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In , , , , on March 19, 2016 with No Comments

Irish Dinner: Corned Beef & Cabbage and Bailey’s Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

We held our annual St. Patrick’s day dinner a few days late this year, but my family will eat corned beef and cabbage anytime I have the urge to make it. We have brined our own brisket to make corned beef, but tonight I used a corned beef I bought at the grocery store. It amazes me how many people have told me they’ve never cooked corned beef before. I think it’s the simplest dinner in the world to make—all you need is a Crock-Pot. Open package of corned beef, dump all contents into the slow cooker, and turn the dial to either low (6 to 8 hours) or high (4 to 5 hours) depending how soon you want dinner. That’s it. Easy peasy.

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For the cabbage, my folks traditionally did the boiled cabbage bit. It was okay, but it really is bland. I’ve since done my St. Patrick’s Day cabbage by frying it. Add a stick of butter to the skillet, cut up your cabbage however you like it (diced, sliced, etc.). Add it to the skillet, season with salt and pepper to taste, and let it cook until the cabbage is softened but not mush. Another easy peasy side dish, which is how I like them 🙂

 

corned beef and cabbage 2

 

For dessert, it had to be something Irish-influenced as well, and what’s more Irish than booze? Today I decided to make a Bailey’s chocolate chip cheesecake in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. It really was a toss-up between this and a Guinness dark chocolate cheesecake, but Bailey’s won out. This time anyway!


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I’ve made this cheesecake before. Be forewarned, though, the flavor of the Irish cream really comes through in the final product. A lot of recipes call for 3/4 cup of Bailey’s, which I used the first time I made this. If you love Bailey’s, you’ll probably be fine with it, but if you’re so-so or you only want a hint of the Irish cream flavor, you can definitely use less. I typically use about 1/4 cup of Bailey’s because I want to taste the rest of the ingredients, not just Bailey’s. This doesn’t have a ganache on top, but feel free to add one if you’d like — the more chocolate the merrier I say 🙂

The cheesecake pictures aren’t the best – still trying to find the best lighting in this new apartment, and the cheesecake itself decided to split after about 2 hours of cooking (of course!)  — but it tasted devine 🙂

 

bailey's cheesecake whole

 

bailey's cheesecake half pie

bailey's cheesecake slice

 

Bailey’s Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 to 12 crackers)

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

32 ounces (4 packages) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish cream liqueur (or other brand is fine)

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon good vanilla

1 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Wrap the sides of a 9-inch springform pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1 tablespoon sugar and the melted butter. Press mixture onto the bottom of the springform pan. Set aside.

In a mixer, beat the cream cheese and the 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Add the Bailey’s, and stir to combine. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and beat until thoroughly mixed. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla, mixing until just smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour cheesecake batter into the springform pan. Place the springform pan in a larger pan, and add water to that pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Turn off the oven, and leave cheesecake in the oven for an additional hour. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Top with chocolate ganache or whipped cream as desired.


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In , on November 14, 2015 with No Comments

Unstuffed Cabbage

I had a really great meal planned for dinner. I was going to make traditional cabbage rolls, something I hadn’t eaten for a long time, probably since my grandmother was alive. I’d found a really nice head of cabbage at the grocery store and had everything planned out for the meal – and then work got in the way. I love working from home, but sometimes work can get crazy with deadlines and tasks that need to be managed. So my wonderfully planned meal went out the window.

But I still had all the makings for cabbage rolls, just not all the time I needed. Cabbage rolls generally take about 2 hours to bake and about 30 minutes or so for the prep work. I was still hungry for the taste of a cabbage roll, so I decided to make unstuffed cabbage in a big skillet instead. It uses all the same ingredients, but dinner can be ready in about half an hour. Win-win for me!

I used Minute Rice in this recipe simply because I was pressed for time in getting something on the table for everyone to eat, but you can definitely use the long-grain rice of your choice. You’ll just need to extend the cooking time to allow the rice to cook. I also added a pint of homemade salsa to my skillet unstuffed cabbage. Salsa isn’t a usual ingredient in traditional cabbage rolls, but it adds a nice spicy flavor when you’re making it on the stove top.

unstuffed cabbage

Unstuffed Cabbage

1 pound ground beef
1/2 an onion, diced
1/2 head green cabbage, chopped
2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 pint salsa (optional)
2 cups Minute Rice (or your favorite long-grain rice but add more cooking time)
2 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, brown ground beef with the onion until the beef is no longer pink. Drain. To the skillet, add the chopped cabbage, and stir to combine. Let it cook for a few minutes to let the cabbage wilt a bit (and make more room in the skillet). Add the tomato sauce, salsa if using, 2 cups of rice and 2 cups of water. Stir to combine everything.

Let cook over medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all the water and the cabbage is tender. If you’re using long-grain rice, the cooking time may be closer to 30 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid anything sticking in the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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In , on September 19, 2015 with 3 Comments

Canning 101: Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

When my sons were visiting their grandparents, they had dinner with friends of the family, and Shirley made a red cabbage salad. My boys were in hog heaven and asked if I could get the recipe (which I did – and it’s awesome).

