St. Patrick's Day - Not Just for Drinking!

I love celebrating holidays through food - and yes, that includes St. Patrick's Day. Irish food has never been as celebrated as Irish drink, but I think it should be. And boy, do I love Irish drink.

Irish cuisine is based on simplicity - the meats, fish and vegetables available on a small, rocky island. Today I'm celebrating the Irish with roasted herb-crusted lamb, colcannon (mashed potatoes with sauteed kale and Irish cheddar), and chocolate stout cupcakes with vanilla-Irish Cream frosting.

I bought a small rack of lamb ribs - 3 ribs each is enough for two people. I put 1/2 tsp each of dried sage, rosemary and thyme (sorry, no parsley) in a small bowl, with 1 tsp each of salt and fresh cracked pepper. To the herb mix, add 2 minced garlic cloves and just a bit of olive oil - just enough to make it a paste (probably about a Tbsp). I rubbed the paste onto both sides of the lamb, and roasted in a 325 degree oven for about half an hour - the temperature of the meat should be 160 for medium. The photo makes the meat look very red, but it was done perfectly.

Colcannon is a little bit of work, but worth it. You need about 2 lbs of potatoes - I used baby dutch yellows, cut in half, so they would cook quickly. Add the potatoes to a large pot of boiling water, then add about a Tbsp of salt. While they are cooking, grate some cheese if you want it (about half a pound is good) and saute your kale - trim the thick parts of the ribs off and rough-chop the leaves until you have about a cup. Put this in a pan with a splash of chicken stock, beer, water - anything liquid really. Just cook it down enough to wilt the kale without burning it (this takes away the natural bitterness). Once the potatoes are fork tender, drain them and add 2 Tbsp butter and a cup of any of the following: cream, milk or sour cream. Today I used about half a cup of light cream (had it in the fridge), and filled in the rest with reduced fat sour cream. Use more liquid if you like your mashed potatoes creamier. Mash it all together, then mix in the wilted kale (and cheese if using).

For the Stout Cupcakes: I made regular chocolate cake mix, replacing the required water with Guinness. Then I added 1.5 oz (one shot) of Irish Cream liqueur to a tub of regular vanilla frosting. I think this would have been even better with a buttercream or cream cheese frosting, but I already had a tub of vanilla I needed to use. As it was, it was great. I like to put the frosting into a zip-loc bag, cut the corner, and pipe the frosting on so I can pile it up better. Green sprinkles on top, of course.

To round your St. Patrick's Day meal, you should include some Irish whiskey of course. Choose your favorite - Paddy's, Jameson, Tullamore Dew, whatever you like. Drink it neat, or add a couple of ice cubes and swirl. Just whatever you do, stay away from that Bushmills stuff - it's Protestant whiskey.

Grill Time! Peach-Barbecue Pork

Daylight Savings Time started today...so I thought it was a perfect night to grill. Since it was also a Cobb Symphony weekend, I was playing a concert most of the afternoon. So, I made up a new marinade and left the pork loin to get flavor-licious while I was gone. I called Hal on the way home, and he threw it on the grill. By the time I got home, we had an awesome meal, all ready to go.

It was the easiest marinade I've done in a while! Only 3 ingredients: barbecue sauce (whatever you have), peach nectar (I bought a single can for $1 in the international section at Kroger), and hot sauce (whatever you have). If you feel like making homemade barbecue sauce to have on hand, I highly recommend the Neely's version. It's great on ribs.

I just mixed the 3 to taste, and make enough to cover the pork loin in a zipper bag (don't forget to take the tough membrane off the pork first). Cook the pork to 160 degrees - remember pork can still be pink inside if it's the right temperature. The meat went really well with instant mashed potatoes (flavored with dried rosemary) and some fruit. I finally felt like summer was on the way!

KILLER Shepherd's Pie

After a lovely peek at spring last weekend, today was colder, wet and nasty again. So what's for dinner? Shepherd's pie of course. It's warm and comfy, and very easy. Today I used a mixture of ground beef and ground pork since that's what I had. I've also used lamb (traditional). Notes: fattier meats will need to be drained, less flavorful meats (like the lamb) work better if you increase the garlic or black pepper. My Shepherd's Pie is full of awesomeness because I know a secret. (psst - here's the secret: you make the gravy with beer instead of water. you're welcome.) You will need:

ground meat - about a pound
onion - about half of a large one, chopped
garlic - about 4 cloves, chopped
mushrooms - about half a pound
brown gravy mix packets - 2 of the 0.87 oz size
beer - 2 bottles (an ale or dark lager works best)
frozen peas and/or carrots
salt and freshly ground pepper
shredded cheddar cheese (if you want) - about 2 handfuls
chopped fresh parsley if you happen to have some
instant mashed potatoes

Here's how easy this is: open one of the beers, and drink it while you're cooking. Preheat oven to 375. Brown the ground meat with the garlic, onions and mushrooms in the pan. While this is cooking, make the instant mashed potatoes and set aside. Once the meat is done, add the gravy packets and the other beer (1.5 cups, or a full 12-oz bottle), then the frozen peas/carrots. Simmer for a few minutes until the gravy is thickened and well mixed. Add salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste, then the few handfuls of cheese if you want (no need to melt, they'll do that in the oven). Pour the mixture into a baking dish - I find an 8x8 works fine. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top, then sprinkle on the parsley if you have it. Bake for 15 minutes. And THAT IS IT.