We try every blue cheese dressing that crosses our path. Most don’t measure up.

Funny: Kathryn was in the same boat, so she decided to make her own. After much experimentation, she came up with the current masterpiece; then developed a superb Thousand Island Dressing as well.

If you think you don’t need to send away for salad dressing, think again! Or at least twist your retailer’s arm to stock up on them. Read the full review below.

• Read the full review of Kathryn’s Cottage Blue Cheese Dressing & Thousand Island Dressing.
• Find more of our favorite oils, vinegars and salad dressings.

Blue cheese dressing this good should be
shown off in a recipe like this. Photo by
Soulgems | Fotolia.

Perfect with tea (and almost any repast),
we hope that oatcakes will become as
popular as shortbread. Photo courtesy
Effie’s Homemade.

It’s true: “Oatcake” doesn’t sound too beguiling. To Americans, it can sound like something you might give your horse as a treat.

Neigh!

As Scotland is too cold to grow wheat, oats were the staple grain until modern times and easy distribution of wheat products throughout the U.K. In Scotland, biscuits—sweet or savory—were made with oatmeal instead of wheat flour.

So think of a simple but sublime shortbread cookie—essentially wheat flour, butter and sugar. Then substitute oats for the wheat, and you’ve got an oatcake.

While they might not sound as graceful as “shortbread,” oatcakes are just as satisfying—even more so, as they’re not as sweet or buttery. So they go with just about everything, from breakfast to soup and salad to the cheese course.

• Read the full review of Effie’s Homemade Oatcakes.
• Find more of our favorite cookies, biscuits and crackers.

Our first product is Tipsy Cocktail Stirrers from Sable & Rosenfeld.

Bloody Marys, martinis and any savory cocktail will be greatly enhanced by dressing up with gourmet cocktail stirrers. So will a sandwich, a burger or anything else that begs for visual excitement and savory splendor. (That makes it a great gift, too.)

Tipsy cocktail stirrers are also a very low calorie snack, and certified kosher by OU.

• Read the full review of Tipsy Cocktail Stirrers.
• Find cocktail recipes and reviews of our favorite spirits and mixers in our Cocktails Section.

Why didn’t we think of this? Our new favorite
cocktail garnish. Photo by Katharine Pollak |
THE NIBBLE.

Three varieties of sage: tricolor, pineapple
sage (it smells like pineapple) and golden
sage, available from WhiteflowerFram.com.

Think of sage to season beans, in cheese recipes, with eggplant, tomatoes and any pork dish.

The pretty leaves also make a charming plate decoration or general food garnish. You can also add the leaves to iced tea, instead of mint!

RECIPE: WhiteflowerFarm.com, a premium purveyor of fine plants, recommends adding chopped fresh sage with sautéed chopped onions and garlic, and a squeeze of lemon, to cooked pasta or rice.

This wonderfully aromatic plant is a delight in the kitchen—and in the garden. Get a pot (and several for gifts) for St. Patrick’s Day!

• Try this recipe for sage popcorn.
• A sophisticated roast beef sandwich with sage-horseradish mayonnaise.
• A delectable pumpkin fettuccine recipe with chicken and sage.

There are shamrock cookies and petit fours, green marshmallows and malt balls.

There’s a jumbo caramel apple rolled in chocolate and green chips, and Irish Crunch popcorn.

For those who like elegant chocolates, we tried some terrific ones in appropriately green boxes.

• See all of our St. Patrick’s Day treats.

Lucky Clover cookies from Elenis.com. Photo
courtesy Eleni’s.