in honor of St. Patrick's Day

Some days call for corned beef, or in my case, weeks. The corned beef made its first appearance this past weekend at my St Patrick's Day (parade) brunch, stuffed into fresh ciabatta slider rolls with Irish cheddar slices and whole grain mustard on the side.



Then today, on the actual St. Patrick's Day, it came to life in homemade corned beef hash, made with yukon gold potatoes, shallots, corned beef and a little Irish cheddar to boot. Crisped until there was a golden brown crust, and served alongside a slow scrambled egg and a slice of last week's Irish brown bread. The end result? One happy, painfully pale, scotch-drinkin' Irish woman.



Now, I didn't make the corned beef. Before you start calling me a blaspheme and throwing rocks, hear me out. Some things you just need to go to the source for (especially when hosting 10-12 for brunch and up to your eyeballs in other work). In this case, the "source" was Michael's Deli in Brookline, known for it's corned beef and pastrami - an institution in the city. I even bought the goods from Michael himself, which made this all the more gratifying. :) Slainte, Michael. That was some incredible corned beef. I salute you.

The Irish brown bread I did in fact make (and froze, in part). It turned out better than I could have imagined, and for a yeast-free bread product is still moist and true to its kind. And it's quick to make up, leaving you no excused not to whip up some fresh bread for dinner. Here's how:



Irish Brown Bread
Compliments of the Mayo Clinic

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and dusting
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Set your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment (not required, but I did out of habit).

In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients Beat in the buttermilk and egg and stir just until moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface and, with floured hands, gently knead 8-10 times. It doesn't take much. The dough will be sticky; that's OK. Form into a loose ball.

Transfer to baking sheet, dusting the top of dough with a small amount of flour. Cut a 4-inch X into the top of the dough, cutting about 1/2 inch deep. Bake until the bread splits open at the X and makes a hollow sound when the underside is tapped, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 1-2 hours and enjoy!

Now pour yourself a Guinness, put on some Enya or Dropkicks, and slainte everyone. Here's to another great year.

A snowy sunday brunch

Over MLK weekend, my best friend Sabrina from my childhood joined me in Boston for a girls weekend. I hadn't seen her since I was in her wedding this past April, so we planned for the ultimate relaxation weekend, full of wine, silly movies, and good food.

As part of this, we co-hosted a Sunday brunch here in my Back Bay apartment, inviting over some of my closest friends here for good food and an array of brunch related cocktails. The menu included some of my favorite items, some part of my family's Christmas day tradition.

On the docket was my family's sausage and ham strata, Sabrina's monkey bread, fresh fruit, cranberry mimosas and my Great Grandpa Max's whiskey sours. Recipes follow. We amply fed 10 with the following portions, with some to spare. These recipes are simple, can be made ahead, and make for very happy brunch guests. Just ask my friends :)


Breakfast Strata -- serves 12
(you can put anything in this strata, which is basically a take on a breakfast souffle. we always opt for half sausage / half ham, but I have made this vegetarian or made a dinner dish by substituting in hot italian sausage and peppers. have fun.)
Ingredients:
10 eggs
13 pieces of bread
3 cups of milk
1/3 cup half and half / heavy cream (can eyeball it)
1 lb velveeta cheese, cubed
1 lb breakfast sausage (if you buy the ones with their casings still on, you'll need to remove them)
1/2 lb ham steak, already cooked, cubed.
salt + pepper

- Cook up the sausage and put on a paper towel to drain.
- Spray a casserole dish with a non-stick coating.
- Rip up about 9 slices of the bread, mix in a casserole dish with meat and cheese.
- In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and half and half.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread, cheese and meat in the pan.
- Crack some fresh pepper and a small bit of salt over the dish (more liberally on the pepper, since the meat itself is very salty.)
- Tear up the remaining 4 slices of bread and toss over the dish.
- Cover with foil and let sit in the fridge for 12-24 hours before cooking.
- Cook uncovered in a 350 degree oven for an hour and a half, or until a knife comes out clean. It should be lightly browned on the outside and gooey. Delicious.

Sab's Monkey Bread -- Serves 12
Ingredients:
3 cans of pillsbury flaky rolls
3 cups of sugar
6 TBSP cinnamon
1 stick of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1 container of whipped vanilla frosting
bundt pan

To make:
Grease bundt pan liberally. Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Open cans of rolls, and divide each roll into 4 pieces (I just cut them into an x). Roll each into a ball, and roll in the sugar/cinnamon mix, and place into the bundt pan. Continue until bundt pan is 3/4 full. In a small sauce pan, melt stick of butter and brown sugar together, and then pour the mixture over the rolls in the bundt pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. It'll puff up like this:

Let cool for about 10 minutes before flipping onto a dish. Add the frosting into the center of the bread and serve.

And as for the whisky sours, Great Grandpa Max style, they may need their own post ;)