A St. Patrick's Day Giveaway! And Some Bonny Irish Scones.....

I'm a scone fanatic. I admit it. So I just had to make these in honor of St. Patrick's Day; they're practically the only kind I've never tried. I made soda bread last year (although I didn't post it; I got side tracked with a cake, LOL) but with company coming, I thought it might be fun to serve these for breakfast. Always better to get a few more opinions anyway. 

I love the two kinds of raisins and the caraway seeds. While walnuts are not my favorite, they seem just right in this recipe. I didn't even consider using pecans. Just enough sweetness in these scones, but not too much. From one of my favorite cookbooks, Once Upon a Tart. With a bit of jam or honey, these are wonderful. 

Irish Soda Scones
From Once Upon a Tart by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau

Ingredients:

4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

12 tablepoons ( 1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons caraway seeds

1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup dark raisins

Method:

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and sugar to mix. Add the butter all at one time. Run the processor for 15 seconds. You want the mixture to look grainy like moist crumbs and with no chunks of butter. Pulse if you need to (I didn't) but don't overwork the dough. Dump the crumbs in a big bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and add the buttermilk, caraway seeds, walnuts and both raisins. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until there is no flour visable. I did this with my hands.

Using your hands or a 1/2 cup measure, scoop the batter onto the parchment paper, leaving 2 inches in between scones. (I rolled out the dough on a floured board and cut into squares.)

Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place baking sheet on a wire rack to cool for a couple moments, then transfer the scones to to the rack. Makes 12 scones.

Now.....on to the giveaway!

Have you ever been to Prune in New York City? Then you will have enjoyed Gabrielle Hamilton's extraordinary food. She's the owner and chef and also happens to be a trained writer (M.F.A., University of Michigan); you'll love this memoir of her unorthodox trajectory to becoming a chef. You also might enjoy this article she wrote in Food and Wine. 

 And here's a couple quotes from a review in Grub Street New York:

"And that’s the beauty of this book, really — in this age of celebrity restaurateurs being turned into bobble-head dolls and robotic reality-show judges, it’s refreshing to read the memoir of a chef who admits to being only human."

Mario Batali: “I will read this book to my children and then burn all the books I have written for pretending to be anything even close to this. Then I will apply for the dishwasher job at Prune to learn from my new queen.”

Her book is newly released and I've got a copy just for you!

To win this fabulous book, just leave a comment letting me know the name of your favorite restaurant (no matter where) or which one you've always dreamed of trying. If you become a follower, you'll get two entries. And if you've actually been to Prune, you get a third entry! I know, that's not fair, but definitely worth three entries!  (Please leave a separate comment for each.) And make certain I have your email address. I'll announce the winner March 14th.