16 Mar St. Patrick’s Day Spread

Posted at 06:00h in Create Space, Friends, Lifestyle by
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Planning to skip the crowded bars tomorrow, but still hoping to enjoy a little St. Patrick’s spirit? This spread hits all the high notes of Irish eats and finishes with not one, but three, boozy sweets.

Beer
It isn’t St Patrick’s Day without a pint. But if you’re hoping to expand your horizons beyond Guinness this year, then check out this round up of 10 popular Irish beers and discover a new favorite.

Starters
A classic sandwich in bite-sized servings and a cheesy dip made with Ireland’s most famous beer start things off right.

Mini Reuben

Serves: 15

  • 15 pieces Rye Bread (we used Pepperidge Farm Rye)
  • 8 slices Corned Beef from the deli or cook your own
  • 1 ( 8 oz) package cole slaw mix
  • 4 slices Swiss Cheese
  • 2 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • Thousand Island Dressing
  • 15 Sweet Pickles for garnish

 

  1. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  3. Place bread on cookie sheet
  4. Top with a slice or two of corned beef
  5. Fold cheese into quarters and add to top of Corned Beef
  6. Place in oven to heat through and melt the cheese, about 6-8 minutes
  7. While the sandwiches are in the oven, prepare the cole slaw
  8. In a small bowl, add the cole slaw mix, vinegar, salt & pepper, stir to combine
  9. After the sandwiches are out of the oven, add a spoonful of cole slaw
  10. Top with a spoonful of dressing and add a pickle for garnish

 

Guinness & Cheddar Dip

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 and 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons half-and-half
  • 1/4 cup Guinness
  • 2 or 3 scallions, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

 

  1. In the bowl of your blender or food processor, combine the cream cheese, cheddar, mustard, and half-and-half.  Pulse until smooth.
  2. With the food processor running, slowly pour the Guinness down the feeder and blend until combined.
  3. Add the scallions, garlic, parsley, and salt and pepper (to taste).  Blend until thoroughly mixed.
  4. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill at least for one hour prior to serving.

 

Main Dish

Less famous than corned beer or shepherd’s pie, colcannon is still an Irish classic. Dressed up with bacon and onion and flecked with bits of kale, colcannon basically gives you permission to have mashed potatoes for dinner (but it has kale in it so it counts as health food). If you’ve got particularly robust appetites to satisfy, you can serve this as a side dish to corned beef or beer braised sausage.

Colcannon Potatoes

Serves 4

  • 4 large russet potatoes
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 1 small bunch kale
  • 6 strips of bacon
  • 3 to 4 scallions, chopped
  • Salt & pepper to taste

 

  1. Boil potatoes.
  2. While potatoes are boiling, blanch kale in boiling water and chop finely, and fry and chop your bacon.
  3. When potatoes are tender, mash with butter and milk. Once smooth, incorporate kale, bacon, and scallions. Season with salt & pepper.
  4. Serve alone or as a side dish to corned beef or sausages.

 

Dessert

With so many delicious, boozy dessert options we couldn’t pick just one. So here are 3 desserts perfect for St Patrick’s Day. Each one incorporates quintessentially Irish alcohol.

Irish Whiskey Truffles

Yields 3 dozen

  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon Dixie Crystals Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
  • 1 tablespoon instant coffee
  • 1 – 3 1/2 ounce bar premium milk chocolate
  • 3 – 3 1/2 ounce bars premium dark chocolate, cocoa content between 55 and 65% cocoa mass
  • 3 tablespoons Irish whiskey

 

  1. Chop milk chocolate bar and one dark chocolate bar into small pieces and place in a bowl large enough to hold all ingredients. Set aside.
  2. In a saucepan bring whipping cream and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in instant coffee. When dissolved pour onto chopped chocolate. Stir using a whisk until chocolate is melted.
  3. Add whiskey and cover the ganache with plastic food wrap and allow to firm up for 3-4 hours or overnight or until firm enough to be scooped and hold its shape.
  4. Using a melon baller, scoop ganache into round balls. Remaining ganache can be pressed and rolled by hand into balls. Set aside.
  5. Line 2 cookie sheets or cutting boards with plastic food film. Set aside.
  6. Chop remaining chocolate bars into small pieces and place 2/3 in a microwave-proof bowl. Set 1/3 of remaining chocolate aside.
  7. Select a saucepan which will nicely hold the above bowl. Fill saucepan with 1-inch of water and bring to a boil.
  8. Once boiling turn to very low simmer and place chocolate bowl on top. Stir constantly until chocolate is nearly melted and has reached 115°F.
  9. Remove from heat and allow to cool to 112°F. Add remaining non-melted chocolate and stir until most of chocolate has melted.
  10. Place some chocolate on the palm of your hand and roll a round ganache ball into it. Place on plastic lined cookie sheet. Repeat until all is done. If chocolate becomes too firmed and or cold place it in the microwave oven for 4-5 seconds. Roll truffles once more into chocolate.
  11. Keep truffles refrigerated.

 

Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake 

Makes 1 9-inch cheesecake

  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted
  • 12 oz dark chocolate, chopped
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 3 (8 oz) packages of lowfat cream cheese
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup greek yogurt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup Guinness

 

 

  1. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, cocoa powder, sugar and melted butter together in a medium bowl.  Pour into the base on a 9-inch springform pan and press down into the bottom of it. Store in the freezer while you make the filling.
  2. Preheat oven to 350.
  3. In a double boiler, melt the dark chocolate and heavy cream, stirring together until combined. Set aside.
  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  5. Mix in the sugar, greek yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract, chocolate/cream mixture, and guinness, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  6. Pour this mixture into the springform pan.
  7. Bake for 60 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the cheesecake in the oven, with a wooden spoon in the oven door to hold it slightly ajar. Let sit for 60 minutes.
  8. Allow cake to cool completely and then chill in the fridge overnight before serving.

 

Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake

  • 2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs (use whole cookies with filling)
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese-softened
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup Baileys Irish cream
  • 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 12 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate-chopped

 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix together Oreo crumbs and melted butter, press the mixture into 9” springform pan and bake for 8-10 minutes, set aside to cool.
  3. Once the crust is cooled, wrap pan with two layers of aluminum foil and bring the foil up the sides of the pan and make sure it is tight and secure so no water gets in during the baking process.
  4. With electric mixer, mix cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth.
  5. Add cornstarch and continue to mix until fully incorporated, decrease the speed to low and add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla extract and Baileys.
  6. Pour batter into prepared pan and place in a roasting pan, fill roasting pan about a quarter of the way with hot water and bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes, rotating once halfway through (until the cheesecake is set around the edges and slightly loose in the center)
  7. Remove springform pan from the water bath and set on a cooling rack to cool, then remove aluminum foil and refrigerate (at least 5 hour or overnight). When it’s completely cooled run a thin knife around the edge and take of the ring of springform pan.
  8. Over double boiler melt chopped chocolate until completely smooth and has no lumps, then stir in heavy whipping cream (from the fridge). It should be very thick and creamy so you could spread it on top the cake but also on sides without dripping. Use just 2/3 of the ganache and set the cake in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to harden the ganache. Take the cake from the freezer and reheat the rest of the ganache but this time it should be smooth (but not too thin) so you can pour it over the cake to make the smooth and shiny surface.
  9. To keep the shine of the ganache let it cool at room temperature then store the cake in the fridge.

 

Links:
Mini Reuben
Guinness & Cheddar Dip
Irish Whiskey Truffles
Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake
Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake