St. Patrick's Day Our Way

Paul loves St. Patrick's Day, and I'm rather fond of the holiday meself. Although our dark complexions disguise it, both he and I have significant Irish ancestry. We also celebrate March 17th as the day we went on our first date 4 years ago now. It was a bit of a catastrophe, but aren't the most memorable dates always part chaos?

This year for our St. Patrick's Day dinner party, we started off with a Ploughman's Lunch platter. Traditionally, this consists of cheese, bread, pickles, chutney, salad and perhaps some meats. Our featured Kerrygold Dubliner cheddar cheese, sweet pickles, and homemade persimmon chutney, along with slices of hearty, slightly sweet soda bread.


One friend brought a green salad with green goddess dressing; another brought a pistachio fruity salad. We served extra soda bread with Irish butter alongside a variation of a thick Paula Dean beef-potato stew.

For dessert, we made some chocolate-mint cupcakes that looked picture perfect both before and after frosting:

And boy, when you bit into one, it really kicked you in the mouth and shouted, "Mint!" I like spunk in a cupcake. I appreciate it very much. Crowned with a viewing of "Darby O'Gill and the Little People", the evening was an Irish sensation. How can you top a young, dark-haired, smiling Sean Connery? Tis impossible. And with that, I take my leave and wish you all the luck of the Irish.

Valentine's Day Menu

For several weeks, I have been eying (with trepidation) Judy Rodger’s perfect roast chicken with bread salad. Fortuitously, I received the famous San Francisco chef’s Zuni Café cookbook through the interlibrary loan just in time for Valentine’s Day. With timing like that, fate has chosen our dinner for us. (You can also find the recipe here). (Despite the intimidating several page-long recipe, I am determined to see if this bird is as good as it's rumored to be.

Also on the menu: a moist, dark Winning Hearts and Minds Chocolate Cake, as blogged and written about my Orangette, also known as Molly Wizenburg. This one is mostly chocolate and butter, so I went with the good stuff and procured some pure Irish butter and uber expensive but excellent Scharffen Berger 100% dark chocolate.

I hope that it's a recipe for romance. What's on your menu?

Portuguese Coconut Tarts

When I was a little girl, my Portuguese grandma (who came to the US from the Azore Islands when she was young) would always bring two traditional foods to our Easter celebration: Portuguese sweet bread and little coconut tarts. I adored both of them. Portuguese sweet bread is easily found, but I haven't been able to find those tarts until I did an internet search for the recipe, determined to replicate them at home this year. (My grandma bought them at a Portuguese bakery.)

I did indeed find a recipe and made them yesterday, and my family all agreed they were just like the ones my grandma used to bring. They aren't hard to make since there is no crust to mess with, and if you like coconut, you will love these! The top is like a coconut macaroon; underneath, you will find coconut bathed a smooth, rich custard.

Pasteis de Coco

(Portuguese Coconut Tarts)

2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup milk
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Adjust the rack to middle position. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with 10 paper cupcake liners.

2. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup of the milk. Set aside.

3. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade shred the coconut flakes for 30 seconds.

4. In a large mixing bowl, stir the eggs and sugar together with a wooden spoon. One by one, add the cornstarch mixture, remaining milk, coconut, melted butter and lemon extract, stirring well after each addition.

5. Ladle the custard into the paper cups, filling to 1/4 inch from the top. (Note: Make sure to stir frequently to keep the coconut well distributed.)

6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the coconut is nicely toasted. Cool completely in the tin before serving. Very nice served chilled.

A St. Patrick's Day Quiz - How Well Do You Know the Holiday?

How did you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Our small law office had a potluck - all employees brought something green or Irish to share!

The spread was impressive, and included: lime green punch (orange and pineapple juice, ginger ale, and green jello mix); fried cabbage (contributed by a good ole Southern gal); glazed corned beef and Irish stew; Irish soda bread; green salad; green jello with whipped cream frosting (and pineapple - not crushed, nor tidbits, nor chunks, but rings for some reason. Yes, it was brought by a male); green shamrock cupcakes; and a pistachio cream cheese pie.

