Kiss me! I’m (pretending to be) Irish!

We managed to sneak in a full-fledged Irish dinner on Tuesday before Momma had to dash out the door to her quilting class. Hubby wasn’t there for our familial celebration, alas, but the babysitter seemed to enjoy it.

(To John’s credit, he pulled in the driveway as I was leaving. Babysitter Megan was just covering for him until he arrived. This is our “quilting night arrangement.”)

Corned beef and cabbage is very easy to make. Have you tried it? No? You must. All I did was boil the corned beef for 30 minutes (to reduce its saltiness) with half the contents of the little spice pack that comes with it.

Then I popped it in my new Dutch oven (which I love) and drizzled it with olive oil. I added a handful of carrots, (peeled and chopped) and a handful of onions (also peeled and chopped in large sections so the kids can avoid them). A little salt and pepper, a couple pats of butter, and into the oven it went.

I cooked mine for about 3 ½ hours at 325 degrees and it was so very good—crispy on the outside and very tender on the inside.

Oh, and I added the cabbage about an hour and 1/2 into the baking. You don’t want mushy cabbage.

You know.

* * * * * * *

The second recipe I got from my sister that very afternoon. I phoned her up to see how she was preparing her corned beef & cabbage, (because I just knew she’d be making corned beef & cabbage), and she told me about this funky Irish side dish they were having.

“It’s in the new Centennial Cookbook that I’m editing for our parish,” she said. It’s called ‘Thumblededore’ or ‘Dumblededoop’ or something like that.”

She was close. : )

Rumbledethumps is actually its Scottish name. In England, this dish is known as Bubble and Squeak; in Ireland, colcannon.

The names didn’t much matter to my kids, although they did like saying “Bubble and Squeak.” Even more than that, they liked eating it.

Here’s the recipe:

Rumbledethumps

1 pound potatoes
1 pound cabbage (about 1/2 head)
4 tablespoons butter
1 onion chopped
3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon chopped chives or parsley
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Peel, boil and mash your potatoes. Set aside.

Chop or shred your cabbage. (You choose! It’s a free country.)
Melt the butter in large skillet or frying pan and
sauté your cabbage and chopped onion
until they are soft.

Add the cabbage to your bowl of mashed potatoes.
Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Turn into a buttered ovenproof dish, sprinkle with grated cheese,
and brown under broiler or bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Garnish with chives or parsley and serve!

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Curried Beef

(As shared by Sweet Shivaun)

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. lean ground beef
• 1 chopped sweet onion
• a few chopped fresh garlic cloves
• 1 lb. of sliced carrots
• 4 to 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut up stew-style
• 2-3 heaping tablespoons of curry powder (Shivaun says that the Indian Madras type is the best)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• salt to taste / soy sauce to taste if you like
• a squirt of ketchup, or a chopped tomato, or a dollop of tomato sauce
• Water
• 1 can coconut milk or coconut cream
• A dash of lemon or limejuice if you like (lemongrass would be really good, too, if you have it)

Brown the ground beef in a large sauté pan. When it is almost done cooking, add the garlic and onions and sauté until soft. (Don’t overcook the garlic.) Add the curry powder and mix well.

Drop in your carrots and potatoes. Add water to almost completely (but not quite) cover the food. Add the sugar, salt, and ketchup and simmer for 25 minutes or so, covered with a tilted lid so steam can escape, until carrots and potatoes are done.

Add coconut milk and lemon juice before serving and warm throughout.

Serve over rice.

*You could also throw everything above into a crock-pot and cook it all day. Just leave out the coconut milk until shortly before serving so that it doesn't curdle.

Cathie B.’s Unbelievable Beef Stew

The ultimate in comfort food, this stew is even better when the recipe is doubled or even tripled and shared with a friend in need.

The following proportions serves 6 to 8.

• 3 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 3 T. vegetable oil
• 2 medium to large onions, chopped coarse
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 T. flour
• 1 C. full-bodied red wine
• 2 C. chicken stock or broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 6 small boiling potatoes, peeled and halved
• 4 large carrots, peeled and slice ¼ inch thick
• 1 C. frozen peas, thawed
• ¼ C. minced fresh parsley, if desired

1. Heat oven to 250 degrees. Place beef cubes in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Heat 2 T. of oil over medium high heat in large soup kettle; add beef to kettle in two separate batches. Brown meat on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch, adding remaining tablespoon of oil if needed. Remove meat and set aside.

