The H.I. at the IFF

Irish Film America (IFA) is a new organization dedicated to bringing the best of contemporary Irish film to US audiences providing a platform for Irish filmmakers to showcase their independently produced feature films, documentaries, short films and animation. In March 2008, IFA supported the San Francisco Irish Film Festival and The Seattle Irish Reels Festival. This past weekend it launched the Los Angeles Irish Film Festival at the Clarity Theater in Beverly Hills. We not only catered the opening night for 150 but we figured we might as well check out a few flicks on Saturday. It was not only a celebration of Irish movies but guests were also entertained by live 'fiddly diddly' traditional Irish music as well as a live theatre performance. For a minute I thought I was back at home except for the fact that it was 70 degrees outside. Here's some snippets of the opening night. By all accounts the festival was a great success.

Who says it rains in Ireland??

We're over in the homeland for the annual summer family check in. Rumor has it it was raining for a month before we arrived but I guess we brought the good weather with us as it has been gorgeous since we arrived. And by gorgeous I mean dry and mostly sunny. I have to say if the weather's nice here there's nowhere else I'd rather be. Funny though, as soon as the sun makes an appearance the shorts and t-shirts go on and lots of farmers' tans to been seen! Makes people watching good craic. Just to let you all see what 'summer' in Ireland looks like (since it's actually Sept), here's a quick taste. We've been doing plenty of eating and drinking as you can imagine so check back for those photos as we'll be giving the local restaurants and pubs the once over. Thank God for Chaser!

URBAN GARDENS: Late Summer / Autumn

I've put my green fingers back to work in my latest Urban Gardens trilogy, this time focusing on planting for late summer/autumn. With the help of my neighbour/gardening guru, Erica we learned how to get the soil ready as well as what to plant at this time of year. The trilogy shows the before, during and after proving how easy it is for you guys to start your own urban garden. Clearly if I can do this anyone can!

EAT UP KIDS!

I came across a great article last week in the Wall Street Journal (that's right you read correctly) which talked about how some school districts here in the States are now establishing relationships with local farmers to get some of their produce for the kids to eat. The school year has just begun and some school districts have signed up for what's called the "farm-to-school" movement. I love this idea and I have to say it's about time. You don't have to be living in the countryside to avail of fresh fruit and veggies. A lot of cities nowadays have farmers' markets which if you know anything about my beliefs, I'm a big fan.
According to the article, 50 million kids eat school lunches every day. Due to cost, most of the produce is shipped in from across the country. This may prove more economical but due to the increasing awareness of child obesity and food safety, some schools are now finally looking into this farm-to-school idea. Although this alternative  may prove more expensive initially, the heads that be realise that the locally grown produce is not only fresher and better tasting but more children are eating it. A school in upstate New York has banned fries, the American delicacy tater tots and started getting actual potatoes in for the kids. Another school has started getting their lettuce from a local farmer. I love this idea. If you're from a farming community or just go to the markets you know how much these folks need to be supported. Even here in LA, which incidentally is the second largest school district in the country after NYC, they've even started buying from local farms.
This 'movement' is definitely taking off. Two non-profit organisations have started a programme to link schools with farmers in their particular area and estimate that 2,000 links have been made thus far. There's no doubt that this is the way forward. People are now realising how important it is to feed and nourish our kids properly.
Aside from the health aspect there's an educational one as well. It's important to teach these kids where their food comes from. Some kids would not associate fries with an actual potato that comes out of the ground. Food doesn't come out of a box and some of these schools are really getting on board with teaching the kids the importance of knowing where our food comes from as well as the environmental aspect of farming. All in all things are gradually improving. As in every business, cost is an issue and this is no exception but at the end of the day can you put a value on our kids health?

Urban Gardens - Transplanting a Plumeria Tree

This is our next installment of our Urban Gardens series. We've been busy all summer shooting with our neighbour Erica, the gardening guru, so we're putting those together right now but here's a taste of what we've been up to.

HOLLYWOOD DINNER PARTY

As you may have noticed, I've been off the scene for the past couple of weeks. My main job being a private chef, I also cater parties whenever they come up (feel free to contact me for more information on how I can cater your next party). With the nature of catering it's usually feast or famine and right now I'm stuffed! It's great but everything else suffers in terms of blogs and recipes. Anyway here's some pics of the last gig I did.

