Now to the Irish Side of the Family

So we are actually only like 1/8th Irish but that 1/8 comes out pretty well in the Red Hair. Actually my Swedish Grandma is where the Red hair comes from. Weird. Anyway for St. Patrick's day Mrs. Mc wanted something different instead of Corned Beef and Cabbage. So we decided to try what I teased her about it being Breakfast for Dinner. Corned Beef Hash. I don't care if it was Breakfast it was awesome. I guess she stole the recipe from Tyler Florence. So thanks Tyler. 

Here it is.

First you make some Herbed Root Vegetables.

2 Tablespoons of EVOO (Sorry couldn't resist I think its stupid too, for anyone with a brain that Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 pound new potatoes, Scrubbed (we used fingerlings MMMMM)
1 pound baby carrots, trimmed, scrubbed
1 pound baby turnips, trimmed, scrubbed (we couldn't find baby ones so we just cubed regular ones)
1 pound baby parsnips, trimmed, scrubbed (we couldn't find baby ones so we just cubed regular ones)
Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the olive oil and butter into a large pot over medium. Once the butter is melted add the veggies and toss them to coat with the oils. Season with salt and pepper and add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer with lid and cook until the veggies are tender. About 20 minutes. (We halved this part of the recipe and it worked great)

Now to the Hash and Sauce!

Hollandaise Sauce:
2 egg yoks
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons of Water
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 lemon juiced
Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Again we halved this, we didn't need a cup of butter sauce. Put the egg yokes, Mustard, cayenne and water into a blender. Blend together and then slowly and I mean slowly like a drizzle pour in the warm butter. You are going for an emulsion. Once the butter is integrated use the lemon juice and salt and pepper to flavor the sauce to your liking. It will taste like lemony spicy butter when its right. Who doesn't like butter sauces?

Keep the Sauce warm. Ours was warm enough just on the counter. Just don't put it in the fridge.

Onto the Heavenly Hash

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cups chopped corned beef (please buy real corned beef and not the can stuff, is that even meat?)
2 cups of your Herbed root veggies chopped up
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Salt and pepper
4 Eggs for poaching and 2 Tablespoons vinegar for the same purpose

Heat the oil and cook the onion on medium until soft (about five minutes) in a non stick skillet. Add the rest of the ingredients except the eggs and vinegar. Stir around for a minute then leave unstirred and cook until the bottom gets brown and crisp about 5-10 minutes. 

While that cooks poach the eggs.


This is done by filling a large skillet with water, adding the vinegar and some salt and bringing it to a boil. Then you reduce the water to where it is barely bubbling and then using a small bowl carefully crack each egg into the bowl and introduce it into the water. I kinda let the water seep into the rim of the bowl and then gently kinda let the egg float off. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the egg is set to your liking. I like mine runny. Mrs Mc likes em stiff as cardboard. Remove them with a slotted spoon and dry briefly on a paper towel.

Now assemble the master piece. Put some hash down (I actually made 4 leaf clovers with some sauce first-it was an attempt to get the kids to eat it), then an egg and top with sauce. Amazing. Truly.

Some Scottish Treats for Ya

On Sunday we decided to make one of my favorite Scottish dinners. I have to confess considering my penchant for fresh ingredients, this is one meal that uses two prepared ingredients, sorry. But it is delicious and easy. The main dish is Steak Pie and I almost always serve it with Roast Tatties and cheap and easy frozen peas. This week we added Neeps (Turnips) to the mix although I found out that the Neeps I have been using are the wrong ones. I guess they use Rutabagas which are yellow in Scotland. Och well.

Here it is.

Steak Pie

3/4 - 1 lb Steak, something tender- Top sirloin is good, sliced into strips like fajitas
1 package of Brown Gravy mix, go with a good brand, if you can find Bisto (Scottish Brand) then by all means.
1 Sheet of Puff Pastry, thawed according to instructions
1 Medium Onion
Salt, Pepper, Spices (Garlic granules)

Its real simple. Cut up the onion how ever you like. I usually do thin rings. It doesn't matter. Fry that in a wee bit of olive oil until it gets soft and starts to brown. Add your meat and cook to desired doneness. Salt and pepper and add any spices you would like. Now mix up the gravy according to instructions. Its usually a cup of cold water to the packet. Pour the Gravy over and cook until it starts to thicken.

Pour the Meat and gravy mix into an 8 X 8 or similar dish and cover with puff pastry. Bake at 400 until the pastry puffs adn browns. Then its time to tuck in. This is seriously amazing.

The potatoes are pretty easy too. I put them in the oven about 15 minutes before the pie.

Cut some potatoes into nice bite size cubes. Boil in salted water until they yield but are not soft enough for mashed potatoes. Drain and empty into a mixing bowl. Pour enough oil to to coat the potatoes and mix them around to get oil all over them. Pour them onto a baking pan (I think metal is best but anything works), salt and bake at 400 until the bottoms are crispy. Yum.

The neeps are easy as well. I just boiled them until they were tender and drained them, added some salt and butter. Good Scottish comfort food. Now if I could only get some Haggis.