Breakfast for dinner, Irish recipes.......you asked for it!

So many people asked for my Irish soda bread recipe....so I decided to share what Liv calls "Irish breakfast for dinner." I often make this when it's my turn to cook. Warning: this is not low calorie.

MY MOTHER'S IRISH SODA BREAD RECIPE

4-4 1/2 cups of flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons of good Irish butter (regular butter is fine)
1 cup raisins
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425. Whisk together 4 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Using fingers, work butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, add raisins.

Make a well in center of flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir. Dust hands with a little flour, then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf. Work it just enough that the flour is just moistened, dough barely comes together. If you over knead bread, it will be chewy.

Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased cast iron skillet. (You can use a baking sheet if you don't have cast iron, but it won't taste quite as good....)

Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an X shape. (My mother called this making a cross to ask for Mary our Queen's blessing...but it's really to help heat get to center...)

Transfer to oven, bake until bottom sounds hollow when tapped (about 40 minutes...)

Remove pan; let it sit for 10 minutes. Remove to rack to cool.



BEST OATMEAL EVER

2 cups water
2 cups whole milk
1 cup of Irish steel cut oats
1 pinch of salt

TOPPING
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

In a medium saucepan, bring water and milk to a boil. Stir in oats and salt and cook a few minutes to thicken. Reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan bring apple juice to boil. Add raisins. Cook a few minutes to help them plump. In a mixing bowl, combine heavy cream, brown sugar and cinnamon. Whip until stiff. Keep chilled.

Remove oatmeal. Serve piping hot. Sprinkle plumped raisins on top of oatmeal and spoon a dollop of brown sugar cinnamon whipped cream. Serve with Irish soda bread.


PERFECT DRINK TO GO WITH THIS

3 ounces of blood orange juice
3 ounces of raspberry seltzer

So, don't ever say I can't cook if I want to. I can...but most of my recipes are hand me downs from my mother who insisted that all 4 of her daughters learn to cook at least one good breakfast, one good lunch, one good dinner, a perfect dessert and a company drink.

So...she somehow hammered it into me.

Enjoy!