Irish Christmas Cookies, Warm from the oven

The sure sign that Christmas is coming is when the very first batch of cookies appeared from the oven! Many favorite Irish cookies baked in the homes of families throughout the Brandywine Valley are filled with Irish Cream or whiskey and candied fruits.

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated Sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup Irish whiskey
• 1/4 cup candied citron, chopped
• 1/4 cup golden raisins, blanched and chopped
• 1/4 cup almonds, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and prepare two greased cookie sheets; set aside.

2. In a small mixing bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar.

3. Beat in the eggs until well blended. Add the flour and the Irish whiskey, and beat the dough until smooth.

4. Add the fruit and nuts, and mix well.

5. Drop cookie dough from a tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheets.

6. Bake at 375 degrees F each sheet of cookies for 8 to 10 minutes.

7. Remove the cookies from the baking sheets with a spatula while still warm.

8. Place on wire rack to partially cool.

9. Store the cookies in an airtight container with a slice of white bread to maintain their soft, fruity texture.

Irish-American Christmas cookies: The Famous Shortbread Cookie

It is time to start thinking of all the wonderful Christmas Cookies that appear this time of year.   I've started pulling out all of my cookie and cake recipes and began planning my baking time.

 One of my favorite is the shortbread

The success of a 'shortie' as shortbread is also known is to handle the dough with care. Do not pound or knead heavily, and make sure your hands and the dishes you use are cold. The resulting shortbread will then be light and crumbly with a dense buttery taste.

Choose the method you prefer for 'rolling' out the dough. You can either roll with a pin, or press directly into a tin or a shortbread mold if you have one.

·         2 1/4 sticks butter

·         Tiny pinch of salt

·         1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

·         2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

·         3 1/2 oz. cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2. In a large bowl cream together the butter, salt and sugar until light, fluffy, and pale in color. This can take at least 10 minutes. Alternatively use a food mixer.

3. Mix the flour and cornstarch and sieve into the bowl of butter and sugar. Mix quickly and thoroughly to bring all the ingredients together but do not over mix.

4. Tip the mixture onto a lightly floured work surface and bring knead lightly and quickly to form a loose dough. then either:

5. Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to 1/4” thick. Prick the surface all over with a fork. Cut into desired shape or rounds using cookie cutters. Place the Scottish short breads on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until pale brown and crisp. Sprinkle the warm Scottish short breads with fine sugar and leave to cool on a wire cooling rack.

6. Grease a Swiss roll tin 9" x 13” with butter. Press the dough into the tin and press with your fingers to level the surface, prick all over with a fork. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. With the shortbread still in the tin, cut into squares or fingers, leave to cool for 15 minutes then carefully remove to a wire cooling rack.

7. Store in an airtight tin or box

Dublin City’s gourmet stuffed breast of chicken

I found this dish while visiting one of Dublin's many pubs.  It was so tasty, I thought I'd share with you.  

This recipe is a delicious way of serving boneless chicken breasts, using Ireland’s major and well loved products of whiskey. Serve this dish with fresh young vegetables from the garden or farmers market and a tomato concasse. A Concasse, is a French cooking term meaning "to crush or grind” or rough chop any ingredient, usually vegetables. The term is particularly applied to tomatoes, where tomato concasse is a tomato that has been peeled, seeded (seeds and skins removed), and chopped to the size of a small dice to medium dice.

Serving four, this recipe provides a great alternative for the Sunday dinner over the traditional roast chicken. It is also a great idea for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner with the family. The smoky and earthy flavor of the whiskey and mushrooms as the chicken is flamed provides and down to earth meal with a gourmet flair.

Ingredients:

·         4 (6oz) free range boneless chicken breast

·         8 strips of smoked bacon

·         2 tbsp. Jameson Irish whiskey

·         Tomato concasse

·         Mint leaves to garnish

·         Stuffing:

·         3 oz wild mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

·         1 oz Irish butter

·         8 oz cooked potato, mashed

·         1 egg free range yolk

·         1 tbsp. chopped fresh herbs

·         Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Slice each chicken breast into two fillets. Gently pound out the chicken breast fillets to thin pieces that are easily rolled.

