An Irish Feast

Since the Smiley's have come from Ireland I decided to treat ourselves to a really Irish meal this St. Patrick's day. Too bad Matt wasn't home to enjoy it with us - He's out of town this week for some training.

This was the best corned beef recipe I have ever made and will continue to make it this way in the future. I followed the directions exactly except I cooked mine in the crockpot for 8 hours. I served it with colcannon, carrots and Irish soda bread.



Guinness Corned beef

INGREDIENTS

4 pounds corned beef brisket
1 cup brown sugar
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle Irish stout beer (e.g. Guinness®)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Rinse the beef completely and pat dry.


2. Place the brisket on rack in a roasting pan or Dutch oven. Rub the brown sugar on the corned beef to coat entire beef, including the bottom. Pour the bottle of stout beer around, and gently over the beef to wet the sugar.


3. Cover, and place in preheated oven. Bake for 2 1/2 hours. Allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Colcannon was something I never even heard of before but I really liked this recipe. The boys weren't as thrilled about it but they aren't big fans of cabbage.

Colcannon

INGREDIENTS
• 1 pound cabbage
• 1 pound potatoes
• 2 leeks
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch ground mace
• 1/2 cup butter

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large saucepan, boil cabbage until tender; remove and chop or blend well. Set aside and keep warm. Boil potatoes until tender. Remove from heat and drain.
2. Chop leeks, green parts as well as white, and simmer them in just enough milk to cover, until they are soft.
3. Season and mash potatoes well. Stir in cooked leeks and milk. Blend in the kale or cabbage and heat until the whole is a pale green fluff. Make a well in the center and pour in the melted butter. Mix well.

There are several Irish Soda bread recipes but I chose this one because it was baked in a cast iron skillet and I love to use my cast iron when ever I can.

Grandpa McAndrew's Irish Soda Bread

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups all-purpose flour


• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda


• 2 tablespoons white sugar


• 1/2 cup raisins


• 1 egg, beaten


• 1 cup buttermilk


• 2 tablespoons margarine, melted
  

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a cast iron skillet.


2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and sugar. Toss the raisins with the flour mixture until coated. Make a well in the center and add the egg, buttermilk, and melted margarine. Stir until all of the dry ingredients are absorbed. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for a few quick turns just to even out the dough. Handle the dough as little as possible. Pat into a flat circle, and place into the prepared pan.


3. Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are golden.