Cooking
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Wexford Irish Cream
Today’s beer is the Wexford Irish Style Cream Ale. This beer is draught style. For those unfamiliar with the term, draught style is an attempt to recreate the experience of pouring the beer into a glass directly from a tap and keg. This isn’t necessary for all beers, but when done correctly with the right beer it makes a world of difference. And Wexford does it up right. As the beer pours into my gleaming pint glass the nitrogen widget in the can works its magic. Magic may be too mild a word. With even a gentle pour the entire glass momentarily becomes a sea of swirling, creamy foam that…
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The Beers of Ireland – Part II
I’m a huge Monty Python fan and I’m beginning to think the lads from Guinness are as well. In fact, the motto for Guinness’ new Black Lager should be, “And now for something completely different.” At first glance this beer does appear to be related to the iconic Guinness Draught. It pours a deep black color, just like its bigger brother; utterly opaque and begging you to dive in. A rich two finger head crowned the beer after a strong pour into a dry pint glass. However, in the brief time it took me to carry the beer upstairs the foam had almost completely dissipated, leaving behind nothing but a…
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Shepherd’s Pie – Lower Fat
Today is day 2 of my St. Patrick’s Day extravaganza.Yesterday’s pot of gold was a big hit with the high school crowd and today’s shepherds pie received two thumbs up from Arielle and Eric. I believe I heard Arielle say, “You’re keeping the leftovers in the fridge… right?” And Eric replied with, “Yeah but this is a get up in the middle of the night and sneak some dish.” My heart smiled. It’s nice to know my cooking skills are improving. Even though last night Kai told me the Food Network had the perfect show for me – America’s Worst Cooks. Anyone who lives with teens has to be tough.…
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Introducing guest blogger / beer loving husband – Eric
Everyone has indulgences; things they love that aren’t necessarily good for them; for Krista it’s chocolate and ice cream – for me it’s beer. Once a month or so I succumb to my passions and take a trip to Total Wine. For those of you not familiar with it, Total Wine is the beer lovers equivalent of Mecca. Imagine a store the size of Wal-Mart or Target filled with nothing but alcohol in every shape, size and type imaginable. Looking for vodka in a crystal skull? They’ve got it. A wonderful cream liqueur made from the African Amarula fruit? Check that off the list too. But most importantly they have…
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Mini Pots of Gold
I found this recipe in a magazine at the supermarket called PIL Cookbooks, Irish Favorites. My original idea was to make brownie bowls and use yellow cake balls for the gold. Then I figured I better stick to the recipe, otherwise I may be up all night baking. Turns out that was a good decision as these pots of gold were super easy and delicious. Teachers – they would be a great treat to go along with a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day story. [gmc_recipe 2498]
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St. Patrick’s Day Extravaganza
I’m gearing up for a St. Patrick’s Day extravaganza week. Five straight days of baking, decorating and laughing at all my mistakes. Post number one will begin tomorrow…. late afternoon. I move like a turtle in the kitchen. If anyone has any recipe suggestions and you want me to try it first – leave a comment. I love a challenge. Sometimes. Beware, if the dish has meat I’ll work some leprachaun mischief and turn it into a vegetarian dish. Happy weekend and as always thank you for reading and sharing my posts. I’m happy to say my blog is growing every day and that makes my heart shine like a pot of gold. Thank…