St. Patrick's Day recipe favorites

St. Patrick's Day is a celebration enjoyed by Irish and Irish wanna-be's from coast to coast. At the core of the March 17 festivities is the satisfying, easy-to-prepare fare. These are dishes with an inviting, simple quality that make them irresistible.

Here's the lowdown on everything from slow-cooked corned beef brisket to bacon-fried farls to lizard-green martinis - and a little bit about the people who shared their recipes with us.

Irish soda bread

Linda Guyot shared her recipe for soda bead, an Irish breakfast or teatime treat that has a delectable, distinctive taste quite unlike yeast breads. It's soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Most often the dough is patted into free-form rounded loaves, but Guyot's recipe bakes the bread in a loaf pan.

"While touring the area of the Ring of Kerry (in Ireland) several years ago, we stopped at the wonderful little Avoca Café and Boutique Shop," said Guyot of Fountain Valley, Calif. "The soda bread was spectacular and I was able to get the recipe. It is so easy, with only five ingredients."

The warm bread slices usually are topped with butter, but they are delicious served as the base for open-faced appetizers with a topping of smoked salmon and drained capers.

Poundies

Timothy Deshler fondly remembers the mashed-potato treat he enjoyed as a child, a dish called poundies or Irish champ.

"This is the dish that my mother fed to us five kids when we were growing up," said Deshler, of Santa Ana, Calif. "She learned it from her grandmother, who came from County Roscommon in Ireland."

Essentially, poundies are individual mounds of mashed potatoes augmented with chopped green onions. A well is made in the center of each potato mound and is filled with melted butter. "Eat with a spoon from the outside, dipping each spoonful into the well of melted butter.

Fork-tender corned beef

Gail Giberson is a big corned beef fan. She says she prepares it on a regular basis throughout the year, adding that it's easy to make and tastes really good.

"I can't claim it as an Irish tradition, even though my daughter married a Bailey and they live next door," said Gilberson of Orange, Calif. "We're not big on cooked cabbage, so we don't fall into that category, either … ."

Giberson uses a large slow cooker to cook the corned beef. She adds 4 cups of water, 3 to 4 peeled large russet potatoes (cut into large chunks - thirds or halves) and lots of bagged baby carrots (about two generous handfuls). Then she adds 1 large corned beef brisket (trimmed of excess fat if needed). She advises cooking more meat than you think you may need because leftovers are so tasty.

"I usually rinse the briskets (before they are added) and so some of the spices rub off. If the briskets come with extra packets of spices, I save it to add it back in," she writes.

"Finally I add the spices by putting them in a tea infuser or tie them up in cheesecloth. To add a special touch, add a healthy tablespoon of Penzeys Corned Beef Spices to the packet (spice blend is sold online at www.penzeys.com/ cgi-bin/penzeys/shophome.html) … I turn the slow cooker to high setting and let it cook (covered with the lid) all day (about 6 to 8 hours)."

Maureen Clark describes herself as an "Irish lassie." She also likes to cook her corned beef in the slow cooker. First she slathers it with Dijon mustard and puts it in the cooker skin-side up. She adds enough water to cover, then adds 8 unpeeled baby red potatoes and 4 peeled carrots. The covered crock cooks for 4 hours on high setting. Then she adds 1 head of cabbage (cut into quarters) and cooks the whole shebang on the low setting for 4 more hours.

"It comes out so tender, you won't need a knife to cut it," said Clark of of Phillips Ranch, Calif.

Green beer alternative

"I have a recipe for a St. Pat's Day alternative to green beer," said Linda Reilly about the cocktail she created called a Greentini.

"The original recipe was mentioned in a Midori ad in a magazine. The ad had the ingredients listed but not the measurements. I played around with the ingredients and created the drink; I changed plain vodka to vanilla vodka."

Midori is a green, melon-based liqueur that originated in Japan and was introduced to the U.S. market in 1978.

"The Greentini is very smooth and has a melon-like tropical taste - it's a light, delicious drink for spring and Easter (as well as St. Patrick's Day)," said Clark of Cypress, Calif. "I bought some inexpensive green martini glasses, but clear glass would look great so you could really see the color of the drink. Guests have really liked these and have taken the recipe to make them at home."

Irish-italian farls

"I grew up in a very old-country Italian home - (with) homemade pasta, the 'sauce' that cooked all day and the large bottles of Fortissimo wine," said Theresa A. Coughlin of Yorba Linda, Calif.

"All I cooked was Italian! When I met my future husband I learned about 'Irish pride' - potatoes, gravies, and Harp Beer. We honeymooned in Europe and visited Ireland. We fell in love with the people and their culture. I decided that only one day a year I would sacrifice my Italian ways and give the Irish their due.

"My three sisters and I married four Irish men and we learned how to make the corned beef and cabbage. My children and lots of nieces and nephews weren't always thrilled with the tastes of the day but they always loved my potato farls and home-cooked beets."

Coughlin says her potato farls can be eaten with your hands. She likes to fry these velvety mashed-potato wedges in butter or bacon fat, and says the lovely aroma helps to get the "awful smell of cooked cabbage out of the house." She adds that she likes use potato farls instead of bread to make "mini corned beef sandwiches."

Farm fare

Susan Flannery and her family took a trip to Ireland several years ago. They adored the Irish scones they sampled at Rathbaun Farm in County Galway.

"The farm had been owned by the same family for generations and the original thatched-roof farmhouse, several hundred years old, was still in use," said Flannery, of Costa Mesa, Calif.

