Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

 Whenever I try a recipe using Guinness Stout, I always wind up with the same problem: what to do with the rest of the Guinness. Yes, it seems obvious to just drink it, right? But the thing is, I don't drink beer or stout, like, at all. But since I do like to cook and bake with it, I have a habit of buying a 6-pack, using ONE for a recipe, and then I'm stuck with the other five. So, I could certainly tell you that the inspiration for baking these cupcakes comes from a deep love of Guinness, but really I just wanted to use it up! lol
 But even though I don't drink it, I LOVE what it brings to the party when it comes to cooking and baking. These cupcakes are so rich and chocolatey, they're a sure-fire win. In fact, if you have some serious chocoholics in your circle, THIS is what you should make for them. I think they're possibly the richest most chocolatey cupcakes I've ever made. Not. Even. Kidding. And they come together in a snap, so you can whip up a batch in no time!
 The other thing that I like about this recipe is that there's Guinness in the frosting too, not just in the cupcakes. Very often, you'll see a chocolate Guinness cake with maybe a cream cheese or Bailey's frosting, but this one has a decadent chocolate Guinness swirl on top that pushes it over the top. It's from a website called Broma Bakery. I'm not sure if it's their recipe or not, but like I always say, they're the ones who shared it, so they're the ones who get the credit. So, if you want a rich, ever so moist cupcake that will blow your chocolate lovin' mind, this is the one for you!
Btw, does anyone want a bottle of Guinness? I still have 3 left.....



For the cupcakes:

1/2 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder 
1 cup all-purpose flour 
1 1/4 cups sugar 
3/4 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 
2 large eggs 
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark stout, such as Guinness Extra Stout
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


For the frosting:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 
3/4 cup cocoa powder 
3 cups powdered sugar 
1/4 cup Guinness Extra Stout
2 tablespoons milk 
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
flaked sea salt, for garnishing (optional)



 Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 14 cupcake tins with dark cupcake molds. Set aside.
In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the butter, eggs, Guinness, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry in batches, beating on medium speed until the batter is smooth and shiny, about 20 seconds. Pour into cupcake molds, filling about 3/4 of the mold, and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. Cream the butter and cocoa powder for 2-3 minutes, until the cocoa powder begins to lighten in color. Add in the powdered sugar, milk, Guinness, and vanilla extract and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Frost the cupcakes by scooping the frosting into a piping bag with a large star tip. Swirl the frosting around the cupcake, starting from the middle and working your way outwards. Continue to spiral the frosting up like a pyramid until the cupcake is frosted. Sprinkle with flaked sea salt, if using, and serve!



Tips:
Yes, I know most cupcake tins are only 12 cupcakes and not 14. An odd yield, to be sure. But it's worth the extra time to bake just those last two cupcakes. To make sure they bake evenly, fill up the rest of the cupcake wells with water. This helps to insure even baking when you only have a partially filled cupcake tin.
Oh, and don't forget the sea salt on top! That's the kicker!
Going to a party? Double everything!

Joey's Guinness Beer Brats

 If you know me, you know that I'm not much of a drinker, and I'm definitely not a BEER drinker. But I do like to use Guinness Extra Stout in recipes from time to time. This one is about as simple as it gets, and it's so flavorful, it's definitely a reason for me to stop and get a six pack.
 It's really just sausages and onions, but then when you add Guinness to the party, it's a completely different game. I love how the Guinness reduces down to a thick rich sauce, almost like a gravy, and it goes perfectly with the sausages. It's slightly sweet from the onions, but then it has a hoppy bitter after-bite. SO good! Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best! Love it.


5 bratwurst sausages
2 bottles of Guinness Extra Stout
1 large sweet onion, sliced
2 tbs butter

Place all ingredients in a small sauce pot over medium heat. Bring it to a boil, then reduce it to a low simmer. Let it simmer for about an hour. Remove the brats. Brown the brats on a grill or in a cast iron skillet. Meanwhile, reduce the onion and Guinness mixture until it becomes thick and syrupy. Serve brats and onions over mashed potatoes or as a sandwich on fresh bakery rolls with a nice sharp mustard.


Tips:
 Use Irish Bangers, if you can. Otherwise, Johnsonville Beer Brats are a good substitute. I wouldn't use regular Italian Sausages because they have a completely different flavor.
Feeding a crowd? Use a wider pot and fill it up! You just need to use enough beer so that the brats are completely immersed. And add as many onions as you like.
Not a fan of Guinness? Use your favorite!

