab meat
scallions
sweet apple diced very finely
cooked beetroot
orange
mayonnaise (home made is preferable)
corriander

 mix it all together and serve is pretty much all you have to do so it is very simple and quick and tasty.

I often make a smoked salmon and crab salad I use avocado and cherry tomatoes instead of apple and it is very tasty. Having fun with food and trying new things is what its all about so remember, don't let an unhealthy lack of imagination stop you from trying new foods. Be brave and daring when it comes to foods!

I have to say I am sad to say goodbye to these amazing classes, but
I am delighted with my new skills. And I am enjoying cooking very much so looking forward to entertaining more. truely I cannot recommend these classes enough they are amazing. I really did expect Michael Quinn to be a chef like i had seen on tv. all shouty and demanding! but instead he is patient and fair and so good at explaining things,I feel honoured to have learned all that I know, thanks to him.

on to my top 5 fish list.

Michael Quinn cookery classes at the hook and ladder sauces

In this class we learned all about sauces. Sauces made from scratch scare a lot of people but they really do not have to.

we learned to make Bearnaise sauce, mayonnaise beurre blanc and Holandaise and left with many more ideas and recipes. It was very enjoyable and helped put all the other classes together as we can now make amazing creamy sauces to accompany sea food of fish or chicken and beef. I have made beurre blanc sauce 3 items since and it has been a complete success. I made an orange one to accompany scallops and thyme one to go with brill. both where greatly received.

the mayonnaise I made was devoured by my husband along with chips and I feel I will be asked for it regularly enough.  As it was such a well received sauce and is surprisingly easy to make I think I will share the mayonnaise recipe with you guys.

For this you will need

dijon mustard (maille do an amazing one but aldi have one for 69c that will amaze you)

white wine vinegar

olive oil/sunflower oil (mixing both oils is best if you find olive oil over powering)

salt and pepper to flavour

two egg yolks

Put a table spoon of Dijon in a big mixing bowl add about 2 table spoons of white wine vinegar.(the rule usual is one quarter vinegar to 3 quaters oil) add two egg yolks and mix it all together using a whisk. then slowly add a very slow and steady stream of oil.(it is very important to take your time adding the oil or the sauce will split and be unusable)

you will know it is ready once the sauce thickens and no longer tastes of raw egg. below find pictures of the several steps. So please try this at home and let me know what you think of it all. you can add garlic or more mustard to make a different flavored mayonnaise.

Sauces were one of the most interesting

classes as it thought us one of the hardest aspects of cooking. In order to be a saucier you need to understand both science and flavour .To imbue the sauce with flavor takes great skill and many years of training. these classes have opened my eyes to so many new skills seriously they are a must for any foodie looking to better their pallet or cooking skills. amaze all your friends with your new culinary skills.

 my very own recipe inspired by micheal quinns classes scallops in an orange beurre blanc sauce with bacon and orange segmants.

ham hock terrine hook and ladder cooking classes with Micheal Quinn

Ham Hock terrine was last weeks class, a terrine is something i had never tried before so it was great to be able to learn how to make one in such a fun easy manner. Micheal had cooked the hocks for us prior to the class to save time as even though terrine is quiet easy to make it is quite time consuming. for this recipe you will need:

Two ham hocks boiled

cornichon (gherkins)

spinach

onions

dates

3 garlic cloves

a bread tin and clingfilm

First you will need to boil the ham hocks until cooked. then you will need to break them down into small pieces and cut the fat into smaller pieces. You will need to cook the onions cut into small  pieces on a low heat with butter and blanch the spinach cut up the cornichon into tiny pieces. once the spinach is blanched you will need to drain out all of the water from them then cut it into small pieces. You will put these all in a bowl and add the ham hawks into this bowl and hand mix it all together. add the dates whole and sliced up garlic. You need to then put cling film into the bread thin insuring there is enough left over to cover it fully once the contents has been added. Put the mix in cover it over with the cling film.then take a piece of cardboard on top add to tins of beans to weigh it down and leave it in the fridge over night to solidify,then cut it into small pieces and serve with either a salad or crusty bread and mustard.

It is really really easy to make as you can tell and is perfect as a starter for Christmas dinner.

The cooking classes in the hook and ladder have really help me improve my cooking skills and made me more confident in the kitchen. I recommend them very strongly. they would make a wonderful Christmas gift for the foodie in your life.

http://www.hookandladder.ie/

left over terrine made into a terrine ball

the mix covered up

dates

cornichon