The feast of St. Patrick

Young Chang

It’s cold in Ireland.

It rains a lot and the skies are gray and the grass is quite often

wet.

When it gets windy, the surrounding oceans give the wind a nastier

chill.

Fortunately, the Irish have food that warms the soul.

Steaming stews, desserts with lots of butter and warm whiskeys.

So if you’re looking for an authentic way to celebrate St. Patrick’s

Day, why not go Irish in a culinary way?

Popular entrees include shepherd’s pie, fish and chips, grilled steak

sandwiches, Reuben sandwiches and, of course, corned beef and cabbage.

The latter “is completely popular among the American Irish because in

Boston, where the Irish settled very early on, this was a food that was

easily able to be bought and prepared,” said Sindi Schwartz, owner and

executive chef at Muldoon’s Dublin Pub in Newport Beach.

One way to make this tradition more interesting is to serve the corned

beef and cabbage with what Schwartz calls “mashed potatoes colcannon.”

“Once the mashed potatoes have been prepared in a skillet, there are

tiny little pieces of pale green cabbage left [in the skillet],” she

said. “Put in a little bit of butter and onions and sautee it together.”

Pour the sauce over the potatoes and stir everything.

“It’s to die for,” Schwartz said, laughing.

Another Irish favorite is the carved New York strip steak sandwich,

which Muldoon’s will serve on St. Patrick’s Day. You slice a New York

strip steak rather thick and put it between equally thick slices of rye

bread spread with hot mustard.

You can also eat the steak between a big, soft roll spread with au jus

and horse radish sauce.

“Serve it with chips and fries and malt vinegar,” Schwartz said. “They

like that malt vinegar on those salty potato chips.”

But for a really toasty Irish entree to make at home, she suggests the

original Irish stew. The recipe, which is rich in cream and vegetables

and even a touch of Guinness, is below.

If you want something preceding the stew, Michael D’Angelo, an owner

of the Irvine Ranch Market in Costa Mesa recommends Irish bangers (this

is what the Irish call sausages) on a cream cracker with garnish.

“It’s not as crispy as a regular cracker,” he said. “It’s got a little

bit more doughy kind of texture to it.”

They’re available at specialty stores. A recipe for cooking the

bangers is below.

If you’d rather serve just a bread, Celtic choices include soda bread,

Irish buttermilk bannock and scones.

When it comes to desserts, Schwartz says people would be surprised at

what qualifies as an Irish favorite.

Apple pie with caramel sauce is one. It’s as Irish as it is American,

the Newport Beach restaurant owner said. And it’s a longtime popular

dessert because the ingredients -- apples, flour, butter and sugar -- are

inexpensive and plentiful in Ireland.

There is, of course, Irish coffee. Christina Duggan, owner of the

Shamrock Bar and Grill in Newport Beach, also mentioned an Irish cream

cheesecake.

“It’s a mint cheesecake,” she said. “Of course, it’s green, and it

tastes like mint.”

Her recommendation for a more authentic sweet you can make at home is

rhubarb pie.

The recipe is simple: You make or buy the pie crust.

You wash and dice six to eight stalks of rhubarb, cover the bottom of

the pie crust with them, and then spray the spread with sugar (about four

tablespoons). Close the pie with the pastry cover and bake for 45

minutes.

You can serve this with a custard that comes almost ready-made in

specialty stores.

“It’s called the Bird’s Eye Custard,” Duggan said. “You use one

packet, you add a liter of milk and then you just put it into a pot and

let it simmer.”

Schwartz, who is part Irish in heritage, admits that the food of her

country wasn’t always this enticing.

“Because the kids weren’t leaving the country to go study cuisine and

culinary art,” she said. “And now they do and they’re coming to back to

prepare food... And the food is yummy now.”

IRISH BANGER SAUSAGE, courtesy of Irvine Ranch Market

Makes about 25 sausages

Ingredients

12 1/2 pounds medium ground pork

2 heads cooked cabbage, ground to small pieces

1 1/2 tablespoons nutmeg

1 1/2 tablespoons thyme

1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons crushed pepper

2 handfuls dry parsley

4 ounces English Banger seasoning

1 large purple onion, ground

Mix well and stuff into sausage casings. After tying off, cook the

sausages in a frying pan.

ORIGINAL IRISH STEW, courtesy of Muldoon’s.

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 pounds of fresh beef stew meat cut into one-inch cubes

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion chopped small

3 carrots diced medium

3 celery stalks diced medium

4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup Guinness stout beer

4 cups beef broth

1 cup water

Roux (a thick mixture of flour and fat):

1 cup cream

1/2 cup flour

Garnish:

10 mini Yukon Gold or red potatoes boiled and quartered

8 ounces frozen green peas steamed hot

Pour the olive oil in a large skillet and heat to a medium

temperature. Add the chopped onions and simmer on low heat for 3 minutes.

Add the herbs and stir. Add the celery and stir as the mixture keeps

simmering. When the liquid is clear in color, raise the heat to medium

and add the meat. Brown the meat on all sides and move the chunks around

on the skillet. If the mix needs more oil, add 1/2 teaspoon at a time.

When the meat has evenly browned, add the Guinness Stout. Lower the heat

and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer the mix into a large stock pot. Add carrots, Worcestershire

sauce, beef broth and some water, but only if the mixture needs more

liquid. Otherwise, save the water for later. Cover pot, turn the fire to

medium-high and let the pot come to a soft boil for 4 minutes.

Take off the lid, remove any white foam from the top, lower the heat

to medium or medium-low and cover the pot again. Check every 15 minutes

to make sure there is one inch of liquid above the meat and vegetables at

all times. Add more water if needed.

Also check the meat and vegetables for tenderness.

Meanwhile, make the roux. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan on low

heat. Don’t boil. Stir in half a cup of flour at a time. Add a drop or

two of cold cream into the mix periodically, stirring all the while. You

should end up with a medium-to-thin paste. Put to the side.

When the meat is tender (you know by spearing it with your fork), add

pinches of salt and pepper to taste.

Scoop up 3/4 cup of the stew liquid and drizzle it into the roux and

stir. Pour this into the main stew pot and simmer for another 20 minutes.

To serve, garnish with green peas and accompany with Yukon gold boiled

and quartered potatoes.

Muldoon’s recommends soda bread and Harp lager or Guinness stout to

complete your tasty experience.