Boxty

   Here's another Irish dish that I've been wanting to share for years, but just never got around to it. Traditionally it is usually served for St Brigid's Day, but I don't think anyone will mind that I'm posting it for St Patrick's Day!
 Ok, so, what is Boxty, anyway? Well, actually, it can be any of several different things, depending on the way you cook it. It's made of mashed potatoes, grated raw potatoes, plus a few other ingredients, and then it can be made into a dough for Boxty Bread, boiled as for dumplings, or the most popular way of cooking it, frying it in a pan like griddle cakes. It's then served with a little butter and a light sprinkling of sugar to have with tea, or garnished with chopped scallions and served with breakfast, which was how I decided to go. A big Irish Breakfast with sausages, grilled tomato, baked beans, bacon, and eggs (I'll skip the black pudding, if you don't mind, thank you very much). Sounds pretty fabulous, right? That's definitely enough to cure any hangover!
 So I did some googling, and it appears that most boxty recipes are very similar. Some call for buttermilk, some include an egg, some call for whole milk, and everyone seems to add a different amount of flour. As with many "traditional" recipes, there never seems to be one specific definitive recipe. Everyone makes it the way they like it. So I decided to go with this version, from a community recipe blog called Chow Hound.
 And, of course, we can't talk about boxty without mentioning the old Irish rhyme:
"Boxty on the griddle, boxty in the pan, if you can't make boxty, you'll never get a man!" 
Hmm... I'm not sure how true that is, but it can't hurt to try!
 


2 pounds (3 to 4 large) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
3/4 cup whole milk
1 1/4 teaspoons fine salt, plus more for seasoning the potatoes before cooking
1 large egg
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces


 Heat the oven to 200°F.
Chop half of the potatoes into large dice, place in a medium saucepan, salt generously, and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the potatoes uncovered until fork tender, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, grate the remaining potatoes on the large holes of a box grater. Toss with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and place in a fine mesh strainer set over a medium bowl; set aside. When the boiled potatoes are ready, drain them, return them to the pot, add 1/4 cup of the milk, and mash until the potatoes are smooth. 
 With a plastic spatula, press the grated potatoes against the sides and bottom of the strainer to remove any liquid. Add the grated potatoes to the mashed potatoes.
 Place the egg, remaining 1/2 cup milk, flour, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and whisk until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the potatoes and stir until evenly incorporated. 
 Heat a large nonstick frying pan or griddle over medium heat. Test to see if the pan is hot enough by sprinkling a couple of drops of cold water in it: If the water bounces and sputters, the pan is ready to use; if it evaporates instantly, the pan is too hot. Once the pan is ready, add enough butter to lightly coat the bottom when melted. Drop 3 dollops (about 1/4 cup each) of the batter into the pan and spread each to about 1/4 inch thick. Cook until the pancake bottoms are golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes more. Place on a baking sheet and set in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter. Serve warm.



Tips:
The biggest variable in the recipe is how much moisture your potatoes have. Boiling the potatoes to mash them, moisture. Grating raw potatoes, moisture. So you want to drain your boiled potatoes very well, and do the same for the grated raw potatoes. I treated the grated potatoes just as I do thawed frozen spinach: place a clean tea towel on your flat working surface, place the grated potatoes in the center. Now pick up all four corners of the towel, and twist to make a bundle. Squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible.
 Once you have all of your ingredients combined, adjust the flour if needed. If your dough is too loose, just add small bits of flour until you reach the right consistency, almost like cookie dough. You'll wind up with a much fluffier pancake that will brown more evenly!

Dublin Coddle

Have you ever heard of a Dublin Coddle?
I must say that I had never heard of it until recently, but of course I knew that I would love it as soon as I read what goes in it. Sausages, potatoes, onions, bacon... clearly this goes in the "how can this not be good?" category, am I right? So then I started reading up on it. From what I've read, it's traditionally made by placing bacon, sausages, potatoes, and onions in a pot, covering everything with water and then boiling the hell out of it. No browning, no anything. Just boil or simmer everything for a long long LONG time and then add parsley at the end. I watched video after video, and read article after article. And everyone was very adamant that you should NOT brown anything. Apparently it's not a true Dublin Coddle if you brown everything first. Hmm.. that makes it look a little bit anemic if you ask me. In one of the videos, the cook said "it won't win any beauty contests, but it tastes delicious."
 Well, I think we can do better than that. So I decided to brown the meat, add some fresh herbs, and cook it with chicken broth instead of water. The result was HEAVENLY. It was so hearty and delicious and comforting that this is now my go-to recipe. (Side note, I did see a few videos where the cook added a few other things, carrots and turnips, etc, but I decided to stay true to the original, even if I was switching up the cooking method).
 So my next question was where does the name come from? My first thought was because it's such a comfort food, and then I read this excerpt from an article:
 "The name of the dish is probably descended from the older word caudle, derived from a French word meaning "to boil gently, parboil, or stew". The more recent version of the verb, "coddle," is still applied to gently cooked eggs; and in the case of Dublin coddle, it's become a noun, applied to a dish that is cooked very slowly at low temperatures.
In Dublin itself, coddle retains its reputation as a dish that can be prepared ahead of time and left in a very slow oven while the people who're going to eat it have to be out of the house for a while -- in particular, at a funeral: when everyone returns for the wake, the dish will be ready, and won't have suffered from being left in the oven a little longer than planned."
 I also read another article that said instead of a funeral, the "being out of the house for a while" refers to being out all night at the pub, and that this was a great meal after one had been out drinking all night. It also said that this was a great way to use up leftovers, so there's no one specific recipe. Everyone makes their own version of it, depending on what foods they had on hand.
 So there we have it. A Dublin Coddle. Who knew? The MOST important thing you should take from this is that it's OMG DELICIOUS. This could be your next St Patrick's Day dinner instead of doing ham or corned beef and cabbage. OOOOH! some boiled or sauteed cabbage would go great with this! I think I need to make this again, just to be sure.
I hope you'll give it a try!




