Monday, March 22, 2010

Irish Feasting Continued...

 


I already posted our family's recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage and a recipe for Irish Soda Bread on March 17th (I made them for my family and in-laws).

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day on Sunday night with my side of the family. We again had our Corned Beef recipe (with its Red Currant Mustard Sauce, of course--it is essential!). But we tried some different side dishes. We found wonderful recipes for Colcannon, Irish Soda Bread, Irish Potato Candy (which doesn't actually contain potatoes--it just looks like mini potatoes), and Irish Cream Bundt Cake. I'm also including another potato candy recipe called Potato Pinwheels (this recipe DOES contain potatoes). We tried it last year and it is very yummy!

So, I hope you enjoy these recipes. Let the Irish Feasting continue!


Colcannon Potatoes

Makes 12-16 servings
Prep: 10 min.
Cook: 35 min.

Ingredients:

2 pounds cabbage, shredded
2 cups water
4 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cups milk
1 cup chopped green onions
Salt and coarsely ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup butter, melted
Crumbled cooked bacon and minced fresh parsley

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring cabbage and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving cooking liquid. Keep cabbage warm.

Place cooking liquid and potatoes in a large saucepan, add enough additional water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-17 minutes or until tender. Drain and keep warm.

In a small saucepan, bring milk and onions to a boil; remove from the heat. In a large bowl, mash potatoes. Add milk mixture; beat until blended. Beat in the cabbage, salt and pepper. Drizzle with the melted butter, bacon, and parsley.


Source: Taste of Home. You can find it here.

Irish Soda Bread

20 servings
Prep: 20 min.
Bake: 40 min.

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons shortening
1/2 cup raisins
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Cinnamon-sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds. Combine buttermilk and egg; add to the crumb mixture. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 5-6 times.

Divide dough in half; shape into two balls. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Pat each ball into a 6-in. round loaf. Using a sharp knife, cut a 4-in. cross about 1/4 in. deep on top of each loaf. Brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 2 loaves.

Nutrition information: 1 serving (1 piece) equals 165 calories, 5 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 14 mg cholesterol, 174 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Source: Taste of Home website. You can find it here.

Notes: This was contributed to Taste of Home by Anne Flanagan, Laguna Hills, California "This recipe came all the way from Tipperary, Ireland, where my great-grandmother lived. I have eaten Irish Soda Bread in New York, Philadelphi, and Los Angeles, but none compare with what my grandmother made for St. Patrick's Day."

Irish Potato Candy

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar; beat until smooth. Using your hands, if necessary, mix in the coconut. Roll into balls or potato shapes, and roll in the cinnamon. Place onto a cookie sheet and chill to set. If desired, roll potatoes in cinnamon again for darker color.

Servings: 60

Nutrition information: 59 calories, 2.3 g fat, 4 mg cholesterol, 20 mg sodium, 9.7 g carbs, 0.4 g fiber, 0.3 g protein.

Source: Allrecipes.com contributed by SAUNDRA. You can find it here.

Irish Cream Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pecans
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup Irish Cream flavored liquid coffee creamer or Irish Cream flavored Italian Soda syrup
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup Irish Cream flavored liquid coffee creamer or Irish Cream flavored Italian Soda syrup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over bottom of pan.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Mix in eggs, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup oil, and 3/4 cup Irish cream flavoring of choice. Beat for 5 minutes at high speed. Pour batter over nuts in pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto the serving dish. Prick top and sides of cake. Spoon some of the glaze over top and brush onto sides of cake. Allow glaze to absorb and repeat until all the glaze is used up.

To make the glaze: In a saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup water, and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup Irish cream flavoring of choice.

12 servings.

Nutrition information: 527 calories, 23.6 g fat, 92 mg cholesterol, 477 mg sodium, 67.2 g carbs, 0.5 g fiber, 4.1 g protein.

Source: Allrecipes.com contributed by Sue Haser. You can find it here.

Notes: We used Irish Cream coffee creamer. This is really good. The glaze can be a little tricky to make, but even if you screw it up (which I have done), it still tastes great!

Potato Pinwheels

By Elizabeth LaBau, About.com Guide

These sweet-and-salty treats have a surprising ingredient: mashed potatoes!

Ingredients:

1 medium potato, cooked and peeled
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions:

Cut the peeled and cooked potato into eights and place in a stand mixer. Beat until mashed, then blend in vanilla extract. (This can be done by hand using a fork or potato masher if you don’t have a mixer.)

Mix in the powdered sugar in batches until thick and incorporated. Add coconut last and mix until well-blended.

Form candy into two equal balls and wrap in cling wrap. Refrigerate for an hour to firm up.

Spread waxed paper on your counter or table and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Roll the candy, one ball at a time, to form an 8-inch square on the waxed paper. Spread each square with peanut butter, covering the entire surface.

Roll the candy into a tight spiral like a jelly roll. Wrap each roll in waxed paper and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until firm enough to cut.

Slice the logs into ½ inch slices and serve. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Source: About.com, Elizabeth LaBau's webpage (she specializes in candy). You can find it here.

1 comment:

  1. This was one of the few theme feasts where every item was a hit! Go Irish!

    ReplyDelete