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Posts Tagged ‘In an Irish Home Recipes’

Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Freshly Whipped Cream, and Blueberry Compote

Posted in Recipes, Share the Joy, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 03/01/2014| 4 Comments »

DSC_0003Pancakes with Blueberry Compote 2

Batten down yer hatches folks! There’s a storm brewing off the west of Ireland. Yesterday Met Éireann (Ireland’s national meteorological service) announced possible tidal flooding, dropping temperatures, and wind gusts of up to 130km per hour for much of the country overnight and into today, particularly the Atlantic coastal areas.

With any luck, however, this period of unsettled weather {don’t you just love Irish weather reporting} will pass by Sunday. Why? I’m glad you asked. This Sunday, 5th January, Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council are hosting the Third Annual Irish Christmas Tree Throwing Championship. Yes, tis true!

So don’t bother to recycle that tree of yours. Instead, strap it tightly to the top of your car and head on over for some good old-fashioned lumberjack fun. Who knows, the winner of this year’s event may even beat the 2013 winner, farmer John O’Dea from Limerick, who launched his tree a whopping 10.2 metres. For the record, the World Tree Throwing Record is currently held by one Klaus Pubnaz, who hurled a tree 12 metres at an event in Germany three years ago.

All proceeds raised on Sunday will go to the Clare Branch of the Cystic Fibrosis Association. Mayor of Ennis, Cllr. Mary Coote Ryan, and Mayor of Clare, Cllr. Joe Arkins, acknowledged this a “novel approach” adopted by the Councils to encourage members of the public to recycle their Christmas trees while at the same time raising funds for a local charity.

Competitors from the four corners of Ireland and further afield are invited to take part. The event is open to men, women and children, and each contestant will get three attempts at throwing their used Christmas tree.” FYI…the tree you throw will only be 1.5 metres tall.

And what, I hear you ask, will the winner get for his or her herculean efforts? This year’s prize is a 2-night bed & breakfast stay at The Armada in Spanish Point, along with a trophy.

Of course, the reason for participating has little, if anything, to do with winning: it’s just one heck of a fun way to get rid of your tree and do something good for a worthy cause. The Council will be providing a free Christmas tree recycling service at various locations throughout County Clare, but they will take a tree from anyone who wishes to drop one at the contest, so long as you make a donation to the Clare Branch of Cystic Fibrosis. At a later date, the Council will arrange for the trees to be mulched for use by its gardening section.

The Irish Christmas Tree Throwing Championship will take place between 1.00pm and 4.00pm, at Active Ennis Tim Smyth Park, Ennis, Co. Clare. The mid-day start gives you plenty of time to wolf-down a lumberjack-style breakfast {you know, tossing pine trees is hard work!). I suggest you start with a stack of delicious pancakes, topped with maple syrup, fresh whipped cream, and blueberry compote. As, it just so happens, I have a recipe for such below. Enjoy!

Pancakes with Blueberry Compote

Serves 4-6

Pancake Ingredients

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 
cups/500ml milk

2 
cups/10oz plain flour (self-raising/all purpose flour)

2 
tablespoons caster sugar

2 
teaspoons baking powder

1/2 
teaspoon bread soda (baking soda)

1/2 
teaspoon salt

1 
large egg

3 
tablespoons/1 1/2oz butter, melted and cooled slightly

2 
teaspoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. Whisk lemon juice and milk in a large measuring cup; set aside to thicken while preparing other ingredients.

2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to combine.

3. Whisk egg and melted butter into milk until combined.

4. Make well in center of dry ingredients in bowl; pour in milk mixture and whisk very gently until just combined (a few lumps should remain). Do not over mix.

5. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes; add 1teaspoon oil and brush to coat pan-bottom evenly.

6. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto 3 spots on the pan. Cook pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear, 1-2 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until golden brown on second side.

