St. Patrick's Day Dinner & Dessert

Cheers to St. Patrick's Day!

Traditional & Some Not So Traditional!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients:

• 1 (3-pound) corned beef brisket (uncooked) in brine and most come with a seasoning packet

• 16 cups beef broth or cold water

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 teaspoons black peppercorns

• 4 whole allspice berries

• 2 whole cloves

• 1 head green cabbage (about 2lbs)

  cut into thick wedges

• 8 small - halved potatoes (Red New, Idaho or Yukon Gold - about 1 lbs.)

• 1 bag small baby carrots

• 1 large onion, thinly sliced

• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. (Crockpot: cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the beef is tender.)

2. Prep: Place the corned beef in a colander in the sink and rinse well under cold running water. 

3. Cooking:

   Dutch oven or large pot with a lid: Place the corned beef in, and add beef broth or water, bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice, and cloves. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and skim off any stuff that rises to the surface. Cover and transfer pan to the oven, and braise until very tender, about 3-4 hours. Transfer corned beef onto a sheet foil and wrap it up to keep warm. Add cabbage, potatoes, carrots and onion into the cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. 

   Crockpot with a lid: Place the corned beef in and add beef broth or water, bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice, and cloves, seasoning package, then lay cabbage, potatoes, carrots and onion on top. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until beef is tender.

4. Serving: Once done use a slotted spoon and large fork to transfer corned beef to a cutting board and slice across the grain of the meat into thin slices. Lay the slices on a large serving platter and with slotted spoon surround it with cabbage, *potatoes and carrots. Ladle some of the hot juices over the corned beef and serve immediately with the mustard or horseradish sauce. (Mustards: Dejon, Sweet Hot, Stone Ground, Whole-grain)

Shamrock Pesto Rolls:

You only need 3 ingredients to make this St. Pat's

appetizer: puff pastry, pesto and an egg.

Roll out a sheet of thawed puff pastry into a 12-by-14-inch rectangle on a floured surface and cut a 1/2-inch-thick strip from one long

side for the stems.

Spread pesto on the rest of the pastry, then roll both long sides toward each other until they meet in the middle. Cut the log into 1/2-inch-thick slices and pinch the bottom of each slice to form a heart shape. Arrange three hearts together on a parchment-lined baking sheet to create a shamrock shape, use beaten egg to "glue" the sides together. Cut the reserved strip of dough into stems; lightly press onto the shamrocks and brush the stems with beaten egg. Bake at 400°F for 10-15 minutes.

Make Corned Beef Hash with the leftovers for Breakfast the next day:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups roughly chopped potatoes (leftover from Corned Beef and Cabbage dish)

• 2 cups diced leftover corned beef

• 1/4 cup corned beef cooking juice or beef broth (use chicken in a pinch)

• 1 medium yellow onion, grated

• 1 garlic clove, mashed with a fork

• 1 tablespoon of your favorite mustard

• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

• Pinch of nutmeg

• Lawry's Garlic salt & Fresh ground black pepper

• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 1/4 cup plus a 1 tablespoon of butter

Preparation:

In large bowl, add 1 cup of the potatoes and mash with a fork. Add the

remaining 1 cup of potatoes, corned beef, cooking liquid, onion, garlic, mustard, thyme,

and nutmeg. Season generously with pepper and mix well. Store in the refrigerator

overnight.

Remove the hash mixture from the refrigerator and stir in the parsley. Heat 1/4 cup butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the foaming subsides, add the hash mixture and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Using the spatula and press the mixture down to the edge of the skillet. Cook, shaking the skillet occasionally, for 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking, moving the skillet occasionally, until the underside is browned and crusty, about 6 minutes more.

To flip the hash onto serving plate: set the serving plate (about the size of the skillet) serving side down on top of the skillet. Invert skillet & serving plate so the hash falls on to the plate in intact like you would with a cake. Set aside for a minute. Heat the remaining 1

tablespoon of butter and when the foaming subsides, slide the hash into the skillet cooked-side

up. Cook and shaking the skillet occasionally, for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and

cook, shaking the skillet occasionally, until the underside is browned and crispy, about 5

minutes more. Set aside covered with foil to keep warm.

Make eggs your favorite way (or see skillet *poached below). Divide hash among serving plates and top with eggs. Serve warm and Enjoy!

