Irish Recipes

2011-09-26T12:57:00.001-07:00

I only drink on two occasions: When I am thirsty and when I'm not thirsty.
—Brendan Behan

2011-09-26T12:31:00.001-07:00

Laughter is brightest where food is best.
—Irish Proverb

2011-08-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat.
—Alex Levine

2011-07-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

An Irishman is the only man in the world who will step over the bodies of a dozen naked women to get to a bottle of stout.
—Author Unknown

2011-06-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

In Manhasset you were either Yankees or Mets, rich or poor, sober or drunk...You were 'Gaelic' or 'garlic," as one schoolmate told me, and I couldn't admit, to him or myself, that I had both Irish and Italian ancestors.
—J. R. Moehringer

2011-06-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society,
except that which makes to road safer, the beer stronger,
the old men and women warmer in the winter, and happier in the summer.
—Brendan Behan

2011-05-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.
—Jonathan Swift

2011-05-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

Put an Irishman on the spit and you can always get another Irishman to turn him.
—George Bernard Shaw

2011-04-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Although Ireland has never been noted for having a sophisticated eating tradition at any stage of its history, it nonetheless has an enviable reputation for good wholesome dishes made from a wide range of unadulterated, indigenous products, most of which still offer the finest quality to be found in Europe.
— Clare Connery, In An Irish Country Kitchen

2011-04-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

There is no sincerer love than the love of food.—George Bernard Shaw

Another Lamb Stew Recipe

2011-03-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 pounds thickly sliced bacon, diced
6 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2 inch bits
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup water
4 cups beef or vegetable stock
2 teaspoons sugar
4 cups diced carrots
2 large onions, roughly chopped
3 potatoes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup dry white wine

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside. Reserve drippings. Toss lamb with salt, pepper, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Brown in frying pan with reserved fat. Place lamb into stock pot; reserve 1/4 cup of drippings in frying pan. Add the garlic and onion and saute till onion turns golden. Add 1/2 cup water to pan, scrape, and add the garlic-onion mixture to the stock pot with bacon pieces, beef stock, and sugar. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours to two hours. Add carrots, onions, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and wine to pot. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Seafood Pie

2011-03-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 lbs. white fish fillets
1 large leek; chopped
2 strips lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
6 parsley stalks
2 1/2 cups milk
1 oz. butter
1 clove garlic; crushed
1 leek chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons flour
2 lbs. potatoes, cooked and mashed
Ground pepper
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 teaspoon ground paprika

Preheat oven to 400º F. Grease a casserole dish with butter.

Place fish in a pan, add leek, lemon zest, nutmeg, peppercorns, bay leaves, and parsley. Pour in milk and let simmer, uncovered, over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until fish is cooked through. Remove the fish; strain the liquid and reserve.

Melt butter in a pan; add garlic, leeks, and green onions. Cook over low for five to seven minutes, or until leeks soften. Remove half of the mixture and set aside.

To Make the Sauce: Sprinkle flour over the remaining mixture in pan. Whisk until smooth. Measure 1 1/2 cups of the fish-poached milk, adding more if necessary. Add to the flour in pan and whisk until mixture boils and thickens. Cook for another minute more, whisking.

Cut fish into pieces and fold into the sauce. Add reserved leek and onion mixture to the mashed potatoes and mix well. Season both the mashed potatoes and sauce with pepper.

Pour fish sauce into prepared casserole dish and top with the mashed potatoes. Evenly spread cheese over the potato topping and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until cheese melts and topping browns.

Shamrock Cocktail from 1900

2011-03-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

From The Twentieth-Century Guide for Mixing Fancy Drinks: A Pre-Prohibition Cocktail Book, originally published in 1900.

1 teaspoonful Abricotine (Eagle Creme D’Apricot).
2 teaspoonfuls pineapple syrup.
2 teaspoonfuls lemon juice (or a lime).
1 wine glass Bushmill's Irish whisky.

Combine ingredients in a highball glass. Add ice, fill up with ginger ale, stir gently, and serve.

Scotch Gruel Cocktail

2011-03-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

Replace the Scotch with Irish Whiskey, and I guess you could call this Irish Porridge. From The Twentieth Century Guide for Mixing Fancy Drinks, originally published in 1900.

SCOTCH GRUEL.

Put a piece of ice in an old-fashioned cocktail glass.
1 teaspoonful powdered sugar.
1 wine glass of O. V. H. Scotch whisky.

Fill up with milk and stir while you are pouring, so as to keep it from curdling, dash with seltzer and serve with a little nutmeg on top.

Baileys Alpine -- An Irish Cocktail

2011-03-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

1 oz. Baileys Irish Cream
1/2 oz. Rumple Minze (peppermint schnapps)
1 cup coffee
1 dollop whipped cream

Add Baileys and Rumple Minze to your favorite hot coffee. Top with a dollop of whipped cream.

Baileys Irish Cream and Whiskey

2011-03-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

1 oz. Baileys Irish Cream
1/2 oz. Irish Whiskey

Shake Baileys Original Irish Cream and Bushmills Original with a few ice cubes in a shaker. Pour over ice into a rocks glass.

Irish Rose Cocktail

2011-03-16T20:40:00.001-07:00

1 oz lime juice
1 oz pomegranate syrup
6 oz ginger ale
1 oz Irish whiskey

Mix all of the ingredients together and pour the drink over ice.

Hot Irish Cocktail

2011-03-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

1.5 oz Irish whiskey
4 oz boiling water
Lemon wedge
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of brown sugar

Combine whiskey and water in a heat-proof glass. Add lemon wedge and a pinch of sugar and spice.

Irish Pride Cocktail

2011-03-13T01:50:00.001-08:00

3 oz green crème de menthe
3 oz Amaretto
2 oz lemon juice

Shake with ice and pour into a rocks glass.

Top of the Morning Cocktail

2011-03-12T22:21:00.000-08:00

1 1/2 oz Bailey’s Irish Crème
1 oz Irish Whisky
1/4 oz Cherry brandy
3 oz Cold black coffee, strong

Pour all ingredients into a highball glass filled with crush ice and stir. Serves one.

Thanks, Emmy!

Leprechaun Martini

2011-03-12T22:19:00.001-08:00

2 oz vodka
1 1/2 oz Irish cream
1/4 oz green crème de menthe
Chocolate syrup

Swirl chocolate syrup inside a well-chilled martini glass. Combine remaining ingredients in a shaker with ice; strain into glass and serve.

Irish Buck Cocktail

2011-03-12T22:17:00.000-08:00

1 1/2 oz Irish whiskey
1/2 oz lime juice
2 oz ginger ale
Lime wheel for garnish

Pour whiskey and lime juice over ice in a Collins glass. Top with ginger ale and garnish with a lime wheel.

Token Irishman Cocktail

2011-03-12T22:15:00.000-08:00

2 ounces Jameson or other Irish whiskey
3 drops Mint Bitters
5-6 springs of fresh mint
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Splash of soda water

Muddle the mint with simple syrup in the bottom of shaker. Add the remaining ingredients, shake, and strain over ice into an old fashioned glass. Add a splash of soda water and garnish with mint.

Irish Lime Martini Cocktail for St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-12T22:11:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Pam for sending this one in! Serves two.

1 lime, cut into small wedges
4 oz vodka
1 1/2 oz thawed frozen concentrate limeade
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ice

Place lime wedges into a cocktail shaker. Add vodka, limeade, and vanilla extract.
Fill with with ice and shake. Strain into two martini glasses and serve.

Four Leaf Clover Cocktail

2011-02-17T14:11:00.000-08:00

Four Leaf Clover

1 oz. Irish whiskey
2 oz. fresh-squeezed orange juice
2 oz. sweet and sour mix
Splash of green creme de menthe

Pour whiskey, orange juice, and sweet and sour mix into a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass. Add a float the green creme de menthe on top by pouring over the back of a spoon.

Slainte!

Irish Martini

2011-02-17T14:09:00.000-08:00

As we gear up for St. Patrick's Day, we'll be posting a number of Irish-inspired cocktails. Do you have a favorite? Send it to editor(a)compassrose.com

3 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. dry vermouth
1/2 oz. Irish whiskey

Carefully pour the Irish whiskey into a chilled cocktail glass and swirl around the glass until the inside is coated. Drain the excess whiskey--the best method is to drink it as a shot! Combine the vodka and vermouth in a shaker half-filled with crushed ice; shake well. Strain into the cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of lemon.

Guinness Corned Beef

2011-01-21T01:44:00.000-08:00

4 pounds corned beef brisket
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 can or bottle Guinness or other Irish stout (12 oz)

Preheat oven to 300° F (150° C). Rinse the corned beef completely and pat dry. Place the beef on rack in a roasting pan or Dutch oven. Rub with brown sugar to coat entire beef; flip to coat bottom as well. Set right side up and pour the bottle of stout over it gently, to coat but not wash away the sugar. Cover and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 2.5 hours. Allow to rest five to ten minutes before slicing.