7. Serve immediately with maple syrup, freshly whipped cream, and blueberry compote.

Blueberry Compote Ingredients

2 cups/10oz blueberries, frozen or fresh

3 tablespoons water

1/4 cup/2oz sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions

1. Combine 1 cup/5oz blueberries, water, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan.

2. Cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes. Then add the remaining blueberries and cook for 8 minutes more, stirring frequently.

3. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Notes:

Photo credit above goes to Sean Curtin for the photograph of the Mayors of Ennis and Clare throwing a Christmas tree.

When following the blueberry compote recipe, don’t boil the heck out of the blueberry, water, lemon juice mixture as I did the first time I made this recipe. It will become a thick jam, if you do.

The pancake recipe comes from America’s Test Kitchen and the Blueberry Compote recipe comes from Ellie Krieger at the Food Network.

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An Irish Christmas: 2013 Adverts, Colin Farrell, History of Irish Holiday Foods and Ginger Biscuits

Posted in Recipes, Share the Joy, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 19/12/2013| 3 Comments »

DSC_0663Oh my gosh! Oh my goodness! These biscuits (cookies) are to-die-for good!!

The first time I made them, they didn’t turn out so well. Silly me, I didn’t chop the crystallised ginger near enough and they were lumpy. The second time I made them, however, I did everything right and even my pickiest eater liked them.

They are a doddle to make. {Which is all the more important in this busy holiday season.} It probably took 10 minutes to mix up the ingredients.

The only hitch is you have to let them rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours before popping them into the oven. Actually, since I’m thinking/writing out loud, these are the ideal biscuits to make while you are wrapping presents…you mix the ingredients, refrigerate, wrap, bake, wrap, enjoy – what could be simpler? Right?!

While you’re busy baking and wrapping, turn up the volume on your computer/iPad and have a listen to this podcast on Irish Christmas food. Eoin (sounds like O-wen) Purcell of HistoryJournal.ie interviews Regina Sexton, food and culinary historian at University College Cork, about the origins of the foods we eat at Christmastime. If you’re not familiar with HistoryJournal.ie {which I was not}, it is an “exclusively online Irish history journal, covering a wide range of topics across Irish history and the wider Irish worldwide community”. 

And, for a bit of cheer to those living abroad, here’s a few of the best 2013 Christmas food advertisements playing on telly.

From Lidl –

From Cadbury –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7KyIZ30g4Y

From Baileys –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeP5B04hHzo

Lastly, for a bit of a laugh {you can’t take him too seriously}, here’s a clip of Colin Farrell’s interview with American television late-night-host Jimmy Kimmel about his traditional Irish Christmas.

Avoca Handweaver’s Crystallised Ginger Shortbread

Makes about 16 biscuits

Ingredients

1 cup/130g plain flour

1/2 cup/60g icing sugar

1/2 cup/60g cornflour

9 tablespoon/130g unsalted butter

130g crystallised ginger, finely chopped

30g caster sugar (for top of shortbread)

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

2. Place the flour, icing sugar, cornflour, and butter in a food processor and blitz until starting to come together, then add the crystalized ginger and continue to process until the mixture combines fully. {I also added a few drops of ice water at this point}

3. Remove and roll into a ball.

4. Roll out the dough to 0.5cm thick. Cut into rounds with a small scone or cookie cutter.

5. Place on a lined baking sheet and allow to rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours, then bake for about 40-45 minutes.

6. Remove, and while still warm, sprinkle with a little caster sugar. The shortbread will keep in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

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How Do You Like My Apples?

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 05/12/2013| 3 Comments »

DSC_0220How Do You Like Them Apples

Ok, so…it’s a bit cheeky to start out a post with the heading, “How Do You Like My Apples?”, but I just couldn’t resist. For weeks I’ve been finding ways to use up all the apples we either grew or foraged locally and I’ve been anxiously waiting to share the results with you.

Since September we’ve been making fresh pressed apple juice, applesauce, Irish apple cake, rustic apple galette, and caramel apples in our kitchen. I even tried to make apple fruit rolls but that was just a step too far…even for me. They weren’t so nice.

