Cooking Class IV

I am not sure what you done last night...but I bet I had a lot more fun than you. It was the fourth of the 'Taste of Cork' series and Denis Cotter showed some incredible dishes. As most of you know, Denis Cotter is my Veggie-Hero and he did not disappoint. He cooked a warm salad of roasted aubergine with chillies, feta and a citrus Pomegranate dressing, a beetroot & goat's cheese tartlet with watercress pesto, spring cabbage dolma of squash, red onion & puy lentils with harissa sauce and cardamon yoghurt and wild rice, fennel and shallot pilaf......my favourite???? You are kidding, right???? All of it was so yummy that I went already shopping this morning...this woman here had a big fat smile on her face last night driving home. If you haven't done yet....pay Cafe Paradiso a visit. I promise you won't be disappointed. Clare took some pity on us and created a lovely dessert of white chocolate creme brulee....she is one talented chef ..... will make that dessert at the weekend.

Clare is very inventive when it comes to create little nibbles and pre-dinner drinks. She created a spritzer from elderflower cordial, sparkling Pinot Grigio and mineral water. Her nibbles were litlle filo tarts with goat's cheese and chopped nuts...wish I would have been the only one last night.

Austin from Bubble Brothers and Clare have choosen again the perfect wine to the food. The white wine was a Mas Des Bressades.A bit too dry for my taste although I love the Grenache grape...but it went well with the bitterness of the warm salad of aubergine. The red option was a Rosso del Molise Villa Marianna (2005) which was more to my liking and was the perfect match for the dolmas and wild rice pilaf.

And now you want to know who is coming next week......of course you do, Okay, it is Gary from Fire & Ice in Midleton. So far I haven't eaten in Fire & Ice yet but I have heard great feedback from them. So you can imagine that I am really looking forward to next week. And of course I will tell you all about it.