Irish Potato Bread Recipe -- Fadge, Slims, Potato Cake, Farls

2011-01-18T18:14:00.000-08:00

Potato bread on the left in an Ulster Fry.

Irish Potato bread, also known as fadge, slims, potato cake or potato farls, is a form of unleavened bread in which potato replaces a major portion of the regular wheat flour. It is usually cooked by baking it on a hot griddle or pan. It can be served with an Irish breakfast and in Northern Ireland, where it is colloquially known as 'Tatie Bread', it can form part of the Ulster fry. In Scotland potato bread is colloquially known as Totty Scone or Tattie Scone.

This bread started out in the late nineteenth century as a means of making use of mashed potato leftovers, the potato being a staple part of the Irish diet.

Ingredients

225 g (8 oz) warm cooked potato, mashed
1/2 tsp salt
25 g (1 oz) butter, melted
50 g (2 oz) plain flour

Procedure

Add salt and butter, then work in enough flour to make a pliable dough. Divide the dough in two and roll out on a floured surface to form two circles 22 cm (9 in) in diameter and 5 mm (1/4 in) in thickness.

Cut each circle into quarters and bake on a hot griddle or pan for about 5 minutes or until browned on both sides.

Do you have a potato bread recipe you'd like to share? Leave it in the comments section. Cheers!

Irish Whiskey Cocktail from a 1903 Recipe

2011-01-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

Irish Whiskey Cocktail from Daly's Bartenders' Encyclopedia, originally published in 1903. If you don't have gum syrup, you can use simple syrup.

Use a mixing glass.

Half fill with fine ice.
1 dash of gum syrup
2 or three dashes of orange bitters
1 or 2 dashes of benedictine
2-3 wine glass of Irish whiskey

Mix well with a spoon, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve with an olive.

Irish Whiskey Punch from an 1884 Recipe

2011-01-16T17:36:00.000-08:00

From the Complete Bartender by Albert Barnes, 1884.

Use large bar glass. 1 wine glass of Irish Whiskey, 1 teaspoonful of lemon juice, 2 lumps of sugar, fill glass with boiling water, put slice of lemon on top and stir well.

Black Velvet Cocktail Recipe from a Century-Old Cocktail Book

2011-01-03T18:18:00.000-08:00

The Twentieth-Century Guide for Mixing Fancy Drinks by James C. Maloney was first published in Chicago in 1900. It includes several recipes using absinthe (which wasn't banned until 1912). This lovely facsimile edition features a woman on the cover drinking absinthe from a painting by Jean Beraud.

The book includes a recipe for (Black) Velvet, which many people believe is a modern concoction. However, the drink was first created by the bartender of the Brooks's Club of London in 1861 to mourn the passing of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's Prince Consort. It is supposed to symbolize the dark cloth armbands worn by mourners.

To make it:

Mix in a bowl or pitcher
1 pint of champagne and
1 pint of Dublin stout

Stir gently and serve in champagne goblets.

Slainte!

Wren Boys -- An Irish Christmas Tradition

2010-12-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

Wren day also known as Wren's day, Hunt the Wren Day or The Hunting of the Wrens (Irish: Lá an Dreoilín) celebrated on 26 December, St. Stephen's Day, on the Isle of Man, Ireland, Wales and Newfoundland. The tradition consists of "hunting" a fake wren, and putting it on top of a decorated pole. Then the crowds of mummers or strawboys celebrate the Wren by dressing up in masks, straw suits and colourful motley clothing and, accompanied by traditional céilí music bands, parade through the towns and villages in remembrance of a festival that was celebrated by the Druids. These crowds are sometimes called wrenboys.

History

In past times, an actual bird was hunted by Wrenboys on St. Stephen's Day. The captured wren was tied to the Wrenboy leader's staff pole, sometimes dead, sometimes alive (to be killed after the parade). The parade song, of which there are many variations, asked for donations from the townspeople. Often, the boys gave a feather from the bird to patrons for good luck. The money was used to host a dance for the town, held that night. The pole, decorated with ribbons, wreaths and flowers, as well as the Wren, was the center of the dance. Over time, the live bird was replaced with a fake one that is hidden, rather than chased. The band of young boys has expanded to include girls, and adults often join in. The money that is collected from the townspeople is usually donated to a school or charity. A celebration is still held around the decorated pole.

Some people theorise that the Wren celebration has descended from Celtic mythology. Ultimately, the origin may be a Samhain or midwinter sacrifice and/or celebration, as Celtic mythology considered the Wren a symbol of the past year (the European wren is known for its habit of singing even in mid-winter, and sometimes explicitly called "Winter Wren"); Celtic names of the Wren (draouennig, drean, dreathan, dryw etc.) also suggest an association with druidic rituals. The tradition may also have been influenced by Scandinavian settlers during the Viking invasions of the 8th-10th Centuries. Various associated legends exist, such as a Wren being responsible for betraying Irish soldiers who fought the Viking invaders by beating its wings on their shields, in the late first and early second millennia, and for betraying the Christian martyr Saint Stephen, after whom the day is named. This mythological association with treachery is a possible reason why the bird was hunted by Wrenboys on St. Stephen's Day, and/or why a pagan sacrificial tradition was continued in Christian times. Despite the abandonment of the wren killing practice, devoted Wrenboys continue to ensure that the Gaelic tradition of celebrating the Wren continues.

In 1955 Liam Clancy recorded "The Wran Song" (the Wren song), which was sung in Ireland by Wrenboys. In 1972 Steeleye Span recorded "The King" on "Please to See the King", which is along similar lines. They made another version, "The Cutty Wren", on their album "Time". "Hunting the Wren" is on John Kirkpatrick's album "Wassail!". The Chieftains made a collection of Wrenboy tunes on "Bells of Dublin". The custom has been revived in Suffolk in the 1990s. These songs have ancient roots and the killing of wrens on St Stephen's day is symbolic of pre-Christian mid-winter rituals.

Little Christmas in Ireland

2010-12-03T20:30:00.000-08:00

Little Christmas (Irish: Nollaig Bheag) is one of the traditional names in Ireland for January 6, more commonly known in the rest of the world as the Celebration of the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. It is so called because it was the day on which Christmas Day was celebrated under the Julian calendar, before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar. It is the traditional end of the Christmas season and the last day of the Christmas holidays for both primary and secondary schools in Ireland.

The name Little Christmas is also found other languages including Slovene (mali Božič), Galician (Nadalinho), and Ukrainian.The name Little Christmas is also found other languages including Slovene (mali Božič), Galician (Nadalinho), and Ukrainian.

Women's Christmas

Little Christmas is also called Women's Christmas (Irish: Nollaig na mBan), and sometimes Women's Little Christmas. The tradition, still very strong in Cork and Kerry, is so called because of the Irish men taking on all the household duties for the day. Most women hold parties or go out to celebrate the day with their friends, sisters, mothers, and aunts. Bars and restaurants serve mostly women and girls on this night. Children often buy presents for their mothers and grandmothers.

While originally a rural tradition, Women's Christmas is enjoying something of a revival, both in Ireland and abroad. It is becoming popular in the Irish-emigrant communities in Australia, Britain, New Zealand, and North America. For the Irish Women's Network of British Columbia, Canada, for example, this event is the highlight of the social calendar.

The tradition is not well documented, but one article from The Irish Times (January 1998), entitled On the woman's day of Christmas, informally describes both some sources of information and the spirit of this occasion.

Hard Sauce / Brandy Butter -- A Common Irish Christmas Ingredient

2010-11-20T15:24:00.000-08:00

Hard sauce is a sweet, rich dessert sauce made by creaming or beating butter and sugar with rum (rum butter), brandy (brandy butter), whiskey, sherry (sherry butter), vanilla or other flavorings. It is served cold, often with hot desserts.

It is typically served with plum pudding, bread pudding, Indian pudding, hasty pudding, and other heavy puddings as well as with fruitcakes and gingerbread.

In the U.K., it is particularly associated with the Christmas and New Year season and Christmas pudding and warm mince pies, serving as a seasonal alternative to cream, ice cream or custard. At Cambridge, it is also known as Senior Wrangler sauce.

Though it is called a sauce, it is neither a liquid nor smooth. It could be more accurately classified as a spread and has the consistency of butter. It is easy to make and keeps for months under refrigeration. It can be pressed into a decorative mold before chilling.

Under European Community regulations, to be called rum/brandy/sherry butter, it must contain at least 20% butterfat.

Here is a typical recipe:

1 1/8 cups unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons orange zest
2 tablespoons orange juice
4 tablespoons brandy or cognac

Place butter, sugar, orange zest and juice, and brandy or cognac into food processor and mix until smooth; you can also do this by hand. Pile sauce into serving bowl and refrigerate. Remove from about one hour before serving.

Christmas Plum Pudding

2010-11-20T15:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas pudding is a dessert traditionally served on Christmas Day (December 25). It has its origins in England and Ireland, and is sometimes known as plum pudding, though this can also refer to other kinds of boiled pudding involving dried fruit.

