St. Patrick’s Day Feast

My parents skipped having their annual party this year so I had to make my own Irish food. I had just read an article about a new Irish cookbook which included a few recipes and decided to make a mix of those and my mother’s recipes. I thought it was all delicious and so did my guests so here are the recipes:

Corned Beef & Cabbage
– 4 lbs corned beef brisket
– 4 medium onions, chopped
– 4 large carrots, chopped
– 1 12 oz beer
– 1 tbsp brown sugar
– 2 cubes beef bouillon
– 4 whole black peppercorns or 1/8 tsp cracked pepper
– 1 clove garlic, minced
– 1 bay leaf and some parsley stalks, tied together
– 1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed
– packet of seasonings that come with corned beef
– 1 cabbage

Put everything but the cabbage into a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring gently to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Discard the outer leaves of the cabbage, cut into quarters, then thirds, and add to the pot. Cook for a further 1 to 2 hours. Remove the bay leaf and parsley stalks before serving.

Colcannon
– 3 lbs russet or other floury potatoes, peeled
– 8 tbsp butter
– 3 lightly packed cups chopped kale
– 1 1/2 cups milk
– 5 scallions, green part only, minced
– salt and pepper

Put potatoes in a large pot, with the larger ones on the bottom, and add water to come halfway up the potatoes. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. When the water begins to boil, carefully drain off about half of it, then return the pot to the heat, cover it again, reduce the heat to low, and let the potatoes steam for about 40 minutes. Melt 4 tbsp of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the kale and cook until just wilted, about 5 minutes. Combine the milk, scallions, and remaining butter in a medium pot, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for about 2 minutes, then add the kale and stir in well. Drain and cut the potatoes. Add the greens and their liquid and mash until smooth, leaving a few small lumps in the potatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Irish Soda Bread
– 4 cups flour
– 3 tbsp sugar
– 1 tbsp baking powder
– 1 tsp salt
– 3/4 tsp baking soda
– 6 tbsp butter
– 1 1/2 cups raisins
– 1 tbsp caraway seeds
– 2 eggs (optional: reserve 1 tbsp to brush on before baking)
– 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs and buttermilk. Mix together dry ingredients separately. Add dry ingredients to wet, and mix only until flour is wet. Do not over mix. Knead dough 10 strokes, no more. Form into ball and place in a greased 2 qt casserole. Cut an X 1/4″ deep in top and brush with reserved egg if desired. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 10 minutes and remove from casserole.

Irish Potatoes
– 2 lbs confectioners sugar
– 7 oz coconut
– 1 tsp vanilla
– 8 oz cream cheese
– 8 tbsp butter
– 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
– cinnamon

Cream together butter, cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Mix in coconut. Slowly add confectioners sugar. Mix in vanilla. Chill for a couple of hours. Form into small balls and roll in cinnamon. Continue to refrigerate until serving.