I give full credit for all this apple busyness to my lovely mother-in-law, who lives the adage “waste not want not”. Years ago, when she saw me binning (throwing out) apples that had fallen off our trees and were becoming worm fodder, she ordered me to collect them up and then she brought me into my own kitchen for a bit of culinary instruction.

“First you cut out the bad bits and toss them in the bin,” she said.

To which I replied, “But what about the worms?” Truth be told, I really didn’t fancy the idea of accidentally cutting through one.

“Don’t mind them…they can go in the bin too!” she answered with a smile. And that was that. I never looked back.

Leaving the skins on apples when you press them makes their juice run a gorgeous shade of pink. The colour alone is enough to suffer through yucky bits of brown apple and the possibility of the occasional decimated worm. If you have any doubt, just look at the photo below.

DSC_0220And don’t mind the brown foam at the top. As Mama told me all those years ago, “It’s lovely!” Enjoy.

Homemade Apple Juice

Makes One Large Glass

Ingredients

3-5 apples, washed with skins left on

Directions

1. Cut apples into chunks, remove and discard seeds and core.

2. Put into juicing machine as per factory instructions.

3. Serve or freeze immediately.

Note: To make enough juice to fill a 2 litre carafe like this one, I used 6lbs/700g of small apples.

 

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Mama McGuire’s Irish Stuffing

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 30/11/2013| 3 Comments »

DSC_0664 DSC_0666 DSC_0663There are many ways to cook a turkey but in our Irish home there is only one way to make stuffing…my mother-in-law’s way!

As a young bride, I tried for years {ten to be exact} to impress my lovely Irish husband with my stuffing recipes on Thanksgiving and Christmas day.

Despite his appreciation of my attempts, every year I knew that I had not achieved what I was hoping for…my husband’s nod of culinary approval. Somehow my mother-in-law’s recipe was always better than mine.

Finally, one year, I threw in the towel and quit trying. I called Mama, my husband’s mother, and asked her to teach me how to make her recipe.

I still remember the delight I felt when, at long last, my husband tasted “my stuffing” and declared, “It’s as good as my mum’s!”  So chuffed I was to have finally succeeded. That year, and every year since, I have told this story to everyone at our holiday table.

Today I share it, the story and the recipe, with you. Mama McGuire’s Irish Stuffing is so ridiculously simple…and so ridiculously good. I am sure you will thank me once you’ve tried it. Enjoy!

Mama McGuire’s Irish Stuffing

Serves Eight

Ingredients

32oz batch loaf bread (white sliced pan)

16 tablespoons diced cold butter

1 cup chopped parsley

2 tablespoons Italian herbs

3 small onions, chopped finely

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Pulse the bread finely in a food processor and pour into a large bowl.

2. Stir in the chopped onion, parsley, and Italian herbs.

3. With your fingertips, blend in the diced cold butter. Mix until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Refrigerate until ready to stuff into turkey.

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A Thanksgiving Breakfast: Apple Clafoutis

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 30/11/2013| Leave a Comment »

Michael Chiarello's Apple ClafoutisThe holiday of Thanksgiving does not exist in Ireland. On what is the fourth Thursday in November, adults all across the country go to work, kids go to school, and homemakers go about the business of homemaking. But for those of us with American roots, Thanksgiving in Ireland is more than just a “regular day”…it is THE day we long to reach across the Atlantic and touch a bit of home.

Yesterday morning our little family began the day with a celebratory {but light} Apple Clafoutis for breakfast, courtesy of Michael Chiarello. For those not familiar with him, Michael is an award-winning American chef and restauranteur. His hugely popular Bottega Restaurant in Yountville, California (Napa Valley) serves up rustic, inventive, delicious food. The decor, which in my {humble} opinion is just as important as the food, is sexy and intimate, and not at all claustrophobic. Note to all you single-but-dating travel bugs…Bottega would be an ideal place to pop the question, if you can get a reservation!

