All About Food

Minnesota-Style St. Patrick's Day meal

Root vegetable. Corned beef. Sauerkraut. Rye. Gedney dills. It all adds up to something Irish. And a little bit Minnesotan.

When I got together with friends for a potluck meal last week, the theme was Something Irish, Something Gren.

I had just gotten the Lee Brother's newest cookbook, "Simple Fresh Southern," and found their recipe for Green Godess Potato Salad. Seasoned just right with fresh parsley and tarragon, a splash of champagne vinegar and some lime juice, the light mayo and sour cream-based dressing is just what the potato doctor ordered. And perfect for a "Green" potluck.

Green Goddess Potato Salad is the right match for a reuben sandwich on St. Patrick's Day. It will be just what we want when it's time to make a picnic lunch to take to the park or out on the boat. It's easy to make and only gets better with age. Click here to go right to a copy of the Lee Bros Green Goddess Potato Salad.

I made the Green Goddess Potato Salad for the potluck. It was enjoyed by all. With just a tiny bit of the potatoes remaining after eveyone had a chance to eat, I brought them home and discovered it is the perfect salad to eat with Reuben's.

And speaking of Reuben's, my husband says these Puffs are the only way to eat a Reuben. It's an open-face sandwich. A slice of toasted rye is the foundation for mustard, a layer of thinly sliced corned beef and a cheese mixture that includes chopped sauerkraut and Swiss cheese. And, some Minnesota flair with chopped Gedney Norwegian Dills. You know Gedney -- it's the Minnesota pickle! A few mintues under the broiler, and the cheesey topping gets melted, bubbly and brown.

Put it all together and you've got a Minnesota-style St. Patrick's Day meal.

Minnesota-style Reuben Puffs

Rinse and drain sauerkraut. Press between layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture. Set aside.

Process cheese and onion in a food processor until it is finely chopped. Add chopped pickle, mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon mustard and pepper. Process to blend. Add sauerkraut and pulse 2 or 3 times.

Spread remaining 2 tablespoons mustard evenly on 1 side of toasted bread slices. Top with corned beef. Spread with cheese mixture.

Place on a baking sheet. Broil 8 inches from heat, leaving door of oven partially open. for 6 to 8 minutes. They should be puffed and lightly browned. Serve immediately.

Tips from the cook:

Sauerkraut mixture can be prepared early in the day, or even the day before, and stored tightly covered in the refrigerator.

To make appetizer-sized Reuben Puffs, use the small cocktail rye bread. It is often found in the deli section of the supermarket.

 

 

Posted by: sdoeden on 3/17/2010 at 12:01 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Tags: gedney pickles, green goddess, lee brothers, potato salad, reuben sandwich, st patricks day food

Authentic Irish Soda Bread -- Really!

I've tasted soda bread once or twice over the years. I didn't care for it. Crumbly, dry, tasteless.

Then, along came Rachel Gaffney through the power of Twitter, one of the online social networking sites that is popular right now. About a year ago, Rachel and I began tweeting back and forth. Rachel, who was born and raised in Ireland and now lives in Texas, was planning a business trip to Minneapolis. I was going to be there at the same time. We decided to get together.

As we sipped a beverage and chatted at a table at Murray's, the famous steak place downtown Minneapolis, I learned more about this Irish entrepeneur. She's charged with energy, determination and drive, exactly what she needs to run her business, Rachel Gaffney's Authentic Irish Goods.

Rachel Gaffney recently sent me her recipe for authentic Irish soda bread. It looked easy enough to make, so I decided to give it a try. It's not like any other soda bread I've tasted. It's moist yet hardy. Not a raisin in sight. Delicious with a thick slather of good butter. Nice toasted, too. I found it best on the day it comes from the oven. Next time I'll shape the dough into two round loaves and freeze one of them. Rachel's recipe makes a large loaf, so unless you're feeding a crowd, you may want to do the same.

Rachel agreed to share some information about herself. Her most exciting bit of news, though, is that she will be appearing live on Martha Stewart's show Tuesday, March 16th. She'll be teaching Martha how to make her authentic Irish shortbread. Tune in and you can learn, too.

You can read more about Rachel by visiting her blog: Rachel Gaffney's Real Ireland.

Thanks for sharing your time and your soda bread with us, Rachel.

1. Rachel, what's your favorite way to eat Irish Soda Bread?

I love to eat Soda Bread for breakfast with KERRYGOLD SALTED BUTTER and Seville Orange Marmalade. Nice pot of hot Tea to accompany it.
I also love it with a bowl of Leek & Potato Soup.