"While our group was on a tour of the farm, the lady of the house was preparing her traditional Irish scones. As we walked into the kitchen the smell of homemade scones baking was mouth-watering! We all sat down for tea and scones and they were the best I have ever had. These scones are moist and flavorful and they were served to us at the farm with butter, clotted cream and preserves.

"While we were eating these wonderful scones we were given a demonstration on how to make them and given a copy of the recipe, which I am sharing here."

King Colcannon

Kathleen King of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., was immersed in her mother's Italian cuisine while growing up in New York. It wasn't until later in life that she explored the cuisine of her father's Irish heritage.

"In my early 20s, I discovered that a great deal of our American comfort foods have some Irish roots, my particular favorite being Colcannon."

She says the delectable dish combines mashed potatoes, bacon, butter, cream and cabbage and pairs well with corned beef, as well as meatloaf, pot roast and fried chicken.

"Go the extra mile if you can and look in your local grocer for real Irish butter. Most have it in the gourmet food section and it adds a wonderfully rich flavor to the dish."

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RECIPES

GUYOT'S IRISH SODA BREAD

Yield: 1 loaf, about 12 slices

For greasing pan: butter or margarine

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 level teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

14 ounces (1-3/4 cups) buttermilk

Generously grease a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan with butter or margarine. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 450 degrees.

In large bowl, mix all ingredients except buttermilk. Gradually add buttermilk, mixing constantly, to produce moist dough.

Place in prepared pan and bake 30 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool.

Source: Linda Guyot

FLANNERY/RATHBAUN'S SCONES

Yield: about 10 (quantity depends on the size of the cutter)

Butter or nonstick spray for greasing baking sheet

8 ounces (1-1/2 cups) self-rising flour

1 ounce (2 tablespoons) sugar

2 ounces (1/2 stick) butter, softened

1 egg, lightly beaten

5 tablespoons buttermilk

1/4 cup raisins or currants

Grease baking sheet with butter or spray with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl, mix dry ingredients together and blend in the butter with fingertips as if making a pie crust. Make a well and add egg and buttermilk. Blend until ingredients are wet. Add raisins or currants. On a lightly floured, dry work surface, gently knead for about 30 seconds.

Using hands, flatten out dough to about 1/2-inch thick. Using a round cutter, cut out rounds and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake in middle of preheated oven about 15 to 20 minutes, or just until scones are starting to brown a bit.

Nutritional information (per serving): calories 205 (27 percent from fat), protein 5.8 g, carbohydrates 35.1 g, fat 6.5 g (saturated 3.5 g), cholesterol 52 mg, sodium 170 mg, fiber 1.1 g

Source: Susan Flannery

THERESA'S POTATO FARLS

Yield: 8

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Pinch of salt

2 cups mashed potatoes

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface

For frying: rendered bacon fat or butter

In medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons melted butter, salt and mashed potatoes. Work in

flour quickly but thoroughly and knead lightly.

Divide in two and roll out each half on floured board to form a circle about the size of a large dinner plate. Cut into quarters and cook for about 3 minutes on each side in a heavy frying pan in a little bacon fat or butter on medium-high heat.

Nutritional information (per serving): calories 207 (50 percent from fat), protein 4.7 g, carbohydrates 20.8 g, fat 12.6 g (saturated 2.3 g), cholesterol 73 mg, sodium 386 mg, fiber 2.1 g

Source: Theresa Coughlin and "A Little Irish Cookbook" by John Murphy

THERESA'S BEETS

Yield: 6 servings

1 generous bunch of large fresh beets, washed

5 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, finely sliced

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Remove leafy tops from beets, leaving 2 inches of stem attached. Place beets in boiling water to cover. Cover pan and boil until tender, about 35 minutes. Drain and cool.

Rub off skin of beets under cold running water. Cut off stems and slice.

Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened. Stir in remaining ingredients. Add beets and gently toss; cook until beets are heated.

Nutritional information (per serving): calories 175 (50 percent from fat), protein 9.2 g, carbohydrates 12.0 g, fat 9.7 g (saturated 4.5 g), cholesterol 75 mg, sodium 301 mg, fiber 3.8 g

Source: Theresa Coughlin

GREENTINI

Yield: 1

4 tablespoons (double shot) Midori

4 tablespoons (double shot) Vanilla Absolut vodka

1 tablespoon (1/2 shot) Grand Marnier

Small squeeze fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup (2 double shots) pineapple juice

Fill large cocktail shaker with ice. Add ingredients. Shake vigorously and strain into martini glasses. Enjoy!

Source: Linda Reilly

KING COLCANNON

Yield: 3 to 4 servings

3 large (about 2 pounds) russet potatoes

4-5 strips bacon

1/4 pound (1 stick) butter, divided use

1/2 cup to 1 cup half-and-half

Small head green cabbage, cored, chopped

3 green onions, trimmed, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

Peel and quarter potatoes. Place in saucepan and cover by 2 inches with water. Bring to boil

on high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and mash with half of butter and enough half-and-half to reach a creamy consistency. Set aside.

Cook bacon in large, deep skillet until almost crisp (you don't want it crunchy). Drain on paper towels and chop; set aside. Discard grease in pan and add remaining butter to pan. Add cabbage and cook on low heat until soft and tender. Add chopped green onions, bacon and mashed potatoes. Cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper as needed (remember that the bacon is salty). Serve with your favorite dish and have a great Irish meal!

Nutritional information (per serving): calories 350 (71 percent from fat), protein 5.5 g, carbohydrates 20.3 g, fat 27.6 g (saturated 6.0 g), cholesterol 89 mg, sodium 897 mg, fiber 2.2 g

Source: Kathleen King