2. Add onions to now empty kettle; sauté until almost softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic; continue to sauté about 30 seconds longer. Stir in flour; cook until lightly colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine, scraping up any browned bits that may have stuck to kettle. Add stock, bay leaves and thyme; bring to simmer. Add meat; return to simmer. Cover and place in oven; simmer in oven for 1 hour.

3. Bask in the delicious smells that are now beginning to fill your home.

4. Remove kettle from oven. Add potatoes and carrots, cover and return to oven. Simmer until meat is just tender, 1-½ hours to 2 hours. Remove stew from oven.

5. Add peas and allow to stand 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and add more salt & pepper to taste.

6. Enjoy! Say a prayer for Cathie B. and her family while you’re at it.

Crock-Pot Chicken Indonesian

In honor of Barbara's Crock Pot Festival, I have dug out one of my favorite Fall entrées: this crock pot dish that came with one of Leanne Ely’s Saving Dinner menu mailers.

It was one of her “recipe raves”, for good reason. I make this dish often, especially on school nights when I need supper to be fast & easy. How about you, friend? Do you like supper to be fast & easy on a school night?

Then this crock pot recipe is your friend.

I like cooking with chicken thighs now & then; they’re moist, meaty and a pleasant change from the ubiquitous boneless, skinless breast.

Trust me, this dish is delicious. Thank you, LeAnn! And thank you, Barbara, for hosting!

• 12 skinless chicken thighs
• 3 T. soy sauce
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½ T. grated fresh ginger root
• 3 tsp. sesame oil
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/3 C. peanut butter

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and cayenne. Place your chicken in the crockpot and spoon sauce over the top of it. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or until chicken is tender and fully cooked. Remove chicken from the crock pot and stir peanut butter into the juices until smooth. Spoon sauce over chicken to serve.

Serve with rice and a side of veggies.

Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole

This delicious, family-friendly casserole was first made for us by my friend Tina.

I asked for the recipe the next day.

3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
16 oz. sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup (cream of mushroom will work in a pinch, of course, or cream of onion)
chicken broth
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
1-2 T. poppy seeds
1 stick butter

Cook your chicken and cut into bite-size pieces. Place it in the bottom of a lightly-sprayed 9x13 casserole dish. Mix sour cream, soup, 1 T. poppy seeds and enough chicken broth to make it soupy. Season generously with salt, white pepper, garlic powder, Adobo seasoning…whatever you fancy. Pour this mixture over the chicken.

Crush the crackers and sprinkle over the chicken mixture. Melt your butter and pour over the crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Take out 5 minutes early and sprinkle with additional tablespoon of poppy seeds. Finish baking and serve with rice, a green veggie and a loaf of crusty bread.

My Father's Famous Sauce Bolognaise

This one will win you raves across the globe! Trust me, as I have tested it out in NYC (where my employer, on her way out to a fancy Manhattan restaurant, stopped by my simmering sauce pan for a taste. She had three helpings and cancelled her reservation!) and in France, where my friend's uncle took a spoonful and exclaimed, "C'est bon!" The fact that he was visibly surprised left me torn: am I flattered or annoyed?

It is really good, and the best thing about it is that you can (and I almost always do) start with a jar of store-bought spaghetti sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I like Ragu and Prego. Paying more for those fancy brands hasn't been worth it, in my opinion.)
• 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef
• lots of chopped onion (the size of your dice depends upon your audience)
• some minced garlic if you like
• 1 generous tablespoonful of sugar (to taste)
• 1 generous tablespoonful of red wine (or, if you prefer, balsamic vinegar)
• lots of flaky green herbs like basil and oregano (again, you add as much as you like) as well as a good bit of garlic powder if you didn't go with the fresh garlic at the beginning of the recipe.

1. Start by browning your meat and onion. Toss in some italian sausage if you have it on hand.

2. Add the minced garlic at the end of the browning process. Burnt garlic is no good.

3. Add your sauce. Bring it to a boil to heat through and then turn the heat down. It can simmer while you make the rest of the meal.

4. Oh, and at some point add the rest of the ingredients. I usually add them right away but find that I need to perk up the flavor of the herbs once more before serving.

How easy is that? Let me know if this works out for you, or if you have other pointers I'd be happy to hear them!