3-4 pounds red potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 pound pork sausages (Irish Bangers, if you can get them)
1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 qt chicken broth
Large handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
Several sprigs of fresh thyme, tied together with cotton twine
Black pepper


Preheat the oven to 300ºF.
 In a large wide heavy pot with a tight lid, add the slices of bacon. Cook them over medium heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is slightly browned. Remove to a plate, set aside. Cook sausages in bacon fat. Try not to disturb them too much so that they get nice and brown. Remove to side plate with bacon. Add onions. Saute until they begin to soften. Add a little of the chicken broth to deglaze the bottom of the pot, scraping up all the brown bits. Add potatoes to the pot. Place sausages and bacon back into the pot, along with the rest of the chicken broth, the thyme bundle, black pepper, and a big handful of parsley. Cover with lid and place in oven for 2-3 hours.
 Before serving, be sure to remove and discard the thyme bundle. Taste and adjust the seasoning with Kosher salt and black pepper, if needed. Garnish with some more fresh parsley over the top.
Btw, Guinness goes extremely well with this dish (adding a little to the pot toward the end of the process wouldn't hurt anything either!) Another good accompaniment is fresh Irish Soda Bread.



Tips:
If you can't find Irish Bangers, Johnsonville Brats are a good substitute. You could even use breakfast sausages. But definitely not Italian Sausage. I mean, I guess you could, but your final product would have a very different flavor.
I like to use red potatoes for this because they hold together very well. I didn't even peel mine. Why? Because I didn't feel like it. LOL But you do you.
If you want to thicken the broth into a more substantial gravy, just add a slurry of a couple tbs flour in a half cup of cold water. Stir it to the dish, and let it continue to cook until the gravy thickens. Personally, I didn't mind it being more of a broth than a gravy. It was SO flavorful, I just couldn't stop eating it!

Bailey's Irish Cream Pie

 Even though I don't drink very much or very often, there's one adult beverage that I happen to love, and that's Bailey's Irish Cream. (well, let's be honest, I love ANY Irish Cream, but Bailey's is my fave). So I like to find different things to bake with it. I've done Irish Cream Cake, Irish Cream Cupcakes with Irish Cream Frosting, I think I even did a cheesecake, once upon a time. So I figured why not do a pie this time?
 I found a few different recipes, but not every recipe was what I had in mind. There were lots of CHOCOLATE recipes, which are great and all, but then you can't really taste the Irish Cream. So I purposely decided to stick to a more vanilla version, which would let the Irish Cream flavor shine. Actually, as I was making this one, I wondered if the white chocolate would also overpower the flavor, but it absolutely doesn't. It's the perfect thing to enhance the Irish Creaminess of it all. (As you can see, I take these things very seriously. lol) It's super easy to make and it's a total do-ahead too. All things considered, this was exactly the pie I wanted to make. It's a slightly tweaked version of a recipe I found on a website called Saving Room For Dessert. It's so light and fluffy, it's like eating a cloud. It's the perfect thing to serve after your Corned Beef and Cabbage! Enjoy!


1 1/4 cups graham cracker or cookie crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
5 tbs unsalted butter, melted

1 1/3 cups white chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup Baileys Irish Cream
4 large egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 or 3 tbs Bailey's Irish Cream

white chocolate chips or curls for garnish, optional


For the crust:
Heat oven to 350ºF.
Mix ingredients together and press mixture firmly on the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

For the filling:
Melt chocolate and Irish Cream in a metal bowl over hot water, stirring constantly until creamy. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks hold their shape. Set aside. Using a mixer, whip 1 cup heavy cream until stiff. Gently fold the egg whites and whipped cream together. Gently fold the white chocolate mixture into egg white mixture, just until blended. Fill the cooled pie crust and chill while preparing the whipped cream topping.

