I started thinking about recipes and Googled a few including brandy snaps but being a lazy cook they didn't appeal.  Then I saw a recipe for brandy butter cookies.  When I woke next morning someone had actually tweeted me the same idea.  But I was ahead and had already bookmarked a recipe.

I have probably mentioned that I never follow a recipe verbatim. I always feel I have to make it mine and change something.  So here is my take on the recipe I found.

]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/her-shell---sausage-the-pigs-journey-from-the-farm-to-the-butchers-181991751.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/her-shell---sausage-the-pigs-journey-from-the-farm-to-the-butchers-181991751.html Tue, 04 Dec 2012 05:16:34 PST
Everyone said to me it will get easier but I hope it never does.  It should be difficult. ]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/days-in-november-and-baking-for-christmas---mincemeat-recipe-for-perfect-traditional-mince-pies-180826211.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/days-in-november-and-baking-for-christmas---mincemeat-recipe-for-perfect-traditional-mince-pies-180826211.html Mon, 26 Nov 2012 05:31:19 PST
Using a sweet shortcrust pastry, cut out discs of pastry and fill with some mincemeat, cover with another disc. Dip your finger into a bowl of water and run it around the inside perimeter of the top disc. This helps seal the pastry.  Brush with beaten egg and bake in a hot oven at 180 deg until browned.  Cool and dust with icing sugar. ]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/everybody-cooks---cookbooks-should-be-about-real-cooks-and-not-stylized-photography-180344871.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/everybody-cooks---cookbooks-should-be-about-real-cooks-and-not-stylized-photography-180344871.html Wed, 21 Nov 2012 06:01:10 PST
and I use the word chef in the loosest sense of the word. Many of these so called chefs would run screaming out of a professional kitchen. I yearn for a real book written by a real cook and not a celebrity famous for what they look like or who their spouse is. ]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/irelands-brighton----the-fashionable-seaside-resort-of-bray-willed-iwth-bars-and-culinary-treats-179275261.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/irelands-brighton----the-fashionable-seaside-resort-of-bray-willed-iwth-bars-and-culinary-treats-179275261.html Wed, 14 Nov 2012 05:31:02 PST
]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/waste-not-want-not---throwing-out-food-in-a-culture-of-fear-177240931.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/waste-not-want-not---throwing-out-food-in-a-culture-of-fear-177240931.html Mon, 05 Nov 2012 05:15:53 PST
I plan on opening the can of soup pictured in August 2013 10 years after it's best before...... ]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/the-eye-in-pig---looking-your-free-range-pig-in-the-eye-before-they-land-on-your-plate-176094821.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/the-eye-in-pig---looking-your-free-range-pig-in-the-eye-before-they-land-on-your-plate-176094821.html Sat, 27 Oct 2012 07:15:35 PDT
For this reason I can look my pigs in the eye. ]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/put-the-kettle-on---never-underestimate-the-importance-of-tea-to-an-irishman-175066671.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/put-the-kettle-on---never-underestimate-the-importance-of-tea-to-an-irishman-175066671.html Sat, 20 Oct 2012 05:30:30 PDT Put the kettle on.  A phrase used every day in every house in Ireland.  Everyone knows it means make a cup of tea. Are you a Barry's family or a Lyons one?  Or the new kid on the block - Campbell's? Tea covers all ails - sympathy, encouragement, a little chat, family crises, bereavement or celebration.  What would we do without it?  ]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/the-old-tradition-of-the-irish-town-butchers----judge-your-butcher-on-the-selection-of-cheap-cuts-and-food-knowledge-174089371.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/the-old-tradition-of-the-irish-town-butchers----judge-your-butcher-on-the-selection-of-cheap-cuts-and-food-knowledge-174089371.html Sun, 14 Oct 2012 06:00:47 PDT
]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/loving-languedoc---the-irish-foodie-falls-for-delicious-tastes-of-france-173021011.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/loving-languedoc---the-irish-foodie-falls-for-delicious-tastes-of-france-173021011.html Sun, 07 Oct 2012 05:48:03 PDT
]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/moroccan-lamb-stew-with-an-irish-twist---a-perfect-warming-recipe-for-fall-172810011.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/moroccan-lamb-stew-with-an-irish-twist---a-perfect-warming-recipe-for-fall-172810011.html Fri, 05 Oct 2012 05:32:53 PDT
Stir boiling water into couscous and stir vigorously with a fork until the water is absorbed and the grains remain separate. Cover with cling film or a plate to allow the steam to cook the couscous.  Soften the onion and courgette and add in the spices.  Add the vegetable mix into the couscous. ]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/cork-on-a-fork---an-epicurean-journey-through-ireland-food-capital-170973951.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/cork-on-a-fork---an-epicurean-journey-through-ireland-food-capital-170973951.html Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:17:31 PDT
]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/honest2goodness---dublins-new-food-market-could-rival-english-market-in-cork-170014326.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/honest2goodness---dublins-new-food-market-could-rival-english-market-in-cork-170014326.html Mon, 17 Sep 2012 05:32:19 PDT
The clattery cafe

Up to this Dublin hasn't had a dedicated covered food market which could rival the English Market in Cork; but now it does.

Honest2Goodness is that rare gem of a market where you can do your entire food shop.  Then when you have trawled the stalls and filled your boots, you can sit down in the clattery cafe and eat freshly produced food from the very market stalls you have shopped at.  Or, if you just want to relax and enjoy a coffee and a browse through the Saturday papers that's fine too.  There is an area for the children to amuse themselves on comfy couches with books and toys provided.

]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/color-carnival-and-crowd-mingles-with-smells-of-food-and-farmyard-at-the-mullagh-fair-day-169155396.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/color-carnival-and-crowd-mingles-with-smells-of-food-and-farmyard-at-the-mullagh-fair-day-169155396.html Mon, 10 Sep 2012 05:47:11 PDT . ]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/the-burgeroff---food-mad-friends-gather-to-barbecue-compete-and-eat-some-delicious-burgers-168362166.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/the-burgeroff---food-mad-friends-gather-to-barbecue-compete-and-eat-some-delicious-burgers-168362166.html Mon, 03 Sep 2012 05:47:01 PDT ]]> http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/every-fault-is-a-fashion---what-my-grandmother-would-have-thought-about-modern-restaurant-serving-trends-167342065.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/roots/the-irish-foodie/every-fault-is-a-fashion---what-my-grandmother-would-have-thought-about-modern-restaurant-serving-trends-167342065.html Fri, 24 Aug 2012 10:31:49 PDT ]]>