2. Rachel, you were born and raised in Ireland. What's the St. Patrick's Day meal like in the Gaffney's household in Texas?

Every year, I take my sons skiing with my best friend. We have our annual Mum and Son trip. It always falls on St. Patrick's Day. My boys like to join in with the rest of the skiiers and wear their green, of course. When you look at them, they have the map of Ireland written all over their faces !!!!
We have to eat whatever is on offer in the local restaurants, but when we return, we will be having our family dinner with Dad. They have requested Lamb with the Irish Whiskey Marmalade Glaze , Turnip & Potato Gratin and of course my signature dessert, Brady's Irish Cream Cheesecake with my Irish Butter shortbread base.

3. When you have guests in your kitchen, do they get any clues that you're Irish?

I suppose having Irish Pottery, Irish Butter,Irish cheeses and LOTS of root vegetables might be a giveaway !!!

4. Traditional Irish Butter Shortbread is one of your products availabile in high-end grocery stores (Lund's and Byerly's in Minnesota). Who taught you to make shortbread?

When I was growing up my Mum used to make trays of Irish butter Shortbread for Birthday parties. She would ice them or sometimes she would layer the shortbreads with caramel and chocolate. Yum
I watched my Mum make them over and over again. The only way to learn anything, in my opinion, is to watch.

When I moved to the United States in 1996, I noticed that people's perception of the IRELAND I knew was somehow distorted. I decided in 2003 to start RACHEL GAFFNEY'S AUTHENTIC IRISH GOODS.

I began making my IRISH BUTTER SHORTBREADS 7 years ago. I subleased a bakery in Dallas and then outsourced to commercial production in 2008. This was an enormous challenge. Not only was I moving from a small facility to a large facility, but I was working with real ingredients. Using KERRYGOLD IRISH BUTTER is unlike working with a domestic butter. It took me almost 4 years of R&D to be able to make this commercially.

5. Rachel, you are one of Martha Stewart's Dreamers to Doers. What was it like to visit the Martha Stewart set?

Last September I was reading something on line about a site called DREAMERS INTO DOERS. This is on the MARTHA STEWART site. There are 4,000 members. Here is where I met fellow DREAMERS who have turned their passion and dream into a business or charity. In January, forty of us got together in New York and attended the MARTHA STEWART show. It was a wonderul experience. The staff were exceptional and to see them behind the scenes, well lets just say it's a Well-Oiled Machine.

6. Any vices, on the food front?

BUTTER. What some people consider to be a vice, I consider a neccessity and that's really good butter. Not just because of the taste but because the butter is made from grass fed cattle. Cattle in Ireland are free to graze during our grass-growing season from March to November. I know that the butter I am feeding my family is great butter. There is absolutely nothing in it that your body cannot break down by itself.

7. What three things are always in your refrigerator?

I ALWAYS have Kerrygold Salted & Unsalted Butter in my fridge along with Dubliner cheese. My kids love to eat and cheese is a staple in their snacking diet. When they come home from school they will slice a Granny Smith apple, Dubliner Cheddar Cheese and put a slice of cheese between two slices of apple!

8. Something else we don't know about you?

I love Irish Literature. I studied Speech & Drama from the age of 8 , performing in plays & 'Feis Maitiu' in Cork City. Every year I studied and sat my exams through the London College Of Music until I was 18.
In fact my next visit is going to be to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, when one of Brian Friels plays graces the stage.......................

Rachel Gaffney's Irish Soda Bread

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl mix all dry ingredients. Make a well in the center then add all liquid ingredients. Mix together. Use a little whole wheat flour if the mixture is too wet to form a ball. Form a ball on a lightly greased baking sheet. Make a cross in the center and bake for approx 45 minutes.

P.S. from S.D.: I used White Wheat Whole Grain Flour from Dakota Family Mill in place of the traditional whole wheat flour. It offers the same health benefits, but delivers a lighter color and texture in the soda bread.

Posted by: sdoeden on 3/15/2010 at 12:01 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Tags: kerrygold butter, dakota family mill, food, irish shortbread, rachel gaffneys authentic irish food, white wheat whole grain flour

Potato Nests

I made salmon patties last week. I've been eating the fish patties ever since I was a child. They were a Lenten special in our house and always a favorite of my dad's. He loved salmon patties best when they were served with mashed potatoes and creamed peas. I still serve them that way. If you like salmon patties, you might like to try my recipe. Click here to go right to the recipe. If you've checked out the recipes in my newspaper column in the past, you'll be happy to see they've added a printer-friendly version of the recipe.

