Dixie's Pantry
Dixie, mother of Good Food Source mastermind Lenny, inspired us to create a resource for great mail order foods. Though she is the chicken fried steak maven, this busy nurse practitioner from rural Oklahoma has driven long distances to find more exotic ingredients for her culinary exploits. Now, thanks to the Internet, Dixie has discovered a world of fine food products just a few clicks away; Good Food Source finds the best sites from achiote to za'atar. Kerrygold Butter
Its sweet, rich flavor and golden color conjures Ireland’s lush green countryside dotted with rock walls and serene cows. Produced with milk from small dairy farmers who graze their cows on grass year round, Kerrygold is pure, creamy golden Irish heaven. You’ll definitely want to have a shiny brick of this Irish classic on hand for your St. Patrick’s Day celebration.The fact that the Irish port city of Cork has a whole museum dedicated to butter (http://corkbutter.museum/ ) says a lot about butter’s place in Irish history. Beginning in the 1700’s the Cork Butter Exchange developed a system for inspection, grading and export of Irish butter to Europe and the West Indies, and Ireland soon became the world’s largest butter exporter. In 1961 the Irish Dairy Board and the Kerrygold brand were established to create a network of small dairy farms, rather than one giant factory, to produce milk for traditional Irish butters and cheeses. Because Ireland’s climate allows the farmers to graze cattle year round, Kerrygold butter is naturally bright yellow from pigments in the grass—the real gold at the end of the Irish rainbow.
Kerrygold is now available all over America, from Trader Joe’s to Whole Foods. The salted version, wrapped in gold foil, is spectacular on soft white rolls and toast, as well as soda bread, and we always lay in a supply of it when our Irish relatives come to visit. The silver-wrapped cultured unsalted butter is great for baking, and its slightly higher butterfat content makes it a great sauce finisher, as well.
If you can’t find Kerrygold at your local markets, you can order it:
http://www.foodireland.com/
http://www.igourmet.com/
http://www.amazon.com/
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 Irish Brown Soda Bread (Makes one 2-pound loaf) It can be mixed in just a few minutes and makes great toast, too. Brown bread is actually better after it has sat for several hours, so you might want to make it a day before you plan to serve it. 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 2 cups whole wheat flour 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt 2 teaspoons baking soda 4 ounces cold butter, cut into pieces 2-2 ½ cups buttermilk Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the flours, wheat germ, oats, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of the salt, and baking soda and toss to mix well. Add the butter pieces and rub into the flour mixture with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in 2 cups of the buttermilk. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft, sticky dough forms, adding more buttermilk if necessary. Gather the dough into a ball and place it on the prepared baking sheet (it helps if you wet your hands), shaping it into a uniform round loaf. Dust the top of the loaf lightly with flour or sprinkle with oats. With a serrated knife score the top of the loaf with an “X” about ½” deep. Bake until the loaf is golden brown on top and resists gentle pressure when pressed, 50 to 60 minutes. Allow the bread to cool completely on a cooling rack before cutting. Store the bread at room temperature wrapped in a kitchen towel to preserve the crust, or in a freezer bag for a softer loaf. |