Many households have their own recipe for Christmas pudding, some handed down through families for generations. Essentially the recipe brings together what traditionally were expensive or luxurious ingredients - notably the sweet spices that are so important in developing its distinctive rich aroma.

Christmas pudding is a steamed pudding, heavy with dried fruit and nuts, and usually made with suet. It is very dark in appearance - effectively black - as a result of the dark sugars and black treacle in most recipes, and its long cooking time. The mixture can be moistened with the juice of citrus fruits, brandy and other alcohol (some recipes call for dark beers such as mild, stout or porter).

Christmas puddings are often dried out on hooks for weeks prior to serving in order to enhance the flavor.

In the nineteenth century, Christmas puddings were boiled in a pudding cloth, and they are still often represented as round. However at least since the beginning of the twentieth century, they have usually been prepared in basins. Initial cooking usually involves steaming for many hours (the period can be shortened without loss of quality by using a pressure cooker). To serve, the pudding is reheated by steaming once more, and dressed with warm brandy which is set alight. The pudding is traditionally topped off with a sprig of holly. It can be eaten with hard sauce, brandy butter, rum butter, cream, lemon cream, or custard and is sometimes sprinkled with caster sugar (the fall of the sugar on triangular slices resembling the fall of snow on a pitched roof, or snowy mountain tops). In England it is usually served with white sauce which is a sweetened béchamel flavoured with rum or brandy.

History

Recipes for plum puddings appear mainly, if not entirely, in the seventeenth century and later. Their possible ancestors include savory puddings such as those in Harleian MS 279, crustades, malaches whyte, creme boiled (a kind of stirred custard), and sippets. Various ingredients and methods of these older recipes appear in early plum puddings.

Features of these recipes were combined or remixed in ways that could have yielded plum pudding recipes. For example, combining the stirred custard with sippets makes it into a fool, a contemporary of early plum puddings which is very similar to a pudding. Some early custard tarts, such as the crustade lumbard in Harleian MS 279, are only unlike plum puddings in that they are held together by a pastry crust and not by crumbs or meal. Malaches whyte, another kind of pastry, have a filling of eggs, bread crumbs, and butter, but no plums. So a fully developed plum pudding recipe could be derived from the above list of possible ancestors by some recombination. This is not to say that there were not other ancestors, only that there need not have been any.

Although it took its final form in Victorian England, the pudding's origins can be traced back to the 1420s, to two sources. It emerged not as a confection or a dessert at all, but as a way of preserving meat at the end of the season. Because of shortages of fodder, all surplus livestock were slaughtered in the autumn. The meat was then kept in a pastry case along with dried fruits acting as a preservative. The resultant large "mince pies" could then be used to feed hosts of people, particularly at the festive season. The chief ancestor of the modern pudding, however, was the pottage, a meat and vegetable concoction originating in Roman times. This was prepared in a large cauldron, the ingredients being slow cooked, with dried fruits, sugar and spices added.

The earliest reference to the "standing pottage" dates to 1420s, a dish of preserved veal, mutton or chicken, thickened with bread, reddened with sandalwood and full of currants. By the time of Elizabeth I, prunes were added to this basic concoction. This became so popular that the dish was known from this point forward as Plum Pottage.

By the eighteenth century, as techniques for meat preserving improved, the savoury element of both the mince pie and the plum pottage diminished as the sweet content increased. The mince pie kept its name though the pottage was increasingly referred to as plum pudding. Although the latter was always a celebratory dish it was originally eaten at the Harvest Festival, not Christmas. It is not until the 1830s that the cannon-ball of flour, fruits, suet, sugar and spices, all topped with holly, makes a definite appearance, more and more associated with Christmas. It appears that Eliza Acton was the first to refer to it as "Christmas Pudding" in her cookbook.

The Wish

Traditionally puddings were made on or immediately after the Sunday "next before Advent", i.e. four to five weeks before Christmas. The Collect for that Sunday in the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England, as it was used from the sixteenth century (and still is in traditional churches), reads:

"Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"

The day became known as "Stir-up Sunday". Traditionally everyone in the household, or at least every child, gave the mixture a stir, and made a wish while doing so.

It was common practice to include small silver coins in the pudding mixture, which could be kept by the person whose serving included them. The usual choice was a silver threepence (pronounced "thruppence" in England) or a sixpence. The coin was believed to bring wealth in the coming year. Despite knowing that a portion might contain a coin, many a Christmas reveller damaged their teeth by biting into one, or indeed swallowed one by mistake. However this practice fell away once real silver coins were not available, as it was believed that alloy coins would taint the pudding. Additionally, coins pose a choking hazard.

Other tokens are also known to have been included, such as a tiny wishbone (to bring good luck), a silver thimble (for thrift), or an anchor (to symbolize safe harbor).

Once turned out of its basin, decorated with holly, doused in brandy, and flamed (or 'fired'), the pudding is traditionally brought to the table ceremoniously, and greeted with a round of applause. Charles Dickens describes the scene in A Christmas Carol:

"Mrs Cratchit left the room alone -- too nervous to bear witnesses -- to take the pudding up and bring it in... Hallo! A great deal of steam! The pudding was out of the copper. A smell like a washing-day. That was the cloth. A smell like an eating-house and a pastrycook's next door to each other, with a laundress's next door to that. That was the pudding. In half a minute Mrs Cratchit entered -- flushed, but smiling proudly -- with the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top."

For the best effect under modern conditions, the lights should be turned out as the pudding is brought in amid its halo of purple brandy flames (this is related to the Christmas tradition of snap-dragons).

Irish Applesauce

2010-11-20T15:06:00.000-08:00

This is an excellent side dish to serve with meats, particular goose or pork.

Ingredients

2 pounds cooking apples
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup raisins
Nutmeg, to taste
Cinnamon, to taste

Wash, core, and peel the apples; cut into quarters. Place apples in a large sauce pan and add the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer. Simmer until the apples are soft. Mash lightly and add sugar, lemon juice, and raisins. Season with nutmeg and cinnamon to taste and continue to cook for another five minutes or so. Remove from heat and let stand 30 minutes.

Irish Night Before Christmas

2010-11-20T15:01:00.000-08:00

'Round Christmastime, things are a little different on the Emerald Isle. Instead of logs thrown onto the fire, we find turf blazing bright. Instead of cold eggnog spiced just right, the mother and father are enjoying their stout. You'll find no Donner or Cupid or Blitzen, but Ould Neddy the donkey and his small cart. Father Christmas with his Irish eyes twinkling, ushers in his seven elves and thus begins the wondrous An Irish Night Before Christmas.

This humorous tale in the same vein as the famous Cajun Night Before Christmas is the Irish version of Father Christmas's yearly visit. Told in delightful brogue, it will have everyone wishing "Nollaig sona agut!" (Merry Christmas to you!)

About the Author:
Sarah Kirwan Blazek was born in County Wexford, Ireland, and retains dual citizenship in Ireland and the U.S. She currently teaches at Sacred Heart Academy and makes her home in Chicago, Illinois.

Irish Christmas Blessing

2010-11-20T14:57:00.001-08:00

The light of the Christmas star to you
The warmth of home and hearth to you
The cheer and good will of friends to you
The hope of a childlike heart to you
The joy of a thousand angels to you
The love of the Son and God's peace to you.

Irish Christmas Recipes

2010-11-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a book everybody should have for the coming season: A Simply Delicious Irish Christmas

Known throughout Ireland for her popular Simply Delicious television show and for her best-selling series of cookbooks, the Queen of Irish Cooking turns her attention to preparing simple, stress-free Christmas dishes. By following these recipes, anyone can minimize preparation time and reduce frustration while maximizing results and increasing the quality and flavor of the dishes. A meal of Traditional Roast Goose with Potato Stuffing and Apple Sauce, Champ, and Plum Pudding provides a true taste of the Emerald Isle yet is extremely easy to create. These dishes also are easy to cook ahead of time to avoid hectic last-minute preparation. White Christmas Cake may be kept for at least a week without freezing, while St. Stephen's Day Pie freezes quite well.

As simple as these dishes are to prepare, they are even more delightful to present. After serving Old-Fashioned Roast Turkey with Fresh Herb Stuffing and Bread Sauce, hosts may dazzle their guests with a variety of edible presents, including Doreen's Fudge, Marzipan Dates, and even a Chocolate Christmas Tree. Nothing could be simpler-or more delicious.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Darina Allen runs the world-renowned cooking school at Ballymaloe, Ireland, with her husband, Tim Allen. Winner of the 2001 Veuve Clicquot Irish Businesswoman of the Year Award, Darina Allen lectures and travels extensively. She is also Ireland's most famous cooking-show host, having presented nine series of her program, Simply Delicious, on television around the world. As a cookbook writer, Darina Allen has won the Langhe Ceretto-SEI Prize and was short-listed for the IACP Julia Child Awards. Other Pelican books that celebrate the cuisine of Ballymaloe are Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cooking School Cookbook, by Darina Allen, which was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for best international cookbook in 2002, and The Ballymaloe Bread Book, by Tim Allen.

