Emerald Isle - Part 6
Alright. We get the idea. Beautiful scenery. Adorable canine. A roundabout or two. More beautiful scenery. Enough! What happened to all the talk about FOOD and DRINK? C'mon! What's VittlesVamp without the VITTLES?
Your wish is my command. This, ladies and gents, is the menu for one of our two luxurious dinners at Ballyvolane House:
* Pear, Garden Rocket, Parmesan Cheese & Roasted Pine Nuts Salad
* Roast Leg of Spring Lamb with Garlic & Rosemary
* Baked New Season Potatoes
* Creamed Spinach
* Roasted Fennel
* Rhubarb Tart with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
* Cork, Tipperary & Wexford Cheeses
* Coffee, Tea & Fresh Herbal Infusion
And, this is where we ate said dinners...
Eating your heart out? Wishing you too could taste a bit of life at Ballyvolane? Well, you're in luck. I was able to convince Justin, the manor hotel's amiable owner and consummate host, to share the chef's recipe for Brown Soda Bread.
Now, don't get indignant because Brown Soda Bread doesn't sound like glamorous fare! You're completely wrong on that account. One slice of this nutty, slightly sweet, rich bread, perhaps augmented by a glossing of bitter orange marmalade, and you too will be hooked. The stuff is simply addictive. Not sure it'll taste quite the same outside of Ballyvolane's baroque dining room with the morning sunshine streaming in, but I'm willing to test out the recipe and see if I can recapture a bit o' the Irish here in Brooklyn:
Ballyvolane House Brown Soda Bread
(Makes 2 Loaves)
1 1/2 lbs. wholemeal flour
1 handful wheat bran
2 handfuls wheat germ
2 1/4 lbs. pinhead oatmeal (aka chunky-grade)
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sieved baking soda
1 liter buttermilk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bread tins with butter. Mix dry ingredients well. Add buttermilk and stir until mixed thoroughly with the dry ingredients. Divide mixture into 2 bread tins and sprinkle with a little additional pinhead oatmeal. Bake for 1 hour on oven upper shelf.
And, with this glorious recipe, my travelogue to Ireland is at an end. Tomorrow, back to my usual jaw-boning on ingesting and imbibing on this side of the pond.