3. Begin process for the stuffing. Sauté the mushrooms in the butter until soft. Mix with all the remaining ingredients.

4. Place stuffing in the center of each pounded chicken breast fillet and to with another fillet. Continue until all fillets are used. Reshape the breasts, and wrap each in two strips of bacon. Secure them with thread or toothpicks. The breasts should resemble a small oblong tube.

5. Place the wrapped breast on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes.

6. Flame the chicken with the Irish whiskey. Serve on warmed plates with a little tomato concesse and spring vegetables. Garnish with mint leaves.

Tomato cancesse sauce

·         1 garlic clove, crushed

·         1 small sprig of rosemary

·         ½ tomato, skinned, seeded and diced

·         3 oz Irish butter, divided in half

·         6 oz chicken broth

Sauté the garlic, rosemary and tomato in a small pan using half of the butter until tomatoes are very soft. Add broth and boil to reduce by half. Season and transfer to a food processor. Process with a food processor until sauce is a liquid with no lumps. Return liquid to the pan and add remain butter.

Scot-Irish holiday: St Andrews feast on 30 November

Annually, the emigrants of the Brandywine Valley gather together to celebrate their patron saints. One such saint is St Andrew; the patron saint of Scotland. Many of today’s population are of Scot-Irish decent and embrace both cultures and traditions.

November 30 is the traditional fest day of St. Andrew; however, Wilmington celebrates the holiday on the nearest Sunday to the feast day. This year festive celebration will be on December 6th. Many Scots and Irish gather together in local pubs or homes to eat traditional foods and listen to bagpipers. Others listen while poets recite the Ode to the Haggis by Robert Burns. Kilts and tartans are the costume of the day.

A typical dinner menu for the night:

Cock-a-leekie soup

Haggis (this is a dish of liver, oatmeal and spices cooked in a casting. Most of us prefer the fish and chips to the Scot tradition of Haggis and mashed potatoes).

Mashed potatoes

Mashed Rutabagas

Peas

Shortbread

The Cock-a-Leekie Soup

·         1 small boiling chicken

·         1 lb. leeks, thoroughly washed and cut into small pieces

·         10 cups of chicken stock

·         2 tbsp. long grain white rice

·         2/3 cups dried prunes (soaked overnight)

·         1 bay leaf

·         Salt and pepper to taste

Place the Chicken in a large pot with the stock, leeks, bay leaf, and seasoning. Bring to a boil ant then skim off the fat. Simmer for two to three hours or until the chicken is tender. Remove chicken, discard skin and bones. Cut chicken into small pieces and place to the side. Again, skim off any fat, add rice and simmer for another 30 minutes. Place the chicken back into the pot. Check seasonings for taste. Reheat for another 5 to 10 minutes. Serves 6-8

The Shortbread

·         2 sticks butter

·         ½ cup confectioners’ sugar

·         2 ½ cups flour

·         1 tsp. baking powder

Cream butter and sugar, and work in the flour and baking powder. Press into a baking pan and prick it all over with a fork. The size of the pan determines what thickness you want the shortbread to be. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour. Immediate after taking it out of the oven, cut into squares. Let cool.

Serve with a good single malt scotch or very good holiday tea.

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Top Irish American Recipes for Autumn and Winter Cooking 

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This is a great opportunity to gain access to not only great recipes but resources chock full of cooking tips and our heritage great stories. 

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• Broth Soups
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Free Bonus:  Top 10 Favorite Tea Cakes includes Irish Whiskey Cake, Porter Cake, St. Patrick Cake and many others. 

Top Favorite Tea Scones includes Apple Scones, Buttermilk Scones and how to make a Perfect Cup of Tea

Duchess Kerry Potatoes

It’s impossible to talk about Irish food without mentioning the potato. They first saved the Irish then almost destroyed them. There are few Irish-American households where the potato is not still a staple and anyone who makes even a basic stab at growing vegetables will plant a few spuds in their backyard gardens
They are eaten boiled, mashed, fried, chipped and baked, mixed with cabbage or scallions to make colcannon or champ, made into potato cakes and used to top pies and thicken soups or stews. Typically farms markets will stock at least 5 or 6 different varieties, often many more, with the varieties changing depending on the season and each suited to a particular method of cooking.
Of all foods, the humble spud is certainly the most traditional. We may not be dependent on them in the way our ancestors did in the past but there are a lot of Irish-American people for whom a dinner without potatoes is not a dinner at all.
Here is a wonderful old recipe that is passed down through the ages.

