Dublin Coddle

"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy."

~William Butler Yeats

I love the name of this dish.  It sounds like a snuggle with an Irish hunk, like that guy from P.S., I Love You; Gerard something-or-other.

Yah, him

I did some research and the recipe I came up with is a conglomerate of suggestions and tweaks, but was closest to one found on Food.com, even though the author lifted the description word for word from a European Cuisines post.  

Coddle is traditionally associated with Dublin and dates back at least to the eighteenth century.  It was apparently a favorite of Jonathan Swift, Sean O'Casey and is mentioned in the works of James Joyce.  Considered comfort food and a convenience dish, it is also inexpensive, easy to make, and can be left on a low stove or warming in the oven for a quite a while without suffering too much.  Sounds like the precurser to crock-pot cooking!  

It is important to use the very best pork sausage you can get your hands on.  It was suggested that good American breakfast sausage could be used, but I opted for my favorite local pork sausage, Orsini's Sweet Fennel Garlic Italian sausage.  I used hard sparkling cider (Cortland apple) from a local orchard.  The bottle has been in the fridge since the fall and this was a great excuse to pop the cork!

While researching the recipe, I noticed a remark left by a reader  suggested to add a packet of chicken noodle soup mix,  that in addition to the flavor it adds,  the noodles would help thicken the broth.  That made sense to me and since I had some handy, I tossed it in there.  Maybe not eighteenth century authentic, but we all agreed we liked the dish that way.  The broth did in fact thicken up and it plated nicely.  We loved it and I see plenty of Dublin Coddle in our future.  After all, it starts with bacon and ends with hard cider - what's not to love?  Sláinte!


Sources: A Little Irish Cookbook, Appletree, 1986
Wikipedia and European Cuisines websites.

Dublin Coddle
Adapted from a recipe on Food.com
Serves 4


1/2 pound bacon
1 pound good quality pork sausage (I used sweet Italian sausage)
2 large onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
4 large potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 packet Lipton chicken noodle soup mix 
1 small bunch fresh herbs, tied together with string (I used thyme and parsley)
Black pepper
1 bottle hard cider (some for the pot, some for you)
Fresh parsley for garnish
Special equipment:  I large heavy pot with a tight fitting lid


Brown bacon until crisp.  Place in cooking pot.  Brown sausages in bacon fat.  Add to cooking pot.  Sprinkle packet of soup mix over meats.  Add two cups water.  Soften sliced onions in the bacon fat and a minute or two before they're done, add the garlic and stir around.  Add to cooking pot layering carrots next and then  potatoes.  Add the bundle of herbs and push down into the middle.  Add hard cider just to reach the potatoes (should only be another cup or two).  Sprinkle potatoes with freshly ground black pepper. Cover tightly and bring JUST to a simmer then turn heat down.  It should not boil.  Cook on low like this for 2-3 hours.  Half an hour before you want to eat, check and make sure the carrots are done.  If they aren't, raise the heat a bit until they are cooked through.  By now, broth should have thickened enough that you can serve this on a plate.  Taste broth right before serving and add salt or pepper, if needed.  Great served with Irish soda bread or spotted dog.

Lime Mousse Cake (No-Bake)

"Have it jest as you've a mind to, but I've proved it time on time; if you want to change her nature, you have got to give her lime."

~Rudyard Kipling

This was our dessert of choice for Valentine's Day.  Traditionally, I would make chocolate mousse or red velvet cake, but we wanted something lighter this year.  Besides, the Mister and I have Florida on the brain since we head down there next month, and I've just plain been looking for an excuse to make this dessert.  The recipe is from Epicurious 2006, and was described as having originated at a restaurant called Addie's, of Rockville, Maryland.  It's a fantastic dessert for entertaining since it should be made a day (or two!) ahead, freeing up your time to focus on the main meal during party day.  

Since then I've made changes to lighten it up a bit and tailor it to our palates.  We all prefer our citrus on the tart side with the fruit flavor really shining through, and it took doubling the lime juice to achieve that in this recipe.  The texture is light and fluffy, providing a nice treat without weighing you down. A great way to end a special meal.  It was a hit at our dinner party last night. 

Lime Mousse Cake
Serves 12


Crust:
2 cups ground gingersnap cookies (about 38 small cookies)
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons melted butter


Filling:
3/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice or key lime juice 
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (Knox)
2 cups chilled whipping cream
9 ounces good-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt), chopped or chips
2 packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons grated lime peel
2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar


For the crust: 
Grind cookies in a food processor.  Add sugar and melted butter and process, pulsing, until clumps form.  Press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.