MENU:
HORS D’OEUVRES
Caesar salad spring rolls with crispy shallots
Crispy Lavash Pizza with Arugula Basil Pesto, Heirloom tomatoes and Parmesan
Caramelized Pear and Brie Quesadilla with Crème Fraiche and Tomatillo salsa

BUFFET
Mini pitas with Moroccan Lamb Meatballs, Red Cabbage Coleslaw, Mint Raita
Grilled Skirt Steak with Guajillo chili sauce
Roast Citrus Cedar Plank Salmon
Butternut Squash Risotto Cakes
Baby Arugula and Radicchio with Shaved Fennel, Vine Ripened Tomatoes, Roquefort and Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette
Brown Rice And Mango Salad tossed with Citrus Soy Dressing

DESSERT
Dark Chocolate Fountain with Selection Fruit, Marshmellows and Macaroons

iFoods.tv Feature

Click here for full episode.

Roast Halibut w/ Cherry Tomato & Olive Dressing

One of the great things about doing what I do (working as a personal chef) is getting kudos when you hit the nail on the head! Let's be honest not everything turns out the way we think it's going to but when it does, it's the business. I made this for my (work) family and they loved it.

RECIPE:

1 lb. Wild Pacific Halibut (or Striped Bass, Pacific Cod) 4 x 4oz. portions

1 pint cherry tomatoes - washed

1/3 cup Kalamata olives - pitted & halved

3ozs. (1/2 small jar) marinated artichokes

2 cloves garlic - minced

1/3 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken / veg. broth

1/2 lemon - zested

Olive oil

S&P to taste

Preheat saute pan. Your pan should be quite hot but not smoking. When hot, season and sear fish 'til golden brown. The key here is to get a quick sear on the fish but not to cook it all the way. Remove the fish to a foiled roasting tray. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and put back on the heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot add your whole cherry tomatoes and saute until they begin to blister, 3-4 mins. Add the garlic and saute for 30 secs. De-glaze (flashy term for add the liquid) with wine & broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce and simmer for 4-5 mins. Meanwhile in pre-heated 400 degree oven cook your fish. It will take approx. 5-6 mins. max depending on how thick it is, so keep an eye on it. To finish your sauce, add the olives, artichokes and lemon zest and cook for another 5 mins.

Once the fish is cooked let it sit out of the oven for a couple of mins. and any juice that comes out add to your sauce. This is the difference between a good sauce and a great tasting one.

I served this with some wilted spinach and polenta.

GRILLED SUMMER FRUIT w/ ICE CREAM & MINT

One of my favorite things about Summer, apart from the beach & beers, is being able to cook & eat outside. I love being able to go the market and grabbing something for the barbeque. As you may have noticed from my previous blogs, desserts are not really my thing. I do however, have a wife who is fond of all things sweet (not going to make the obvious pun!) When I was in the market last weekend I saw a great selection of in-season fruit like pineapples, peaches and plums.Since I was going to be grilling anyway I thought I'd pick some up and make a 'healthy' dessert for herself. You can grill the fruit ahead of time but don't do it too far in advance as it's nice to serve them warm off the grill especially, as I did, with ice cold vanilla ice cream. Depending on how hot your grill is, cooking times will vary but as soon as the fruit begins to caramelise and soften, you're good to go.

When I was looking for some ice cream for this recipe I saw a sugar free variety. As I'm always looking for 'healthier' alternatives while shopping, I thought it would be a great substitute for regular ice cream. I was surprised to find that this is not the case. I already had some ice cream in my freezer so I compared them (guys if  you only take one bit of advice from me let it be this: ALWAYS HAVE ICE CREAM IN YOUR FREEZER, it'll save your life and you know why!). Here are the nutrition labels from the two products I compared:

Clemmy's All Natural Sugar Free Ice Cream in Vanilla Bean (on the left)

Breyers All Natural Pure Premium Ice Cream in French Vanilla (on the right)

Though the sugar free choice has no sugar, it has nearly double the amount of fats and cholesterol (Mums, think of your kids here since the news is broadcasting high cholesterol found in kids is on a serious all-time high). Sure you're getting sugar in the Breyers choice (right) but take a better look at the ingredients now. Clemmy's (below) contains maltitol syrup, xylitol, maltodextrin - ingredients you can't even pronounce not to mention know what they are. Breyers contains milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, natural flavor & natural tara gum. At least I know what's in this! To say it best I will quote from the book, Eat This Not That, "When it comes to ice cream, we're willing to sacrifice a few calories for the sake of purity." But in this case even the calories are less so what are really sacrificing? And if you're wondering how the tastes stack up? Direct from herself the elf, a self-proclaimed ice cream expert who was happy I did any research, said Breyers wins hands down with it's true taste of what else--vanilla. Her advice: don't forget to sprinkle on some mint as it's delicious and refreshing with both the ice cream and grilled fruit. 

