Irish Apple Cake

This evening my husband and I ate out with our friends April and Wes. We went to a Korean restaurant and it was quite good. The only problem I often have with eating out is that I make many of the things myself at home. April and Craig both ordered the beef bulgogi. I think mine is just as good. We had the pork and vegetable dumplings for an appetizer. Of course mine are just as good (if not better!). My husband says I am missing the point of eating out which is to let someone else do the cooking and to just relax. I like to cook. Cooking is relaxing. The one thing the Korean restaurants do very well which I do not do at home is the kimchis. Kimchis are pickles and they put out a whole selection of them to go with your meal. I love them. I think I will put those on my to do list along with inviting April and Wes over for my bulgogi one evening. I will then post the recipe with pictures here. In the meantime, I am still celebrating St Patrick's Day so here is my offering of the day. It is Irish Apple Cake and it turned out scrumptious!

Irish Apple Cake

2 tbs raisins
2 tbs whiskey
4 tbs room temperature butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg at room temperature
1 large apple, diced (I used a red delicious because that is what was in the 'fridge and it was about 1 1/2 cup diced. If yours are smaller then use 2.)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp plus 1 tsp ground cinnamon divided
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the raisins and the whiskey together in a small dish. Microwave for about 20 seconds and set them aside.

Grease an 8 inch spring form pan. Sprinkle in the 1 tsp cinnamon and lightly coat the inside of the pan.

Cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and then the egg until well blended.

Mix the raisins with the whiskey with the diced apples and add them to the butter mixture. Mix well. Add the walnuts.

Sift the flour and remaining ingredients together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. The batter will be thick. Spread in the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Let cool completely and remove from pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Stout Braised Lamb Shanks

I love lamb. My family - not so much. If it were up to me I would cook lamb a lot more often but I have to suffice with ordering it when I eat out - The Outback Rack is a favorite - and cooking it as often as I can get away with it at home. Since my first goal is to cook to please those around me this is not very often. Well tonight, in honor of St Patrick's Day, I put lamb on the menu and braised it in stout. To further complicate things for the kids I put rutabagas in the stew. Hmmm, this was not going over well. But I loved it. The leftovers are going to be fabulous! The lamb was perfectly cooked and falling right off the bone. So, if you like lamb, here is what I made tonight:



Stout Braised Lamb Shanks
4 lamb shanks
2 tbs olive oil
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp each salt, pepper and paprika
1/2 cup each diced onion and celery
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 12 oz bottle stout (I used Guinness)
1 generous sprig fresh rosemary
2 tsp beef base or bouillon
1 tsp herbs De Provence
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
4 small new potatoes, halved

I used my Schlemmer-topf to cook my braise in, so to start out I set it in the sink to soak.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Combine the flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a bag. Add the lamb shanks and shake to coat well. Put the lamb in the skillet and brown well on all sides. Remove the lamb to the schlemmer-topf. Add the onion, celery and garlic to the pan and cook until just tender, 3-4 minutes. Add to the lamb. Add 1/2 cup of the stout to the skillet along with the beef base and deglaze the pan and dissolve the base. Pour this over the lamb along with the remaining bottle of stout. Add the herbs.

Cover the casserole and place in a cold oven. Set the oven to 425 and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and add the remaining vegetables. Cover and return to the oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until the vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust the seasonings in the sauce. Serve in shallow bowls.

Bon Appetite!

Scones

Next week is St Patrick's Day. Of course, this makes me think of all things Irish. I have never been to Ireland but it always sounds like such a magical place. They have fairies there. They have mist rising off the moors. Indeed it is referred to as the Emerald Isle. It also sounds like it could be kind of chilly there. But then you hear about the food and you warm right up. Tea and scones, corned beef and cabbage, whiskey, stews, oatmeal, stout, shepherds pie... and the list goes on. So, today is March 9. The countdown has begun. I want to try it all!

I started tonight. I made a batch of simple scones. They came out just the way I wanted them too. Tender and not too sweet. The perfect pairing for some wild blueberry jam I had in the fridge. Things get a little more complicated over the next couple of days recipe-wise, culminating in the corned beef and cabbage feast on the 17th. I know that one night I plan to get a stout cake in and definitely some Irish coffee so stay tuned!

Many recipes for scones call for self rising flour and buttermilk. I usually have neither of these items on hand and tonight when I decided to embark on my Irish cooking journey was no exception. I made due with what I had and things came out quite admirably.



Simple Scones
2 tbs milk
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
4 tbs butter at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 egg
1 whipping cream or milk
1 tbs sugar

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix the 2 tbs milk and vinegar together and set aside. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together. Cut in the butter until it resembles course crumbs. Cut in the sugar. Beat together the egg and the milk mixture. Add to the flour mixture and mix until it starts coming together. Pour onto a cutting board and form a ball. Roll out to about 3/4 inch. Use a cookie cutter to cut into scones and place on a baking sheet. You should have 10 - 12 scones. Brush each with some cream and sprinkle with the sugar.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Serve with jam.