Ingredients
2lbs farm fresh organic Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
salt
1/4 cup farm fresh heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (farm butter is better)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 egg yolks (make sure you use free-range chicken eggs)

Directions
1. Place the Yukon potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring pot to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender (about 30 minutes).
2. While the potatoes are boiling, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and set aside. Preheat the oven to 425F.
3. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and place the potatoes back in the pot over low heat. Allow them to release steam for about a minute. Add 2 tablespoons of unmelted butter and mash the potatoes until the butter has been incorporated. Add the nutmeg, garlic, black pepper, heavy cream, and continue to mash the potatoes. Once everything has been incorporated, add salt to taste, then add the egg yolks. Mash until the mixture is smooth (don't over-mash).

4. Place the potatoes in a piping bag with a large star point. Pipe the potatoes onto a cookie sheet. Brush the potatoes with the melted butter then place in the oven and bake until browned (about 20 minutes).

Irish apple cake with custard sauce

It is apple picking season in the Brandywine valley and surrounding areas. So it is a perfect time to share this recipe for an Irish Apple Cake. This apple cake is wonderful for Tea time or for dessert. It has been the showcase of many a dinner party. 

In the old days, this traditional recipe would have been baked in an iron bastible or pot oven beside an open fire. Today, we use cast iron skillets or spring form pans in hot ovens.

FOR THE CAKE:
3 cup Flour
2 t. Baking Powder
1/8 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Cloves, ground
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg, ground
6 oz. Butter, (cold is fine)
3/4 cup Sugar
4 large Granny Smith apples(I used golden delicious to great effect)
2 Eggs
3/4 Cup Milk
2 Tbsp Sugar (for sprinkling on top of cake)

FOR THE CUSTARD:
6 large Egg Yolks
6 Tbsp. Sugar
1 1/2 cup Whole Milk
1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla

Instructions

THE CAKE:
1. Grease and flour an 8" or 9" round spring form pan. Using an 8" pan will give you a taller cake. Or if your adventurous, try a grease and flour a cast iron Dutch oven.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cloves and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl. Make sure the bowl is very large to allow room for the apples to be folded in.
4. Cut the butter into the flour using your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the 3/4 cup of sugar to the flour mixture and mix in.
5. Peel the apples and slice them into uniform pieces. This cake works best and gets that 'chunky apple look' if the slices are about 1/4" wide and then cut into 3 pieces. Toss the apples into the flour mixture and combine them thoroughly.
6. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. Add to the apples and flour and mix in with a large spatula until just combined. Batter will be thick and dough-like.
7. Transfer the dough into the prepared cake pan and flatten the top surface using the back of your spatula. Sprinkle the sugar over the top of the cake.
8. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Test the center for doneness. The top of the cake should be golden brown. Serve slices with custard sauce.

THE CUSTARD SAUCE:
1. Place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until pale yellow, 2-3 minutes. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and bring just to a boil. Slowly whisk the hot milk into the egg & sugar mixture. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and stir over medium heat until custard thickens, about 4 minutes. Custard should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Mix in the vanilla. Transfer to bowl or serving saucer.
2. Serve warm or cold over apple cake.

Wilmington holiday Irish whiskey cookies

Jameson Irish Whiskey

Wilmington Irish descendants start their holiday baking early; however, cookie baking is done in two batches. One baking day of cookies is accomplished around Thanksgiving. These are usually for gifts for friends and relatives. A second day of baking is done about a week before Christmas. These homemade cookies have always been a favorite with kids and grown-ups alike on both sides of the Atlantic. Holiday cookies come in various shapes and sizes and almost every cuisine has its unique holiday cookie recipe. Drop cookies, chocolate-chip cookies, pressed cookies, car cookies and so on, there are endless number of cookies. If you love trying out new and recipes, then you might want to try out this holiday Irish cookie recipe with Irish whiskey.

