Sunday dinners usually consist of some meat feature. What can I say it's how I was raised. Growing up we would almost always have some roasted beast, be it moo, oink or cluck, with a nice potato side (we're Irish). So coming up with Sunday dinner menus I usually follow a similar template.
Every once in a while I do shake it up. Spaghetti with Meatballs and Italian Sausage. Chicken Pot Pie. Everything Jambalaya.
But this week I opted to make one of my weeknight dishes on a Sunday.
Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry.
Since I consider Sunday dinners kind of a special occasion I decided to dress it up a bit with some homemade Egg Rolls.
My husband made them for me once years ago when we were dating, you know back when my husband cooked for me, I kid, I kid. Anyway, he made them and I remember them being pretty tasty so I dusted off my husband's one cookbook and got frying.
They are surprisingly quick to make. The biggest time eater is the chopping and grating needed to get the ingredients prepped. After that is saute, assemble and fry. Delish!
Pork Stuffed Egg Rolls
8 egg roll or won ton wraps
1/2 lb ground pork
1 tsp grated fresh ginger root
2 cloves garlic, minced or put through press
1/2 cup cabbage or bok choy, finely chopped
1/2 carrots, shredded
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup water chestnuts, chopped (optional)
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt and sugar to taste
Cook ground pork, ginger and garlic together in a skillet over med/high heat until meat is no longer pink, about 2-3 minutes. Drain fat. Add cabbage/bok choy, carrots, onion and water chestnuts (if using) and cook for a few minutes until veggies are fragrant. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, cornstarch, salt and sugar then add to skillet. Cook and stir for about a minute more then remove from heat and cool slightly before assembling egg rolls.
Use a 1/4 cup of filling for each egg roll. Place the filling diagonally on the wrap. Fold the bottom corner up over the filling, then fold in side corners. Brush the top corner with water and then roll wrap up tightly to close.
To deep fry: Bring canola oil up to 350 degrees. Place 2 or 3 egg rolls in frying basket at a time. Fry in oil for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on a towel lined plate.
To bake: Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place rolls on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Lightly brush the tops of the egg rolls with olive oil and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve warm with Spicy Mustard or Sweet and Sour dipping sauces.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Bailey's Irish Cream Cake
Since St. Patrick's Day falls during the work week this year I decided to do an early Irish feast with the family this last Sunday.
I made some great stand by's Guiness Beef Stew and my Aunt Cathie's Irish Soda Bread, but I wanted to keep up with my New Year's resolution to try a new recipe weekly so I threw in a traditional Irish dish I'd never made called Colcannon ( a yummy mix of mashed potatoes with sauteed cabbage) and a recipe of my own devising for dessert, Bailey's Irish Cream Cake.
When it comes to desserts, Ireland doesn't have a ton. This isn't to say that the ones they do have aren't delicious, I love a good bowl of fresh berries and cream or a nice freckled scone. But I was looking for something a little richer. Now I don't know about most households, but ours ALWAYS seems to have a bottle of Irish Cream in the cabinet. Either purchased or gifted I can't remember which, but since I was old enough to remember my house has always had a bottle of the milky spirit on hand to offer guests, stiffen a coffee or celebrate a special occasion. It's delicious, but unlike vodka, whiskey or gin which can be mixed and matched, Bailey's is kind of a one trick pony.
So I started thinking, how about making a dessert with it.
I found a few recipes for mousses and puddings, but I didn't have any cream in the house and didn't want to make a special trip out to the store for just one ingredient when I had everything else under the sun.
Then I found a few recipes for cake, but they either started with boxed cake mix that I didn't have on hand (see above reason for elimination) or they were made with chocolate, which I gave up for Lent. Some may say what's the point of sacrifice if you aren't tempted and that's all well and good until you have to make said temptation from scratch. So for purely selfish reasons I ruled out the chocolate. But reading through all these different recipes got me thinking, "Why don't I just create my own Bailey's cake recipe?"
So I did.