*For skillet poached eggs: While the corned beef hash is cooking, add 4 cups cold water and 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar and a dash of garlic salt in a large skillet and bring to a slow simmer. Crack an eggs into separate cup or ramekin and carefully slide the egg into the skillet and cook, (repeat for however many eggs you need) spinning eggs occasionally with a spoon, until firm, about 3 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove and egg and wipe the bottom of the spoon with a thick pad of paper towels to remove excess water and serve over hash.

Corned Beef Cabbage Grilled Cheese

Ingredients: (2 sandwiches)

• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, plus more if needed

• 1 small onion, thinly sliced

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• Lawry's garlic salt and freshly ground pepper

• 3/4 cup dark beer (preferably porter)

• 2 ounces corned beef, cut into strips

• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tablespoon your favorite mustard

• 1 1/2 cups grated Jarlsberg cheese (about 6 oz)

• 4 slices marble rye bread

• 1/2 cup sauerkraut (drained & rinsed)

Preparation:

Melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sprinkle with sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add beer and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and the liquid is slightly syrupy, about 8 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the corned beef, Worcestershire sauce

and mustard.

Divide the cheese between 2 sandwiches; on 1 slice of each sandwich place half the cheese and top with the corned beef mixture, sauerkraut and remaining half of the cheese. Close the sandwiches with the remaining bread slices.

Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the

sandwiches and cook, pressing occasionally with a spatula, until the bread is toasted

and the cheese melts, about 4 minutes per side, adding more butter to the pan if needs it.

Drinks & Desserts

Homemade Irish Cream Cocktail

Irish cream is delicious by itself over ice, but you can also use little in an espresso martini or add it to a cup of coffee, especially iced coffee.

Ingredients: 

(3 cups)

• 1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder

• 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 whole vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

• 1 cup Irish whiskey

Preparation:

In a small pot, whisk together the espresso powder, cocoa powder, vanilla bean seeds, and

cream. Add the vanilla bean pod to the mixture and bring to a bare simmer over low heat.

Remove from the heat and set aside to steep for 30 minutes.

Remove the vanilla bean pod from the mixture and either use a emulsifier or transfer to a blender. Add the sweetened condensed milk and Irish whiskey and blend for 30 seconds. Serve or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.

Irish Cream Mocktail

Ingredients: 

• ¼ cup milk

• ¼ cup cream

• 2 tbsp chocolate syrup

• 2 tsp espresso, chilled

• ¼ tsp vanilla extract

• dash almond extract

Instructions

1. Add milk, cream, chocolate syrup, espresso, vanilla extract and almond extract to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well for 10-15 seconds until the outside of the shaker is frosted. 

2. Pour into a cocktail glass filled and Enjoy!

Potato Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients: 

1 large russet potato (about 12 ounces)

2 Tbsp. salted butter, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

6 cups powdered sugar, plus more for

dusting

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, at room

temperature

Preparation:

1. Use a fork to prick the potato all over. Place on a microwave-safe plate and microwave until easily pierced with a paring knife, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating halfway through. If the potato is still too firm, continue to cook in 1-minute increments. Cut the potato in half and let cool until easy enough to handle, about 5 minutes. Scoop out the flesh and mash in a medium bowl until smooth. Measure ½ cup mashed potato and reserve the rest for another use.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (you can also use an electric mixer with 1 paddle on low), beat butter, vanilla, and potato on medium-low speed until well combined. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until well combined and a dough forms. Stop adding powdered sugar when the dough becomes the texture of molding clay, like Play-Doh (depending on how moist the potato is, this can be between 4 to 6 cups powdered sugar).

3. Place a large sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper on a work surface and lightly dust with powdered sugar. Roll out the potato cookie dough to a 12x10-inch rectangle, about ¼-inch thick, dusting the top with powdered sugar if it becomes sticky.

4. Spread peanut butter in an even layer over cookie dough, then roll both long sides tightly toward each other until they meet in the middle; gently peel away the waxed paper as you roll. Wrap the log in waxed paper, twisting the ends closed, and freeze until very firm, at least 30-45 minutes.

5. Place the cookie dough log on a work surface, remove the waxed paper and cut the log into 1/2 inch thick slices and pinch the bottom of each slice to form a heart shape. Arrange 3 hearts together to create a shamrock or 4 hearts for 4-leaf clover.