Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category
This is the time of year that I really start cooking with my Irish heritage in mind. I tend to start getting out my Irish, Scottish, and Celtic cookbooks and start perusing looking for new and different recipes that I have not tried yet. My husband was the first in his family born in America. Both his parents were from Ireland. I myself am an American melting pot. My father’s family was from Holland, though both his parents were born here, first generation Americans. My mother’s family on the other hand, has been in the states since before they were even states. I have ancestors from my mom’s side that hail from Germany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Holland, and I believe there was someone from Switzerland as well. So with my own ancestry involved, my kids are needless to say, very Irish. I have always felt it important to relay to my boys, where they came from. I feel that history is important. For us, cooking is also part of our history and our heritage.
I do usually go the route that many other American’s take when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day. We have corned beef and cabbage with boiled potatoes and carrots. I make my own soda bread. Which, by the way, is excellent toasted the next day or so, and liberally spread with Kerrygold butter and preserves or lemon curd. But as I said, about a month before St. Patty’s Day, I just start cooking Irish. Shepherd’s pie, Irish stew, Porter cake, soda bread, potato leek soup, traditional Irish spiced beef to name a few.
This year, given that the Great Guinness Toast will be this weekend, Feb. 18, 2011, I decided that this was the year I was going to try my own Guinness Beef Stew. I viewed a few recipes and then made it my own. Here is what I came up with:
Guinness Beef Stew:
2 cups Guinness
1 garlic clove smashed
2 bay leaves
24 hours before starting the stew, marinate the beef cubes in the refrigerator with the above ingredients in a bag or non-reactive container. (For those that are shy, don’t marinate the meat, and just proceed with the rest of the recipe.)
When you are ready to begin, drain off the marinade and discard the garlic and bay leaves.
1 onion chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
1 large leek, white part only, chopped or sliced
Butter
Sweat the vegetables in a deep cast iron skillet or Dutch oven for about 5-7 mins.
Remove and set aside.
Coat the beef cubes in 1\2 cup flour and 2 tsp. black pepper. Add some more butter to the pan and brown the meat. Remove meat.
Deglaze the pan with 2 cups of fresh Guinness.
Now either put the all above ingredients into a crock pot or continue on your stove top in your cast iron Dutch oven.
Add 2-3 cups homemade beef stock, 2 cans of beef broth, OR 2 cups boiling water with 2 beef bullion cubes. (I prefer homemade stock)
Add:
A handful or more baby carrots
2 parsnips, peeled and cut up
1 medium turnip, peeled and cubed
A Bouquet garni (tied cheese cloth ball) of 3 sprigs fresh parsley, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 bay leaf, and 8-10 black pepper corns)
Mushrooms(optional)
Bring to a boil on the stove top, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 1 1\2 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.
(If using a Crock Pot, about 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.)
Before serving add a Tbsp. of corn starch mixed with some cold water…to thicken.
Serve with mashed or boiled potatoes and fresh Irish soda bread. Regular butter is great but Kerrygold is even better!
Classic Irish Soda Bread:
4 cups flour
1 1\2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking SODA
2 cups buttermilk (milk with tablespoon or 2 lemon juice…let it sit & curdle a minute before you add it to flour mixture)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease an 8″ cast iron skillet. In large bowl toss together dry ingredients. Add buttermilk…stir briskly with fork til dough forms together in a rough mass. Knead on a liberally floured surface for about 30 secs. Pat into a 8″ round about 1 1\2 thick (mine is always thicker than that) Slash a large 1\4″ deep cross across the top. Place in cast iron skillet & bake 45-50 mins.until nicely browned and the cross has spread open. Transfer to a rack to cool, then wrap in a slightly damp tea towel and let it rest for 8 hours.
As life goes on I still seem to learn new things all the time. I had no idea that there was such a thing as a Maryland pork shoulder dinner. I’ve heard of Maryland crab cakes before, but never specifically a Maryland pork shoulder dinner. I mean, being of Irish decent I have heard of New England boiled dinners, (corned beef and cabbage usually). I’ve had 2 different regional forms of clam chowder. I’ve been to New England clam bakes. I’ve had Pennsylvania Dutch shoo fly pie. Through traveling I have now had Low Country Boil and Great Lakes Boils. I’ve had salmon smoked on cedar planks. I’ve had jambalaya, gumbo, gator, and Cajun style deep fried turkey. But I have never partaken in any Maryland fare besides crab cakes.
