Friday night finger food and booze!

So it is a bank holiday here in Ireland. And as usual it looks like the weather will be the same as all other bank holiday weekends………. Wet!

So I have decided not to suffer the usual Friday night craziness that is Dublin on bank holiday Friday, instead ill stay at home. Make a few nice nibbles and indulge in a cocktail or 2.

Nibbles seem to be pretty straight forward. I am in the mood for Chinese so ill toast some sesame seeds mix with some fantastic boyne Valley honey and drizzle this fantastic mix over a few king prawns. Also on the list are a few deep fried crispy spring rolls, quick and easy but fantastically indulgent when done well.

First of all I have purchased some pre cut spring roll pastry. Into these ill stuff in really thinly cut carrots, beansprouts and scallions that have been tossed in a little sesame oil and garlic salt. These will be wrapped in the pastry along with prawns or chicken and deep fried for about 5 minutes at 180C until crisp and golden.

Ill serve these with some sweet chilly sauce and maybe a separate dip of rice wine vinegar, soy and a little diced chilly and garlic.

Now for the important Friday night requirements; Booze! It seems an age sine I mixed up a few cocktails and get a little tipsy so tonight is the night I think.

Chinese food in my opinion is better served with beer. And in true fashion ill have a couple of the best that Chinese beer has to offer in the form of TsingToa

Tsingtao Beer has a pleasant aroma and a well-balanced taste. Its high-malty flavour and well-hopped character make Tsingtao a refreshing complement to any Chinese meal.

Tsingtao is produced with spring water from Laoshan, a mountain area famous throughout China for the purity of its water. Tsingtao ingredients include the highest quality hops, as well as the finest yeast and barley imported from Australia and Canada.

Now onto the main event cocktails this bank holiday weekend. I have to admit the Appletini is one of my favourite cocktails. Although I do serve these a little differently from others, I use polish vodka that contains bison grass and goes by the name of Żubrówka. I measure (35cl) is mixed with I measure of apple sourz and blended with 2 measures of freshly pressed apple juice. This gives a cloudy-tini but the taste is utterly amazing , one that if you try you will be making time and again. If Żubrówka is not available then an alternate-tini is to mix 1 part grey goose with 1 part apple sourz and 2 parts clear apple juice and a slight squeeze of lemon.

Seeing as I am on a tini-thon tonight I think ill go for the keep-you-awake-tini of better known as the espresso martini. Again there are 2 ways of making this fantastic cocktail. The first is to mix 1 shot grey goose with 1 shot Kaluha and 1.5 shots of freshly brewed espresso. Shake with ice till cold and serve. An alternate is to substitute the kaluha with baileys to make a milky espresso martini.

I am now looking forward to my Friday night and my cocktails but not looking forward to my hangover!

Chinese Food, Cocktails, Coffee, cooking at home, Dublin, eating, Entertainmnet, Food, Vodka