St. Patrick's Day Recipes

Chocolate Irish Cream Cheesecake

Belllavoie — 2009-03-20T13:39:54Z

Chocolate Irish Cream Cheesecake

Chocolate Cookie Crust

11 milk chocolate sandwich cream cookies, crushed

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

In a small bowl stir together crushed cookies, cinnamon and melted butter or margarine until well combined. Press crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan.

Chocolate Irish Cream Filling

24 ounces cream cheese

2/3 cup sugar

5 eggs

2/3 cup whipping cream

¾ cup Irish Cream Liqueur

1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons instant coffee

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 12-ounce package milk chocolate chops, melted

Sifted powdered sugar

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, eggs, and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer till smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in liqueur and vanilla extract. Stir together hot water, instant coffee and cinnamon. Stir into cream cheese mixture. Stir in melted chocolate. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust.

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 200° and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or till the center no longer looks wet or shiny. Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan. Turn the oven off; return the cake to the oven for an additional 2 hours. Chill, uncovered, overnight.

Place a decorative stencil over the top of the cheesecake. Sift powdered sugar over the stencil. Carefully remove stencil. Chill till serving time. Makes 12 to 18 slices.

Hints: Bring cream cheese and eggs to room temperature before mixing. Once you start adding the eggs, overbeating the mixture causes fine cracks, so just beat until ingredients are incorporated. Very important to reduce the temperature, otherwise, big cracks. Running a knife around the inside edge of the pan will release the cake during the cooling cycle and minimize cracks. If you do get cracks, top the cheesecake with whipped cream, flavored with additional Baileyâ€™s Irish Cream!!

Roasted Beets

admin — 2009-03-19T15:05:36Z

Roasted Beets 6 to 8 beets Vegetable oil Preheat oven to 350°C. Trim and scrub beets. Toss beets in vegetable oil. Place in roasting pan and cover with tin foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and scrap peels off. Cut beets into quarters and serve hot.

New England Boiled Dinner

admin — 2009-03-19T15:04:22Z

New England Boiled Dinner Yield: Serves 8 to 10 5 pounds corned brisket of beef 6 peppercorns 1 onion stuck with 6 cloves 2 bay leaves 2 ribs of celery with leaves 2 large garlic cloves, bruised 2 tablespoons pickling spice Cold water to cover 1/2 pound salt pork 3 parsnips, cubed 6 carrots, scraped and cubed 2 cups cubed rutabaga, or 6 small white turnips, peeled 8 small white onions, peeled 6 medium potatoes, quartered 4-6 wedges green cabbages Chopped parsley Melted butter Place the corned beef in a kettle, add the peppercorns, one onion stuck with cloves, 2 bay leaves, 2 ribs of celery with leaves, 2 large garlic cloves, bruised, pickling spice and cold water, cover, bring to a boil and simmer 4-5 hours or until the meat is tender, skimming occasionally. Remove meat and keep in warm place. Add the salt pork (in one piece), parsnips, carrots, rutabaga or turnips, onions and potatoes. Cook 30 minutes. Add cabbage wedges during the last 10 or 15 minutes and cook just until tender. Place the meat on platter and surround with the vegetables. Blend parsley with melted butter and spoon over vegetables. Discard salt pork, but save stock for a pot-au-feu or other stew.