Happy St. Pat's Day

My trip to visit my Dad has been postponed so I can now cook the Irish dinner I had planned to actually make tomorrow.
For the printout of all these recipes click here.

First up is the Tiramisu.

Takes about 8 hours to make this dish when you forget to take the cheese out of the fridge the night before.

I am making 1 small one for the two of us. Since the recipe calls for raw egg yolks, I purchased pasteurized eggs.
I will sift cocoa powder on the top right before serving.

I am defrosting the pork tenderloin in a bowl of water. I think it will be OK in 7 hours. I can get all the prep work done ahead of time and the actually cooking will take only an hour at the most.

I am making the fritters now. I call them Bubble & Squeatters (after the Bubble & Squeak dish with the same ingredients). Whenever you make a patty of some sort that contains a raw egg you should cook a mini sample to taste for seasonings and since I salted my cabbage to remove the moisture I was glad I did just that.

Between the saltines and the cabbage I needed to add NO additional salt.
I have to say they taste amazing. I only made 10 - 2 1/2" fritters and the recipe will reflect that, so if you need 20 for your family, just double it.

Bubble & Squeatters
makes 10 (2 1/2") fritters

* 1 medium potato, hand grated and squeezed dry

The next 3 ingredients can be done in a processor.......
* 1/2 cup grated cabbage, salted and drained
* 1/4 onion, grated
* 6 saltine crackers, large grind
* 1 egg, beaten
* 2 tsp prepared horseradish
* 1/4 tsp dry mustard
* 1 tbls agave nectar or honey
* black pepper
* pinch of nutmeg
* enough dry bread crumbs or matzoh meal to bind
* canola oil

Mix all ingredients and make a sample fritter to taste for seasonings. Adjust.
In saute pan heat oil and using a tablespoon scoop mixture into pan and flatten slightly with the back of the spoon.
Saute until browned and flip over, about 3 minutes each side.
Remove to paper towel lined sheet pan and drain.
Can be made ahead and reheated in oven before serving.

Serve with horseradish applesauce and sour cream.

While I am waiting for the tenderloin to defrost, I will start the simmering sauce.
Get a large sweet onion and slice into thin slices.
Saute in olive oil with a pat of butter until they are wonderfully caramelized.

These look great and are exactly what you want. All that brown is flavor, very good flavor.
Season with salt & pepper.

Add the chicken stock, Guinness, mustard, agave nectar and thyme.
Simmer until it starts to thicken and shut off the heat. All this can be done ahead.
Taste for seasoning and bitterness (remember Guinness is a very bitter stout).

See how dark it gets after simmering for only a few minutes. The flavor concentrates and becomes sweeter. Perfect.

Once the pork has cooked in this sauce, we will be adding Balsamic Vinegar and that will change the taste again. If you still find it bitter (but I doubt you will) add another squirt of agave or a pat of butter.

Season tenderloin with salt & pepper and dredge in flour. Saute in oil on all sides, about 3-4 minutes each.

Once the tenderloin is browned, move it to a baking dish. Swish the saute pan with a couple of tablespoons chicken stock to loosen all the fond on the bottom (more flavor, we want that).
Mix that with the already cooked onions and pour over the top of the pork.
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes at 350F.
Remove the dish, check the temperature (should be 140F). If done remove and tent with foil. Continue baking the sauce until it thickens to a nice glaze. Slice the tenderloin and spoon over the onions and sauce.


Serve with the fritters if you make them but mashed potatoes would also be great.

We can't forget the Irish Mist Tiramisu.......













This was light and very tasty but not overly sweet.
You could taste the Irish Mist, the Irish Coffee and according to The Nudge I could make this anytime I wanted to from now on....

YAY for me!!! I hit a home run.