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Travel Tuesday: lunch at Ashford Castle

December 2, 2014 in Cocktails, Food, Travel by traveleatlove | 3 comments

Sit back, relax, and get ready to take a journey to Ireland for the next couple of weeks. Sure, I will have some blog posts on holiday recipes and other things, but we just spent eight days in the West of Ireland, and I am back with a full heart and hundreds upon hundreds of photos and sweet memories.

On the first trip back to Ireland I made with my husband, his parents took all of us to lunch at Ashford Castle in Cong, County Mayo. My jaw dropped at the beauty of the castle and the elegance and delicious food. It’s been almost 10 years since that visit, and a wedding, two houses, and many nieces and nephews have happened since. On this past trip, we all returned to Ashford for Sunday lunch.

The castle, which was recently purchased by Red Carnation Hotels, goes back to 1228 when a castle was built on a monastic site and run by the de Burgo family. Its history is long and winding, and the building has housed many famous guests including Oscar Wilde, King George V, John Lennon, John Wayne, Princess Grace of Monaco, and many others.

Arriving at Ashford Castle is pretty grand in itself. There’s a gatekeeper and a long road that winds through the golf course and leads you up to another gate over a river, then the castle.

On the inside, Ashford Castle exudes regal beauty, with plush carpets, ornate chandeliers, and comfy chairs.

While we sat in the lounge waiting for lunch, we had a round of drinks, mine a perfectly chilled Manhattan. A Manhattan in a castle on a Sunday afternoon felt pretty darn decadent!

And the view from of Lough Corrib from the lounge just couldn’t be beat.

Sunday lunch at Ashford involves a prix fixe menu with choices for appetizer, entree, and dessert. The Irish are known for their smoked salmon, and I went with a traditional and simple preparation, fresh salmon with a bit of fresh salad and lemon.

Entrees are on the heartier side, and choices included Connemara lamb, pork, and hake. Entrees are all served under silver domes which are dramatically removed at the same time by members of Ashford staff.

The pork came on a cart and was carved tableside. We felt so spoiled!

Since we were surrounded by beautiful water, I went with a fillet of hake with sweet creamed carrot, prawn bisque, and boiled potatoes. It was the perfect choice, filling but not too heavy, each of the elements’ flavors coming through without being overbearing.

Portions were generous but not overwhelming, and I was left with plenty of room for dessert, a Sticky Toffee Pudding with Rum Raisin Ice Cream. Yum.

The wine selection at Ashford is impressive, with pages and pages of wines including some very expensive ones. A bottle of Drouhin Pouilly-Fuissé Chardonnay went well with our hake and salmon and was just a delicious wine.

One of the best parts about lunch at Ashford Castle is being able to wander the beautiful grounds after. Every nook and turn has some sort of beautiful old detail, and stretching the legs after a leisurely lunch feels wonderful.

Lough Corrib is a stunner on its own. With 365 islands, there is something magical about this lake, and the light after lunch was perfect. We could see across to County Galway and to many of the little islands that dot the lake’s calm surface. It’s the perfect spot for boating when the weather is nice, and our Ashford visit has me counting down until we are in Ireland again in August.

If you get the chance to visit Ireland, I always recommend spending a lot of time in the Western part of the country. Ashford Castle is a beautiful place to splurge on a meal or a night’s stay if you are lucky.

Tags: castle hotel, castles, cocktails, Cong, County Mayo, Food, Ireland, Irish countryside, Irish hotel, Travel, travel blog, wine

Wine Wednesday: Longboard Vineyards

November 19, 2014 in Tasting Room Series by traveleatlove | 2 comments

As we prepare for Ireland travel adventures and seriously discuss a VERY exciting winter trip, I guess it’s time to wrap up my writing about our last Sonoma County trip. Sure, there will be Wine of the Week posts featuring Sonoma wines we brought back, but I am just about out of photos and stories to share. It must be time to go back.

Our last day in Healdsburg was a sad one, as it always is. We checked out of our rental house and then wandered around trying to decide what to do until our red eye flight from Oakland. Wine tasting was on the cards, of course.

We passed by Longboard Vineyards several times throughout this trip and past Healdsburg visits but never made it inside. A leisurely last day in wine country seemed like the perfect time, and we were glad we stopped in this bright, fun tasting room.

Owner and winemaker Oded Shakked traveled and surfed around the world after surfing from a young age in his native Israel, and the tasting room decor, which includes vintage surfboards all over, reflects that passion.

Shakked brings his surfing passion together with wine in Longboard Vineyards, and while the vibe is laid back, the wine is seriously good stuff.

wine tasting in Healdsburg

We arrived at the tasting room’s opening since we wanted to make the most of our last day. As a result we had the tasting room to ourselves and had a fun time tasting with our lovely hostess.