For filling:
Place lime juice in a bowl.  Sprinkle gelatin over to soften.  Bring 1/2 cup cream to simmer in a heavy medium saucepan.  Remove from heat.  Add white chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.  Stir in gelatin mixture.  Cool slightly.  Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, granulated sugar and lime peel in a large bowl to blend.  Slowly beat white chocolate mixture into cream cheese mixture.  Using clean, dry beaters, beat remaining 1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream with 2 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar.  Fold into white chocolate mixture.  Pour filling into prepared crust.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  (Can be prepared up to two days ahead.  Keep refrigerated.)  Release pan sides and transfer to a cake platter and serve.

Spotted Dog AKA Fruited Irish Soda Bread

"No matter where the name comes from, this is an old-fashioned recipe that stands the test of time."

~Serious Eats

Being two generations removed from my native Irish relatives, I can hardly call myself an expert on Irish food, but from what I gather, much of what America refers to as Irish soda bread is actually called spotted dog in Ireland.  The only difference being the fruit.  You can read more about the origin of the name here (look at last paragraph).

This is my favorite version of the beloved bread.  Very simple to throw together, it can upgrade even the most humble of meals.  Whatever you name it, you'll claim it delicious!  It is best eaten warm out of the oven and slathered with fresh butter, but even the leftovers (if you have any!) are divine toasted and buttered or spread with marmalade.

My favorite version of the bread was adapted from a recipe originally published in Better Homes and Gardens as currant-orange Irish soda bread.  

Spotted Dog
Serves 6


2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
the zested peel from two oranges (about 2 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup raisins
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk


1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a large cookie sheet and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and orange zest.  Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in raisins.  Make a well in the center of the mixture.


2.  In a small mixing bowl combine the egg and buttermilk.  Add all at once to the flour mixture.  Stir just until moistened.


3.  On a lightly floured surface, gently knead to form a dough.  A few turns, just until it comes together (only 4-5 times).  Shape into a 7-inch round loaf.  Transfer dough to prepared cookie sheet.  With a sharp knife, make two slashes across the center of the loaf to form and X, going all the way to the edge.  Bake 30 minutes or until golden.  Serve warm.

Granola Bars and An Award

"Cereal eating is almost a marker for a healthy lifestyle.  It sets you up for the day, so you don't overeat."

~Alexandra Ripley

Granola recipes abound on the internet, but I thought this one was worth sharing, since it has been my favorite for 30 years.  Hard to believe, but true.   Don't laugh, but the original recipe dates back to home economics class in high school (you can find it, here).  Over the years I've tweaked it and added ingredients as it is very versatile, but the bones of it are still WHS circa 1983.  It was a two part recipe.  How to make granola, then how to turn it into bars.    A batch of granola is in order here about every two weeks.  I have yet to find a commercial brand that compares.  


Recently, enough confidence has been garnered to revisit and rework the granola bar recipe, as the first attempts (20 years ago) were categorical failures.  The results being overly sweet, sticky bars, and the term is used loosely, as they fell apart more than they held together.  Originally the recipe called for completed granola to be mixed with honey syrup and baked, which means the oat mixture was tossed with honey syrup twice;  once to make the granola, and again to form the bars.

In this version, the oats, nuts and coconut were lightly browned dry before being tossed with the honey syrup and then pressed into the pan and baked.  After baking, I placed a piece of parchment paper over and weighed it down with books and let the bars cool that way.  They came out nice and crunchy with just the right amount of sweetness.  It's something you can feel really good about feeding to your family.


Granola Bars


4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup whole toasted almonds
1/2 cup chopped dates
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
1/3 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup multiple grain hot cereal mix (or wheat germ, oat bran or flaxseed)
1/3 teaspoon salt


Stir all of these ingredients together in a large bowl.  Spread on a cookie sheet and roast in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes, stirring twice.  Watch carefully, because it can become too dark very quickly.  Place toasted oat mixture back in large bowl.


Honey syrup:
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla


Place ingredients in a small saucepan on medium heat and stir until butter melts and sugar is dissolved.


To assemble bars:
Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
Butter a 13x9 inch baking dish, then line with tin foil or parchment paper and butter again.
Pour syrup over toasted oat mixture and stir together completely.  Immediately spread oat mixture into prepared pan.  Place a piece of parchment or wax paper over and press down as hard as you can.  Remove paper and bake for 30 minutes.  Immediately after removing pan from oven, replace paper, press down again and then place some heavy books on the paper as a pressing weight and allow the bars to cool completely like that.  Remove from pan, carefully cut into bars with a very sharp knife and store in an airtight container.  