For the topping:
Whip 1 cup heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and whip until stiff. Fold in the Irish Cream. Spoon into pastry bag fitted with large star tip and pipe onto pie using a swirling motion. Decorate with white chocolate curls. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. For mousse instead of pie – spoon mixture into parfait glasses, top with whipped cream and decorate with white chocolate chips or curls.

Tips:
I used shortbread cookies for the crust, but you can use anything you like. Vanilla Wafers would be great. You could also use Golden Oreos, in which case you'd omit the sugar and butter. Just throw the Oreos into a food processor and pulse until they're crumbs, then pat into the pie plate as directed.
For a non-alcoholic version, you can use Irish Cream flavored nondairy coffee creamer instead of the liqueur.  For a flavor variation, you could do this entire recipe with Kahlua instead of Bailey's Irish Cream.

Irish Beer and Cheddar Soup

 I recently made this for my family's Olympics Opening Ceremonies party. (I'm sure every family has an Olympics party, right?) In keeping with the International theme, we always choose foods from different countries for our menu. This time I chose Ireland and Russia. For Russia, I made Beef Stroganoff (which was FABULOUS, btw) and this soup was my Irish contribution.
 It's really easy to throw together and it's rich and hearty. BIG BOLD flavors too! Actually, tbh, this isn't the exact recipe I made for the party. The original batch had a VERY strong beer flavor. (You know that bite that comes from the hops in the beer? yeah, that.) It was fine, but I think it overpowered all the other flavors.  My brother Chris loved it, but I felt that I needed to tweak it a little. So, here is the newer version.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!

1 onion, chopped
2 tbs butter
12 oz bottle lager (recommended: Harp Lager) 
32 oz chicken stock 
Salt and pepper to taste
2 lbs potatoes (peeled and diced) 
2 tbs cornstarch 
1 lb cheddar (shredded) 
8 oz Cheese Whiz
Bacon, crisp and crumbled 
Chopped chives


 In a large heavy pot, saute the onions in butter until they begin to soften. Add the beer and chicken stock and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the potatoes and cook until tender. Stir together cornstarch with a little cold water. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the soup and reduce the heat to low. Stir in the shredded Cheddar, a little at a time. Turn off heat and whisk in the cheese sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into serving bowls. Top with bacon and chives.

Tips:

This would be fabulous served in a bread or pretzel bowl. For a little extra decadence, serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.  YUM.

Colcannon

 Have you ever heard of colcannon? It's a mixture of leafy greens and mashed potatoes and it's a traditional Irish dish, usually served in winter and spring when kale comes into season. The first time I heard of it was while watching Tyler Florence as he was visiting Ireland and the home of an Irish cook. It immediately reminded me of Bubble and Squeak, with the cabbage and potatoes and all. It's made slightly differently but it's just as good! It's quick and simple and you can serve it as an easy side dish with boiled ham or corned beef. Love it!
 Oh, and be sure to make a well in the center and place a knob of fabulous Kerrygold Irish butter in it, so you have a little lake of melted butter. Then you dip a little in the well with each bite.
How can this not be good?

4 russet potatoes (2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into large chunks
Salt and pepper
5-6 Tbsp unsalted butter (with more butter for serving)
3 lightly packed cups of chopped kale, cabbage, chard, or other leafy green
3 green onions (including the green onion greens), minced (about 1/2 cup)
1 cup milk or cream

 Put the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water by at least an inch. Add 2 tablespoons of salt, and bring to a boil. Boil until the potatoes are fork tender (15 to 20 minutes). Drain in a colander.
 Return the pot to the stove and set over medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pot and once it's hot, add the greens. Cook the greens for 3-4 minutes, or until they are wilted and have given off some of their water. Add the green onions and cook 1 minute more.
 Pour in the milk or cream, mix well, and add the potatoes. Reduce the heat to medium. Use a fork or potato masher and mash the potatoes, mixing them up with the greens. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot, with a knob of butter in the center.

Tips:
I used savoy cabbage because it looked particularly nice and green at the market. I was originally gonna use kale, but strangely the market was sold out. I suppose lots of people had the same idea I did!
For an easy variation, you can substitute parsnips for half of the potatoes. You can also add chives, leeks, and/or bacon. Mmm...bacon. 
Yes, yes, I know it has lots of butter and cream and carbs and possibly lots of bacon..., but I'm not telling you to eat it every day, now am I???