Land and Sea

Tweet

RENVYLE HOUSE LAUNCHES WILD ATLANTIC WAY, 'LAND AND SEA' SIGNATURE DISH

In early December 2013, Michael Ring TD, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, launched the Renvyle House 'Land and Sea' Wild Atlantic Way signature dish at the award winning restaurant at the hotel in Connemara on Saturday.  Head Chef at Renvyle House Hotel & Resort has created a signature dish representing the Wild Atlantic Way. 'Land and Sea' is a delicious creation made from core ingredients sourced from the Wild Atlantic Way which include Connemara Island Lamb, Lobster from the Atlantic and Newport Black Pudding.  This dish is accompanied by root vegetables and a cucumber and melon salsa.  The lobster is dressed with a tomato and spinach fondue and the Connemara lamb with a mustard and herb crust.

Renvyle House Hotel & Resort is located on the shores of the Atlantic and celebrates over 130 years of hospitality.  Mr. O'Sullivan's recipe includes Connemara island lamb, lobster from the Atlantic and Kelly's Newport black pudding.  "The Wild Atlantic Way is a very positive project for Ireland and is a world class  attraction" said Mr. Ronnie Counihan, Chief Executive of  Renvyle House, "we are delighted Minister Ring is here to launch our signature dish which we hope will be the first of many along this 2,500km route".

Valentine’s Menu

Tweet

Click >>HERE for PDF

Great Walking Weather

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you and all dear to you a very Happy New Year with our best wishes for 2014.

In between the windy-wet days here at Renvyle House Hotel and Resort over Chrstmas, we've also had some 'gems' of days for our guests to head out walking.  One of the favourite choices is walking the Diamond in the Connemara National Park.  It is a wonderful faciltity less than 10 minutes from Renvyle House.  There are beautiful beaches within walking distance of the hotel; great, white strands to walk and blow all the cobwebs away.

 Within our website we have a few walks around the area which are suitable for almost everyone including around the Renvyle Peninsula and by Tully mountain.

Tim’s Recipe for Christmas Mince Pies

Tweet

Renvyle House Hotel & Resort has been hosting families for Christmas for decades.  It is a home from home with Carol Singers on Christmas Eve, a visit from Santa Claus on Christmas Day, a visit from the St. Stephen's day Wren, and plenty of activities for all ages over the course of the Christmas holidays.  Not to mention award winning food and great hospitality, it is where some great memories are made.

Tim has given us his Christmas Mince Pies recipe to pass on to those who would like to sample some Renvyle Christmas magic in their own homes.

So.....here is the recipe; these are great to have at hand over the Christmas season. You can freeze them and reheat them for a few minutes when you have visitors around.

We hope you enjoy them and most of all, have a very Happy Christmas and much health and happiness for 2014.

Mince Pies Recipe

Ingredients

450g mincemeat*
1 egg
Caster Sugar
Shortcrust pastry**
Preheat oven to 220°c/ 425°F/ Gas 7

Ingredients for Shortcrust Pastry:

200g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
50g lard
50g margarine
2 tablespoons water

Method:

Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl
Cut the lard and margarine into small cubes (1.5cm) and rub into flour
Make a well in the centre and add the water, mixing to produce a soft dough. wrap in cling film and chill until required

Ingredients for Mincemeat

100g cooking apples peeled and chopped
70g raisins
70g sultanas
50g currants
35g mixed peel
70g brown sugar
70g suet, finely chopped
10g chopped almonds
juice and rind of half lemon
½ teaspoon mixed spice
1 tablespoon brandy.

Method:

Mince coarsely the apples, raisins, currants, sultanas and mixed peel.
Place in a bowl and add the sugar, suet, almonds, lemon juice and rind, mixed spice and brandy.
Mix all together.This can be made one week in advance. Store in tightly sealed jars.

To finish the pies:

Roll the pastry thinly and cut into rounds about 8cm for the pie bases.Line the patty tins with these and fill about half their depth with mincemeat.Cut out slightly smaller rounds for the covers. Dampen the rims of the pie bases with cold water and place the cover on top, pressing the edges together lightly to seal them.Make a small slit in the top of each pie, brush with egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar.Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.Remove and allow to stand for 2 to 3 minutes before removing from the tins.

Pink Footed Goose

The Pink Footed Goose Receives a Warm Welcome at Renvyle House's Rusheenduff Lake

We have a very special visitor staying with us at the moment.  It has received a great welcome from our gaggle and it loving the Irish hospitality afforded at Renvyle House!

The Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) is a scarce visitor to Ireland associating with other wintering geese such as Greylag and White-fronts.  It breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Great Britain, the Netherlands, and western Denmark. The name is often abbreviated in colloquial usage to Pinkfoot (plural Pinkfeet).

