St. Patrick's Day Plans

dance
Originally uploaded by pwinn.

I will be making corned beef, Irish soda bread and Colcannon this Friday and wanted to share the recipes with you.

Irish Soda Bread

4 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups sour milk

Preheat oven to 400F. Sift dry ingredients togther. Make a well in the center. Add sour milk and stir together with a wooden spoon. The dough should be thick but not too wet. Turn dough onto a floured surface and form with hands into a round loaf. Place the loaf into a cast iron frying pan or heavy round casserole dish that has been greased with butter,. Score the top in the form of a cross with a wet knife. Bake for 40 minutes. Bread should cool for an hour befoer serving.

*Note: Soda bread is daily fare in Ireland, made fresh for breakfast and tea. If the loaf is made with whole-meal wheat flour, it is known as brown bread; if made with unbleached white flour, it's Irish soda bread. Authentic Irish soda bread is made with sour milk, not buttermilk, or milk soured by adding vinegar or lemon juice. To sour milk, simple leave it out overnight.

I have been waiting all year to make this recipe again.

Colcannon
1 pound new potatoes, peeled
4 leeks (or one bunch scallions), chopped
1 small cabbage, chopped
Milk (just enought to moisten potatoes)
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon ground thyme
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook potatoes until tender. Slowly saute the chopped leeks and chopped cabbage separately until soft and limp (but not brown).
Mash the potatoes with a hand masher, then add the leeks and milk and mash together until smooth. Next mash in the cabbage, adding the heavy cream, butter, and thyme; blend well until smooth and fluffy. Season with salt and pepper. Put this mixture into an ovenproof dish and place under broiler to brown.
If the colcannon is prepared up to the point of browning ahead of time, reheat covered with foil in a 350 oven for a half hour. Uncover and brown under broiler.


We are also going to have a hunt for an Irish leprechaun and his pot of gold in the backyard. We never find him, but we do find mini pots of gold (mini Reese's peanut butter cups) hidden around. ;0)