Cheddar-Herb Biscuits, Colcannon Soup and Gaelic Coffee

Shall we start with dessert first?  Or perhaps sip on it while we're making dinner? :)  

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone! Whether you are Irish or not, no one cares because everyone loves to get in the Irish mood this time of year.

To get my Irish feast started, I chose Colcannon soup from Kevin Dundon, author of Full On Irish, along with some freshly baked Cheddar-Herb biscuits from Margaret Johnson, the author of five Irish cookbooks.  (You will find all of these recipes at the end).

Both the soup and the biscuits were wonderful! I decided to leave out the called-for cream and butter in the soup and I'm glad I did.  The soup needed neither and was delicious on its own.

The biscuits were flaky and flavorful and I could have eaten several. They are best right out of the oven. I found the following day they had already dried out. Rather than fresh herbs, which I did not have on hand, I used chopped scallions and they were perfect with the cheddar cheese.

For 'dessert' I chose Trish Archer's Gaelic Coffee. This was so good!  A perfect end to the meal and made with decaf coffee it didn't keep us awake all night.  

The hot whiskey-flavored coffee sipped through the cold, whipped cream is one of the best Irish traditions I can think of, warm and soothing like a fisherman's knit sweater.

Sláinte agus saol agaib!  Health and long life to you all!  And remember, half a loaf is better than no bread at all! 

Cheddar-Herb Biscuits

Adapted from Margaret Johnson, Irish Cookbook Author
Printable Recipe

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted Kerrygold Irish butter, cut into pieces, plus extra for serving
4 ounces Kerrygold Vintage Cheddar (1 cup), grated
2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs such as parsley, rosemary, and tarragon
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter the wells of a 12-cup (1/3-cup capacity) muffin pan.

Combine the dry ingredients in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse 2 to 3 times to blend. Add the butter and process for 10 to 15 seconds, or until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cheese and herbs and pulse 2 to 3 times to blend. Add the egg and buttermilk, and process for 10 to 20 seconds, or until a soft dough forms. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until the biscuits are lightly browned and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm with butter. Makes 1 dozen

Colcannon Soup 

Adapted from Full On Irish by Kevin Dundon
Printable Recipe

Serves: 4 - 6
2 oz rindless streaky bacon, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
8 oz potatoes, diced
1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced
5 oz Savoy cabbage, thick stalks removed and shredded
1 1/4 pints vegetable stock (I used chicken stock)
1/4 pint cream (I did not use)
1 oz butter, diced and room temperature (I did not use)

Heat a large pan and sauté the bacon over a medium to high heat for a couple minutes until the fat comes out. Stir in the onion, potatoes, leek and cabbage, then cover with a lid and sweat over a medium heat for 10 minutes until well softened but not browned, stirring occasionally.

Pour the stock into the cabbage mixture and bring to a boil, then season to taste. Stir in the cream (if desired) and simmer for a few minutes until the soup has a creamy texture.

I omitted this next step:

To Serve, remove the soup from the heat and whisk in the butter. It is important not to reboil the soup once the butter has been added or you’ll find it will curdle. Ladle the colcannon soup into serving bowls.

Trish Archer's Gaelic Coffee 

Adapted from Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen
Printable Recipe

Serves 1

1 measure of Irish whiskey
2 teaspoons soft brown sugar
Strong black coffee
Softly whipped cream

Warm a medium sized wine glass with hot water. Pour out the water and put the sugar and whiskey into the glass. Add the coffee and stir well. Pour the softly whipped cream out of a pitcher over the back of a spoon on to the top of the coffee. The cream should float on top of the coffee so don't attempt to stir.

Make Ahead Turkey Gravy with a Bonus - Turkey Pot Pies

My Thanksgiving gravy is almost finished, how about yours?  Want to lighten the load a little on Thanksgiving?  Try do-ahead gravy. If you do an internet search, you will find lots of recipes for do-ahead gravy.  I think I originally found this one on a Cooking Forum years ago. The one I used can be found here.

