Darina Allen

Homey cooking for a homebound St. Patrick’s Day

Homey cooking for a homebound St. Patrick’s Day

Posted on by Pat and David
We've never been fans of corned beef and cabbage or, for that matter of green beer—the two principal food and drink ways Americans mark St. Patrick's Day. Nor will we be in Ireland for the holiday, given the travel restrictions. Even Boston's Drop Kick Murphys will play their annual St. Patrick's Day concert online instead of in person. Here's the link for the live concert on March 17 at 7pm Boston, 4pm Pacific Coast, 11pm London, 12am Berlin, or 10am in Sydney: www.dropkickmurphys.com/2020/03/14/streaming-up-from-boston-free-st-patricks-day-live-stream/ That's all a prelude to telling you about the newest cookbook from Ireland's culinary queen, the redoubtable Darina Allen. She runs the Ballymaloe Cookery school and is Ireland's leading proponent of the Slow Food movement. She might have single-handedly brought Irish cooking...Read More
Serve hearty soup and rustic bread for St. Patrick’s Day

Serve hearty soup and rustic bread for St. Patrick’s Day

Posted on by Pat and David
No corned beef and cabbage for us this year. As we were contemplating a lighter meal to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, we turned to two new cookbooks by great Irish chefs. We've written before about Darina Allen, the cookbook author and co-founder of the Ballymaloe Cookery School, which is located on an organic farm in County Cork. Her new book, Simply Delicious: The Classic Collection (2019, Kyle Books, $29.99), gathers some of her favorite recipes from her television cooking show and cookbook series of the same name. The 100 recipes illustrate Allen's love of traditional Irish cooking as well as her enthusiasm for cuisines around the world. They represent her straightforward approach to creating good, flavorful food. We have to admit that we were initially...Read More
Darina Allen takes food from seed to plate

Darina Allen takes food from seed to plate

Posted on by Pat and David
Talk about good timing. When it gets cold and snowy here in New England, we pull out the seed catalogs and start planning our summer garden. Right on cue, GROW COOK NOURISH (Kyle Books, $45) by Darina Allen arrived in the mail. It's the 16th book for the Irish chef and co-founder of the Ballymaloe Cookery School (Shanagarry, County Cork, Ireland, +353 21 464 6785, cookingisfun.ie). In a bit of understatement, Allen terms the thick volume a “kitchen garden companion.” It's truly a guide to growing, preparing, and sometimes preserving vegetables, fruits, herbs, and edible flowers. She covers pretty much every fruit and vegetable we've ever heard of and many that we haven't. We were so impressed that we arranged to speak with her by...Read More