Irish-ish menu suggestion?
Hello- I'm making something of an Irish dinner tonight and need help rounding out the menu.
This is what I have so far:
A roasted herbed steak (rosemary, thyme, and peppercorn)
Roasted potatoes (only olive oil and some sea salt)
Crimini-porcini mushrooms sauteed in white wine with leeks
Sliced beefsteak tomatoes on the side
Apple Crumble for dessert
Any suggestions? More/less something? Add this to that? I usually throw in an appetizer or bread, but I decided my pear-gruyere turnovers aren't gonna happen tonight. So, if you catch this and can get back to me by 5pm on 3/6, I'd appreciate it. Thanks all in advance...
Kevin
Mar 06, 2003 09:46AM
Earler this week there was a thread on Key Lime pie, with a delicious sounding, minimal ingredient recipe and I thought St Patricks day would be a good excuse to indulge is this. I found key lime juice at Trader Joe's already.
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Where's the Irish????????? I suppose with the ingredients you could add olive oil, garlic and pecorino and call it Italian.
Guiness or Whiskey marinade on the steak would pump up the blarney.... boxty or colcannon for the taters..
and salad is salad, but cheeses indiginous to the Emerald Isle with some Irish smoked ham and pears would tweak it..... There are some lovely Smooth Irish Cheddars and soft cheeses. Also, some soft savory scones or even Yorkshire PUdding or Popovers.
Apples desserts are popular in Ireland.....I make an apple crisp by sauteing apples first with 2 tbsp. of Jamesons, some butter, brown sugar and spices and add 1 tbsp. flour. Then make the crisp with Irish Oatmeal, top and bake till bubbly. Make fresh whipped cream sweetened to taste and add 2 tbs. of Whiskey to that... and top each serving.... , This is a good St. Paddys meal if you hate the usual Corned Beef and Cabbage Route. I also make cottage pie, guiness pie, dingleberry pie, lots of white fish dishes and smoke hams. PS: If you can get Irish sausage they are mellow and lovely and make a good appetizer rolled in phyllo or puff pastry with some honey mustard.
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Dingleberry Pie????????
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Beefsteak tomatoes? This time of year?
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A loaf of Irish brown bread would really bump up level of authenticity here. Brown soda bread isn't just for breakfast - Most Irish restaurants serve it with dinner. Unfortunatley, I haven't found a recipe I'm satisfied with yet.
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Amen to that. My bestman's mother gave me her recipe for her soda bread after I insisted:
3 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
Mix it, add more buttermilk or flour as necessary, knead it 20 times(turning the board 90 degrees after each knead), cross the top, put it on a buttered pan and into a 350 oven for 50 minutes.
I really would recommend Cold Tea Brack for desert. If you like fruitcake, that is!
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Skip the herbs on the steak, season it only barely with salt and overcook the hell out of it.
Boil the potatoes instead of roasting, don't bother with any salt in the water, maybe add a couple of carrots to the water and perhaps a hunk of cabbage(no need for all those fancy leeks and mushrooms).
Save those nice cardboard-like tomatoes for tomorrow's Irish Pizza (grilled cheese and tomato sandwich).
Heck why not make it a one pot dinner and just toss the steak in the pot with the potatoes. Save on lots of cleanup!
Make sure there is some good white bread and a nice stick of margarine. And last but not least, don't forget the Guinness or the Harp!
Irish Coffee's with Jameson's and Irish Mist for dessert!!!(I mix the creme de menthe into the cream and then whip it for a fun green color!!!)
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Now THIS was certainly a very helpful post!(!!!!!!!!!!)
Your stereotype of boiled-to-death Irish food is, for the most part, incorrect. I traveled in Ireland for 11 days about a year ago, and had some of the best meals I've ever had - the salmon and lamb meals were phenomenal.
Yes, you get potatoes at almost every meal, which can get tiring, but you simply ask for no potatoes, and they won't give them to you.
Myrtle Allen of Ballymaloe House in County Cork (a B&B and a cooking school) is an excellent chef who has written several cookbooks showcasing the food of Ireland.
So before a meal is bashed, please know what the food is about - not just the stereotype. Just as Italian isn't just red sauce, Irish *isn't8 just boiled potatoes and meat.
