Christmas Concert @ Starlight

We went to the local Christmas/New Year's concert in Starlight. All I had was the regular camera to record this, and only audio for a short snippet. It's Strauss ---- "Also sprach Zarathustra". Or 2001 A Space Odyssey to you Kubrick fans ...
Enjoy ....

Italian Christmas Eve, part 2

For the last three courses .... grilled squid .... a little salt pepper olive oil - throw on grill for one, to one and a half minutes each side. Sooo good. Reminds us of great calamari we have had in the past such as at Miss Williamsburg Diner a few years back (highly recommend).

Then some grilled Tuna, following Giorgio Locatelli's advice on keeping it simple.

And lastly was some red snapper, pan seared. Simple. Tasty. Healthy.

Overall, we both felt that the sardines were the highlight. Thanks to Giorgio for the inspiration, and Aidan for the cookbook. It goes to show how much you can get from a good cookbook. For those looking to find it, here it is on Amazon.

Italian Christmas Eve, part one

So, we arrive at Christmas Eve, once more. A great custom that a friend introduced me to (Joel) is the Seven Fish Italian Christmas Eve meal. We take our own twist, and cook or eat seven fish over the course of the day.
This year we have
1. Smoked salmon with avocado and parmesan chips, a caper or 2, some olive oil and a drop of lemon juice

Next up was a Giorgio Locatelli recipe (thanks to the Locanda Locatelli chef's cookbook we received a few years back from our brother Aidan --- good job Aidan!!)
Sardines on Panzanella. Equally delish!

After that was an old faithful, Scallops cooked in a skillet with some butter and served with a white herb sauce.

Next up were some bluepoint oysters .... mmm ... taste the ocean ...

The beer was not Duvel, but Labatt's (the last of the Duvel was devoured a few days ago). The wines are courtesy of Chambers St Wines. Chablis was green, a little mineraly, but still quite fat or filling for a Chablis. The Puligny was marshmallow meets butterscotch/caramel and they all have their wicked way over and over again !!! mmmm !!!

Last but not least, is the newest addition .... McNulty.
All our male cats are named after Wire characters. And true to his name, what a handful the little rascal is ....
Here he is with his 2 sisters ... he's the little mite at the bottom center of the screen ...

Rubberbandits for Xmas #1 in IRL

Looks like RB will be #1 in IRL for Xmas. Funny, irreverant, crude video that was filmed in UL. Now of course UL (my ULma mater;-) and Milford parish are objecting.

"Following the massive success of the video for “Horse Outside” the Reverend Koenraad Van Guucht, the chaplain of the contemplative centre in University of the Limerick has said they are “less than happy” about the use of the space in filming the video. He said he “wasn't clear at the time of as to exactly the nature of filming". The video was also raised in the Milford parish newsletter which objected to the filmed of the video outside Milford Church. The parishioners and members of the community are said to be “hurt and offended by the video.” A spokesperson for the ‘Bandits said that no one had been misled about the video shoot. They explained that filming for the video have been carried out by a RTE (Ireland’s national broadcaster) and both the University of Limerick and Milford parish had given permission."

What's it about? That a horse is more of a chick magnet than some of the boyo's cars such as honda or subie. You see, there is car content here after all ;-)
According to IrishCentral (diaspora website), "A CNBCblogger seemed to pick the story up all wrong. They seem to think that due to the financial crisis we’ve all reverted to riding horses. Here’s what they said below:
“Are the Irish already getting accustomed to a more austere life? One of the most popular songs in Ireland at this very moment is about how owning a horse is superior to owning a fancy automobile. It may be that the message is resonating with the Irish people.”
Purrleeeeze. Stop the lights!

Ha Le Lu Ya

Ok, to get us into the christmas spirit, here is a good start