It’s Tuesday night and in San Diego that means two things, Tacos and Margaritas. ‘Taco Tuesday’ is a great excuse for meeting friends for happy hour and devouring a couple of tacos and a margaritas or two before heading home for an early night. Of course with $2 margaritas and Mexican beers to be found all over town it does not always happen. My favorite tacos are fish tacos which San Diego is famous for. With their origins across the border in Ensenada and probably a few other Baja fishing towns many a hungry surfer including San Diego’s fish taco king Ralph Rubio have brought them back here. Tradtionally the fish is battered and fried and served up in a warm corn tortilla with cabbage slaw and some of that tangy white sauce or you will find the lighter version with grilled fish. Fried or grilled they all taste pretty good to me!

At home  fish tacos are a favorite to cook on the grill, they are quick, simple, will feed the masses and are pretty healthy provided they are not followed by too many of the afore mentioned margaritas. If it is a spur of the moment thing, the frozen line caught mahi mahi from Trader Joe’s is perfect for grilling, marinated in some lime and spices and wrapped in a warm tortilla with jicama slaw, perfect! So if your looking for a light and healthy Mexican inspired dinner tonight, you can’t go wrong with a grilled fish taco. Watch the video recipe here and if you need a margarita with a bite, try this blood orange and jalapeno margarita from Santa Monica’s Border Grill. Still need some more Mexican inspiration? Try some of the other Mexican recipes guacamole, poblano quesadilla, ono ceviche, chicken chilaquiles or pajas cookie.

While waiting at the boarding gate yesterday in Dublin airport to catch my flight home I picked up a stray copy of the Guardian newspaper. It was the cover of the magazine that really caught my attention. Guardian journalist Jon Henley was trying to eat his way through the 12,000 calorie a day diet which has been fueling Phelps to his Olympic glory.
According to Henley breakfast includes a large bowl of oatmeal (not too surprising), three doorstep- sized sandwiches of white bread, butter, fried egg, fried onion, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise; a five egg omlet, three slices of French toast liberally sprinkled with sugar; three pancakes topped with chocolate chips; and two large cups of coffee and that’s just for breakfast!
Lunch and dinner include whole pizzas, pounds of pasta and ham and cheese sandwiches all washed down with gallons of high energy sports drinks.
My mum is a swimming instructor and my sisters were all competitive swimmers. Not only was mum constantly feeding us but all the friends and boyfriends that ended up at the kitchen table. She was always running out of food feeding up the growing boys but nothing to the extent of 12,000 calories a day. Phelps claims that it is not what he eats that’s the challenge rather physically consuming enough calories in a day to fuel his grueling training program.
They say you are what you eat but in this Olympic record breaker’s case it’s clearly not true. It seems he can eat what ever he wants and still be in winning form. Watch this video of Jon Henley sttempting to eat Michael Phelps’ daily intake of 12,000 calories.

