There’s nothing like an Irish Coffee - tasty, invigorating and energising. It was invented by a barman named Joe Sheridan, who was working at Shannon International Airport during the 1940s and wished to provide a refreshing beverage for the tired American travellers disembarking from the eighteen hour transatlantic flight. He developed the Irish coffee, a soothing and sophisticated drink and it took off from there to become the world renowned brand that it is today. If you are passing through Shannon airport, pop in to the Joe Sheridan Café Bar, drink an Irish Coffee and read the plaque honouring his achievement. To make your own, follow these simple steps:

1. Heat up a stemmed whiskey goblet.

2. Pour in a shot of your favourite Irish whiskey.

3. Drop in three teaspoonfuls of brown sugar. (The sugar is essential for floating the cream on the top.)

4. Fill to within two inches of the rim of your favourite black coffee.

5. Stir the contents gently.

6. Add fresh cream, pouring over the back of a spoon to the top. (Whipped cream is sometimes used although it is not the original recipe but it will float even if the coffee is not made with sugar.)

7. Do not stir. The coffee is sipped through the cream.

It should, in the words of it’s creator, have ‘cream as rich as an Irish brogue; coffee as strong as a friendly hand; sugar as sweet as the tongue of a rogue and whiskey as smooth as the wit of the land.’

Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland. Article source: http://www.exploringireland.net

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There comes a time in every homeowner's life when they need to make a decision on whether or not to remodel. One of the popular areas of the home to remodel is the kitchen. A major remodeling project will cost time and money. Even a small remodeling project carries with it some expense. You obviously wouldn't want to take on an expensive remodeling project without a good reason. Take a look at your kitchen, and you may just see signs that the room needs to be remodeled or renovated. If not completely remodeled, then at least redecorated. These signs should tell you if you should remodel your kitchen.

The kitchen is falling apart. Take a look around your kitchen. If you have an older kitchen, you may notice cabinet doors askew, or holes in the walls, bumps and pits in the kitchen floor, chips and scratches in the coutertop. These are all signs that the kitchen should be at least partially, if not completely remodeled. In some cases, the kitchen needs to be remodeled not only for appearance, but for safety. Cracks and gaps in the counter could trap food and dirt, providing an ideal breeding ground for dangerous bacteria. Sagging cabinet doors, and sharp edges can snag clothing. Bumps in the floor could cause tripping. These kind of issues need to be taken care of, to provide a safe working environment when preparing meals.

The kitchen is inefficient. Go into the kitchen and walk through a typical meal preparation process. Do you find yourself constantly running from one side of the kitchen to the other? Are the work surfaces far from the refrigerator, sink, and stove? Your kitchen may not be making the best use of the available space. Remodeling, and rearranging the kitchen can help to maximise use of the space, and make the workflow more efficient. If the kitchen is large enough, you may consider adding a table or kitchen island in the middle, giving you more workspace, and putting that workspace closer to where it's needed.

The kitchen is outdated. Your oven may have been state of the art... when it was installed in the 60's. If you have older appliances in your kitchen, you should consider replacing them. Modern appliances have more useful features than older appliances, and they are more efficient, getting more done, with less electricity. With energy costs rising, that could be a big factor. Modern appliances are often smaller and less bulky than older appliances, so you have the extra space for storage, or preparing meals.

You just want to. Even if the kitchen is in fairly good shape, and utilizes the space well, it just may not look as good as it could. The kitchen could be perfectly functional, but still look shabby and worn. You can change the look of the kitchen with a few simple projects. New flooring, new cabinets, a new sink, or even just a coat of paint can change the look of the kitchen. A few posters or paintings on the wall and some new canisters can help the look of the kitchen, without spending a lot of money.

Take a good look at your kitchen. Any or all of these reasons to remodel may apply. If you do need to remodel, you don't need to spend a lot of money on the project. You can start small, do a few small, inexpensive projects here and there, and save the bigger projects for later, when you have the time and money. Decide what needs to be done, and then get in there and do it.

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There are a lot of protein supplements available nowadays for those trying to lose weight or build larger muscles
. These protein supplements can be fast release or slow release. Which protein powder you should seek depends on your needs and goals.

The foremost thing you had better do is taste a sampling from each protein powder prior to purchasing one. If you are interested in more common flavors such as chocolate and vanilla, then check out the supplies at your local gym and check if there are sample packs or single servings of the various flavored protein powders. Perhaps you are thinking it is foolish buying a protein powder based upon taste, but trust me, there is a huge difference between protein powders. Why would you buy a flavor that you choke on whilst you drink it? You many also get stuck with one that is so lumpy you swear you are going to choke on a lump of dry powder. You must refuse to blow away your hard earned cash on a protein powder that tastes so ordinary you end up buying something elee and discarding the rest of the tub. Been there, done that! Be sure to do the taste test.

Luckily there is a fast way to pick a protein powder that's guaranteed to taste good. Pick any flavor of Muscle Milk! Yes, I'm sure you have heard about the taste, its true. If you google "best tasting protein powder", you will find many a muscle milk review showing that Muscle Milk dominates the protein market in terms of taste and quality. Muscle Milk is simply yummy. You'll have no trouble consuming the protein powder as many times as you need to. You will find yourself having extra shakes because it tastes so good. Muscle Milk also mixes very easily too. In the past I have thrown away a close to full container of a different brand as it just resisted mixing. I even blended it for about 5 minutes and still found lumps. Muscle Milk comes in many flavors too besides chocolate, in fact there is close to 30 flavors, cake batter is the new favorite.

Those who are serious about building muscle will understand how crucial it is to find a perfect protein supplement, which is all about choosing the right protein blend for you. If you don't know much about protein, you need to understand that there are many types that all work differently. I think the best options is to choose a protein that combines various protein sources so that you have both fast and slow release proteins in your system. Combining casein and whey is the best pick according to most studies - so be sure to check the label for this.

So should you choose muscle milk as your protein supplement? I have had great results with this product and so have my training partners, however it can be different for each person. I would suggest you read some muscle milk reviews from people who tried this product and observed the results, then you will have a better understanding if it is right for you.

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For Christmas, you drive down to a friend's house in the south. Homemade meat loaf, fried chicken with cream gravy, classic macaroni and cheese, Southern style cornbread, crockpot barbecue country style ribs. You think to yourself, "Wow, these southern ladies really know how to cook." Just when you've stuffed yourself up to bursting, they serve the dessert: chocolate pecan pie.

You can't resist the lure of this chocolate pecan pie. You take just a little teeny-weeny bite. Oh the glorious taste. The sweet sumptuous chocolate taste combines incredibly well with the buttery and rich pecan tang. This is certainly a great twist to the traditional pecan pie you've been eating. Every bite of the chocolate pecan pie makes you want to taste even more. You feel happy, slightly intoxicated, and so at peace with the world that you want to hug everyone in sight.

Maybe you're letting yourself get carried away. But you feel like you've been taken back to the times when the Mayan people drank a warm unsweetened liquid chocolate for life and fertility. Chocolate was so precious then to the Mayans and the Aztecs who conquered them that it was used for currency. In the old Spanish courts where chocolate was brought after Cortes' journey to the Americas, it was mixed with sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon to produce an enticing drink. You picture yourself in the French courts in the 1600s where chocolate was reputed to be an aphrodisiac. Even the famous Casanova was rumored to use chocolates laced with champagne to seduce ladies.

You indulge in the bittersweet buttery flavor from the pecans in the chocolate pecan pie. These pecans also have a great story to tell. Some Native American tribes considered the pecan tree a symbol of the Great Spirit, the creator of all things. You picture yourself in the pre-colonial North America worshipping the Great Spirit under the wide canopy of the pecan tree. The nuts were favored by the Native Americans for food during the lean months of winter. You imagine the creamy liquid powcohicora prepared from pecan nuts drunk for sustenance or being added to broths or meat stews. Pecan fruits or nuts were considered valuable, so much so that they were used by the Native Americans as currency to trade for hides and mats from the Spaniards.

Did anyone back then every think that they could make something as sinfully delicious as chocolate pecan pie from chocolates and pecans? You rouse yourself from your reveries to find your slice of chocolate pecan pie gone. You reach for another slice, just a small one and go back to your reveries.

The great pecan pie had its roots in New Orleans. When the French settled in this area, the Native Americans taught them about pecans. Several nutty experiments later, voila! The pecan pie. You can't believe the first recipe for the pecan pie was made in 1925. It must have taken years to perfect the recipe for the perfect combination found in chocolate pecan pie. At least, that explains how the chocolate pecan pie became one of the most loved ingredients of a traditional Southern cooked meal.

For the best that Southern cooking has to offer, go to Tanner's Pecans and Candies. They offer a homemade chocolate pecan pie and other pecan treats for desserts that complete every home cooked meal.

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Starbucks. When you say the name, it automatically conjures up an image: an upscale coffee bar with light wood, glass and chrome. The invigorating and inviting aroma of brewed coffee and the café atmosphere has made Starbucks the best-known specialty coffee
roaster and server in the world. Starbucks has done an excellent job of branding their company - it is the only coffee brand that is on the list of 100 most recognized brands in the world. What makes the Starbucks brand and the Starbucks coffee experience so ubiquitous that it ranks up there alongside Google, McDonalds and Coca Cola in name and brand recognition?

Sheer size and Starbuck's number of locations has something to do with name recognition and popularity. With over 16,000 shops worldwide, Starbucks is certainly one of the most visible brands in the world. However, this is not a matter of the chicken or the egg - in order to become so visible, Starbucks had to start off with something special in the first place. It is that “something special” that defines the Starbucks coffee experience.

