Butter

 Well.  I've been saying it for years and I guess, finally, the world is listening.  Butter is AWESOME. And it appears to be having a moment on twitter - it is currently trending like nobody's business.

Not just any butter mind you.  Specifically, IRISH BUTTER.

When people ask me about Ireland, they also always say to me "rains a lot though doesn't it".  And when I hear this I say two things back to them:

1. Well, yes, but it is a very light rain, a constant drizzle if you will

2. And you know, all that rain, well that is why our grass is so green.  And then the cows eat that lovely green grass and that is why our dairy is so good. 

Dairy i.e. BUTTER!!!!

I just love about butter is that it is so natural, very unprocessed.  It is made of just two ingredients: cream and salt.  You take these two ingredients and you blend/beat/churn them until you get butter.  That's it! Oh and you also get buttermilk when you strain off the liquid around the butter.

Give yourself a treat this weekend! When you are doing your grocery shopping get yourself some pure Irish butter and then for Sunday morning breakfast/lunch have yourself either toast with butter or an english muffin with butter.  And some scrambled eggs with wild (Irish) smoked salmon to really make a meal of it. Heaven on a plate! Heck, why not have a Baileys coffee while you're at it!

Christmas Day food

Started the day off right with Christmas tradition of baileys coffee!!

Appetizers! Devilled eggs and a charcuterie board

Was very pleased how this came out. We had 4 cheeses (Brie, blue, manchego and Irish cheddar), Italian prosciutto, Spanish ham, Spanish sausage and French patê. 

And then the main! Stone crab claws!!!

Which everyone just loved!

Washed down by a bottle of veueve cliquot.

Patrick's mam's dessert - a French brandy, type of tiramisiu. Very nice indeed!

The eating continued when I went back to work and Paul made me a lovely Irish rasher sandwich for lunch:

Mmmm!!!

 

Christmas Day 2015

 A pictorial drive by of Christmas 2015

 

First up I had a Baileys coffee in bed.  It's Christmas after all! 

 

Harry with his Christmas present.  He was really cute and kept looking at it and putting his paw on the netting.  And then he fell asleep on top of it.

 

Lydee and dad came up to the house at about ten to collect me (so that I could have a drink during the day).

I had another Baileys coffee with Lyd,  It's Christmas afterall.

 

I had popped some M&S food in the oven and brought it to mams where I laid it out nice.

I made pork belly with hot honey glaze and coated prawns.  I forgot to bring sweet chilli dipping sauce so Lydia whipped up a little home made concoction of mayonnaise, honey, pepper and chilli powder.  She's great in a food emergency, you'd know she was cabin crew :-)

 

  Lyd looked after all the drinks and served them all with a cute little candy cane on the glasses.  We had our next door neighbours in (3) and Faith, Graham and the kids.  The house was busy but not for long.

  

Table before dinner

 

 

After dinner we did what we do every year and played games from 4pm to approx. 10pm. We play mainly quiz games and word games, and a fun jenga-like game with little plastic champagne glasses. 

Dad went down and collected Nana at about 7/8pm and she was in good form,

 

Dad dropped me home about 10pm.  I was so so tired at that point.  I was strangely tired all day, I think I had gone to bed a little late on Christmas Eve

Christmas day night ended as most of my Christmas Days do with some toblerone and tv.

 

It was a lovely day.