I’m pleased to report that all went well with the catering side of the celebrations last Saturday ( & Sunday, & Monday!).  And having now made their communion Niall and Denny are happily contemplating how best to invest the loot that was bestowed on them by very generous family, neighbours and friends.  The sun shone all day Saturday and the doors and windows remained opened until Midnight with the kids happily running in and out to the bouncy castle.  Our family lunch was a lovely relaxed affair and the beef in red wine hotpot went down well.

The barbeque in the evening was equally successful and O’Crualaoi’s steak burgers were excellent (www.ocrualaoi.com).  Abina’s baking went down a treat as usual and her pavlova didn’t last long.

When I produced the NY cupcakes (see earlier post for picture) based on Magnolia Bakery’s classic cupcake recipe I was delighted to discover that  by happy co-incidence one of our New York based guests – Raymond Sicignano – had recently sold his painting of Magnolia Bakery (www.raizart.com).

In my preparation last week I travelled beyond my local supermarket and visited On The Pig’s Back in Douglas where I bought some lovely cheeses (manchego & comte) along with gubeen chorizo.  They are also based in the English Market and well worth a visit if you are after something special.  (www.onthepigsback.ie)

After a weekend of overindulging and living off leftovers on Sunday and Monday I decided it was time to cleanse the system with a bit of heat so I made up some red thai curry paste and enjoyed this tasty dish this evening.

Recently we’ve been dining on mushroom soup, red onion, cherry tomato & goat’s cheese tart, beef & red wine hot pot, tortilla chips with chilli jam, gubeen chorizo & tomato salad, frittata, red thai chicken curry, strawberry & lemon cheesecakes, pavlova and pear tiramisu.  Til next time, Sheila