Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Irish Cheese Sticks

Irish Cooking can also be found at The Petit Chef and Pinterest.

All receipes are on Petitchef

These were the first type of cheese sticks I ever tasted--a nice variation on the present day mozzarella sticks my grandchildren love. And these are baked, not fried. We had these at a pub in Stabane, a charming town in County Tyrone, the largest county in Northern Ireland. Apart from Omagh, the county town, Cookstown (famous for its sausages) and Dungannon, the landscape is almost empty of men but rich in prehistoric and Celtic remains. We enjoyed driving its windswept moors. About one thousand standing stones are a testament to the Stone Age people who passed this way.


In Tyrone, you will find fascinating prehistoric sites, lovely forest parks with herds of deer, and the beautiful Sperrin Mountains which stretch for many, many miles. With blanket bogs and heather on the upper reaches and farmland and wooded valleys in the foothills, the Sperrins offer excellent attractions for hill walkers and cyclists. Visitors can fish for trout in the tributaries of the River Foyle, or see the many standing stones and burial cairns in the area. Near Cookstown, you will find the 10th Century Ardboe Cross, the Iron Age fort at Tullyhogue, and the Beaghmore Stone Circles. Take a trip to the Tyrone Crystal factory in Dungannon where you can see molten glass being hand-blown.


The largest town in County Tyrone is Omagh, which makes a great base for exploring the surrounding areas, including the picturesque Gortin Glen. The nearby Ulster-American Folk Park, one of the country's best museums, tells the story of Northern Ireland’s unique contribution to the New World.


Well-known neolithic sites include the Beaghmore stone circles near Cookstown which were uncovered only 40 years ago and the chambered cairn of Knockmany at the top of a steep wooded hill north of Clogher. If you are interested in this period, the Ulster History Park near Gortin Glen Forest Park is well worth a detour. 
From the seventh to the twelfth century, crosses and High Crosses went up all over Christian Ireland, and there is a superb example of this peculiarly Irish art, 18-l/2 feet high, at Ardboe. Another, not quite so tall, stands at the top of the main street in Donaghmore 

village. The chief crowning place of the Tyrone O'Neills was Tullaghoge hill where there is a fine view of the old kingdom of Tyrone from the top. 

County Tyrone has special meaning for US visitors for three famous Americans claim the county as their birthplace or ancestral home. The Ulster-American Folk Park at Camphill, Omagh, grew 
up round the cottage where Thomas Mellon was born in 1813. The story of the House of Mellon is the stuff that dreams are made of. 
When Thomas was five his family emigrated to Pennsylvania. Thomas became a judge, a banker, and a millionaire. His son Andrew became secretary to the US Treasury, ambassador to London, chief architect of the steel town of Pittsburgh, and probably the richest man in the world at the time. A love of English paintings led one Mellon to give Yale Museum 140 Constables, 41 Gainsboroughs, 42 Hogarths, and 35 Stubbses. Mellon money helped build the Waldorf Astoria, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the locks and gates of the Panama Canal--and the folk 
park at Omagh. 

Also in the Folk Park is the cottage which was the boyhood home of Archbishop John Hughes. He was born in 1797 only a few miles away. A gardener's boy, he became Archbishop of New York, and founder of St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. He was a politician, pamphleteer, and champion of the Irish Catholic immigrant. His cottage was moved into the park and rebuilt stone by stone. 
Near Strabane, is the ancestral home of Woodrow Wilson, 28th president of the US. The farm is still occupied by Wilsons, who 
will show callers round the house.

Erin and Eli at The American Embassy at 42 Elgin Rd., Ballsbridge, Dublin 1984.




Cheddar Cheese Sticks


Ingredients:


1 lb. of sharp yellow cheddar cheese, grated

1 3/4 cups of flour
1/4 cup of butter
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. of red pepper


Preparation:


In a mixing bowl cream the butter until soft. Add the cheese, salt and pepper, and flour. I go light on the salt since the cheese and butter already contain salt. Mix together only until the ingredients are blended. On waxed paper, roll out mixture into long, narrow strips. Cut into 4-inch sticks. Place on a sprayed baking sheet, and bake in a preheated 350° oven for 25 minutes or until a golden brown. Today these would be served with a dipping sauce like a marinara or creamy horseradish, but when we first had these, they were served plain without sauce. I usually make a sweet sauce like a fruit-based dip to enjoy the sweet and savory combination.



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