Daring Kitchen

Remember a post or two ago how I was telling you that I joined a couple of blogging groups? Remember how I said I'd be posting another one of those blogging challenges soon? Well here it is! Apologies to everyone reading. I  honestly had no intention of having two posts with challenge recipes in a row. Today was tax day which means this past week has been nothing short of crazy. All back to normal thought his weekend.

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club. I went with the latter of the two recipes because it was a much quicker and simpler method. If I make it again, I'll certainly try the first one since it involves making your own stock.

 
I'm going to be completely frank with you. I was extremely hesitant to make this. I kept putting it off and waited to make it until the night before I was supposed to post it. It wasn't because I was afraid of my very first Daring Cooks challenge, oh no. It's because I have this serious obsession with corn being mixed into things. I used to never be this way, but now, just the thought of corn being mixed with stuff makes me shudder. Corn and I used to be the best of friends. Now it's all I can do to even eat it (sorry, mom, I'm not sure where it came from or when, I just don't like corn anymore). Anyway, I'm glad I did make the stew though. Even though I wasn't crazy about it, hubby went back for not one but two more bowls of the stuff. Said something like, "This is my ratatouille, takes me back to my childhood." He started to get up for a fourth bowl, but then I mentioned wanting ice cream and he backed away from the stock pot and grabbed the keys. Needless to say, he's pretty excited about having all of the leftovers to himself, and I'm pretty excited that something I wasn't too happy to make was such a big hit. Enjoy!

Brunswick Stew
Recipe by Virginia Ruritan Club

2 ½ lb TOTAL diced stewed chicken, turkey, and ham, with broth - yes, all three meats (we were told that we could make any changes such as vegetables we didn't like or switching out meats if we couldn't eat them; all I did was halved the recipe)

3 medium diced potatoes
2 medium ripe crushed tomatoes
2 medium diced onions
3 cups/ 689.76 grams / 24.228oz frozen corn
1 ½ cups / 344.88 grams / 12.114oz frozen lima beans (I also did not use the lima beans because neither of us would touch them)
4-5 strips crumbled bacon
½ stick / 4 tablespoons / ¼ cup / 56.94 grams / 2oz of butter
1 Tablespoon / 14.235 grams / .5 oz sugar
1 Tablespoon / 14.235 grams / .5 oz ‘Poultry Seasoning’
Dash of red pepper
2 diced carrots (optional)
Tomato juice

1. In large stock pot or Dutch Oven, mix all ingredients, heat until bubbly and hot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add tomato juice as desired. Cook until all vegetables are tender. Serve hot.

Gold at the End of the Rainbow

I'm a day early for St. Patrick's Day, but that's because we had Irish food last night and will be revisiting the cuisine of the Emerald Isle tomorrow night. I wanted to share this dish with you while I'm taking a break from prepping for tomorrow night's feast (hey, I told you the Irish blood lives strong in me). I've been baking a whiskey cake and getting things ready for tomorrow. My mom and college roommate will be joining the hubby and I for a feast fit for Brian Boru.

Dublin Coddle is one of those dishes that if you've never heard of it before, you're going to scratch your head trying to figure out the name. One of my coworkers asked what I was eating at lunch today, and when I told her she just stared at me like I was speaking Gaelic (and for all I know, coddle could be Gaelic). It's made with bangers and rashers, or suasage and bacon (but more like ham here in America) and also potatoes, onions, and sometimes parsely. I found the recipe in two of my Irish cookbooks and just went with the slightly simpler recipe (slicing instead of dicing, plus the other called for an apple which I didn't have), but I think the other cookbook is the more traditional version.

I wish I could have gotten better quality sausages, but what I had was still pretty good. I completely forgot the parsley and should have used more salt. This was really good though and even better the next day, especially with all my coworkers salivating and staring greedily at my lunch. On another note, these are the first pictures on my new camera. Still not the greatest pictures, but I am trying and hopefully after my class this summer it'll be much better.

Dublin Coddle
Recipe by Irish Food & Cooking

8 1/3-inch thick ham or dry-cured bacon slices (we had just some thick-cut deli ham that tasted excellent)
8 best-quality lean pork sausages
4 large onions, thinly sliced
2 lb potatoes, peeled and sliced (you know mine weren't peeled)
6 Tbl chopped parsley
Salt and ground black pepper

1. Cut the ham or bacon into large chunks and cook with the sausages in 5 cups of boiling water for 5 minutes (I just used enough water to cover the meat in a large stock pot). Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.
2. Put the meat into a large stock pot with the onions, potatoes, and parsley. Season and add just enough fo the cooking liquid to cover. Cover with a tight-fitting lid; lay a piece of buttered foil or baking parchment on top before putting on the lid (I used all of the liquid plus a little, and I only used 3 small onions so you may need more if you follow this exactly).
3. Simmer gently over a low heat for about 1 hour, or until liquid is reduced by half and all the ingredients are cooked but not mushy. Serve hot with the vegetables on top.