Sariann Lehrer's Blog, page 2

A Feast of Ice and Fire

The day has finally come! My first cookbook, co-written with Chelsea Monroe-Cassel, is at a book store near you. A beautiful compilation of medieval and modern recipes, beautiful photographs, and well-researched food lore, it’s not only a book you will love cooking from, but also one to share with friends.

Treacle Tart

Children this side of the pond grow upwoefullyignorant of the wonders of treacle. Our refined sugar byproducts are generally confined to molasses, and our inverted sugar usually takes the form of corn syrup. Little do American sweet teeth know that our British cousins have mastered the procurement, production, and preparation of treacle, the finest of [...]

Clotted Cream

Clotted cream is one of those beautiful, unadulterated foods of pure joy. A component of theunsurpassedcream tea, clotted, or clouted cream is the perfectaccompaniment for a scone, some homemade jam, and a nice cuppa. It’s roots are buried deep in thefarmingcommunitiesout South West England, and we know the products best as Devon cream, and Cornish clotted cream. Cornish clotted cream, in particular, is such an importantpartof local culture, that it was awarded a Protected Designation of Orig...

Mint Julep

Derby Saturday was, and is, always a special day in my house. Being the first weekend in May, we are usually blessed with beautiful weather. A day spent outside, working in our own barn under the sun, and at just about five o’clock we tromp back into the coolness of the house, and get ready for the race.

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We love the exposées on the trainers, and the owners, and the jockeys, but thehorsesare the stars. I can count on my fingers the number of American traditions I’ve embraced and am cultu...

Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia

Cucumber Ginger Fizz

Mamma Ginger threw a garden party that I catered for, and Iabsolutelyfell in love with this cocktail when I made it. The flavors and the fizz create adelightfullyseasonal beverage, perfect for sipping on a sunny spring day. And the best part? The harshness of the vodka is softened by the cucumber, leaving the wonderful combination of sweet ginger and cucumber to play in the fizz.

750 mL vodka
1 cucumber
bottle of sparkling water
4 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced in thin rounds
1...

Huevos Haminados

I’m visiting my parents for Passover this weekend, with about 12 other relatives. Needless to say, I’ve been recruited to help in the kitchen – not that I mind, but I’ve decided to expand my Passover cooking horizons this year, and branch out by including some traditional Sephardic Jewish Passover recipes as well. These eggs were the first round of culinary exploration.

Eggs are a traditional part of the Passover table, in fact there is one on the seder plate. The roundness of the egg symbolis...

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Americans seem to flip flop between theirbeliefthat corned beef and cabbage is an actual Irish dish. It has certainly become the iconic dish to serve on St. Patrick’s day this side of the pond, and has been adulterated time and time again by overrun Irish bars serving “authenticIrish fare” to the drunk masses, paired with equally asblasphemousBlackand Tans.

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First, corned beef and cabbage isIrish, however it’s not associated with St. Patrick, or even served as a holiday meal at all. And seco...

White Soda Bread

Arán Sóide

Soda bread evolved after the introduction of baking soda in the 1800′s. The use of a leavening agent that isn’t as temperature sensitive as yeast eliminated the need for ovens to cook bread, allowing for nearly every household to have the means to make bread. Instead, soda bread was cooked in cast iron dutch ovens, called bastibles, placed directly over hot coals.

Traditional Irish soda bread does not include what we in America have come to expect – the currants, raisins, nuts, and p...

Coming Soon!

This Friday, 16 March, we will be up and running at ChoppedGinger with some traditional St. Paddy’s day fare.

See you soon!