Irish Soda Bread

Having lived in Ireland, I've tasted some mighty fine soda bread. It's tough to find an authentic loaf here in the US.

Soda bread is made without yeast and this one is made with both baking soda and buttermilk. It's about as authentic to traditional Irish as it can be. It's crusty outside and moist but dense inside. This recipe is adjusted from SimplyRecipes.com.

I soaked a cup of dried raisins in Jameson's Irish Whiskey to plump them (for about a day.) I then drained them in a colander an hour or so before adding them to the dough.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a baking sheet or cast iron skillet.

Mix 4 cups* of all-purpose flour with 1 T sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp of baking soda. *Keep the flour handy to add more if needed when mixing the dough into a round.

I grated 4 T of good, cold butter (Kerrygold or Kirkland or one of the good European brands). The cold grated butter is easier to work into the flour. 

In a larger work bowl, and using your hands (using thin plastic gloves work well) mix the dry ingredients and the butter, grinding the butter with your fingers. The SimplyRecipes instructions call for thoroughly mixing until the flour is the consistency of cornmeal. I'd say that the flour is a bit shy of being cornmeal, but it does feel different than just plain flour. Make sure the butter is mixed in well. Add the raisins and mix to coat them. 

Whisk a large egg and 1-3/4 cups of buttermilk together and pour it into a well of the flour/butter. 

At this point, you can continue mixing with the gloves on to make things easier, or you can use a wooden spoon. Whatever  you do, do not overmix. The goal here is to have a wet dough but no dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. Pour this mixture out onto a floured board and gently and quickly form somewhat of a ball of shaggy, wet dough. Overmixing makes for a tough bread.

I, in fact. added a small scoop of flour to the dough as I was shaping it and then poured the dough out of the bowl onto a greased griddle and formed it into a ball, shaping the edges into a round shape mounded on the griddle. I then placed a large 10" greased cheesecake pan round (without the flat bottom) around the dough so that it formed a nice round loaf when baking. You can use a greased cast-iron skillet instead.

Traditionally, Irish soda bread is cut with an X or cross with a serrated knife about 1-1/2 inch deep. 

I did not wash with milk or egg, but might next time. You can also sprinkle the milk or egg with crusty baking sugar. 

Place the skillet or griddle in the center of the hot oven. At the end of 30 minutes test for doneness with a skewer. Add 5 minutes and test again.  Repeat as necessary. It should be crusty and golden. 

Serve warm! The bread is great toasted with butter the next day.

All Things Lemon Gourmet

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Aperitif - Janice

Lemon Drop Martini

Prosecco

White & Red Wine (dinner)

 Nancy Garfield

Shrimp Ceviche w/plantain chips

 JoAnne Barone

Lemony Pearl Barley Soup

 Deb Zyduck

Lemon Ricotta Pasta w/Chicken

Katie Deeg

Lemon Brussel Sprouts Salad

Charlotte Canelli

Five-Ingredient Lemon Bars 

w/Canelli homemade pistachio ice cream

March's Gourmet Dinner in Verandah at Janice's home was absolutely delicious from the martinis to the homemade limoncello. Hosted by Janice and Deb Zyduck, it was simply a delightful evening. Janice supplied us with take-home containers for leftovers.

Nancy added diced cucumber to her recipe. The StayAtHomeChef also adds that you can add diced avocado. It was delicious and I brought some home to Gerry who scarfed it down at 9:30 pm!

JoAnne's soup was also a hit. It's a NYT Cooking recipe so I won't link it to NYT  (due to the paywall), but have posted the recipe on this blog, linked above. Gerry also enjoyed the soup when I got home.

Katie's delicious salad was ooohh'd and aaaah'd over. In fact, I made it at home the very next day!  It's a Costco Recipe of the Month and one I'll be making again and again. Note that you can add prosciutto bits or bacon which I did for a main-dish salad.

The Lemon Ricotta Pasta from Lemon Tree Dwelling was perfect, just enough to finish the meal. Deb and Janice put it together for our main dish, fresh from the cooktop.

The evening ended with the lemon bars*, homemade ice cream,and Janice's homemade limoncello on the Cartwright's Magnolia Isle Drive lanai in beautiful Verandah here in Fort Myers. 

*The lemon bars were nicely lemony and the recipe was simple. If I were making them again I would use a larger baking dish (other than 9x9 suggested - perhaps a 12x9 or 12x10) so that the layers of shortbread and lemon were thinner. 

