What We're Reading, Eating & Watching | September 13th
A delicious digest of satisfying suggestions...
Hey friends,
Another edition of our free monthly digest where we’re shining a light on some of the best things we’ve eaten, cooked, enjoyed, listened to, watched or read that hopefully will inspire you. This is more of a highlights reel of what we might ordinarily share on social media, so think of it as the Greatest Hits of that particular month!
Thanks for your support for Chip Paper so far, whether you’ve signed up as a premium subscriber or just enjoying the free emails and snippets –– we appreciate you! You can always delve back into the archive for each month’s recommendations, and annual subscribers can enjoy the whole hog for €1 a week!
Eating…
This last month has been full-on food-wise as we undertook a pretty big catering gig in late August to celebrate Patrick’s parents’ joint 60th birthdays. Cooking for 50 or so guests, we did a massive spread of canapés plus a hot and cold buffet of different dishes. From eight-hour slow-cook chuck eye which fell apart by just looking at it to hot smoked salmon with a lemon beurre blanc and a mushroom shawarma (recipe from Helen Graves’ fab book, Food on Fire — affiliate link) which went down exceptionally well. We’ve lived and operated in an online world for much of the last decade, to step away from screens and immerse ourselves in a cooking gig was such a tonic.
Travelling…
This past month we’ve made great use of our time, from a stint in Galway to a long weekend in Liverpool and, now, we’re currently in one of our favourite places: Portugal. More on that to follow in next month’s newsletter…
In Galway we finally got to Rúibín on Dock Road in the city centre as well as making a long-awaited return pilgrimage to Lignum (more on that to come in a Chip Paper restaurant review…). Before leaving we ducked out to The Sea Hare in Clifden, the new home for Sinéad and Philippa’s cafe-restaurant which graduated from its former Connemara home in Cleggan this summer. We chatted to the pair in an episode of Chew The Fat last year and we *may* be hatching plans for a pop-up there soon.
In Liverpool we loved Ropes & Twines, a luxe coffee spot and wine bar/bottle shop with a subterranean cocktail den. Similarly we loved Bunch, which is the wine bar by-night to Habitual’s all-day cafe, cutely sharing space and capturing our attention both ends of the day. Bold Street Coffee and Malmö (on Hanover) were both great for morning brunch and coffee. Queens was a nice little neighbourhood spot in an arcade for dinner, plus we made it back to Maray after several years away (stunning!) and wondered why EVERY city couldn’t have the likes of the Baltic Market in situ. QR code app ordering, killer street food, craft beer and cocktails, industrial setting… the potential across so many cities is unbelievable. Closer to home, we’ve written up in our most recent restaurant review about Mae in Ballsbridge…
Reading…
Cookbooks are something we adore and long before we wrote our own we’ve born a fascination of food writing and communicating recipes and traditions. Food writing and the skill and pleasure of it is why we started this Substack, too. A couple of recent books we’ve been sent or we’ve picked up, stumbled upon and have been loving are these eight, in no particular order and amongst a sea of other great books this year... [note: some affiliate links here; if you like the sound of these recommendations and follow-through to order we earn a tiny % commission]
The Homemade Year by Lilly Higgins
We’ve long adored Lilly Higgins and this book comes filled with practical things to do, organised by season. From crafts and homemade creations to dishes and bakes, it’s a wonderful catch-all to get more connected with what you put your hands to and to live more thriftily too (very timely and fitting!). Great for parents and kids to connect over, too! Order the book here
Let’s Do Lunch by Georgia Levy
Bored by lunch? Never lack inspiration with this little superpower book. Georgia Levy shares so many delicious, simple and quick options for lunchtime, everything from dining al desko and grabbing a quick, filling bite to more lavish and indulgent midday meals. Subscribe to her Substack, The Lunchbox, below, and order the book here
Good & Sweet by Brian Levy
An American cookbook that includes all its measurements in both imperial and metric, hallelujah! This book is all about being conscious about sugar and eschews refined sweeteners for natural ones, leaning heavily on the likes of fruits with naturally-occurring sweetness. Each recipe begins by answering “what makes it sweet?” and this is both an enlightening and fascinating read! Order the book here
Mezze: Middle Eastern Food Made to Share
Nicola Crowley and Dvir Nusery are visionaries in Irish food. From market stall to Tramore cafe-deli they’ve tirelessly grafted and always self-started in their desire to share delicious Middle Eastern food with everyone. Now, continuing that approach, they’ve self-published their debut cookbook and it’s a total joy. Cookbooks like these with new, fresh, exciting voices are exactly what Ireland needs, and a necessary reflection in the publishing world of what’s happening on the ground. Order the book here via mezze.ie
Simply Chinese by Suzie-Lee Arbuthnot
This is the Chinese cookery book we’ve been waiting for! A cuisine we adore to cook at home but still at total amateur level, so, here, Suzie-Lee Arbuthnot (winner of BBC’s Britain’s Best Home Cook in 2020) shares her recipes from a Chinese home kitchen, continuing the legacy of her late mother and in celebration of her own children’s’ Chinese heritage. Super personal, totally approachable and we want to cook EVERYTHING in this! This book is a total dream. Order the book here
United Nations of Cookies by Jess Murphy and Eoin Cluskey
The third in our very own Blasta Books stable, this baking book follows Tacos and (our own) Hot Fat as third in-the-series, delving into culture and custom by way of cookie (or biscuit) recipes collected from immigrant voices. Jess Murphy of Kai in Galway and Eoin Cluskey of Bread 41 in Dublin celebrate their stories through cherished recipes with all profits are going to UNHCR. A must-have on your shelf. Order the book here via Blasta Books
Bake by Graham Herterich
The first fully-fledged cookbook, tracing its process from start to finish, from our publisher Nine Bean Rows is Bake by Graham Herterich. Known to many as The Cupcake Bloke, this is the baking book we always imagined our cherished friend Graham to produce. Bake sees him step out from behind the stall, the bakery and the Rialto shop to introduce himself and his globally-inspired, unique flavour combinations. The book does a two-for-one, for every ‘classic’ recipe there’s an accompanying ‘twist’ and best to start with the tea brack (Graham’s signature) and then delve one by one into everything else! Order the book here
Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage
Glorious recipes and we fully expect to see this on pretty much *every* ‘best of’ cookbooks list this year. A former Ottolenghi chef, Ixta shares her own food heritage (Mexican, Brazilian, Italian) and ethos in Mezcla, which is all about “recipes to excite”. We particularly love the ‘entertaining’ section and we know already it’s going to be our most-thumbed part of this tome. Totally veg-focused, over 60% of the recipes are vegetarian or vegan, too! Order the book here
Happy reading and eating!