Imbolc Recipes

Scald milk in heavy pan - do not boil! Thoroughly beat eggs, adding salt and sugar. Beat a little of the hot milk into the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Pour egg mixture hot milk, stirring well. Slowly bring just to a boil until mixture coats a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and beat until cool. Add vanilla and chill well.

Horseradish Sauce:

Put beef in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add all other ingredients except cabbage and bring to a boil with the lid off the pot. Turn to simmer and cook for 3 hours. Skim fat from top as it rises. Remove the thyme, parsley and onion. Add cabbage. Simmer for 20 minutes until cabbage is cooked. Remove the meat and cut into pieces. Place on center of a large platter. Strain the cabbage and season it heavily with black pepper. Surround the beef with the cabbage, carrots and potatoes. Serve with horseradish sauce.

Horseradish Sauce: Whip cream until it stands in peaks. Fold in horseradish.

Baked Custard with Ginger

Mix brown sugar with ginger and divide evenly onto bottoms of 6 buttered individual custard cups or ramekins. In a medium mixing bowl, blend eggs with milk, sugar, vanilla, and seasonings. Pour evenly into prepared custard cups. Place cups in a large saucepan, then fill with hot water to come halfway up sides of cups ( a hot water bath or Bain-Marie). Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes, or until knife inserted near edge comes out clean. Remove cups from Bain-Marie. Run knife around edges to loosely. Place serving plate over top of cup and carefully invert custard onto plate. Serve warm or cover, chill and serve cold.

Cannariculi (Honey Cookies)

Make a well in flour in mixing bowl or on work surface. Add wine, eggs, sugar, and salt. Mix well, until thoroughly blended. Knead dough vigorously until smooth and glossy. If using processor, continue mixing for at least 1 minute after ingredients are combined. Roll dough to an 1/8" thickness or less. Cut dough into 2" squares, starting with 1 corner, roll each square of dough loosely on the diagonal to form a pastry roll about the thickness of a pencil. Meanwhile, heat oil for deep frying. Fry batches of pastries in hot oil until golden brown, being careful not to crowd pan. Use a slotted spoon to remove fried pastries from oil. Drain on paper towels. Transfer to serving platter. Drizzle honey over top or dip Cannariculi into honey.

Makes 4 to 5 dozen.

Prepare sour milk and mix dry ingredients. Set both aside. Cream margarine and sugar, add egg, beat until light. Add honey, sour milk, and vinegar. Add dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Chill 1 hour. Roll out to 1/4" thickness. Cut into 2"x3" rectangles and place on buttered cookie sheets. Bake at 375° for 6 minutes. Frost with plain vanilla frosting.

* For sour milk, add 1 Tbsp. vinegar to 1 cup milk and let stand for 10 minutes.

Noodle Kuchen

Mix eggs and sugar. Add cottage cheese, sour cream, milk, vanilla, and raisins. In separate bowl, add butter to warm noodles, stirring until melted. Combine noodles with cottage cheese mixture. Pour into 9x13" glass pan. Refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 350°. To make topping, combine cornflakes, cinnamon, and sugar. Sprinkle over top of kugel. Bake 1 hour. Let dish stand for about 5 minutes before serving. Cut into squares and garnish with sour cream.

Pannekoeken (German Pancakes)

Preheat oven to 400°. Place butter in oven pancake pan. Heat for two minutes or until butter melts. Spread evenly in pan. In large bowl, beat eggs slightly. Stir in flour, sugar, and salt. Gradually add milk, beating until smooth. Pour into pan.

Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325°. Bake 40-45 minutes or until it reaches a deep golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately slide pancake onto a serving plate. Fill with fresh fruit and top with confectioner's sugar. Serves 6.

* This recipe is served at the Haddie Pierce House Bed & Breakfast.

Granny's Irish Scones

Mix flour and margarine together with your fingers until the mixture is fine; add sugar, raisins and baking powder. Beat eggs and add. Pour in enough milk to make mixture into a sticky dough (not too wet). Lift out onto a floured board and flatten out to 1 1/2" thickness and cut out scones with a biscuit cutter. Place 6 on a greased baking sheet and brush tops wit ha little beaten egg (this helps them to brown). Bake 15 minutes in a preheated 400° oven.

*Granny's Kitchen, St. Patrick's Rock, Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland.

Set baking rack in the center of the oven and place a baking stone (if available) on the rack. Preheat oven to 375°.

In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Mix to incorporate. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk. Mix quickly to incorporate the milk evenly. It may be easier to mix with the hands than with a spoon. Form the dough into a loaf shape and place in a nonstick 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2" loaf pan. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, until well browned and a skewer inserted in the center comes out dry. Remove from the oven and the baking pan. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Mulligatawny Soup

Heat butter and oil in a saucepan. Add onion, celery and carrots; cook gently 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder and flour and cook 1 minute. Stir in stock and bring to a boil; add rice and stir well. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes, chicken, apple and salt. Cover again and simmer 15 minutes. Garnish with celery leaves and carrot strip, if desired, and serve hot.

Melt chocolate pieces, Bailey's and heavy cream together over very low heat. Whisk in yolks, one at a time, mixture will thicken. Whisk in butter. Refrigerate several hours, or overnight until firm. Make small balls with a teaspoon. Roll in powdered sugar or cocoa.

Rose-Hip Wine

Wash the rose hips and cut them in half. Put them in large bowl and pour boiling water on them. Stir well with wooden spoon. Cover bowl and leave for two weeks. Strain off liquid into another bowl and add the sugar. Stir until dissolved. Cover bowl and leave for 5 days, stirring daily. Bottle, remembering to cork loosely at first, and store in a cool, dark, place. Push in corks when wine has finished fermenting. It will be ready to drink in 6 months.

Crust:

Sauce:

Filling:

In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.

In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds.

Preheat oven to 325° F (165° C). In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.

In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.

Heat butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and saute until golden brown. Remove from skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken pieces to remaining butter in saucepan and saute until browned on all sides and nearly cooked through. Return mushrooms to skillet and add artichoke hearts, white wine and chicken broth, stirring well and scraping bottom of pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in curry powder. Whisk the flour into the sour cream and add to chicken mixture over low heat, being careful not to boil. Heat, stirring often, until heated through. Serve over hot cooked rice and garnish with chopped parsley.
Makes 6 servings.

Note: The recipe can be prepared ahead and refrigerated in a greased casserole dish, tightly covered in plastic wrap. Uncover and reheat in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes before serving.