St. Patricks Day

I’ve tried several versions of Irish soda bread, but this one from Cooks Illustrated is a favorite. For a more traditional soda bread, reduce the sugar by half and omit the raisins.

3 cups bleached all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 cup cake flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup raisins, golden raisins, or currants (or combo of dark and golden raisins)

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400°F. Whisk flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in large bowl. Work softened butter into dry ingredients with fork or fingertips until texture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add buttermilk, egg, raisins, and stir with a fork just until dough begins to come together. Turn out onto flour-coated work surface; knead until dough just becomes cohesive and bumpy, 12 to 14 turns. (Do not knead until dough is smooth, or bread will be tough.)

Pat dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches high; place on greased or parchment-lined baking sheet or in a cast-iron skillet. Cut a cross shape into the top.

Bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted into center of loaf comes out clean or internal temperature reaches 170 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes, covering bread with aluminum foil if it is browning too much. Remove from oven and brush with some melted butter; cool to room temperature, 30 to 40 minutes.

– Recipe courtesy of Cook Like James

If you’re getting around to planning your St. Patrick’s menu a little late like me, here’s something to help—a quick and easy sautéed cabbage recipe. I’ve never been one for the traditional boiled cabbage that often goes along with the corned beef on this holiday. In fact, I didn’t learn to love cabbage until I cooked it hot-and-fast–in a sauté pan, in a stir-fry pan, on a griddle—anything where I could bring out its sweeter side with a little browning.

Sautéed cabbage is not only (much) tastier than boiled cabbage, but it’s less fussy to cook. The basic recipe really doesn’t need much embellishment either, since browning accentuates the nutty flavor of cabbage. But after you’ve tried this and made it part of your repertoire, you can perk it up by adding sautéed apples to it, by tossing in a bit of ginger or garlic, or by playing around with the deglazing broth by sub-ing in white wine, lemon, or apple cider for the rice vinegar and soy sauce.

Regular old green cabbage would be just fine here, but I’m crazy about its crinkly-leaved cousin, Savoy cabbage (right). Savoy wilts in a hot pan a bit quicker than regular cabbage, and has a slightly richer flavor and lighter texture.

Growing up my mom used to make stuffed cabbage, what felt like, all the time.  I wasnt’ really into it nor did I ever acquire a taste for it. Then I grew up and ate it somewhere (not my moms) and pretty much fell in love with it.

A few weeks ago, I spent a guilt free Sunday morning in bed,  I sat there with remote in hand, watching a bunch of shows that had been recorded, yet never watched.

 I had numerous Aarti Party’s, Barefood Contessa, Nigella Feasts, a few Challenges, and a host of others- non-food related. It was glorious. I ultimately left the bedroom, with list in hand and started printing out all the recipes that I wanted to tackle.

One in particular was Ina’s Stuffed Cabbage. What better week to make this than for St. Patrick’s Day? I made a simple salad and a Bakewell Tart. The cabbage is a great weeknight meal. Reading the recipe, it felt as thought it would have taken all day long. Not so.

Almost everyone eats corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day even if you're not Irish. I do. Even my Hungarian mother makes corned beef and cabbage every March. But this year I decided to do something different and out of the ordinary for the holiday. This time I'm celebrating St. Patrick's day with the Reuben sandwich, which isn't Irish at all, but the ingredients seem so Irish. I love the Reuben and all sandwiches that include sauerkraut for that matter. The corned beef, sauerkraut, and rye bread combination all make it feel like it was meant to be Irish.

The Reuben was invented by German immigrant Arnold Reuben, who sold the sandwiches at his deli in New York City. The hot sandwiches soon became famous and the classic was born. To this day, you can pretty much find a Reuben anywhere. The secret to a great Reuben is the Russian dressing, which is the traditional sauce—not mustard, ketchup, or mayonnaise. But Russian dressing is in fact made by combining mayonnaise and ketchup. Sometimes horseradish is added for piquancy. It ties together all the components of the sandwich so well.