Your Smart Kitchen Newsletter - 10

If you are a longtime newsletter fan, you'll notice we've made some changes in this 10^th edition of Chef Wannabee's SMART Kitchen. The biggest change is that the newsletter is shorter. We understand that our customers are busy people who may not have a lot of time time to read online material. This shorter format is intended to provide you with the same great information without having to spend so much time scrolling on your computer screen.

We are also basing our newsletter topics on customer feedback and requests. We are committed to our customers having smart kitchens and providing continual cooking education. We want the newsletter topics to be about what you want to learn more about. I'm really looking forward to some of our upcoming topics and I encourage everyone to continue submitting ideas.

I've got a lot of Irish on both sides of my family tree, so I enjoy cooking an Irish meal on Saint Patrick's Day. The problem is that I'm not a corned beef fan and I only like cabbage when it is a part of fresh coleslaw or it is buried deep in a casserole.

The first Irish dish I thought of that did not involve corned beef or cabbage was Shepherd's Pie. I investigated on the Internet to learn a little about the history of the Irish Shepherd Pie but discovered that Shepherd's Pie actually originated in Northern England. However, it is commonly eaten nowadays in Ireland and I know it is served in most of the Irish pubs here in the United States. I've never made Shepherd's Pie myself, so historically Irish or not, I decided to go ahead with it.

Shepherd's Pie could be a one-dish meal since it has protein, vegetables, dairy, and starch, but I wanted something more to go with it. Something Irish, of course. I choose Irish Soda Bread.

Unlike the Shepherd's Pie of questionable origin, the Irish Soda bread has been an Irish tradition, since about 1840 when baking soda was invented. The country of Ireland was very poor then, as this was just before the potato famine. Soda bread is made from very cheap ingredients and it didn't need an oven to be baked. It could be made on a griddle or in a pot over a fire. In the old times, this bread was made every few days, especially in households that were far from a bakery.

I used the recipes to the right to make Irish Soda Bread and the Shepherd's Pie. There is a good chance that we are going to have people over on St. Patrick's Day and I don't like experimenting with brand-new dishes when we have company. I've had too many bad experiences that! So I tested these recipes beforehand.>

The Soda Bread recipe called for cake flour. I was curious if that was necessary. I live at a high altitude and cake flour is usually bad news in baking so I didn't happen to have any on hand.

With a little research, I discovered that flour in Ireland has a different gluten content than our all-purpose flour here in the United States, and adding cake flour helps the bread maintain its uniquely Irish texture. I didn't feel like going to the store, so I used 100% all-purpose flour. I also used powdered buttermilk instead of fresh buttermilk. I blended with buttermilk powder just before mixing it into the dry ingredients.

I stuck closely to the Shepherd's Pie recipe with the exception of the mashed potatoes. I love mashed potatoes, so I made a double batch and covered the entire top of the pie with potato instead of just having a few dollops here and there.

Basic Sheppard"s Pie

Irish Soda Bread