I like to create shallow nests with the mashed potatoes, forming a perfect shallow well for a generous spoonful of creamy peas. A swipe of melted butter over their tops keeps them moist on the inside and, after a short trip into the oven for a quick broil, the butter develops speckles of golden brown.

I prepare six potato nests at a time. That always provides me with some leftovers to put in the refrigerator for another day. On Saturday morning, I heated a couple of the cold potato nests at 50% power in the microwave oven while my husband poached some eggs.

Poached eggs nestled into Potato Nests, sprinkled with sliced green onions was a satisfying weekend breakfast. If you're having guests for the Easter weekend (it will be here before we know it) keep these Potato Nests in mind. Make them ahead and they can make Easter brunch much easier. You'll be a hop ahead.

 Potato Nests

Wash and peel potatoes. Cut into large chunks. Place in pot with enough water to cover. Bring to boil. Cook until potatoes are tender. Drain and mash potatoes. Beat in salt, pepper, hot milk, 2 tablespoons butter and egg, continuing until mixture is smooth and creamy. Add more hot milk if mixture is too thick and stiff.

Spoon mixture into 6 equal-sized mounds on a buttered baking sheet. Use back of spoon to form shallow nests. at this point, potato nests can be covered and stored in refrigerator.

Preheat broiler. If potatoes have been refrigerated, take them out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before broiling, giving them time to come close to room temperature. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Use a pastry brush to coat the top of each potato nest with butter. Slide the pan of potatoes under the broiler. Oven rack should be about 8 inches away from broiler element. Remove Potato Nests from oven when tops are brown.

Leftover potato nests can be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to three days. Heat in the microwave at 50% or 60% power.

Posted by: sdoeden on 3/14/2010 at 12:05 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: brunch, make ahead breakfast, mashed potatoes, potatoes, salmon patties

It's coffee cake.

A couple of weeks ago I stopped into a cozy coffee shop tucked into a rural community in West Central Minnesota. On the exterior, it was just an old brick building, but one step through the door and my nostrils were greeted with the aroma of rich brewed coffee. Cookies, sweet rolls and scones tempted me from the case of sweets. I decided this was a place I could nestle into for a while.

As I ordered my first cup of coffee of the day -- large dark roast, no cream -- I spied a cake in a 9-x13-inch pan situated on the counter. A couple of pieces had already been served from the cake, so I could see its insides. I thought for sure it looked like a rhubarb cake. If I could be that lucky, I would definitely splurge on a big chunk to eat with my coffee.

It was a very brief back and forth conversation with the server in the shop that dashed away any dreams of satisfying my taste buds that had begun to salivate for rhubarb cake.

Me: Excuse me. What kind of cake is that?

She: It's coffee cake.

Me: Oh, there's no rhubarb in it?

She: No, it's coffee cake.

Me: So, there's coffee in the cake? (I thought this a legitimate question, since this was a coffee shop, after all.)

She: It's coffee cake.

Me: Okay. I'll take a piece, please.

The cake was good, despite the fact it had no rhubarb. It was moist on the inside. The top carried a blanket of crunchy sugary topping. It went well with my coffee. I guess that's why it's called coffee cake.

After finishing my morning pick-me-up, I walked to an antique shop that was close-by. I found a rack of old church cookbooks. As I was paging through a cookbook from a church in the community, a recipe for COFFEE CAKE jumped right out at me. I decided to buy the book and make coffee cake when I returned home. By the time I was done shopping, my arms were loaded with at least half a dozen old cookbooks with their stained pages, torn covers and occasional notes jotted in by previous owners as they baked and cooked their favorite recipes.

When I set the stack of cookbooks on the counter to pay for them, I was shocked when the store owner told me they were $9.99 each. What? I'll bet they didn't cost that much brand new. Apparently, church cookbooks are harder to come by these days, thus their value has increased. Just when I thought I would clean out all the old church cookbooks from my shelves -- guess not. I walked out of the store with just two cookbooks and 4 of the prettiest little Italian espresso cups and saucers.

Finally, I've made a coffee cake. I used the recipe from the old church cookbook I brought home, but added my own topping and some sweet almond glaze. It's so old-fashioned looking -- it seems like something out of grandma's kitchen. And it tastes like it, too. Delicious!

When I took the pretty little cake out of the oven, it suddenly occured to me that I had forgotten to add the sugar to the cake batter.

Sugar is added to baked goods for a good reason. Irregular sugar crystals create thousands of tiny air pockets that produce a delicate and satisfying crumb structure and expanded volume. Sugar also slows down the baking time, giving the baking powder time to work. So, with sugar, this coffee cake would have a delicate crumb texture rather than here-and-there holes. And, it may even have more volume if the baking powder had a little more time to do its job.