So apparently you start with a smoked pork shoulder , about 1 1\2 to 2 lbs.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1\4 tsp. salt
1 1\2 c milk
1 Tbsp. flour
1 smoked pork shoulder butt
Grease a 10″-14″ cast iron Dutch oven (or a 9″ X 13″ glass dish) with 1 tsp. of the butter.
Place your cubed potatoes in the Dutch oven. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, salt and pepper
into the milk. Pour this mixture over your potatoes. Dot the top with the remaining butter.
Cut the pork into 1\4″ slices and place a single layer of meat over the potatoes.
Cover with Dutch oven lid (or foil if using glass),
and bake for 1\2 an hour.
Remove lid, and bake for an additional 45 mins. or until potatoes are tender.
I would love to hear of any other regional specific recipes, if anyone would like to share.
I love to cook new things and love doing regional and heritage specific recipes.
Please feel free to send some along!!!
We love it when our friend’s give us new recipes to try out or share with others. This recipe is from Mike aka. Krittor. His wife made the name, but the recipe was passed down from Grandma Krittor.
These would be great tailgating or just on the Brinkmann grill in the back yard. Goes well with fish , pork , chickens and beef!
Take 4 nice baking tators. Use a Phillips screwdriver and punch about 20 holes in each ( a fork won’t give a big enough hole )
Put tators in a zip lock bag.
Slice 2 cloves of garlic put them in the bag.
Take 2 bottles of dark beer. (Pour 1 or 2 in bag. Depends on the size of the tators.)
Let set over night or at least 4 hours.
Take tators out of the bag and strain the beer (Don’t throw the beer away!) Take the garlic and tator, wrap in bacon then wrap in foil.
If baking them on a grill use indirect heat. If in the oven bake at 375 degrees F. Bake until soft about 40 to 50 mins. then unwrap. Take bacon off and bake for about 4 to 6 more mins.
That’s the tators -
Here’s the best topping ever!
Take and chop up the bacon. Take 1 cup of the left over beer and 1 cup sour cream. Whisk together. Take 8 green olives, dice them and the garlic. Whisk them in.
Now you’ve you got a Krittor Krazy Baked Tators.
Doesn’t need salt, pepper, or butter!
I know that you should not drink alcohol and cook at the same time, especially when using a turkey fryer and hot oil. But when the cooking is all done, you, the cook, can let party time begin.
Tailgating is all about, friends, good times, good food, and great football, races, or even music. Alcohol, for adults, is fine in moderation at any of these functions. There is never any need to overindulge. Because then what is the point of even going. 9 times out of 10, if you are that inebriated, you won’t remember a thing and will probably ruin many other peoples’ day.
Beer and tailgate parties go hand in hand. Not everyone is a beer drinker though. Flavored vodkas are quite the rage now, and can make some very interesting, yet refreshing drinks. One of the newer ones recently added to the mixocolgy menu is bacon flavored vodka. For all of the meat lovers and bacon lovers in the world, Bakon Vodka, I would like to salute you. A bacon flavored bloody Mary just sounds completely awesome. I know that many other concoctions can be made with this savory flavored vodka, but how great is this? Besides, I have always found savory drinks to go better with grilled and smoked meats than sweet and fruity drinks.
There are many recipes that can be found on their site at bakonvodka.com. One that I would like to share from their site, was created by Desiree Holmes, from Chicago.
The Greek Martini
• 2 parts Bakon Vodka
• 1 part pepperoncini Juice
• one pepperoncini
• dash of pepper
• splash of Clamato juice.
Desiree, may I just say, that that drink sounds awesome & I plan on trying it as soon as I get my local liquor store to carry Bakon Vodka.
Here’s hoping that you are a Bears fan, and have made this drink for your friends tailgating on the blacktop.
If bacon is your thing, and you like to drink vodka occasionally, go to the Bakon Vodka site and find a location near you that carries this delectable drink.
Have you ever gone to a diner and ordered home fries with your breakfast? How often were they just awful, blah, plain, fried, cut up potatoes? The thing that bothers me most about that, is that it doesn’t take much to make good home fries. Cut up an onion with it. Cut up some green pepper. Add some spices or seasonings.
