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Andrea Turnbull

All companies nowadays in the current economic climate are feeling the stresses & strains. Each one in their own right fighting tooth & nail to enable themselves to open the doors on a daily basis. Is opening the doors enough though? When the doors are open are the businesses going to get the surge of customers they want? This recession to me is full of questions & the famous “what if’s”. I honestly don’t think that any business is planning too far into the future nowadays, which is very scary for all involved. In the days of the loud roars of the celtic tiger it was a “no fear” era, where something as serious as a recession did’nt even warrant a thought. Everyday on the news we hear of some other unfortunate staff losing their jobs & owners losing a business that may have taken a lifetime to build. How can we all get through this tough time though? McArdle Meats believe that the huge factor here is Customer Service. Treating our customers the way we would like to be treated in a shop – recession or not. All day, everyday, every week, all year, every year! We believe that now is the time to ensure loyalty with our customers by utilizing the “back to basics” of customer service. We want to make the contact with our customers as meaningful & helpful as possible, so in order to to do this we have a built in “CAN DO” attitude. We know 90% of our customers by name, which has made them feel part of our ever growing family here in McArdle Meats. Every customer is greeted with a smile & a welcoming “hello” always thanked for their business & bidded farwell. We listen to all our customers, their needs or concerns & follow through immediately with any appropriate action. We show customers around our stores & guide them in the direction they wish to get to in regards the next dinner preparation & beyond. We believe this one to one service is more effective & builds up trust & rapport between our customers & staff. If we stick to these basic tips, then definitely the answer is “yes” – customer service will pull businesses through the recession as we will create & maintain our customers, no matter what the economy! Andrea Turnbull.

Ingredients
1×12 oz steak
8 Cherry Tomatoes
Rocket leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
1tsp Mustard
Balsamic Vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Ready-to-bake half ciabatta loaves
Salt and Black Pepper

This is a very quick dish and is a great lunch or snack for two people. Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F, gas mark 6. Bake the ciabatta for 8–10 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and keep warm.

Slice the steak into slices so it cooks faster.

Heat a non-stick frying pan until hot. Coat the pan with a small amount of oil. Never use Extra Virgin Oil as it burns at a lower temperature than we will be cooking at.

Add the steak slices and cook for 30 seconds on each side for rare, 1 minute on each side for medium to well-done.

Once the steak is removed from the pan, add the tomatoes and allow to cook for 30seconds.

Add some balsamic vinegar to the tomato and allow to cook for another 30 seconds.

Make a quick dressing by putting the oil, mustard & lemon juice in a bowl and whisk. Use this to lightly coat the Rocket

Quickly split each loaf in half lengthways. Cover with sliced tomatoes and top with the steak.

Pile Rocket Leaves on top of the steak, then drizzle the pan juices over and top with the remaining bread halves.

Serve immediately.

Serves 2 – 3

Ingredients
Meatballs
1kg of minced lamb
3 garlic cloves
Fresh Basil
8 tblsp breadcrumbs
1 egg
Salt and Pepper

Sauce
1 tin of chopped tomato
1 large pepper
1 clove garlic
Fresh Basil
1 tsp dried oregano

Optional
1/2 chili

Directions
1. Take the garlic & half the basil and blend in the food processor until fine.

2. Add the lamb, egg and breadcrumbs and pulse until all comes together. Don’t over blend – you don’t want to end up with slush.

3. Wearing a pair of disposable gloves, take the mix from the processor and place in a bowl. Take some of the mix in your hand, about enough to make a golfball sized meatball. roll in your hand for a few seconds to ensure the meatball is firm.

4. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

5. Clean the food processor & add the remaining basil, garlic. Pulse so the garlic is broken up but not smooth. Add the tin of tomatoes and blend for 10 seconds.

6. Dice the pepper & chili & add to a saucepan. Saute these for 5 minutes and add the contents of the food processor.

7. Take the meatballs in batches from the fridge and fry until brown.

8. Add to the sauce in the saucepan and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the meatballs.

9. All done. Serve with spaghetti, linguine or stringozzi pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 kilo of pork ribs

Sauce
1/4 cup of mustard
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 cup tomato puree
1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce
A good dash of Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Mix the sauce ingredients together and stir well. Taste the sauce & season accordingly – if you want it sweeter, add more honey.

2. Place the ribs in a large freezer bag or equivalent. add as much sauce as it takes to coat the ribs well. Place in the fridge to marinate for as long as you can. We recommend leaving them for at least 20 minutes.

3. Empty the bag of ribs in an oven tray & bake in the oven for 40-60 minutes at 180º C/350º F/Gas Mark 4. Turn them a few times.

4. If you want to give them a final barbecue taste just throw them on your barbecue for 5 minutes before serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Make the pastry. Put the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse. Add the butter (make sure it is as cold as can be and cut into cubes). Pulse until you get breadcrumbs, about 10-12 pulses. Add the vinegar, egg and a tablespoon of water and pulse a few times. Add the water a little at a time, trying to get away with adding as little as possible and pulsing. When the pastry starts to clump, pour it onto a floured board. Press together, gathering the dry bits in. Put it into a plastic bag (we put our hand into the plastic bag and use it to gather the pastry inside, that saves you touching it and warming it with your hand.) Squeeze the pastry inside the bag gently until it is flattened into a round. Put in the fridge for 30 minutes while you make the contents of the pie.

2. Cut all the cooked lamb meat into small chunks. Mix with any gravy you have left over, if not moisten with a few tablespoons of water.

3. Cook the potato chunks in boiling water until you can pierce them with a fork. Drain and dry in the saucepan.

4. Divide the pastry and roll out one part to cover your greased pie dish (you’ll need to use a dish about 8 inches wide but a bit wider or smaller is OK). Pile in the lamb and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle on the dried or fresh herbs. Roll out the second piece of pastry and press on top of the pie, using water to glue the top pastry to the bottom if you wish (you can also use egg yolk). Use a fork to press the edges together. Use a sharp knife to make a few cuts in the pastry.

5. Bake for 45-55 minutes.

Photo shows our pie just before it went into the oven at the Greatfood.ie Test Kitchen.

Cook’s Note
- If you wish you can brush beaten egg on the top of the pie before putting it in the oven – it really makes a difference.
- Fry onions, shallots, a chopped clove of garlic or half a leek and add to the meat mixture to vary it.
- Heat a little white wine with the left over gravy and mix it in with the meat before you add it.
- Use ready-made pastry if you wish, shortcrust or puff pastry are both good. If you buy the sheets, roll them out a little before using.