Irish Foods in Abundance

Check out all the stuff we got for Easter!  My father-in-law arrived at our house on Easter Sunday with a shopping basket full of treats for our family. The best part was that, unlike all of the Easter goodies from egg hunts and other activities, this time, most of the treats were for me. Porridge, honey, preserves, lemon curd, gravy mix, mint sauce, mustard, flapjacks, a few types of tea and more, with just a little bit of candy thrown in for good measure. 

Paddy was also kind enough to bring some cooked lamb, against my advice (I had told him we would have PLENTY of food - famous last words).  I was glad he didn't listen because our small group was quick to devour all of the lamb along with an entire 3 pound Irish boiling bacon.  It was the first Holiday in many years where we had no leftovers. It was also the first time that I prepared the Irish bacon from start to finish, although admittedly, there's nothing to it. 

All you need to do is open the package, place the bacon in a large pot and cover it with cold water. I added bay leaves, peppercorns, garlic and a little sugar (per Paddy's instructions).  Then you bring the water to a boil.  Once it comes to a rolling boil, turn the heat down and simmer the bacon for about 40 minutes per pound.  That's it. The best part, except for the deliciousness of the bacon, is that you don't need to turn on the oven. Or, in the case of a holiday, you can use your oven for roasting potatoes or warming up other sides.

I happen to know that cooked bacon travels well too.  The reason I've never made one before is because Paddy usually cooks one at his house and brings it over, still warm, wrapped in foil. 

Emmett, who just turned 5, has finally started to come out of his toddler, picky-eating phase and declared that, although the bacon was his favorite part of the meal, he was excited by the discovery that he now also likes roasted potatoes and lemon cake! I know, I know, neither of those things are particularly nutritious, but I'm happy to see his recent willingness to try new things. I've been telling myself for years now that he will not live off carbs and sugar alone for the rest of his life.  And, it may have been the potatoes and lemon cake that led him to try the soup last night which helped him to make the determination that he now likes carrots. It's like food-aversion dominoes at our house lately. I love it! 

Lemon Sunshine Cake with lemon curd filing and whipped cream frosting. 

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.  We cannot wait for it to start to feel like spring around here! 

Jam Steamed Pudding

There are a lot of things we can learn from our kids.  A WORLD of lessons. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how they are motivated by so many of the same things adults are.  Yet, they lack the self-consciousness to hide their desires, what makes them happy, or the gravity felt over small, everyday disappointments. This can teach us a lot about how we interact with all of the people in our lives, big and small.

On birthdays while we eat cake, we talk about the ways in which the birthday boy or girl grew that year.  Each person at the table tells the birthday girl/boy something they like about them. Since Emmett’s birthday was at the end of February, his experience hearing all of the things his family members love about him is fresh.  And he reminds me all the time of how much he enjoyed hearing those things. Which, in turn, reminds me that I should spend a lot more time telling the people I care about it what I like about them. So that’s a late arrival to the New Year’s Resolution list.

Although I could do better in this regard, and I intend to, I already do one thing to express how I feel about my family and friends. I cook for them. This particular recipe, much loved by Paul and the kids, is just that sort of thing. It’s the taste equivalent of a warm hug. All comfort and simplicity.  

I’ve taken a recipe by Rachel Allen (also featured here and here) and adapted it to the pressure cooker so that’s it’s easy enough to whip up on a weeknight. Although, if I’m being honest, I never have the energy to make scratch desserts on a weeknight - which is probably not a bad thing.

Jam Steamed Pudding

Adapted from Rachel Allen’s book Bake, serves 10-12*

*I actually halved this recipe which feeds six adults or 4 adults and 3 littles

• 7 ounces of butter, room temp
• 7 ounces of sugar
• Zest of one lemon
• 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 9 ounces all purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk (or milk with one teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice left on the counter for 15 minutes)
• 4 ounces of jam of your choice (Rachel uses raspberry, I used strawberry because that’s what the kids like best)

Prepare a heatproof container that fits into your pressure cooker by spraying with cooking spray. I used a glass pyrex bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter, sugar and zest together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add vanilla and eggs to the butter-sugar mixture one at at time until thoroughly combined.

Add dry ingredients to the egg-butter-sugar mixture until just combined.

Gently stir in buttermilk.

Add jam to the bottom of your prepared bowl.

Pour batter over jam (batter is very thick and stiff, this worried me, but it was all good, Rachel knows what she’s doing).

Fold a long piece of foil in thirds and place under your bowl.  This will serve as a handle for you to lift the pudding out of your pressure cooker when once it is done.

Place the steamer insert into your pressure cooker and pour 2-3 cups of boiling water into the bottom of the cooker.  

Using your foil handle, slowly lower the bowl into the cooker.

Close the lid, leaving the valve open, set the cooker to simmer and set a timer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, close the valve on the cooker, and cook for 35 minutes at high pressure, letting the pressure reduce naturally at the end of cooking.

Once the pressure has gone down.  Open the lid of the cooker and carefully lift the pudding out, using your foil handles.

Allow pudding to rest about 10 minutes before inverting onto a plate.

Serve with generous lashings custard.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! 

What are you doing to celebrate? It's funny to me because growing up in Colorado, I don't remember St. Patrick's Day being a big deal like it is in Chicago.  But now, in our neighborhood, so many people host parties, there is a big parade and so many other Saint Patrick's related festivities.

Every year we go to a friends' party here on the Northwest side of Chicago.  It's always a big event with trolleys that take you from the party site to the parade.  We haven't made it to the parade for the past few years because of the weather, nap schedules or both, but we intend to start going in the coming years.

We usually spend a little time in Long Grove checking out what Paddy's on the Square and the rest of the town have going on for the Holiday. Last weekend, they had live music at Paddy's which was incredible, but not topped by the 45 minutes spent arranging doorstops (pictured below). 

Then we go home and eat corned beef with cabbage, parsley sauce, brown bread and have a cup of tea with something sweet.  And without fail, every year, we vow to do a better job of wearing green to represent both our Irish heritage and the stores.  

This year, St. Patrick's day falls on a Saturday, so we are definitely going to be spending some time at the Irish Heritage Center's St. Patrick's Festival. I've already informed the kids that if they want to go, they have to help their dad and uncle, so we'll see how that goes. More information on the festival and the Heritage Center can be found here. 

In terms of St. Patrick's Day recipes, there are more than a few I'd like to try but here are some from around the web to keep in mind for next year's festivities:

Irish Coffee Cupcakes.  I would eat these any day, for any occasion. (My birthday is May 6th in case you have your calendar handy).

Pan Boxty.  These Irish potato cakes look delicious.  I would love these with eggs and bacon for breakfast.

Guinness-Glazed Lamb Chops.  Why didn't I think of this? These would make an incredible, and different St. Patrick's Day entree. Fancy too!

Shepherd's Pie from My Irish Table.  I've cooked from this beautiful book on a few occasions (posted about here) and just love it. This recipe might be next. 

Whatever you are eating, I hope it's delicious and that you all have a fun, happy, and safe St. Patrick's Day weekend.