Last Sunday morning we took part in a great initiative to raise money for a local community project (Dromahair Arts & Recreation Committee) and to get to know your neighbours at the same time! The Dromahair Women’s group is organising Come Dine With Me-style events and we decided to host a brunch.

So no effort spared as we put together a delicious menu (even if I do say so myself!) and cleaned the house from top to bottom! I really was keen to use as many local products as possible, or Irish at the very least, and nearly everything was bought in the village from our local little shops and Butchers.
Brunch Menu
I love Compotes and the dried fruit one here is a combination of recipes from the great Delia Smith and Hugh Fearnley Whittinstall – definitely a Winter food this one.
Once the guests noticed that they could have Bailey’s with their porridge, it was porridge all round (no one requested low fat milk strangely!). Kedgeree is one of my favourite foods and I rarely ever see it on menus. Rice and fish together – what’s not to love?! This recipe is a combination of Delia Smith (again) and James Martin (from the BBC food website which is fabulous!). The Pork & Apple and Cracked Black Pepper sausages were made by Loughane’s Butchers in Galway, the Boxty was from Detta McNiffe in Aughnasheelin just down the road here in Letirim; potato bread from Cavan. Black pudding was Kelly’s of Newport and Clonakilty; eggs were from Mary Luthers’ Bluebell Organic Farm here in Dromahair (we have our own hens, though none laying at the moment, useless!);

Having been worried that we had made too much food, all plates were cleaned. Gallons of tea and coffee were consumed and there was still room for my home made Tea Brack (Avoca and Delia) – note a trend to combine recipes, I can’t help it!