Irish Ploughman's Lunch

The Setting: 50 and cloudy in Nashville.

The Soundtrack: Various morning shows.

On the Stovetop: Poached-egg English muffins, courtesy of my mom-in-law.

The Scenario: Looking for something to sustain you this St. Patrick's Day?

Try an Irish Ploughman's Lunch: a humble but hearty assortment of snackables, easy to assemble and munch on, for ploughmen, pub-lovers, and partygoers of all varieties.

The Ploughman, as it's called in passing, may have different components depending on where it's served and what's on hand, but there should always be a minimum of bread, spread, and protein.

Mine has seven components but could certainly be fleshed out with fresh fruits, veggies, and/or additional meats. Here's what I suggest:

Cider-Vinegar Soda Bread


Some folks assert that the bread in a ploughman's lunch simply must be of the crusty baguette variety. While that opinion may hold up in other parts of the UK, in my experience, Ireland calls for soda bread and lots of it. Be it white, brown, or dirty blonde, quick and yeast-less soda bread is butter's best friend, the perfect accompaniment to Irish stew, and an awesome, anytime addition to the Irish table.

This particular recipe gets a flavor boost from unfiltered apple-cider vinegar and is ready for your St. Patrick's Day spread in about an hour.

Homemade Cultured Butter with Celtic Sea Salt


Irish butter is incredible; I've said it time and again. But you can make some pretty incredible butter at home in less time than it takes to go to the store. To make festive shamrocks, or any shape for that matter, simply press fresh butter into molds and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to harden. Carefully un-mold when ready, and use a paring knife to tidy up the edges if needed.

If you'd prefer to work with store-bought butter but still want festive shapes, simply allow the butter to come to room temperature and beat it up for 30 seconds or so with an electric mixer before pressing it into molds. Make sure to use salted butter (I prefer Kerrygold), or add salt to the mixer (to taste) when beating unsalted butter. I prefer coarse, gray, Celtic sea salt for its flavor and texture, but any salt will work.

Whiskey-Apricot Chutney


Salty and sweet with a hint of hotness from red pepper flakes and warming notes from the whiskey, this savory apricot spread turns humble bread and cheese into an Irish canape. Ready in under an hour, the versatile condiment is a simple way to bring complex flavor to everything from sandwiches to sausages.

Aged Irish Cheddar


The older the better. I prefer cheddars aged at least a year, preferably longer, with the crunchy little tyrosine crystals that come with age. Older cheeses tend to be stronger in flavor and drier in texture. If you prefer a milder, creamier cheese, go with something young. Another exceptional and accessible Irish cheese is Kerrygold's Dubliner, a flavorful but approachable cheese, somewhat like a hybrid of cheddar, Parmesan, and Gruyere.

Refrigerator Pickles


Pickled onions tend to be more common in the UK than the pickled cucumbers we love in the US. These refrigerator pickles bring both onions and cucumbers to the party for the best of both sides of the pond. Easy to make and long-lasting in the fridge, they provide a pleasant vinegary accent to everything from the Irish Ploughman to American favorites like BBQ and fried chicken.

Hard-Boiled Eggs
Packed with protein and easy to come by, hard-boiled eggs are the perfect fuel for the Ploughman. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Generously salt the water and bring to a boil. When the water has reached a rapid boil, cover and remove from the heat. Let set for 16 minutes. Gently pour off the cooking water and run cold water over the hot eggs to cool down. Peel once cool.

Sausage Crisps
This is not particularly Irish (I used an Italian calabrese), but sausage crisps make a nice addition to any snack or platter. To make the crisps, thinly slice a fatty, cured sausage and arrange slices in a single layer on a cooling rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes or until the slices are all crisped up, like little meat chips. Perfect for dipping or simply for munching.

Not into the whole sausage-crisp concept? Any cured sausage or meat (even prosciutto or a Spanish ham) will do, no crisping required. For even more of an Irish flair, try smoked Atlantic salmon in addition to (or in place of) these meaty options.

Serve the Ploughman's Lunch with pints of stout, or your favorite Irish brew.

Slainte!

Thanks for reading! Here's to Being the Secret Ingredient in your life.

Brown Bread Ice-Cream

The Setting: Gorgeous day. Feels like spring! Perfect ice-cream weather.

The Soundtrack: Holmes on Homes.

Steaming up the Oven: Leftover pancakes.

The Scenario: The St. Patrick's Day dessert you never saw coming.

