St. Patrick's Day Eve

It's that time of year again when everyone seems to be just a little Irish, even those who aren't. Yes, seems like just last week, we celebrated the new year, and now it's time for St. Patrick's Day. Believe it or not, there are those who don't celebrate it as a day remember a necessarily great person, but I'm not going to discuss politics here. (Maybe I should start a political blog, but being decidedly....well, wait, didn't I just say I wouldn't discuss politics? lol Sorry!)

Well, back to the food. Whether you celebrated March 17 as St. Patrick's Day or anti-St. Patrick's Day, my motto when it comes to good food is this: Let's eat! Today's offerings include Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage and Irish Mint Brownies. Enjoy!

Note: These recipes came from About.com, which has since split into several different channels on Dotdash.com. I know Jolinda Hackett (the vegetarian writer) seems to have retired; I haven't been able to track down the others posted here, something I'll try doing when I'm not trying to juggle a million things at once.

SWEET IRISH POTATO ROLLS

From About.com's Bread Breaking expert, Elizabeth Yetter, who wrote, "Sweet Irish potato rolls are made with mashed potatoes and the water you use to boil the potatoes. These rolls are soft, moist, and slightly sweet. They taste great with salty dinners, such as ham, and with most stews. The rolls can be made ahead of time, cooled, and frozen. This recipe for sweet Irish potato rolls makes 18 medium sized rolls."

Prep Time: 2 hours; Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 cup mashed potatoes

1 cup potato water

1 tbsp (2 pkg) active dry yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

5 cups bread flour, about

Preparation:

Melt stick of butter in small saucepan.

In large bowl, add mashed potatoes, potato water, and melted butter. Mix and let set until lukewarm.

Add yeast, sugar, salt and eggs to mixture. Stir well.

Stir in 2 cups bread flour. Let mixture sit for 15 minutes in warm place.

Stir down sponge and add enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough out onto floured board and knead until soft and smooth. Put dough in greased bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so that the top is also lightly greased. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until double in bulk.

Punch dough down. Turn out onto lightly floured board and knead out air bubbles. Divide and shape dough into 18 rolls. Put rolls on 2 greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled.

Bake rolls at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm or cold.

COLCANNON

Possibly from one of about.com's channels. Not sure, though. Whoever came up with this recipes wrote, "Leeks and bacon flavor this traditional Irish side dish recipe of mashed potatoes with cabbage."

Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 pounds russet potatoes

4 slices bacon

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 leek, rinsed and chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups shredded green cabbage

1/3 cup butter

1 cup hot milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. white pepper

Preparation:

Peel potatoes and cube. Place in saucepan and cover with cold water. Place on high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large saucepan until crisp and browned, turning often while cooking. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain; crumble. To drippings remaining in saucepan, add olive oil. Cook onion, garlic, and leeks until crisp tender, about 3-5 minutes. Then add cabbage, cover, and cook for 6-10 minutes until cabbage is tender.

When potatoes are cooked, drain and return potatoes to hot pot; shake over low heat for a few minutes to dry. Add butter and mash. Add milk and salt and pepper; beat until combined. Stir in bacon and cabbage mixture. Serve immediately, or place in serving dish and keep warm in 200 degrees F oven for 1 hour. Serves 6-8.

VEGETARIAN "BEEF" AND GUINNESS STEW

Jolinda Hackett is about.com's vegetarian cuisine guide. She wrote, "Beef and Guinness stew, an Irish pub favorite, gets a vegetarian makeover in this recipe, using seitan instead of beef to absorb all that rich stout flavor. Yum! The flavor of the beer is very strong in this recipe, so I've suggest using half the amount of Guinness and adding an equal amount of vegetable broth if you aren't a Guinness fan."

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

Approx 14 oz seitan, cut into thin strips

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp steak sauce

3 tbsp butter or margarine

1 onion, diced

3 ribs celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 medium potatoes chopped into 1 inch pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 12 oz bottles Guinness Stout OR 1 bottle plus 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1 tsp brown sugar (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Sautee seitan in olive oil and soy sauce until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat, add steak sauce and stir until seitan is lightly coated. Remove from heat and aside. In a large pot, sautee onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and garlic in butter or margarine for 3-5 minutes, or until onions are slightly soft. Reduce heat and slowly add Guinness, gently stirring to combine. Add flour, thyme, sugar, salt and pepper and stir well. Add seitan and allow stew to simmer until Guinness reduces and stew thickens, about 40-50 minutes.

Add more salt and pepper if desired and enjoy!

CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE TARTS

Linda Larsen runs about.com's Busy Cooks channel. Linda wrote, "I love this recipe for these individual little Corned Beef and Cabbage Tarts. The creamy cheese, crisp-tender cabbage and sweet red onion blend so well with the corned beef and the flaky pastry. You can omit the corned beef entirely for a nice vegetarian entree."

Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 55 minutes; Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 crust pastry recipe

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

1/4 large head red cabbage, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. honey

1/3 cup water

1 cup cooked cubed corned beef or ham

1 cup cubed Swiss or Havarti cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Prepare pie crust and divide dough into four pieces. Roll out each between waxed paper into 7" rounds. Fit each into a 4" tart ring, or simply put the crusts on two cookie sheets. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Saute onion in olive oil in a large skillet until soft. Then add cabbage, vinegar, honey, and water. Cover pan and simmer for 10 minutes, until cabbage is soft, stirring frequently. Then uncover pan and cook for 5-8 minutes longer on medium high heat, stirring frequently, until liquid is absorbed.

Divide half of the cabbage mixture evenly among the pastry circles, using about 1/2 cup for each. If you aren't using the tart rings, just mound the mixture in the center of the circles of pastry. Divide the corned beef evenly onto the cabbage mixture. Sprinkle with Gruyere cheese cubes and grated Parmesan cheese, and top with remaining cabbage mixture. Fold crust edges over the top of the cabbage mixture, pleating to form a ruffled edge. Bake tarts at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Remove tart rings and serve.

CROCKPOT CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE

Linda Larsen wrote, "For St. Patrick's Day or any cold winter day, this recipe for classic Corned Beef and Cabbage is delicious and super easy too."

Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 10 hours

Ingredients:

6 carrots, cut into chunks

2 onions, chopped

2-3 lb. corned beef brisket with seasoning packet

12 oz. can beer (non alcoholic is fine)

2 Tbsp. yellow mustard

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

8 wedges cabbage

Preparation:

In 4-6 quart crockpot, combine carrots and onions. Rinse corned beef under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place in crockpot and sprinkle with contents of seasoning mix. Pour beer over brisket and spread mustard on brisket. In small bowl mix brown sugar with water and pour over brisket. Cover crockpot and cook on low setting for 11-12 hours. Remove corned beef from crockpot and cover with foil to keep warm. Add cabbage wedges to vegetables and liquid in crockpot. Cover crockpot and cook on high for additional 30-40 minutes or until cabbage is crisp tender. To serve, cut corned beef across grain into thin slices. Remove vegetables from slow cooker with slotted spoon and serve with corned beef. Serve cooking juices over the food, if desired. Offer additional mustard on the side. 8 servings.

IRISH MINT BROWNIES

Linda Larsen wrote, "These fabulous brownies with a rich mint topping are perfect for St. Patrick's Day or anytime. I like to bake these brownies in a 9" round cake pan and cut it into wedges for a slightly fancier presentation." All I know is that they're yummy!

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. water

1/4 cup fudge ice cream topping

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tub vanilla ready to spread frosting

1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

Few drops green food coloring

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. cocoa

1-1/2 Tbsp. water

2 Tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In heavy saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and blend in fudge topping with wire whisk. Add sugar, beating well. Then add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa and mix well. Stir in 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips. Spray bottom of 9x9" square cake pan with baking spray containing flour. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until just set. Cool completely. In small bowl combine frosting, green food coloring, and mint extract and beat well until frosting is evenly colored. Spread over brownies in pan.

In medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and cocoa and mix with wire whisk. In microwave safe bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. butter and 1-1/2 Tbsp. water and microwave for 30-45 seconds until butter melts. Add to powdered sugar mixture and beat with wire whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla. You may need to add more water to reach a pouring consistency. Then carefully pour this frosting over the green frosting and gently spread to cover. Don't worry if some of the chocolate frosting mixes with the green frosting; that just looks pretty! Yields 16 brownies.