from my kitchen- Irish Soda Bread

St Patty's Day had always been a special day for our family, if there isn't a party then we'll usually find one or go to the parade or a street festival. This year, Bill, Mom and I are going down to Charlotte to my cousin Jeanmarie and  her husband Hans house for a  party. 


Did you all know that I was actually supposed to be born on St Patty's Day, but I came early? 


Anyway,  when I spoke to my cousin last night we agreed that my contribution to the party would be the Irish Soda bread. You know how I love to bake, and I have such a good recipe anyway, why wouldn't I? Hans will be cooking the corned beef and cabbage, Irish beers will be flowing as this adult only party. 


I'd decided to share my recipe for Irish Soda bread with all of you so that you can have it in advance of the holiday. Try it, you'll like it very much it's the best I've ever tried. 


And if your looking for the recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage, go visit my friend Liz over at A NUT IN A NUTSHELL, since apparently great minds think alike!
celtic symbol attribution

      Irish Soda Bread

INGREDIENTS:

4 c sifted flour
1 1/2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 c sugar
1 c raisins (or cranberries for a nice change)
2 tbsp melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1 tbsp caraway seeds

DIRECTIONS:

Mix dry ingredients. Mix butter, eggs and buttermilk. Stir into dry ingredients. Use a 2 qt pan (like a pyrex) because it works the best  since this batter is rather moist. (it may be necessary to add more flour). Don't forget to put the cross on top with a knife..

 Bake at 350 degrees for 1.25 hours.

from my kitchen- shepard's pie

My brother Gerard and I have an on going feud about an extremely important issue...for us Irish people, how we like our potatoes! He likes them whipped, I like them mashed. Whipped are WAY to creamy for my taste, kinda pasty if you ask me. You just can't properly make one of those neat little gravy pools in whipped potatoes, so what's the point I ask?

Mashed potatoes on the other hand are firm, they taste like they are one of the vegetables on the plate not soup! They are in my opinion mountains of white goodness with gravy or even plain of course plain's good I like them plain.

Are you a mashed or a whipped person?  We disagree all the time about lots of things like meatballs, you can read about it HERE so don't worry it's all in good fun, let us know!

I have another reason for going on and on about potatoes . Actually today I have this super fantastic recipe for Shepard's Pie. If you're familiar with Shepard's Pie you know one of the primary ingredients is "mashed" potatoes. And if you're ever wondered what to do with your left over spuds this is a it!

We had this very meal last night for dinner and it is yummy!

SHEPARD'S PIE  

Ingredients

o    1 tablespoon olive oil

o    1 teaspoon black pepper

o    1 1/4 lb ground beef

o    1 large onions, finely diced

o    3 -4 large carrots, finely diced

o    1/2 cup frozen peas

o    3 -4 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped

o    2 tablespoons flour

o    2 tablespoon butter

o    3/4 cup red wine

o    2 tablespoons tomato paste

o    2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

o    1 cup beef stock

o    1 large quantity mashed potatoes ( 4 cups or more, fresh or leftover)

o    1 eggs, beaten

 

Directions

1.    Pre-heat oven to 200C/400°F.

2.    Sauté carrots in the olive oil until starting to get tender.

3.    Add in the onions and sauté for a minute or two then add the meat.

4.    Season with black pepper and thyme.

5.    Cook until browned then drain fat. I poured the mixture in a colander. 

6.    Add the butter to pan, melt then put meat back and peas to the meat mixture.

7.    Sprinkle with flour and stir through.

8.    Add tomato paste, wine and Worcestershire sauce.

9.    Let this reduce slightly then add the beef stock. Allow to reduce down until you have thick meaty gravy. Season to your taste.

10.  Remove from heat. Grease an oven proof dish (9x13 or an oval baker) pour in meat mixture.

11.  Spoon or pipe the mashed potatoes over top  then brush with egg.

12. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the potato is nice and browned on top.

sharing gifts at christmastime- a guest post & cookies

There is no sweeter gift during the holidays then being with family and friends; so when my blog friend Melissa asked me to do a guest post over at blog her blog MaMe Musings I jumped at the chance. She is a great person, a wife and mother of twins Drew and Emily and I know if you visit you'll just love her, her blog and her wonderful sense of humor. 


Writing this post for her and getting a chance to meet new people is such a big treat for me.Today I get to share some what goes on at Christmastime with my family and friends. So please pop over and say hi and show Melissa and I some love.

