Profile

CatScan

Irish automotive engineer living in the UK, married to a New Yorker. Seen and eaten in a lot of the States, Mexico and a fair bit of continental Europe. Want to go to Asia soon to explore and try new foods.

  • Location: Coventry, UK
  • Favorite foods: Sandwiches, burgers, Mexican, Italian, German.
  • Last bite on earth: Mam's homemade chicken and mushroom crepes with chips and peas.

Rachel Allen's Irish Stew

I've never seen it cooked bone in, and I've had a fair few stews in my time. Nothing wrong with it, bit o melted marrow never did a sauce any harm, just means you'll have to break it apart when cooked. The carrots are supposed to be soft, breaking down a bit into the gravy and sweetening everything. A good addition is pearl barley, it plumps up in the gravy and adds texture. I'm of the opinion that a spoon and a lump of buttered bread are all you need to eat stew, can't beat one for mid winter comfort.

Also, broken record, but it's Paddy's, not Patty's! You will not find a single Patrick in Ireland who goes by Patty, but you'll find a lot of Paddies.

'Tastes of America' Menu Now Available at McDonald's Australia

Given all the St Patricks day articles this week the indignation about what's considered American amuses me :)

I get annoyed by this menu in the UK. Pops up about once a year and the items tend to have nothing to do with the cities/states they're named after.

Serious Entertaining: St. Patrick's Day

As an Irishman born and bred I'm with Wilfred; we have no great traditions for St Patrick's day (or Paddy's day, but NOT Patty's day, ever ever ever), save going out with the lads and drinking too much. Corned beef is an Irish-American thing, beef was traditionally quite rare in Ireland; if you could afford to keep a cow you'd milk it, not eat it! A joint of boiled bacon (not belly, our word for a fatty ham/ cured pork shoulder or leg) would be a much more accurate traditional Irish dinner.

We Spend Valentine's Day at White Castle

I love White Castle, try and get there any time I'm in NY. Double cheeseburger sliders are my weapon of choice there. Glad to hear you enjoyed the experience :)

A Sandwich a Day: Swinery BLT at The Swinery in Seattle, WA

That sounds AMAZING! Is the belly cured like bacon?

Bar Eats: Chief O'Neill's is the Irish Pub 'You've Been Practicing For'

That is one good lookin stew! Needs a few decent lumps of potato in it and it'd be perfect.

First Look: The Marrow, Harold Dieterle's Italian-German Eatery

Any chance of the recipe for the ginger stout cake? It looks amazing!

The Best Way To Eat Breakfast at McDonald's

Tis a good way to eat a McD's breakfast. There's one round the corner from me and it's my guilty pleasure if I've to be up and about early on a Saturday morning. Double sausage, egg and cheese MacMuffin, with the hash brown shoved in and some ketchup.

The Best Frozen Chicken Pot Pies?

The crust on that Swanson pie looks awful! Does anyone use puff pastry for savoury pies in the States? It's pretty common over here.

Weekend Cook and Tell: Cooking For One

Cooking for one for me goes two ways; either simple, one pot meals (like chorizo, chilli, bell pepper fried off and mixed through scrambled egg of toast), or more unusual things I'm trying out for the first time.

Something I discovered doing this is pan fried wood pigeon breast cooked medium rare on a thick stew of carrots, swede, mushroom, onions, beef broth and pearl barley. It's now one of my favourites but I still only cook it for one as my wife doesn't like pigeon.

Horse DNA Found in Frozen Burger Patties Sold in the UK and Ireland

Nearly every article I've read on this ignores that pig DNA was found in nearly all of these 'beef burgers'. While I accept 'DNA' is a bit vague, and is not surprising in a meat processing plant in the British Isles, I doubt many Muslims or people who keep Kosher are thrilled with the revelation.

Weekend Cook and Tell Round Up: A Sandwich a Day

Yay, I'm famous! Namedropped on Serious Eats :D

Weekend is just around the corner, thinking white pudding is in order for a snowey saturday morning.

Weekend Cook and Tell: A Sandwich a Day

My favourite sandwich is a 'traditional' Irish breakfast roll. Sausage, back bacon, black pudding, white pudding (a sausage with oats in it), fried egg, ketchup, hash browns if you can get them, all in a crunchy baguette.

The breakfast sandwich I had this morning of chorizo, peppers, onions, tomato, garlic, cheddar, egg and plenty of hot sauce on granary bread was pretty epic.

I miss the massive deli sandwiches I get near my in laws in NY, we just have nothing remotely like them in the UK!