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated Sugar

3 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose Flour

1/4 cup Irish whiskey

1/4 cup candied citron, chopped

1/4 cup golden raisins, blanched and chopped

1/4 cup almonds, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 F and grease two cookie sheets; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar. Beat in the eggs until well blended. Add the flour and the Irish whiskey, and beat the dough until smooth. Add the fruit and nuts, and mix well. Drop cookie dough from a tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake each sheet of cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the baking sheets with a spatula while still warm. Place on wire rack to partially cool.

Store the cookies in an airtight container with a slice of white bread to maintain their soft, fruity texture.

Tip: Drizzle cookies with a whiskey cream icing.

Whiskey cream topping:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons water (you can add a teaspoon more, if needed)

1/4 teaspoon Irish whiskey or Irish Cream liquor

1. To make icing: In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, water and whiskey or liquor, stirring until smooth. Add another 1/2 teaspoon or two of water for desired drizzling consistency. Put cooled cookies side by side in jellyroll pan and, using a teaspoon, drizzle glaze over cookies.

Turkey breast with cherry sauce for an Irish style Thanksgiving

Turkey breast with cherry sauce

Kimberley Riccio

One of the ways the Irish Wilmingtonain's celebrate Thanksgiving is with this wonderful Turkey Breast. To the Irish and the Wilmingtonains the cherry tree has great meaning. The old Celtic legend goes something like this --- To learn what age you will live to be, walk around a cherry tree nine times and then shake the tree. the number of cherries that fall to the ground will indicate the age you will lie to be.

Whether we Irish Wilmingtonain's still believe in this old Celtic legend or not, we still love to prepare this delicious turkey dinner for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is also great during the late spring when the cherries are ripe.

1 turkey breast, roasted

1 lb fresh liver sausage

4 tbsp butter melted

1 lb cherries, pitted

3 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsps water

1/2 tsp basil

1/8 tsp cinnamon

Cut turkey breast into four equal slices. Spread the liver sausage over each slice and place in a casserole dish. It is okay if they touch, but do not overlap each slice. Drizzle butter over each slice and heat in a warm oven. Place cherries in a saucepan with the remaining ingredients. Simmer until fruit is pulpy and then run through a grinder. Pour sauce over the slices and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Irish Whiskey Pudding

Irish Chocolate Whiskey Pudding

Kimberley Riccio

Chocolate and whiskey is a wonderful mix of favorite flavors. The mixture of whiskey and chocolate is unique and is a favorite around the holidays. A quarter cup of Irish whiskey gives the pudding a gentle flavor. A half cup if you are serving to devout whiskey drinkers. The creaminess of the milk chocolate is only enhanced by the flavor of a good whiskey. If you like a thick creamy chocolate pudding – check this out. Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings

• ¾ cup sugar
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 large eggs
• ¼ cup whiskey
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3 oz (or 3 squares) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter - soften
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• Whipped cream – optional

Method:

1. Whisk together sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan.
2. Whisk in eggs, and then put over medium heat.
3. Whisk in whiskey, half-and-half, and milk. Whisking constantly until lumps disappear and mixture begins to thicken – about 11 minutes.
4. Keep to just below a simmer. Whisk in chocolate until melted.
5. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla.
6. Pour pudding into one large or several small bowls or large martini glasses. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing wrap directly onto pudding to prevent a skin from forming.
7. Chill in refrigerator until cold for up to a day.

Another serving suggestion – Pour the pudding into a large pie crust and chill. This makes a great Chocolate cream pie.

