When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Fitting for today...it is also Corned Beef and Cabbage Day!

 Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients

•     1 (4 - 5 pound) corned beef, soaked in water at least an hour and rinsed
•     1 medium head of cabbage, cut into 2-inch wedges
•     6 red potatoes, halved
•     4 carrots, cut into ½-inch chunks
•     1 teaspoon pickling spice
•     2 cups low sodium chicken stock or water
•     8 ounces beer (any unflavored kind will do; you can substitute water here, as well)
•     3 large bay leaves
•     1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
•     1 teaspoon black pepper corns

Directions

1.     Place carrots, and potatoes in the bottom of a large slow cooker pot.
2.     Rinse the corned beef and lay it over the vegetables. 
3.     Add in bay leaves, pepper corns, pickling spice, and Dijon mustard.
4.     Pour beer and stock over everything. Make sure liquid covers most of the corned beef; if not, add more water or stock. 
5.     Cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours.
6.     Add the cabbage to the slow cooker and cook until cabbage is just tender (about 30 minutes).
7.     Plate beef and veggies.
8.     Slice beef against the grain and serve with extra mustard.

What better to go with corned beef...Irish Soda Bread!  A good sour dough bread goes well with this dish as well.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

•     4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
•     2 Tbsp sugar
•     1 teaspoon salt
•     1 teaspoon baking soda
•     4 Tbsp butter
•     1 cup raisins - I personlly leave the rasins out
•     1 large egg, lightly beaten
•     1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 425°. 
2. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.
3.  Using your (clean) fingers (or two knives or a pastry cutter), work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then add in the raisins if you desire.
4.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. 
   
5. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir. 
6. Dust hands with a little flour, then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in a little more flour. Do not over-knead! 
7. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf. Note: The dough will be a little sticky, and quite shaggy. You want to work it just enough so that the flour is just moistened and the dough just barely comes together. Shaggy is good. If you over-knead, the bread will end up tough.
    
8. Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet (it will flatten out a bit in the pan or on the baking sheet). 
9. Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an "X" shape. The purpose of the scoring is to help heat get into the center of the dough while it cooks. 
10. Transfer to oven and bake until bread is golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 35-45 minutes. (If you use a cast iron pan, it may take a little longer as it takes longer for the pan to heat up than a baking sheet.) Check for doneness also by inserting a long, thin skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, it's done.   
11. Remove pan or sheet from oven, let bread sit in the pan or on the sheet for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool briefly. 
12. Serve bread warm, at room temperature, or sliced and toasted. Best when eaten warm and just baked.

Hint 1: If the top is getting too dark while baking, tent the bread with some aluminum foil.

Hint 2: If you use a cast iron skillet to cook the bread in the oven, be very careful when you take the pan out. It's easy to forget that the handle is extremely hot. Cool the handle with an ice cube, or put a pot holder over it.

Coldcock? No, I asked for Cold Cuts!

Today is National Cold Cut's Day!  These are also known as lunch meats/luncheon meats/sandwich meats/cooked meats/sliced meats/cold meats/deli meats...depending on where you hail from.  Enjoy the day and have a ham or turkey sandwich! I personally want roast beef and Swiss, on a good potato bread. 

It was a weekend of cooking. I made bread for the week. Those of you that have been around awhile know, I am not of and do not like baking.  I have found this great, egg bread recipe and changed it to my own liking.  It is fairly simple, can be made by hand or in the bread machine.  At our house we mix and let it have its first rise in the bread machine, knead, shape, then let rise again before baking.  If you have a Kitchen Aid Mixer or similar and dough attachment, use it!  The mixer will do the work for you. If you don't, it's ok, you can mix everything by hand and it will turn just fine.

Golden Egg Bread

Ingredients

•     3/4 cup milk or buttermilk - originally called for water (70° to 80°)
•     3 tablespoons honey - originally called for 3 tablespoons of sugar
•     3 tablespoons butter, melted - originally called for 3 tablespoons of olive oil
•     2 eggs
•     1-1/2 teaspoons salt
•     3-1/2 cups bread flour
•     2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

Bread Machine

1.     In bread machine pan, place all ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select basic bread setting. Choose crust color and loaf size if available.
   
2.     Bake according to bread machine directions (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed.)
3.     When it's done, take it out and let it cool at least 15 mintes before cutting into it. If you cut too early, the inside will be kind of gummy.

Manual

1.     In bowl add the flour, yeast, and salt and start mixing.  Add honey then, Add the warm water or as much as you need, until you make a nice consistent dough. You don't want the dough to be too soft, but if you by mistake end up pouring too much water, don't worry, it happens all the time. Just add some more flour. At the end, add the butter to the dough.
2.     When you're done mixing and the dough is a bit sticky but not significantly sticking to your hands, start kneading it with a bit of  flour and form it into a ball. 
3. After that, put the dough  in a bowl or on a cutting board and let it rest for up to 30 minutes, covered.  (Tip from significant other: spray dough with olive oil to keep it from drying out.)
4.     After about 10 minutes, you take the dough and roll it. Divide if desired and shape or place in well greased bread pan.  Cover and let rise an additional 30 minutes.
5.     Bake at 350 degree, for 30 to 40 minutes.  When it's done, take it out and let it cool at least 15 minutes before cutting into it. If you cut too early, the inside will be kind of gummy.

