Monica Sheridan revival
Watch out on television tonight for a programme called Home which features none other than finger-lickin’ Monica Sheridan! I discovered Monica or, rather, one of her cookbooks, in a second hand bookshop in Athlone last year and Monica’s Kitchen is a treasure indeed. As well as useful recipes it is full of entertaining opinions – my favourite is her take on boned chicken: “Frankly, I wouldn’t recommend it, but, if you want to see green in the eyes of the women and hear the praise of gluttonous men ringing in your ears, well, here goes.” – and ahead of her time recipes and ingredients (anyone for foie gras and risotto in 1960s Ireland?).
The website for the show is here and there is a little more information on Ireland’s first – and now almost forgotten – celebrity chef in the Meath Chronicle. I wonder if her other cookbooks are as full of character? Maybe we should start a Monica Sheridan revival here!
Home is on at 7pm on RTÉ One tonight at 7pm.
Many thanks for letting us know about the Monica connection. I posted a link to your blog at Techfocus the Lounge, as there are probably a lot of fans who will enjoy the programme.
I somehow missed your original post on this book and author. Sounds fascinating. NZ secondhand bookstores are full of microwave books also. I did once buy the Alice B Toklas cook book in a secondhand store in Auckland.
Unfortunately Monica wasn’t on the programme long enough – we just caught a brief glimpse of her during the 1980s, talking about the antique purple turkey that she has to cook and about being sacked because she licked her fingers on TV! I must say, she certainly beat the other Irish food presenters – Monica Carr, Denise Sweeney – that appeared on last night’s show hands down for personality.