When going through my canning books, I stumbled across a recipe for red cabbage with apples that is really close to Shirley’s recipe. This is an easy way to have a side dish ready to go when you’re making pork or lamb for supper – all you have to do is open the jar, heat it through and serve.
red cabbage
Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage
4 1/2 pounds red cabbage
1/3 cup pickling salt
5 1/2 cups red wine vinegar (5%)
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/4 pounds (about 4 to 5 medium) tart apples
1 3/4 cups (2 medium) chopped onions
Remove and discard bruised outer red cabbage leaves. Quarter, core and slice cabbage 1/2-inch thick. In a large bowl, toss cabbage with pickling salt until well combined. Cover, and let stand in a cool location for 24 hours. Rinse cabbage, drain and dry thoroughly on several layers of paper towels for 6 hours.
In a large stockpot, combine red wine vinegar, brown sugar and black pepper. Cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer gently for 5 minutes, or until the brown sugar dissolves. Keep liquid hot while filling jars.
Just before filling jars, peel, core and shred the apples; treat to prevent browning. In a large bowl, toss together the red cabbage, apples and the onions.
Pack into prepared hot pint jars, and pour the hot brine over the vegetables, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
Yield: 7 pints
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In , on August 8, 2014 with No Comments

Canning 101: Spiced Pickled Cabbage

We planted 12 heads of cabbage this year, and, of course, after the fact I discovered we didn’t need to make sauerkraut as we had plenty left from last year. So, what’s a person to do with 12 large heads of cabbage? I made a batch of canned coleslaw already (see previous blog post for recipe), and we fried some up a few times for supper. We did ask a daughter if she and her girls wanted some sauerkraut, so some of the heads went for that, but I still had a couple of cabbage with no obvious purpose.

Then I found a recipe for Spiced Pickled Cabbage in Favorite Pickles & Relishes:  Storey’s Country Wisdom Bulletin A-91 by Andrea Chesman.  I found this on my Scribd subscription, and they have so many different bulletins available. If you want to figure out how to do anything, they’ve probably got a bulletin for it!

It’s an easy recipe to do, and I can’t wait to taste it!

 

Spiced Pickled Cabbage

4 quarts shredded red or green cabbage
1/2 cup pickling salt
1 quart white vinegar
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
4 teaspoons grated horseradish
1 teaspoon whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks

Layer cabbage and salt in a large kettle or crock. Let stand overnight.

The next day, drain the cabbage, pressing out all juice. Rinse thoroughly and drain again.

In a saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, and horseradish. Bring to a boil. Tie cloves and cinnamon in a cheesecloth spice bag and add to the saucepan. Simmer 15 minutes.

Pack cabbage into clean, hot pint jars and fill with vinegar mixture, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles by running a nonmetallic spatula down sides of the jars. Seal and process in a boiling-water bath canner for 20 minutes.

Yield:  4 pints

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In , on July 24, 2014 with 1 Comment

Canning 101: Coleslaw and Mustard Pickles

I love coleslaw. Any recipe, any variety. Whether it’s a mayo-based slaw or freezer slaw, if it’s on the menu, I’m in.

We planted 12 cabbage plants this spring with the idea that we needed to make sauerkraut this year. Unfortunately after taking an inventory of all the jars on the canning shelves, we did NOT need to make any. So, what to do with 12 cabbage heads??  Why make coleslaw, of course!

I’ve done freezer coleslaw in the past, but freezer space is a bit tight right now, so I was on the hunt for what to do with cabbage that can be processed by canning. I came across a recipe for canned coleslaw, and that got me thinking. What exactly is coleslaw anyway? Really, in a canning sense, it’s pickled cabbage. You add cabbage and any other vegetables and mix with a vinegar brine/syrup/solution, and so the idea for canned coleslaw was born.

While I was quite liberal with the amounts of veggies used in my slaw, I didn’t mess with the proportions of vinegar in the syrup portion of the recipe. That’s what preserves the veggies and is necessary to make sure things don’t spoil. Feel free to double/triple the syrup solution (I did) to make sure you have enough to cover all the veggies you put into jars.

 

Canned Coleslaw

1 medium head cabbage
1 large carrot
1 red bell pepper
1 small onion
1 teaspoon salt

Syrup:
1 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Shred together the vegetables. Add the salt. Mix well. Let stand 1 hour.

Drain water from the vegetables. If preferred, can rinse and drain veggies.

Boil syrup ingredients together for 1 minute. Keep warm.

Pack veggies into hot pint jars and fill jars with hot syrup liquid. Add lids and seal.

 

 

 

Process jars in boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remove from canner and let stand for 12 hours before moving.

Yield:  Approximately 7 pints

We’ve been checking the cucumber patch daily and have picked a few here and there to make salads, but there just haven’t been enough to do anything with. Until day that is. So, while I didn’t have my usual dill and grape leaves ready to go for my traditional dill pickles, I did come across a recipe for mustard pickles that I’d been dying to try.

 

Seeing as we had a few (sarcasm here!) cucumbers that were larger than I like to use in my dill pickle recipe, I thought I’d chunk up a few and try them in the mustard pickle recipe.  I found the recipe on Scribd. They have a ton of booklets from A Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin, and this recipe is from their Favorite Pickles and Relishes booklet.

 

 

Quick Mustard Pickles

1-1/2 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup prepared mustard
2 teaspoons pickling salt
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish (I used homemade horseradish relish..recipe in a future blog!)
8 cups cucumbers, sliced or cut in 1/2-inch chunks

In a large saucepan, combine all but cucumbers and bring to a boil. Pack cucumbers into hot, sterilized pint jars. Add boiling liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Yield:  4 pints

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