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My apple crumble is from the Ballymaloe cookbook!
At least I got one thing right...
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I agree. The seafood in Ireland is far superior in quality and variety to most of the flash-frozen and far-flung crap you'll find in the States. I've never had better smoked salmon.
But that's the problem, Irish Americans got stuck in the US far from their coastal and agrarian roots and so we they ended up with limited culinary options--boiled meat and potatoes.
P.S. I love Irish toasted cheese sandwiches with tea!
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Nobody has a sense of humor any more...he said irish-ish, which in turn led me to reflect on some of the less (or more) memorable meals that my former in-laws used to serve up. They were second generation Irish-American and that was pretty much the repertoire I enjoyed when eating there....oh, but I did leave out the spaghetti with ketchup on top.
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Actually I found your post pretty funny, and for the most part dead on. Oh, you can find some good food in Ireland (with Chowhound and John and Sally McKenna's help), but overall it's still beef and three veg. I've often said that if the Irish put as much stock into the food they're eating as the passion they have for a proper pint of Guiness, they'd be up the greats in food destinations...
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If they did put that much passion into it, Ireland would move much further up the "destinations to visit" list in my book...too bad because I here it is really beautiful there, but most of my travel revolves around "Food" and the people involved with it, now if I can only figure out a way to increase my "leisure travel time"
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We may get smacked by the moderators on the placement of this thread. So, I'll try to weave some food into it : ) that said:
Ireland's still a great travel destination. The kindest people in all of Europe as far as I'm concerned. and since Guinness is considered a meal by many,that counts for something! There are some good places to eat and with a little homework you'll find some interesting culinary gems. I think that doing the homework before you travel is key to having a great culinary adventure . Whether its in NYC or Italy. there is mediocre food everywhere. Which is where chowhound really helps!
I'm not on the Irish Tourist board so I wont go on ad nauseam about the highlights of a visit there. but it's got a great music,literature and scenery. I've attached a link to John and Sally McKenna's Site.
**Full Disclosure :My girlfriend's Irish : )
Link: http://www.bestofbridgestone.com/inde...
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"Ireland's still a great travel destination. The kindest people in all of Europe as far as I'm concerned. and since Guinness is considered a meal by many,that counts for something! There are some good places to eat and with a little homework you'll find some interesting culinary gems."
I absolutely agree with you re: the kindness of the Irish - absolutely wonderful peole. As for the homework - I ended up with about 4 travel guides prior to my visit (two of my mother's) with which I planned where to stay/eat. But part of the fun was exploring the back roads and finding the jewels with the help of the locals.
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You accurately described the Irish cuisine I grew up with.
Monday thru Thurday: overcooked meat, canned vegetables and mashed potatoes, Friday: replace overcooked meat with overcooked swordfish, Saturday hotdogs and canned beans and canned brown bread, Sunday: Mom didn't cook, take out sub's.
When I was in high school my mother discovered a revolutionary new recipe for American chop suey which she cooked the heck out of in the pressure cooker. I thought it was the greatest. I guess I'm trying to compensate for my years of bland food now.
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you gotta do something with those taters to make it somewhat Irish. Boxty?
see the link below
Link: http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/...
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Check out the most recent issue of Saveur. There's a great article on a small Irish grocer in a town called Nenagh. There are four or five recipes, including beef and guinness pie, and cabbage and bacon (ham) casserole-thing topped with browned mashed potatoes. YUM! Definitely inspiration for the tiny bit of Irish in me.
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also-
fyi-
epicurious has a special feature up right now on irish cooking.
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Thanks for all the responses! I thought my 1/2 Irish self could guess the menu a bit, but obviously I was WRong. Here's my new menu...
Pear and cheddar fritters on baby greens w/ vinaigrette
Steak, marinated in Jameson's, rubbed down with salt, pepper, and rosemary
Champ (mased potatoes w/ scallions)
Crimini and porcini mushrooms, sauteed w/ leeks
Brown Irish soda bread
Either apple crumble from the Ballymaloe Cookbook OR Lucky Charms squares for dessert, whichever is easier ;)
Thanks for the help again, hope this makes me da' prhoud.
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