Simnel Cake

2010-10-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

Simnel cake is a light fruit cake, similar to a Christmas cake, covered in marzipan, then toasted, and eaten during the Easter period in Great Britain, Ireland and some other countries. A layer of marzipan or almond paste is also baked into the middle of the cake. On the top of the cake, around the edge, are eleven marzipan balls to represent the true disciples of Jesus; Judas is omitted. In some variations Christ is also represented, by a ball placed at the centre.

The cake is made from these ingredients: white flour, sugar, butter, eggs, fragrant spices, dried fruits, zest and candied peel.

Simnel cakes have been known since medieval times, and were originally a Mothering Sunday tradition, when young girls in service would make one to be taken home to their mothers on their day off. The word simnel probably derived from the Latin word simila, meaning fine, wheaten flour with which the cakes were made.

A popular legend attributes the invention of the Simnel cake to Lambert Simnel, a pretender to the throne of England, but this is clearly false since the Simnel cake appears in English literature prior to Lambert's escapades.

Different towns had their own recipes and shapes of the Simnel cake. Bury, Devizes and Shrewsbury produced large numbers to their own recipes, but it is the Shrewsbury version that became most popular and well known.

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins
3/4 teaspoon currants
1 cup chopped candied fruits, such as cherries, pineapple slices
2 tablespoons mixed candied fruit peel
3 eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons brandy

Method

Set the oven 300 degrees. Mix raisins, currants, candied fruits, and candied peel with one tablespoon and set aside. Sift remaining flour, baking powder, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light. Beat in eggs, brandy, and vanilla. A food processor or electric mixer may be used. Beat in flour mix gradually until just combined. Add the fruit and peel mix to the batter and combine well. Turn the batter into a greased layer-cake pan and press down the surface with the back of a spoon to smooth. Bake 1 hour 15 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before removing from pan and cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

Beat 1/3 Cup softened butter until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in 3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar until fluffy. Beat 2 teaspoons vanilla and about 3 tablespoons milk until smooth. If it seems too thick, add a little more milk.

Bluebell Falls Irish Goat Cheese

2010-10-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

Bluebell Falls goats cheese is an organic hand-made, soft goat's milk cheese with a creamy texture.

History

Bluebell Falls farm is owned by the Keane family and is registered and approved as a Food Business operator. Before 1995, the farm was primarily geared towards the traditional Irish herds of cattle and sheep, but at that time, started to develop new products from goat's milk. By 1998, they had a herd of 130 goats being milked. By 2000, the decision was made to switch totally to producing goats milk and cheese. The farm is located at Clondegad, Ballynacally, overlooking the River Shannon estuary.

Products

Bluebell Falls farm produces a number of goat's milk cheeses from their herds of Saanen and Tangenberg goats. Their cheese is sold fresh when 24 hours old, and is made in the style of French chevre.

* Cygnus is the main cheese product produced at the farm. It is a fresh goats cheese with a smooth texture.
* Cygnus Honey was created in 2008. It is created by the addition of garlic, honey, and thyme to the plain goats cheese.
* Cygnus Pepper was also created in 2008 by the addition of garlic, herbs, and black pepper to plain goats cheese.
* Delphinus was created in 2010 and is a white mould soft goats cheese with a buttery texture and slight mushroom taste
* Orion was created in 2010 and is a semi-hard goats cheese.
* Pegasus was created in 2008 and is a white mould soft goats cheese with a soft texture and fresh grassy taste

Ardrahan Cheese -- An Ingredient in Irish Cooking

2010-10-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

Ardrahan is a semi-soft cheese made from cow's milk. It originates from Ardrahan Farmhouse, Kanturk, Co. Cork in Ireland. Eugene and Mary Burns first made Ardrahan on their farm in County Cork in 1983 using traditional techniques. This Irish cheese is made entirely from the milk of the Burns' cow herd, which is composed of Friesian cows.

It is a vegetarian cheese made with whole milk and vegetarian rennet. It has a 25% fat content. It is made into wheels of 400g and 1.5kg with a ridged brine-washed rind encrusted with moulds.

Ardrahan cheese has an earthy, farmhouse taste and aroma, and also a zesty tang that enhances the rich buttery and meaty flavour. It has a smooth texture, a deep yellow interior and an edible, full-bodied rind. Ardrahan's interior is firm and slightly chalky. It matures in four to eight weeks.

Awards

In 1994, Ardrahan won the Irish Food Writers Guild annual Good Food award. Since then, Ardrahan has won many more awards, including multiple medals from the British Cheese Awards and the World Cheese Awards.

Cashel Blue Cheese -- An Ingredient in Irish Cooking

2010-10-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

Cashel Blue was the first Irish blue cheese, first marketed in 1984; it was named after the Rock of Cashel overlooking the pastures close to the cheese farm of Jane and Louis Grubb. It has large blue flecks, made by the action of Penicillium roqueforti, the same fungus used in Roquefort, Stilton, and other blue cheeses.

Made in Cashel, County Tipperary, in Ireland, this is one of the country's few blue cheeses, made from pasteurised cow's milk mostly sourced from the Friesian herd on the farm. It is frequently used in cooking as it is not as salty as other blue cheeses.

A sister cheese, Crozier Blue, is made using sheep's milk.

Jameson Hourglass

2010-10-16T20:05:00.001-07:00

1 part whiskey
2 parts orange juice
2 parts cranberry juice.
Lime wedge for garnish

Pour ingredients in a glass over ice; stir and serve.

Garlic Soup

2010-10-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

12 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 small onion, peeled and chopped fine
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
Croutons for serving

Crush the garlic; add to frying pan along with olive oil, butter, and onion. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, over low heat for about fifteen minutes. Add the flour and stir in. Add the vinegar, stock, and water. Simmer for half an hour. Whisk in the egg yolks, but do not return to a boil. Place the croutons in the bottom of each serving bowl and ladle soup on top.

Irish Cheddar Ale Soup

2010-10-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 bottle Irish Ale
2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cubed, and boiled until soft
1 15-oz can vegetable broth or chicken broth
1 cup water
2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until translucent. Add beer; bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Add potatoes, broth, and water; cover and return to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer until heated through. Remove from the heat and mash with a potato masher to the desired consistency.

Whisk milk and flour and add to the soup. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 1/4 cups Cheddar; continue to stir until melted. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with remaining cheese and bell pepper. Serves four to six.

Irish Shandy

2010-10-06T21:07:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 cups seltzer
1 bottle Harp or other lager
2 tablespoons frozen limeade
2 lemon or lime wedges

Combine seltzer, beer, and limeade. Pour into glasses and garnish with lemon wedges. Serves two.

Low-Sodium Irish Lamb Stew

2010-10-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

2 pounds boneless leg of lamb, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 pounds white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 stalks celery, deveined and thinly sliced
3 large leeks (white part only) halved, washed, and thinly sliced
1 15-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth or stock
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup packed parsley leaves, chopped

Combine all ingredients but parsley in a six-quart slow cooker. Put the lid on and cook on low until the lamb is fork-tender, roughly 7 to 8 hours. Stir in parsley before serving.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread, a Healthy Option for St. Patrick's Day

2010-10-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450°F. Grease and dust a baking sheet with cooking spray and a bit of flour. Whisk flours, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in buttermilk. Stir until all the flour is incorporated. The dough should be soft, but not wet and sticky. Turn immediately onto a well-floured surface. Roll the dough gently with floured hands, just enough to shape it into a round ball. Flip over and flatten slightly to about 2 inches thickness. Transfer the loaf to the baking sheet. Mark with a deep cross using a serrated knife; prick each of the four quadrants with a fork. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400° and continue to bake until the loaf is brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped, approximately 30 to 35 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about half an hour.

Phlump aka Big Ginger Irish Cocktail

2010-10-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

A Phlump or Big Ginger is a cocktail made with Jameson Irish Whiskey, ginger ale, and garnished with lime and lemon. The Phlump or Big Ginger is the signature drink of The Local Irish Pub located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Due to the drink's popularity, The Local holds the record for selling the most Jameson Irish Whiskey for the last three consecutive years. (2006–2008)

History

The Big Ginger was first promoted by The Local Irish Pub in 2002. The name was derived by the size of the cocktail and the ginger ale content. The drink quickly became the signature drink of The Local. The drink was later referred to as the Phlump by many patrons in honor of a Minneapolis businessman and social gadfly who only went by the moniker Phlump. He was often at The Local Irish Bar purchasing the Jameson and ginger ale cocktail for others in his desire to increase the drink's popularity.

Popularity

The popularity of The Phlump or The Big Ginger resulted in The Local Irish Pub being certified as selling the most Jameson Irish Whiskey in the world including Ireland between 2006 and 2008. The sales of the Phlump led The Local Irish Pub to consume 22 bottles of Jameson Irish Whiskey per day for a total of 671 cases in 2008.

