It’s a cold and wintry Sunday morning, and I’d love something warm and comforting with my Irish breakfast tea today, something other than the oat bran toast with peanut butter that is my usual staple with the first cup. After I’ve been up a while, it will be the customary bowl of Irish oatmeal, but I’m thinking of something to hold me over until then. Perhaps you are, too.

    Well, then, let’s make some scones, those little tea breads with a thin, slightly crunchy outside and a dense but still moist and fluffy inside. Here’s a simple recipe that will take you about 40 minutes from start to first bite hot out of the oven. The yield is about a dozen.

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tb granulated sugar
1 tb baking powder
grated zest of 2 large lemons (or 1 tsp lemon extract)
¼ tsp salt
4 tb cold, unsalted butter (½ stick), cut into pieces
2 large eggs
½ cup heavy cream (half 'n half will give you almost the same crumb)
½ cup dried cranberries

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a fork or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate, small bowl, whisk the eggs and cream together and add to the dry mixture and dried cranberries, stirring until a sticky dough is formed.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead gently only until it holds together. Roll out gently with a floured rolling pin to about an inch thick, and cut scones out with a 3” cookie cutter.

Keep the scones about an inch apart on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake until they are crusty and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

    You’ll want to eat these right out of the oven. Strawberry jam would be a nice touch, perhaps with some clotted or Devonshire cream. As for me, some butter and warmed honey will do, although these scones are good just as they are, too, washed down with a hearty cup of tea.

    However, I also like a little heartier accompaniment sometimes, too.  Ever try Jameson Irish Whiskey Marmalade?  Or a blackberry jam?  You can source these, along with your Bewley's Irish Breakfast Tea, at TastyIrishtreats.com.  Click on this link for quick access . . . . .

Tasty Irish Treats Shop for all your favorite Irish teas, candies, jams, oatmeal, mustard and more. Click here to check out our selection

 
    This recipe is as easy as it seems, and 40 minutes is a small investment of time for such a delightful way to begin your morning. It can set a wonderful tone for the rest of your day.

    I had occasion to visit with friends in Maine last week, and since they were putting me up, I thought it only fair that I bring and prepare dinner for them. Lobsters sounded good to me, but I wanted to treat them to something just a little bit different. The theme for the meal, then, became nuts.

    Here’s the menu:
   
    Pan-roasted one and one-half pound lobsters with bourbon, tarragon and cream; risotto with Gorgonzola cheese, green peas and walnuts; roasted wedges of acorn squash; and grapenut custard pudding with maple syrup.    

      Here’s the execution:            

      With your chef’s knife in one hand, and the lobster held still on the cutting surface, push your knife through the head between the eyes. Make sure you apply enough pressure so it happens quickly. The lobster will die instantly, although the legs and tail will twitch a little. I know, me, too. I always apologize just before I do it.

    Turn the lobster over onto its back, and run your knife down the center of the body and tail, all the way through, so the lobster is split in half. With a spoon, remove the loose brown and green innards, and separate the knuckles/claws from the body.

    With a mallet, crack the knuckles and the claws.Chop a shallot finely, and chop some fresh tarragon. The amounts of each depend on how many lobsters, but let’s say for two, you’d want one shallot, and about a tablespoon of tarragon.

    Heat a cast iron skillet on high, and add 4 tablespoons of butter (one-half stick), and two tablespoons of canola oil. The oil has a higher burn temperature, and will help the butter from burning badly. Add the chopped shallots, and saute for a moment.

    Add the lobster halves, flesh side down, the knuckles and claws, to the pan. Don’t move the lobster halves - - let them develop some brown. After about 2 minutes, turn the knuckles/claws.

    Add a half cup of bourbon to the pan and flame it while you swirl the lobsters in it. Add the tarragon, swirl a little more, and then put the pan in a 350 degree oven for the lobsters to finish roasting.
   
    Remove from the oven in 5 minutes, take the lobsters out of the pan, and put the pan back on the burner. Deglaze with just a little bit of whatever white wine you’re serving with dinner, scrape the good stuff off the bottom of the pan, add a tablespoon of Dijon mustard and one cup of heavy cream. Whisk and reduce to a sauce consistency, and pour a couple of tablespoons over the flesh of the lobster halves, and serve.

    Here’s the results:

    The nuttiness of the bourbon folds in with the walnuts of the risotto and the acorn squash, and you finish that all up with the grapenuts for dessert. That’s how the theme of the dinner, lobster and all, became nuts.

“What did you have for dinner last night?”

“Nuts. And, oh yeah, there was lobster, and risotto, and squash, and custard, too. But, I had nuts for dinner.”

    If you can get past the knife between the eyes thing, this is a terrific meal. If you can’t, just get a friend to help, because it’s really worth it . . . easy, quick, and oh, so good.