Kiss me! I’m (pretending to be) Irish!

We managed to sneak in a full-fledged Irish dinner on Tuesday before Momma had to dash out the door to her quilting class. Hubby wasn’t there for our familial celebration, alas, but the babysitter seemed to enjoy it.

(To John’s credit, he pulled in the driveway as I was leaving. Babysitter Megan was just covering for him until he arrived. This is our “quilting night arrangement.”)

Corned beef and cabbage is very easy to make. Have you tried it? No? You must. All I did was boil the corned beef for 30 minutes (to reduce its saltiness) with half the contents of the little spice pack that comes with it.

Then I popped it in my new Dutch oven (which I love) and drizzled it with olive oil. I added a handful of carrots, (peeled and chopped) and a handful of onions (also peeled and chopped in large sections so the kids can avoid them). A little salt and pepper, a couple pats of butter, and into the oven it went.

I cooked mine for about 3 ½ hours at 325 degrees and it was so very good—crispy on the outside and very tender on the inside.

Oh, and I added the cabbage about an hour and 1/2 into the baking. You don’t want mushy cabbage.

You know.

* * * * * * *

The second recipe I got from my sister that very afternoon. I phoned her up to see how she was preparing her corned beef & cabbage, (because I just knew she’d be making corned beef & cabbage), and she told me about this funky Irish side dish they were having.

“It’s in the new Centennial Cookbook that I’m editing for our parish,” she said. It’s called ‘Thumblededore’ or ‘Dumblededoop’ or something like that.”

She was close. : )

Rumbledethumps is actually its Scottish name. In England, this dish is known as Bubble and Squeak; in Ireland, colcannon.

The names didn’t much matter to my kids, although they did like saying “Bubble and Squeak.” Even more than that, they liked eating it.

Here’s the recipe:

Rumbledethumps

1 pound potatoes
1 pound cabbage (about 1/2 head)
4 tablespoons butter
1 onion chopped
3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon chopped chives or parsley
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Peel, boil and mash your potatoes. Set aside.

Chop or shred your cabbage. (You choose! It’s a free country.)
Melt the butter in large skillet or frying pan and
sauté your cabbage and chopped onion
until they are soft.

Add the cabbage to your bowl of mashed potatoes.
Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Turn into a buttered ovenproof dish, sprinkle with grated cheese,
and brown under broiler or bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Garnish with chives or parsley and serve!

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake

I tend to get a little bit, um, obsessive come St. Patrick’s Day.

Really.

You’d think I was actually Irish.

(In truth, I am 100% French Canadian. I haven’t a drop of Irish in me, unless you count all the Guinness beer and Irish Cream that I am fond of consuming this time of year. And mind you, being pregnant doesn’t place a damper on my love of all drinks Irish. I merely dump the Guinness into the stew and make cheesecake with the Bailey’s. Problem solved.)

So yeah, the festivities last for days around here, mainly because I can never narrow the menu down to just one meal. We will have Irish stew and soda bread for one meal and corned beef & cabbage for the next. Certainly we’ll have some Reuben sandwiches for lunch one day—not because they are Irish, necessarily, but because they are just so very good.

And the corned beef is on sale.

Naturally.

We had our biggest meal on Sunday night because I’ll be gone the evening of St. Patrick’s Day. I know, I know—what’s wrong with this would-be Irish lass?

(It’s my first quilting class, is what it is, and I really shouldn’t skip it.)

For Sunday’s meal, I went with Guinness Irish Stew and a nice crusty loaf of pumpernickel. For dessert we had Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake (for the grown-ups) and shamrock shakes for the kids. Except, come to think of it, the grown-ups were snitching the shamrock shakes in addition to their slice of cheesecake.

Note to self: buy more ice cream next year.

I got all the recipes out of this month’s Faith and Family.

They.

Were.

Excellent.

And so without further adieu, here is that recipe for…

~ Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake ~

Crust

10 whole graham crackers, broken into pieces
¼ C. sugar
6 T. butter, melted

Filling

24 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 C. sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 C. Bailey’s Irish Cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Topping

1 ½ C. sour cream
¼ C. powdered sugar (I used a touch more.)
1 ½ oz. white chocolate, grated

For crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease 9-inch springform pan. Grind the graham crackers and sugar in a food processor until you’ve got a nice bunch of crumbs; add the butter and pulse a few times. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and sides of your springform pan and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Have some Bailey’s in a glass. Start on the filling.

For the filling: Blend your cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk the eggs, Bailey’s, and vanilla in a small bowl, then blend this mixture into the cream cheese. Pour into the springform pan and bake until the edges of the filling are puffed and look dry, and the center is just set, about 50 minutes.

Cross your fingers. Have another glass of Bailey’s.

Cool the cheesecake on a rack when it’s done.

For the topping: Mix sour cream and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Spread onto the cooled cake with a rubber scraper. Refrigerate for six hours or so; sprinkle with grated chocolate; consume with wild abandon.

Good St. Patrick, pray for us!

*For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

Really Yummy Taco Soup

Not to mention, really easy.

Ingredients

1 ½ lbs. Ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, undrained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, undrained
1 can (15 oz) whole-kernel corn, undrained (See a pattern?)
1 can (28 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 or 2 packages taco seasoning mix, to taste

In a heavy stockpot, brown your ground beef and onion. Drain off the fat if you like.