Anyway, I digress, the point is yesterday morning I wanted to give my family something light with a bit of sweetness…something reflecting the mood of the holiday but not heavy. After all, we were going to eat a HUGE meal when everyone finally got home.

Michael Chiarello’s Apple Clafoutis, which is technically a dessert, was the perfect dish for our Thanksgiving breakfast. Michael says on his own website that this dish, “is a French-country farmers favorite”. True or not, it certainly will be in our Irish home for years to come. I hope you will enjoy it too. Belated Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Michael Chiarello’s Apple Clafoutis

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Batter:

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1 cup milk

Apples:

1/4 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups peeled and diced Granny Smith apple (1/2-inch dice; about 1 large apple)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon grappa, Calvados, or other fruit brandy (I substituted apple juice)

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

1/3 cup crème fraîche

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

2. Make the batter: Sift the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and milk until well blended. Add about one-third of the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk to form a paste, then gradually incorporate the remaining egg mixture. Whisk until well blended.

3. Cook the apples: With the tip of a knife, scrape the vanilla bean seeds from the pod into an ovenproof 10-inch cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet. Add the pod and the butter and cook over moderately high heat until the butter turns nut brown. Add the apple and cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes to soften them. Remove the vanilla bean pod and discard. Sprinkle the apples with the granulated sugar, reduce the heat to moderately low, and cook until the apples are about three-fourths done and the sugar has melted and is coating the apples in a light syrup. Add the grappa or other brandy, swirl the pan briefly, then spread the fruit evenly in the pan.

4. Remove the pan from the heat. Working quickly, pour the batter through a sieve evenly over the fruit. Bake until the edges of the clafoutis are puffed and browned and the center is set, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.

5. Put some confectioners’ sugar in a sieve and generously dust the surface of the clafoutis. Serve warm directly from the pan with a dollop of crème fraîche.

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Guinness Stew in Ireland’s Fifth Province

Posted in Recipes, Trips/Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 28/10/2013| Leave a Comment »

Guinness Beef StewWell, it finally happened…

After four long weeks on the road, we finally found GOOD food. I mean REALLY good food.

Up till now we’ve been subsisting on fast-food, chain-food, and any and all kinds of rubbish-food. It’s been awful and we’ve become increasingly crankier by the day. The final straw came this morning, when we decided not to visit Yellowstone National Park because the traffic jams and crowds felt too overwhelming. You could say we didn’t have the stomach for it.

We needed real food…and soon…but where?

Heading into Butte, Montana, last night, I felt certain we weren’t going to find what we were looking for…sustenance. Aging headframes, derelict buildings (complete with ghost signs), and a 90-foot statue of the Virgin Mary glowing eerily in the distance doesn’t exactly scream, “Good-food served here!”.  But in Butte, the uptown is the downtown, the high is the low, and the locals know there is plenty of great-food ~ from Irish Pasties to creamy Guinness Stew ~ ready for the eating.

Known as “The Richest Hill on Earth”, “The Sodom of the West”, “Ireland’s Fifth Province” and, more recently, the town that is “A Mile High and a Mile Deep”, Butte was once a rich mining community filled with immigrants from around the world, particularly Ireland.

Butte Montana MinersThe first to arrive hailed from Mayo, Donegal and Cork, especially, the Beara Peninsula. By the early 1900s, Irish immigrants, mostly Catholic, made up one quarter of the population. Remarkably, by the turn of the last century, Butte was the most Irish-populated city in America. Almost every able man made his living in the mines, including Marcus Daly of Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan, who was known the world over as the Copper King. As co-owner of the Anaconda Mine, Daly was second in American wealth only to Rockefeller.

Though they came for the chance to strike it rich, the Irish never truly left Ireland behind. In Butte, they arrived and promptly built neighbourhoods with names like Finntown, Corktown, and Dublin Gulch. They kept their cultural and ethnic traditions alive through language, celebration and food.

