Boccaccio Ristorante Italiano & Pizzeria (Dublin, Ireland)

On our first night in Ireland, we decided to take to the streets to find something for supper. With such a short time to plan, I didn't really have much time to research restaurant choices, so we just wandered for a while before stumbling across this little Italian Restaurant.


It's very un-like me to forget to take pictures of the food, but alas - I did. The atmosphere was nice. We sat by the window at the front, where we could watch the rain outside.

The food here was really good, considering we were eating Italian food in Ireland.
Here's a great one of Mark, though! I think what stood out the most, however, was the service. The waiter was nice and candid - asking lots of questions about where we were from, how long we'd be in the country, and what our plans were. It made for a fun dining experience.

While food in Ireland in general isn't cheap, this was pretty reasonable, considering dining expenses in Ireland. We each got our own entree (granted, I can't recall what we ordered, but I know we enjoyed it).

We would highly recommend this place, as long as you're not looking for an "authentic Irish" meal.

Address

South City Centre
18 Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland
Ph: (01) 679 7049

Canadian Poutine

On our layover in Toronto, where we decided to try something my Canadian friends rave about: Poutine.

I wasn't very impressed, but Mark didn't think it was so bad. It's something I probably will never make, but just in case you have any desire to make it, here's a recipe I found on allrecipes.com for you to try out.

Ingredients

* 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
* 1 (10.25 ounce) can beef gravy
* 5 medium potatoes, cut into fries
* 2 cups cheese curds

Directions

1. Heat oil in a deep fryer or deep heavy skillet to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). While the oil is heating, you can begin to warm your gravy.
2. Place the fries into the hot oil, and cook until light brown, about 5 minutes. Make the fries in batches if necessary to allow them room to move a little in the oil. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
3. Place the fries on a serving platter, and sprinkle the cheese over them. Ladle gravy over the fries and cheese, and serve immediately.

Lemon Chicken Tortellini

I've had this frozen cheese tortellini in my freezer for quite some time. I had been planning to try out this particular tortellini soup. The problem was that I absolutely never had all the ingredients on hand, and I'd always end up forgetting one thing or another when it came time to make it.

I came across this recipe in a magazine a few weeks previously, and when I realized I had all the ingredients on hand, I decided to forego the soup plans and make this delicious Lemon Chicken Tortellini instead!



The recipe makes about 6 servings and takes about 15 minutes to prep and 25 minutes to cook.

Ingredients

* 1 package (19 ounces) frozen cheese tortellini
* 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-in. pieces
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1/2 small sweet red pepper, julienned
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
* 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
* 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, optional
* 1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach
* 6 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook tortellini according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute chicken in butter until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

In the same pan, cook red pepper until crisp-tender.

Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.


Add 2 cups broth; bring to a boil.

Combine the flour, salt, pepper and remaining broth until smooth; gradually stir into the pan.


Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.



Stir in the chicken, lemon peel and pepper sauce if desired.


Add spinach; cook just until wilted.


Drain pasta; toss with sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.

Thanks, again, to Curt and Nancy for being my guinea pigs and testing it out! While it wasn't my absolute favorite recipe of all times, it turned out pretty good, and there were no complaints!

Nutrition Facts:

1-1/3 cups equals 358 calories, 13 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 69 mg cholesterol, 883 mg sodium, 32 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 29 g protein.

Red Velvet Cake

If I'd had my way at our wedding, we would've had Red Velvet Cake. The problem, however, is that living in SW Minnesota, no one really knows too well how to make it. So we didn't have red velvet cake for our wedding, but when Karla from church asked if I could make a cake for an event at church, I figured this was a good opportunity to make a red velvet cake!

Not only did I decide I wanted to go out of my comfort zone and try something I never had before, but I decided to go VERY far out of my comfort zone and attack a book that has frightened me since I received it as a bridal shower gift 5 years ago to find the recipe.


I think a big part of what scares me about this book is the number after number after number of pages is devoted to scary-sounding topics such as "Chemical Leaveners", sifting of flour, and ENTIRE PAGE devoted to the handling, care, and temperature of EGGS!


However, I figured if I was going to make some Red Velvet cake, I needed to do it right! So nestled on page 173 of 'Chocolate Cake' by Michele Urvater I found this recipe.

Ingredients

2 1/4 C (10oz) cake flour Scant 1/2 C (1.5oz) unsweetened, nonalkalized cocoa powder 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 C solid (4oz) vegetable shortening, at room temperature 2 C (15oz) superfine sugar 3 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 to 3 tsp red food coloring 1 Tbsp white or cider vinegar 1 C buttermilk 1 3/4 C (6oz) pecans, finely chopped Cream Cheese Chocolate Frosting, vanilla variation (p299)

After gathering the ingredients, I gathered up all the necessary utensils and supplies:

The Directions

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350*F.  Lightly grease and flour two 9x2-inch cake pans, tap out the excess, and line the bottoms with parchment or greased and floured waxed paper circles.
2. Sift the flour with the cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt twice, and set it aside.
   
3. With an electric mixer on low speed (or with a stationary mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat the shortening for 1 minute, or until light. 
   
   Slowly add the sugar, about 2 Tbsp at a time,
   and when all of it has been added, continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute, or until the mixture has the consistency of wet sand.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 10 seconds between additions;
   
   then beat for 2 minutes, or until smooth. 
   
   Beat in the vanilla
   
   and red food coloring. 
   Stir the vinegar into the buttermilk.
5. With a large rubber spatula, fold the sifted ingredients into the batter in three additions,
   
   alternating with the buttermilk in two additions. 
   
   Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute or until the mixture is smooth.
   
6. Transfer the batter to the prepared pans, smooth the tops, and rap the pans sharply on the counter a couple of times to break up any large air bubbles. 
   
   Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out dry.
   
   
7. Cool the cakes to room temperature in their pans on a wire rack.  Unmold and peel off the paper circles just before frosting.
8. Fold 1 cup of the pecans into the Cream Cheese (Chocolate) Frosting.  Frost the cake and sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup pecans over the top.

STORAGE:  Keep in the refrigerator, under a cake dome or in an inverted large mixing bowl for up to 4 days; bring back to room temperature before serving.