Owner of The Local Irish Pub, Kieran Folliard, was quoted (2009) in Beverage World:

"Once again, we attribute our ranking as the world's top seller to our loyal Irish whiskey drinkers and our signature drink - the Big Ginger...[it] has become a huge hit - people ask for it by name, and we've noticed it's become increasingly popular with women who are new to whiskey drinking."

On March 9, 2009 top executives from the Irish Distillers from Dublin, Ireland presented The Local with a plaque to honor the Jameson Whiskey sales achievement.

In New Jersey the drink is known as the "Classy Irishman", its name dubbed by Keith Brady and Josh Aikens. Another variation of the drink is called the "Pot o' Gold", in which a splash of lemon juice is added to the mixture.

The Method:

2 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey
Ginger Ale
Ice

Pour Jameson Irish Whiskey into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with Ginger Ale. Stir lightly and serve.

Irish Car Bomb Cocktail Recipe

2010-10-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

I personally think this might be a waste of three delicious ingredients, but it is very popular in Irish bars at St. Patrick's Day, so I'll include it here!

3/4 pint Guinness Stout
1/2 shot Bailey's Irish cream
1/2 shot Jameson Irish whiskey

Add the Bailey's and Jameson to a shot glass, layering the Bailey's on the bottom. Fill a pint glass 3/4 of the way full with Guinness and let settle. Drop the shot glass into the Guinness and chug. If you don't drink it fast it will curdle and taste kinda nasty.

From Wikipedia, a bit more about the drink:

An Irish Car Bomb is a beer cocktail similar to a boilermaker made with Irish stout, Irish Cream, and Irish whiskey. The name refers to the drink's Irish ingredients - typically Guinness stout, Baileys Irish Cream, and Jameson Irish Whiskey - and the car bombings notoriously used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) during the Troubles. The whiskey is floated on top of the Irish Cream in a shot glass, and the shot glass is then dropped into the stout. Once mixed, the drink must be consumed quickly because it will curdle.

Variations

While Kahlúa was part of the original recipe, it is often dropped from the drink today. Some refer to that original recipe as a Belfast Car Bomb.

Criticism

The name Irish Car Bomb is sometimes considered offensive because of its potentially emotive reference to IRA tactics. For this reason, some bartenders refuse to serve it.

Drunk on Christmas Irish Whiskey Cocktail

2010-10-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

3 oz Midori melon liqueur
2 oz Irish whiskey
1 oz apple schnapps
4 oz sweet and sour mix
Ice
Maraschino cherries

Shake Irish whiskey, Midori, and apple schnapps with ice. Fill whiskey sour glass with ice and strain mixture over ice into glass. Fill with sweet and sour mix and garnish with several maraschino cherries.

Celtic Twilight Irish Whiskey Cocktail

2010-10-03T18:07:00.000-07:00

1 oz Irish whiskey
1 oz Baileys or other Irish cream
1 oz Frangelico or other hazelnut liqueur

Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass half-filled with crushed ice. Stir well. Strain over ice into an old-fashioned glass and serve.

Mayan O'Brien Irish Whiskey Cocktail

2010-10-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

1/2 oz Irish whiskey
1 oz Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
6 - 8 oz hot coffee
Whipped cream

Add whiskey and Kahlua to a hot mug of coffee. Add a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

Leprechaun Irish Whiskey Cocktail

2010-10-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

2 oz whiskey
tonic water
Twist lemon peel

Pour whiskey over ice in a chilled old-fashioned glass. Top with tonic water and stir carefully. Add a twist of lemon, and serve.

Wicklow Pancakes

2010-10-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
Large pinch thyme
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 tablespoons butter, divided

Beat the eggs; add the milk, breadcrumbs, herbs and seasonings; mix well. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a pan until melted, then pour in the mixture and cook over a low flame until it is just set on top. Put under the grill to brown. Serve cut into wedges with a pat of butter on each portion.

Irish Herb Scones

2010-10-02T23:34:00.000-07:00

1/2 lb potatoes
4 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 teapsoon dried dill
1/2 teapsoon savory
1/2 teapsoon marjoram
1/2 teapsoon sage
Oil for frying

Boil potatoes and pass through a foodmill. Mix the flour, salt, oil, and herbs with the potatoes. On a floured board, roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into triangles 3 or 4 inches wide. Fry in very hot oil, flipping to cook both sides until light golden.

Irish Apple Duff Recipe

2010-10-02T23:28:00.000-07:00

4 cooking apples
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup raisins
Pinch of cinnamon to taste
1 egg, beaten
1 cup cream, whipped
1 package puff pastry

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Peel and core the apples. Combine brown sugar, raisins, and cinnamon; stuff centers of apples. Roll out the puff pastry and cut out four circles, each approximately 8-in round. Place an apple in the center of each pastry circle and brush the edge with beaten egg; draw up the pastry to cover the apple; press the edges to seal. Brush the tops of the pastry with the remaining egg to glaze. Bake in a shallow ovenproof dish for 45 minutes. Top with whipped cream and serve.

Irish Potted Chicken

2010-10-02T23:19:00.000-07:00

1 large chicken (about 4 lb)
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground allspice
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
12 slices bacon
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup clarified butter

Boil the chicken. Remove the meat from the chicken, then bone, and skin it. Mince until fairly fine. Season with salt, pepper, and spices, and add the finely chopped onion or shallot. Stir in stock and run through blender.

Butter a deep casserole dish and line the bottom with the bacon slices; keep a few for the top. Pour in the meat mixture; top with butter and a few extra slices of bacon. Cover with foil and a lid. Stand the casserole in a container of hot water reaching halfway up the side of the casserole. Bake at 180C/350F for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from oven, run a knife along the edges to loosen, and let cool. When cold, press down with a spoon, pour the clarified butter over the top, and keep in a cold place until ready to serve.

Irish Apple Pie Recipe

2010-10-01T23:04:00.000-07:00

From The White House Cook Book by Hugo Ziemann, Steward of the White House, and Mrs. F. L. Gillette; originally published by The Saalfield Publishing Company, New York, in 1913.

Pare and take out the cores of the apples, cutting each apple into four or eight pieces, according to their size. Lay them neatly in a baking dish, seasoning them with brown sugar and any spice, such as pounded cloves and cinnamon, or grated lemon peel. A little quince marmalade gives a fine flavor to the pie. Add a little water and cover with puff paste. Bake for an hour.

Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage Pot Recipe

2010-10-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jenny O. for this one!

1 medium head cabbage, shredded (~8 cups)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup water
1 16-oz can white hominy, rinsed and drained
1 pound corned beef, sliced very thin and chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Combine cabbage, onion, and water in a large pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender. Add remaining ingredients; simmer to heat through, about 5 minutes. Serves four to six.

Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese Steak Melts

2010-10-01T01:38:00.000-07:00

I love, really love, a good steak and cheese combo, and this recipe, courtesy of Kerrygold, hits the spot.

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse-ground pepper
4 rib-eye steaks (each about 1 1/2 inches thick, 12 ounces), excess fat-trimmed
1 red onion, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds
1 red bell pepper (8 ounces), cut in 1/2-inch thick rounds
1 cup shredded or 6 ounces very thinly sliced Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

In small bowl, mix vinegar, oil and pepper. Lay onion and pepper rounds on a plate and brush generously with oil and vinegar mixture. Rub remaining mixture all over steaks. Let marinate 5 to 15 minutes. Lay steaks on an oiled barbecue grill over a solid bed of hot coals or high heat on a gas grill. Set onion and pepper slices alongside. Close lid on gas grill. Cook steaks 5 minutes and turn over. Top steaks evenly with cheese and continue cooking until done to your liking in center of thickest part (cut to test),
about 5 to 7 minutes longer for medium-rare. Cook onion and pepper slices, turning once, until lightly browned on both sides, about 6 to 10 minutes total. Transfer steaks to plates. Separate onion into rings and place on steaks, along with pepper slices. Let rest in a warm place 3 to 5 minutes before serving. Add salt to taste.

Baileys Irish Cream and Ice Cream

2010-09-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

Straight from the Baileys site. Enjoy!

3.5 oz. of Baileys Original Irish Cream
A single scoop of ice cream
1 cookie, for garnish (optional)

Pour Baileys into a glass and then add a single scoop of your favorite ice cream. Garnish with a cookie.

Oaten Honeycomb Pudding

2010-09-30T22:41:00.000-07:00

I love honey, and will jump at any chance to use it in a recipe. This pudding serves four to six people. Thanks, Anna A., for sharing it.

450 ml / 3/4 pint whole milk
175 g / 6 oz oats
50 g / 2 oz caster (very fine) sugar
30 ml / 2 tablespoons honey
25 g / 1 oz / 1/4 stick butter
1 tablespoon orange zest
2.5 ml / 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs, separated
Honey and cream for serving

Pour the milk into a heavy saucepan and bring to the boil. Sprinkle in the oats and cook gently, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes. Beat in the sugar, honey, butter, orange zest, and cinnamon and mix well. Remove from heat and beat in the egg yolks. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff and gently fold into the oat mixture. Turn into a greased 1.2 litre / 2 pint pudding basin, cover with pleated greased paper or foil, and secure with string. Steam for two hours. Turn out on to a dish and serve with warm honey and fresh cream.

