Holiday Catch-Up: St. Patrick's Day!

More holiday catch-up!

For St. Patrick's Day this year, I made two corned beef roasts. I used one roast to make my traditional yearly favorite...which was our blog's very first post. That recipe can be found here. For your convenience, I have also re-posted that recipe below.

I used the second roast to make a Reuben braid. Reuben sandwiches are one of my favorites. Those lovely (and super calorie-laden sandwiches) were my biggest craving during my first pregnancy. I usually prefer my Reubens made with pastrami, but since they are so often made with corned beef, I thought I would give it a go for my braid.

I used a Rhodes Dough recipe as my inspiration. That original recipe can be found here. I didn't follow the recipe exactly because it used turkey pastrami and I was planning to use corned beef and it also used Italian cheese salad dressing instead of Thousand Island. Anyway, my version of the recipe is below.

I also made an Irish inspired trifle for a dinner that we were invited to at my sister-in-law's house. We had it for one of our Irish feasts in year's past and I was really excited to make it again.

My Mom made some fantastic recipes for St. Patrick's Day. She made some old favorites in addition to some great new finds. I still need to pin her down for the soda bread recipe, but as soon as I get it, you will get it too! Irish soda bread can be dry at times, but this was the most moist Irish soda bread I've ever had. It was so good. It can be made with or without the currants and caraway seeds. I'll post that recipe very soon...but right now, the important thing is to get this blasted post actually and finally posted!

So, I realize that St. Patrick's Day is behind us, but you can always enjoy these recipes...or you can save them up to try next year. Either way, I hope you enjoy them!

Reuben Braid

Ingredients:

1 Loaf Rhodes Bread Dough, or 12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temperature (I used 12 dinner rolls)
1/3 cup Thousand Island salad dressing
1/2 pound shredded or thinly sliced corned beef
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
2 cups sauerkraut, drained
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons caraway seeds, divided

Directions:

Spray counter lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Roll loaf or combined dinner rolls into a 12x16-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 10-15 minutes. Remove wrap from dough and pour dressing lengthwise in a 4-inch strip down center of dough. Top with corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and 1 tablespoon caraway seeds. Make cuts 1 1/2-inches apart on long sides of dough to within 1/2-inch of filling. Begin braid by folding top and bottom strips toward filling. Then braid strips left over right, right over left. Finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid.

Lift braid with both hands and place on a large sprayed baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with remaining caraway seeds. Bake at 350°F 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and slice to serve.

Source: Rhodes Dough was my inspiration. Besides the two changes noted in my commentary above, I followed the recipe pretty closely.

Notes: I'm still learning things about working with frozen dough. I made my braid after quickly glancing over the original recipe...and only after carefully reading the recipe did I realize that I should have done a few things differently.

My mistakes? Well...

I let the dough thaw and then rise completely. The Rhodes Dough recipe doesn't. What difference does that make? Well, my braid turned out a little puffier because it had risen more. It still tasted great, so...not the end of the world, but it would have been easier to work with and looked prettier if I had followed the Rhodes Dough instructions.

I also cut my braided strips on the diagonal instead of straight. The result? My braid turned out a little loose rather than tight and neat like the Rhodes Dough recipe. Also, I didn't tuck my strips in on the other side of the loaf...again, the result was that it was a little messier.

Yeah, I'm still learning. But as I said, it tasted great.

You can also serve this with additional Thousand Island dressing as a dipping sauce.

Irish Cream Chocolate Trifle

Ingredients:

1 package devil's food cake mix
1 cup refrigerated Irish creme nondairy creamer
3 1/2 cups cold milk
2 packages (3.9 ounces each) instant chocolate pudding mix
3 cups whipped topping
12 spearmint candies, crushed (optional)

Directions:

Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.

With a meat fork or wooden skewer, carefully poke holes in cake about 2 inches apart. Slowly pour creamer over cake; refrigerate for 1 hour.

In a large bowl, whisk the milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.

Cut cake into 1 1/2 inch cubes; place a third of the cubes in a 3 qt glass bowl or trifle dish. Top with a third of the pudding, whipped topping, and candies; repeat layers twice. Store trifle in the refrigerator.

Yield: 14-16 servings.

Source: Taste of Home, originally found here.

Notes: I don't really like those spearmint candies, so I skipped those. Also, I only used about 3/4 of the cake in the trifle. I couldn't fit in anymore than that! Finally, I used one 5.9 ounce package of pudding instead of two 3.9 ounce packages. It was a little less pudding than the recipe called for, but believe me, there was plenty of pudding. And I love pudding, so I didn't feel like I was scrimping because I was missing 2 ounces of pudding. :)

Roasted Mustard Potatoes (originally posted on our blog last year, here)

1/2 c. Lakeshore Strong Irish Mustard or other spicy mustard

1/2 c. olive oil

3 lbs. new pototoes or red skinned potatoes

2 medium onions, sliced for garnish (about 1 1/2 c.)

Chopped parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 400F. Scrub the potatoes leaving skins on. Cut into 1 1/2 in. cubes. In a small bowl, combine mustard and oil. In a large bowl, comine potatoes, onion and mustard mixture, tossing to coat well. Spread evenly on baking sheet.

Bake at 400F for 45-50 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and crispy. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve. Yield: 6 servings

Notes: These were really tasty, but the first time I made them, I didn't cook them long enough. You might want to leave a little more time to make sure the potatoes get done. I might try adding another 10 to 15 minutes next time. It could be because I doubled it and the volume didn't cook as quickly.

Above: Our favorite Corned Beef with Red Currant-Mustard Sauce is shown above with an all-green salad, Irish Soda Bread, Roasted Mustard Potatoes, and Irish Cabbage.