A burgery NY holiday! (5 guys, Shake Shack etc)

I got there in literally freezing cold temps at 6pm after walking 8 miles through Hell's Kitchen (LOVED Hallo Berlin's food, very authentic German, although the staff spent the whole visit argueing about the computer system), Chelsea (gelatto stand in the market was awesome) and East Village (no food there but yay vintage video games store!) No line to contend with and melty cheese and fatty sauce were much appreciated.

A Sandwich a Day: The French Dip Enigma at R.J. Grunts

Looks good, but referring to jus (or gravy) as 'au jus' really does my head in.

British Bites: Faggots (Liver, Kidney, and Pork Meatballs)

The other traditional way to have them is in a soft white roll with mushy peas on top. The biggest commercial brand here in the UK is called McBrain's, which adds to the 'whats in this?' factor.

Ask a Chef: Favorite Way to Eat Thanksgiving Leftovers?

We did thanksgiving for our friends in the UK this week (my wife is a homesick New Yorker), and did a turkey and a ham to cover everyone's tastes. Turkey, ham, sausage meat stuffing ball sandwich on white bread with mayo and cranberry sauce last night was amazing, usually something I only get on Steven's day after Christmas.

Chain Reaction: Papa John's Rolls Out the Meatballs

Meatballs are a standard menu item in Dominoes in the UK. I've rarely had much luck with them- bland and mushy. Usually stick to the really thin (and therefore crispy) Genoese salami option.

In-N-Out Still Traveling the World With Latest Pop-Up in London

Dahh! I'm only an hour from London and really want to see what all the fuss is about :(

Point Reyes, CA: A Bevy of Burgers Straight From The Source at The Marin Sun Farms Cafe

Great to see a lamb burger not served with feta and tzatziki!

Atlanta: The Carpetbagger from Edgewood Corner Tavern

We've had batterburgers in Dublin chippers for years. One on a bun is a "wurly burger". Never seen a stuffed one though, looks good. Can't stand the term 'car bomb' for the Guinness-Baileys combo, don't think New Yorkers woyld be impressed by a dish called a 9-11...

A Sandwich a Day: Tat'strami from Tat's Delicatessen in Seattle

Frankly that looks amazing. I curse the fact I live on the wrong side of the Atlantic for a decent sandwich every day :(

Toaster Pizza: A Retrospective

I had never heard of a toaster oven before visiting my at the time to be inlaws in NY having lived in Ireland all my life. Real toaters all the way, same in the uk, which would explain M&S' solution.

Toaster Pizza: A Retrospective

I had never heard of a toaster oven before visiting my at the time to be inlaws in NY having lived in Ireland all my life. Real toaters all the way, same in the uk, which would explain M&S' solution.

Pizzacentric: South Brooklyn Pizza Goes German

I'm lucky enough to go to Germany for work every few months. Love flammkuchen, and getting a whole one with a demi of local pilsner for €6 in a cafe is great :D

Best I've ever had was in Flamm's in Strasburg, went there twice in one weekend!

A burgery NY holiday! (5 guys, Shake Shack etc)

Just back from 2 weeks in Rockland county, NY over the holiday period.
Living in the UK as I do, without much access to great burgers, and having discovered AHT about a year ago I was looking forward to the trip.

Burger destinations hit: 5 guys, Shake Shack, White Castle, The Smith.

I've had White Castle a few times before, had a few with and a few without cheese. There's something about these little things that is so much more than the sum of their parts. There's nothing special to them really, onions, ketchup and soggy bread are predominant. Will still want a case in about 2 weeks time.

Had a double in 5 guys, with griddled onions, cheese, bacon, lettuce, pickles, mayo and mustard, along with a massive amount of fries (for a 'regular'). Nicely cooked and seasoned beef, fresh crispy veg, thought this was going to be the burger highlight of the trip, and still think it might have been. Was messy, but sooo tasty. It's 7.49am here and I want one of these for breakfast. Good value for the amount of food too.

Not so good value (in terms of amount of food for the money) was Shake Shack. But *that* burger, and *that* black + white malted shake. I will be back. As often as I can be. The beef had a great, salty crust, the cheese was perfectly melted, and I can say now that I get what all the raving is about on this site. Hopefully their London location is going to be as good!

Finally, the Smith. Went here in a rush to get out of the hail on the 26th after seeing Warhorse in the Lincoln centre (v good btw). Brother in law had the burger, I got to steal some. Great beef, very nicely cooked, kinda ruined by an oversweet yellow bun. I won't call it 'brioche' as it's not the wonderful buttery stuff you get in France, but, yeah, I see why this style of bread is much maligned as a burger conveyer in the US. I had the chicken and potato waffles and it was excellent.

Right, that's my 2c on some landmarks, running out of characters!

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