St. Paddy's Day Dinner

Top o' the morning tae ye! Since I'm part Irish, I have always embraced St. Paddy's Day. Our family started the tradition of a St. Paddy's Day dinner many years ago. Here are some of the recipes we love!

Beef, Guinness and Mushroom Pies!

Serves 6 (I usually double the recipe and make 2 large pies)


1 lb 12 oz braising beef, such as chuck, cut into 21/2 cm (1 inch) cubes 2 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
14 oz Baby Bella mushrooms, stems removed
10 1/2 fl oz beef stock
1 1/4 cup Guinness
2 teaspoons tomato paste (concentrated purée)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
13 oz block ready-made butter puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten


Preheat oven to 400ºF
Place the beef and flour in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Heat a little oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the beef, in batches, and cook until browned on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside

Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the mushroom and cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the beef, stock, Guinness, tomato paste, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce to the pan, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to very low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 or 2 hours or until beef is fork tender. Place in a deep pie dish and cool for 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry fit over the pie dish. Brush the rim with a little beaten egg, lay the pastry over and press to seal. Make a small slash in the pastry with a knife and brush with a little more beaten egg. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and puffed.

Beer Cheese Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. bacon
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 2 c. low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 c. whole milk
• 8 oz. Pale Ale
• 3 c. freshly shredded Cheddar
• kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp, 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to let drain, then crumble.
2. In a Dutch oven or large pot, add 1 Tablespoon of bacon fat and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and cook until soft, 6 minutes, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add flour and whisk until golden, 3 minutes, then add broth, milk, and beer and let simmer, 15 minutes.
3. Add cheese and stir until melted. Season generously with salt and pepper, then stir in most of the crumbled bacon.
4. Ladle soup into bowls and top with remaining bacon.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients
4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 Tbsp butter
1 cup raisins
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Method

1 Preheat oven to 425°. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.

2 Using your (clean) fingers (or two knives or a pastry cutter), work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then add in the raisins.

3 Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir. Dust hands with a little flour, then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in a little more flour. Do not over-knead! Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf. Note that the dough will be a little sticky, and quite shaggy (a little like a shortcake biscuit dough). You want to work it just enough so that the flour is just moistened and the dough just barely comes together. Shaggy is good. If you over-knead, the bread will end up tough.

4 Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet (it will flatten out a bit in the pan or on the baking sheet). Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an "X" shape. The purpose of the scoring is to help heat get into the center of the dough while it cooks. Transfer to oven and bake until bread is golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 35-45 minutes. (If you use a cast iron pan, it may take a little longer as it takes longer for the pan to heat up than a baking sheet.) Check for doneness also by inserting a long, thin skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, it's done.

Hint 1: If the top is getting too dark while baking, tent the bread with some aluminum foil.

Hint 2: If you use a cast iron skillet to cook the bread in the oven, be very careful when you take the pan out. It's easy to forget that the handle is extremely hot. Cool the handle with an ice cube, or put a pot holder over it.

Remove pan or sheet from oven, let bread sit in the pan or on the sheet for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool briefly. Serve bread warm, at room temperature, or sliced and toasted. Best when eaten warm and just baked.

Yield: Makes one loaf.

Apricot & Lemon Scones

(recipe adapted from Epicurious)

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup chopped dried apricots (about 4 1/2 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1 1/4 cups whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425°F. 

Mix 2 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Stir in apricots and 1 tablespoon lemon peel. Add whipping cream and stir just until dough forms. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently just until dough holds together. Form dough into 10-inch-diameter, 1/2-inch-thick round. Cut into 12 wedges.

Transfer wedges to large baking sheet, spacing evenly. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon peel in small bowl. Brush scones with melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar mixture. Bake scones until light golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool slightly. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Wrap in foil; store at room temperature.) Serve scones warm or at room temperature.