Finally it was time for me to bake the wedding cake or cakes as it may be and well I do have to admit I did get some help from my friend Niall who did most of the baking of the 100 raspberry and white chocolate cupcakes or buns as they are simply referred to in Ireland.
But to be honest the baking of the cakes could be done the day before yet their were months of planning before the baking could begin.
Before setting off for Ireland there were over 100 sugar gum paste flowers that needed to be made and painted. I made the flowers using Wilton and painted each flower with different shades of their lustre dust.
Then there was the problem of the cake stand, I couldn’t find one to fit 100 cupcakes and it would be almost impossible for me to fit it in my luggage so I called my Dad. After throwing a couple of ideas around including mirror and glass which was really expensive my Dad had the idea of making the stand out of a light weight but sturdy foam like substance that is used to make signs. He knew just the man for the job and my four tiers of the cake stand were expertly lazer custom cut for us.
Next there was the pillars, how would I seperate each tier, the problem was solved with some inexpensive mini goldfish bowls from Michael’s craft shop. I originally wanted to fill them real fish but unfortunately time and logistics would not allow it! Instead we filled the bowls with fresh roses.
The day before the wedding while Niall was baking cakes I was at home making pounds of light, fluffy buttercream, I then hopped in the car and raced into town to start icing the cakes in the canteen of my sisters office. Thanks to Chef Denise and everyone at 14 and 15 Stephen’s Green for allowing me to take over the kitchen in the afternoon. In the middle of the icing marathon it was back up the street to Bentley’s Hotel the location of the wedding reception to meet with a photographer who was taking a quick photo for a piece about www.inyourkitchen.com in Irish newspaper The Evening Herald . Then it was back to the icing followed by another quick sprint down the street to meet my future brother in law and his family at the wedding rehersal at Trinity College.
On the big day we were up early for hair, make up and cake assembly and of course the actual wedding ceremony which I may of been a little late to.
In between the hair and make up appointments on Grafton Street I was assembling the cake, to be honest I didn’t quite get time to finish before the ceremony at 11.30 am but thanks to some of my sister’s friends and co workers they had the cake assembled beautifully by the time we arrived at the hotel.
It may not of been the most traditional of wedding cakes but it was a fun, original and cost effective wedding cake and of course it tasted great. If your looking for some original wedding cake ideas the Wilton website has some great ideas.

I have been back home in Dublin last week for my sister Lynda and her new husband Padraic’s wedding. Far from a relaxing beach vacation or holiday, the first week home entailed the usual histeria which no matter how calm the bride is always comes with weddings!
As little sister, bridesmaid and the cook in the family, I was quickly directed to the last minute plans for the wedding reception. Although the reception was booked well in advance, the hotel where the wedding changed ownership and chef weeks before the big day and opened just days before.
Still recovering from jetlag my big sis still had no menu for the reception, yes that’s right days before the big day and no menu. We soon fixed that.
The hotel in question was Bentley’s on St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin and the chef Michelin star winner Richard Corrigan .
After discussions with the chef the menu included for starters Frank Hederman’s famous smoked salmon, Salad of Globe Artichoke Barigoule for mains Wild Sea Trout with Peas and Coastal Greens and 7 Hour Lamb Confit with Sweetbread Ravioli and dessert Summer Berry Jelly and Chocolate Brownie.
Needless to say with a chef of Corrigans caliber and reputation the food was flawless and definetley the best food I have eaten at a wedding reception. I wanted to enjoy every bite while still being able to fit into the bridesmaid dress.
After the celebratory toasts and the cutting of the cake, it was off to Fallon and Byrne on Exchequer Street (Ireland’s version of Dean and Deluca which also includes a restaurant, wine bar and private room for the ‘afters’ basically the rest of the party and the dancing!
The Happy Couple on their way to the afters!

The page boys guarding the cake….or eyeing it up

My cousin, my aunt and my mum and I

As it almost always happens on an inyourkitchen.com shoot, there is a need to reschedule chefs. Our Las Vegas trip is no exception, and I found myself with a film crew but with no scheduled shoot for Tuesday morning. I asked Jean Paul at Table 10 if he knew of another chef we could film for inyourkitchen and next thing we knew, we were off to film Beni Velazquez, executive chef and owner of a new restaurant just off the strip, Steeles Restaurant.
Steeles Restaurant serves the classic dry aged black angus Nebraska beef you would expect at any steakhouse but the unexpected surprise at Steeles is Chef Beni’s extensive tapas menu. Beni spent a year in Spain cooking not with chefs but with the locals, learning about the importance of quality local ingredients and the passion with which the natives prepare their food.
At Steeles Beni is clearly passing on his passion for food and you can see it in the attention to detail in the kitchen and the restaurant and taste it in every bite. Beni prepared three dishes for us from his menu, lamb lollipops with honey aiioli and pickled shallots, garlic shrimp with roasted garlic and sherry sauce and chocolate ganache cake.
So if you find yourself in Las Vegas and want great food but away from the bright lights, Steeles Restauant is highly recommended and won’t disappoint!