There's a lot of talk in the states about the food of the British Isles being sub-par. I was told not to get too excited about the food in Ireland, warned that Guinness is served warm and flat, and informed that dishes tend to be bland and monochromatic.

In my experience, none of this is remotely accurate.

Guinness is far better in the land of its birth, and the food is bright and beautiful.

In fact, every moment of my trip to Ireland (September, 2010) was spectacular, particularly the ones spent eating.

My expectations were exceeded with every meal, but my mind was truly blown after dinner at the incredible Ballyvolane House, when brown bread ice-cream came out for dessert.

Though I had been devouring brown bread ravenously throughout the trip, I never would have considered it could be transformed into an even more delicious masterpiece of culinary triumph.

Make this surprising dessert for St. Patrick's Day or any time you want to escape to Ireland.

Brown Bread Ice-Cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/8 tsp fine salt
5 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp spiced rum (or Irish Whiskey)
4 oz crumbled Dirty Blonde Brown Bread
4 oz dark brown sugar

Thoroughly whisk together sugar, milk, cream, salt, and egg yolks. Place over medium heat and continue to whisk gently until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla and rum or whiskey. Strain the mixture over a fine mesh sieve into a new container, preferably a metal bowl.

Place in in ice bath to cool before transferring to the fridge to chill overnight.

Place ice-cream mixture in an ice-cream machine and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

Meanwhile, place crumbled bread and brown sugar in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and stir with a silicone spatula to combine evenly.

Cook just until the brown sugar is completely melted and all the crumbs are evenly caramelized.

Spread the crumbs out onto a piece of parchment paper and let cool completely.

Fold the caramelized crumbs into the soft ice-cream, and transfer to a freezer-safe container to freeze completely in the freezer.

Makes about 1 quart ice-cream.

Read about my Irish Adventures:

Driving on the Other Side of the Road, Part I.

Driving on the Other Side of the Road, Part II.

Driving on the Other Side of the Road, Part III.

Driving on the Other Side of the Road, Part IV.

Thanks for reading! Here's to Being the Secret Ingredient in your life.

Dirty Blonde Brown Bread

The Setting: It's Spring Break here in the Bend, and boy, are we excited!

The Soundtrack: The washer and dryer. So behind on housework.

Steaming up the Oven: Dirty Blonde Brown Bread.

The Scenario: So you want to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Well, you could pick up some of the soda bread flooding the supermarkets this time of year...or you could spend the money on some good Irish butter and make this Dirty Blonde Brown Bread at home.

The "Irish soda bread" here in the States tends to be a round loaf with a creamy white interior, dotted with dried currants.

While I'm sure it's authentic, I don't recall seeing this type of soda bread in Ireland.

I do recall three different versions, all oblong loaves, none with dried fruits.

White soda bread (simply called soda bread) and whole-wheat soda bread (brown bread) were hard to resist, but it was a slightly speckled brown bread, lighter in color and flecked with bits of grain for texture and flavor, that made me want to chain myself to the table and trade my ticket home for another loaf.

Here's my best attempt at re-creation to date. Dip it in some Irish stew, or add some salted Kerrygold butter or sweet orange marmalade, and you've got a little slice of Ireland wherever you are.

Dirty Blonde Brown Bread
Soda bread is so called because it's leavened with baking soda rather than yeast. This one is called "Dirty Blonde" because it is lighter than regular brown bread and flecked with oats.

4 oz old-fashioned oats (not quick-cooking, not steel-cut)
8oz all-purpose flour
8oz whole wheat flour
1 T malted milk powder
1 T dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp fine salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 T cool butter
1 large egg
12 oz buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Butter a loaf pan.

Place oats in the food processor and pulse until they are chopped but not uniform or powdery.

Add the flours, milk powder, brown sugar, salt, and soda. Pulse several times to combine.

Add the butter and pulse to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks sandy and there are no large pieces.

In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the egg and the buttermilk.

Turn the processor on and slowly stream in the buttermilk mixture, just until a sticky dough comes together. In very humid environments, you may not need all of the buttermilk mixture. Do not mix more than necessary.

Scrape the dough out into your prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top as much as you can with a spatula, and bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 400, and bake for 20 minutes more.

Let cool 10 minutes in the loaf pan before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Eat immediately once cool.

Read about my Irish Adventures:

Driving on the Other Side of the Road, Part I.

Driving on the Other Side of the Road, Part II.

Driving on the Other Side of the Road, Part III.

Driving on the Other Side of the Road, Part IV.

Thanks for reading! Here's to Being the Secret Ingredient in your life.