My coffee cake -- no sugar -- gets plenty of sweetness from the almond and brown sugar topping. I mixed some almond paste into the butter and brown sugar. It adds marvelous flavor.

 Well, now you know. It's coffee cake. No sugar. No cream. Coffee cake.

Coffee Cake with Sweet Almond Topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a 9-inch round baking pan or glass baking dish.

Make Sweet Almond Topping:

In a bowl, mix:

Set topping aside.

Make cake:

Sift together into a mixing bowl:

Whisk in:

In a 2-cup glass measure, beat:

Add:

Add:

Pour liquid into bowl with dry ingredients. Mix just until none of the dry ingredients are visible. Spread batter in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with topping. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Allow cake to cool in pan on wire rack. Make glaze and drizzle over the cake.

Glaze

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Leftover glaze can be stored in the refrigerator.

Cake adapted from recipe in First Lutheran Church Cookbook, Morris, MN. 1986.

 

 

 

Posted by: sdoeden on 3/11/2010 at 1:15 PM | Comments (7) | Permalink

Tags: baking, brunch, coffee cake, food, sweet almond topping

Coffee and Cream Fudge Bites - a little bit of Irish

 Ever since I was in grade school, St. Patrick's' Day has been a day when I wish I was at least a little bit Irish. The teachers at my school instructed their Irish students to wear something green on St. Patrick's Day. The rest of us -- orange. So, while many of my friends came to school wrapped in green sweaters, donning fuzzy green shamrocks on their shirt, or wearing green socks, I would come with an orange headband in my hair. I would have preferred green.

As a young baker, though, I made sure our family had shamrock-shaped sugar cookies frosted in green on St. Patrick's Day. I never told my teachers.

To this day, I don't wear a bit of green on St. Patrick's Day -- my teachers taught me well. But, I don't wear orange, either. I just sneak a little bit of Irish into the foods I eat on that special day.

This year, I developed a pie with a fudge brownie crust, filled with Irish Cream pudding and topped with Irish Cream-spiked whipped cream.  I discovered the brownie crust batter can be dropped onto baking sheets to create chocolatey rich cookies.

One bite and you'll think you've discovered the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But, wait. There's more. Creamy frosting made with coffee, chcolate and Irish cream is swirled over the top of each cookie.

I topped each frosted cookie with one tiny Chocolate Crunchy Bit. I first experienced these cute candies a few months ago at Meritage, a restaurant located downtown St. Paul. After an exquisite meal, I studied their dessert menu. One of the desserts listed was described as being served with chocolate rice krispies. In my mind, I pictured chocolate-flavored crunchy rice cereal and I could not  imagine why on earth a restaurant serving such wonderful food would include dessert with cereal sprinkled over the top. I ordered it out of curiousity.

It turned out the chocolate rice krispies were not cereal. They were crunchy little chocolate balls. On that same trip to the Twin Cities, I found a bag of the cute chocolate rounds at Cooks of Crocus Hill. They're the perfect adornment for Coffee and Irish Cream Fudge Bites.

The fudgy cookies are just a little bit Irish in a non-traditional kind of way. But they will be all I need to sneak a streak of Irish into my house on St. Patrick's Day.

Oh, if you feel like a pie with a fudge brownie crust and a filling that's a bit Irish along with a topping of cream, just click here.

Coffee and (Irish) Cream Fudge Bites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter, unsweetened chocolate and semisweet chocolate into a 4-cup glass measure. Microwave at 50% to 60% power. Stir after each minute until mixture is melted and smooth. This will take just a couple of minutes. Stir in sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, coffee or whiskey and vanilla extract and mix well. Add flour and salt and mix just until thoroughly blended. Refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours or overnight. At baking time, drop dough, about a heaping teaspoon per cookie, onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

When cookies are completely cool, frost with Irish Coffee Frosting.

In a medium bowl, combine cocoa with hot coffee and Irish Cream. Add butter, vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat with electric hand mixer until creamy and smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scoop frosting into a sandwich-size plastic bag. Twist the top of the bag, moving the frosting toward one corner of the bag. Use scissors to cut a small piece from one tip of the bag. Squeeze the bag to pipe frosting onto the top of each cookie. Garnish with chocolate crunchy bits, if desired.

 

Posted by: sdoeden on 3/07/2010 at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: brownies, chocolate cookies, crunchy chocolate bits, food, irish cream, irish cream frosting, irish dessert

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