Here is a quick and easy version that you can make at home.
1\4 cup plus one Tbsp. olive oil
3 potatoes, cut into 1″ pieces
Coarse salt
2 onions, sliced into rings (sprinkle with a little bit of sugar)
1\2 tsp. smoked paprika
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley(optional)
Heat 3 Tbsp. of the oil in a large cast iron skillet.
Cook potatoes, covered for 5 mins.
Season with salt.
Add remaining oil and the sliced onions.
Stir. Reduce heat, cover and cook for another 5 mins.
Uncover and fry, tossing often, until onions and potatoes begin to brown. About 8 mins.
Sprinkle with smoked paprika, and cook for about another 8 mins.
Remove. Sprinkle with parsley, salt, and pepper.
A very decadent snack food that is becoming more popular is the deep fried candy bar. It not only sounds decadent, it tastes decadent too. You can use any kind of candy bar you like. You can take lrger bars and cut them into bite sized pieces, you can use fun size bars, or you can go for the total gluttony and do a whole bar.
Typically you can go with your own dough or batter. In a pinch you can use pre-made pizza dough or tubed crescent dough.
One homemade dough mix recipe follows:
Measure 1 cup self-rising flour into a bowl, and whisk in half cup of soda water to make the batter Adding more of the soda water if the consistency is too thick; you want this just thick enough to adhere easily to the candy bar. The best way to check is to turn a candy bar in it; if the batter sticks well enough, it’s fine.
Another batter recipe:
1 cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Mix flour, salt, and water until smooth, cover, and let stand at room temperature 20 to 30 minutes. Stir baking powder into batter. Coat candy bars.
In the mean time, heat the frying oil in your deep fryer. When it comes up to temperature, 350-375 degrees F. place your candy bars in the fryer basket. Fry for about 3 mins. or til golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve.
This cranberry nut bread recipe has been a Christmas tradition in our house for years. We bake it in a cast iron cookware preferably a loaf pan. Chill, slice and serve Christmas morning with cream cheese.
2 cups sifted flour
1 cup sugar
11/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp grated orange rind
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1 cup yelow raisins
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. Cut in shorteninguntil mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Combine OJ and rind with beaten egg. Pour all at once into dry ingredients, mixing just enough to dampen. Carefully fold in chopped nuts and fruits. Spoon into 9x5x3 loaf pan. Spread corners and sides slightly higher than center. Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour. (clean toothpick and golden crust) Remove from pan and cool. Refridgerate overnight before slicing.
This bread is so good. I really love it on C
hristmas morning. My mom always made this and I continue the tradition. It is especially good served with a little cream cheese.
Some foods are considered to be lucky to eat at the coming of the new year. So while you are tailgating at one of the many New Years Day games why not add some good fortune for yourselves and your team for the coming year? 
Lentils as well as other beans, like black eyed peas and black beans, are considered good fortune or luck for the coming year. Italians consider the fact that lentils look like little coins and swell when you cook them signifying increased fortune for the coming year.
Many cultures enjoy pork on New Years signifying wealth and prosperity. Cuba, Austria, Spain, Portugal all consider pork a lucky food. The Germans consider pork eaten on New Years as a form of progress, eaten in the form of roast pork or sausages and sometimes combined with beans or lentils in the mix.
Cooked greens are also good fortune…obviously because money is green. Many cultures eat cooked greens on New Years for this reason. In the southern United States it is usually collard greens, The Danes eat kale, 
Germans eat sauerkraut. Supposedly the more greens you eat, the greater your fortune in the upcoming year.
So take your turkey fryer or outdoor patio stove and stock pot with you to the game and make up a big pot of lentils or lentil soup. Better yet lentils and sausages. Or make some pork and sauerkraut for the game.
Whatever lucky food you decide to make on New Years Day at the game, I’m sure the warm food on a chilly day will be a welcome treat.
Lentils and Sausage:
| 1 lb | hot italian sausage |
| 1 lg | onion, chopped |
| 1 | stalk celery, chopped |
| 1 bag | baby carrots |
| 8 cups | chicken broth |
| 2 14 oz can(s) | diced tomatoes, undrained |
| 2 clove | garlic, minced |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| 2 c | dry green lentils, rinsed |
| 3/4 tsp | black pepper |
| 1/2 tsp | red pepper flakes |
| 1/2 tsp | dried oregano |
| 1/2 tsp | dried thyme |
| 1 | bay leaf |
| 1/2 c | parmesan cheese, freshly grated |
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.