I took a recipe I had for a very tasty Yellow Cake and did some modifying and this is what I came up with. It's quick and easy to make and while St. Patrick's Day is a great time to enjoy some Irish spirits, this cream cake can be great any time of the year. Enjoy!
Bailey's Irish Cream Cake
Makes 1 two layer 9" round cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour, sifted
4 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 Bailey's Irish Cream
Preheat oven to 350.
Butter and flour two 9" round cake pans and line with parchment paper.
In medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt then set aside. Combine milk and Bailey's in measuring cup and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until lightened. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the mixing bowl occasionally.
Alternately add flour and milk mixture to cake batter, ending with flour.
Divide batter between cake pans and smooth our tops with spatula. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and the cake tester comes out with moist crumbs. Transfer cakes to wire racks to cool. After 15 minutes, run a knife around the edge of the pans and then turn the cakes out onto the racks to finish cooling then frost.
Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted sweet cream butter
1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
5 cups powdered sugar
splash of milk
In a mixing bowl combine butter and Bailey's a cream until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Check the consistency of the frosting to make sure it is spreadable, add a splash of milk to loosen things up if it's too dry. Alternately, add more powdered sugar if the frosting seems too loose. Frost cake and serve.
I made some great stand by's Guiness Beef Stew and my Aunt Cathie's Irish Soda Bread, but I wanted to keep up with my New Year's resolution to try a new recipe weekly so I threw in a traditional Irish dish I'd never made called Colcannon ( a yummy mix of mashed potatoes with sauteed cabbage) and a recipe of my own devising for dessert, Bailey's Irish Cream Cake.
When it comes to desserts, Ireland doesn't have a ton. This isn't to say that the ones they do have aren't delicious, I love a good bowl of fresh berries and cream or a nice freckled scone. But I was looking for something a little richer. Now I don't know about most households, but ours ALWAYS seems to have a bottle of Irish Cream in the cabinet. Either purchased or gifted I can't remember which, but since I was old enough to remember my house has always had a bottle of the milky spirit on hand to offer guests, stiffen a coffee or celebrate a special occasion. It's delicious, but unlike vodka, whiskey or gin which can be mixed and matched, Bailey's is kind of a one trick pony.
So I started thinking, how about making a dessert with it.
I found a few recipes for mousses and puddings, but I didn't have any cream in the house and didn't want to make a special trip out to the store for just one ingredient when I had everything else under the sun.
Then I found a few recipes for cake, but they either started with boxed cake mix that I didn't have on hand (see above reason for elimination) or they were made with chocolate, which I gave up for Lent. Some may say what's the point of sacrifice if you aren't tempted and that's all well and good until you have to make said temptation from scratch. So for purely selfish reasons I ruled out the chocolate. But reading through all these different recipes got me thinking, "Why don't I just create my own Bailey's cake recipe?"
So I did.
I took a recipe I had for a very tasty Yellow Cake and did some modifying and this is what I came up with. It's quick and easy to make and while St. Patrick's Day is a great time to enjoy some Irish spirits, this cream cake can be great any time of the year. Enjoy!
Bailey's Irish Cream Cake
Makes 1 two layer 9" round cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour, sifted
4 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 Bailey's Irish Cream
Preheat oven to 350.
Butter and flour two 9" round cake pans and line with parchment paper.
In medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt then set aside. Combine milk and Bailey's in measuring cup and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until lightened. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the mixing bowl occasionally.
Alternately add flour and milk mixture to cake batter, ending with flour.
Divide batter between cake pans and smooth our tops with spatula. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and the cake tester comes out with moist crumbs. Transfer cakes to wire racks to cool. After 15 minutes, run a knife around the edge of the pans and then turn the cakes out onto the racks to finish cooling then frost.
Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted sweet cream butter
1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
5 cups powdered sugar
splash of milk
In a mixing bowl combine butter and Bailey's a cream until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Check the consistency of the frosting to make sure it is spreadable, add a splash of milk to loosen things up if it's too dry. Alternately, add more powdered sugar if the frosting seems too loose. Frost cake and serve.
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