All you need is 4 large turkey wings or thighs and roast them in the oven along with sliced onion until the turkey parts are nicely browned so that there are some nicely browned bits on the bottom of the roasting pan. If you have used some really big wings and maybe a thigh or two, you'll even have some turkey meat left over to make pre-Thanksgiving pot pies as I did!

I tried a new recipe for pot pie that I loved! The topping on the pot pies is a cheddar biscuit crust which was delicious. I first saw this recipe at Sara's blog Cupcake Muffin and I found this one at Epicurious using turkey. The cheddar biscuits are such a wonderful new addition to pot pie!

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Do-Ahead Turkey Gravy Stock

Adapted from This Recipe
Printable Recipe

Can be made up to 3 months ahead and frozen in an airtight container. Thaw 2 days in refrigerator. Whisk often while reheating in saucepan. If space permits, refrigerate the broth overnight so the fat that rises can solidify and be easily removed. *See my note below.

4 Turkey wings (about 3 pounds) I used one large turkey thigh also
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered and sliced
1 cup water
8 cups good quality chicken stock (I like Kitchen Basics No Salt Added Brand, but if you have homemade, even better)
¾ cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery, include some of the leaves
½ teaspoon dried thyme

*See My Note Below
¾ cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Arrange wings/thighs in single layer in a large roasting pan. Scatter onions over top. Roast about 2 hours - or until turkey parts are well browned.

Allow the roasted turkey parts to cool and remove the meat from the bones and reserve for another use. Put the bones and roasted onions in a 5 to 6 quart pot. Add water to the roasting pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom and sides. (These are essential for a good gravy!). Add to pot. Add 6 cups of stock, the carrot, celery and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 1 ½ hours.

Strain the broth into a container, pressing vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard vegetables. Refrigerate overnight, if possible and skim off the fat solids from the top the next day.

When ready to make the gravy, Whisk flour into remaining 2 cups broth until smooth.

Bring broth in saucepan to a gentle boil. Whisk in flour mixture and boil 3 to 4 mintues to thicken and remove floury taste. Stir in butter and pepper.

Serve or pour into containers and refrigerate up to one week or freeze up to three months.

*NOTE: I stopped short of adding the flour and making the actual gravy. Instead, I froze the de-fatted stock and will add the flour to make the actual gravy on Thanksgiving.

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Turkey Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuits

Recipe adapted from Here
Printable Recipe

Filling:

4-6 cups low or no-sodium chicken stock
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large parsnip (peeled), cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (or a potato can be substituted)
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound baby portabella mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups roast turkey meat, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (can use meat from making do-ahead gravy)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen baby peas, thawed

For cheddar biscuit crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk

1. Make the filling: Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large pot. Add the carrots, parsnips, and celery and simmer uncovered until the vegetables are just tender, about 10-15 minutes. Transfer the vegetables with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, reserving the broth, and add the turkey to the bowl. Can be prepared ahead and refrigerated until ready to use. 

2. In another saucepan, cook the onion and mushrooms in the butter and olive oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add 3 cups of the reserved stock and whisk. Bring the mixture to a boil while whisking. Add the thyme and and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.  Add the frozen peas and pour the sauce over the turkey mixture, and stir the mixture gently until it is just combined.

3. Transfer the mixture to a 2-quart shallow baking dish or divide it among four 2-cup shallow baking dishes. (The filling may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. Bring the mixture to room temperature before continuing with the recipe.)

4. Make the biscuit crust: Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add the cold butter and cut in with a pastry cutter or your fingers until the mixture resembles meal. Add the Parmesan and Cheddar and toss the mixture. Can be prepared up to this point and refrigerated until ready to bake the pot pies. 

5. Add the buttermilk and stir until a dough forms.

6. Preheat Oven to 450 F.

7. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture over the turkey filling.

8. Bake the pie in the middle of a preheated 450 degree oven for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the biscuits are puffed and golden and the filling is bubbling.