An Irish American Thanksgiving – turkey with watercress sauce

Turkey in front of the fire

Kimberley Riccio

In Ireland, the Thanksgiving was celebrated with the autumn harvest of October and November. When the Irish settle in America, they brought an Irish touch to an American holiday.Thousands of Irish landed in the cities of the eastern seaboard and, unable to travel any further into the continent, most settled in the eastern colonies and established new lives in America. They settled together, forming wholly Irish communities. Those arriving in Philadelphia, who were unable to find employment there, found their way to other towns along the Brandywine river and eventually settled in Wilmington, Delaware. The Irish spread out throughout the city of Wilmington and the state of Delaware, working in the various industries and establishing churches and schools, and continued to flourish. Their small homes with gardens and farm yards provided many of their Sunday and holiday dinners. Many of the foods they served at the Thanksgiving were Irish mashed potatoes (colcannon),whiskey carrots, acorn squash, turkey with watercress sauce, and sage and onion stuffing.

Roast turkey with Watercress Sauce

1 (10lb) turkey

Salt and pepper

5 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. olive oil

6 cloves garlic, crushed

2 bunches watercress, trimmed and chopped

2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Season the turkey all over, inside and out. Melt 4 tbsp. of butter with the oil over medium high heat in a heavy roasting pan that is large enough to hold the turkey. Put the turkey into the pan, breast side down and cook for about 4-6 minutes to brown it.

3. Remove he turkey from the pan and add the onions and garlic. Place the pan over 2 burners on the stove top and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Return the turkey to the roasting ban breast side up and bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until done. If the bottom of pan starts to dry out during cooking add a little water to prevent the onions from burning. Test for doneness, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh; the temperature should be 175 degrees. Alternately, pierce the same place with a skewer. If the juices run clear, the turkey is cooked.

4. Remove the turkey from the pan and set aside to rest for about 15 minutes.

5. When ready to serve the turkey, pour the pan juices through a sieve into a small bowl. Press the onion through. Melt the remaining 1 tbsp of butter in the roasting pan over medium heat, and then add watercress and parsley. Stir will and cook for about 1 minute. Add the pan juices and cream, stir well and cook about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Carve the turkey and serve the sauce on the side.

A warm Wilmington Irish onion soup

Irish Onion Soup

The French of Wilmington have nothing on the Irish when it comes to onion soup! A flavor of the Irish in Wilmington during the cold of January and February, this warm and hearty onion soup has a flavor all its own. The soup is made with Irish stout giving it a rich color and a unique malty flavor. Topped with Gruyere Cheese or keep it Irish with a Kerrygold Irish cheese.

2 tbsp unsalted butter

3 large yellow onions, sliced

2 large red onions, sliced

4 shallots, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dark brown sugar

3 cups low sodium beef stock

1 cup of Irish stout (Guinness or Murphy’s)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup of cheese for topping

1. In a large saucepan over a medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, shallot and garlic. Cook for about 12 minutes until the onions are soft. Add the bay leaves, basil, thyme, sugar, stock and stout. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a low. Cover and simmer for about 25 mins. Season to taste.

2. Preheat the broiler. Arrange 8 crocks on a baking sheet. Ladle the soup into the crocks and sprinkle with cheese. Place under the broiler for about 1 minute to melt the cheese. Once the cheese starts to brown, remove from the oven. And serve immediately with crusty bread.

Irish Halloween ale

Halloween Lamswool Ale

All the good harvest and Halloween food would need to be washed down and an old drink that was drunk is called Lambswool. The name Lambswool is believed to be a corruption of the Irish Gaelic, “La Mas Nbhal” meaning ‘Feast of the Apples’, it was pronounced “Lammas-ool” and this eventually evolved into Lambswool. Various recipes exist for this drink but the bases of it are: Roasted crushed apples, which are added to milk, hot spiced ale, cider and or wine. Sugar is then added according to taste. Bits of toast can be added if desired.

Lambswool Ale

· 1.5 Litres (3 x 500ml bottles) of traditional real ale – or traditional cider

· 6 small cooking apples, cored (Bramley apples)

· 1 nutmeg freshly grated

· 1 tsp. ground ginger

· 3 to 5 oz. brown sugar (demerara) depending on how sweet you like it.