It is the food, in particular, that interests me. As you recall at the start of this post I was lamenting our need for good-food on this road trip. To find it…and then have it be Irish-food…in the middle of Montana…is, well… fascinating. The meal we ate last night at Casagranda’s Steakhouse was as good as any I’ve ever had…and that’s not just hungry road trip talk!  Casagranda’s is known for its perfectly seasoned, hand cut, Rocky Mountain grown beef {which by the way is delicious} but it was the Guinness Beef Stew that bowled me over. Creamy, rich, hearty, and ever-so-slightly sweet, this stew is not like any other I have ever tasted.

The Bertoglio Building, Home of Casagranda’s Steakhouse

I spoke with Lisa Casagranda Randall, co-owner of Casagranda’s Steakhouse, by phone to ask her for a copy of the recipe and to ask if, by chance, she had Irish roots running through her family. Her last name sounds Italian but it turns out Lisa’s great grandparents were both from Ireland, Cork and Donegal to be exact. They came to Montana for work and ended up building a life. Lisa spent many of her summers in Butte visiting family and eventually moved permanently to the area. With her sister Carrie Casagranda Leary, Casagranda’s was born 11 years ago. The Guinness Stew I had last night originally started out as an appetizer served on bread. People liked it so much however, that it eventually became a permanent dish on the menu, with bread served on the side. And though she hasn’t had the chance to visit herself, Lisa hopes one day she’ll make it back to the home of her ancestors across the sea.

Truth be told, from what I saw of Butte, Lisa is living as close to Ireland as someone in America can. It’s very hard to put into words but Butte feels more authentically Irish than any place I’ve been: it’s not like Boston or New York or Chicago. I, for one, hope to make it back soon: perhaps for St. Patrick’s Day 2014. It would be great craic (fun) to see how they do it there. In the mean time, if you are on a road trip and going through Montana, be sure to call in to Butte. Not only will you get a delicious meal at Casagranda’s but also you will find lots of Irish charm, history, and culture at every turn.

Casagranda’s Steakhouse Guinness Beef Stew

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

900g/2 lbs stewing beef, trimmed of fat and cut into 2” (bite-size) pieces

50ml/¼ cup canola oil

2oz/¼ cup all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can Guinness Draught (not Guinness Stout, which is too bitter)

500ml/2 cups beef broth

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1oz/ ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar

80ml/ 1/3 cup red wine vinegar

Directions

1. Spread beef evenly across a sheet pan.

2. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sift flour over both sides of meat and evenly coat.

3.  Heat canola oil in a cast iron casserole dish until very hot.

4. Add the floured and seasoned beef and sear until golden brown on all sides.

5. Combine Guinness, stock, mustard, sugar and vinegar and mix well. Pour over beef and bring to a rapid boil.

6. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is very tender.

7. Serve on its own or “traditional style” over mashed potatoes.

 

Related Articles:

Great Photos and a list of things to do in Butte at: http://theroadtriphound.com/2013/07/29/when-an-uptown-goes-underground-keeping-the-history-alive-in-butte-montana/

An Irish Times article about Butte at: http://www.ktvq.com/news/butte-most-irish-town-in-america-/#_

A road trip guide to Butte at http://biggestballofstring.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/36w-jan-9-butte-montana/

More great photos and information about Butte at: http://www.ramonaflightner.com/2012/09/04/butte-montana/

Butte’s Irish Language Immersion Programme at http://uhblog.ulsterheritage.com/2010/04/loading.html

An Irish woman’s view of Butte at http://missoulian.com/news/local/an-irish-woman-s-story-of-chance-leads-to-butte/article_59bef3f6-8eb7-11e2-b714-001a4bcf887a.html

The life and death of an Irish copper heiress at http://observer.com/2013/09/odd-but-not-out-of-it-eccentric-heiress-huguette-clark-had-her-wits-about-her-says-new-book/