Apple and Whitebeam Berry Pie

2010-09-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Anna A. for sending this in! Whitebeam berries are related to rowan berries, and should only be picked when they begin to blet, actually begin to rot, after the first frost, as the frost converts the potentially toxic presorbic acid to sorbic acid.

Unfortunately, I don't have handy access to them in Chicago. Does anyone know of a good mail-order source, or if that's even possible?

Pastry for top and bottom crust of a pie
4 cooking apples, cored and sliced
1 cup whitebeam berries, picked over and stemmed
1 cup sugar
3 whole cloves
Very fine sugar (caster sugar) for sprinkling
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Combine apples, Whitebeam berries, and sugar in a bowl. Turn into unbaked pie shell and then add the cloves and a sprinkling of caster sugar. Place on the top crust and crimp the edges to seal. Prick the top of the pie with a fork in several places to vent and brush with the beaten egg; sprinkle a little caster sugar on top. Place in an oven pre-heated to 400°F/200°C and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325°F/160°C and bake another 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the pie is cooked through.

Buttermilk Bread

2010-09-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

1 pound flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 stick butter
2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease and flour a baking sheet. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl; lightly pinch in the butter. Add the buttermilk and mix to form a soft dough. Divide dough in town and shape into rounds on a floured surface. Place the rounds on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.

Irish Christmas Cookies

2010-09-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1/4 cup Irish Whiskey
1/4 cup candied citron, chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins, chopped
1/4 cup almonds, chopped

Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time until blended. Add flour and Irish Whiskey and beat until smooth. Add fruit and nuts and mix well. Drop dough from a tablespoon onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from sheet while cookies are still warm. Makes about five dozen large cookies.

Baked Almond Pudding

2010-09-29T13:34:00.001-07:00

6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup ground almonds
4 drops almond extract
3 eggs, beaten
Grated rind and juice of one lemon
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. Turn the mixture into a well-greased pie dish. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes. Test with a knife to see if the pudding is done. It should be firm on the outside and still runny in the middle. Serves six to eight.

Twice Baked Irish Potatoes with Kale

2010-09-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

Curried Parsnip Soup

2010-09-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

1/2 stick butter
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 to 1 1/4 pounds parsnips, peeled and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
5 cups chicken stock
2 cups whole milk

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan; add the chopped onion, garlic, and parsnips. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss thoroughly. Cover and simmer until soft and tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour and curry powder; gradually blend in the chicken stock. Simmer until the parsnip is fully cooked. Puree in a blender; return to pot, adjust seasoning to taste, and stir in milk. Curried parsnip soup is delicious with seasoned croutons and a pinch of parsley or chives.

Skirts and Kidneys Irish Stew

2010-09-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Cork, on the southern coast of Ireland, has a long-standing association with animal produce and, from the 17th century to the end of the 19th century, was a major supplier of butter and salted (preserved) beef and pork to the British Empire and, specifically, the armed forces. The beef and pork industry meant a plentiful supply of offal. Offcuts were available at affordable prices for local consumption by the poor and underprivileged. An entire Cork cuisine developed based on offal - particularly pig offal. Examples include crubeens (pigs' trotters); pigs' tails; drisheen - a boiled blood sausage traditionally served with tripe; bodice - plain or salted pig ribs, cooked as a simple white stew, or as a salted bacon dish cooked with cabbage and turnip. It is a fact that, in Cork, the word offal had been commandeered to mean one specific dish - pig's backbone. Now sadly illegal to use because of scares with BSE, it was cooked either salted or as a white stew.

Skirts and Kidneys is probably the best of these dishes. The meat ingredients are readily bought in any Cork pork butcher's shop. Skirts are the trimmings from the inside of the ribs and backbone. While the meat is thin, it is quite tender as it formed part of little-used muscle in the animal. It is encased in a tough white membrane which needs to be stripped off before cooking. Kidneys need to be carefully washed in copious amounts of fresh water to ensure that all traces of their original function are washed away.

The dish is a basic white stew made with minimum ingredients: skirts, kidneys, onions, thyme, salt, white pepper, water, and potatoes. All the ingredients are placed in a large saucepan of boiling water and slowly simmered for about two hours. At the end of cooking, if necessary, a little cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with a little water can be stirred in as thickening.

The meal is best served with crusty white bread to soak up the juices.

Recipe

(Serves 3-4):

1 kg of pork skirts
1 or 2 pork kidneys
2 large white onions
1 tablespoon of thyme (fresh or dried)
2 teaspoons of salt.
1/2 teaspoon of white ground pepper
10 medium sized potatoes, peeled

Chop the kidneys in quarter-inch slices. (Optionally, remove the white central core from each slice). Place the sliced kidney in a colander and rinse thoroughly under clean running water.

Meanwhile trim the pork skirts, removing the white membrane as thoroughly as possible. Slice the meat into bite-sized pieces.

Halve the onions and slice into half rings. Pluck to thyme from the branches (or open the container if using dried thyme!!)

Put the kidneys, skirts, onions and thyme, salt and pepper in a large pan. Cover with boiling water (about 2 pints / 1 Litre).

Bring to the boil and skim off any scum that rises to the surface.

Then cover and simmer over a low heat for 1 hour.

Wash and peel the potatoes while the dish is simmering.
After the hour, add the potatoes to the stew and cook for a further 45 minutes until the potatoes are cooked.

Check the juice for seasoning. Add more salt if necessary. (This dish does require quite a lot of salt). The potatoes should have thickened the stew sufficiently. If not, use a teaspoon of cornflour blended with a couple of teaspoons of cold water and stir it into the stew and boil gently until thickened.

Serve each portion in a deep dish like a pasta dish or large soup dish. Eat with crusty bread.

Recipes from Wikipedia.

Pure Pot Still Whiskey -- A Whiskey Unique to Ireland

2010-09-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

Pure pot still whiskey is a type of whiskey traditionally made from a mixture of malted and unmalted barley distilled in a pot still. It is unique to Ireland. Not to be confused with blended whiskey, which is a mixture of column still unmalted grain whiskey and pot still single malt whiskey, "pure pot still" is a single whiskey made from a batch of grain composed of both unmalted and malted barley that has been distilled in a pot still.

Although the drink was once widespread in Ireland, a number of historical factors including the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Civil War, and prohibition in the United States led to a drastic reduction in the number of Irish distilleries. With this reduction in Irish whiskeys available came the loss in recognition abroad of the pure pot still style itself. The majority of the surviving distilleries began to produce blends and single malts. Due to recent attention from prominent whiskey critics such as Jim Murray and the praise given to surviving Pure Pot Still whiskeys such as Redbreast and Green Spot, the style has seen a revival in recent years. In late 2008, the Irish company Porterhouse Brewery announced that they would be investing 8 million euros in the creation of a new distillery in Dingle, County Kerry that will be devoted to the production of pure pot still whiskey in the traditional style.

Unlike "single malt," "pure pot still" is not a protected term. Under modern Irish law, any whiskey distilled in a pot still can be termed "pot still whiskey." Therefore, it is not legally necessary for a distiller to add unmalted barley to his or her grain mix. Some whiskeys produced by the Cooley Distillery break from tradition and do not use unmalted grain. Thus, they are actually single malt whiskeys, but can be legally labelled "pot still whiskey" if the distiller so chooses. The majority of pot still whiskeys conform to the traditional definition.

Source: Wikipedia.

Yellowman ( Yellow Man ) Irish Candy

2010-09-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

Did you treat your Mary Anne
to dulse and yellowman
At the Auld Lammas Fair, at Ballycastle, O?

The Auld Lammas Fair is a traditional fair held in Ballycastle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland every year on the last Monday and Tuesday of August. It is associated with the Lammas, or hloaf-mass, harvest festival, celebrating the wheat harvest. It has been running for nearly 400 years, dating back to the 17th century. Various goods are traditionally sold at the fair. These include livestock and traditional foods such as yellowman, a local variant of honeycomb, and 'dulse', a type of edible seaweed.

A ballad written by local shopkeeper and bog-oak carver John Henry MacAuley enhanced the local fame of the fair. MacAuley was also a well known fiddler, but died in 1937 before his song became famous.

Yellowman honeycomb is currently manufactured by the McCarthy Family Farms which runs the local bee farm in Newcastle. The bees' diet includes cider which is sprayed on flowers during pollination which gives the honeycomb its rich texture and flavor.

Here is an at-home variant you can make.

1/4 pound butter
1 pound brown sugar
1 pound light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda.

Combine butter, sugar, syrup, and vinegar. Boil without stirring until a drop hardens in cold water. Remove from heat and stir in the soda (which will foam up). Pour into greased tin; cool. Break into chunks and store in an air-tight tin.

