Sláinte

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about today...

 Because what other day of the year celebrates my love of Guinness more than today?

 So wherever you are, I hope you have a chance to enjoy one of these... or maybe a green beer!

Thanks for stopping by- and may the luck of the Irish be with you today!

Irish Buttermilk Brown Bread

I was in an Irish mood this weekend (I blame all the St. Patrick's Day decorations in hung throughout my neighborhood)... so when I stumbled across this recipe on King Arthur Flour's website, I couldn't resist.

PLUS, I had all of these ingredients in my kitchen already- so I had every excuse to bake a loaf of Irish Buttermilk Brown Bread!

Here are the simple ingredients I needed:

Flour...

Sugar...

Salt...

Baking soda...

Baking powder...

And dried buttermilk. (Apparently I've been living under a rock because I hadn't heard of this product before, but it has since changed my life!)

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl I combined water...

An egg and some melted butter. (Which looked totally gross until I whisked it together- it was much easier to look at after that!)

Per the instructions, I then created a well in the dry ingredients and poured in the wet ones.

After a quick stir, I had a mass of sticky, yummy dough on my hands.

Literally- after transferring the dough to a greased casserole dish my hands were covered in the sticky deliciousness! 

After a quick brush of butter over the top (this butter is in addition to the butter called for in the recipe, FYI)... it was ready for the oven!

And in just over 30 minutes, I slid this lovely loaf from my oven!

When it had cooled a bit, I dumped it from the baking dish and promptly dug right in... talk about tasty! The bread has a slight sweetness to it and is wonderfully hearty- the perfect addition to a bowl of Irish stew!

If you'd like to try making this bread at your house, here's the recipe:

Irish Buttermilk Brown Bread

Ingredients:
4 cups King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups water
1 large egg
1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, buttermilk powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the water, egg, and melted butter. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the liquids. Stir together until blended and no dry spots remain; the dough will be soft and sticky. Scoop the dough into the prepared pan, mounding it in the center. Brush the top with some additional melted butter (I used about 1 tablespoon). FYI: Wait 5 minutes for liquid to be absorbed by the flour before baking. Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, or until it tests done (a cake tester inserted into the center will come out clean.) Remove it from the oven, and serve warm.

If you DO make it, I highly recommend that you slather a tab of butter on a warm slice... and promptly shove it into your mouth as fast as possible- I promise you won't regret it!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great Wednesday!

Green garland... that's green!

With St. Paddy's Day just around the corner, I wanted to give my house an extra shot of "green". And since I'm on a roll re-using discarded items for decorations (hello business card garland)... I thought I'd try it again this month! So here's a tutorial on my Green (or eco-friendly) Garland!

So, I took the paper towel and toilet paper tubes I'd been saving, and cut them into small rings.

Then I pulled some green and white paint from the shelf an got to work.

A while later (and after inadvertently painting my hand in the process)...

I had a whole pile of green rings ready for a project.

Then I grabbed a long piece of string and threaded the rings into a garland.

The greens and white were subtle, and they added a great tweak of color to my kitchen window.

And because the rolls were different sizes, the rings weren't all the same... so as I threaded them onto the string they twisted and turned into a really interesting (yet slightly cooky) shape! I kind of liked it, and decided it was an unexpected way to hang garland!

So now I have a little touch of green all ready for St. Paddy's Day (which is must easier to photography when there isn't so much back light, I promise)!

Thanks for visiting- I hope you have a great day!!

Pull me a pint, please!

For dinner on St. Patrick's Day, SFS met me at my office.
We took a shortcut through Lincoln Center...
Past The Met...
And on to our destination: P.J. Clarke's!!
SFS had made reservations for our meal at this lovely pub... check out the view from our table!
It didn't take us long to figure out what we wanted to eat!
While we waited for our food to arrive, we sipped some Irish beverages. SFS went with whiskey, which the restaurant had tinted a slight green...
And I went with the good ol' standard: Guinness!
To start our evening, SFS ordered some Gooseneck clams. I was a terrific sport by trying one: and I even chewed it this time. Apparently they were really delicious- I was a little too concerned with swallowing it to actually taste it... but I did it!
Our meals arrived shortly after that. I went with an "Irish" burger and fries. (Okay- it wasn't Irish, but I was trying to stick with the theme of the holiday!)
And SFS ordered corned beef, boiled potatoes and cabbage... and it even came with a slice of Soda Bread!
We really enjoyed our time at this yummy restaurant...
If you'd like to check it out, you can find it on the corner of 64th and 9th Avenue (and the original location is on 53rd and 3rd Avenue).
It certainly got our seal of approval!
I hope you had a wonderful holiday- thank you for stopping by!

Sláinte

I love Guinness!
And on St. Patrick's day, it's a pretty appropriate beverage... but have you ever thought about it as a meal? Thanks to the Internet, I found a recipe for Guinness Stew here, and decided to make it the other day! Want to sneak a peak at the finished product?
But let's back up- here's what I started with:
I added a tablespoon of oil to my trusy dutch oven (I'm quickly becoming addicted to this thing)...
Before adding the onions...
And garlic.
Once those were sufficiently sauteed, I put transfered them to a different bowl. Then I added another tablespoon of oil to the pan, and proceeded to sear the beef in small batches.
Once the beef was finished, I put it all back into the pan and added a bit of flour before stirring to coat all the meat.
With SFS' help, I added beef boullion...
And the Guinness- look at the foamy deliciosness!
Once the pot started to simmer...
I added in the pre-sauteed onions/garlic, carrots, and a couple bay leaves. After simmering for an hour, I added the weirdest ingredient I've ever put into a soup: PRUNES! You see, the beer makes the stew a little bitter, so the prunes sweeten things just a bit... and by the time the stew is finished the prunes will have disintegrated into nothing!
While the stew simmered for the last half hour, I peeled potatoes, quartered them, and put them in a pot of water to boil. Once they were tender, I strained them and tossed them in a bit of parsley (mostly for color). And before you know it, dinner was done!
Talk about a scrumptious, hearty dinner completely appropriate for today's holiday!
If you'd like to try the recipe yourself, here's the version I went with:

Guinness Stew

2 pounds of stew beef (cut into cubes)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 cups of onions - chopped
1/4 cup of flour
1 1/2 cups of beef broth
12 ounces of Guinness Beer
3 large carrots - sliced into coins
2 bay leaves
A pinch (or so) of black pepper
3/4 cup of prunes (pre-pitted and chopped into pieces)
6 potatoes

Directions: In a Dutch oven, on medium high heat, heat 1 Tablespoon of the oil and sautée the onions for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove them from the pot and add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of oil to the pan. Quickly sear the meat on all sides in several small batches. Return all the seared meat to the pan. Reduce heat, stir in the flour until all the meat is coated. Add beef broth and the Guinness and stir until mixture comes to a simmer. Add onions, garlic, carrots, bay leaves, and ground pepper to the pot before stirring. Simmer gently for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. (Make sure to cook the stew uncovered so that the gravy will thicken.) Add the prunes to the pot. Continue cooking for 1/2 hour- the gravy will develop a glossy finish. While you're waiting, peel and cut the potatoes into quarters. Put in pot of water and boil until tender. Once finished, strain the potatoes from the water and sprinkle with parsley (for color). When the stew is finished, remove bay leaf and add salt and pepper to taste.

Thanks for visiting my blog- I hope you have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!!