A movable feast:Let's face it, Christmas is a lot of work, what with all that planning, shopping and cooking. So if you fancy taking a break this year from the drudgery, there are some attractive take-away Christmas lunch and dinner deals being offered by some of the country's top hotels. A sign of the times, maybe?
"Turkey to Go" is a new offering from the Four Seasons Hotel in Dublin 4. It's a lavish four-course spread, for a minimum of six people, and the surprising bit is the cost: a reasonable €39 per person. The Christmas take-away, which comes with re-heating instructions, is available from next Monday right up until December 26th, and 48 hours advance notice is required. Order on 01-6654000.
The Ritz-Carlton in Powerscourt, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow has a take-away package that will serve four to six people, at a cost of €160. Turkey, ham, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sprouts, potato puree and sage gravy are included. Order by December 19th from 01-2749377, and collect from the concierge desk on December 23rd and 24th.
Chef Neil McFadden and his cookery tutor wife Hazel, who is teaching at the brand new Kitchen in the Castle school at Howth Castle, will also do all the hard work for you through their venture, Christmas Made Easy. Their complete Christmas meal hampers will serve from two people upwards, with prices from €98 for an intimate two-person meal, up to €390 for a feast suitable for up to a dozen guests. Orders can be collected at one of their 14 nationwide collection hubs, or delivered for a small extra fee. They supply uncooked, ready-to-roast birds. Very explicit cooking instructions are included, with cooking times adjusted to the size ordered, and geese are available as an alternative to bronze turkeys. You'll have to be quick, though - tomorrow is the last date for ordering. See www.christmasmadeeasy.ie, or call 087-2882545. mcdigby@irish-times.ie
A square meal for winter
Dublin's Slow Food convivium is staging a celebration of winter - well, why not? - on December 14th at Meeting House Square in Temple Bar, Dublin 2. The €50 ticket price (€27 students/ unwaged; €10 children) will include a four-course banquet, featuring spit-roast pigs stuffed with chestnuts, hot spiced cider and organic wine. Bring a hot water bottle to guard against chills, and the organisers will fill it with boiling water!
The proceeds will go towards a project to fund an Irish Edible Schoolyards programme - an initiative founded by slow-food guru Alice Waters (right) that sets up organic gardens in schools. Tickets from Temple Bar Cultural Information centre at 12 East Essex Street, Dublin 2, or tel. 01-6772255.
Everything to see in the sea
Cooking fish, and shellfish in particular, can test even the most competent cook, so Georgina Campbell's new book, From Tide to Table - Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Seafood, is a welcome guide to buying, preparing and cooking this most nutritious food. Paul Sherwood's excellent food photography, including step-by-step guides to skinning and deboning different types of fish and preparing shellfish, brings the text alive. Some of the recipes have been supplied by members of the Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) Seafood Circle, including Kevin Dundon's Galway Bay oysters sashimi style (from Dunbrody House); Terry McCoy's razor clams with parsley and garlic (The Red Bank), and Martin Shanahan's wok-fried clams with spring onions, chilli and ginger butter (Fishy Fishy Café). It's a stylish hardback volume, and BIM, which is supporting its publication, is donating its share of the proceeds to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution - another reason, if one were needed, to part with €25 for a copy. The publisher is Epicure Press, and it's in bookshops now.
Viking Invasion
Santa doesn't do baking, but if he did, he'd have this gorgeous Viking food mixer on his wish list. It's an
investment buy, at €699, but Drumms, the kitchen appliance company, is offering a 20 per cent discount
on cookware, which brings the price down to €559. The offer runs until December 12th. See the online
shop at www.drumms.ie or call 01-4604355.