Friday, August 3, 2012

The Makings of a Full Irish

One of our guests has asked for the ingredients and method for our Full Irish breakfast. This is the perfect post to for a bank holiday weekend as at some stage over the weekend there should be time for everyone to enjoy a leisurely breakfast at home. The traditional Irish breakfast, aka “The Full”, “The Works” or “The Ariel House Special” is made using the best ingredients we can source from local suppliers. Why not try it over the weekend and post your pictures on our page We are very proud to have won the Georgina Campbell Ireland award for the Best Guesthouse Breakfast in Ireland 2012 and we believe the key to a good breakfast is freshly prepared and cooked food using local and seasonal produce. So, for the makings of a good Full Irish......... You will need: Back Bacon – We use Pat O’Neill’s dry cure bacon from Co. Wexford Sausages – Our Sausages come from Ethersons Craft Butcher in Dublin 7 and are made with Irish pork Black and White Puddings – Are made by Pat O’Neill in Co Wexford Eggs – Are Irish and free range Tomatoes – We use sweet and juicy cherry tomatoes on the vine Mushrooms – Button mushrooms grown in North Co. Dublin Potato Cake – Homemade by our own chefs using Irish spuds, mashed with crème fraiche, wholegrain mustard, shaped into small cakes and pan fried with butter Method Grill the bacon and pan fry sausages, Grill the black & white Pudding. Oven bake the tomatoes on the vine in a moderate oven with a little olive oil and sea salt. Oven bake the mushrooms, whole with a small knob of butter in the center of each mushroom and a little freshly ground black pepper. Pan fry the egg and the potato cake Arrange on a hot plate; serve with your favorite bread toasted and a pot of tea Happy Days!

Friday, July 6, 2012

Ariel House July "Pop Up" Nights

Thanks to the success of the April Chop House "on tour” night at Ariel House, Kevin Arundel will again cook up a storm in our kitchen on the nights of the 17th and 18th of July 2012. Dining each evening will begin at 5pm with last orders at 9.30pm. The pop up nights are open to residents and non-residents alike and we are really looking forward to having the Chop House crew visit us again. The atmosphere and food were really great on the last pop up night with the dining room at Ariel House lending itself well to the casual dining style of the Chop House. Also since the last event, the Chop House has been named as Gastro Pub of the year for the whole of Ireland, making a visit even more of a must. We have just received the menu for the evening and are not disappointed! A lovely mix of seafood, steak and local produce. Starters Pan Seared King Prawns, Lemon, Chilli & Garlic, Smoked Paprika Butter Ballantine of Chicken & Foie Gras, Shiitake Mushrooms, Port Vinaigrette Clogherhead Crab Salad, Mint & Apple Pineapple Carpaccio, Baby Leaf Salad Sashimi, Tuna, Pickled cucumber, quails egg, micro leaves Mains 35 Day Dry-Aged Hereford Beef 10oz Rib-Eye Hand-Cut Chips, Onions Confit, Béarnaise Sauce ‘Fish n’ Chips’ Tempura Beer Batter, Twice Cooked Chips, Sauce Tartare Pan Fried Fillet of Hake, Baby Vegetable, Fennel & Orange Salad, Fresh Herb Juices TJ Crowes Smoked Kassler, Jack Macs Pudding, Crisp sage, Grilled Apricot To Finish Warm chocolate fondant, pistachio ice cream Chop house Wexford strawberry mess 2 courses €25.00 3 courses €30.00 Bookings can be made through facebook, twitter @ArielHouse, email or by phone 01-6685512

Friday, June 15, 2012

Bloomsday 2012 at Ariel House

Bloomsday celebrates the day that James Joyce’s novel Ulysses takes place, 16 June 1904, the day on which it is believed that Joyce first went out with his future wife, Nora Barnacle. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the main character in Ulysses. The novel follows the life and thoughts of Leopold Bloom and a host of other characters – real and fictional – from 8am on 16 June through to the early hours of the following morning. Bloomsday is celebrated by Joyce enthusiasts across the globe with readings, performances, re-enactments, and a host of other events. Here in Dublin, Joyceans dress in Edwardian costume and gather during the day at many of the locations where episodes of Ulysses take place. This year Ariel House will host a small event to mark Bloomsday and to bring a hint of Joyce to the air for our guests. Rose Lawless will perform James Joyce's 'Molly Bloom,' on Saturday 16th June at 11 am in our Drawing Room. We look forward to welcoming Rose to Ariel House on Bloomsday and to her portrayal of Molly Bloom.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Pop Up Evening at Ariel House with The Chop House June 2012


Kevin Arundel, Chef/Owner of one of our local restaurants, the Chop house will cook in the Ariel House kitchen on Friday the 22nd of June from 6pm. This is the second pop up evening to take place at Ariel House. The first night held in April was a great success with our guests and locals so we decided to make the night a regular feature. In addition to being awarded Irelands Gastro Pub of the year at the recent Restaurant Association of Ireland awards, the Chop House is a real favourite with our guests at Ariel House and this unique evening is a nice opportunity for our guests to enjoy local cuisine in the comfort of the Dining Room at Ariel House.

