The Spirit World

Another weekend, another holiday – and this is such a drinking holiday! So I’m actually going to throw you a bit of a fastball. (She says as she makes her way to Phoenix to catch a few Spring Training games – baseball is on her mind!) Instead of recommending a cocktail I’m going to point you to any of Donavan’s wonderful posts on Irish beers. Or, suggest that, perhaps, after you are done with all of your other St. Paddy’s day revelries that you pamper yourself with a nice cuppa. Today’s appetizer is traditionally served with either beer or tea.

The Ploughman’s Platter is a traditional plate offered in many Irish pubs, as well as numerous other establishments. Although you can customize a platter to your own tastes there are a few items that need to be included. We’ll start with cheese – glorious, beautiful, smooth and tangy Irish cheddar. In the photo you’ll actually see two versions of cheddar on this plate. One is a Whiskey Cheddar – you can just see the light gold marbling in the pearly cheese on the left – the whiskey gives the cheese a hint of smoky flavor. Right next to it is Porter Cheddar; this one is marbled with a dark porter which gives the cheese a nutty flavor. Another common cheese found on these platters is an Irish Swiss, pictured on the right.

Next, you must have nice grainy mustard and a good spoonful of fruit chutney. I’ve used apple chutney that I made last summer. It is sweet with raisins and currants but has a bit of a kick from onions and hot pepper. It’s a great complement to cheese.

There should always be pickles of some sort – sometimes they are big, barrel aged pickles, sometimes sweet baby cornichons and sometimes both. For this plate I’ve gone with the cornichons.

The next area is where you may start seeing some divergence. Some platters will have sliced tomato and onion, for instance, while others will feature fruit like grapes or apple slices. When you make your own you can have both!

Finally, bread and good sweet Irish butter. On this plate I put a piece of Irish Soda Bread but it doesn’t really go with this spread. You should shoot for a good sweet brown bread or a nice country loaf of some sort. If you choose to add some meat – slices of ham or beef perhaps, you’d now have a Ploughman’s lunch!

Whatever you choose to put on your Ploughman’s platter, just remember to have a nice interesting mix of flavors and textures and then have lots of fun assembling all sorts of bites with different tastes.