I don’t know what it is about the month of March, maybe it’s my Irish roots coming out, but I love this month! It reminds me of my childhood with my mom cooking corned beef and cabbage and beef and barley stews as well as adding dye to my milk so I could have green milk and using cookie cutters to make shamrock shaped chocolate chip cookies. It also reminds me of a trip I took to Ireland a number of years ago with my parents and my sister. We visited with family from my mom’s side that still live in Ireland, saw the old family homestead that had long been in our family, and saw the ruins of castles my family used to have. Every year this month comes around and I crave all the Irish comfort foods I have known of since childhood as well as from Ireland itself. In a desire to learn more recipes from my ancestral lands, I purchased an Irish recipe book {Rachel’s Irish Family Food} and set out to try recipes from it. First up, a dish called colcannon. Although traditionally a dish made around Halloween, it seemed to me to be a perfect recipe for a snowy evening, when comfort food seems to taste the best. I was excited to see at the grocery store the other day that Johnsonville had a Luck of the Irish and Garlic Pork Sausage that I thought would pair perfectly with the colcannon and sort of be a version of Bangers and Mash. This dish turned out perfectly and reminded me of the dishes I remembered eating with my family in Ireland seven years ago while betting on dog races to see who was going to buy the first round of beers at the pub later in the night. So here’s the recipe so you too can bring a little bit of Ireland to your home this month.
Colcannon:
Equipment:
- Ovenproof dish
- Aluminum foil
- Knife and cutting board
- Large saucepan
- Large skillet
- Potato Masher
- Immersion Blender
- Measuring cups
Ingredients:
- Large bulb of garlic, whole and unpeeled
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 springs of rosemary
- 2 1/4 pounds of russet (baking) potatoes, scrubbed
- 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 pound of green cabbage, outer leaves removed and quartered, cored, and cut against the grain into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1 cup of milk
- 4 tablespoons of butter
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 425º. Line an ovenproof dish with aluminum foil. Place whole garlic bulb in the middle of the aluminum foil and then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lastly, place two sprigs of rosemary next to the garlic. Wrap the foil loosely around the garlic bulb, sealing it tight and with space left around the garlic. Bake in oven for 45 minutes.
- Place unpeeled potatoes in a large saucepan and fill with enough cold water to completely cover the potatoes. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Allow to boil for 10 minutes, then drain out 2/3 of the water and return to a boil for 30 more minutes. Drain water out. Use a knife to help peel the potatoes, the skin should peel off easily. Mash the potatoes immediately after adding 4 tablespoons of butter as well as salt and pepper, to taste.
- Then, put cabbage into skillet and add one cup of milk and sprinkle a pinch of salt on top. Bring to a simmer and leave for 4 minutes. Drain out some of the heated milk into a measuring cup and add a little at a time to the mashed potatoes, just until it becomes a fluffy puree. If you have one, use a handheld immersion blender to create the puree. Add the cooked cabbage and mix together. Season with salt and pepper. Best if served immediately with additional butter melting on top.
{Recipe found in: Rachel’s Irish Family Food}
Sauteed Apples:
Equipment:
- Knife and cutting board
- Skillet
- Spatula
Ingredients:
- 1 to 2 apples, sliced thinly (I used Pink Lady but I’m sure that Granny Smith ones would taste really good with this dish as well)
- 2 tablespoons of butter
Instructions:
- Melt butter over medium high heat, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Add apple slices. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring and flipping continuously until they have softened and start to brown.
- Remove from pan and dry off on a paper towel.
- Add to plate with the colcannon and sausage cooked according to package instructions.
- Enjoy!
And to bring a little more of Ireland to your home on Saint Patrick’s Day, here are a few of the many, many photos I took on my trip to Ireland! Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
A Hint of Ginger 