Holohans at the Barge – a dining experience to float your boat

To celebrate our first wedding anniversary earlier this month, the husband and I decided to splash out and treat ourselves to dinner in Holohans at the Barge.

I often receive bad press from mostly everyone I know for being cold and unromantic, so when I read Holohans had been declared one of the UK’s most romantic restaurants, it seemed the perfect dining spot to reverse this perception … and I also heard the food was pretty good too.

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A little taste of Mexico; slow cooked beef burritos

Now and again I get a burrito craving and the thought of devouring my way through an oversized sandwich, bursting at the seams with spicy meat, vegetables and rice is very inviting.

Such a fancy took hold of me a few weeks back. Sadly there are no burrito bars in the Ormeau area -take note Boojum – and I didn’t want to drive somewhere to get my fix so options were limited.

Simple salsa…the non-dancing variety

Ingredients

• 6 medium sized tomatoes
• 1 red chilli (with seeds if you like it hot)
• ½ green pepper
• ½ lime (juiced)
• 1 tbsp. tomato puree
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• A handful of fresh coriander leaves
• Sea salt

Method

• Cut the tomatoes in half, spread out on a plate and cover with a good sprinkle of sea salt. Set aside for at least 30 minutes to draw out any excess water.
• Dice the red chilli and green pepper, finely chop the coriander leaves and mix the tomato puree and olive oil together to form a paste.
• Wash the tomatoes to remove any excess salt and take out the inner cores.
• Chop the tomatoes (as big or small as you like) roughly add to a bowl and mix together with all of the other ingredients.
• Squeeze over the lime juice and let the salsa chill for at least one-hour before serving.

 

 

An evening with Ambrosia…and not the rice pudding variety.

It had been a while since I met two old school friends for a catch up and after much discussion about cooking indoors or getting a takeaway, we decided to treat ourselves to a spot of dinner.

We wanted somewhere that wouldn’t break the bank – this was a before pay-week Thursday night – and my friend suggested Ambrosia an Italian restaurant on the Ormeau Road. I had eaten there previously and enjoyed the food and at only a six-minute walk from my house the location was an added bonus.

A stewpendous taste of Italy; slow cooked Tuscan beef stew

I have always been fascinated with trains and exploring Italy ranked highly on my ‘must do rail journeys’ list.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me; 12 chicken drumsticks with a honey and soy sauce glaze

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 12 drummers drumming, 11 pipers piping, 10 Lords a leaping, 9 ladies dancing, 8 maids a milking, 7 swans a swimming, 6 geese a laying, 5 gold rings, 4 calling birds, 3 French hens, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

This morning dear reader I share with you the final installment of my guide to the 12 days of Christmas on a plate.

Two days for the price of one; fish pie with leaping salmon and Maris Piper piped potatoes

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me 11 pipers piping, 10 Lords a leaping… and a bountiful of other fine gifts.

 Fish pie with leaping Salmon and Maris Piper piped potatoes

 We are nearing the conclusion of our mammoth 12 day food journey and as my waistline cannot handle much more of these rich pickings, today I am combining days ten and eleven and present to you – fish pie.

The ninth day of Christmas; dancing girls and Viennese whirls

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me nine ladies dancing.

Viennese whirls

I do enjoy watching a good Viennese waltz on Strictly Come Dancing; this classic ballroom dance is elegant and graceful and it takes a delicate touch to perfect.

On day nine of our song the ladies are dancing and for me Viennese whirls – little bites of sweet buttery biscuit and jam – have waltzed away as the obvious choice for today’s recipe.

Day eight and the cream has risen to the top; hot chocolate with Bailey’s cream

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me eight maids a milking.

Hot Chocolate with Bailey’s cream

I have taken a break from food today and instead will shine the spotlight on that old winter favourite – hot chocolate.

The inspiration for this one came from Harlem, a cafe close to my work where the menu board had advertised Bailey’s hot chocolate in the run up to Christmas and had me salivating every time I walked past it.

And on the seventh day she created… Meringues with vanilla custard and chocolate sauce

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me seven swans a swimming.

Meringues with vanilla custard and chocolate sauce

I decided floating meringues would best represent a swan swimming on the seventh day of Christmas and have worked very hard to create an elongated neck line the Strictly Come Dancing judges would be proud of.

Getting this recipe right has been a technical challenge; baking meringue and making custard from scratch has proven to be a difficult task for a cook who doesn’t like to follow strict processes.