And speaking of sweeter....the recipe I'm sharing with you today is one of my favorite holiday treats. Not only are they fun to make but they are yummy to eat. A big plus is they keep for as long as a week so those of you who'd like to be baking and are short of time and crazy busy ( sound familiar ) then you might want to try these out. I promise you'll love them!

Christmas Sugar Cookies   

Ingredients

·         3 c. all-purpose flour

·         3/4 tsp. baking powder

·         1/4 tsp salt

·         1 c. unsalted butter, softened

·         1 c.sugar

·         1 egg, beaten

·         1 tbsp. milk

·         Powdered sugar, for rolling 

Directions

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If the dough has warmed during rolling you can place it back in the fridge for 10 minutes to chill.

 Cut into desired shape,( I usually do rounds) place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. (I even stack two with a little cut out filled with jam and nuts for a little extra something something during the holidays.)

 Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or ice as desired. These cookies will store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

 Did you come visit me and read my guest post? Don't forget!


 And enjoy the cookies, they're the best.

decorating, shopping and packing oh my!

I'm going to NY for Thanksgiving and after that a weeks vacation so there's a ton of stuff to be done before or there won't be time when I get back.


Needless to say.....

My house is currently littered with boxes of Christmas decorations, crazy right? I have never in my life put up Christmas decorations before the tenth of December. Doing it before Thanksgiving is something department stores do! There getting out of hand by the way have you noticed? Christmas was up before Halloween this year in some stores, really they need to get a grip.

We did last minute thing today like refilling our prescriptions; you know your getting old when that's on your to do list before a trip. Gift card for the cat sitter, cat food so our roommates get fed while we're gone, extension cords for decorating- they seem to disappear like socks in the dryer in this house, and buying sun tan lotion for our Barbados trip. I will not even go into how much I need this vacation after the long summer I had with my leg wound. 

But we do what we have to do and I'm running out of days before I leave to be with my New York family on Tuesday. Of course there are sacrifices, I can't spend Thanksgiving with my children, but work schedules don't allow that anyway.

And my Godson and nieces are expecting my for some good ole fashioned baking! Isn't it great when kids enjoy the simple pleasures?

There will be pies, pumpkin, and most likely apple and pumpkin roll and on Thanksgiving Day home made rolls. These rolls from scratch only take and hour and are yummy. Believe me when I tell you, roll making is  an art form here in the south.   I got the recipe below from my friend Susan whose family has been here in the south forever. They've simplified another family recipe so that it's easier for those days when you're in a rush or you just would rather be with your loved ones and not in the kitchen.

Why not try it out this Thanksgiving? They have never failed for me!

SIXTY MINUTE ROLLS

2 pkg of yeast

1 tbsp sugar to 4 tbsp (depending on the level of sweetness you like, I like the least amount)

1 1/2 c. milk (warm)

1/4 c. butter, melted

4 c. flour 

1tsp. salt 

In a large mixing bowl, add yeast and sugar to warm milk, to dissolve yeast. Let stand for 15 minutes. Mix the dry ingredients together to the milk mixture along with the melted butter. Mix well. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes in a warm place. Form 24 rolls, each the size of an egg ( you can make them bigger if you want).Place them on a greased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

I'll be checking in after Tuesday and thru Friday and might squeeze in one more post by Thanksgiving  but I'll  be taking a break from blogging while I'm in Barbados, ya think!

So, just in case I don't get another chance to say it, I hope everyone of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving;  may it be filled with Gods blessings, bounties of food and wine and plenty of togetherness with those you love.

Gotta go pack!

from my kitchen - home made pizza

To think last week end we were walking around Washington DC and the weather was beautiful, spring like even! Today one week later it is cool and nasty out, last night it dipped down into the thirties here. In some parts of Northern Virginia today they say...SNOW! wow.

So what to do?

I say make home made dough, fire up the kitchen's oven, break out the pizza stone and make some pizza!

There is NOTHING better then the aroma of fresh dough rising in the kitchen on a cold rainy day, let me tell you! It brings back wonderful memories of my grandparents. Have I every mentioned that my Popa was a baker and that Nana loved to bake pies and bread after he passed?

It is one of my fondest memories of childhood. Mmmm, I can close my eyes and just conjure up that smell in my brain and the feel of the dough  and my grandmothers hands in mine teaching me how to kneed and work the dough.

