I'm not sure why Americans cannot seem to grasp that corned beef is NOT Irish, but it has to stop!
I have had people shocked that I don't like corned beef. They figure if you have Irish decent within you, then you should enjoy some corned beef. Sorry folks...that stuff makes me gag. But I can enjoy some serious potatoes!
However, when St. Paddy's Day rolled around, I have been searching for a recipe to fix that everyone will actually enjoy. Much of the meat eaten in Ireland is generally pork or lamb. I haven't found a lot of lamb around here, and we have a non-pork eater. So I had to revert to beef. Not corned beef, but a good brisket. I know beef is more rare, but I found this Irish-pub style orange beef recipe that I was hoping would go over. (recipe HERE)
You know what? We only had 2 slices of beef left...so the dog got to enjoy some St. Paddy's Day fare, too! I think I want to add a bottle of Irish ale to the liquid in the cooking process, next time, for an added layer of Irish flavor.
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I also made some colcannon for the first time! And I did mostly use this recipe, HERE, that I found. But I did change up a couple of things, so here's what I did with the colcannon:
IRISH COLCANNON
Ingredients:
3 lb Yukon or buttery potatoes (I found golden butter potatoes)
1/2 C cabbage slaw mix (mine included green cabbage, red cabbage & carrot)
1/4 C kale leaves, chopped or torn into pieces (I've also used turnip greens)
2 T dried chives
1 stick butter
1/4 C buttermilk
sea salt
white pepper
Directions:
~ Rinse & lightly scrub potatoes
~ Cut each potato into 6-8 cubed pieces - I left the skins on for texture & as a time-saver ( like the more rustic feel & look, anyway)
~ Place the pieces into a large pot, cover with water
~ Bring the water to a boil & then turn down to simmer until potatoes are tender
~ When potatoes are tender, drain the water & transfer potatoes to sprayed lazy cooker insert
~ Add the other ingredients to the potatoes in the lazy cooker, close the lid & set on high for about 2-4 hours
~ After 2-4 hours of cooking, lightly smash & stir the potato mixture until blended, but still chunky
~ Serve
I want to tell you that this has a taste like a loaded baked potato. Just add some bacon bits & cheese...and BOOM! Loaded smashed potatoes! These were a total hit! I was SO happy with how it turned out.
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I also offered up some slaw. I have tried to modify a tried & true sweet slaw recipe...but it never turned out quite right.
Since we were having some family over to enjoy the meal, I decided to have 2 slaws on hand. We found a great KFC copycat recipe on Pinterest (recipe HERE), and I have since handed it over to my daughter to make. She does a GREAT job with it!
But I know there's a mustard-dill slaw that is very Irish. So I found a very workable slaw recipe (HERE) to make a non-sweet slaw. And I did make my own modifications, plus I didn't need as much as the recipe called for.
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| Sweet KFC copycat slaw, above; mustard-dill-vinegar slaw, below |
MUSTARD DILL VINEGAR SLAW
Ingredients:
1 bag cabbage slaw mix
1/8 C minced onion
2 T garlic powder
3/4 C Miracle Whip with olive oil
1/4 C French's honey dijon mustard
1/4 C distilled white vinegar
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
3 T white wine vinegar
3 T buttermilk
1/4 t sea salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1/8 t celery seed
2 T dried dill weed
Directions:
~ In a large bowl (preferably with a tight lid), place all ingredients except the slaw mix, stir well
~ Add in the slaw mix to the bowl
~ If you have a lid for the bowl, close the lid & shake it up very well
~ If you do not have a lid for your bowl, mix with a large spoon very well & then cover with foil or plastic wrap
~ place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving...but is better if done a day before
~ Serve
I placed my slaw in a great pottery dish that I used for my Irish Bread & Butter Pudding (recipe HERE). It was actually very good! If you do not like a sweet slaw...try this one!! It has pretty good bite to it, too!
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I was truly disappointed that I did not have time to make traditional Irish soda bread. Something had to be cut when I tried to make some oatmeal cookies. Something went horribly wrong with the cookie recipe, apparently, and they melted all over the inside of the oven. I had to stop baking operations to cool & clean the oven, so it cut into times to get food done. I was bummed!
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| Irish Cream Apple Cake & Erin's Lush Pie |
However, I had to make dessert! So I did my Irish-inspired apple cake (recipe HERE) & the glaze (recipe HERE) to go with it. But I, also, wanted to make my mom's tried & true St. Patrick's Day dessert go-to. I've seen it listed places as Pistachio Pudding Dessert (or something along those lines), but I grew up with it being called Erin's Lush. However...I had no time to bake the crust. So...I cheated it a bit & made it into a pie!
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| Slice of Irish Cream Apple Cake & a slice of Erin's Lush Pie |
ERIN'S LUSH PIE
Ingredients:
1 large pre-made graham cracker crust
2 small packages pistachio pudding mix
2 C Irish Cream Creamer
1 8 oz cream cheese brick, softened
1 8 oz tub whipped topping, divided
1 C powdered sugar
2 T crushed pistachio nuts, divided
1 T almonds sliced
Directions:
~ In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar & 1 C of the whipped topping together
~ along the bottom of the graham cracker crust, sprinkle about 1/2 of the crushed pistachio nuts
~ Carefully spread about 1/2 - 3/4 of the cream cheese mixture, evenly, on the bottom of the crust (if some of the nuts get mixed with the cream cheese mixture, it is fine)
~ In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk both pistachio pudding mixes & the Irish cream creamer well, for about 2 minutes
~ Carefully add the pudding mixture on top of the cream cheese layer in the graham crust
~ Add what is left of the whipped topping with what is left of the unused cream cheese mixture & blend together
~ Carefully spread the whipped topping mixture on top of the pudding layer in the pie crust
~ Take the almond slices & what is left of the crushed pistachio nuts & evenly sprinkle on top of the whipped topping layer
~ Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving to allow to fully set
~ Serve
This pie is so decadent & fantastic! I did use pistachio nuts because of the pudding & they are green in color. I also used almond slices because they are my favorite. You can also use pecans &/or walnuts, instead.
This was SO good! And so easy!
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Some of the 21 & over aged kids did enjoy some Irish Ale from Boulevard, too.
I hope this has inspired your future Irish meals. Open your minds a bit & know you don't have to eat green potatoes with corned beef & cabbage to be considered an Irish meal.
I have a few other things that are Irish or Irish-inspired, HERE, also.
ENJOY!
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