It is a medium-sized goose, 60–75 cm (24–30 in) long, the wingspan 135–170  (53–67 in) cm, and weighing 1.8–3.4 kg (4–7.5 lbs). It has a short bill, bright pink in the middle with a black base and tip, and pink feet. The body is mid grey-brown, the head and neck a richer, darker brown, the rump and vent white, and the tail grey with a broad white tip. The upper wing-coverts are of a somewhat similar pale bluish-grey as in the Greylag Goose, and the flight feathers blackish-grey. The species is most closely related to the Bean Goose Anser fabalis (having even been treated as asubspecies of it at times in the past), sharing a similar black-and-coloured pattern bill, but differing in having pink on the bill and legs where the Bean Goose is orange, and in the paler, greyer plumage tones. It is similar in size to the small rossicus subspecies of Bean Goose, but distinctly smaller than the nominate subspecies fabalis. It produces a medley of high-pitched honking calls, being particularly vocal in flight, with large skeins being almost deafening.[2]

There are two largely discrete populations of Pink-footed Goose. The Greenland and Iceland population winter in Great Britain, while the Svalbard population winters in the Netherlands and Denmark, with small numbers also in Norway (where it is common on migration), northern Germany, and Belgium.

Wild Atlantic Way

The Wild Atlantic Way will be Ireland’s first long-distance route, with the spine of the route stretching from the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal to Kinsale in Cork.  A variety of looped itineraries off the spine are also planned to further develop the experience for visitors.

This route will be well signposted with a number of 'Discovery' and 'Viewing' points which will be carefully incorporated along the way, enticing the traveller to explore more.  Fáilte Ireland have said that work is already well underway with the project being launched in March 2014.

One of these Discovery and Viewing points will be on the Renvyle Penisula and the Connemara Loop will feature as an additional itinerary off the main route.

With adventure tourism on the increase and time-poor travellers looking for new experiences, we feel the Wild Atlantic Way will have something to suit everyone and there is a lot to offer on the Renvyle Peninsula and coastal villages close by.

VIEW VIDEO >>HERE

National Potato Day

Tweet

As it is National Potato Day in Ireland this very day, we thought we'd share Tim's recipe of Puréed Potatoes which is served in our Restaurant.

This simple and delicious creamed potato can be also be used for Tim's Scallion Mash by adding 4 chopped scallions to the cream before heating.  Indeed for Tim's Basil Mash, add 8-10 chopped fresh Basil leaves to the cream before heating.  Tim favours Rooster Potatoes for mashing, with Golden Wonders as a close second for flavour and texture.

Ingredients:

10-12 medium potatoes, washed, peeled and cubed
Salt & pepper
80g butter
200ml cream

Method:

Put the potatoes in a pot with saled water.  Bring to the boil and cook for 25 minutes. Drain, mash and transfer to a bowl.  

In a small saucepan, heat cream gently and reduce by one-third.  Add butter and allow to melt.

Add the cream mixture to the potatoes and mix.  Reheat and season to taste

Glorious Summer Weather

Aren't we so lucky to have such a long spell of brilliant weather?  All the facilities on the grounds of Renvyle House Hotel & Resort are getting tremendous use.  I don't think I've ever seen the outdoor swimming pool so well used.  Not to mention the number of guests availing of a cooling swim on our beach at the back door.  Golfers are out at about.  The tennis courts are being well used.  Lovely weather for boating or canoeing on the private lake at the front door - not great for fishing but a great excuse to be out in a boat on a sunny day trying your hand at fly-fishing!

Best Customer Service in Ireland

GALWAY SCOOPS UP AT RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND 2013 AWARDS

Galway was very well represented at the Restaurant Association of Ireland 2013 Awards held in Dublin last night.  Renvyle House Hotel & Resort were awarded the 'Best Customer Service in Connaught' as well as the overall award of 'Best Customer Service in Ireland'.  Ronnie Counihan, Chief Executive of Renvyle House was delighted with the news "We have a superb team here at Renvyle House, I'm very proud of them all.  This award is great recognition of all their hard work." Renvyle House celebrates 130 years of hospitality this year and continues to provide a great holiday experience.

Other Galway winners at the Awards last night include Aniar who were awarded ' Best Emerging Irish Cuisine in Ireland 2013' as well as 'Best Restaurant in Connaught', Kai who were awarded 'Best Restaurant Design in Ireland' and Eat at Massimo who were awarded 'Best Gastropub in Connaught'.

Bloom 2013

Tweet

We had a super day in Bloom with Good Food Ireland last week.  The sun was shining and the crowds were in great form.  We had a very well located ice-cream stand just outside the door of the marquee we were in!

Never having been to Bloom in the Park it exceeded our expectations.  The gardens were gorgeous with so much thought and planning put in to each and every one.  Some great ideas to try and bring to the West also!  We me the President of Ireland and his wife as they walked around the gardens.  We also saw the Taoiseach on his journey through the festival.

Some photographs taken by our Marketing Director Zoë Fitzgerald below.