The Luck of the Irish (St. Patrick’s Day)

“May you have all the happiness and luck that life can hold—and at the end of your rainbows ay you find a pot of gold.”

Old Irish Blessing

Here is our Delicious ‘Pot of Gold’ Dinner

We Hope You Will Agree!

Just a few bits and pieces of Irish that we love.

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I always wondered why the Irish were considered “lucky” seeing as how they have suffered so much abuse over the centuries from the Catholic Church, etc.. Well, I found out why? It is because during the gold and silver rush in the 19th. century, it was the Irish and American Irish miners who mined the most gold and silver. Therefore, they have their Pot of Gold! Good for them! I happen to be of Irish decent myself. 🙂

Hope that you will enjoy everything lucky here.

Julie and Gordon

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Our Pot ‘O Gold Dinner and Bubble and Squeak

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Our Pot of Gold Dinner

Here are the fingerling potatoes that we washed in a colander.

Pictured above and below are a mixture of ingredients for both recipes.

The parsley makes for a great garnish to these dishes.

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Green Apples, Onions, Garlic, Fingerling Potatoes, and Turkey Sausages

Boiling the Fingerling Potatoes Until Fork Tender

Here are the sweet onions we used for both recipes. It is easier to peel all of them at once.

Here one of the onions is chopped into a small dice.

Time to Smash the Garlic

Grating The Green Apples

Add the potatoes to cold water then boil them until tender, taking about 25 min. Use a fork to tell if they are tender. If the fork penetrates the potatoes easily, they are done.

Use a cheese grater to grate the green apples.

Pictured are the bags of sauerkraut we used.

To add some color we also cooked some of this beet sauerkraut.

Use a colander to drain both krauts.

Start this dish by adding some vegetable oil to a large cast iron skillet heated to medium heat.

Add your diced onions and mix them into the oil.

Add your 1 t. coriander to the onions…

then add your garlic cloves.

Mix all the ingredients together then add your sauerkraut.

Saute this mixture for about 5 min. then…

add a cup of your white wine.

Mix the wine with the other ingredients and cook until the wine has reduced by half.

Here you can see most of the wine has been reduced.

Transfer this mixture into a large bowl then add your cooked fingerling potatoes and mix well.

Here I am peeling the russet potatoes getting them ready to boil for the Bubble and Squeak recipe.

Now that the potatoes how been peeled, I need to slice them into chunks so they can be boiled. Start by using cool water loading all the cut potatoes into a large pot. You don’t start with boiling water as when you place your cut potatoes in, the outer edge will immediately cook making them overcooked by the time the inner potato is cooked.

Use a fork to check the potatoes if they are fully cooked. The size of your chunks will vary your boiling time as these took about 20-25 min. If you can pierce the potato easily they are done. Pour the potatoes into a colander to drain.

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Here are the smoked turkey sausages we used for the …

I grilled them to increase their flavor. This was done by heating the grill to high for about 5 min. then scraping off any residue with a wire brush. Be sure no wire bristles are left on the grill as eating them could be very harmful. Turn the grill down to medium and place the sausages on the grill grates. Let them sit on the grate for about 5 min. on each side until fully cooked on all sides.

Let the sausages rest before slicing them to allow the super heated juices to return to the inside of the meat, keeping them nice and juicy.

Now, add them into the mixture of sauerkraut and…

Back to the Bubble and Squeak recipe… peel and slice your onion and half then…

slice them into a small dice as shown.

Add about 2 Tbsp. of butter into a large saute pan and turn the heat to medium.

Slice the root end of your cabbage off and now your butter is likely melted and ready to accept the diced onions.

Mix the onion with the butter and saute them until softened. In the meantime, slice your cabbage in half then using a wedge cut, remove the cabbage’s core as shown.

Continue to stir the onions then slice the cabbage thinly as shown.

Add another 2 Tbsp. of butter to another large shallow pot with a cup and a half of water heated to medium high heat and add your sliced cabbage.

The cabbage will wilt when heated. Stir your cabbage and onions often.

Use a lid over the cabbage to help them cook faster.

Let the onions caramelize some to add extra flavor.

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Using a large cast iron skillet, add a few Tbsp. of peanut oil.

Here the cabbage has been cooked nicely.

Place your cut russet potatoes into a bowl and using your potato masher, mash them into a creamy mix.

Add some freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to the now mashed potatoes, to taste.

Mix that with about 2 Tbsp. of butter using your potato masher.

Here you can see the lid over the cabbage.

When the cabbage is cooked and tender, pour the cabbage out into a large colander.

Let the cabbage drain well.

Here are the fully sauteed onions.

Mix the drained cabbage with the sauteed onions.

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To make it easier, I placed the onion and cabbage mixture into a large bowl.

I then added the mashed potato mixture to the cabbage and onions.

Use the potato masher to mix all the ingredients together.

Heat the oil in the cast iron skillet to medium high heat.

Add a good amount of the Bubble and Squeak mixture to the pan and smooth it out.

Use your spatula to smooth out the edges as shown.

Here I am mixing the rest of the potatoes to the large bowl.

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Add the rest of the cabbage and onions to the potatoes.

Use a second slightly larger cast iron skillet that has been oiled slightly to place over the top of the Bubble and Squeak, then quickly flip the smaller pan into the larger one.