Marcus Daly at http://dalymansion.org/history/mrdaly.php

NY Times Death Notice for Marcus Daly at http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F10F1FF73B5E14728FDDAA0994D9415B808CF1D3

Butte Today at http://www.mainstreetbutte.org

Interior designer, Bob Richter visits and reports on Butte for the Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-richter/rich-in-history-land-and-_b_4095295.html

Timothy Egan writes about his recent trip to Butte for The New York Times at http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/true-irish/?_r=0

Rants and Reflections on Butte at http://fl250.blogspot.com/2006/06/butte-montana.html

Tried and True Recipes from Three Sisters from Butte at http://tseas.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/tried-and-true-recipes-of-butte-montana.pdf

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Trying Out a New Language

Posted in Recipes, Trips/Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 07/09/2013| 1 Comment »

Gathering round the evening campfire.

Gathering round the evening campfire.

It has been several weeks since I last blogged but you’ll understand when I explain that our traveling four-some has been deep in foreign-language country.

Technically we were in north-west Minnesota, at a camp run by Concordia Language Villages, but the immersion of the camp was so deep that we might as well have been abroad. From food to spoken word, we were in another world.

Language learning through crafts.

Language learning through crafts.

So how was it? It was wonderful. Interestingly, each of us had a different experience. The two girls seemed to thrive because they did what all kids do…they just got out there and spent time with their peers. With no real effort, their language proficiency grew with each passing day.  And God bless my dad, after three years of taking a foreign language at his local university, he had no problems whatsoever with the cultural shift. He found the adult group talks about politics, religion, and social issues a very pleasant and invigorating way to test his skills. Getting sick mid-way through the camp didn’t even set him back much. As for me…I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride of exhaustion and breakthroughs the entire time. For a few days, I was fine and then, suddenly, I was unable to think or speak. Our camp administrator said this was a perfectly normal adult reaction to full language immersion. In other words, “Don’t give up, Love.”  Sure enough, about every three days, I hit a wall and then, after a good night sleep, was able to translate words in my head and speak them with relative ease.

Camp counselors hamming it up.

Camp counselors hamming it up.

If you’re not familiar with Concordia Language Villages, here’s the scoop: Concordia is the premiere language and cultural immersion program in the United States. For 50 years they have helped learners develop a deeper appreciation and skill base for going out into the non-English-speaking cultures of the world. Concordia offers courses in 15 different languages and uses skits, songs, meals, games, activities, class sessions and general conversation as their teaching methods. From the minute you check into a camp, you feel as though you have left the United States and entered into the country whose language you wish to learn. There are programs for youths, adults, and families, and classes are available year round.

Remarkably, few people have heard of Concordia. Case in point, while we were staying in Detroit Lakes we mentioned to people that we were on our way to a foreign immersion camp nearby. No one we spoke with knew there was a clutch of foreign language schools just a few hours away! Such a pity.

Meringues (14)If you’re interested in a foreign language immersion experience that isn’t in the Gaeltacht (the Irish-speaking region of Ireland), perhaps Concordia Language Villages is the place for you. We certainly enjoyed it.

And, speaking of things this Irish family enjoys…today I am passing along this easy-to-make recipe for mini-meringues. They keep well for weeks in an airtight container or ziplock bag and are a great snack in the kid’s lunch boxes or for when you want a little something sweet with a cuppa. They even make an adorable pudding (dessert) when served sandwich-style with a dollop of cream, caramel or jam between two of them. Mmmmhhh….wish we’d brought some along for this road trip. Enjoy!

Mini-Meringues

Makes 24

Ingredients

2 egg whites, room temperature

½ cup/4oz/100g caster sugar (granulated sugar)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 225°F/110°C. Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper (parchment paper).

2. In a spotlessly clean bowl, whisk the egg whites and sugar with an electric mixer until it forms stiff peaks. (You know you’ve whipped it enough when the mixture holds a stiff  a peak that looks like shaving foam.)