Lemony Pearl Barley Soup from NYT

Photo credit New York Times

Here's the soup that JoAnne made for the March 2024 Gourmet All Things Lemon dinner. The recipe is from NYT Cooking by Hetty Lui McKinnon.  

Don't forget the garnish! Yogurt or crème fraîche and half the dill plus a bit of drizzled olive oil. (You could use Dill infused oil from any of the olive oil shops such as Fort Myers Olive Oil at Cypress Lake in Fort Myers, Florida or Ripe from the Vine on Route 6 in Marion, Massachusetts.)

Ingredients

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow finely diced onion
• 2 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 2 thinly sliced celery stalks
• 1 cup of chopped fresh dill leaves AND stalks (half for soup and half for garnish)
• Sea salt and ground pepper
• 1 cup (6 oz) of pearl barley
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• 3-4 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 oz. baby spinach
• Greek yogurt or Crème Fraîche to serve

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add 1-2 T of the olive oil first, adding the onion and cooking until softened (always stirring) - about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic, celery, half the dill and 1/2 tsp. salt.  Stir until fragrant about 1-2 minutes.

Add the pearl barley and the stock and bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally until the barley is swollen and tender, about 25-30 minutes.

Turn off the heat, adding the lemon juice and seasoning with salt and pepper. Taste!

Stir in the spinach, letting it wilt in the heat of the soup.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with yogurt or Crème Fraîche, the remaining dill and drizzle with olive oil.

Italian Stuffed Pepper Soup

We had a late lunch with our friends Sharon and Jim in Upton, MA on Tuesday, February 20th - a few days before leaving New England and the late winter behind. What a perfect meal with the Campbells!

Sharon's Stuffed Pepper Soup was so good that I asked her for the recipe. She replied with a list of the ingredients that she throws together. I tried duplicating it and it was almost as perfect as hers. We had Tim and Julie over on a breezy, warm evening in Verandah here in Florida.  Everyone loved this bowl of comfort served with fresh bread, red wine and a salad.

Sauté some shallots and chopped sweet onions in a bit of oil in a Dutch oven (or any other pan.) Add 12 sausages (out of the casings) and use a spatula or other utensil to break them up as they cook. Add 4 cans* of fire-roasted tomatoes. Sharon added some tomato sauce, but we were unfortunately out of tomato sauce so I added the *fourth can of tomatoes. Add some Italian seasoning and dried thyme, a generous T. of fennel seed, a tsp. of dried thyme, and a bit or garlic salt. Add three multi-colored peppers, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces. When the peppers are just cooked, if the Dutch oven is big enough, add 8 cups of beef broth and about 2-4 cups of cooked brown rice.

Or add everything to another pot that will hold everything. (I actually cooked the 2 cups of rice in 4 cups of beef broth until almost done and added everything to a crockpot. I cooked on high four about 3 hours.) If not soupy enough, add more beef broth.

Serve with warm bread, a salad, and a bowlful of freshly grated Parmesan/Pecorino/Romano cheese.

So good!

If you'd like a recipe with more exact ingredients, I found a ton of them online. Just search Stuffed Pepper Soup. Here's one I found while I was uploading Sharon's recipe.

Roasted Yellow Beet Fresh Pasta with Sage Butter

 Today I made roasted yellow beet pasta by adding only 1 whisked egg to the flours and a few tablespoons of pureed roasted yellow beets. I added water to the dough in the pasta machine until it was the consistency of dried peas.  This was a bit tricky, but it worked.

To 1/2 cup of Italian butter in a hot pan, I added about 30 sage leaves of all sizes that I had picked from the herb garden. I turned the heat down to simmer and cooked it for about half an hour until the sage leaves had shrunk considerably in size.  I turned the heat up and watched it carefully until the sage leaves turned crispy and the butter turned light brown. 

Using a very small strainer, I strained the butter from the leaves. I then used the butter on the pasta after it cooked.

Spinach Fettuccini with Pine Nuts, Creme Fraiche, Bacon and Pecorino/Parmesan

Using the homemade fettuccini I'd made earlier, we had Julie and her family for dinner last night, I cooked the fettuccini for a few minutes and drained it in a colander, Because I was adding it to a heated sauce, I left it to cool. (Don't forget to save a cup of the pasta water!)

