A Touch of the Blarney

Have you ever noticed that on March 17^th no matter where you were born or what your family heritage is, everyone seems to be at least a little Irish?  My family is no exception.  We all don something green and have a St. Paddy’s Day celebration complete with corned beef and cabbage for dinner.  So it was no surprise that as Jackie and I discussed what we would write about for today’s posting, it would have to be something to do with the worldwide celebration tomorrow of St. Patrick’s Day.

We put our “green” thinking caps on in the hopes of coming up with something fun and different.  Writing out a recipe or directions for making corned beef and cabbage seemed just too predictable and if there is anything your Two Chums are NOT aspiring to be, it is predictable.

I got to thinking that there had to be something besides a corned beef dinner (albeit a good dinner ) that we could share as an option for an Irish celebration.  Then it hit me.  Why did the celebration have to be a dinner?  Since St. Patrick’s Day is on a Saturday this year, why not celebrate with a St. Patty’s Day Brunch?

So that’s what we’ve got for you today.  The menu goes like this:  Pot of Gold salsa with “clover” tortilla chips, Corned beef hash with a fried egg, Irish soda bread with honey butter and for dessert, Irish Whiskey Apple Cake.  I think mixing things up and having brunch with all our favorite St. Patrick’s Day foods will be fun.

And besides it means tomorrow evening instead of being in the kitchen I can watch my favorite “Irish” movie, Far and Away.

If you haven’t seen it you need to get it.  It is one of those big love stories of young Irish     immigrants (Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman) who make their way to America in the late 1800’s seeking a new life that will bring them adventure and fortune.  There are, of course, many hardships to endure but also great love to be found.  Is it a little cheesy?  Some would say yes I’m sure, but I fall for those big epic love story adventures every time and what better day to watch this one than on a St. Patrick’s Day.  I can even have another slice of that Irish Whiskey Apple Cake while I watch Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman battle the elements and fall in love….a perfect St. Patrick’s Day celebration I think!

Pot of Gold Salsa and “Clover” Chips

Salsa
1 yellow pepper, finely chopped
1 mango, finely chopped
1 yellow tomato, finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoons oil
1 green pepper hollowed out

Heat oil in a frying pan and put all ingredients in the pan except the sugar.  Saute lightly for about 3-5 minutes.

Add sugar and adjust seasoning if salsa needs more salt.  Cool and serve in the hollowed out green pepper with “clover chips”.

Clover Chips

1 package green tortillas
1 Tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

Cut tortillas into chips with a clover shaped cookie cutter.

The tortillas shown in the photo come from the 99 cent store.  They are all natural and are green from the Nopalitas cactus from which they are made.  You can also find green spinach tortillas at most markets which will work too. Pour the oil on a cookie sheet and coat the chips in the oil.  Cook for 5 minutes in a 400 degree oven. When you remove them salt immediately and serve.

Irish Soda Bread

3 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup raisins

Mix flour, sugar baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or in the bowl of a food processor on pulse just until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add raisins. Stir and then add buttermilk and mix until moistened.  The mixture will still look a bit crumbly.

Turn out dough to a floured surface and knead about 10 turns.  Shape into a round loaf about 2-3 inches high.  Place on parchment paper on a baking sheet and cut an X in the top of the dough.  Sprinkle it with about 1 Tablespoon of sugar.

Bake in a  350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until golden brown.  Serve with honey butter.  To make Honey Butter simply mix equal parts of softened butter and honey.

Corned Beef Hash with a Fried Egg 

3-4 lbs. corned beef brisket
2 potatoes
1 onion
4 Tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg per person
1 slice of green pepper per person
Addition 1 tablespoon of butter

Cook the brisket in a pot of simmering water just enough to cover it for about 3-3 1/2 hours.  (If you are making this for brunch tomorrow you will want to cook the brisket tonight so it is ready to make the hash in the morning.)   During the last 15 minutes of cooking add 2 potatoes to the simmering water with the brisket. Remove the meat and potatoes and cool until ready to make the hash.

When you are ready to make the hash, chop  the onion and the potatoes.  Chop about 1/2 of the brisket.  Add the butter to a frying pan and when it is melted add in the the onion, potatoes and corned beef.  Cook slowly for about 10-15 minutes turning occasionally as the mixture browns on the bottom.

When the hash is ready, add butter to another frying pan.  Slice the peppers across in about 1/4 inch slices, so as to form “clover” shapes.  Put the peppers in the frying pan and break an egg into each one.

Cook over medium heat with a lid on the pan until the whites of the egg are solid, about 3-5 minutes.  Place a serving of hash on each plate and remove the egg and pepper from the pan and place on top of the hash. This amount of hash should serve 4-6 people.

Irish Whiskey Apple Cake

1 stick of butter
2 cups of sugar
2 eggs
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup Irish whiskey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 1/2 cups flour

Filling
1 stick butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cream
3 Tablespoons whiskey
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs, apples, nuts, whiskey and vanilla and mix well.  Sift together the dry ingredients and mix into butter mixture.

Stir well.  Pour batter into two 9″ prepared cake pans and bake in a 350 degree oven until cake is lightly browned about 45 minutes.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Remove from pans and continue cooling until cake is room temp.

While cake is cooling make the filling.  Beat together butter, sugar, cream, whiskey and vanilla.  If filling is too stiff, add more cream a very little bit at a time, until it is spreading consistency.

Place first layer of cake on the plate.  Spread filling almost to edges.  Add second layer of cake.  Dust with powdered sugar.  You can place a clover cut out in the center of the cake before you add the powdered sugar and then carefully remove it when the top of the cake is covered in the sugar.

Sure and bedads and the saints be praised…you will be having a good time!