Kerrygold is one of the best known brands of Irish butter - perhaps one of the best known Irish brands period if you’re into cooking and baking. Irish butter is a European-style butter and has a higher butterfat content than the average American butter. This translates into a richer, creamier texture for the butter. Kerrygold’s is a little different from other European butters because it has a lot more flavor. It has a tangy note that might remind you of cheese or buttermilk, and as unusual as that might sound at first, it is that little extra bit of savoriness that makes this butter a real standout. That extra flavor is said to be the result of the rich, grass-heavy diet that the cows have in Ireland.

It tastes fantastic smeared on a good piece of bread or toast, and unlike plain butters, it adds a lot of complexity to each bite. It is available in salted and unsalted varieties, and is easy to find in many grocery stores, and even easier to locate at specialty grocers. It is a a bit expensive compared to standard butter, so while it is great for cooking, I’ll often save my block of Irish butter for finishing off dishes or spreading on pieces of baguette. If you haven’t tried it before, I’d recommend starting with Kerrygold Salted Butter and a nice loaf of bread so you can get a feel for the flavor.

During citrus season, you start to see all kinds of recipes that call for oranges, lemons, limes and even grapefruits. You also start to notice that recipes call for specific types of citrus, such as blood oranges, key limes and Meyer lemons. Meyer lemons, a sweet hybrid lemon, are still relatively new to the kitchen scene when compared to some of these other fruits (key limes are probably the best example). Whether you happen to have a surplus of Meyer lemons or just of Meyer lemon recipes, you’ve probably wondered whether you can substitute regular lemons for Meyer, and vice versa, when cooking.

The good news is that you can always make a 1:1 substitution of the juice and zest of various lemons, whether you’re talking about Meyer lemons or otherwise. You should keep in mind that it isn’t the consistency of the lemons that varies when changing types of lemon, but the flavor. Meyer lemons are sweeter and much less acidic tasting than regular lemons. This means that they have a good lemon flavor, but lack the “bite” of a regular lemon. Meyer lemon juice is still quite acidic, even if it doesn’t taste that way, so you can expect recipes to turn out then exact same way when it comes to how the lemon juice interacts with other ingredients, such as curdling milk into buttermilk.

In a glass of lemonade, you’ll need less sugar when you use Meyer lemons. In a cake that calls for regular lemons, you may be able to reduce the sugar slightly if you substitute with Meyer lemons, since many lemon recipes include extra sugar to account for the tartness of the lemons. That said, read the descriptions of the recipes carefully, since some highlight that same tartness by not adding extra sugar, so there may be no need to cut down the amount included.

 Aprons are useful tools to have in the kitchen. I say tools because they can do quite a lot: protect your clothes, give you a place to wipe your hands or hang a dishtowel, and even provide you with pockets to hold extra spices, spoons and spatulas that you just don’t have room for. And if the apron is cute and fun to wear, that is even better. Flirty Aprons is a company that specializes in cute and - of course - flirty aprons. They have some great patterns to choose from, all with wide fabric belts that tie into a big bow and a beautiful ruffled trim. I recently got to test out one of their most delightful designs: the Frosted Cupcake apron. The apron is made from soft cotton and has a nice strong feel to it. I like the pockets and I love the cut, because these aprons were designed to be flattering. For instance, the ruffle stopped right at my waist, so there was no bunching of extra fabric, and the wide tie makes your waist look slim, not shapeless. And the adorable cupcakes are a nice finishing touch to the whole thing.

This week, I’m giving away the Frosted Cupcake apron pictured above! To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment at the bottom of this post with your favorite frosting flavor - in honor of the frosted cupcakes on the apron. The winner will be chosen randomly on Thursday, January 28th at midnight. Don’t forget to leave your e-mail address when you comment so that I can contact you if you are the winner.

If you don’t win the giveaway, check out some of their other aprons as a gift for yourself or as a fantastic Valentine’s Day gift. Flirty Aprons makes mens and kids aprons, as well. I really like the Cherry Blossom Apron, too, and will be adding that to my own wish list!

One of the most frequently recommended ways to make Dulce de Leche is to put a can of sweetened condensed milk into boiling water and cook it for a period of 2-4 hours. This is not a good thing to do - and one look at the warning on a can of sweetened condensed milk will tell you why: the can can explode. This can happen when the water level in the pan gets to low, when the burner you’re using has a hot spot below your can, or when any other situation arises in which excess heat builds up in that can. I’ve used the method with good results - but it’s not worth the risk of stepping out of the kitchen and returning to a big mess of sweetened condensed milk everywhere, not when there is a safer method that is just as easy to do and that is even a bit faster.

This method for making dulce de leche uses a double boiler. Simply open a can of sweetened condensed milk and pour it into the top of a double boiler, where the bottom is already filled with a few inches of simmering water. With a double boiler, you don’t need to worry about the water evaporating while you cook, and since there is no pressure from a sealed can, there is no risk of an unexpected explosion (yes, it really does happen).
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While I like heating up a plate of Thanksgiving leftovers and having a holiday dinner all over again, what I really like to do with leftover turkey is make sandwiches. The breasts are usually so large that you get perfect slices of meat - meaning that they’re quite big - for sandwiches and don’t need to spend too much time piecing together little bits of turkey meat (as sometimes happens with leftovers from a small roast chicken).

You can put anything on a sandwich, but there are a couple of types that I always fall back on with leftovers. The first is a Turkey and Stuffing Sandwich, with a good amount of cranberry sauce spread in between to keep things moist. There is no recipe for this one, just a joining of all the ingredients you have tucked in tupperware in your fridge - with a bit of mayo, salt and pepper. This is a great sandwich to have hot or cold.

The second is a Turkey, Cranberry and Brie Panini (above,before being pressed). Creamy brie is a great match for tangy cranberries, and the brie melts fabulously, bringing all the elements of this sandwich together in slightly gooey harmony. If I have a lot of cranberry sauce, I’ll make some bbq sauce with it and enjoy some Turkey Sandwiches with Cranberry Barbecue Sauce. I’ll actually keep the sauce around for a while, too, and use it with other dishes when the leftovers are done.

Finally, my last fall back is for Mini Turkey Sandwiches, made using whatever type of bread or roll you seved with Thanksgiving dinner. I make bite-sized sandwiches on cornbread, dinner rolls and biscuits and much through a few. This is also a great option if you still have family around and want to serve a snack, but no one is up for a full meal.

Pumpkins and other firm winter squash can seem a bit daunting the first time you set out to cook one at home. This is largely because they’re a bit foreign looking when compared to other fruits and veggies, with an intimidating outer peel. Fortunately, they can actually be very easy to cook and once you’ve done it once, you’ll find yourself doing it again to enjoy the sweet, tender flesh of the gourd as a side dish with dinner.

To begin, take your squash (acorn, butternut, etc.) and wash it well. Then, trim off the top and bottom stems. Slice the squash down the middle carefully, using a very sharp knife, then use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and pulp. There is no need to remove the skin because the flesh will be so tender after roasting that you can scrape it off of the skin with a spoon, but this is the time to peel it if you prefer to cut your squash into chunks before roasting.

Place the squash on a lightly oiled sheet of aluminum paper or directly on a lightly greased baking sheet and slide it into a 375F oven. Cover loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil to keep the flesh tender and roast for 60-80 minutes. The timing will depend on how thick your squash was to begin with, so check it and make sure that it is fork-tender before you take it out of the oven regardless of baking time.

At this point, I brush mine with a little butter and salt (or butter, salt and maple syrup if I want something sweet) and serve it as is. The squash can also be pureed into a mashed potato-like dish or used in baking at this point, as well.