Irish Recipe Roundup

So, next week is St. Patty's Day? I kind of totally forgot about it until a friend reminded me that Saturday was the annual Seaside St. Patrick's Day parade. Which on the one hand made me kind of sad because I used to love St. Patty's; we would go out with a huge group of friends all dressed in green, starting the festivities about 10 am and going all day on the boardwalk. But on the other hand, at the ripe age of 32 I really can't even imagine going out at 10 am and just the thought of the hangover that would surely follow (I can't hang for more than 2 glasses of wine these days) is enough to make me break out in a cold sweat. So, I guess I'm not really all that sad.

Matt was actually away snowboarding this weekend at a bachelor party, so my St. Patty's weekend consisted of baby & bridal shower planning, taking my little guy to see his first play (Puss In Boots, which he loved) and out to dinner, some backyard snow playing, and generally just hanging out with my babies and the family. Low key is all good with me.

BUT. Just because we don't do the all-day parade parties anymore doesn't mean we can't enjoy a Guinness or glass of good whiskey and a solid Irish meal. Clearly I myself won't be partaking in any corned beef & cabbage rituals, but Matt always picks some up at the butcher for him and Riker, and I usually whip up something green along with an Irish soda bread. Baked fish & chips also sometimes makes an appearance, since it's one of the things we ate the most when we went to Ireland a few years back and I love it.

If you're looking for a few ideas for your St. Patty's Day/week, here are a few of my favorites. I will say that my food philosophy has changed quite a bit in recent years as I learn more about food additives, pesticides, refining processes and the like, so these days I don't do much baking with refined ingredients - but you could always substitute coconut sugar for white sugar (it's a 1:1 ratio) and whole wheat flour for white flour. Use the recipes as-is or tweak to fit your life!

In order of courses:

Old Fashioned (Fluffy) Irish Soda Bread

Orange Bourbon Marmalade

Spaghetti with Caramelized Onions, Kale and Garlic 

(totally not Irish, but it's green so I sometimes make it anyway on St. Patty's)

Guinness Brownies with Irish Buttercream Frosting

If you have any good St. Patty's recipes, especially vegetarian ones, leave 'em in the comments!

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Over the last few years pizza has become a beloved Friday night staple in our house. At least during the winter months. Every Friday there's a bit of a buzz in the house...we've made it through another work week, we have a whole weekend ahead of us, we can stay up a little later than usual tonight - letting Riker stay up past his bedtime to watch a family movie, and then putting the kids to bed to drink a bottle of wine and binge watch 4 more episodes of Orange is the New Black - and, there's pizza. There will almost always be pizza, and it will almost always be eaten on TV trays in the living room while watching a Disney flick. Because, Friday.

The pizza varies. On some Fridays we just really don't feel like cooking. The work week has been extra tiresome or the kids haven't been feeling well or I had to work late on Friday...or I just simply don't feel like cooking. I'd rather crack open a beer or pop the cork off a bottle of wine, relax and play with my babies for an extra hour while we wait for the delivery guy to come. On those days we call our local favorite, Tony's, and wait with anticipation for it to arrive (I admit, those days are Riker's favorite. "The PIZZA GUY IS COMING!").

But on other Fridays I like to make homemade pizza with all kinds of fun toppings. Like caramelized butternut squash, crispy kale, pomegranate seeds and fontina cheese.

Or like last Friday's masterpiece, garlic ricotta, balsamic caramelized onions, shaved Brussels sprouts and mozzarella. I absolutely adore Brussels sprouts on pizza, by the way. If you haven't tried it yet, do it. They get all crunchy and golden and delicious, and you can tell yourself that you don't need a salad on the side because your veggies are already on the pizza.

(For these less traditional pizzas, we always make Riker try a bite before letting on that I've made a regular sauce & cheese pizza for him as a backup. He loves green veggies so will usually eat half a slice before saying he doesn't want any more, which is when I bring out a regular slice for him.)

Pizza dough is so easy to make, and I usually make a batch big enough for two doughs so I can stash one in the freezer for another day. There is something so satisfying about making your own, and the taste is really, really good. This particular dough is nice because it's 100% whole wheat but it doesn't have a cardboard-like texture. It's a bit chewy and has a nice crunch on the bottom.

It's a blank canvas! Pizza Friday will take a hiatus this coming weekend since we're going to my in-laws' for dinner, but I've already planned out the Friday after that. Taco pizza. With homemade refried beans as the base. Friday, where are you?

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Makes 2 crusts

Ingredients
1 tsp. coconut sugar (can use regular sugar or honey if you don't have coconut sugar)
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 cups whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur Organic Whole Wheat)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and warm water and stir until dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast over the top, and let the mixture stand until foamy, about 5-10 minutes. Add the salt and olive oil to the yeast and stir to combine. Slowly pour the flour into the yeast mixture and stir, allow wet mixture to be absorbed before adding more. Continue mixing until the dough is combined. Form the dough into a ball.

Coat the inside of another large mixing bowl with some olive oil and place the ball of dough in the bowl; turn it once so the dough is oiled on all sides. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Divide the dough into 2 pieces; either wrap in plastic wrap and freeze at this stage, or roll out on a floured surface. Top, bake, enjoy!

When ready to make the pizza, bake it at 450 for about 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

The Perfect Poached Egg

You need this on Saturday morning.

Poached eggs, specifically Eggs Benedict, are a weekend breakfast obsession of mine. If we go out to breakfast and they're on the menu, it's the only thing I'm ordering. But making poached eggs at home has never been one of my talents. For years I've been trying to get them right - perfectly round, firm on the outside but soft in the middle, and opaque enough so you don't see the yolk until cutting it open. No matter how many times I tried, they always seemed to spread and be a bit see-through. 

Not anymore.

Poached eggs are finicky little things, but a few key details make all the difference:

- The perfect temperature water
- A whirlpool
- A splash of vinegar

A lot of times we'll eat these on an Ezekiel English muffin with lox, or over a simple salad of lemon dressed arugula and tomatoes. These particular ones were laid atop a slice of toasted whole grain bread topped with sautéed spinach, kale, scallions, grape tomatoes and melted gruyere cheese, and then sprinkled with fleur de sel, freshly cracked pepper and red pepper flakes.

It's what Saturday mornings were made for.

The Perfect Poached Egg

This is really more of a technique than a recipe. Here's how I make mine:

1. Place a medium sized pot about half full of water on the stove.
2. Add a splash (about a teaspoon) of white vinegar.
3. Heat the water over medium heat until just before it begins to simmer, then turn it all the way to low. The water should be very hot but not actually bubbling at all.
4. Crack an egg into a small dish or ramekin (if you crack the egg right into the pot, the whites will spread).
5. Using a wooden spoon, swirl the water a few times until you have a whirlpool going.
6. Place the egg dish very close to the water and gently slide the egg into the center of the whirlpool. Poach only one egg at a time - it takes longer, but it's worth it. When the egg first goes in it will look like it's falling apart, but give it a minute.
7. After a couple seconds (maybe 10-20), use your wooden spoon to gently move the egg, helping the egg wrap around the yolk and making sure it doesn't stick to the bottom (if it's starting to stick, just use the spoon or a plastic spatula to carefully lift it a bit).
8. After about 3-4 minutes, when the egg is getting firm but still wobbles a bit when nudged, scoop it out and lay it on a plate lined with paper towels. Let all the excess water drain into the towel.
9. There will usually be some extra egg white clouding the water after this, so I like to scoop all that out before repeating the process with the next egg.

If you've cooked a couple eggs separately and want to reheat them all before serving, just drop them gently back into the hot water for a few seconds, drain on paper towels and then serve.