Champ (Irish Potatoes)

The Irish Table
My friends, we are knee deep in March, which apparently means rain, basketball, and that day of green, otherwise known as St. Patrick’s Day.

For the record, I’m not really a beer kind of gal—though I did have a pint of Guinness at St. James Gate in Dublin years ago. Best pint I’ve ever had before or since. My guess is it was because I was in Dublin. Other than that, I just can’t do it, green or not. Which is why when I celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, I do it with food. (Imagine that…)

Nothing is more synonymous with Ireland than potatoes. The tragic history of Ireland and the potato is a major reason that we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in America. If not for the famine, we wouldn’t have as many Irish on this side of the pond. (I know, thanks, Captain Obvious…)

Potatoes have always been a friend of mine. I like ‘em mashed. I like ‘em baked. I love ‘em scalloped and I love ‘em French fried. Turns out, I like ‘em Champed too. Champ is a simple Irish peasant dish consisting of pouring scallion-infused, warm milk over mashed potatoes and served with a large dollop of butter melting on top. The butter is essential because Champ is supposed to be eaten from the outside with a spoon, dipping it into the butter in the center. Can I get an Amen?

I had Champ for the first time on the same Ireland trip I mentioned before. While it may not be the national dish of Ireland it is certainly top five. No matter where we went to eat, I ordered some on the side with my meal—I couldn’t get enough of it. It helped that there were so many different versions of the dish, each with a new ingredient to add. Though the original remains my favorite, Champ and Crispy Onions is probably a close second.

Champ (Irish Potatoes)
Adapted from Irish Traditional Cooking By Darina Allen
Serves 4 Read more…

Classic Apple Pie

Baseball v.s. El Nino

This past weekend was Opening Day for Little League. We’ve been waiting for this for months, and it’s not just about the baseball. Opening Day means a parade with the mayor, fire engines, and 1800 kids dressed in their uniforms marching down a spectator-lined street. It’s oh-so Mayberry, and it’s the very definition of Americana. You just don’t see this everyday—at least not anymore. I love it.

The parade kicks off an entire day on the diamond. Nine hours of baseball, hot dogs, seeds, and forced relaxation; not to mention hanging with friends. It is my highlight of Spring. (Or at least a reminder that Spring is almost here.) That is the way it was supposed to be, anyway.

This year, for the first time I can remember, we had rain. A lot of it. We were able to sneak the parade in before the rain got really bad. The best part? Everyone still came. Armed with umbrellas and rain boots they still came, which is good. I know I am not alone in my psychosis.

As you can imagine, all of the games were cancelled, and it looks like they will be cancelled until April. (Okay. That may be an exaggeration, sort of…) It’s killing us (well, maybe just me), and while I realize that reaction is beyond irrational, it’s where I am.

I know what you all are saying, get a grip. And I am trying…it’s a process. As part of that process I am now going to get a grip of this Classic Apple Pie ‘cause that’s as close as I am getting to baseball tradition at this point.

Classic Apple Pie
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

This recipe gives some great tips for working the dough, and recommends lightly greasing the pie plate for easy serving—brilliant! I find that King Arthur Flour makes fantastic crusts—it is a staff favorite. Read more…

Spicy Baked Chicken Wings

The Cookbook Club
Four years ago, my sister was inspired by the Food 52’s annual Piglet cookbook competition (it’s going on right now) to start a cookbook club with a group of five friends, and their families, who she knew were interested in cooking. Though some us had met before, and in some cases knew each other pretty well, it was a random group of people thrown together in pursuit of good food. The common denominator was my sister, and her love of friends and cooking.

This past weekend we celebrated our 20th Cookbook Club dinner—which is pretty remarkable considering that to make it happen five families have to coordinate their busy schedules. The cooking and choosing of books is the easy part. Try navigating through the sports, school, and work demands of 21 people. Our cookbook was the Brown Sugar Kitchen Cookbook by Tanya Holland. To say we ate well would be an understatement.

When the club started, nobody thought it would last this long. We hoped it would, but you know how these things go…they eventually fizzle out, or there’s drama between group members.

What makes this group different is it has ceased to just be about the food. The food is fantastic, but the real draw is wanting to spend time and catch up with each other. (If we can do that while having some rockin’ chicken wings and a cocktail, so much the better.) The change happened, I think, the night we went to The Slanted Door for dinner.

In February of 2013, we chose Vietnamese Home Cooking by Charles Phan as our cookbook. (See Bo Luc Lac: Shaking Beef, our What’s For Dinner Wednesday post from February 2013.) But, instead of having a dinner at someone’s house, we decided this time we would do it a little differently. We made reservations for 10 (Adult swim. No Kids.) at the Slanted Door and had Charles Phan (sort of…who knows who was on the line that night?) cook us our cookbook club dinner. (We were hoping he could sign our cookbooks while we were there. Didn’t happen.) We ordered all of the dishes we had made at home, and discussed them as we would at any club dinner. We laughed. We drank. We were loud and it was a blast. (The club is looking at doing the same thing for our next cookbook, Mustard’s Grill Napa Valley Cookbook by Cindy Pawlcyn. Brace yourself, Napa!)

They say food brings friends and family together, and if the friendships that have come out of this genius idea of my sister’s are any indication, it’s true. We call ourselves a cookbook club but it is so much more than that. We’ve bonded over so many other things besides food: woodworking, medical emergencies, teen angst, kids leaving for college… But it started when all of us sat around the table together and ate a really good meal.

If you’re curious, the list of cookbooks we covered can be found here.

Spicy Baked Chicken Wings
Adapted from Brown Sugar Kitchen Cookbook by Tanya Holland
Makes about 20 wings
Her recipe is about perfect. The only thing I would do to improve it is to marinate the wings in buttermilk before baking.

Classic Cheese Fondue

Downhill Racer

When I was in grade school, we always got a week off in February. The school called it Presidents Week but we called it what it really was, Ski Week.

The concept of Ski Week brings to mind a lovely European scene complete with tall snow covered mountains, quaint Alpine lodge, mulled wine, schnitzel, cheese fondue and the always faithful St. Bernard. Reality is quite different.

I had the opportunity to ski a lot as a kid, and I have no idea how my mother did it. It’s one thing if you are an adult who presumably can manage to haul your gear and get yourself on the mountain. It is a very different (read: painful) thing entirely when you are dragging your children up the mountain, But Mom did it, often, and it was awesome. I have been semi-successful at getting my kids to ski. The biggest obstacle, of course, has been the lack of snow. This year was better, but our one outing was not that enjoyable do to blizzard-like conditions. Who knows when we’ll go back…

The best I can do is recreate that blissful scene from the Alps. As hard as it is to get in the mood with this unseasonably warm weather, it’s harder to pass up the opportunity for melted cheese.

Classic Cheese Fondue
Fondue possibilities are endless, and you can get pretty creative, so mix your cheeses and dippers. Try a gorgonzola fondue with cut up pears—the bomb!

Although it is great to have a traditional fondue pot, don’t let that stop you! What you need is a pot with a source of heat underneath so the fondue stays melted. You can even use a cast iron pot with sterno or a tea light underneath. Read more…