Corned Beef with Red Currant-Mustard Sauce (originally posted here)

Note: Corned beef brisket needs a long, slow simmer to get it tender. Put it in the slow cooker first thing in the morning. But the cabbage, potatoes and carrots will turn mushy if they've been cooked all day. They can be microwaved in 15 or 20 minutes just before dinner is served.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 to 3 pound boneless corned beef brisket
Corned beef seasoning packet (or 1 tsp whole black peppercorns and 1 bay leaf)
3 ribs celery, cut into 3 inch lengths
2 medium onions, cut lengthwise into quarters
3 1/2 cups water
1 pound green cabbage, cut into 3 inch wedges
1 pound red potatoes, cut into 2 inch pieces
6-8 small carrots, tops trimmed, or 4 medium carrots, cut crosswise into thirds
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsps. butter, melted
Salt
Pepper
chopped parsley

Instructions:

Place celery and onions in 4 1/2-51/2 quart slow cooker; top with corned beef brisket. Add corned beef seasoning packet, if included, and 3 1/2 cups water. Cover and cook on high 7 hours, or on low 9-10 hours, or until brisket is fork-tender. Remove brisket; set aside. Discard cooking liquid, celery, and onions.

Place cabbage, potatoes and carrots in 2 1/2 quart microwave safe casserole dish; add 1/2 cup water. Cover and microwave on high 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, stirring once. Drain vegetables; add butter and salt and pepper as desired; toss to coat.

Carve brisket diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve with vegetables and red Currant-Mustard Sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Red Currant-Mustard Sauce:

Ingredients:

12 ounces Red Currant Jelly
3 Tbsp. Coarse grain Dijon-style mustard

Directions:

Place 12 ounces of red currant jelly in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave on high 1-2 minutes or until smooth, stirring once. Whisk in 3 Tbsps. coarse-grain Dijon-style mustard. Cover and microwave on high 30 seconds.

Or, you can melt the jelly in a pan on the stove over medium heat. Once the jelly is melted, stir in the mustard.

Notes: You don't have to serve the sides listed with this recipe if you prefer to make other Irish sides. Simply omit the potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and butter.

Source: This recipe was found in the recipe section of the Deseret News years ago. The clipping that I have doesn't include the name of the person who created the recipe.

Irish Cabbage (originally posted here)

1 small cabbage, cored and thinly shredded

1 stick butter

6 T. water

1 pinch nutmeg

1 tsp. flour

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Melt half the butter in a heavy pot; then add the cabbage and toss until coverd with the butter. Add water, cover and cook gently for about 20 minutes. By this time, the liquid should be nearly absorbed, and the cabbage cooked. Add the nutmeg, the flor, and stir well; then add the rest of the butter and toss until melted into the cabbage. Add pepper if desired.

This was really good and a nice change from the normal steamed cabbage we serve with corned beef. It was quite good, but then a stick of butter makes everything better.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons McCormick Carawaay Seed (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon McCormick Cinnamon, Ground (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins or currants (optional)
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9-inch round cake pan.

Mix flour, sugar, caraway seed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl. Stir in raisins. Mix buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla in medium bowl; stir into dry ingredients. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Nutrition information: Makes 16 servings. 129 calories, 1 g fat, 26 g carbohydrates, 28 mg cholesterol, 182 mg sodium, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Source: McCormick & Company, Inc. recipe, copyright 2008. Found on www.mccormick.com

Notes: This was so, so good. A lot of Irish soda breads can be a little dry...but not this one. It was moist and slightly sweet. Delicious! Besides that, Irish soda bread is pretty much the easiest kind of bread to make...ever. So, if you want to make bread, but you're a beginning bread maker, this bread is for you!

By the way, we have two versions of this bread pictured on our blog. The one at the very top is without raisins/currants and caraway seeds. The one right above this recipe has raisins/currants and caraway seeds added in. You can make it either way...or both ways! Just do it according to your taste.

Green Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tbsp cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 oz green food coloring
Favorite white frosting
Green sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease your muffin tins or place muffin liners in each cup.

Lightly mix eggs in a medium bowl with a whisk. Add in remaining liquid ingredients (oil, buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and food coloring). Whisk until blended and set aside.

Place all dry ingredients into another mixing bowl and sift together well.

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or two until well combined and the green food coloring is well incorporated.

Divide batter into cupcake cups (about 3/4 full).

Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow cupcakes to cool completely. While cupcakes are cooling, prepare your favorite frosting (or you can use canned frosting--which is what we did this time around).

Frost cupcakes and top with green sprinkles.

Source: I found this recipe on Pinterest. It has a few sources. www.lovefromtheoven.com and www.bakerella.com (the actual recipe for the cake can be found here.)

Cool Mint Oreo Cookie Balls

Ingredients:

6 oz (3/4 of 8 oz pkg) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg (15.25 oz) Oreo Cool Mint Creme Cookies, finely crushed (about 4 cups)
2 pkg (6 squares each) Baker's White Chocolate, melted
6 drops green food coloring
2 tbsp chocolate sprinkles.

Directions:

Mix cream cheese and cookie crumbs until well blended.

Shape into 40 (1-inch) balls; place in single layer in shallow pan. Freeze 10 minutes. Mix melted chocolate and food coloring until well blended. Dip balls in chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan. Top with sprinkles.

Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Keep refrigerated.

Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

40 servings, 1 cookie ball each

Nutrition information: 110 calories, 6 g fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 65 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 10 g sugar, 1 g protein

Source: Kraftrecipes.com

Notes: These are super tasty, but really rich. I, personally, thought they had more cream cheese than I would have liked. I would have preferred a greater Oreo cookie to cream cheese ratio. But that was just me...others disagreed and liked them just the way they were. So, I would suggest that you make them according to your taste. If they seem too creamy, add more crushed cookies. If you like them creamy, follow the recipe as is.