Milk Punch -- Irish Scailtin

2010-09-27T01:51:00.001-07:00

Known as Scailtin to the Irish, Milk Punch can be made in several ways. The easiest method is to mix equal measures of hot whiskey and warm milk. Melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves can be added.

Historical note: When the art of distilling was brought to Ireland from the Mediterranean (about 1500 years ago), the Irish developed a drink called uisce beathe, the water of life. Irish monks brought the recipe to Scotland, where it came to be known as uiscebaugh. When the Normans arrived in Ireland they liked uisce beathe a lot, and the word eventually became anglicized as whiskey.

Irish Cream Cake

2010-09-27T00:08:00.000-07:00

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix
4 large eggs
1 cup Irish Cream liqueur
1/2 cup cold water
Whipped cream for serving

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two nine-inch cake pans. Combine all ingredients together in large bowl; beat with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes. Pour into pans; bake 30 minutes or until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool 10 minutes or so before removing from pans. Let cool completely before topping with whipped cream; you can also create a layer cake and frost, if desired.

Dublin Green Apple Cocktail -- Great St. Patrick's Day Cocktail

2010-09-26T16:06:00.000-07:00

A great twist on the Appletini and perfect for St. Patrick's Day!

2 oz Irish whiskey
1 oz sour apple schnapps
2 oz white cranberry juice

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with fresh apple slice.

Posset Cup -- Spiced, Spiked Hot Milk -- Delicious and "Medicinal"

2010-09-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

This is an old drink, and great on a cold winter's night!

2 3/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons oatmeal
Pinch of salt to taste
2 to 3 teaspoons honey
2 1/2 cups Guinness Stout
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Put the milk, oatmeal, and salt in a saucepan. Heat to near-boiling, stirring all the while. Remove from heat; let stand for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid into a clean pot and add honey, stout, and spices. Heat mixture, stirring to combine ingredients thoroughly, and drink hot. Serves two.

From Wikipedia:

A posset (also spelled poshote, poshotte) was a British hot drink of milk curdled with wine or ale, often spiced, which was popular from medieval times to the 19th century. The word is mainly used nowadays for a related dessert similar to syllabub.

To make the drink, milk was heated to a boil, then mixed with wine or ale, which curdled it, and the mixture was usually spiced. It was considered a specific remedy for some minor illnesses, such as a cold, and a general remedy for others, as even today people drink hot milk to help them get to sleep.

The Oxford English Dictionary traces the word to the 15th century.

In 16th-century and later sources, possets are generally made from lemon or other citrus juice, cream, and sugar. Eggs are often added, as well.

In the Forme of Cury, a 14th century cookbook whose author was the head cook of Richard II, "possynet" is referenced as part of a sauce made from stuffing, drippings, and meat gelatin for serving over goose. In this case, the posset might have served as a form of thickener, comparable in function to a modern white sauce of milk, butter, and flour.

The preparation of posset could be elaborate, and the word "posset" became a verb, meaning to coddle or pamper someone by taking trouble to make them comfortable.

"Posset sets" for mixing and serving possets were popular gifts, and valuable ones (often made of silver) were heirlooms. Such sets contained a posset "pot," or "bowl," or "cup" to serve it in, a container for mixing it in, and usually various containers for the ingredients, as well as spoons. The posset set that the Spanish ambassador gave Queen Mary I of England and King Philip II of Spain when they became betrothed in 1554 is believed to have been made by Benvenuto Cellini and is of crystal, gold, precious gems, and enamel. It is on display at Hatfield House in England and consists of a large, stemmed, covered bowl, two open, stemmed vessels, a covered container, three spoons, and two forks.

The word "posset" is mostly used nowadays for a cold set dessert loosely based on the drink, containing cream and lemon, and similar to syllabub.

In fiction

Lady Macbeth uses poisoned possets to knock out the guards outside Duncan's quarters, "The doors are open, and the surfeited grooms Do mock their charge with snores. I have drugg'd their possets That death and nature do contend about them, Whether they live or die." Macbeth Act II, Scene ii

Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread

2010-09-25T22:25:00.001-07:00

Bailey's Irish Cream Cheese Cake

2010-09-25T22:16:00.001-07:00

Irish-Style Homemade Chips (French Fries)

2010-09-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

4 large white potatoes
3 cups vegetable oil

Heat oil to medium-hot in a large pan or deep fat fryer. Wash, peel, and cut potatoes into large, 1/2-square slices. Cook fries until golden, a handful at a time, for about five minutes, or until golden brown. Drain and sprinkle with salt. Serve hot.

Irish Turkey Pie

2010-09-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

1 prepared 9-inch pie crust, top and bottom
2 cups cooked turkey breast, diced
2 cups potatoes, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup red onion, diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 1/2 to 3 cups turkey gravy

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add potatoes, carrots, and red onion to a large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer ten minutes. Add peas and corn and heat through. Drain water. Add turkey and gravy; toss thoroughly. Pour mixture into bottom pie crust. Place second crust on top and seal edges. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and serve. Serves four to six.

Wild Duck

2010-09-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

2 wild ducks (or other game birds)
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 cup red wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Orange slices

Rub the butter over the cleaned birds and roast at 350 for 20 minutes. Add the orange juice, red wine, salt and pepper, and continue cooking an additional 15 minutes. Put the birds on a warmed serving platter. Place the gravy on the stove and reduce over a brisk flame. Serve duck with crisp fried potatoes, salad, and orange wedges. Serves six to eight.

Mussel and Onion stew

2010-09-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

5 pints of mussels
2/3 cup white wine
6 small onions, sliced
1/4 cup butter
4 shallots, chopped
6 cloves of garlic
2 carrots, chopped
4 potatoes
Fresh parsley, thyme and bay leaf, tied together
Chopped parsley
Black pepper

Scrub and debeard the mussels. Discard any that remain open after tapping; shellfish should be alive before cooking. Place them in a large saucepan with the white wine. Cook on high heat until the mussels are open.

Again, throw away any that remain closed. Remove the mussels; strain the liquid and reserve. In another pan, saute the onions in butter or olive oil. Add the shallots, garlic, and chopped carrots. Peel and slice the potatoes. Put them in a pan with the herbs, parsley, and reserved liquid from the mussels. Season to taste with pepper. Simmer for about one hour. Shell the mussels and if desired, save shells. Take a ladle of the vegetable broth, making sure to include potatoes, and puree in a blender, food processor, or food mill. Add to the rest of the vegetables again and put all the mussels into the pot. Simmer until the mussels are hot. Remove and discard bay leaf. The shells may be added for decoration. Serve with white wine and slices of garlic bread.

Better is a small fish than an empty dish.
--Irish Proverb

Shrimp and Cheese Chowder

2010-09-25T12:57:00.001-07:00

1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup boiling water
3 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 1/2 cups shrimp, peeled
2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese
Chopped parsley

Saute onion in butter until tender, but not brown. Add boiling water, potatoes, salt, and pepper. Cover; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Add shrimp and milk and bring the soup to a boil. Stir in cheese and parsley. Serve immediately.

Potato Onion Pancakes

2010-09-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

1 pound onions, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, sliced
6 tablespoons oil
Salt and pepper to taste
6 eggs
Chopped fresh parsley

Saute the onions and potatoes in the oil until they are cooked through; do not brown. Drain off the excess oil and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl beat the eggs, then add the potato and onion mixture and chopped parsley. Heat a little oil in a pan and pour some of the mixture in until it is about 1-inch thick. Cook over medium heat until firm; flip over and cook a few minutes more. Repeat with remaining mixture. Cut into wedges and serve either hot or cold.

Irish Recipe for Beets with Parsley and Chives

2010-09-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

1 pound small beets
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon chives, chopped
1/4 cup butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Wash the beets and cut off the stalks; do not remove the skins. Drop into a pan of boiling, salted water and cook until tender--about 45 minutes to 1 hour. If the skin comes off easily, they are done. Peel the beets and discard the cooking water. Return the beets to the saucepan and toss for a few minutes with the parsley, chives, and butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves four.

Irish Baked Onion Recipe

2010-09-23T23:25:00.001-07:00

"There is in every cook's opinion
No savoury dish without an onion
But lest your kissing should be spoiled
The onion must be thoroughly boiled.
—Jonathan Swift

1 large onion, peeled
Water
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter for serving

Put the onion in a baking dish with about one inch of water—no more. Bake onion at 275 degrees F for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until it is soft when squeezed. Pull back the browned skin and cut off at the root. Eat with salt, pepper, and a little butter. Serves one.

Irish Sweet Peas with Mint

2010-09-23T23:03:00.000-07:00

We have an abundance of mint growing wild in our yard, and this is a favorite summertime dish.

1 pound peas, frozen
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the peas according to package directions. Drain and set aside. In another saucepan, heat the butter until melted and add the peas, mint, and sugar. Toss and cook gently for several minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside. Serves four.