I had cooked bacon earlier and left the bits and some of the fat in the pan. To this, I added some good butter, a bit of pepper-flavored olive oil and about a cup of pine nuts. I tossed in some herbs d'provence and left these to simmer. Right before serving dinner, I added 1/2-3/4 cup creme fraiche*, a cup of cooked and crumbled bacon and one cup of finely grated Pecorino and Parmesan cheeses.  I added a bit of pasta water to thin it out and then added the cooked pasta to the hot sauce.

I served it immediately with chopped parsley on top and a bit more finely grated cheese.

We served this with grilled thickly cut tuna steaks, seasoned with Kinder's Butter Steakhouse and butter on top at the end.

Gerry made yummy St.Elderberry martinis and his famous guacamole. We had fresh ricotta bread, salad and a trio of ice creams for dessert. Happy birthday, Julie!

*My creme fraiche hack is 1/3 Greek yogurt, 1/3 Mascarpone cheese and 1/3 sour cream. Using blender or immersion blender to cream together.

Dirty Martini Pasta

Danish Creamery.com (Photo)

I found this recipe online and decided to purchase some large Martini glasses to serve it in. In looking again for the recipe I learned that it is a popular thing! I found the original recipe and tweaked it, having read that Castelvetrano olives are the very best to use. They are a beautiful green and the brine is lovely in the recipe.

The recipe I used was from Danish Creamery and asked to use Danish butter. I bought some Italian butter* instead and used it. I didn't use the crab meat recommended, but it might be pretty tasty with any kind of additional seafood, fish or meat. *I used some chilled American butter (Plugra) and it was just as good  

Cook and drain a pound of pasta. I made fresh Angel Hair pasta. Reserve 1 cup of the water!

Melt 2 T butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add 1 cup of torn pitted Castelvetrano* olives - reserve a few whole olives for garnish (see above photo) and 2 minced (or more) garlic cloves. Cook olives and garlic about 1 minute in the butter.  *Also reserve 1/3 cup of the olive brine.

Add 1/3 cup of gin and cook about three minutes until liquid is reduced by half. Tonight added one pkg. of quickly sautéed cubed prosciutto.  Last week I added about 1/3 pkg of cooked crumbled bacon. 

Whisk in the reserved brine, 1/2 cup of creme fraiche** and 1/2 cup of the pasta liquid. (Note: I whisked these three ingredients together before hand.) 

Transfer pasta using tongs into the skillet and toss. Cook until everything is nice and thick. Add in 3 T. cubed cold butter, zest of 1 lemon, 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley, and half a cup of pecorino/parmesan. If using seafood, toss it in. Add another splash or two of the pasta water to loosen the sauce. Add salt and pepper, swirl into glasses, garnish and serve immediately with warm bread and butter|olive oil. 

**I made my own creme fraiche using 1/3 full-fat sour cream, 1/3 Greek yogurt and 1/3 mascarpone to make 1 cup and used half of that. You can add more if you feel it is needed.

Tonight I added a butterflied grilled shrimp or two to each filled glass. 

 

Homemade Spinach Fettuccini

 

I'd never tried any other pasta dough in my Phillips pasta maker other than plain semolina/white flour -- that is, until today.

We cooked dried spinach pasta from our favorite Italian deli (Mario's Meat Market in Fort Myers) this past week. I wanted to try it fresh (hard to find.)

I read several recipes online (I think my Philips cookbook is home in Massachusetts). The recipe I liked the best used pasta "juice" and explained it as fresh spinach and just a little water, blended and pureed. In other words, the spinach was raw and fresh.

I used about a cup and a half of fresh spinach, compressed tightly in the measuring cup. And 1/3 cup of water placed in my Ninja juice maker. I ending up adding more spinach and a bit more water. I had a very deep green thick smoothie-type puree. The juice is simply a replacement for the water usually added to the egg as the liquid for the dough. This juice made three batches of pasta.

I placed 3/4 of flour and 3/4 cup of semolina with a few dashes of salt into the pasta machine bowl. My Phillips machine weighs the dry ingredients so this was about 275 grams. 

I cracked one egg into the liquid measure supplied by Phillips and 1/4 tsp olive oil.  I then added enough of the puree to meet the required mls of fluid (95) and started the cycle, adding the wet to the dry and waiting for it to extrude. I cut the pasta at about 10 inches as it extruded from the machine.

More spinach juice could have been added as the extrusion was a tad dry, creating little sharp ridges on the pasta that came from the very center of the fettuccini die. That said, it looks pretty much perfect!