We decided to share a tasting (always a great option), and went through the list. Favorites included their 2013 Sauvignon Blanc, which made the trip home with us. Tart, fresh, with nice acid, notes of pineapple and grapefruit, and ever-present minerality, this wine is summery and refreshing, perfect with a grilled seafood feast.

We also loved the Mavericks Red Blend (killer label) for its deep, dark fruit flavors and luxurious weight. This wine is a big one, but it still worked on the warm day that we were tasting on.

Longboard’s Rochioli Chardonnay is also a memorable wine, with baked apple and honey notes and a light hint of vanilla, an easy Chardonnay that has enough depth to keep it interesting. Lovely.

We loved all of the wines we tasted at Longboard, and we felt so welcome. It’s a wine club we are definitely considering joining once we figure out what our next year looks like. And there you have it, our magical Sonoma and Napa trip is wrapped up. It’s one I will never forget; our travels were full of good food, wine, people, and time outdoors, great weather, and relaxation. As I sit here finishing this post, I am longing to be canoeing on Russian River again in the August heat, that’s for sure!

Tags: Healdsburg, Sonoma, Sonoma County, Travel, wine, wine country, wine tasting, wine travel, wineries

Food and Wine and Fall Roundup

November 18, 2014 in Cocktails, events, Food, Living, Restaurants, wine by traveleatlove | 3 comments

Do you ever have one of those weeks months where everything seems to fly by at lightning speed, when you rarely have a night free, and where you’re constantly going over plans for days and weeks in advance just to make sure you’re not missing something?

That’s how life has been lately. House stuff, work photo and TV shoots and events, travel planning, family, and more house stuff have made me feel like I am being spun around in a game of pin the tail on the donkey. During that time though, there were so many fun and delicious moments that I thought a rainy, dreary week could use a roundup of happy; that’s what today’s post is all about.

Slow cooked meals on weeknights – For some reason the kitchen is like therapy to me, and coming home after a busy day is made better by working on a comforting meal. This roast was absolutely incredible. It involved me searing the meat on all sides, then seasoning with garlic powder, pepper, and thyme and deglazing the pan with Travessia Jester red wine and beef stock. After that, the roast went into an oven at 400 with lots of vegetables and an entire head of crushed garlic. The end result was heavenly, the meat even better served cold with horseradish the next day. If you live in Massachusetts and haven’t tried Travessia wine, a visit to their tasting room is a perfect cold weather activity!

Visiting family and hanging out in pj’s on a cold and dreary Saturday with my mom’s French toast is just the best. I can’t wait until Christmas!

A yard full of cats – a stray mama cat and her kittens adopted us. While we try to catch them to bring them to a rescue, they have a little home to live in, along with two meals a day. I am constantly stressed about their wellbeing and hoping a rescue will get back to me soon!

The Massachusetts Governors Conference on Travel and Tourism – My work is so intertwined with Massachusetts travel, plus I love this state, so being at the JFK Library for the day with other tourism professionals was interesting and inspiring. The food at the library is delicious, and it happened to be National Boston Cream Pie Day, so the Parker House contributed the real deal.

The JFK Library has such an energy about it. It is also a great Boston day trip.

Speaking of energy and inspiration, the EF Education building opening was another beacon of light on a rainy day. They pulled out all the stops to celebrate their brand new building, and the event included fall cocktails, a flash mob, and the Landfillharmonic, a group of children from a Paraguayan slum who play instruments made from trash recovered from a landfill. The kids played “Imagine”, and there was not a dry eye in that tent. Beautiful.

We savored the outdoors while the weather was still fine, with beers on Atwoods’ patio and a day out at the Head of the Charles.

And we played tourist in Harvard Square, checking out beautiful architecture in the First Parish Church. In all of life’s chaos, I sometimes crave the peace that faith brings, and it was nice being in such a beautiful, faith-filled space.

Head of the Charles cocktails at Grafton Street have been a tradition since we went on one of our first dates, and it was a nice enough day to sit by windows open on to the street. Along with sipping drinks, we made friends with a handsome pitbull named Hudson. It was love at first sight.

I have to admit that our dining has been indulgent, and our exercise nonexistent. Lunches on-the-go have included a burger topped with lobster and guacamole at the Legal Sea Foods at Logan Airport. My goal is to join a gym the day we return from Ireland and to try to once and for all get back in shape and lose some of the weight I have gained this past year. It’s definitely been getting me down, and it’s been hard to turn around while so busy. Still, choices like this don’t help!

Finally, we’ve been loving the natural beauty of the season, including the changing leaves in the views from our home.

Chilly days are still fine for beach trips, and Duxbury Beach sparkled one windy Sunday.

And my garden is still hanging on! While the vegetable garden has been turned under and mixed with compost for the season, my little “cottage garden” as I call it, still has flowers and greens sprouting. It adds a little cheer to those dark mornings and evenings when we come and go. I don’t love that we almost never see daylight this time of year!