Sweet Irish Bread

Sweet Irish Bread (from AllRecipes, Servings: 12+, Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes)

Ingredients

·         ¼ cup butter

·         1 cup white sugar

·         2 eggs, beaten

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         ½ tsp. baking soda

·         1 tsp. cream of tartar

·         1 pinch salt

·         1 cup sour cream

·         1 cup raisins

Directions

1.)    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2.)    In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sour cream. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; stir into the sour cream mixture until just blended. Fold in raisins. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan.

3.)    Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the crown, comes out clean.

I made this recipe for two reasons: 1.) I was needed to get rid of raisins that I used in two Indian dishes and I didn’t want to throw them away, and 2.) I needed a host gift for a St. Patrick’s Day party.  Perfect combo!

The consistency of the bread was right and it rose very nicely.  When I cut through it, though, some of the raisins started falling out.  I did let it cool for about 1 hour, but maybe it needed a little bit longer to set.  I tasted a bit without reasons and it was sweet and moist.  My husband said that he would probably eat it with the raisins in, he liked it that much.  I will say that it went quickly at the party!

Baileys Irish Cupcakes with Irish Cream Icing

Baileys Irish Cupcakes with Irish Cream Icing (cake and frosting recipes both from AllRecipes, Servings: 12, Total Time: 1 hour)

Ingredients

   For Cake:

·         ½ cup butter, softened
·         ¾ cup white sugar
·         4 egg yolks
·         ¾ cup sour cream
·         ½ tsp. vanilla extract
·         1 tsp. almond extract
·         1 cup all-purpose flour
·         1 tsp. baking powder
·         ¼ tsp. salt
·         6 Tbsp. Irish cream liqueur (such as Baileys®)

   For Icing:

·         ¼ cup butter, softened
·         1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, or more as needed
·         1 ½ Tbsp. Irish cream liqueur (such as Baileys®)

Directions

1.)    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.)    Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
3.)    Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until the butter is light and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes; beat in sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, at least 5 more minutes.
4.)    Beat in egg yolks one at a time, mixing until each yolk is just combined before adding the next; mix in sour cream and vanilla and almond extracts.
5.)    Sift flour in a separate bowl with baking powder and salt.
6.)    Stir flour mixture into the liquid ingredients in thirds, alternating with Irish cream liqueur, until the batter is smooth.
7.)    Pour batter into the lined muffin cups.
8.)    Bake in the preheated oven until the cupcakes are golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.
9.)    While cupcakes are cooling, whip ½ cup butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
10.)                        Set mixer to low speed and slowly beat in confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, until frosting is smooth and spreadable. Beat in the Irish cream liqueur; adjust thickness of frosting with more confectioners' sugar if needed.

I am not a fan of Bailey’s, but I wanted to make an Irish dish for a neighbor’s party.  I did a quick search and saw the cupcake recipe and thought it would be a perfect way to use the Bailey’s we had from a previous party.  I also found the frosting recipe using the same methodology.

I cannot account for the taste of the cake, but I did receive rave reviews from guests at the party.  They said that the cake was moist and were asking what was it.  I cannot believe they couldn’t tell it was Baileys because the cupcake certainly smelled like Baileys.  The cupcakes did fall in the center while they were cooling, but I don’t think that affected the flavor or texture.  Maybe a little more baking powder would fix that.  I used half the frosting ingredients from the second recipe and it was enough to cover the cupcakes, but I think that a full portion would have had better coverage.

Le Shio - Wilmington, DE

http://www.leshio.com/

Le Shio is a very unassuming restaurant from the outside.  It is in a strip mall in Wilmington, DE, stuffed between a Radio Shack and a Dress Barn.  Even though you could pass right by and not realize it is a restaurant, I strongly urge you not to.  The food is worth a stop at this Asian Fusion restaurant.  The décor has a modern/industrial feel to it, one large room with white walls, a sushi bar at back before kitchen (with some available seats), a bar to the right after you walk in, and a number of booths and tables spread throughout the large room.

I ordered the Vegetarian Sushi Set (a selection of 24 pieces of maki sushi) that came with a cup of miso soup or a house salad.  I opted for the salad and also ordered Edamame as an appetizer.  The edamame was served in a small bowl and was enough for my husband and I to share.  Nothing special about it, just your standard edamame pods.  The salad was in a very small dish and consisted of a bit of lettuce and a tomato slice.  It was served with an aged ginger dressing – which was creamy and delicious, pretty sweet.

My sushi set consisted of three rolls cut into eight pieces each.  Asparagus, Oshinko (a pickled vegetable), and one with Avocado and Carrots.  Each one was rolled in seaweed and covered in rice.  They were tightly rolled and easy to pick up with chopsticks – they also held together well when dipping them in soy sauce.  The sushi was, of course, served with ginger and wasabi.  I added a bit too much wasabi to my soy sauce, but that’s OK.  Nothing too bad happened!  Overall, I really liked the sushi set, the Avocado and Asparagus rolls had a crisp texture because of the fresh vegetables.  Quite enjoyable!  I don’t remember ever having Oshinko before – it was good!  At first I thought it was Yellow Squash, but the texture was a little creamier.  I definitely recommend trying it.

I like Le Shio, though not quite as much as my sushi-loving husband.  If you are looking for vegetarian sushi, I recommend it go to the top of your list.

Red Lentil Curry

Red Lentil Curry (from All Recipes, Servings: 8, Total Time: 40 minutes)

Ingredients

·         2 cups red lentils

·         1 large onion, diced

·         1 Tbsp. canola oil

·         2 Tbsp. curry paste (I used red)

·         1 Tbsp. curry powder

·         1 tsp. ground turmeric

·         1 tsp. ground cumin

·         1 tsp. chili powder

·         1 tsp. salt

·         1 tsp. white sugar

·         1 tsp. minced garlic

·         1 tsp. ginger root, minced

·         1 (14.25 oz.) can tomato puree (I used tomato sauce)

Directions

1.)    Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear (this is very important or the lentils will get "scummy"), put the lentils in a pot with water to cover and simmer covered until lentils tender (add more water if necessary).

2.)    While the lentils are cooking: In a large skillet or saucepan, caramelize the onions in oil.

3.)    While the onions are cooking, combine the curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar, garlic, and ginger in a mixing bowl. Mix well.

4.)    When the onions are cooked, add the curry mixture to the onions and cook over a high heat stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes.

5.)    Stir in the tomato puree and reduce heat, allow the curry base to simmer until the lentils are ready.

6.)    When the lentils are tender drain them briefly (they should have absorbed most of the water but you don't want the curry to be too sloppy). Mix the curry base into the lentils and serve immediately.

This was another dish that I made for the tasting.  I will start by stating that the original recipe doesn’t tell you how long to cook the lentils.  I believe that mine took about 15 minutes over a medium heat, no extra water was needed.  At first I thought that I overcooked them, but they still tasted good and the other people who tried the dish liked it.  Just keep an eye on them while doing the other steps in the recipe.  This was also my first time working with ginger (FYI – you need to peel it before mincing!).  I think that I did OK on both accounts.

Overall, the recipe is easy to follow and the end result is pretty tasty.  It’s a little light on the taste, but I didn’t want to add any Sriracha because we have to be sensitive to the people who may not like spicy food.  However, on my leftovers, I went Sriracha-happy and it tasted awesome!  The consistency was almost like refried beans, but that worked well on some sandwich thins and pitas.  The curry is not “runny” or “oily” like some other curries that I have eaten or made, so it works really well with bread.  I definitely recommend trying this recipe!  Pretty healthy (calories are fairly low, protein is good) and tasty.