But now things have changed. I have my trusty Kitchen-aid mixer with dough hook to do most of my work for me! All I have to do is choose the right flour ( King Arthur Flour- my personal preference and I have not been compensated for the shout out to the King ) and make sure I add the right amount of water, yeast and salt and in the right order. The amount of flour when it comes down to it really is a feel thing I might add...

from my kitchen - salad recipe- bean, corn and avocado

Today is a beautiful day here in Virginia, it's still grilling weather....for now. The other day not so much then it was a soup day. When the weather gets crazy I spend more time than I should thinking about food. Today's obsession was this avocado I had in the basket on my cutting board in the kitchen. I had to plan an entire meal around the darn thing; really I did. I know I'm crazy! But I didn't want to make Mexican, so I had to get creative.

As promised,  I'm sharing the recipe and a picture for my blog readers.I'm going to try to do more blogging about food and cooking, it really is something that's a part of me, something I enjoy. Whether I'm organized enough is another story! As far as this recipe is concerned, I think it goes well with burgers, chicken, whatever your grilling really! And it's simple as anything, just some simple chopping, opening of a can or two. I hope you'll try it. We're having it tonight with these neat little barbecue meatball's that I make and some rice. Yum!

Bean-Corn and Avocado Salad

Bean Corn and Avocado Salad


1 (15 oz.) can cannellini, rinsed and drained ( any beans can be used)

3 ears corn, cut from the cob or 1 c. frozen corn

½ c. red onion chopped

1 /2 red  or orange  pepper, chopped

1 avocado, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced (optional)

2 cups chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned

zest from 1 lime or lemon

1 1/2 limes or lemon, juiced

1 tablespoon cilantro or parsley, chopped

½ c. olive oil

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

-from my kitchen- cream of spinach soup

Every once and a while I hit a home run with a recipe that my Mom just loves. Here's one that she raved about the first time I made it for her a few weeks ago on a rainy day. I thought I'd share it. So I decided to  make it again and take some pictures and share it on this blog. Be aware it is far from low calorie due to the butter and the half and half, however if you serve it with some nice crusty bread and a wonderful salad I think it's worth it- and spinach is good for you remember!!

CREAM OF SPINACH SOUP

INGREDIENTS

2 cups chopped fresh spinach - packed - (or 1 10-oz package frozen spinach, thawed)

1 cup chopped onion

·         1/4 cup butter

·         3 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered (about 1 pound)

·         3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)

·         2 cups half-and-half

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/8 teaspoon pepper

·         3/4 cup sour cream

·          

·         Optional: chopped chives and/or ground allspice for garnish

·          

·        METHOD

·         In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion in butter for 3 minutes or until limp.

     Add potatoes, chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

     Add spinach and cook for 2 to 4 minutes longer until spinach is tender.

·         

·         Working in batches, purée soup mixture in a blender – return to sauce pan or you may use an immersion blender.  Whisk in half-and-half, salt and pepper.

·         

·         Over low heat, bring to just before simmering. Whisk in the sour cream. You may want to use an immersion blender to get the sour cream fully incorporated. 

·          

·         This soup can be served hot or chilled.

yummy !

·          

·         Enjoy!

·         Serves 6 to 8.

·          

-from my kitchen- well isn't that special

Is there something special that you just love about your kitchen? A favorite appliance, your wallpaper or curtains? I don't know about you but I spend a good amount of my day in my kitchen. It's my domain, I know every little inch of it. The fridge, stove and sink all remain in their original places I just added some touches- a cutting board counter-top, accessories and lighting added-all in the right places. 

When we bought our house 25 years ago it came with a little bonus, well maybe it's not so little..... it's a wood stove from Ireland. I have upon occasion cooked on it- even baked in it and I have most certainly heated my house with it.This thing turns out awesome home made pizza by the way. 

One Christmas for six long days without electricity due to and ice storm we used the stove to heat our home.  We hosted our neighbors who had small children, no heat and no other place to go. Add to the mix our large family and what we had was one of the most memorable Christmas's in my memory. We actually baked a large turkey dinner with all the trimmings using that stove.

For many days candles and lamps gleaming as if we were from another time, bedrooms overflowing with blow-up beds- sleeping bags everyone staying warm and cozy. Amongst the board games and card games, memories were made as the adults watched the kids play with their Christmas gifts- no electronics, no TV. Even with all the inconveniences-and there were many- it may have been on of my favorite Christmas's ever.

As a former New Yorker I have come to understand the "country life"and the ways of the south. I used to view the stove as a bit of a beast in the middle of my house. I've come to respect and appreciate it- it's grown on me, it's just a little something that makes my kitchen special.