Dump in everything else.
(I guess that makes this “Dump Soup.” If you call it that, and I did, I guarantee that your preschooler will be delighted.)

Simmer for about an hour and serve with:

A handful of tortilla chips (We like the lime kind)
Some shredded cheddar or a Mexican blend
1 dollop (Optional unless you’re me,
in which case it’s never optional.)

Oh and if your soup should seem too thick, toss in a can or two of water while it’s simmering.

Enjoy! Say a prayer for your big pregnant friend while you do so.

Cleverness

My kids would never drink carrot juice if I gave it to them in a glass.

But they will eat it in a popsicle.

*Recipe found at Elizabeth’s blog here (Take #4). I left out the coconut oil.


Yours in times of deception and truth,

The Best Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

When a dear old friend phoned last night to see if she could stop by this morning with a Christmas present for Jem, her godson, I told her we’d be delighted.

And then I hung up the phone with an “Ack! I don’t have anything for her yet!”

I quickly made plans to whip up a batch of my very favorite Christmas cookies from last year—the ones I talked about in this post—and ran to the grocery store after supper. I stood in the baked goods aisle for a full ten minutes, seeing every kind of baking chip possible except for the mint-flavored. (I did, however, finally find the price code for the mint chocolate chips. They were all out of them. Of course.)

Feeling stuck in a rut and as if nothing else could possibly do, I drove home deep in thought. I looked in the freezer and found a bag of miniature chocolate chips. Then I went to my stash of Christmas goodies and grabbed a couple of red-and-white striped candy canes.

Inspiration struck. I was in business.

The Very Best Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. salted butter - softened
• 3/4 C. dark brown sugar
• 1/2 C. white granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. peppermint extract
• 2 eggs
• 2-1/3 C. sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 package (10 oz.) mint chocolate chips (I only use half a package, but that’s just me.) And if perchance you cannot find the mint-flavored chocolate chips, do not fear! Use semi-sweet and proceed with confidence.
• Crushed candy cane pieces, about 1/3 cup.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Blend butter, sugars, extracts and eggs until mixed.
• Sift together flour, baking soda & baking powder. Blend into dough.
• Stir in chocolate chips. Chill approximately one hour in the refrigerator.
• Form dough into 1-inch balls and slightly flatten. Sprinkle a few crushed candy canes on top and gently push into the dough.
• Bake at 350° F for approximately 8 - 10 minutes.
• Cool on wire racks, gently pushing in any loose candy cane bits.

Eat one and box the rest up for your friend.

Or, conversely, eat the entire box and try to save one for your friend.

Either way, these cookies are very, very good.

Oatmeal Cookies

It must be fall because I can’t stop making cookies!

These oatmeal cookies are among my family’s favorites. We eat them for snacks and we eat them for breakfast. Hey, it’s oatmeal, right?

They are really very good.



Oatmeal Cookies

(Adapted from Colorado Cache)

This recipe makes 4 to 6 dozen, depending on the size of your cookies and how much dough you eat while making them.

3 eggs, well beaten
1 C. raisins (I often substitute dried cherries or craisins.)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C. butter
1 C. brown sugar
1 C. white sugar
2 ½ C. white flour
(I substitute 1 C. of whole wheat pastry flour.
That alone justifies a third cookie, don’t you think?)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
2 C. oatmeal
(Here I substitute ½ C. of toasted wheat germ.
More nutrients means less guilt!)
¾ chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Combine eggs, raisins and vanilla and let stand for one hour, covered with plastic wrap. Cream together butter and sugars. Add flour, salt, cinnamon and soda to sugar mixture. Mix well. Blend in egg-raisin mixture, oatmeal, wheat germ and chopped nuts. (Your dough will be quite stiff.)

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, or roll into small balls and flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.

Cool. Consume in abundance.

Kitty Cookies

Kitty Cookies , originally uploaded by Margaret in Minnesota.

Here’s one for next year—spooky but delicious “Black Cat Cookies”.

(My girls call them “kitty cookies”. They’re not so intimidating that way.)

We make them on All Hallows’ Eve afternoon and I hand them out to the moms & dads that evening. It’s but a small perk, I figure, for schlepping alongside those little goblins. Plus they’re good—chewy, and chocolaty, and candy corny too.

Enjoy.

“Kitty Cookies”

(Makes 2 dozen)

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
24 wooden craft sticks
48 candy corn candies
24 red-hot candies

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets.

2. Insert a wooden stick into each cookie. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Pinch top of cookie to form ears. For whiskers, press a fork twice into each cookie. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set. Remove from the oven; immediately press on candy corn for eyes and red hots for noses. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Note: The big box store that I visited to purchase supplies for these cookies did not carry red hots and I did not feel making another trip. Feeling very clever indeed, I bought a bag of Skittles and used the red ones instead. (What did I do with the rest of the Skittles? You don’t need to know.)

Also, it pays to read the directions thoroughly. For my first batch, I added the eyes and nose before baking the cookies. Goodness, what a fright! The poor little kitties’ eyes melted clean out of their sockets. No, do not go this route. Put the candy in after the cookies come out of the oven, like you’re supposed to.