Everyday Food Blog

For St. Patricks's Day this year, the editors here at Everyday Food had a fun way for me and Jordan (my fellow spring intern) to kick-off our celebration.  When we came into the office there were a bunch of Irish products waiting for us in the kitchen.  With our secret ingredients of steel-cut oats, earl grey tea, brown bread flour, honey with Jameson whiskey, Ballymaloe country relish, and Kerrygold butter, we began our own Iron Chef style intern cook-off to see what we could whip up for St. Patrick's Day breakfast.  Since it was a friendly competition, we decided one of us would tackle a sweet dish while the other worked on something savory.  Our favorite dishes of the morning?  Jordan used the tea (and some Irish whiskey) to poach dried fruit that she served with steel-cut oatmeal pancakes.  I tried a few variations of Irish soda bread, and used my favorite, with caraway seeds and currants, for smoked salmon, eggs benedict with a tomato hollandaise made with the Ballymaloe relish.  Because it wouldn't be St. Patrick's Day without potatoes, I made homefries with the Irish whiskey honey and Dijon mustard.  We were able to incorporate all of the unique products, and everyone was excited to try some new takes on classic Irish fare.  How will you be celebrating St. Patrick's Day this year?  Check out our recipes for the holiday, or any day, after the jump.

For the pancakes:

2 cups flour

1 cup steel-cut oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk

1 cup water

Butter, for pan

For the fruit:

2 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

3 wide strips orange zest

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 teabag earl grey tea

1/8 to 1/4 cup Irish Whiskey, such as Jameson

2 cups dried fruit, such as apples, cherries, raisins, currants, figs

Jordan combined the water, sugar, cinnamon, orange zest and lemon juice in a medium sauce pan, and brought it to a simmer.  After 5 minutes she added the teabag and fruit to the mixture and allowed it to simmer for an additional 10 minutes before adding the whiskey.  She strained the fruit from the liquid, and removed the peel and cinnamon stick and set the fruit aside.  She continued to simmer the liquid until it had a syrup-like consistancy, about 10 minutes.

For the pancakes she combined the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl she mixed the wet ingredients (eggs, vanilla extract, milk, and water).  She used 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake to keep uniform size, and cooked on a well-greased skillet over a medium flame.

To serve, top pancakes with fruit and reserved syrup.  As a variation, try the fruit over a bowl of steel-cut oats. Makes about 20 pancakes.

For the smoked salmon eggs benedict with tomato relish hollandaise:

Makes 6 servings, 2 slices of bread each.

For the Irish soda bread:

Makes 2 loaves.

1 1kg bag Odlum's Brown Bread Mix

1 3/4 cups cold whole milk

1/3 cup molasses

1/2 cup dried currants

1 heaping tablespoon carraway seeds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Using the Odlum's Brown Bread mix we had, I added all the ingredients at once in a large bowl and mixed until a soft dough formed.  I kneaded the dough briefly on a well-floured counter, and then cut a small "x" on the smooth side of the dough.  I put each loaf on it's own floured baking sheet in the oven.  Bake for 40 minutes, the bread should have a hollow sound when tapped on base.  Cool on a wire rack.

For the tomato relish hollandaise:

1 recipe easy hollandaise sauce

1 heaping tablespoon Ballymaloe, or other brand tomato relish

Get our easy hollandaise recipe.

For the eggs:

Water

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 dozen eggs

Get our tips for easy poached eggs.

To serve, toast the Irish soda bread and cut slices in half.  Top with 1-2 thin slices of smoked salmon, followed by a poached egg.  Top with hollandaise.

For honey mustard homefries

1 bag, or 1 1/2 lbs small red bliss potatoes

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons Mileeven Honey with Jameson

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons oil

Wash potatoes and cut into small wedges.  In a separate small bowl, combine honey, mustard, salt and pepper.  Add sauce to potatoes, coat evenly.  Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high and add potatoes to pan, stirring constantly until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.  Add thinly sliced onions, cook additional 2 to 3 minutes.  Serve warm.

Tags: Behind the Scenes, In the Test Kitchen, irish food, st. patrick's day
Posted by Jessie Damuck on March 17, 2011 in Holidays