This is good news all 'round for everyone on the healthy path this summer.
My point with all this, read the labels, know what you're eating and most of all enjoy what you eat and ....make sure you try this recipe! 

GRILLED CORN ON THE COB

When I was growing up as a kid I thought corn or 'sweetcorn' was something that came out of a tin. Obviously with the Irish climate of wet, about to be wet or 'drownded' as we say, the weather isn't exactly conducive to growing corn.

The penny dropped eventually as to where the corn came from but I really hadn't eaten fresh corn on the cob 'til I came here to the States. The fresh flavour is absolutely brilliant. I've played around with different ways of cooking them, boiling being the easiest, however I decided on this method of grilling them in the husks thanks to my friend Riz, a self-proclaimed corn expert from Indiana. All you do is soak the corn wrapped in the husk in salted cold water for at least an hour. This will saturate the husks preventing them from burning on the grill as well as help steam the corn when cooking. Cook them on one side 'til the husks start to char and then flip them over. They'll take about 30 mins. or so. depending on how hot your coals are.
With barbeque season in full swing (over here anyway) you'll love how easy this is.......and the taste, unbelievable.

DID YOU KNOW?

As with many holidays, the 4th of July Independence Day celebration includes food, drink & the realisation of how fortunate we are. But being from another country I decided to surf the internet in search of cool 4th of July stuff to broaden my horizons. I came across Chiff.com and here are some the interesting tidbits it offered up:

Did you know?....

FOURTH OF JULY BARBECUE COOKOUT

MORE THAN 66 MILLION

Number of Americans who said they have taken part in a bbq during the previous year. It's probably safe to assume a large # of these events took place on the Fourth.

You can almost count on traditional favorites such as hamburgers & hot dogs, chicken, ribs, garden salads, potato salad, chips & watermelon. Following is a summary of where these foods come from:

*There's a 1-in-6 chance the beef on your backyard grill came from Texas. The Lone Star State is the leader in the production of cattle and calves.

*The chicken on your bbq grill probably came from one of the top broiler-producing states: Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina and Mississippi.

*The lettuce in your salad or on your burger probably was grown in California, which, combined, produced more than two-thirds of U.S. tomatoes. The ketchup on your burger or dog probably came from California, which accounted for 95% of processed tomato production last year.

*As to potato salad or potato chips or fries, Idaho & Washington produces about one-half the nation's spuds.

*For dessert, six states - California, Florida, Georgia, Arizona and Indiana - combined to produce about 80% of watermelons last year. 

Bet you didn't know all that! 

Off to man my own grill.  

CITRUS GRILLED SHRIMP SKEWERS

The smell of  food cooking on the barbeque brings back great memories for me. During the summer my Dad would come home from work and throw a few steaks on the grill and I'll never forget the smell of the charcoal burning. Everyone who's reading this in Ireland knows that the summers aren't great (to say the least) but the first sign of sun, the shorts would be on and the barbeque out. Some years we got to barbeque a lot but you can be sure that that was few and far between.

I love the idea of picking something up in the supermarket and going home and throwing it on the grill. There's a lot to be said for the simplicity of that not to mention the fact that it's healthy and tasty.

Recipe:

1 orange zested & juiced

1 lemon zested

2 tbsp. fresh ginger - grated

Drizzle olive oil

S&P to taste

When I'm grilling I like to keep things as simple as possible. This is a very straightforward recipe. I use this more as a glaze than a marinade. You have to be careful when marinading shrimp in citrus as it begins to cook the shrimp so you can't leave them sitting for too long. I've always preferred to just brush them as I'm grilling but it's up to yourself. 

Before skewering the shrimp soak the skewers in cold water for a couple of hours. This helps stop the skewers from burning on the grill. Makes sense, right?

Very important to make sure your grill is hot. Brush one side with your glaze and lay that side down on the grill for 2 mins. You want to hear the 'sizzle' when you put them on there. Shrimp cooks really quickly so be careful not over-cook them as there's nothing worse. Brush the other side and once ready flip them over for another couple of mins. I did a bunch of grilled veggies when I did them (zucchini, squash, Japanese eggplant and asparagus).
If you want to see how easy this is and take a gander at me in all my glory check out YouTube

Grilled Fish Burger w/ Apple Jicama Slaw

With Summer on the way, barbecue season is just around the corner. I've come up with a very healthy yet tasty recipe for all you grillers out there. As you know, I love to keep things simple in the kitchen and this is no exception. Slaw is typically made with mayonnaise but my version is healthier and I think tastier. From start to finish this recipe will take you 15 mins. well, depending on how fast you can chop!

Recipe:
2 5-6oz Pacific Cod, Black Sea Bass or Tilapia
1/2 cup jicama - thinly sliced
1/2 cup red apple - thinly sliced
1/4 cup red pepper - thinly sliced
1 tbsp. fresh mint - chopped
olive oil
1 lemon to zest & juice
S&P








Depending on whether you use a gas or coal grill, preheat it. While the grill's coming up to temp. make the slaw. You can do this ahead but only maybe an hour or so. Place all three ingredients in a bowl of iced water and squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon. This is to stop the apple from turning brown and nasty. The ice helps keep them crisp. Finish the slaw as soon as your fish is almost ready.
Drizzle a little olive oil on each filet and season with S&P. Don't put too much oil on the fish as, well fish is naturally oily but also if the oil drips into the grill the flame will turn the fish black. You only need enough to stop it sticking to the grill. Depending on how thick your filet is it'll take approx. 3-4 mins. each side. When cooked you want the fish to be firm and clear juices running from it.
To finish the slaw, drain and add back to your mixing bowl. Add fresh mint, zest of 1/2 lemon, sprinkle of salt and squeeze lemon juice. Mix together and taste. If you think it needs more mint or lemon, add it. No big deal, after all you're the one eating it!
Toast a couple of burger buns and if you want add some avocado or mustard to your burger.
Check out YouTube to see this episode in action and more of the Shirtless Shef Summer Series.

Another great party in the bag (I've been working hard!)   Thanks to my buddy Trev for his collaboration.  

MENU

TRAY PASSED APPETIZERS

Mini fried Mac 'n' cheese

Pressed Cuban Medianoche Sandwiches

Sliders w/ Asiago cheese & sun dried tomato pesto

Pecorino Cauliflower Cakes w/ Romesco sauce 

BUFFET

Sweet 'n' spicy Corn Bread, Bread sticks, Warm flour & Corn tortillas

Red Chile Honey Glazed Salmon

Classic Crispy Fried Chicken

Polenta

Black beans and Rice

Penne pasta salad w/ pumpkin seed pesto, grilled red & yellow peppers and fresh Basil

Caesar salad w/ Baby romaine hearts, cilantro, jack cheese - Green chile lime Caesar dressing

For inquiries contact me at thehealthyirishman@gmail.com

URBAN GARDENS - sprouts & growth spurts

With time on our side (and the magic of editing) the urban gardens have flourished. It's brilliant to see the broccoli florets forming and the vibrant colors of the swiss chard. My favorite by far are the zucchini blossoms. I'm still amazed this is all happening right next door. If you could see the size of these cabbages in person...they're as big (and bald) as my head!

These photos document the days counted from the first round of photos. When we first posted Urban Gardens the photos from Chris's garden had been taken in late March which was about 3 weeks after planting. So basically we're looking at 9 weeks in the soil. Can you believe what a little over 2 months will get you? Last time the missus picked her first carrot. It was my turn this time and what a beauty it was! To see this in action be sure to check out my latest webisode on YouTube.

Looking forward to seeing more growth spurts along the way to my kitchen.

Murphy's Irish Christmas

As you all saw in the previous blog, we went to the homeland for Christmas. Had a great time and as expected it rained for 10 out of our 12 days. Not surprising but just meant we had to go to the pub more. No other option really, was there? Pretty much ate and drank the whole time which was great. Lots of lazy days and there's nothing like home-cooking is there?

We ate in a few of the local restaurants which were ok. We did go to a pub/restaurant called The Tankard, near my home town which serves mainly seafood. That was good. All the seafood is caught locally and it's near the main port so the fishermen drink in the bar. I thought that was great. Since I moved to the States, I have noticed the number of ethnic restaurants has increased at home. We ate in a Thai restaurant one night and I have to say it was very good. At least it was run by a Thai couple unlike the Italian place I went to which was run by some Romainians. Not an Italian in sight. Pretty bad.

I found that a lot more people at home are now willing to try different types of food which is great, unlike when I was growing up our only choices were sheperds pie, lasagne and bacon & cabbage. Always good but I love the fact that, from a food point of view, with the EU being an open market Ireland is now multi-cultural so people are able to eat all types of food any night of the week.

We had a great time but was glad to get away from the wind and rain. I think I've become California spoiled! Glad to be back!

Body-for-LIFE Expo Featuring GAVAN MURPHY