Thackeray

"You take a lobster about three feet long..."

Once upon a time in Ireland, this was no big deal. These days the lobsters tend to be a lot smaller, as much due to overfishing as to climate change -- the Irish coastal waters aren't as cold as they used to be. But there are still plenty of lobsters around, and they form the basis for two dishes that have been popular for the last couple of centuries.

Though no one's absolutely sure where Dublin Lawyer got its name, wags will insist that it's probably because Dublin lawyers had a rep for being rich and having a lot of whiskey in them. The dish remains simple, quick and easy to make, but requires that the lobster be alive, and cooked immediately after killing it.

The other recipe is a little more complex, but still quick to make and also unquestionably tasty. The popular magazine columnist and novelist William Makepeace Thackeray came over to Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century to tour the country and meet up with some literary connections. In his novel The Irish Sketch-Book he tells about how, along the way, he has dinner with some friends at a scenic restaurant in Salthill, south of Dublin. The star dish of the dinner is a lobster dish with a surprisingly spicy sauce, and Thackeray describes everything from the ingredients, to the cooking method, to what to drink with the final result... and how to cope with the hangover the next morning.