britishfood

This week has just given the briefest of introductions to Irish food and although I will be revisiting the subject in the near future, I know some of you are already salivating for more recipes so here are some other sites to stop by:

Food Ireland - The pictures of the breakfast are enough to make me drool on my keyboard. Buy your Irish food supplies here and get some great recipes. There’s also a forum to discuss what else - food!

Fabulous Foods - info and recipes about St. Patrick’s Day: history, Irish coffee, how to find a leprechaun!

Fantasy Ireland  - a great food page that is part of a larger site with vacation and wedding info.

There are also some wonderful cookbooks out there. Some of my favorites include:

Joanne Asala’s “Celtic Folklore Cooking”

Darina Allen’s “Irish Traditional Cooking” and “Complete Book of Irish Country Cooking”

Margaret Johnson’s “Irish Pub Cookbook.”

It’s hard to believe that Friday is here already. Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed Clootie Dumplings and Scotch Eggs. I’ll definitely be posting more Scottish recipes in the weeks ahead but some of you may be wondering where you can find more information now.

There are some excellent resources on the web. I particularly like:

Scotland for Visitors

Scotland’s Enchanting Kingdom

Scottish Food and Drink provides a wonderful list of definitions, perfect for those days when you find yourself wondering, just what is an Arbroath Toastie or a Tattie.

For those living in the US and unable to find Scottish foods at their local stores, you can shop online at The Scottish Grocer , an excellent source for everything from oatcakes to salmon and whisky, plus some nice scenic wallpapers.

As far as books go, here are a few to get you started:

Sheila Macrae’s “Traditional Scottish Cookery;”

Kay Shaw Nelson’s “The Scottish-Irish Pub and Hearth Cookbook;”

and Sue Lawrence’s “Scots Cooking: The Best of Traditional and Contemporary Scottish Recipes.”

On Friday of each week, I plan on suggesting a cookbook or a store where you can buy ingredients, a website, etc, and it would seem somehow sacrilegious to discuss English food and not mention Delia Smith.

Growing up in England, everyone knows Delia. She is the familiar face you turn to when you need to know how something should be done properly. Of course, she also seemed to display a level of perfection and order that would be completely inconceivable in my kitchen. Where she has a neat row of food processors waiting to be used, I am quickly rinsing something off to reuse it.

On British TV since 1972, she started with the basics. Show people how to cook and they will start to eat good food. She quickly became such a phenomenon that her show can cause ingredients or utensils to have a sudden rush of sales.

Delia is also practical. She caused a huge stir this year by publishing her new book, How To Cheat At Cooking in which the doyenne of homemade sauces and carefully chopped vegetables endorsed using pre-bought ingredients such as frozen mashed potatoes to save time.