St. Pat's Irish Soda Bread

Here's a friend's recipe for Irish soda bread:

6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups raisins

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; set
aside.

Combine buttermilk, melted butter and raisins; add to
flour mixture, stirring until moistened.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. Kneed
until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Place on
a greased baking sheet.

Press dough evenly into a 1 1/2-inch-thick circle.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until bread sounds
hollow when tapped. Remove to a wire rack; cool 5
minutes. Cut into wedges.

Note: I prefer to combine the buttermilk,
melted butter and raisins in a bowl first and let them
sit for a few minutes while I prepare the dry
ingredients. This gives the raisins a chance to
absorb some of the buttermilk and "plump".

I also sprinkle the top of the bread dough with a
small amount of flour before placing the dough in the
oven. This seems to keep the top crust from getting a
bit too overdone, and looks pretty besides!

Stuffed Rock Cornish Hens for Christmas

Here's a recipe for Stuffed Rock Cornish Hens that could easily substitute for the Christmas turkey.

If you have one, use a large roasting pan that has a cover and a drain rack in the bottom. If not, use foil and a broiler pan. These hens come out brown and the skin is crisp.

Serve with a simple green salad and asparagus or another vegetable.

* 1 package long-grain and wild rice mix, 6 ounces
* 3/4 cup chopped dried apricots
* 1/2 cup chopped celery
* 1 can (about 4 ounces) chopped mushrooms, drained
* 1/4 cup melted butter
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 4 Cornish game hens (approximately 1 pound each)

PREPARATION:
Directions for stuffed Cornish hens
Cook rice according to package directions; cool. Add celery, chopped mushrooms, chopped apricots, butter, and soy sauce; toss lightly to mix. Stuff hens; place in roasting pan.

Roast, loosely covered at 375° for 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue roasting Cornish hens for about 60 minutes, or until done. Baste Cornish hens with butter during last 30 minutes, if desired.
Stuffed Cornish hens recipe serves 4.

Wild Greens Tossed with Maple-Glazed Nuts

Here's a delicious salad that's quick and easy. Toss a cup of pecans (or walnuts) into a skillet and heat until fragrant. Pour a tablespoon of maple syrup over the nuts and stir to coat. Cool on parchment paper and separate. Toss the clean greens with 1 part red wine and 2 part olive oil dressing. Put onto plates and add the nuts and an ounce of shaved asiago cheese. Pecorino cheese is a good substitute if asiago is difficult to find.

Yummy Maple Butter

Use this butter on pancakes, muffins, waffles, pound cake, and any other bread. It's so easy and yummy.
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons honey
1 piece parchment or greaseproof paper

In a mixing bowl, using a spatula mash the butter with the maple syrup and honey until well blended. Roll it up in the paper, like a tube and twist the ends. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Meringue Melt-aways

Super easy, super good recipe for your Australia Day picnic. Serve these with the fruit tray!

Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Beat 3 large egg whites, adding 3/4C sugar gradually until the whites are very stiff. Fold in vanilla or almond extract. Gradually fold in 1C broken pecans (or walnuts) and 1C (250g) chocolate chips. Dip out a spoonful at a time on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Place the cookie sheets in the preheated oven. Immediately turn the oven off and leave the cookies for 8 hours or overnight. Do not peek. Peel paper off each cookie and keep in an airtight container until ready to pack for your picnic. Note: If the meltaways are not completely dried out after 8 hours, remove the cookie sheets from the oven, reheat the oven, replace sheet for a little longer. You can do this over and over until the meltaways are completely dry.

Crab Cake Recipe

Since it's crab season here in WA, the Governor of Maryland has asked me to pass along his recipe for Maryland Crab Cakes. Substitute WA crabs and call them Mandurah Crab Cakes. Delicious!
Ingredients:
1 pound Maryland (make that Mandurah) Crab meat
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 large egg
1/4 cup mayonnaise (use only Hellmans or Best brands)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Margarine, butter, or oil for frying

1. Remove all cartilage from crabmeat
2. In a bowl, mix bread crumbs, eggs, mayonnaise and seasonings.
3. Add crab meat and mix gently by thoroughly. If mixture is too dry, add a little more mayonnaise. Shape into 6 cakes.
4. Cook cakes in a frying pan in just enough fat to prevent sticking until they are browned (about 5 minutes on each side).

*Note: If desired, crab cakes may be deep fried at 350 degrees for 2 to 3 minutes or until browned.

Texas Fruitcake Recipe

It may be too late this year for fruitcake or stained glass cake, as I have heard it called in Oz, but here's a great recipe from my mother's kitchen to save for the next holiday season. My mother has a secret ingredient which I am happy to pass along. Not only does she include whiskey in the ingredient list, but she also makes the cakes two months ahead of Christmas and lovingly sprinkles them weekly with whiskey until the holidays arrive. By Christmas Day the fragrance alone can set your head swimming. And the taste is extraordinary.

I have put the recipe on a link so you can print it out. I haven't tried the whiskey on commercial cakes or on any other recipe, but it could work just as well as on the Texas Fruitcake recipe.

Texas Fruitcake is expensive and time-consuming to make, but having this marvelous cake for the holidays is worth the effort.

Frying A Turkey

"Deep fried turkey" is all the rage in the US for turkey preparation. It's easy and very fast. A ten pound bird takes 35 minutes. Plus it tastes wonderful!

We ate our first deep fried turkey at my cousin's house before it became the national rage. He had improvised the set-up etc and said he cooked many turkeys before he got it right. Now you can buy the set-ups at Walmart and everyone is doing it with the following recipe.

My cousin cooks the bird AFTER the guests arrive. It's like the focal point of the pre-dinner prep and very entertaining to watch. Plus it keeps everyone out of the kitchen while the cook is busy. And drinks all-around!

The hard part is coming up with the pot that is big enough. I guess a camping store would be the best bet for finding one. It has to be very, very big. You also need a way to lower the bird into the hot oil and also lift it out. My cousin used a wire he rigged around the bird that he fashioned a handle from. There might be something better out there now, but that is a very important part of the set up as the bird is really heavy. The rest of the set up is a table to prep the bird on and the fire.

So here it is.

Deep-Fried Turkey Recipe

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
User Rating:

1 (10-pound) turkey
4 tablespoons of your favorite dry rub
3 to 5 gallons peanut oil
Cook's Note: To measure the amount of oil needed to fry the turkey, place turkey in fryer, add water to top of turkey, remove the turkey and the water line will indicate how much oil will be needed to fry your turkey. Having too much oil can cause a fire. The pot should not be more than 3/4 full or the oil could overflow when the turkey is added.
Wash bird inside and out, and allow to drain. Rub turkey all over with dry rub. Allow the bird to sit until it reaches room temperature.
Heat peanut oil in a turkey fryer or a very, very large stockpot to 350 degrees F. Lower turkey into hot oil, making sure it is fully submerged. Fry turkey for 3 minutes per pound plus 5 minutes per bird. Remove turkey from oil and drain on paper towels.