Although you might not know it in LA, in Boston, where I went to school, St. Patrick’s Day was a big deal. And not just to drink, either, but to spend time with friends, to eat different foods, and to dye things green. We also had a roaring good time, and I look back on the mid-March holiday with a big smile on my face.

As we get closer, I wanted to point out some great recipes you can make to celebrate the day:

1) Corn Beef and Cabbage: PW has a delicious recipe for this classic dish that made my mouth water.

2) Irish Soda Bread: I’ll be posting my own on Monday, but for now, pine over this one from Ina. Make this to impress your family or coworkers, plus it’s basically a butter-slathered bread that’s acceptable breakfast food. Win-win.

3) Shepherd Pie: Check out this delicious recipe from Sips and Spoonfuls. This dish just warms you right up, and it goes great with a beer, too!

Photo Credit: Sips and Spoonfuls

4) Dying things green: The Kitchn has a great guide to this, and we highly recommend trying out our Avocado Deviled Eggs to go along with a more natural themed holiday.

What do you guys make for St. Patrick’s Day? Do you celebrate at all? 

I had a baby shower to attend last weekend for my dear friend Liz, and so I offered to make the dessert. I chose easy cupcakes, because they’re single serving, don’t require a plate, and then you’re not stuck cutting a cake and covered in frosting (although that does have benefits, too.)

I wanted to make something slightly more interesting than vanilla, so I chose lemon cupcakes with lemon frosting, and although the blue frosting dyed everyone’s tongues, they were delicious and were just tart enough.

Lemon Cupcakes

Oven Temperature: 375 degrees
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 20-24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cups milk
2 teaspoons lemon zest

Directions:

1. Bring your butter and eggs to room temperature – just let them sit on the counter for like 30 minutes and go do something else while you wait. Also, line your muffin tins with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add your sugar about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium until well combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium for two minutes.
4. Add one egg at a time, letting mix between each addition. Add your vanilla and lemon zest.
5. Add your milk and your flour mixture alternatively, in about thirds. Mix until just combined, then spoon into muffin cups. I used a fourth cup measure, filling each about two-thirds of the way up.
6. Bake on 375 for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Whip butter in your mixer.
2. Add vanilla and lemon juice.
3. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, then milk. Mix until smooth.
4. Adjust taste depending on how lemony you like it. If desired, dye with food coloring.

What is your favorite go-to dessert to win over a crowd?

I recently checked out a couple of cookbooks from the library to get some fresh ideas and to liven up my cooking endeavors.  I’m still in the kick of making a batch of food and freezing some portions so that I can mix and match my meals throughout the week.

This cauliflower and olive pasta came together quickly and was a needed change from the usual pasta and red sauce in my wheelhouse.  I was also happy that the pasta froze relatively well and didn’t suffer from being frozen and thawed.

I have rediscovered my affection for olives as of late and was glad to find a recipe that utilized them as more than a garnish.  Let’s take a minute for the seemingly alarming ingredient, ferrous gluconate.  While it is seemingly alarming, sounding so much like gluten, there isn’t any need for concern.  It is just a iron supplement food additive used to keep black olives, well, black.  So don’t worry about ferrous gluconate – you can eat all the black olives your heart desires.  Another fun fact: glutinous rice, does not in fact contain gluten; its just particularly sticky!

In this dish, while I found personally that the texture takes some getting used to, the blend of olives, cauliflower bits, and chili pepper flakes create some interesting and surprising flavors.  At the start it seemed like a gamble of a recipe, but I ended up enjoying it a great deal.  I think that the cauliflower, olive, chili pepper flakes would even be delicious all on their own.

What’s your favorite recipe that surprised you?

Now that the sun is staying in the sky later into the evening, it’s exciting to be back in the kitchen again! With the clocks springing forward, I thought it would be best to step away from liquid libations for a round and focus on a meal instead.

I’m really excited to present this recipe today, because it’s delicious and more importantly it’s from my family.

The majority of my cooking knowledge has come from my father, who just so happens to also be named George. Watching him cook in our kitchen in New Jersey and helping out when I was old enough informed not only my knowledge but my taste buds as well. He has been making vodka rigatoni for our family for years and I finally convinced him to let me have a solo go at creating it here in Los Angeles. And not to toot my own horn, but it came out awesome!

So thank you Dude for teaching me how to make a great meal and for letting me share this delicious recipe with my readers!

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Yields: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

6 – 8 oz. of prosciutto, diced
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 tbsp. of olive oil
½ tsp. of salt
½ tsp. of black pepper
½ tsp. of crushed red pepper
½ tsp. of oregano
½ tsp. of basil
½ tsp. of dill weed
½ tsp. of thyme
1 4 – 6 oz. can of tomato paste
1 can of whole peeled tomatoes
1 pint (16oz) heavy cream
4 ½ oz. of vodka (3 shots)
1 lb. of rigatoni

Directions:

1. First thing you are going to want to do is prep your vodka sauce in a large saucepan. Drop in your olive oil and spread it around the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking. Then go ahead and throw in your finely diced onion and sauté for several minutes until the onions are nice and soft.

2. Once the onions are ready, drop in your diced prosciutto and lightly brown the meat. After the meat is lightly browned add in all of you spices and mix with the meat and onions.

3. Next, you will want to add your tomato paste to the mixture. Be sure to mix the paste well with all of your other ingredients thus far. After a few minutes of mixing you will notice that all the ingredients are slightly clumped together. Don’t worry about that at all.

4. Now it’s time to add the vodka to break up the elements and slightly deglaze your pan. Mix well.

5. Now it’s time to get your hands a little dirty! Take the whole peeled tomatoes out of the can and squish them in your hands over the sauce pan and drop them in. Repeat this step for each tomato and then pour in the remaining liquid from the can into the pan. Stir well, and allow the ingredients to come to a light boil

6. The last step is to slowly mix in the heavy cream – you will know the sauce is ready to go when the color of the sauce turns salmon.

7. Now lower your stove top heat to a simmer and start prepping your pasta.

8. Take about 6 quarts of water and bring that up to a boil in a large pot. Once it is boiling, go ahead and drop in a pinch of salt and then your rigatoni. Let the pasta cook for about 10 minutes.

9. Once the pasta is complete to your liking, drain the liquid, then add the contents of your saucepan to the pasta and mix thoroughly. Serve with some freshly grated cheese and enjoy!

Good Spirits Folks!

I don’t know why I never made bars before this, but let me tell you something folks: bars are amazing, easy, and they make you look pretty impressive, too. I had some blood oranges that I needed to use up, and I thought to myself, why not try blood orange bars? So I adapted a lemon bar recipe, using blood oranges instead, and trust me – you should make these.

Blood Orange Bars
Adapted from Joy the Baker Lemon Bars
Makes an 8 x 8 pan (I cut into 12 bars)

Crust:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Blood Orange Topping:

2 large eggs at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fresh blood orange zest
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fresh blood orange juice
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup powdered sugar, for topping

For complete directions follow Joy the Baker’s steps…they are dead on perfect.

The only thing that’s annoying about a bar is that they don’t stack wonderfully…but you can fix that with refrigeration and by separating them with parchment paper.

Do you have a lemon bar recipe? Do you prefer something chocolatey for dessert? I think I might top lemon bars with chocolate next time. Let us know what recipe you use for your fave bars!