We would love to see you there – Dinner reservations can be made by email to reservations@ariel-house.net , on the Ariel House Facebook page, on Twitter or by telephone 01-6685512 . The menu costs €25 for two courses
€30 for three courses and will be published on our blog and social media in early June.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Glasnevin Museum and Cemetry



Glasnevin Museum and Cemetry - a guest blog by Luke Portess of the Glasnevin Trust


Glasnevin Museum offers a dynamic interpretation of Ireland’s history told through the lives of the people buried in Ireland’s necropolis. The Museum has access to a rich narrative of Ireland told through the stories of Daniel O’Connell, Charles Stewart Parnell, Michael Collins, Eamon DeValera, Countess Marckievicz and Brendan Behan to name but a few. Glasnevin Museum offers daily tours and interactive exhibitions.

For more info

http://bit.ly/asFBK8

Also discover your Irish ancestors or delve further into the lives of Ireland's key figures, Glasnevin Museum's Genealogy records now online.

http://bit.ly/Ah6bi9

Friday, March 16, 2012

An Seamróg - Ours is Home Grown


An Seamróg – Ours is home grown this year!
Shamrocks have been symbolic of many things over the years. According to legend, the shamrock was a sacred plant to the Druids of Ireland because its leaves formed a triad, and three was a mystical number in the Celtic religion, as in many others. St. Patrick used the shamrock in the 5th century to illustrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity as he introduced Christianity to Ireland.
The shamrock became symbolic in other ways as time went on. In the 19th century it became a symbol of rebellion, and anyone wearing it risked death by hanging. It was this period that spawned the phrase "the wearin' o' the green". Today, the shamrock is the most recognized symbol of the Irish, especially on St. Patrick's Day, when all over the world, everyone is Irish for a day!
The original Irish shamrock (traditionally spelled seamróg, which means "summer plant") is said by many to be none other than white clover (Trifolium repens), a common lawn weed originally native to Ireland. It is a vigorous, rhizomatous, stem-rooting perennial with trifoliate leaves. Occasionally, a fourth leaflet will appear, making a "four-leaf clover," said to bring good luck to the person who discovers it.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Ariel House Granola Recipe


A new Spring addition to our breakfast buffet at Ariel House has been our home made Granola. Jennie brought the recipe home from her cookery course in Ballymaloe. The dish has proved to be a great favourite with our guests and Staff :). The recipe has been requested many times in the last few weeks so we thought it might be nice to share it on our blog. We tend to add our own twist for versatility, like dried cranberries or goji berries. Any questions on the method or ingredients just drop us a mail reservations@ariel-house.net

Ariel House Granola Recipe
Ingredients:
12ozs (350g 1 cup) Honey
8 fl ozs (225g/1 cup) oil eg. Sunflower

1 lb1oz (370g/ 5 cups) oat flakes
7ozs (220g/2 cups) barley flakes
7ozs (200g/ 2 cups) wheat flakes
3 ½ozs (100g/1 cup) rye flakes

5ozs (150g/1 cup seedless raisins or sultanas
5ozs (150g/ 1 cup) peanuts/hazelnuts, or cashew nuts split and roasted
2 ¾ozs(70g/1 cup) wheat germ and / or millet flakes
2ozs (50g / ½ cup) chopped apricots, ½ cup chopped dates etc. are nice too
Toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds are also delicious

Mix all of the flakes together in a large bowl. Mix the oil and honey together in a saucepan. Heat just enough to melt the honey. Mix well into the mixed flakes. Spread thinly on two large baking trays.
Bake in a moderate oven 180 C/ 350 F/ gas mark 4 for 20-30 minutes, turning frequently, making sure the edges don’t burn ( You really need to keep an eye on it! ) It should be just golden and toasted, not roasted!
Allow to get cold. Mix in the raisins or sultanas, roasted nuts, toasted seeds, chopped dates, apricots and wheat germ. Store in a screw top jar or air tight container. The Granola keeps for 1-2 weeks.
We serve our Granola with natural yoghurt and berries however it is so versatile it can be enjoyed with milk, rice or soy milk, with chopped banana or other fruits.