3. Using two teaspoons, spoon 24 little blobs on the greaseproof paper. Bake for 40 minutes or until crisp. Turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the oven for another 5 minutes, if you like your meringues crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, or 20 minutes, if you like them crispy inside and out.

4. When completely cool, put in an airtight container. Meringues will keep for weeks.

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Multi-Generational Road Tripping

Posted in Trips/Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 16/08/2013| 3 Comments »

Day five of a road trip is a good time to stop and take a break. So today we are resting in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota {which has absolutely nothing to do with Detroit, as my eldest daughter keeps pointing out}.

Image from Detroit Lakes Chamber of Commerce Magazine

Image from Detroit Lakes Chamber of Commerce Magazine

At first glance this little town of 8,600 is another American tragedy, with strip malls and fast food restaurants to greet you as you exit the highway. Head down to the lake shore area, however, and a  wonderful little village of shops and restaurants opens up. Located just 40 minutes east of Fargo-Moorhead, Detroit Lakes is in the heart of Minnesota’s famous “lake country”. There are some 400 lakes within 25 miles. Today, I care only about this one.

Driving with my dad and two daughters across the country has been more difficult than I thought it would be. The moment my father disciplined my youngest with a stern, “Because your mother said so!” and she replied with an equally stern, “I wasn’t speaking to you!”, I wanted to find the eject button in my car and fly myself someplace less stressful. You see, my youngest child and my dad are birds of a feather who definitely can’t flock together for too long. Both are strong willed and short tempered. I have been the little piggy in the middle more than once and I am not sure how much longer I can go on without a burst of tears to clear the air. Family road trips…don’t you just love them?

IMG_4163

Sun Setting Over Detroit Lakes

As I sit here at the lake, watching the sun set, I’m trying to figure out if this family drive was a good idea or a bad one. Are we really only half-way through it? In this exact moment, this trip feels like a bad idea but, maybe {just maybe}, when time has sanded the edges off the harsh reality that is four people, three generations, two kids all in one SUV, I will be glad we had this time together. Thank goodness the car isn’t smaller.

I’m being called for S’mores on the beach. Gotta run. Thanks for hanging in there with me. Just one last question for the night…do you think there’s any chance those S’mores will come with a side of wine?

Related Articles:

Pairing Wine with S’Mores at Sunset.com, Wine and Good Food, and Real.Good.Wine.com

Semifreddo S’Mores Recipe at Food & Wine

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North West American Road Trip

Posted in Recipes, Trips/Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 08/07/2013| 6 Comments »

Dear Friends…I’m a little behind in my posting so please excuse the delay as I work towards present day. I have been writing regularly but because we have been on a family road trip {often without internet service}, I have been unable to get those musing uploaded. What follows for the next little while will be a series of delayed posts until I can bring you back up to speed with what’s been happening In {our} Irish Home.

Road Trip America: Destination…North Western States

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June 8th – When you’re an American mom with Irish American children, there’s a certain niggling feeling of wanting your children to better understand their “other” home country. With that in mind, I have decided to take the kids and my dad on a road trip across north-west America. {note: the lovely husband has decided not to join us…could this be because he’s wiser than I am?}

We’ll be following no particular agenda, but rather blazing a path through Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota. You may be wondering, “why this particular route?” In a nutshell, my children have been very fortunate to see the glitz and glamour of America. From surfing in Maui to ferrying past the Statue of Liberty, they have seen it all and now I think they need to see “the middle bits”…the not so chi chi miles in between.

Another reason for this particular trip is we are planning to immerse ourselves in a foreign language. By that, I don’t mean English! Following the Irish tradition of kids going off to Irish summer colleges, where students live the Irish language for a few weeks, we are heading off to immerse ourselves in a foreign language at Concordia Language camp in northern Minnesota. In reality, I know we should probably be sending the girls to the Gaeltacht to learn cúpla focal (a couple of words) in Irish but that wouldn’t suit my goal of getting them better acquainted with America, now would it.

