Recipe(tried): St. Patrick's Day Dinner 2006 - Slow Roasted Salmon with Green Sauce, Potatoes with Parsley, Irish Soda Bread, Irish Cream Pound Cake

Beannachtai na Feile Padraig! (Happy St. Patrick's Day!)

Top 'O The Morning to You!

I will be preparing this Irish themed dinner today for St. Patrick's. I am sure many households will be having some sort of Irish meal today and lost of Green Beer later on!

Have a wonder-filled day!

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Slow Roasted Salmon with Green Sauce
Potatoes with Parsley
Irish Soda Bread
Irish Cream Pound Cake

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SLOW ROASTED SALMON WITH GREEN SAUCE
Source: Martha Stewart
Servings: 6

Save any remaining green sauce to use as salad dressing or as a sandwich spread.

1 small white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 ounces watercress leaves, plus 2 bunches for serving
8 ounces fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 five-ounce salmon fillets, skins removed, about 1 1/2 by 4 inches

Place onion, garlic, parsley, watercress, spinach, buttermilk, sour cream, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Puree until smooth, and set aside in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Rub the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with 1/2 teaspoon oil.

Set salmon fillets in the dish, and rub tops with remaining teaspoon oil. Sprinkle with remaining teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour 1/4 cup water in dish (to cover bottom in a thin layer).

Cook fish in oven until just cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve immediately over bed of watercress drizzled with cold herb sauce. Extra sauce can be refrigerated up to 4 days.

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POTATOES WITH PARSLEY
Source: Martha Stewart
Servings: 8

4 pounds small new potatoes
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
1/4 cup chopped parsley

With a vegetable peeler, peel a stripe around each potato. Place potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with 1 inch salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat; simmer until potatoes can be easily pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, 10 to 20 minutes. Drain well; return to pot.

Toss potatoes with butter and parsley; season generously with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Serve alongside green peas.

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IRISH SODA BREAD
Source: Martha Stewart
Makes 1 loaf

Martha says...."By adding egg, sugar, caraway seeds, and butter to a traditional Irish soda bread recipe, you create a loaf that is fit for a Sunday breakfast or brunch. Wrapped well with plastic wrap, it can be stored at room temperature until the last crumb is eaten. Like all Irish soda breads, this freezes well".

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
2 cups golden or dark raisins
1 1/2 scant cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and caraway seeds until well combined. Using a pastry cutter or two knives in scissor fashion, cut in butter until the mixture feels like coarse meal. Stir in raisins until evenly distributed.

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and baking soda until well combined. Pour buttermilk mixture into the flour-and-butter mixture all at once, and stir with a fork until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture begins to hold together. It should resemble a rough biscuit dough. Using your hands, press the dough into a round, dome-shaped loaf about 8 inches in diameter. Lift the loaf from the bowl, and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet.

In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk and cream together. With a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the loaf. With a sharp knife or razor, incise a cross, about 1/2-inch deep, into the top of the loaf. Transfer to the oven.

Bake, rotating halfway through, until it is deep golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted into the center, about 70 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer bread from the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool.

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IRISH CREAM POUND CAKE
Source: The Scottish-Irish Pub and Hearth Cookbook: Recipes and Lore from Celtic Kitchens by Kay Shaw Nelson
Makes 1 loaf; 12 to 14 servings

This basic pound cake is flavored with Irish cream liqueur, but vanilla extract can be used as a substitute, if desired.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon Irish cream liqueur
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
Confectioners' sugar

Lightly butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl combine the butter, Irish liqueur, nutmeg. and salt. Cream until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating as adding, until well mixed. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Gradually stir in flour and then the remaining egg. Beat until smooth. Turn into prepared pan.

Place in a cold oven. Turn temperature to 300 degrees. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes.

Remove from pan to a wire rack. Cool. Dust top with confectioners' sugar. Wrap in foil. Store in a cool, dry place 1 to 2 days.

Serve the cake cut in thin slices.