Irish Mushrooms and Cream

2010-09-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

1 pound mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup cream
Fresh thyme or parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Clean but do not peel the mushrooms. Place them in a single layer in a buttered dish and dribble the butter over them. Bake at 400 degrees F for a few minutes until soft. Pour cream over mushrooms and heat int he oven, but do not allow to boil. Sprinkle with the chopped fresh herbs and the salt and pepper just before serving. Serve with bread to mop up the juices. A great accompaniment to grilled meats, particularly steak. Serves four.

Colcannon: The Vegetable Dish and Song of Ireland

2010-09-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

The song about Colcannon is more widely known than the traditional cabbage dish. If you say "Colcannon" in a room full of people, chances are that half the room will break into one version of the song and half into something completely different. Colcannon is eaten at Halloween, and often has a ring put into it.

Did you ever eat Colcannon
When twas made with thickened cream
And the green and scallions blended
Like the picture in a dream

Did you ever scoop a hole on top
To hold the melting cake
Of cover-flavored butter
That your mother used to make?

Did you ever eat and eat, afraid
You'd let the ring go past
And some old married sprissman
Would get it at the last?

God be with the happy times
When trouble we had not
And our mother made Colcannon
In the little three-legged pot.

2 to 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes
1 cup cabbage, cooked
1 small onion, chopped, or scallions
Butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes; skin, drain, and mash. Chop up the cooked cabbage and mix in with the mashed potatoes. Chop the onion and saute in butter until soft; mix into the potatoes and cabbage. Serve on hot plates with a well of butter in the center of each mound. Serves four.

Champ

2010-09-23T22:52:00.000-07:00

There was an old woman who lived in a lamp
she had no room to beetle her champ
She's up with her beetle and broke the lamp
and then she had room to beetle her champ

The beetle was a heavy wooden pestle used to mash large tubs full of potatoes in the days when they were the main food of the Irish.

10 scallions, chopped
Milk
2 1/2 cups hot mashed potatoes
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the chopped scallions, green parts as well, in the milk; drain but reserve the milk. Add the onions to mashed potatoes. Beat together and add enough of the hot milk to make the dish creamy and smooth. Season to taste. Put into a deep warmed dish, make a well in the center, and pour the hot melted butter into it. The potato is dipped into the well of butter when serving. Serves four.

Recipes of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland -- A Classic Scottish Cookbook

2010-09-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's not an Irish cookbook, but we're going to let ourselves get away with it because it's at least Celtic. And because your blog hosts are also the ones to help bring it back into print.

Recipes of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland was originally published in 1907 as The Feill Cookery Book by An Comunn Gaidhealach, the Highland Association. We found our antique copy from a little bookstore in Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, and were totally charmed. It has hundreds of old Scottish recipes, most of which are identified with the name of the original contributor. There are also several advertisements for businesses that were active in Scotland, and particularly Glasgow, at the time.

If you like Celtic-style cooking, you should definitely check it out.

Irish Mist Liqueur and Related Cocktail Recipes

2010-09-19T01:15:00.000-07:00

Irish Mist is a golden Whiskey Liqueur produced in Dublin, Ireland, by the Irish Mist Liqueur Company Ltd. It is made from aged Irish whiskey, heather and clover honey, aromatic herbs, and other spirits, blended to an ancient recipe claimed to be over a thousand years old.

The History of the Original Irish Whiskey Liqueur

Irish Mist was the first liqueur to be produced in Ireland when commercial production began in 1947 at Tullamore, County Offaly. Tullamore is the hometown of the Williams family, who were the original owners of Irish Mist. The company history goes back to 1829, when the Tullamore Distillery was founded to produce Irish whiskey. In the mid-1940s Desmond E. Williams began the search for an alternative yet related product. The search ended with the discovery of Irish Mist. Its roots can be traced back to an ancient recipe for heather wine which originated over a 1000 years ago.

The chieftains and nobles of Ireland’s ancient clans throughout the centuries had drunk heather wine, a spirit combined with honey, spices, and herbs. However, the secret of this legendary drink disappeared with the last great exodus of the Irish Earls in 1691, an event that has passed into Irish History as "The Flight of the Wild Geese." The recipe was thought to have been lost forever until a traveller from Europe arrived, quite fortuitously, with an old manuscript he had found. Desmond Williams recognized it as the ancient recipe for heather wine and transformed it into Irish Mist, setting up the Irish Mist Liqueur Company.

In 1985 the Cantrell and Cochrane Group purchased the Irish Mist Liqueur Company from the Williams family. In the summer of 2010 Irish Mist and the entire spirit division of C&C was bought by William Grant of Scotland. In September 2010 they in turn sold Irish Mist to Gruppo Campari.

Irish Mist is typically served straight up or on ice, but also goes with coffee, vodka, or cranberry juice. Irish Mists most popular recipe is Irish Mist with Cola and Lime. A Rusty Mist is an ounce of Irish Mist with an ounce of Drambuie Scotch whisky liqueur. A Black Nail is made from equal parts Irish Mist and Irish whiskey.
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Chicago-Style Irish Coffee

2010-09-19T01:10:00.000-07:00

Brrr... it's starting to get chilly here in the Windy City, time to trade in the mint juleps for Irish coffees!

Hot black coffee
1 1/2 oz Irish Mist Liqueur
2 tablespoons whipped cream

Heat a stemmed whiskey glass. Pour in coffee; add Irish Mist. Do not stir. Top with whipped cream. Historical note: In the 1940s, Irish Mist inspired Joe Sheridan, chef at Foynes, a boat house located on the Shannon Estuary in County Clare, to concoct this now-classic beverage as a pick-me-up for transatlantic travelers arriving by seaplane. He later took the recipe to the States, where variations can be found in every Irish pub form New York to San Francisco. Legend holds that the recipe for Irish Mist, thought to be the heather ale of Celtic folklore, is 1200 years old!

Irish Treacle Bread (Molasses Bread)

2010-09-18T02:51:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg, beaten
Splash of milk
1 teaspoon molasses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Pinch in butter with fingers. Add sugar, egg, milk, and molases. Mix thoroughly and knead for several minutes. Put into greased pie tin and bake for 15 minutes. Treacle is great fresh from the oven and served with butter.

Pratie Oaten -- A Wholesome Irish Breakfast

2010-09-17T02:54:00.000-07:00

2 cups warm mashed potatoes
1 cup oatmeal, uncooked
Salt
1/2 cup melted butter or lard

Work enough of the oatmeal into the potatoes to form a soft dough. Add salt and enough melted butter or bacon drippings to bind it together. Scatter oatmeal on board and roll out dough. Cut into triangular wedges and cook both sides on a hot, greased griddle in the oven, or fry in bacon fat on the stove. Serve hot or cold. Pratie Oaten are very good as a breakfast side dish with bacon, eggs, and sausage.

Cruibins -- Pig's Trotters

2010-09-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

Cruibins (also spelled Crubeens) is one of the oldest dishes still served in Ireland, particularly in Irish pubs.

4 cruibins -- cured pigs' feet
Cheesecloth
1 cup white wine
Water
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 carrrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 or 4 cranberries for garnish

Tie the cruibins in pairs, using a cheesecloth to bind them together. Put the cruibins in a saucepan with the remaining ingredients and cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 4 or 5 hours until tender. More water can be added if necessary. There are numerous ways to serve the cruibins. They may be served cold with a vinaigrette dressing, or hot. To serve hot, cvoat them with bread crumbs, season with nutmeg and cinnamon, and brown in a boiler.

Corned Beef and Cabbage -- A St. Patrick's Day Tradition

2010-09-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

3 pounds corned beef brisket
1 whole onion, peeled
4 whole cloves
1 or 2 bay leaves
6 to 8 peppercorns
Shredded cabbage

Once a traditional food for Easter, this is now linked with St. Patrick's Day in the minds of Americans. The cabbage should have as much dark green leaf as possible for flavor as well as tradition. Place brisket in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Stick cloves into the onion; add to saucepan with bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until meat is tender--about two hours. Cook cabbage in the meat stock just until tender and serve with the beef. Many families serve with a mustard sauce.

Irish Stirabout

2010-09-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold milk

Heat the milk to near boiling. Sift together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon or nutmeg and mix with two tablespoons of cold milk. Stir mixture into the hot milk. A tasty alternative to the glass of milk before bedtime! Makes one serving.

Irish Buttermilk Cheese and Berries Recipe

2010-09-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

2 1/4 cups fresh whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon rennet
2 tablespoons fresh cream
Sugar
1 pound strawberries

In a large bowl mix milk, buttermilk, and rennet and let stand in a warm place until solid. Drain off liquid by placing a strainer over a bowl and line it with cheesecloth. Pour the contents of the bowl into the cheesecloth and leave to strain; this will take 10 hours. Turn the solids into another bowl and mix in the cream and a little sugar. Slice the berries. In a serving dish layer the cheese and berries, sprinkling each layer with sugar. Top with a layer of cheese and decorate with whole berries.