Fresh pasta cooks in just a few minutes and is delicious!

I made roasted yellow beet pasta using the pasta machine and plan to make other flavors as it really is so easy.

Year of the Dragon Feast

This January 2024, ten members of the Gourmet Club of Verandah celebrated Chinese New Year with a second annual feast at my Florida home.

We started the night promptly at 6 pm with cocktails and appetizers. Gerry once again made beautifully green Midori Martinis and Kay made lovely Sticky Asian Meatballs. 

We started with a Dropped Egg, Pork and Vegetable Soup and moved on to Julie's Cashew Chicken, Joanne's Asian Ramen Salad, Pippin's Sauced Vegetables, Linda's Thai Chicken Pasta and Val's Fried Rice. 

Sue and Nancy treated us to the plum wines they brought with them. 

Pam's Three-Ingredient Almond Flour Cookies and a trio of Asian-Inspired Ice Creams* and fortune cookies ended the evening. 

What a great night of food, wine and conversations! The best part was packing up leftovers in the take-out containers!

*Ice creams were Green Tea garnished with Sesame-Honey Almond (Trader Joe's); Ginger-Ginger-Ginger garnished with a half candied ginger in syrup; and Star Anise garnished with a light sprinkle of Five-Spice and a star anise. 

Sticky Asian Meatballs

Kay brought this delicious appetizer to the Year of the Dragon Feast 2024

For Meatballs

• 
  1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tbsp green onion minced
• 3 tbsp carrots finely grated
• 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

For the Sauce

• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Optional garnishes are sesame seeds and sliced green onion. You can serve these on their own as appetizers,( just make them slightly smaller) and insert toothpicks in them before serving.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. LIne a standard size baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Set asie

2.In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk and panko breadcrumbs. Allow to soak for 5 minutes.  Add the pork, egg, garlic, green onion, carrot, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper.  Using your hands, mix together just until combined (overworking it will cause the meatballs to be dense)

3. Shape into meatballs and place onto the prepared baking sheet.  Place in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until

cooked throughout (internal temperature of 165}

4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat, combine the hoisin, vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes,  Bring to a low simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook for 2-3 minutes.

5. Place the meatballs in a large bowl and cover with the sauce.  Toss to coat, serve hot, Garnish with sesame seeds and sliced onions.

Asian Ramen Salad

Joanne sent this recipe for Asian Ramen Salad that we enjoyed at the Year of the Dragon 2024 Feast. It was yummy!

For the salad:

• 1 package ramen noodles (3 ounces)
•  2/3 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 bag coleslaw mix (16 ounces)
• 1 &1/2 cups shelled frozen edamame thawed
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 4 scallions thinly sliced (both white and green parts)
• 1/2 cup canned mandarin orange segments in light syrup rinsed 

For the dressing:

• 2/3 C Olive Oil
• 4 Tb sugar
• 1/3 C Rice Vinegar 
• 1 & 1/2 Tb Soy Sauce
• 1-2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp black pepper 
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions and Assembly:

Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Crumble the ramen noodles onto a baking sheet and spread them in a single layer along with the almonds. Bake for 5 minutes, remove from the oven, add the sesame seeds, and toss, then bake for 1 to 3 additional minutes until fragrant and golden. Watch closely so that the mixture does not burn. Set aside.

In a serving bowl, toss together the coleslaw, edamame, carrots, scallions, and toasted ramen and almonds. Drizzle the dressing over the top, then toss again to combine.

Sprinkle the oranges over the top.

Dropped Egg, Pork and Vegetable Soup

I made this soup for our Year of the Dragon Feast 2024. It was delicious and made about twice what we needed for our starter in small bowls. Each very hot bowl was garnished with sliced snow peas, cilantro leaves and thinly sliced scallions.

I began with a cut of pork I found in the grocery store which was like a thick-cut bacon - or fresh and unsalted "salt" pork. Any pork cutlet would work. 

I cut the pork into very small cubes, discarding some of the fattiest bits. I probably had a cup of pork bits and added them to a hot pan. Cook on high heat, stirring, until you have enough fat to cook the onion (below.) Discard any pieces that are all fat. 

I diced one medium yellow onion and added it to the cooked meat on medium heat until the onion was golden. I then refrigerated the mix because I was preparing ingredients beforehand and also wanted to start with clean pan.

I prepared small dices of a few fresh carrots and a stalk of celery. I also prepped the garnishes (above)  and whisked six fresh eggs, breaking all the yolks. I had these handy for the last minute preparation of the soup.

