Written by Jenny of Purple House Dirt.

Think that Ireland's just a land of potatoes? You'd be wrong about that. Over the last decade, Ireland saw an influx of cash and cultures (owing to its great economy, which is sadly no more), and along with the changes came a new approach to Irish cooking. On a recent trip to the Isle, I managed to squeeze in some fantastic food experiences that I didn't even know Ireland had.

In Dublin, we visited all of the typical tourist spots - Grafton Street, the Temple Bar, and the Guinness Factory - but one of the best meals we had there was at a little restaurant called the Winding Stair. In many ways, it was the best introduction to Ireland. Listed in the Good Food Guide (which is similar to the Slow Food Guides available in many countries), this tiny spot looking over the River Liffey was in fact at the top of a winding stair.

Their menu focused on local and organic, while trying to honor traditional Irish cooking, and it did so with smashing success. I think I scored the best plate of the night - I think they called it a potato puff. It was, essentially, colcannon - a dish of mashed potatoes and kale, but it was baked in a crispy crust and was practically the size of my head. The photo does not do it justice.

Upon leaving Dublin, I realized I'd had my first lesson about Ireland and its food culture. I should expect the unexpected even when the food is as simple as mashed potatoes and kale.

Driving through the lush landscapes, we saw hundreds - if not thousands - of dairy cows and sheep. This is the second lesson about Irish food I have to share. Any place that has that many cows (and they looked like fat happy cows to me), has either amazing meat or it's a dairy land. Fortunately, for us we realized both were true. Despite our best efforts to eat lots of seafood (it is on the ocean, after all), we did indulge in a steak or two, and it was rich, marbled meat. But the dairy - oh, the dairy. With tea as the prevalent afternoon beverage, one has plenty of opportunities to drink milk and spread butter on scones. You'll find both are very high in fat content. 1% and 2% never crossed my mind (or my lips) as long as I was there.

The biggest area of note, as far as our Irish adventure went, was in the south, in and around County Cork. We'd started to see roadside strawberry stands as we approached Cork, and knew we'd entered Ireland's richest farming region. Cork itself is a lovely little college town with a beautiful Gothic cathedral, but the real treat for food types is the English Market. Filled to the rafters with stalls, you'll see local meats, produce, and seafood - but it's not just the variety that is amazing. We went early in the day and it was easy to tell everything was fresh. The seafood had no odor at all, the eyes were clear and the skin shiny and unbroken. The breads still smelled hot, and the meat cases burst with blood red everything. It was a sensory carnival.

From this three-ring circus, we loaded up bags for a picnic and headed to a nearby town called Midleton. Midleton has the honor of housing the largest pot still in the world, at the original Jameson Distillery. We took the tour and tasted some of the best Irish whiskey of our trip, and then sat in the nearby park and ate our sandwiches from the English Market. On the way back to Cork, we meandered through rich farmland to Ballymaloe, the legendary Irish cooking school. There were no classes underway, but with permission from one of the gardeners, we tooled through the kitchen garden to sneak a peek at their plants. If we'd had more time, this would have definitely been a longer stop on our trip.

Two other towns near Cork offer much-talked-about dining. We didn't get to either of them, but if you're in the area you might want to check out Fishy Fishy in Kinsale (which is on the coast - some of our party did go there) and The Tannery in Dungarvan.

One other lesson of note about Ireland - or at least my experiences there - the sweets might be like nothing else you've had anywhere else. Of course I expected scones, but those aren't particularly sweet and are best used as a vehicle for high fat butter (see lesson #2). What I didn't expect were the fantastic meringues and pavlovas, incredible hard candies, and banoffee pie. I found meringues on nearly every menu, sometimes served with fruit and sauce, sometimes with jam folded in. Pavlovas aren't particularly common in the US so it was great fun having as many as I could eat.

Candy shops were also a treat all over the country. I'd sneak away to oogle the jars and jars of hard candies, bon bons, and yards of licorice ropes. I wrote a post about a couple of the shops I'd found in Dungarvan and Kilkenney on my friend Jessie's Cakespy site, if you want the complete details on their locations.

And banoffee pie. I wish I'd gotten a picture of this marvel, but I was too taken with the taste and texture to care. Imagine banana cream pie, but layered with toffee caramel on a buttery crust. If you haven't tasted this and you have a sweet tooth, it's not to be missed. I wish I'd ordered more slices of banoffee pie.

You'd have thought that all we did in Ireland was eat - but we didn't. It's just that the food in Ireland became the focus around which all of the other plans revolved - so that each time we found ourselves back in the car or in another castle, inevitably someone would ask 'when's dinner and what are we eating tonight?' I think that's the best way to spend a family vacation together - going from place to place, meal to meal, enjoying the perfect scenery and company, and loving all that the community has to share.