The Third Place

Since the opening of its first stores in Seattle, Starbucks has striven to be more than just a place where you buy coffee
. Howard Schultz, company President and CEO, defined the atmosphere that Starbucks attempts to create when he said "We're in the business of human connection and humanity, creating communities in a third place between home and work."

The Third Place concept informs the design of Starbucks shops. While coffee takes center stage, the design is meant to make customers comfortable. To further customer comfort and social interaction, most Starbucks stores mix upholstered chairs and sofas with hard-backed chairs around tables. Most Starbucks stores offer free electricity to their customers so that they can plug in their laptops and all U.S. Starbucks offer Wi-Fi access through AT&T. In addition, many Starbucks feature a well-stocked reading and game shelf to encourage customers to settle in and hang out with friends for a while.

The Coffee Experience

More than anything else, of course, Starbucks is about the coffee. The company started out as a premium coffee roaster, and they stayed true to their roots by serving nothing but excellent coffee. As of early July 2008, Starbucks announced that they would be changing the way that coffee is made and served in their stores around the world in an effort to provide the best coffee
experience possible. The changes will be rolled in across the U.S. by the end of 2008, and include a commitment to grind and brew many coffee varieties to order, as well as to discard any coffee that has been brewed for more than thirty minutes.

In order to enhance the coffee atmosphere, Starbucks employees are requested to avoid wearing strong perfumes that might interfere with the coffee aroma, and nearly all Starbucks around the world are non-smoking indoors. The preservation of the coffee-centric atmosphere was the reason that Starbucks abandoned its short-lived foray into serving breakfast sandwiches. According to some sources, the smell of the breakfast sandwiches overpowered the coffee aroma, making the coffee cafes smell like diners - an image that the company does not want to present.

All About the Coffee

The Starbucks coffee experience extends to brewing your own Starbucks coffee at home. The coffee roasts that Starbucks have chosen for sale are those that best reflect the rich coffee flavor and aroma of your local Starbucks. Those roasts tend to lean heavily toward darker roasts, because it is easier to maintain consistency of flavor across batches when roasting darker. Darker roasts also tend to be more 'coffee' flavored than lighter roasts, which allow the variations of region and season to be more readily apparent.

Since 2000, the Starbucks coffee experience has also included feeling good about your coffee choices. That's the year that Starbucks started selling its line of Fair Trade Certified coffee. As of 2005, Starbucks was the largest single buyer of Fair Trade certified coffee in the world, buying over 11.5 million pounds of FTC coffee - about 10% of the entire U.S. volume of Fair Trade sales. The amount accounted for about 6% of the company's total coffee buying for that year. While some activist groups pressure Starbucks to increase the percentage of Fair Trade coffee that it offers for sale, company spokespeople point out that they pay above market price for coffee and that they also deal with many small growers who can't afford the cost of Fair Trade certification.

The Starbucks Coffee Experience

The Starbucks coffee experience can be summed up in just a few words: great coffee in comfortable surroundings served by an attentive staff and produced by a company that cares about our world. With great tasting drinks and a commitment to creating a fun atmosphere, it is no wonder why Starbucks has become a household name.

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A coffee pod machine is used in brewing instant coffee. Single serving coffee pod machines are now being developed to make brewing more convenient and simpler.

A coffee pod maker takes lesser time to brew and is easy to clean. There is small room for mistakes with this machine.

Coffee pod machines are basically made of sealable plastic rods with small paper filters inside. Pods are placed in the machine and locked in place. Switch it on the water heats.

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Tips the season for great holiday baking and cooking organic cookies. My organic christmas cookie recipe was such a hit; I had quite a few requests for more recipes. So, I've dug up another great recipe for your enjoyment.

Organic Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies:

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups organic whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup organic butter

3 tbsp unsweetened organic apple sauce

¼ cup organic skim milk

2 tbsp organic cocoa powder

2 large omega rich organic eggs

2 cups old-fashioned organic rolled oats

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

1. Mix the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon together in s small bowl. Set aside.

2. Cream the butter, Add skim milk. Add cocoa powder. Add the eggs. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

3. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until combined. Add the rolled oats and continue beating. (If you are adding chips or nuts, add them now.)

4. Place rounded teaspoons of dough on a lightly greased baking sheet. The resulting mounds of dough should be no large than walnuts.

5. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until done. Let sit on the cookie sheet for two minutes and then remove them to a wire rack to completely cool.

You can add a tsp of ginger to the mix or more cocoa or cinnamon, if you desire, that is all up to you. Whatever you decide to do, the end result is a healthy snack that can help you get your day going or give you a bit of a lift during the morning or afternoon break at work.

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Wine has been an important part of any occasion. It is commonly made from fermented grape juice, flowers, and grains. Countries like Italy, Portugal, United States, and Argentina are among the largest exporters of different wines.

