Roscommon Rhubarb Pie

Calling this Rhubarb pie might not be accurate. Rhubarb cobbler, perhaps?

Either way, it's delicious.

Roscommon Rhubarb Pie (based on this recipe)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

2 lbs rhubarb, cleaned and chopped

1 1/2 cup sugar

Topping:

2 cups flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

one pinch salt

4 tbsp butter

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

egg wash (1 egg + 1 tbsp milk, beaten)

granulated sugar

Cooking:

Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a large pan, place the rhubarb and sprinkle the sugar over it. Heat the pan (do not oil it) and let rhubarb wilt on very low heat while ytou mix the topping.

In a bowl, mix flour, 2 tbsp sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, egg, and 3/4 cup milk.

Transfer the rhubarb mixture to a pie pan (or, if you used an ovensafe pan, you can just leave it where it is) and top it with the topping mixture. Brush the eggwash over it, and then sprinkle it with sugar.

Bale at 425 F for ten minutes and then lower to 325 F, and bake for 30 minutes.

Colcannon Mash

Now, when we did Scottish you might remember Rumbledethumps and Clapshot. Well, the Irish have plenty of variants on mashed potatoes as well of course. The key to the color in this recipe is boiling the cabbage separately. Once boiling, cabbage has a very specific cooking time of ~4 minutes. Too much and the color dims and a sour smell emerges, and in this recipe the color is key.

Colcannon Mash (based on this recipe)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 head green cabbage, cored and shredded

1 tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

Cooking:

In a large pot boil bring water to a boil, lightly salting it. Boil the potatoes until tender. n a seperate pot, bring water to a boil, drop the cabbage into the boiling water and when it returns to a boil set a timer for 4 minutes. When it's done, immediately remove from heat.

Strain the potatoes and mash them with the potatoes and butter, and mix in the shredded cabbage.

Adjust seasoning and serve.

Dublin Lawyer

Lobster isn't cheap, but it's worth it. I'm not sure if this dish is named because it's what lawyers eat in Dublin, or because it's what they'd like to do to lawyers in Dublin.

You occasionally hear that it is necessary to stab the lobster through the brain to kill them ahead of time. The truth is that a lobsters brain is not centralized enough to instantly kill it when you stab its brain, and that it will still feel pain when you put it in the water, so it's probably best to just steam it.

Dublin Lawyer

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Dissasembling Lobster to remove meat: 4 years (or maybe 30 minutes)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lb lobster

3 tbsp butter

4 tbsp whiskey

5 fl oz cream

salt and pepper

Cooking:

Steam the lobsters first, as directed when you buy them (if not roughly 15-20 minutes for 2 1/2 lbs of lobster) and left them cool. Cut them directly in half with scissors, and remove the claws and legs. Remove every little scrap of meat from the lobsters, and set aside the body and tail shells for later (you can save any spare shell parts for bisque at a later date).

Melt the butter ina pan and warm the lobster meat (you don't want to cook it more, or it will become rubbery), and place it in the shells set aside.

Put the whiskey in a ladel and set it on fire, and then pour it over thr lobster meat.

Heat cream in the same pan you used to warm the meat, an then pour the cream over the lobster meat/shells.

Serve immediately.

Alternate Method:

Cut the lobters in half and remove the meat raw. Melt the butter in the pan and just barely cook it... God luck with the still moving lobsters which will keep moving as you try to cut them in half.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

I'm going to be honest on this one: this famous Irish dish... is probably a product of Irish Americans and not actually Ireland. Ireland is not a major producer of beef, and the Irish diet tends to use ham more, and likely Irish immigrants to the US found they could replace ham with corned beef.

This recipe is entirely my own, and I have made it every St. Patrick's Day for at least six years running. The key is timing: you need to make sure everything is added at the right time so your meat, and various vegetables are cooked perfectly.

The other secret is Guiness. You only need one can, but it adds a wonderful flavor to the dish.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cooking Time: 4 1/2 hours

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

1 package corned beef brisket, with spice packet (if lacking this, add some freshly ground allspiceand black pepper)

1 head cabbage, cored of the tough flesh and cut into thin strips

2 onions, sliced

6 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

3 turnips, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 can guiness

Substituions:

Guiness - any beer, preferably darker

Cooking:

Place corned beef brisket in a large stock pot and cover with water. Add Guiness and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, skim foam off top of broth and simmer for 3-4 hours (or as the directions on the meat instruct you to.

Add the potatoes and turnips next, and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

Add the onions, and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Add the cabbage, and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

Salt to taste. Serve.

Scallop Pie

This recipe is absolutely fantastic, and may win over even people who don't care for scallops.

Scallop Pie

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

12 oz scallops

10 oz milk

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

8 oz mushrooms

4 tbsp white wine

1 lb mashed potatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Clean the scallops, remove the tough muscle from the center of the scallop if it is still intact. Cut them in falh, and simmer in the milk for fifteen minutes. Remove from heat, set aside the scallops and reserve the cooking liquid.

Make a white roux:

Melt the butter in a pan over very low heat, and mix in the flour. Cook very slowly, stirring constantly. There's an art to this, and it takes patience. If you burn it, throw it out and try again. Cook for one minute, and mix into the reserved cooking liquid from the scallops.

Cooking:

Season wit salt and pepper to taste, add the sliced mushrooms, and simmer for ten minutes.Add the wine and scallops, heat, and then transfer to an overproof dish and top with the mashed potatoes, being sure they cover the scallops completely. Dot with remaining 1 tbsp butter and bake for 20-30 minutes.