An hour before guests were to arrive, I emptied two cartons of organic chicken stock (8 cups) to a small Dutch oven to heat on low (not simmering but hot), adding in the pork/onion mixture.

When the guests were at the table, I raised the temperature to high and tossed in the carrots and celery. I added a bit of salt and pepper and cooked these briefly until the carrots were JUST cooked. I turned down the heat so that the soup was not boiling and gently poured the egg into the soup in a stream.

I immediately ladled the soup into bowls and garnished the bowls with the very hot soup and served. 

Baked Breakfast Tortilla

I saw this Reelz on Facebook and thought it looked like a quick and easy alternative to quiche - and without the extra fat of half and half, butter and piecrust.

It was easy and very good. Cut into wedges (with scissors), it is enjoyable eating without utensils as it is handheld. It's quicker, too. 

It takes 1 tortilla a bit bigger than your smallest pie plate. (You can use 4-5 inch plates with small tortillas. Just halve the filling and bake two (or more) at a time.)

Place the tortilla in the pie plate (use a bit of cooking spray in the plate) and make sure the tortilla goes evenly and slightly up the sides. Press in without breaking the tortilla  

Crack two eggs and whisk them with about 1/4-1/2 cup of cottage cheese and pour those onto the tortilla. I chose to add fresh spinach, feta cheese, sliced scallions, and pepper. I then sprinkled on a combination of shaved Italian cheeses. The combinations you can make are endless.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes until egg is cooked and puffs up slightly like a quiche does.

It slips right out of the pie plate. Serve!

Favorite Kitchen Tools 3

 

Left to right:

Chopper - we have loved these choppers, some include smaller garlic choppers inside. I have seen tons of these at Home Goods and TJ Maxx lately. We've had ours for years and use them all the time.

Silicone Pink Pig - indispensible for bacon fat (includes a strainer under the piggy face. It refrigerates and microwaves.

Silicone poachers - We use these for company all the time and have 10-12 in each house. Simply cover the bottom of a pan with 2-12, pour in about an inch of water, put a dab of butter in the cups and crack an egg. Turn the heat on high and then low, cover with a glass cover and wait for the egg while to cook before turning off the heat. Remove and pour off condensation and spoon out effortlessly.

Metal measuring in odd measures - 2 cup, 1-1/2 cup, 3/4 cup

Large glass measurer - this is great when making salad dressings if you need to measure the ingredients. Or have liquids ready to add when cooking or baking. 

Measuring spoons in every measure. I hook them somewhere in the kitchen where I can get to them easily.

Wooden salad or meal hands - we love these.

Stacking covered glass bowls for mise en place cooking. Get everything reading hours beforehand. It makes baking and cooking that much easier. 

Favorite Kitchen Tools 2

 

Left to right:

Graters - we have multiples of these microplane graters and my favorites are these two. The larger is great for cheeses, carrots, etc.  I use the zester for both zesting and fine grating. They both have covers.

Silicone measurers - these are terrific in multiple sizes. They bend and curve so everything is easy to pour, yet the size can be terrific for actually immersion blending sauces, etc. Some fit together perfectly in the drawer or the cabinet. They also are fine with heat - dipping into hot liquids or microwaving.

Rotary whisks - these come in three or four sizes and I use them constantly instead of whisking. 

Ikea garlic press - the best garlic press at a terrific price. 

Favorite Kitchen Tools 1

 

 Left to right:

Citrus squeezers  - these are indispensable and we use the lemon practically every day. We have duplicates in Marion and have the lime squeezer there as well.

Scraper - we have several of these and the beauty of them is the durability and the fact that they get down into any shape container. 

Tongs - if you look closely these have tines and grab things easily. 

Strawberry huller - Perfect for pulling the stem out of strawberries without cutting off some of the fruit. I also have the slicers which are so fast and efficient for slicing strawberries. See photo below.

Glass measuring pitcher with cover - this is great for premeasuring and covering until you are ready to add liquids to your recipe.

Small Anchor measure - we use these constantly. They measure teaspoons, tablespoons, ounces, and even 1/4 cup. I once thought I was purchasing 4 on Amazon for our four daughters' Christmas stockings and ended up with 24! They come in so handy (and I ended up giving away all but 6.)

Silicon pastry brushes - again, we have several of them in both kitchens. I brush egg on bread, butter on the griddles, and other uses.