The most expensive kind of wine is called “vintage”. Vintage wines are made from the highest quality grapes that are harvested several years before they are sold to the public.
While some wines are very expensive, there are some of good quality and that are relatively inexpensive. Among these wines are homemade wines that are commonly served to show old English hospitality.

Home winemaking is an exciting hobbiy designed for people who love social drinking or who are fond of giving away wine as gifts. Here are some tips on how to make homemade wine:


1.Get fresh produce from fields and orchards that let buyers pick their own fruits. Another option is getting fruit concentrate being sold by local winemaking stores.

2.Buy equipment needed in home winemaking. These are fermentation locks, Demijohns, plastic funnels, trial jars, siphon tubes, and wine bottles with corks.

3.Gather necessary ingredients to put flavor and a distinct taste to the wine. These are yeast, pectic enzyme, wine tannin, acid blend, and campden tablets.

4.Get recipies of the favorite wines to have accurate information about the exact amount of ingredients to use. The tip in making the best wine is accurately mixing ingredients to achieve desired taste.

5.Use fermentation bags in collecting pulp and submerge it into the wine mixture. Set aside covered fermenter within 24 hours.

6.Put yeast on the grape juice surface and cover it. Let the mixture ferment within 7 days.

7.After 7 days, discard pulp and siphon the mixture to prepare for secondary fermenter.

8.Add water to the wine mixture and allow it to ferment for 4-6 weeks or until it appears completely clear. Use hydrometer to make sure fermentation has been completed. Hydrometer should show 0.989 and 0.990 on its gravity scale.

9.The wine should be cleared completely after following the first 8 steps. After that, siphon the wine and add five crushed campden tablets.

10.Bottle the homemade wine and let it age.

Today, the best wines on the market are home made. They are surprisingly delicious and inexpensive. Anyone can make wine by simply following these 10 basic steps and then you can start impressing friends and family members during get-togethers.

For More Info please visit: http://wines-liquors-beer.blogspot.com

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United States is one of the havens of the best seafood restaurants in the globe.

Hook Restaurant is a well-maintained seafood restaurant in Washington D.C. operated by Chef Barton Seaver, who co-owns this place. The grilled calamari and the bluefish are the two most favorite items on the Hook's menu. The calamari is cooked over a wooden grill and dished up with basil walnut pesto and warm potato salad. Most of the diners
like to have it sliced, fried, and served with marinara sauce but the calamari is usually left in one or two pieces while it's grilled. The bluefish is cooked on a level grill and dished up with grilled lemon together with the same pesto with the calamari and a potato parsnip cake. The bluefish has a great flavor but it rots very quickly and this is the reason why many chefs
and home cooks are cautious of using it but it has become one of the top dishes on the Hook's Restaurant menu and many of their regular diners have really taken a liking to this fish.


This restaurant is specifically a sustainable seafood restaurant. It creates a remarkable dining experience but it's a restaurant with a conscience because the owners believe that they are also responsible for ocean conservation.

Restaurant Nora in Washington D.C is also one of the prominent seafood restaurants in the United States and it is the first restaurant to receive the organic certification, which means that the 95% of the ingredients used in this restaurant must come from expert organic farmers, growers, and suppliers. Nora Pouillon is the owner of this 23-year-old restaurant and the founding member of the Seafood Choices Alliance, an international association for sustainable seafood. It makes the seafood market environmentally and economically sustainable both on the fishermen and fish farmers to the wholesalers, retailers and restaurants. Menu on Restaurant Nora varies daily and features fresh, in season seafood among its organic selection. Lobster and salmon is one of the favorite seafood that this restaurant prepared because of its versatility, you can prepare this food in many different ways.

The Lundy Brothers Restaurant was serving seafood at the biggest restaurant in the United States with a seating capacity of 2400 persons but now its seating capacity was reduced to 700 people. The New York Preservation Commission chose this restaurant as a landmark in 1992. It was located at the heart of Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. They offered a wide variety of seafood that is simple and well prepared.

Fore Street is a contemporary restaurant in Portland, Maine. At Fore Street menu, they concentrate on the best raw materials from community Maine farmers, fishermen, foragers and cheese makers. Their menu changes everyday based on the availability of the materials they need in their restaurants but one of the few items on their menu list that has become the signature dish of their restaurant is the wood oven roasted mussels and this is the most requested recipe.

The Newport Bay Restaurant is one of the most well known seafood restaurants in the Pacific Northwest, New Port Bay. This is a relaxing place where you can enjoy the ocean's bounty. The clamed chowder, flame-broiled Alaskan salmon and classic Halibut fish and chips are always the crowd pleasers and always on the top of the list of their diner's menu. Truly, in the United States there are a lot of seafood restaurants that offers good food and an astounding ambience.

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