-from my kitchen- holy junk drawers batman

Starting the other day I have made this little deal with myself to take on these little projects in the house to get it in order before the southern heat sets in and we have to turn the central air on. For some reason when the summer heat comes mama doesn't get much done in the house. I happily dedicate my summer to the garden getting some time at the beach and spending some time with my family.

Anyway so far the den, my laundry/pantry room and the food shelves have been cleaned off and re-arranged.  The area going out to the garage where we keep the chest freezer is all spiffy and is ready for the new refrigerator that we ordered from Lowe's the other day. 

before

This brings me to my next project, do you have junk drawers in your kitchen? Believe it or not I have three. To put it lightly they are a mess and filled to the brim with all sorts of....how should I put this politely....crap, the pictures in this blog post show the before and after of just one of the three. True story- three weeks ago we had a birthday party for my mom, I had to use a votive candle on her cake, in all this mess I couldn't find the b'day candles and I know I had them in there somewhere.

So I lined up the three drawers, positioned the trash within arms reach and went to work on trying to make some headway on the madness.
I was a bit shocked to find a few things like.......

    1. the birthday candles- sorry mom!

    2. 11 decks of  playing cards

    3. 4 rolls of scotch tape and 3 rolls of packing tape- all partially used

after

    4. 4 nice wine corks and 5 bottle pour thingees  I didn't even know I had

    5. 4 cat flea treatments- the ones you put behind their necks-(those things are expensive!)

    6. 2 packs of gum that are a million years old.
    7. 4 ash trays- who smokes anymore anyway?
    8. an I-Pod nano
    9. enough 22 caliber ammo to make Dirty Harry dirtier.

It took a while but I got all three drawers done. I'm not really sure how long my efforts will last but at least for now I feel like I've accomplished something. 

  

-from my kitchen- a little italian

When I was a child my parents were always in the kitchen cooking up one thing or another. I don't remember ever hanging out watching everything they did or getting lessons from them. I often wonder if there's such a thing as a natural cook if there is then I'm one. I just like to cook by taste, sight, smell and even sound. I don't do anything fancy- at least I don't think so,  but I guess it helps that I enjoy doing it. I guess it doesn't hurt that like to entertain as well.

My younger brother is the same way, I should probably give him a shout out since we have upon occasion had a bit of sibling rivalry about a certain methods of cooking a particular thing. You can read about it here if you click on meatball wars  It's a post I did on my vacation blog we're on hawaiian time about our family vacation at our older brothers in Hawaii when we cooked an Italian night dinner together.

In the past few weeks I have gotten two separate requests from different friends who were doing cook books and wanted to include a few recipes of things that I cook regularly in them. If a friend wants a recipe, you know what I have to do? I have to cook whatever they want from scratch so that I can measure every ingredient and write it down for them.

Today I put together the actual recipe for Italian sauce and meatballs/ hot sausage. We're gonna eat it later with spaghetti and a salad. The left overs I usually freeze and it will go to my son who lives up in the city, and he'll do Italian night when the guys come over to watch sports. I would be remiss if I did not mention my son is an alumni of VCU and the basketball team from that University is going to the big dance....GO RAMS!!

Italian Sauce & Meatballs

SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

2- 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes (hunts) plus ¾ can of water

¼ cup olive oil

3 cloves fresh garlic whole

1tbsp. Parsley (dried- fresh if best)

½ tsp. Oregano (dried) if fresh basil is in season use that instead

1tsp salt

1tsp sugar

METHOD:

1.      Put oil in the bottom of a sauté pan ( not aluminum)

2.      Add garlic, be sure not to let it burn.

3.      Then add on can of tomatoes and ¾ can of water and all the spices

4.      Bring to a boil, then add the other can and reduce to a simmer.

5.      Cook for 1 ½ hours uncovered.

MEATBALLS

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup parmesan cheese

2 eggs beaten

1 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp parsley

2 lbs ground beef (you can use 1/3 part ground pork)

¾ cup plain bread crumbs

 olive oil for cooking

METHOD:

1.   Mix the first four ingredients in a large bowl.

2.      Then add the ground meat and blend them both well.

3.      Sprinkle the bread crumbs and mix them until they are full incorporated in the meat.

4.      Form the meatballs- they can be any size.

5.      Heat a frying pan with some oil and fry the meatballs so that they are browned- they do not have to be cooked fully thru. ( you will see pink, so  don’t worry)

6.      Add them to the sauce.

7.      This recipe makes 25 Forbes size meatballs, enjoy! Sauté hot or sweet Italian sausages and add to sauce .
      
     They'll be more recipes coming after this,  if you try this one please let me know what you think.