Monday, March 14, 2011

Party time…

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A St. Patrick’s Day Bloghop with Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen and a Celebrity Cook Along hosted by Lynn at Happier Than a Pig in Mud are happening this week. These are only two of the events this week. There are more but if I tried to combine them, it would take too long to read much less write. I am also joining REDnesday which is one of my new favorites hosted by Sue at It’s A Very Cherry World.

My mother loved Irish Belleek. You can read about it here. I did buy a shamrock plant but could not get a good picture of it.

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The vignette for the St. Patrick’s Blog hop is done.

I found these vintage St. Patrick’s Day postcards on the internet at Vintage Holiday Crafts and printed them on white cardstock.

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L1060569Happy St. Patrick’s Day

And dinner is almost on the table.

Corned Beef and Cabbage is an absolute favorite at our house.  I buy a corned beef with the seasoning packet in it but if you cannot find that pickling spice is a good substitute. I like the one made by Mosey but I have good luck with other brands as well. We are going out for dinner on St. Patrick’s Day but I am making the whole dinner anyway because I want the leftovers. I am also making Ina Garten’s Soda Bread to accompany the meal. Print recipe here.

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Ina Garten’s Soda Bread

4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 tablespoon all purpose flour for dusting currants
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, ½ inch dice
1 3/4 cup buttermilk, shaken
1 extra large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 cup dried currants

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and mix on low speed until butter is mixed into the flour mixture. Mix the buttermilk, egg and orange zest together with a fork and slowly add to flour mixture on low speed. Toss the currants with the 1 tablespoon of flour and add to the dough. This will be a wet mixture. Dump the dough on a well floured board and knead it a few time to make into a round loaf. Cut an X into the top and for for 45 to 55 minutes. The loaf should sound hollow when tapped and a cake tester should come out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes nice toast.

I am going to join Sue for REDnesday again this week. I have used this mixer quite a bit lately.

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Mine wasn’t as pretty as Ina’s but I think I could have used a little more flour and few more turns with the kneading. However, it was absolutely delicious.

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Thank you Ina for all your wonderful recipes.

Be sure to join the Bloghop and see what the other bloggers are doing with Ina’s recipes. REDnesday is a fun event too.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

41 comments:

Renée said...

Awesome post here Carol. I need to jump on the parties you mentioned. Isn't Ina the best? The soda bread looks delish! Thanks for your fun post...

From the Kitchen said...

I fully intended to "make the party" with an Ina recipe but a flooded basement and a weekend of play has me coming up short. I'm glad to see you up to speed and to be reminded of Ina's soda bread. At least I have time to do that.

Best,
Bonnie

Anonymous said...

Great post dear Carol, I loove it!
Beautiful cake, photos, decoration...
Kisses and happy new week.

Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook said...

The Belleek is so pretty! Your soda bread looks so good! And such pretty roses.
And the Ina collection, love that :)
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A Garden of Threads said...

Love the post Carol. Have a wonderful party and happy St. Patrick's Day.ev

Maggie said...

How wonderful that we both made Ina's Soda bread for the St Patricks Day blog parties.
Your flowers & the Belleek are delightful.

Vee said...

Looks good to me! Are soda breads supposed to have a wet dough or dry? I can never figure it out. That vase with the shamrock has such graceful lines...

Linda (More Fun Less Laundry) said...

Hi Carol, I keep hearing that Ina's soda bread is so good so I will have to try it. My mom always made corned beef and cabbage with carrots for St. Patrick's Day, but I have never made it. I always thought it was so hard but maybe not! Have a happy St. Patrick's Day! Linda

Bunnym said...

Thanks for your kind words regarding my panic and my daughter leaving the nest....It's a good thing...right?

The only thing I noticed on your blog was the RED mixer...yeah, I know...I'm obsessed.

tootles,
bunny

Johanna Gehrlein said...

Hello Carol,
Happy St. Patricks Day to you. You made such a nice post.
Greetings, Johanna

Beth said...

Carol, Looks like you're quite the Ina Garten fan! You chose a great recipe to incorporate with St. Patrick's Day.
Beth

Lynn said...

Thanks for joining the Cook-Along Carol! Your mom's vase is just beautiful, and lovin' that great red mixer! The soda bread sounds yummy, I've tried making a lot of different breads but haven't tried soda bread yet-thanks for posting the recipe:@)

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Oh, this was a fun post! Pretty Irish themed photos. I made an Ina recipe today but ran out of light to photograph. I hope to get a post prepared for this blog party too.

Fun stopping by!

Sheila said...

We will have corned beef and cabbage, I'll try Ina's soda bread like you and Maggie did. Thanks for the recipe!
The luck of the Irish to you Carol!

Miz Helen said...

