A few days late for Irish cooking, I know – but my husband and I were looking for a way to use up our leftover cabbage from our traditional corned beef dinner last week and decided to experiment.  Colcannon is an Irish dish, traditionally served on Halloween, made with potatoes and cabbage or kale.  (There is even a song written about it!)  Since it incorporates cabbage and we had all the rest of the ingredients, we decided to give it a whirl.  I made it on a weeknight after work – it came together very easily.   While I am not a big fan of cabbage typically, this recipe was a great way to get in a full serving or two of veggies – it was more like eating loaded mashed potatoes than anything else.  I used this recipe for my main inspiration – my main modifications included substituting leek for the scallions, focusing more on the bacon (as this was our dinner entree), and cutting down a bit on the butter.  It was fabulous!

  Ingredients

  2 pounds cabbage, shredded

  2 cups water

  4 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped

  2 cups milk

  1 cup chopped leek

  Salt and coarsely ground pepper to taste

  1/4 cup butter, melted

  12oz package of bacon, chopped and cooked

Directions:  Place the cabbage and the water into a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high head.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until cabbage is tender.  Drain the cabbage, reserving the cooking liquid.  Put the cooking liquid back in the pot, and add the potatoes and enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.  In the meantime, put the leeks and milk into a small pot and bring to a boil, then turn off heat and let sit.  When the potatoes have finished cooking, drain them and return them to the pan.  Mash the potatoes, and then add the milk/leek mixture to the pot, mixing well.  Add the cabbage and the bacon to the mixture and combine well.  Drizzle with the melted butter, and add salt and pepper to taste.

After a long blogging hiatus, I’m back.  While I haven’t been blogging regularly, I’ve been tracking my kitchen adventures and have a number of fun recipes to share.

In the dead of winter, nothing is better than a warm, hearty bowl of soup.   Panera’s Baked Potato soup is a favorite of mine,  so I was intrigued when I saw a copycat recipe on A Year of Slow-cooking.   While the flavor differs somewhat from the original, this soup is smooth, creamy and rich… the perfect meal for a cold winter’s night.

Honestly, it doesn’t get much easier than this.  I find potato soups very messy when cooked on the stove – you need to make sure that things don’t boil over or stick to bottom of the pan, and clean-up is a pain.  With this recipe,  you just throw everything in the slow-cooker and walk away.

Beware:  this recipe makes a lot of soup – easily 10 generous servings.   The soup is so tasty, you probably won’t mind an abundance of leftovers.    It filled my 6 quart Crock Pot with only about an inch to spare, so make sure you use a 6-quart or larger slow-cooker if you choose to make a full batch.

Slow-cooker Baked Potato Soup
Yields 10 servings

5 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced in 1 to 2-inch chunks
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 quarts chicken broth
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
optional garnishes: crumbled bacon, green onion, chives, shredded cheddar cheese

1. After peeling and dicing potatoes, place them in the slow-cooker (use 6-quart or larger). Add onion, garlic, seasonings and broth.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for four hours.
3. Once potatoes are fork-tender, use a masher to mash the potatoes.
4. Break up both packages of cream cheese and add to slow-cooker. Put the cover back on.
5. Cook on high for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Once cream cheese is completely dissolved, serve with desired garnishes.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Despite my Irish heritage, I have not done anything to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day in recent years. Now that cooking has become a hobby, I thought it would be fun to create an Irish-inspired meal.

On Sunday, my mother and I made Potato Leek Soup and Brown Irish Soda Bread for our early Saint Patrick’s Day celebration.

I tried Potato Leek Soup for the first time at Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival last fall. For some reason, I always shied away from leeks. I used to be a very picky eater, and I sometimes still avoid foods for no good reason. I’m glad I finally tried the soup! Since I love potatoes in just about any form and have quite a weakness for cream soups, this is a perfect soup. At the same time, I also sampled some Brown Soda Bread and Dubliner cheese.

I found this recipe for Potato Leek Soup in the Boston Globe. It appeared to be straightforward and was very similar to other Potato Leek Soup recipes I had found online. Since soup is always better when served with bread, I also made Brown Irish Soda bread.

I followed the recipe pretty closely, but omitted the parsley and added some dried rosemary. I started with 1/4 tsp, but added more as I altered the seasoning to fit my tastes. To speed up the cooking process, I cooked the potatoes at a low boil before mashing with a potato masher. Once the soup was done, I added an extra 1/4 cup of broth and 1/4 cup of cream. It’s worth noting that I think milk or half and half would work quite well in this soup in place of the heavy cream.

According to the Globe, this recipe produces 6 servings, but I got 8 1+ cup servings. The soup was delicious! I just finished the last of the leftovers, and were sad to see them go!

May your troubles be less,
And your blessing be more.
And nothing but happiness,
Come through your door.

Potato Leek Soup

Yields 6-8 1-cup servings
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
1 medium onion, chopped
3 leeks, thinly sliced and rinsed well
3 cloves garlic, smashed
5 medium russet (baking) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
4-5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and pepper, to taste
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp dried rosemary

1. In a large heavy-based stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, leeks, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until softened.

2. Add the potatoes, 4 cups of the stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

3. Either mash the potatoes with a potato masher or, puree soup in batches in a blender. Return it to pot. Bring to a simmer. Add the cream and parsley, and taste for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper, if you like. If the soup is too thick, add remaining stock in 1/4-cup increments until it is the consistency you prefer.

When I saw this recipe on Elly Says Opa, I knew I had to try it! My husband and I love potatoes, mushrooms, Smoked Gouda cheese and bacon, but we’ve never had them all in one dish.

In an effort to reduce the amount of dairy, I increased the amount of broth by 1/2 a cup and decreased the amount of milk by 1/2 a cup. I opted to use skim milk instead of half and half or cream. In retrospect, half and half would have lent more creaminess to the soup. I have included my changes to the original recipe in italics below.

In trying to add body and make up for the reduced amount of dairy, I went a little too crazy with the food processor. Pureeing nearly 2 full cups of soup produced a rather dingy looking dish. Despite it’s appearance, the soup was delicious!

Served with crusty homemade bread, this soup was the perfect meal for a chilly winter night. It’s warm, tasty and quite filling. The leftovers reheated nicely. We’re both looking forward to making this again.

Mushroom, Potato and Smoked Gouda Chowder
from Elly Says Opa

Yields 4 Servings

1/4 lb. bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1 lb. mushrooms (your choice, I like to use a variety), sliced
a few sprigs of fresh thyme or a good pinch of dried (I used 1/4 tsp)
1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine
1 bay leaf
3-4 cups Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth (I used 3.5 cups)
1.5 cups half and half (or milk, or cream) (I used 1 cup of skim milk)
2 oz. smoked Gouda, shredded

In a stockpot or dutch oven, cook the bacon until it has rendered its fat. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.

In the bacon fat, cook the diced onion over low heat for about 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms. Add a little salt and pepper and continue cooking over low or medium-low heat until the mushrooms have released their moisture, about 10-15 minutes. Increase the heat and add the sherry or wine. Cook until almost all of the alcohol has cooked off.

Add the potatoes and the garlic, stirring to combine. Add the bay leaf and broth. Bring to a light boil and simmer until potatoes are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove the bay leaf. Put as much or as little of the mixture as you want into a food processor and pulse it. This isn?t necessary but it creates both texture and thickness to the soup. Return the pureed soup to the dutch oven. Add the half and half and Gouda. Simmer until the soup has heated through and the cheese has melted.

Garnish bowls with diced bacon and more cheese, if desired.