Here is a wee bit of Irish wisdom for you to consider: Every man is sociable until a cow invades his garden.
May your heart be light and happy, may your smile be big and wide, and may your pockets always have a coin or two inside!
Beautiful young people are acts of nature but beautiful old people are works of art.
Here comes St Patrick's Day. This holiday speaks to the half of my ancestry that originally came from County Gallway on the Emerald Isle. I also think my Irish side of the family tree is where my gift of gab and willingness to stir up a little fun came from. In honor of St Patrick's Day, Rob chose two recipes: Irish Soda Bread Pudding and Lucky Charms Eclairs.
The Irish Soda Bread recipe is from the website, The Original Dish. The website's recipe includes Irish whiskey, which Rob chose to leave out of the recipe. You may choose to add it in or leave it out of your bake.
The Lucky Charms Eclair recipe, courtesy of Good Housekeeping, is from the website: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/a15656/lucky-charms-eclairs-recipe-ghk0314/
Irish Soda Bread
(courtesy of Darina Allen)
- 1 lb all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ¾ cups buttermilk
Bread Pudding
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp espresso powder
- 1 tbsp hot water
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup brewed coffee, chilled
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 loaf Irish soda bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tbsp sugar in the raw
- garnish: powdered sugar
Irish Whiskey Caramel (optional)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream, at room temp
- ¼ cup Irish whiskey
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda until well combined. Make a well in the center, and add the buttermilk. Using your hands like a claw, mix buttermilk into dry ingredients until a ball of dough forms (the dough should be sticky and slightly clumpy).
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and gently shape it into a ball. Transfer it to a lightly floured baking sheet. Pat the dough into a 1½-inch-thick disk. Using a knife, cut an “X” across the top of the dough. Using the tip of the knife, prick a hole into each of the 4 sections of dough.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F. Bake for 15 minutes more. Turn the bread upside down, and bake for 5 minutes more. Transfer the bread to a cutting board, and let cool for 30 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
Bread Pudding
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the brown sugar, and whisk until smooth.
- In a small bowl, whisk together espresso powder and 1 tablespoon of hot water until dissolved. Add to egg mixture, whisking to combine. Add the milk, coffee, vanilla, and salt, whisking until incorporated.
- Add the bread cubes and toss well. Pour into the prepared dish, spreading evenly. Submerge the bread and let soak for 1 hour.
- Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers at least 165°F (74°C), about 15 minutes more. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve warm with Irish whiskey caramel and whipped cream (recipes below). Garnish with a dusting of powdered sugar, if desired.
Irish Whiskey Caramel (optional)
- In a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, until melted and a golden-amber color. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add the cream and whiskey and stir to combine. Return the mixture to medium heat and simmer, stirring frequently, for about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in the salt and remove from the heat. Let cool slightly before serving. If caramel cools completely, it will thicken. Simply reheat it to loosen, if needed.
Whipped Cream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the cream until foamy.
- Add the sugar, and beat until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Lucky Charms Eclairs
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large jelly-roll pan with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, pulse the Lucky Charms for 1 minute or until they are finely ground; transfer the cereal to a medium bowl, add flour, and whisk until combined.
- In 3-quart saucepan, heat water, butter, and salt to boiling on medium until butter melts. Vigorously stir in flour mixture all at once until mixture forms ball and comes away from side of pan, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool slightly.
- Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, until the batter becomes smooth and satiny.
- Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip (or a plastic bag with the corner snipped off). On the prepared pan, pipe 4- to 5-inch long strips of dough; flatten any points with a damp fingertip. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn off the oven; keep éclairs in the oven while it cools, 15 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
- Put the white chocolate into a medium heatproof bowl. In small saucepan on medium, bring heavy cream to boiling. Pour over chocolate; let sit 5 minutes. Whisk until melted and smooth. Tint with green food coloring, if desired.
- In another medium bowl, fold together the lemon curd and whipped cream until smooth. Transfer to resealable plastic bag; snip small piece from corner.
- For each éclair, stick skewer in one end of pastry and twirl around to hollow out inside. Insert plastic bag corner into hole and squeeze in filling. Top with glaze using offset spatula. Top with marshmallow bits, if desired.
Here is a little tune from The Waterboys called "The Fisherman's Blues." This song was featured in the 1998 comedy movie, Waking Ned Devine. Get your jig on and enjoy.
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