Spain is known for tapas, originally just an olive or two on a plate to literally “top” a drink. Over time, the olive or piece of cheese has been replaced by more elaborate “little bites” of truly gourmet food. But even the gourmet bites highlight the natural, simple flavors of the fresh ingredients. Each region of Spain has their own specialties, but some tapas, like Gambas al Ajillo, can be found throughout the country.
With St. Patrick’s Day still on my mind, I decided to make Irish Soda Bread. Irish Soda Bread is considered a quick bread because there is no yeast and therefore it doesn’t need time to rise. Simply mix the ingredients together and bake it in a greased pan. The result is a large mounded loaf of bread with a golden, crusty exterior and a dense, scone-like interior.
The day after we had corned beef hash for dinner we made corned beef sandwiches for lunch with the leftover meat. I think we’ll be having these again sometime in the near future because we definitely can’t wait until next March!
When I was little, my family would always celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a feast of corned beef, boiled potatoes and boiled cabbage. For me, the meal was never that exciting. It was our traditional leftover meal on March 18, however, that was always my favorite: corned beef hash.
St. Patrick’s Day is approaching so I started thinking about corned beef. The funny thing is, corned beef isn’t even a traditional Irish meal. According to some sources, it has become a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal in America because of the influence of the Irish-American population and the Irish immigrants back in the 1800’s.
These soft pretzels take me back to my college days and eating my way through Europe. I devoured a lot of bretzels in southern Germany and eastern France. Kids will love to help roll the dough into ropes and shape the pretzels! Make them savory with salt or sweet with cinnamon-sugar.
The following recipe is my family’s take on loaded baked potato skins. The beauty of this appetizer is that you can load them up with whatever you would like: cheese, bacon, sour cream, salsa, chili, guacamole, you name it. It is also a meal where the whole family can get involved. Everyone can “load” their own potato skins.
The morning after we had potato skins, we used the leftover potato flesh to make hash browns with our Ziploc omelets. They are simple to make and are more tender and flavorful than the frozen bags you buy at the grocery store.
Adding sweet potato or pumpkin purée to your buttermilk pancakes is a great way to sneak veggies and vitamins into your family’s breakfast. You can make the pancakes any time of year but they are especially comforting during the autumn and winter months.
I like serving mashed sweet potatoes and yams instead of mashed potatoes with most meals. They have more water than regular potatoes so I find that I use less milk and butter to get the creamy texture that we like. And the yams especially add a great pop of color to any plate!
Monday, March 15, 2010
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