A fair Irish feast

Hibernian comfort foods heartily celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

In this image taken on February 18, 2013, traditional Irish coffee is served in glass mugs as shown in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
In this image taken on February 18, 2013, traditional Irish coffee is served in glass mugs as shown in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)

— When we think of Irish cuisine, four things come to mind immediately: beef, potatoes, Guinness and whiskey. We realize we’re stereotyping and our list may be offensive to some. But we’ll take a St. Patrick’s Day menu featuring those items over a mug of green beer any day.

Although many Americans celebrate St.Patrick’s Day by eating corned beef and cabbage, that dish is decidedly not Irish.

Open any Irish cookbook and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a recipe for corned beef. What you will find are plenty of other hearty beef dishes. And while we make no claim to our menu being authentic, we will stand by it being delicious.

Our menu:

Caramelized Onion and Guinness Dip

Potato-Leek Soup

Classic Braised Beef Brisket

Brown Soda Bread

Irish Coffee

Cheese and beer are tasty partners, even if wine usually gets all of the attention.

Here caramelized onions, sharp cheddar cheese and dark Guinness beer are combined for a tasty dip.

Caramelized Onion and Guinness Dip

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 large sweet onions, diced

1 cup cold Guinness

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

1 pound extra-sharp white cheddar cheese (preferably Irish), c

ubed Crackers, chips or bread, to serve

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and caramelized, about 30 minutes. If the onions begin to burn, add a tablespoon or 2 of water. Set the onions aside and allow to cool.

In a food processor, combine the cooled onions, Guinness, salt, pepper, cayenne and cheddar. Pulse until combined and smooth.

Serve with crackers, chips or bread. Also makes a great spread for a roast beef sandwich.

Recipe from Alison Ladman of The Associated Press

Potato-Leek Soup

2 tablespoons butter, Irish butter such as Kerrygold recommended

3 leeks, white part only, washed and sliced

1 onion, chopped

6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

6 cups vegetable broth

1 ¼ cups half-and-half

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

In a stockpot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat.

Add leeks and onion, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, but not browned, about 6 minutes.

Add the potatoes and broth, cover, and cook 35 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool 10 minutes. Puree soup until smooth using an immersion blender or in batches in a blender. Return to heat, whisk in the half-and-half and season with salt and pepper and cook until heated through. Serve garnished with parsley.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Recipe adapted from The Irish Pub Cookbook by Margaret Johnson

Classic Beef Brisket

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (3-pound) beef brisket

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 sprigs rosemary

2 sprigs thyme

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 quart beef stock

1 cup dry red wine

½ cup balsamic vinegar

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the salt, paprika, mustard and pepper. Rub the brisket all over with the spice mix.

In a large heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the brisket and brown evenly on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the brisket to an oven-safe baking dish just large enough to hold the brisket snugly. Add the rosemary and thyme sprigs, garlic, stock, wine and vinegar. Cover the dish with heavy-duty aluminum foil and bake until the brisket is fork tender, 3 to 4 hours.

Transfer the brisket to a cutting board and cover with foil to keep warm. Strain the liquid into a pan and reduce over medium heat to about 2 ½ cups of sauce, with a glaze consistency. Check the seasonings. Slice the brisket across the grain and serve drizzled with sauce.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe adapted from The Brisket Book: A Love Story With Recipes by Stephanie Pierson (Andrews McMeel, 208 pages, $29.99)

Hargadon’s Brown Soda Bread

3 cups whole-wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 eggs

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Butter and flour a standard (9-by-5-inch) loaf pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Using a wooden spoon, stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture.

Spoon dough into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula that has been dipped in water or buttermilk (to prevent the dough from sticking).

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn bread out onto the rack and cool, right side up, for about 1 hour before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf.

Recipe adapted from The Irish Pub Cookbook by Margaret Johnson

Irish Coffee

Boiling water

Hot coffee

2 sugar cubes OR 1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 ½ ounces Irish whiskey

¼ cup heavy or whipping cream, lightly beaten (but still pourable)

Fill a large glass coffee cup with boiling water to heat it. Let it stand for about 1 minute, then empty the glass.

Fill the glass three-quarters full with hot coffee. Add the sugar, then stir until dissolved.

Stir in the whiskey.

Top the coffee-whiskey blend with the lightly whipped cream.

To do this, hold an overturned spoon over the coffee, then slowly pour the cream over it.

The goal is for the cream to float on top of the coffee; do not mix it in. Part of the Irish coffee experience is drinking the hot coffee through a layer of cool cream.

Makes 1 drink.

Variation: For Chocolate Irish Coffee, stir 2 tablespoons milk chocolate bits into the hot coffee with the sugar, stirring until the chocolate melts, then proceed with recipe.

Recipe adapted from The Buena Vista Cafe, San Francisco

Food, Pages 35 on 03/13/2013

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