I'm having the girls over for Bunko, tonight, and it's a St. Patrick's Day theme. (Of course!)
I made corned beef and cabbage casserole, mashed potatoes colcannon, and a citrus Irish whiskey punch.
Corned Beef and Cabbage Casserole
In a large pot, combine 1 pound of cooked elbow macaroni with butter and two 8 oz packages of shredded Swiss cheese. (And a splash of heavy cream, if desired.)
Saute chopped large onion and two cloves of garlic in butter and add to the pot.
Saute thinly sliced carrots in butter and add to the pot.
Saute half of a head of cabbage (chopped) in butter, until tender, and add to the pot.
Lightly fry corned beef (brisket or two 12 ounce cans) in butter and add to the pot.
Stir until blended well.
Season to taste. (Pepper, cayenne, or anything that sounds good to you.)
Pour in buttered casserole dish, cover with another 8 oz package of shredded Swiss cheese, and bake at 350 degrees until it starts to bubble.
Serve.
Mashed Potatoes Colcannon
Make mashed potatoes in your favorite way.
Cook spinach and/or kale and mix into the mashed potatoes.
Serve
Citrus Irish Whiskey Punch
Equal amounts of Irish whiskey and strong black tea.
Add fruit juice of choice, to taste. (lemonade and/or orange juice)
Add clear soda of choice, to taste. (7up, Sprite, etc.)
Add bitters, to taste.
Add sugar, to taste, if desired.
Float slices of citrus fruits in punch. (lemon, lime, orange)
In case any members are still searching for the perfect recipe for Irish Coffee to make on Friday an expert has stepped forward to offer guidance.
This particular expert has sterling credentials which include having actually been in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day and had 7 Irish coffees which apparently contributed to a heightened awareness of what was going on.
Should you choose this recipe it seems to be quite important to make sure you use Demerara sugar for the syrup.
The lead-up to the big day was not without a few snafus.
Taoiseach Kenny announced in front of his American official hosts that he had received the invitation to the White House just after the "election of President Bush.":oops:
President Trump recalled an Irish proverb:
“As we stand together with our Irish friends, I’m reminded of an Irish proverb — and this is a good one, this is one I like, I’ve heard it for many, many years and I love it,” Trump said. “Always remember to forget the friends that proved untrue, but never forget to remember those that have stuck by you.”
Unfortunately, this proverb, provided in briefing materials from the NSC, is not known in Ireland and provoked quite a flurry of activity on Twitter.
I'm a political junkie who reads about politics for several hours per day. I sure hate seeing it here, though. This is where I come to get away from it...
The corned beef is in the crock pot, the potatoes and cabbage are steaming and the Mickey's are on ice. Maybe not so traditional, but it's our tradition and it is all good!
So this year I decided to make a bigger effort and instead of normal Irish scones to go with a Martha Stewart version that added red pears, cheddar cheese and honey.
For the last several days I have been watching the pears to make sure they would be just perfectly ripe.
So I make the scones and leave them to cool so they can be cut in half and the other ingredients added.
Great plan right!
Except the scones never got to cool--they disappeared.
There are few things I feel certain about in this world but this is one of them.
Music in Ireland is infinitely better than the food (although the ingredients are excellent, the method of preparation is not).
If you can listen to more than one or two bars of an Irish melody and not be affected by the music, you are missing out on a great experience.
Food preparation has come a long way since the days of the old joke that described a good meal as a boiled egg and a pint but there are still "areas of opportunity."
I feel safe saying this since it is an online forum but self-preservation would make me more circumspect in other settings.:lol:
