Loaded Irish Potato Pancakes (Boxty)

Boxty are traditional Irish pancakes, different than American style potato pancakes in that they are made from half hash browns, half mashed potato. I prefer them to traditional potato pancakes; something about the mixture helps make them a bit less greasy.

The Irish saying goes, "Boxty in the griddle, boxty in the pan, if you can't make boxty, you'll never get a man!"  Sexism and cooking; a great combination!  Happy St Paddy's Day!

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
3 cups grated raw potatoes or frozen shredded hash browns
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups mashed potatoes
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
Vegetable or olive oil, for frying

Directions:
Prepare mashed potatoes using standard methods and set aside to cool (can be made the night before, or used from leftovers).  Toss the grated potatoes with flour in a bowl.  Stir in the mashed potatoes.  In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk, then add to the potato mixture.   Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil on a griddle or pan, then drop the potato mixture in large tablespoons onto the hot surface, pressing down slightly to form patties.  Fry on both sides until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes per side.  Drain on paper towels and serve while warm.

Note: I turned these into "loaded boxty" pancakes; with sour cream, crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese and green onions. There are a lot of variations on boxty, so if you're in the mood to experiment, search online for more ideas.  In Ireland, these are traditionally served with breakfast or dinner, so there are a ton of ways to serve this recipe.  Enjoy!

Boxty (Irish Potato Pancake)

Boxty are traditional Irish pancakes, different than American style pancakes in that they are half hash brown, half mashed potato. I prefer them to traditional potato pancakes; something about the mixture helps make them a bit less greasy.

The Irish saying goes, "Boxty in the griddle, boxty in the pan, if you can't make boxty, you'll never get a man!"  Sexism and cooking; a great combination!  Happy St Paddy's Day!

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
3 cups grated raw potatoes or frozen shredded hash browns
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups mashed potatoes
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
Vegetable or olive oil, for frying

Directions:
Prepare mashed potatoes as you usually would and set aside to cool (can be made the night before, or used from leftovers). Toss the grated potatoes with flour in a bowl.  Stir in the mashed potatoes.  In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk, then add to the potato mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil on a griddle or pan, then drop the potato mixture in large tablespoons onto the hot surface, pressing down slightly to form patties.  Fry on both sides until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes per side.  Drain on paper towels and serve while warm.

Note: I turned these into "loaded boxty" pancakes; with sour cream, crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese and green onions. There are a lot of variations on boxty, search online for more ideas.  In Ireland, these are traditionally served with breakfast or dinner, so there are a ton of ways to use this recipe.  Enjoy! 

Irish Recipes for St Patrick's Day

In honor of St Patrick's day coming up, which might as well be Chicago day, I have compiled some of my favorite sort-of-Irish recipes (at the very least, these are recipes that incorporate Irish liquor).  Enjoy and don't overdose on green dye!

Irish Soda Bread

Guinness Battered Onion Rings

Beer and Cheddar Soup 

Guinness Braised Chuck Roast and Onions

Jameson Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting 

Irish Car Bomb Jello Shots

Chocolate Irish Cream Pudding Shots

Guinness Battered Onion Rings

I have a deep fryer, but if you don't have one you can fry these in a large pot.

 

Yield:  What will seem like a lot until you start eating and finish them all yourself.  Or, 2-4 servings

Recipe:
2 large yellow onions, peeled and sliced 1/4" to 1/2" thick

1 package onion ring coating mix

1 14.9 ounce can of Guinness

1/2 cup cornmeal

2 eggs
Vegetable oil for frying

Sea salt, as desired

 

Directions:

Slice and peel onions and separate slices into rings.  Whisk 2 cups of the onion ring coating mix with the beer and egg until smooth.  In a separate bowl, mix the cornmeal with the remaining coating mix.

Preheat oil in a deep fryer or pot.

Dip the onion rings in the beer batter, then in the coating mix, then drop into hot oil.  Cook for 3-4 minutes or until lightly brown, then lay on paper towels to drain.  Repeat in batches until finished.

Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.   Enjoy!

Guinness Braised Chuck Roast and Onions

This is an easy weeknight crockpot recipe!

Yield:  4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 beef chuck roast, 4-5 lbs
1 tbsp olive oil
3 large white or yellow onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 cans Guinness beer (14.9 ounces each)
1 cup beef broth
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Bring roast to room temperature.  Pat meat dry and rub with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in a skillet and brown roast thoroughly on all sides.  Transfer meat to crockpot.

Skin and slice onions.  Add beef broth to pan and deglaze, then add onions, garlic, and herbs.  Saute for about 5 minutes, then add the Guinness and bring to a boil.  Pour liquid and vegetables over beef in crockpot and turn to medium or low, depending on how soon you need to eat!  I cooked mine for about 5 1/2 hours on low, but have used a similar technique with chuck roast on medium for about 3 hours.

If you want to make this while at work, you can easily do all of the active steps in advance, place the crockpot in the fridge overnight, and then turn it on before leaving in the morning.  That's the beauty of a crockpot!

Let rest before carving.  Serve with onions and juices on top.  This would also make a nice change from corned beef for St Paddy's day.  Enjoy!

Jameson Cupcakes with Baileys Irish Cream Frosting

 

If you just saw my most recent post, you will notice a theme with the pan (I just used this same pan to make jello shots).  Well, what do you expect - a new tea cake pan is a very exciting addition to my kitchen!

These were both delicious and adorable, which is my favorite combination.

Yield:  About 30 cupcakes using a mini muffin pan, or 20 with a regular cupcake pan

Cake Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 small box chocolate pudding
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup Jameson Whiskey
 

Frosting Ingredients:

8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup Baileys Irish Cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease the pan you plan to use.  Mix the cake ingredients together.  Pour cake mix into cupcake tins and bake for 15-20 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Next, mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, Baileys, and vanilla extract until smooth.  Taste and adjust thickness if necessary (more Baileys if too thick, or not drunken enough!  Or more sugar if too thin).

Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost and serve!  Enjoy!

Tips:  This frosting is so good, I started over and made a double batch!  It is also nice and creamy, so if you want to make these look really great, use a pastry bag to frost your cupcakes.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Irish Car Bomb Jello Shots

I meant to post this earlier. Like, 5 days earlier. It's been a busy week! 

Yield: Approximately 20 jello shots 

Ingredients:
1 16 ounce can Guinness
4 ounces Baileys Irish Cream
3 ounces Jameson Irish Whiskey
5 packets plain gelatin 

Directions:
I purchased a tea cake pan from Amazon to make these, but you could also use a mini muffin pan. These turned out quite large because of the pan I used, quite a tasty alcohol mouthful!

To start, spray the pan with unflavored non-stick spray.   Pour about 12 ounces of Guinness into a sauce pan.  Sprinkle with 4 envelopes of gelatin.  Allow to sit for a moment to let the gelatin bloom, then heat until the mixture is smooth. Stir continuously while heating to ensure that there are no lumps - this should just take a few minutes.

Next, split the Guinness mixture in half.  Pour the first half of the mixture into the bottom of the cups.  Place in the refrigerator and allow to cool until solid.

While waiting for the Guinness to solidify, mix the Baileys and Jameson in another sauce pan. Sprinkle the last envelope of gelatin on top.  Follow the same procedure as above - allow to bloom, heat, mix, and then allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Once the Baileys mixture has cooled, remove the pan from the fridge and ensure that the first layer is solid. Layer the Baileys mixture over it. Return the refrigerator and allow to solidify for about 30 minutes until the layers have melded together. Finally, add the remaining Guinness mixture to the top of the shot.

Place the pan back in the refrigerator one last time. You will probably be able to remove them after a few hours, but to ensure that the layers completely solidify, I would recommend letting it sit overnight. To remove from pan, simply use a butter knife to run around the edges and loosen.

Tips: This jello shot tastes exactly like an Irish Car Bomb! This would be a good thing for many people, but if you aren't a fan of dark beer like Guinness, or want something a bit sweeter, I would suggest adding whipped cream as I did below.  Another option is adding more Baileys and more gelatin to make the Baileys layer thicker.  Bottom's up!

Chocolate Irish Cream Pudding Shots

These are super easy to make and delicious! 

Ingredients:
1 (3 1/2 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vanilla flavored vodka
1/2 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
1 (8 ounce) container cool whip, thawed 

Directions:
Whisk pudding and milk together.  Add vodka and Irish cream, then fold in the cool whip. Divide into individual servings in glasses.  Place in freezer for 5-10 minutes, then serve (or reserve in freezer until serving). 

Tips: 

For the effect below, double this recipe, making one batch of chocolate and one batch with vanilla pudding.  Alternate the flavors, using a pastry bag to pipe the pudding in.  Elegant, and simple!  Top with a dollop of whipped cream, chocolate shavings, cocoa powder and/or sprinkles.  Cheers!