If you would prefer to make regular old granola, stir together dry ingredients, the only change being that in this case I chop the nuts and add a cup of dried cranberries.  Make the syrup minus the brown sugar and vanilla, then stir into dry ingredients.  Dump mixture onto a buttered cookie sheet and press lightly.  Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven.  Stir well, press down again and return to oven for ten minutes.  Remove from oven to cooling rack and let cool completely before breaking up and transferring to airtight containers.

Recently a fellow blogger chose me to receive the Liebster Blog award!  Kathy writes  Bakeaway with Me, a blog with mouthwatering recipes and photos.  A big thank you to her.  Please stop by and visit her blog.  She’s very sweet and engaging and has been an encouragement to me.  The rules of the award are that I have to link back to her (the presenter) and then give the award to 5 other bloggers with less than 200 followers and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.  The ones I chose are folks I would love to have as neighbors.

Here I go with my 5 choices:

AMY:  “Meh”  

This is one of the first blogs I followed and the only one that is not a food blog.  I love to read Amy's posts because she makes me laugh.   She is real, down to earth and FUNNY.  Her short, sweet (and sometimes sarcastic) posts are always entertaining.

Di:  Di's Kitchen Notebook

I met Di over a year ago. She's very generous of spirit and "adopted" my blog when I first started and we became fast friends.  She's a busy gal with a job, husband, two beautiful girls and a very active baking blog.  If you like to bake, you'll want to check her out.  The recipes are inspiring!

Hester:  Alchemy in the Kitchen

I've been following this Irish blog for several months now.  The recipes are truly "magical" and the writer, Hester has an engaging style and is a talented photographer, usually including "step by step" photo instructions.  Pop by and say "Hey!" from me!

Hannah:  Eat, Drink and Save Money

I just found this blog recently, but I love her style!  Dedicated to stretching a dollar and making good food on a budget.  Since I will soon be sending another child off to college, I look forward to seeing what she comes up with.  These days, every penny counts!  Check her out for some tips if you're in that boat too!

Richard:  What's Cooking at Richard's

Another blog I only recently discovered.  I enjoy Richard's every day, family style recipes.  As I mentioned earlier, his is a family you would love to have next door!  I look forward to his posts and getting some dinner inspiration in the upcoming months!

Irish Beef and Guinness Stew

"One Cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well"

~Virginia Woolf

It's that time again!  I love this time of year when I can highlight some good Irish recipes.  This wonderfully simple, yet delicious stew is a great company meal for Saint Patrick's Day if corned beef isn't your thing.  This was one of the choices at the recent wedding rehearsal dinner of my son, Curtis.  It was by far the most popular choice. 

Guinness gravy is so flavorful.  Any time I cook savory dishes with beer, I always use a bit of mustard, as I find the combination irresistible, and it does not disappoint here.  The beer contributes to tenderizing the beef and adds a depth of flavors with it's malty and tangy notes and the mustard adds a spicy sharpness that you can't quite put your finger on.  My daughter claims it is the best stew she's ever had.  As it is meant to be served over mashed potatoes or champ (mashed potatoes and scallions), there are no potatoes cooked in it.  You can if you must, but I strongly suggest you try it the traditional way first!  

Irish Beef and Guinness Stew

Adapted from a Guinness Recipe

2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch chunks

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 large onions, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 1/2 cups Guinness stout

1 cup beef stock

4 large carrots, chopped

1 sprig fresh thyme

fresh parsley for garnish

Place beef cubes in a bowl and massage on 1 tablespoon of the oil.  In another bowl, stir together the  flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika.    Dredge beef in this flour mixture until every side of all the beef pieces are coated and there is no loose flour in the bowl.  

Heat remaining oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Cook the beef in a single layer.  If, due to the size of your pot, you need to do this in batches, take the time.  The beef will steam instead of brown if you pile it all on top of itself.  Browning it properly is the key to a good stew.  After all the beef is browned, make sure it is all in the pot (if you did it in batches) and add the garlic and onions.  Stir in for a minute or two (without letting the garlic brown).  Add tomato paste, beer and beef broth and thyme.  Add carrots, bay leaf, mustard and Worcestershire.  Cover and cook for 3 1/2-4  hours at 325 degrees F until beef is tender.  During second half of cooking check liquid level a couple times and add a little more beer or broth if too much has evaporated.  If you like, you can make mashed potatoes ahead of time, place in a buttered casserole dish, cover with foil and keep warm in the oven with the stew during the last 20 minutes of it's cooking.

Right before serving, remove the bay leaf, taste the gravy and add more salt and pepper, if needed.

Place a generous dollop of mashed potatoes or champ in a bowl, ladle stew over and sprinkle with parsley.  

Crock-Pot method:

Brown beef as described above, then deglaze pan with beer and broth.   Add all ingredients to your crock pot.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Towards end of cooking check liquid level.  Add more if needed.