This recipe will serve about 10 so if you have a large tailgate crowd, adjust for size.
Whether you deep fried your bird in a turkey fryer, roasted it on the grill or in the oven, or just had ham instead, we mostly all have more Thanksgiving leftovers than anyone ever knows what to do with. Especially before we are so sick of turkey, we don’t want it for another whole year. Forget Christmas…we’re having beef for Christmas. Anyway, it’s time to let the leftovers commence.
I always have to have at least one turkey sandwich out of my leftovers. White bread or roll, sliced turkey, mayo, Swiss cheese and lettuce. I don’t know why…but that is just the way it is. When I get sliced deli turkey…I never put Swiss cheese and lettuce with it. Only sliced leftover turkey.
Then our family tradition of hot open turkey sandwiches, but with freshly made waffles instead of bread or toast.
One great thing to do with your turkey fryer, after the frying oil has cooled, been filtered and funneled back into its container; clean out the stock pot, fill it with water and your left over turkey carcass. It is called a stock pot for a reason. To make stock with. It doesn’t matter how meticulous you are at carving the bird and cleaning the remnants, there is still a ton of meat left on that bird. Throw it in a stockpot, cover with water, add an onion, remove the center of a head of 
celery: leaves and all, throw it in the water, turn it on, and cook it down for an hour or two. Drain out the broth you’ve made, and when cool, pick through and remove the meat from the bones. Now you are halfway to turkey soup. When you’re ready, put the stock and broth in a slow cooker, add carrots, another fresh onion, a few potatoes, maybe some cut up celery, cook until the veggies are tender. (If you have left over turkey and gravy that you’re not sure what to do with, go ahead and through it in. It just adds to the flavor. You can even put leftover mashed potatoes in if you like. They make a great thickening agent, more like turkey stew than soup). If you’d like, cook some barley or ditalini pasta on the side and add it at the end.Separate leftover soup into smaller batches and freeze for a really cold day in the winter.
If soup isn’t your thing, how about a turkey pot pie? Make some pie crust and fit into a pie pan, or go and buy a pre-made crust or two. You can cook down some fresh veggies, or buy a can of mixed vegetables, mix with your leftover turkey and gravy. Fill the pie crust. Cover with mashed potatoes or another pie crust, or both. As I said before, mashed potatoes are a great thickening agent, so if you prefer you can add the mash right into the turkey and gravy mix before filling the crust. Cover and freeze for a later date or have for dinner.
Some people like to go the turkey salad way. That does not go over at my house.
I actually made a turkey and a ham this year. We have a recipe at our house that is an old Irish recipe, geared more toward St. Stephen’s Day; the day after Christmas.
St. Stephen’s Day Stew
2 lbs. cold turkey, cut up
1 lb ham, cut up
1\4 stick of butter
1 1\2 cup chopped onion
8 oz. package of fresh mushrooms
4 cups well flavored turkey stock or 2 3\4 cup stock and 1 1\4 cup turkey gravy
3\4 cup cream
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped chives
2 tsp fresh marjoram or tarragon if available
roux
12 fresh cooked potatoes
salt and pepper
Melt butter in a large cast iron skillet that has a lid.
Add the chopped onions, cover and sweat for about 10 mins. or until soft but not browned.
Remove from pan. Add mushrooms,(sliced if you like). Cook over a brisk heat. Season with salt and pepper, add to the onions on the side. Toss the turkey and ham adding a little extra butter if necessary. Now take that out and add to the mushrooms and onions. Deglaze the pan with the turkey stock. Pour into a slow cooker. Add the cream and chopped herbs. Bring to a boil then thicken with the roux. Add the meat, mushrooms, and onions back to the pot. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary. Peel the freshly boiled potatoes and place on top. Let the brew fully heat through and serve when hot.
No matter what your leftover preferences, you can have the leftover turkey now, or freeze and have it later. There is no need to make yourself sick over the matter. Good luck, and hopefully you will be deep frying or roasting another bird come Christmas Day.