1. Preheat the oven 120C
2. Prepare the apples in advance: time it so they are ready when you want to put them into the lambswool to serve.
3. Core the 6 apples fully, getting rid of the pips. Lightly grease the baking tray. Place the apples on the baking tray about 6cm (2 inches) apart – they will swell up a little. Bake the apples at 120C for about an hour or so – so they become soft and pulpy and the skins are easy to peel away.
4. In a large thick bottomed saucepan (which is quite tall to avoid splashes when whisking) add the sugar. Cover the sugar in a small amount of the ale (or cider) and heat gently. Stir continuously until the sugar has dissolved. Then add in the ground ginger and grate in the whole of the nutmeg. Stir, and keeping the pan on a gentle simmer, slowly add in all the rest of the ale (or cider). Leave for 10 minutes on a gentle heat as you deal with the apples.
5. Take the baked apples out of the oven to cool slightly for 10 minutes – they should now be soft and pulpy.
6. Break open the apples and scoop out the baked flesh into a bowl, discarding the skin. Then take a fork and mash this apple pulp up, while it is still warm, into a smooth purée with no lumps. Add the apple puree into the ale (or cider) lambswool, mixing it in with a whisk.
7. Let the saucepan continue to warm everything through for thirty minutes, on a very gentle heat, until ready to drink. When warmed through use the whisk again for a couple of minutes to briskly froth the drink up and mix everything together. The apple will float to the surface, and depending on how much you have whisked it, the more it looks like lamb’s wool.
8. Ladle the hot Lambswool ale into heat-proof mugs.

Maple Irish whiskey carrots for an Irish-American Thanksgiving

Maple Irish whiskey carrots

There’s an old saying that God invented whiskey so that the Irish wouldn’t rule the world. In fact, divinely inspired, the Irish themselves created the family liquor. Missionary monks brought the technique of distillation to Ireland in the thirteenth or fourteenth century. The earliest reference to whiskey in Irish literature is a 1405 report that a chieftain died of a profusion ofuisge beatha – literally “water of Life”.

Irish whiskey is used in many dishes in Ireland and in America. Today, the Irish Americans of the Brandywine Valley, and indeed in Wilmington, cook a great deal with Irish whiskey. Many of fall Irish dishes that have been incorporated into the American Thanksgiving are made with Jameson or Bushmills Irish whiskey. Such a dish is the Maple Irish Whiskey Carrots.

The Irish-American Thanksgiving dinner is a time to have those delicious vegetables with all the good and gooey sauces. There is no holding back and serving those healthily veggies. It just will not work! Thanksgiving is a special dinner that needs those special dishes. One such vegetable dish is the maple whiskey carrots. These carrots are sweet, gooey, and simply delicious.

Ingredients:

1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

½ cup maple syrup

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. rosemary leaves

¼ cup Jameson Irish whiskey

2 pounds carrots

1. Clean and peel carrots. Cut into rounds about ¼-inch think.

2. Combine mustard, salt, pepper, maple syrup, garlic, and rosemary in a small pan over a medium heat.

3. Cook for 5 minutes at a simmer. Remove pan from heat and stir in whiskey. Return pan to heat and simmer for another 8 minutes. The syrup should be thick and bubbly. Set aside in a warm place. Do not allow to cool off.

4. Bring water to boil in a large pan over a high heat. Place carrots in boiling water and cook until tender. Drain carrots and place them in a serving dish.

5. Add syrup glaze to carrots and mix gently to coat.

6. Makes about 6 servings.

Traditional Irish Dankey Stew

In most Irish farms, the traditional main meal of the day was dispensed from the soup or stew pot which simmered over the stove during the day. There was no real distinction between a soup and a stew, as they were as hearty and robust as the people could afford to make them, adding whatever ingredients were available at the time – hence the expression ‘pot luck’. If a choice of ingredients was available, they would make dishes like the still-famous Dankey stew. ‘Dankey’ means slightly drunk, so it is not surprising that one of the main ingredients of this stew is a hefty measure of Irish stout. Since this not only adds a rich flavor but also tenderizes the meat, it was often added to stews, especially at a time when the water was not always safe to drink and everyone in the family would tend to drink beer of one kind or another.