Hi Carol,
Your Soda Bread looks delicious. I just have to have Soda Bread around St Patricks Day. I am so happy you stopped by to have tea with me, I hope you will come back soon I enjoyed our visit. Thank you for sharing and you have a great day!

Mary Bergfeld said...

This looks wonderful and it wouldn't be St. Patrick's Day without soda bread. Ina's recipe is terrific. I'll see you at the party. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

Queenie's Vintage Finds said...

I love your shamrock vase and those St. Patrick's card images are just too cute. I have some antique St. Patrick's Day cards at my blog today...I'm hoping to have a collection of them eventually..I love old postcards...there's just something special about them :)
Happy St. Patrick's Day to you...
Big hugs,
Queenie

Betty said...

I love belleek and thanks for sharing the recipe. Happy St. Paddys Day.

xinex said...

I love your shamrock vase. The bread looks delish!..Christine

Unknown said...

Great post -- love belleek and also love Ina -- your bread looks wonderful :)

Blessings!
Gail

GardenOfDaisies said...

I love Belleek too!!! Your soda bread looks delicious!
Happy St. Patrick's day to you!

Alycia Nichols said...

Hi, Carol! Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier today. So happy to have you as a guest!!! The pitcher you have displayed here is just beautiful! I love the sinewy lines of it. I was reading your bio and see that you live part of the year in Florida. My husband and I are considering the same. We have traveled to Sebring and Jupiter in the past, and will take a look at Kissimmee next month. I love it right here where we are (in the Kansas City, MO area), but he wants to seek out warmer climes. I have never been to Maine, but when I see it in movies, it looks beautiful...and peaceful!!! I hope you enjoy a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!

A Bit of the Blarney said...

There are so many recipes for Irish Soda Bread...I have my favorite but I am sure willing to try them all!! I do love the bread! Thank you and Happy Saint Patrick's Day to you! Cathy

La said...

Hi Carol!

I chose the same recipe to share at Lynn's party. I thougt it was delicious.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ribbonwood Cottage said...

Oh my gosh I love that red mixer! I think I'm needing one at my house...in my kitchen! Great post too.
Blessings,
Debbie

Kathleen said...

Thank you so much for joining the blog hop! I love Belleek too, my sister has a whole set of dishes, just beautiful.
I like Mosey's too.
Your red mixer...Sweet!

Julie said...

This looks delicious! I love Irish Soda Bread and Ina's recipes!

Faythe said...

lovely vase & great idea about printing out the post cards! gotta love that red mixer! Faythe @ GMT

Red Couch Recipes said...

I love your red Kitchen-Aid. I also love the vintage cards you made -- they are so precious. Joni

Unknown said...

Love your red mixer!!!

Madebygen said...

Like your mixer..happy Rednesday...

Shirley said...

Happy St. Pat's. Your dinner is like ours cornbeef and cabbage with soda bread. I like watching Ina on the food channel. Her shows are so good. Have a great day. Your new Missouri Friend.

Rebecca said...

I don't have any st Patricks items-wish I did! Have a great day!

★Carol★ said...

My friend collects Belleek, and she's found several pieces at garage sales! I'm going to jot down that recipe for the bread, and hopefully it will turn out better than my last try at it. Love your mixer, and whatever that piece of furniture is with all of the little drawers. I have a thing for little drawers!
Happy REDnesday!
Carol

Sarah said...

Love the red mixer! I've never made soda bread, but should give it a try.
Happy St. Patrick's Day! ~ Sarah

Foley said...

Love your Belleek pitcher..and that gorgeous red mixer!!
Interesting to see all the different soda bread recipes...

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Carol! I've missed you SO much! Thank you for your sweet comments and well wishes as they mean the world to me.

First of all, I love the new look of your blog. Very snazzy. And I love your Beleek, and how neat that it was you mother's. That makes it all the more special.

The card is so sweet, too, and your meal sounds delicious. I am a HUGE lover of corned beef. We used to eat corned beef sandwiches on egg bread with swiss cheese and spicey mustard. Oh, how I loved those, and we got them from a deli that made the best. YUM! I haven't had soda bread in a bit, but it is very yummy. Thanks for sharing that recipe with us. It looks llike something I would like to try!

BTW, I hope to be back blogging more after next week. I have painters who require supervision unless, of course, I want purple trim on my house. ;-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day, my friend.

XO,

Sheila :-)

Anonymous said...

Happy St Patricks day to you too! We couldn't wait..had our corned beef and cabbage on Tuesday. I have always liked the Belleek pieces...they are so elegant.

Chubby Chieque said...

Simple but a very enchanting post. I love the way you show & tell.

Take care on TS day.

Greetings & blessings from Stockholm,
/chie

LindyLouMac said...

Great post for St Patricks Day.

podso said...

What a nice post and it looks like you had fun with your Irish cooking and table setting!

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