Sweet on the Queen of Tarts in Dublin, Ireland

Queen of Tarts, Dublin, Ireland

If you should happen to find yourself in Dublin anytime soon, make a point to visit the Queen of Tarts shop (pictured above)-- a shop that is as charmingly cozy and delicious as it looks. Near Dublin Castle, on Cow's Lane (and no, for those inquiring minds, there are no cows to worry about), the minuscule tea room opened in 1998 (according to its website). It's fragrant and lovely with beautiful offerings: lemon meringue tarts (yes, I bought one), apple crumbles made with Bramley's Irish apples, buttermilk brown breads, even pretty pink flower-topped cupcakes. I am wishing I was there right now!

As you can see the shop is tiny--but mighty--even the New York Times has praised it!

On this same trip, I also stopped in Dublin's Keogh's Cafe where the line is out the door almost always. But you must not miss this place for its scones: Cherry and almond, rhubarb and ginger (score!), pear and vanilla...and many more. Later on while traveling the region, I also stayed at the Castle Leslie estate (a most unusual but beautiful spot) and took a cooking class at its cookery school. From there, I brought home a fabulous butternut squash soup recipe. See my story in AAA Home & Away: "Things are cooking in Ireland", if you are interested.

So many fun memories from that trip.....Richelle and Sue, Mary Lu....debriefing nights in the hotel rooms...

More Champagne please!

While in Champagne country, one of the more unusual spots where I tasted the bubbles happened to be in a treehouse. The Perchingbar is located 18 feet up--and yes, if you look closely at the photo in this post, you'll notice there is a tree trunk to the right of Parisian Olivier Couteau--whose dream of a Champagne bar in the trees came true last year. The space is all solar-powered-- so hours are limited--and it's reached by way of a boardwalk and swinging rope bridge (so monitoring your Champagne intake is also highly advisable). But it's fun! And beautiful! This is my kind of sustainable commerce.
For more on my trip to Champagne, check out my story in the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper : http://www.twincities.com/travel/ci_17340654?nclick_check=1

Champagne Pops

Happy New Year! With promises to keep, I am ready to commence some bubbly commentary on my past autumn trip to the home of champagne. First up, a story I had in the Minneapolis Star Tribune: Pop the Cork gives some champagne 101 info along with two new favorite recipes I made a few times during the holidays that were big hits, plus a place to order cool champagne taste testing kits (sorry, you have to provide the actual champagne).

Champagne Sighs

I just returned from France and a trip to Champagne country and the Burgundy region.
Stay tuned for highlights. Meanwhile, feast on this great quote of M.F.K. Fisher's in "How to Cook a Wolf":
I consider myself more fortunate than most women in that I know several good drinking companions of my own sex. They are for the most part well past seventy, a significant fact in the study of Alcohol in Modern Society, I imagine...the best of them, eighty-two last Christmas, has taught me much of both self-control and sensual pleasure from her enjoyment of a glass of dry champagne."

Sweet Thought

 

Halloween Treat: Candy corn and peanuts

Autumn brings many exciting sweets to the table. It is, of course, the season of candy corn. And as any good Minnesota mom knows, it is also the time to make up a mixture of candy corn and peanuts. When a handful of this sweet and salty mixture goes into the mouth and is chewed together, it tastes  like the Salted Nut Roll candy bar. (The recipe is basically: mix one jar of dry roasted salted peanuts with one bag of candy corn. If you like more peanuts or more candy corn, adjust accordingly.) I thought everyone knew about this sweet October delicacy. But when I discovered that there are some folks (mostly of the East Coast persuasion) who said they had not heard of the treat, much less the Salted Nut Roll, it gave me pause. Could it really be? So to those who already know, you can skip this part. And to those who do need explanation: the Salted Nut Roll is a sweet nougat center covered in caramel, then in peanuts, and made by Pearson's, a small candy company in St. Paul. They also make the famous Nut Goodie candy bar (I guess they're into nuts). And yes, this is the candy bar that Garrison Keillor has promoted and made famous. Years ago, I had the fun opportunity to tour Pearson's candy factory when I was on an assignment. (The factory is not open to the public.) This is one of the tiny candy companies we need to support--and I am happy to promote their sweet goods.

Cold Comfort: Re-living cool memories

As the days are sweltering here in Minnesota now with high temps and humidity, I've been cooling off by re-living cool days and nights from a recent road trip on the west coast. My sister and I met in Sacramento, proceeded thro the California redwoods and up the Oregon coast to Olympia, Washington. One of our first stops was the above roadside stand selling produce, flowers and yes, fresh blackberry popsicles which we loved.
In Trinidad, we stopped for lunch at the Seascape which overlooked the ocean and fishermen bringing in their fresh catches. I had quite possibly the best fish and chips ever. (We also had to wear our hoodie sweatshirts because it was so wonderfully cold.)

On our third night, we stayed in Pacific City, Oregon across from the ocean AND the Pelican Pub and Restaurant, very convenient. Great cold beer brewed on the premises. Great spicy mahi mahi quesadillas. And the people were all so super friendly, I told my sis I felt like we were in an ad promoting the Oregon coast.
The next day we stopped at Tillamook Cheese Factory which was a total zoo. Who knew a cheese factory could be such a tourist and family destination--almost like an amusement park. "Is it always this busy?" we asked the check-out clerk at the gift store. The answer: "Usually, busier. We have 3,000 to 5,000 visitors a day from Memorial Day to Labor Day." We think there must have been at least 10,000 people the day we were there. In fact, we had to have a double scoop of ice cream to de-stress after our shopping experience there. Out of many ice cream flavor choices, I narrowed it down to the marionberry pie and chocolate peanut butter. I couldn't decide and the people behind me were getting impatient, so I ordered both.