St. Patrick's Day Menu

CrockPot Corned Beef & Cabbage
Authentic Irish Soda Bread
Deep Fried Cabbage
Creme De Menthe Cake

Those links are what I started with. As my compulsion forces me I did something to change everything except the bread. I followed that pretty closely. The deep fried cabbage is an idea I got from Iron Chef America (love that show!).

Anyway - here we go:

CrockPot Corned Beef & Cabbage

• 3 carrots, cut into chunks
• 1 onions, chopped
• 6-8 red potatoes, cut into chunks
  
• 2-3 lb. corned beef brisket (I trim off a ton of the fat) with seasoning packet
• 1 1/2 cups of strong chicken broth
• 2 TBSP. yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 head of cabbage (chopped/shredded)

In 6 quart crockpot, combine carrots, onions, and potatoes. Rinse corned beef under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place in crockpot and sprinkle with contents of seasoning mix. Pour broth over brisket and spread mustard on brisket. In small bowl mix brown sugar with water and pour over brisket. Cover crockpot and cook on low setting for 10 - 12 hours.

Remove corned beef from crockpot and cover with foil to keep warm. Add cabbage to vegetables and liquid in crockpot. Cover crockpot and cook on high for additional 30-40 minutes or until cabbage is crisp tender.

To serve, cut beef across grain into thin slices. Remove vegetables from slow cooker with slotted spoon and serve with beef. Serve cooking juices over the food, if desired. Offer additional mustard on the side. 8 servings

***That's basically the same recipe with some changes. Of course. And can I just say? I don't like corned beef usually but I LOVED this. I wish I had made way more.

Authentic Irish Soda Bread

Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit so that it is ready for your bread straight away.
You will need the following ingredients to make authentic Irish Soda Bread

• 4 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup of sugar
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder
• ½ a teaspoon of baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 1 stick of softened butter (about ¼ of a pound)
• 2 cups of buttermilk
• 1 cup or so of raisins (you can use regular or golden raisins - my sister used craisins)

1. Butter a cookie sheet (or some flat pan) and lightly flour it.
2. Mix together in a large mixing bowl the flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder.
3. Cut in softened butter into the flour mixture.
4. Stir in raisins.
5. In a separate bowl lightly beat the egg into the buttermilk.
6. Add the egg and butter milk mixture into the flour mixture by hand, mixing in a little at a time and being careful to avoid over mixing.
7. Turn out on a lightly floured board and briefly knead to form a smooth dough.
8. Shape into a high, round ball.
9. Place onto a baking pan.
10. Slash a cross or x shape across the top of the dough.
11. Bake at 350F 50 to 60 minutes.
12. It is done when it is nicely browned. Tap to see if it sounds hollow if so it is done.

*** The only thing I really changed on here was the flour. It was SO sticky it clearly needed more. So it was 4 cups. I'm guessing I added about 1/2 cup more. I just did it until I could actually get a "smooth" ball.

Deep Fried Cabbage

I got this idea watching Iron Chef America (like I mentioned already). I just used the rest of the head of cabbage and dropped it on hot oil (in several batches - not all at once). Medium-high heat. It spits and splatters like crazy so be careful.

I know this sounds bizarre but it was fabulous! Take it out of the oil spread it on paper towels to drain and sprinkle it with salt. Delicious!

Creme de Menthe Cake
sans any creme de menthe

*** This is the recipe I changed the most from the link but the basic idea is still the same. But I substituted just about everything.

Cake

• 1 package white cake mix
• 1 cup milk
• 1 stick melted butter (8 tablespoons)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons water
• 9 drops green food coloring
• 3 teaspoons peppermint extract

Chocolate Sauce

• 1 bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chip
• Hershey's syrup

Cream Topping

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
• 6 drops of food coloring
• 1-2 tablespoons of sugar

Mix the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and flour - in a bowl by hand. I think I used a whisk.

In a separate bowl mix the water, food coloring and extract - add to the cake batter.

Pour batter into a grease & floured 9x13 cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave (about 90 seconds). I then added enough Hershey's syrup to make it 1.5 cups. If I had more chocolate chips I'd have just used that with a little cream added for the right texture. But that was all I had. Next time.

When it comes out of the oven poke holes all over it - while still hot. I used a big serving fork but I'd do something bigger next time. A wooden spoon handle maybe.

Pour the chocolate sauce over the cake.

Put in the fridge until completely cool.

With a mixer whip the heavy whipping cream, food coloring, peppermint extract, water, and sugar until firm enough to the topping on your cake.

When the cake is totally cooled put the cream mixture on there and put it back in the fridge until you are ready to eat it.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!