    Yield: 1 loaf (16 slices.)

The dough has so many other uses as well.  This is what I have played with and is my favorite so far: Garlic Knots.  So buttery...so garlicky...so delicious. They go great with pasta, the Warm Maple Bacon Spinach Salad, or anything! 

J.J.'s  Delicious Garlic Knots

Ingredients

• Golden Egg Bread Dough (recipe above)

Seriously the best seasoning ever!

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmigiano-Reggiano/Parmesan cheese or more to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon of garlic powder or more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon of Badia Complete Seasoning or more to taste (optional...find it in the Spanish section of your store.)

Directions 

1.  Divide bread dough after first rise into equal portions...I got about 8 from one batch of dough...could get more if you want smaller knots.
2. Stretch dough into ropes about 6-7 inches long and tie in knot.
3. Place knots on well greased baking tray.  
4. Cover and let rise 15 minutes.
5. Bake at 350 for 30/40 minutes until golden brown.
6. While knots are baking, melt butter in microwave safe dish in 30 second intervals till fully melted.
7. Mix in spices and cheese.
8. Generously brush mixture on knots as soon as they come out of oven.
9. Serve and Enjoy! 

Yeild: 8 Knots

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R.I.P. Twinkie the Kid

I am saddened recently by corporate greed.  As many are well aware a childhood staple of kids everywhere is no more.  Hostess is gone.  This also means Wonder bread is gone.  Who didn't love a delicious pb&j or baloney sandwich on Wonder bread as a kid or as where I grew up we also had Butternut bread. (Always a favorite of mine because as a child the Peanuts were spokes persons for it.) This also means no more Drakes cakes...for East Coast people.  I discovered Drakes cakes about 14 years ago while living near Boston.  I am also thinking about Twinkies.  They are supposed to be the food that help us survive an apocalypse.  It is probably a good thing the Mayan's got it wrong today.

When you go to the Hostess website is says this:

Hostess Brands is Closed.
We are sorry to announce that Hostess Brands, Inc. has been forced by a Bakers Union strike to shut down all operations and sell all company assets. For more information, go to hostessbrands.info. Thank you for all of your loyalty and support over the years.

That upsets me.  The bakers had their reasons for being on strike.  Maybe if the greedy leaders of Hostess didn't pay themselves million of dollars of bonuses they wouldn't have had the financial issues that they had. The thing is...no mater who's side you are on the real looser is the consumer.

I think  am more upset that a piece of my childhood is dead  more than the actual products are gone.  If I ever have a child I won't have the joy of making him/her a pb&j/grilled cheese with tomato soup on Wonder Bread or sneaking a Ding Dong in their lunchbox as a surprise treat.  It is odd walking down those isles of the store and Not seeing Ho Ho's, Funny Bones, or Natures Pride bread.

I know something else will come along to replace said products or someone will undoubtedly buy the licensing to start producing them again, but I am a nostalgic creature and it won't be the same.  I know there are worse things going on in the world other than the lost of Twinkies and that it is kind of old news, but I have been meaning to put my two cents in on it and I need to keep my mind other wise occupied.  The horrible happenings last Friday in Connecticut...life needs to return to some normalcy.

Merry Christmas my dear readers; My love to you all.

I got the Down Lo...Lo Mein that is!

I suck, I know...This fat kid has not been feeling well and has been busy. I started taking a class a couple weeks ago and I am not used to having homework...such an odd concept for me again. Before you ask, no it's not a cooking class, although there are a couple I would like to take in the future. I have been cooking. I made shrimp lo mein last week and a loaf of homemade bread. I am also planning Easter dinner but I will cover that next week.

J.J.'s Homemade Bread

• 1/4 c. melted butter
• 2 1/4 c. very warm water
• 2 pkg. dry yeast
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 6 c. flour

 Put melted butter and warm tap water together. Add yeast, salt, and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add 3 cusp flour and mix well. Then add 3 more cups of flour and beat well. Knead for 5 minutes and let it rise until it doubles in size. Roll out on floured surface and punch out air bubbles. Shape into loaves, put into greased tins. Let rise and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Shrimp Lo Mein

Ingredients

• 1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined – I got precooked
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 6 ounces uncooked multigrain linguine or Chinese egg noodles
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sherry or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 celery rib, sliced
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

 

Directions

 

In a small bowl, combine the shrimp, garlic and; set aside. Cook noodles according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, water, soy sauce, broth, ginger and pepper flakes until blended; set aside.
In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry shrimp in 1 tablespoon oil for 2-3 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm. If using precooked skip this step.
Stir-fry celery and carrot in remaining oil for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms; stir-fry 4-6 minutes longer or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
Stir cornstarch mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Drain noodles; stir into skillet. Add shrimp; heat through.

This was a very good recipe and a keeper. My roommate and I enjoyed it very much. I cheated and used frozen stir-fry vegetables. I served with egg rolls and cheese won tons...frozen pre-made.