Happy St. Patrick's Day!

is over. I perched on the edge of my sofa for the final hour, figuratively biting my nails while myself and Ms eatdrinklive frantically texted each other our predictions of who would win. We were both wrong. I wanted Hannah to win because she made the most incredible looking cakes. But I really thought it would be nouvelle cuisine Ben. Stephen was the winner, Stephen who cried lots and who si so fabulously flamboyant. I forsee a TV chef career ahead for him. Ben cried buckets, not from relief, but from total disappointement. Poor him.

I nosed around

Dublin

yesterday for some very particular kitchen equipment for a later post. On my search I found a shamrock-shaped cookie cutter, all my questions answered on what to post for Paddy’s day were solved. Fellow foodies and I wondered what exactly represents

Ireland

in the food stakes on this, our national day of celebration. Is it Irish stew? Coddle? Colcannon and crubeens? Bacon and cabbage? After deliberation I decided out national dish for St. Patrick’s day is, the doner kebab. Let’s be honest, Paddy’s day never revolved around food. It was always about getting to the pub first and staying there for as long as possible. On this day McDonald’s are out the door with their green milkshakes while plastered yoofs and “adults” steady themselves on street corners and reconstituted lamb and chilli sauce dribbles all over their trainers. I’m not being a food snob here, my own filthy food of choice is the doner kebab and it’s something I sometimes blame for my dodgy tummy after a night out.

I’m not bitter. My

St.

Patrick’s will be spent with the kids crushed against a barrier in

O’Connell St

watching the parade. No doubt child No.2 will want to go to the toilet 20 times and I’ll end up being the hissing Mammy, losing our place and going off to get our green milkshakes with a face on. I won’t be anywhere near a pub and will spend the day envying my single, child-free friends.

The shamrock cutter got a baptism of fire when I got home. I was planning on making innocuous green iced cookies which I figured was enough effort on a Thursday. Number 2 insisted we make three types of sugary icing and do tricolours. What can I say, he was right. The icing is made from icing sugar, about half an cup each, divided into three bowls and mixed carefully with water and food colour until you have a pouring cream-like consistency. This is the stuff we made when I was a kid, it goes nice and crispy when set. This is the kind of thing to do with your kids that just makes you feel good. Number two cut out all the cookies while getting covered in flour. We all iced them together, doing one colour each, awwww!

The cookie recipe is from Nigella’s Feast and makes about 30 cookies

You will need

90g softened butter                              

100g caster sugar

1 large egg

½  tsp vanilla extract

200g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ salt (leave this out if you use salted butter)

Preheat Oven to 180°/ Gas 4

Line two baking sheets with baking parchment

1. Cream the butter and sugar together till light and fluffy.

2. And add the egg and vanilla, then the dry ingredients.

3. Pull the dough together and form into a ball. Press down lightly and wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for one hour

4. Sprinkle a large surface with flour and roll out the dough to about ½ cm thick. Roll using a small amount of flour as you go to stop anything sticking. Dip the cutter in flour and press into the dough. Lay the dough onto the baking sheets and bake for 8-12 minutes until the outsides are just tinged with gold. Repeat the dough rolling until everything is used up. The cookies will cool quickly so you can make the icing straight away.

Wing it with the tri-colours. We did the white stripe first and lots if them were messy. Most of the cookies went to school this morning for friends and teachers and even the lollipop ladies.

Enjoy your drunk day!!!!

Comments

[linda coate]

Hi Val
Sorry this is not a post - met you friday - just wanted to say what a great site - congratulations - will be a regular from now on!
Linda
(doctor you photographed in Tallaght friday)

[Val]

Hi Jen
Yes Ben was a bit serious alright. And all that crying was just too much! Stephen's a dote though

[Jen]

Wanted Hannah to win too, but at the end thought Steven would get it. Thought Ben was too intense.