Cashel Blue, Spinach, and Smoked Salmon Tartlets

Go Green
To most people mid-March means St. Patrick’s Day. When they think about Irish food and drink, those same people generally think of potatoes, corned beef, cabbage, lamb and Guinness.

While those ingredients are frequently featured in Irish cooking, the Emerald Isle has so much more to offer. Their cheese alone could occupy most of your time—and don’t get me started on the charcuterie. The Irish know their way around a butchery. While traveling through Ireland years ago, one of the things that surprised me most was the incredible seafood. (I’m not sure why I was surprised. It is an island after all.) The seafood…it was sensational.

Mussels, Herring, Shrimp, Cod, Crab, Haddock, Skate and Salmon (both fresh and smoked) could be found on most menus along with many other native species. Fish was mostly prepared simply but elegantly, and with obvious skill. Occasionally, if you were lucky, you could find a seafood pie. (Yes, topped with potatoes). Yum!

This year for St. Patrick’s Day, set the green beer down and do something truly Irish like these Smoked Salmon tartlets from the cookbook The New Irish Table by Margaret Johnson. You’ll be glad you did. Erin Go Bragh!

Cashel Blue, Spinach and Smoked Salmon Tartlets
Adapted from The New Irish Table by Margaret Johnson
Yields 30 Tartlets

Oak-smoked Irish salmon is often eaten simply with a squeeze of lemon and a slice of brown bread. But its flavor pairs so well with other ingredients, It’s no surprise to also find it in a paté, atop roasted potatoes, or combined with blue cheese and fresh spinach in these tartlets from David Foley, chef-owner of the Wild Geese Restaurant in picturesque Adare, County Limerick. Chef Foley fills handmade pastry cases with the mixture, but these use frozen filo dough shells. Read more…

Julie & Julia’s Bruschetta

Big Night
I love movies; always have. I especially love a matinee by myself, alone, in the theater.

Because I love movies, I have always loved the Oscars. Growing up my mother and I would watch every minute. We would critique the dresses, cheer for the actors we wanted to win, and jeer the ones who won when they shouldn’t have. It was a big deal, and everyone knew not to bug us while the Oscars were on. (Who could possibly be calling now?)

Now that I have my own family, I am sad to report that I am the only one who cares. This is what happens when you live with a bunch of jocks. I thought I had a partner in my glitter-loving daughter but, alas, it appears that I am destined to be alone on this red-carpeted island. My boys just stare at me blankly. My husband gives me the “You have got to be kidding me” look.

For this reason I never really get to go crazy and make themed dinners to eat while watching the show. Instead I am forced to come up with something easy for them to serve themselves while I am otherwise occupied.

A girl can dream, and if I was going to put an Oscar menu together I would pull together a few recipes my very long list of favorite—Oscar nominated or not.

Here are some recipes from that list:

Cocktails
Vodka Martini Shaken, Not Stirred: Any Bond movie. (I love them all.)
or
A nice Chianti: The Silence of The Lambs (1991)

Appetizers
Tomato Buschetta, see recipe below: Julie & Julia (2009)
Fried Green Tomatoes: Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

Main Dish
Chicken Tagine: Sabrina (1995)
or
Hot Dogs: Bull Durham (1988)
We recommend the Miller Dogs from the Meat Counter

Desserts
Reine De Saba Cake: Chocolate (2000)
or
Minny’s Chocolate Pie: The Help (2011)

Julie & Julia’s Bruschetta
(adapted from recipe by food stylist Susan Spungen)
Read more…

Mushroom and Shallot Quiche

Quiche Me

This weekend is our cookbook club dinner and I can’t wait. It seems like forever since we did the last one.

This time we are cooking from one of my new favorite cookbooks, Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. It is an entire cookbook of French comfort food. Or maybe it’s just MY idea of comfort food (mmmm…butter). The recipes are relatively easy, the food is uncomplicated, and the flavors are fabulous. It’s basically the kind of food you would expect if you were invited for dinner at a friend’s home—in Provençe. May we all be so lucky.

I have made a number of recipes from this book, and have never come across a bad one. One of my all time favorites is Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good which I love and have written about about in September of 2012.

Because the girls have been busy lately, I have decided to make the Mushroom and Shallot Quiche ‘cause I need to use up my eggs. I have always enjoyed a good quiche. They are pretty, easy to make, and a quiche is a great way to make use of the random veggies in your fridge. Paired with a tossed salad, and perhaps a glass of wine, and you have a tasty, très French lunch.

Mushroom and Shallot Quiche
Adapted from Epicurious
Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan Read more…

Amy’s Guacamole

A Bowl of Somethin’ Super
Perhaps you haven’t heard, but the Super Bowl is this weekend. I admit I like the Super Bowl and everything that goes with it. The Food, the Commercials, the betting pools. All of it. I am also one of those people who actually likes to watch the game.

After decades of going to Super Bowl parties or having people over at my place, I have finally figured out that I prefer to be in my own home, on my own couch, with a Coke, not a Pepsi, and actually watching the game without having to shush people or turn the volume up to 80. This Sunday I will be doing just that with my Patriot fan husband. (Go ahead. Boo if you must.) But don’t think for one minute that we will be scrimping on the snackage. It may just be the five of us, but we’re going big, baby.

We have done numerous things for our Super Bowl feasting over the years. Chili. Pulled Pork. Baby Back Ribs. After serious soul searching and heated family debates, it has been decided that this year we will be having a Make Your Own Nachos bar. It may sound simple but these are not your average nachos. Sure, we could go with the basic cheese and chips with salsa, but that would be for amateurs. We take our nachos very seriously and we all like different toppings. Our ingredient list could feed a small country. There are numerous different kinds of chips, cheeses, beans, no beans, meats, and salsas. Pickled jalapeños, fresh jalapeños, no jalapeños. It’s Tex-Mex anarchy.

One thing that we do all agree on is there absolutely–the world will tilt on its axis if it’s not there–must be guacamole on the nachos. And if you ask my husband, it must be my guacamole. (Yeah. He’s a keeper.) There ain’t nothin’ better than fresh guacamole with fresh chips. Mine is SO easy to make. Just make sure the avocados are super ripe…but not brown.

Amy’s Guacamole Read more…