All of these delicacies were enjoyed with my husband’s selection of traditional Irish jig tunes (that he procured from who knows where, but they really added a festive ambiance!). We even held a contest of wits, awarding a prize to the person with the highest score on a quiz I personally put together for the occasion. Care to try your luck?

1) What city famously dyes their river green with vegetable dye in honor of this holiday?
a) Dublin b) Philadelphia c) Chicago d) St. Louis

2) In the US, Irish ancestry is the second most frequently reported race, second to:
a) English b) Spanish c) German d) Mexican

3) Where are the two biggest celebrations of this holiday held in the US? (1pt each)
a) Pittsburgh b) Los Angeles c) New York d) Boston

4) In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day was traditionally a religious occasion, for which the pubs were closed. When did this policy (and the nature of the holiday) change?
a) 1895 b) 1785 c) 1995 d) 1965

5) Irish ranks in the top 5 ancestry in every state except these two (1 pt each):
a) Texas b) Hawaii c) New Mexico d) Arizona

6) Which of the following states is Irish NOT in the leading ancestry:
a) Vermont b) Delaware c) New Hampshire d) Massachusetts

7) St. Patrick was born in:
a) a barn to poor parents b) Britain to wealthy parents c) What is now France to pagan parents

8) After being kidnaped by Irish raiders from his home, St. Patrick spent six years in captivity working as a(n):
a) shepherd b) priest c) carpenter d) sailor

9) St. Patrick studied for how long in order to become a priest:
a) two years b) seven months c) five years d) fifteen years

10) True or false: St. Patrick is credited with introducing Christianity to Ireland.

11) True or false: St. Patrick drove all of the snakes out of Ireland. That is why the island to this day is snake-free.

Answers:
1) c
2) c
3) c and d
4) c
5) b and c
6) a

7) b
8) a
9) d

10) F (There were already a small number of Christians in Ireland, and his mission included both ministering to them and to the pagan population)
11) F (This is a popular, but not necessarily literally factual, myth)

How To Not Be A Scrooge

Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rosetti depicts the Nativity

Today, noting that the month of December had arrived, I began to brainstorm my favorite ways to get into the spirit of Christmas.

1) Spend an evening baking cookies, then give them away... But not before tasting a few (or a lot!) myself.

2) Watch the ultimate Christmas movie, in my opinion - "It's A Wonderful Life"! That Jimmy Stewart - such a sweetheart. I cry my eyes out every time I watch it, starting when the mean druggist boxes his ears. Jimmy also stars in my second favorite Christmas film, "Mr. Kreugar's Christmas". My third favorite one is probably Elf, but Will Farrell is no Jimmay Shtewart.

3) Pick a family and do the 12 Days of Christmas for them. Leave little gifts on their doorstep each of the 12 days preceding Christmas. Still trying to pick our family - let me know if you want to volunteer. ;-)

4) Indulge in the beautiful arts. Thus far, we are planning on attending the Sacramento Master Singers' performance at St. Francis cathedral for some classical seasonal music, the Sacramento Ballet's "Nutcracker", our church charity choir concert/canned food drive, and my little siblings' Galena Street East performance. I need to fit some Handel in there somewhere too- my absolute favorite.

5) Drive through a festive neighborhood and enjoy the lights. I'm not sure where I'll go - maybe the Fab 40's? Ideas?

6) We bought a tree and decorated it. I even have my husband's presents wrapped and underneath, half for the sake of festivity and half to give him something to anticipate.

7) Today our bishop challenged each member of our congregation to read the 4 Gospels prior to Christmas. That is going to take a lot of time each day, but we started tonight. As I prepared dinner, Paul read 6 chapters aloud to me. I am excited to attempt to do this, because even tonight's reading served to remind me how much I love the stories and parables in the Bible!

8) Wrapping Christmas presents while listening to Christmas songs on the radio. Most despised: "Christmas Shoes". Too contrived and melodramatic. Favorite: Mostly the older stuff, before modern singers decided to add more runs to their holiday songs than a marathon trainer. I also like to do a sort of one-woman congo line to "Let It Snow" by Gloria Estefan. You know the part - in the bridge, where the brass comes in, "Buh, buh duh duh duh duh duh duh.... BUH!"

Any other ideas will be greatly appreciated! Merry Christmas to all!