And so, today we’re off. The car we keep at our home on the edge of the Rockies is packed to the brim. We have snacks (see the recipe for Irish Flapjacks below) and water and road side emergency at the call should anything go wrong. Our musical selections have been uploaded to our iPhones and iPods. My dad has even brought a big box of c.d.’s for our listening pleasure. New memory cards have been inserted into everyone’s camera. We have maps and movies. I only hope we haven’t forgotten anything.

The things I’m most looking forward to include: finding some great places to eat, having a DQ chocolate dipped ice cream, stopping at some of the “World’s Largest”…whatevers, seeing Mount Rushmore, driving through Yellowstone National Park, and, of course, being on the open road.

Road trips in America are epic. I’m ready to share the experience with my daughters and dad. Wish us luck…here we go!

Irish Flapjacks

Makes about 24

Ingredients

24 tablespoons/12oz butter

2 tablespoons golden syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup/4oz brown sugar

½ cup/4 oz sugar

1/3 cup+1 tablespoon/3oz flour

4 cups/13oz jumbo rolled oats

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.

2. Melt butter in a large sauce pan.

3. Add golden syrup, vanilla, and butter. Bring to a simmer and stir.

4. Remove from heat and add flour and oats. Stir well and spread into a Swiss roll tin or deep baking tray approximately 10 x 15in (25 x 38cm).

5. Bake in the oven on a middle shelf for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

6. Cut into squares while still warm. Remove from the tin and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

7. Store in a container with a tight fitting lid.

Related articles:

On online guide to offbeat American tourist attractions: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/blog/

Follow the Elliott family as they travel, slowly, across America: http://awayishome.com/

For thirteen months, this Florida family of six travelled all 50 states: http://www.hoamteam.com/Hoamteam/Welcome.html

Sticking with the family road trip theme, this family of four have made visiting America’s “World’s Largest” sites their driving goal: http://gobigorgohomeblog.com/912

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Life Mottos and Chicken Casserole

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 31/05/2013| 3 Comments »

life-is-not-a-dress-rehearsal[1]My life has many mottos. For example:

Be Positive.

Go For It.

Stop Complaining and Start Doing.

Be the Change You Wish to See.

This is Not a Dress Rehearsal.

Sleep is One of God’s Greatest Gifts.

Everything in Moderation.

It’s all about Love.

Life is Short.

Breathe.

But the one motto I find myself quoting the most is:

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Which is exactly what I said to a friend recently when she asked if I wanted a copy of one of her “famous” recipes. What? Me? Want a great recipe…duhh! Of course I want it! I’m not too proud to serve my family a meal that’s been tried-and-tested and family-approved by someone I call friend.

Sure, not having to reinvent the wheel at supper time is what has kept my little family well fed this past {crazy busy} month! If I’d been left to my own devices, we’d have had more takeaways and pre-prepared meals than I care to admit.

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Last night, after having driven back and forth to the kids’ school not once, not twice, but three times, I came home and whipped up a chicken casserole made famous {in our home} by my girlfriend Linda Maguire. I have no idea where she got the recipe from or what it was originally called but it was/is delicious. Even better is that it’s simple to make: only one pot, no fussy ingredients, and not a lot of time spent in the kitchen. This is definitely my kind of recipe and it leads me to one final motto for today…

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Linda Maguire’s Chicken Casserole

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken breasts

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 sticks of celery, diced

1 cup frozen peas

2 cups/1 pint good quality chicken stock

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot on moderate heat.  Add the chicken and cook until all sides are lightly browned.

2. To the pot add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until softened.

3. Add the chicken stock.  Be sure to fully cover the chicken breasts in the stock.  If the suggested 2 cups/1 pint is not enough, add more.

4. Bring to the stock to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45-50 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.

5. Add the frozen peas to the casserole and cook for another 5-10 minutes.  Serve immediately over mashed potatoes, couscous or slices of warm rustic bread.

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