Day O' Green Lunch

Some green, some rainbow, and some real Irish brown bread for a sammie. Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Magically Delicious!

That's right, it was a magically delicious St. Patrick's Day. We adore Ireland, and so our family was decked out in green today, and we invited Margo (a fellow fan of the Green Isle) over for dinner. Here's our before and after...

I did real Irish Soda Bread (not the American version), a rustic apple tart (a common dessert we found in Ireland), and of course, corned beef with cabbage, carrots and tatties (cooked with one chopped up Golden Delicious apple and 1/2 a bottle of Blonde Ale)! After dinner, I chopped the corned beef and potatoes up to turn into hash tomorrow morning.

Rustic Irish Apple Tart

Preheat oven to 400-degrees F

3 peeled, cored, sliced Granny Smith apples and
1 peeled, cored sliced Gala apple
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbs. flour
cinnamon to taste

Mix up your filling, and let it sit while you prep your crust. When crust is ready, dump apples on crust, even out and then fold the edges of the crust over around the perimeter of the pan. Bake until golden brown and fragrant (I have no idea how long I baked this... really... I use my nose to tell me when baked goods are done (I do keep an eye on them of course to prevent burning).

1.25 c. flour
1 cube cold butter
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. cold water

Cut butter into flour and salt, add water to form dough. Roll out and transfer into 12-inch well-seasoned cast iron pan.

A Feast for Whistle Pig Day!

Because my friend Margo was coming over tonight, and she is a lover of all things Gaelic (especially Irish), I went with the more Gaelic menu for our first Lá Fhéile Bríde (St. Brigid's Day) Imbolc/Midwinter, (also Groundhog - or Whistle Pig - Day) celebration. I had both asparagus (which I simply roasted on a cookie sheet, drizzled with EVOO, seasoned with S&P at 450-degrees for about 10 mins), and strawberries (which we chopped, added a bit of sugar, vanilla, and a splash of fig-infused white balsamic vinegar to, and served with bakery angel food cake, and sweetened whipped cream - spiced with 1/4 tsp. Chinese Five Spice).
And, along with a bakery-bought deliciously crusty baguette, I served a brand-new made up recipe...

Jameson Irish Stew

1 medium shallot, diced
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
2 cups of baby carrots, chopped
7 (or more to taste) peeled and chopped yellow potatoes
1/2 tsp. sea salt and 1/4 -1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
All cooked in EVOO (2 Tbs) until onions are caramelized

De-glaze pan with one carton of beef broth, stir and add in one package of lamb stew meat (about 1 pound - yes, raw). Turn the heat up to boil, and add about 2 cups hot water. Simmer, uncovered, until potatoes and carrots are tender and lamb is cooked (and broth thickened)... about 45 mins to an hour... (honestly not sure since I was gabbing too much).

Add two shots of Jameson Irish Whiskey to finish, and let it bubble for about 5 minutes more to cook off a little of the whiskey. Unbelievably delicious!!

A Taste of Ireland

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! We love Ireland. Love it. And, now we could technically fly there at a moments notice with the kids (only took 11 days for them to be official). Crazy thought, right? Is it crazy? Can we take the kids in the pub there? Oh, no. I have the travel bug again. I suppose it has been almost five years...

Anyway, instead of making green stuff today, I whipped up a real taste of Ireland — brown bread. We ate this everywhere there... in seaside pottery cafes near Dingle, in all the B&B's we enjoyed "full Irish Breakfast" at, at the Guinness Brewery... you get the picture. Make this (you get four wee loaves), drink some Guinness (it makes you strong and smart), and enjoy your bread with your stout and some corned beef and cabbage (roasted in more stout) today. Mmm... Happy Day O'Green!!!

Irish Brown Bread

4 c whole wheat flour
1 c bread flour
1/3 c rolled oats
2 heaping tsp wheat germ (this makes it taste like the real stuff!)
1 heaping tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 c buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment. In a large bowl, stir together flours, wheat germ, oats, baking soda and salt. Gently stir in the buttermilk until a soft dough forms. Knead lightly. Divide dough into four and form into round, flat loaves. Cut an 'X' in the top of each loaf and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.