DANKEY STEW

3 celery sticks, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

2 large ends of mutton chops

2 onions, quartered

1 tablespoon pickled mushrooms, minced

2 1 ⁄2 cups Irish stout

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

1 ⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 potatoes, sliced

1 ⁄4 cup pearl barley, soaked in a cup of cold water

2 tablespoons salted butter

Since the traditional mutton is no longer readily available, you can use lamb for this recipe; you may need to reduce the cooking time slightly.

Arrange the celery and carrots in the bottom of a large flameproof casserole dish, place the meat on top and finish with the onions. Stir the pickled mushroom into the stout, and then pour it over the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.

Cover with layers of potato slices. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer at the lowest possible heat for about 1 hour, or cook in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for about 1 to 2 hours. Add the barley into the stew and cook for a further 1 hour. Stir in the butter and allow it to melt before serving.

Irish Halloween tradition – the Bram Brack cake

Halloween bram brack cake

The Halloween custom we have come to enjoy has come a long way from its origins in Celtic Ireland. Once a serious Pagan holiday, we have transformed it into a fun, party holiday. The holiday originates from a 2,000 year old Celtic festival call Samhain. Samhain, pronounced sow-wen, is a Celtic word meaning "summer's end." It is also the Irish Gaelic word for the month of November. Samhain is the last harvest festival as well as the end of the year on the Celtic calendar. Ancient Celts believed that the on October 31st, the dead mingled with the living. The Celts lit bonfires in honor of the dead and to keep them away from the living.

On the Halloween holiday all manner of beings are playing about and mixing with the living; ghosts, fairies, and evil spirits. Children and adults wore Costumes and masks to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.

Samhain became "the evening of All Hallows". Traditional activities for Halloween include costume parties, Jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treating, reading scary stories and providing special foods. Irish immigrants carried versions of these traditions to the Mid-Atlantic region of North America in the nineteenth century.

One food tradition is the Bram Brack Cake also known as Soul Cakes. During the Medieval era of Ireland, children would go from house to house singing songs and asking for Soul Cakes. For each cake gathered, they would then say a prayer for a deceased loved one from the family who gave the cake. These prayers helped lost souls or those in purgatory into Heaven. Many historians believe this may have been the beginning of our modern day trick'or'treaters.

Bram Brack is a special fruit cake or bread baked and handed out at Halloween. In Wilmington, the Irish Americans make these tasty treats for adult and children Halloween parties. Wilmingtonian tradition says that each member of the family or friends gets a slice. The slice might contain another treat; such as a coin, ring or piece of rag. Tradition has it that each represents a sign for the future. A coin will give a prosperous year, a ring is a sign of romance or marriage, and the rag brings a bad financial future.

Ingredients:

4 cups flour

1 cup milk, room temperature

1 1/4 cups sultanas (golden raisins)

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 (1/4 oz) package dry active yeast,

1/2 cup candied orange or lemon peel

1 cup dried currants

3/4 tsp nutmeg

1 egg

1 each of Halloween gifts (a small ring, rag, and coin wrapped in parchment paper).

Method:

1) Cream the yeast with 1 teaspoon of the sugar and 1 teaspoon of the milk. Allow mixture to froth. Sift flour, spices, and salt together, and then cut in the butter.

2) Add the rest of the sugar to the flour mixture and blend well. Add the milk and egg into the yeast mixture. Combine the yeast and flour mixtures.

3) Beat well with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes. The dough should be stiff but elastic.

4) Fold in raisins, currants, and candied fruit or peel. Add the Halloween gifts and mix well. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled.

5) Divide dough in half and place each in a greased 7" cake tin. Cover pans and let dough rise again for 30 minutes.

6) Bake tins in a 400 degree oven for about 1 hour.

7) Glaze cake tops with 1 tablespoon honey dissolved in 2 tablespoons boiling water and return to oven for 3 minutes or so to set glaze.

8) Cool on wire rack. Serve in slices, buttered, with freshly whipped cream, or similar topping.

Warning: The Halloweens gifts could be small enough to choke on. Make sure everyone is aware that these little gifts are in the cakes. Supervise children if they are eating or poking through a piece in search of these extra treats.