I'm a wee bit of Irish I am...!
I love St. Patrick's Day. Everyone is Irish that day and it's filled with fun, laughter, beer, everything green, and Irish food!
My Grandmother on my Dad's side was half Irish and half American Indian. My Great Grandmother Addie McClary migrated with her family from Ireland to Oklahoma during the Cherokee Land Strip run. Such great history there. I wish that my Grandmother had more Irish recipes from her mom and aunts. But I've still got a great collection of delicious treats for you to make.
I think I should explore that side of the family and their food a little more. Don't you? I'll put it on my ever growing 'to do' list to make some wonderful Irish dishes. Yep, that's what I'm gonna do.
We won't be here to celebrate this year but I wanted to leave you with some inspiration for celebrating with your own Irish feast.
- St. Patrick's Day Cheddar Biscuits - Oh my these biscuits are good. Hot and bursting with flavor and cute shamrocks on top.
- Pioneer Spotted Dog - One of my favorite breads. We like to have it for breakfast with hot tea.
- Chocolate Bailey's Milkshake - A 'grown up' milkshake that will have you singing "Oh Danny boy"!
- Potato Cakes - One these are one of my favorite items to make with left over mashed potatoes. I just love the flavor of these and could eat the whole batch myself!
- Irish Stew - This will be warming your soul. Serve it with the Cheddar Biscuits above or the Pioneer Spotted Dog and you will have a meal to remember.
Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day!
Today's recipe is an ode to my Mom with a little nod to one of me.
Mom just loved waffles with pecans. To tell you the truth I think she just love pecans in anything! They are my favorite nut by far and we use them in baking all the time. Even though my mom's been gone a few years now I still celebrate the food that she loved by making dishes in her honor.
So today, in honor of my Mom's pecan love, I decided to make pecan pancakes. A nice variation on her pecan waffles. But these aren't just any old pancakes. I had to put a little spin on it with an ingredient that I love too....chocolate. YUM! I love chocolate, especially when it is warm. Oh for the gooey love of warm chocolate. They go perfect with the pecans!
They are easy to put together using my great Aunt Grace's Farmstyle Buttermilk Pancakes with a few added touches. Create a fudge sauce to go on top and you are all ready for a wonderful breakfast.
What's better than hot, golden pancakes? Not much!
Enjoy!
Pecan Pancakes with a Chocolate Fudge Sauce
makes: 2-3 servings
1 cup all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg
1/4 chopped pecans
Fudge Sauce:
1 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup jarred fudge sauce
Make the Sauce: To a medium saucepan add the syrup and fudge sauce. Whisk together to combine. Heat over a low heat until warm. Keep warm.
For the Pancakes:
In a medium bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine. Make a well in the middle and add the oil.
In another bowl whisk together buttermilk and egg.
Add to dry ingredients and mix together until just moistened. Fold in the chopped pecans. Batter will be lumpy.
In a pre-heated skillet, (add cooking spray if necessary) ladle batter onto skillet for each pancake. Cook until golden brown and holes begin to appear on top. Turn on the second side and cook until golden brown.
I'm a pretty good planner for our weekly meals (or at least I thought I was...) and usually do my shopping once a week for fresh foods like milk, bread, fruits and vegetables.
Well this week I either miscalculated or we over ate because I woke up on Saturday morning and we didn't have any bread, only a small amount of milk, no fruit or even cereal! Not very many ingredients to enjoy breakfast, and I do love my weekend breakfasts.
But luckily Saturday was a busy day and we just skipped breakfast (cause we had to...) and went about our business. I intended to stop by the store but things didn't work out and I ran out of time. Having a stocked pantry and a freezer helped me with lunch and dinner, so no worries there.
Then comes Sunday morning...still no bread, fruit, or cereal, and a small amount of milk. I decided to take matters in my own hands and make my mom's homemade biscuits. Biscuits were a staple growing up and they are the perfect substitute for a loaf of bread. Great for breakfast, or put some ham on it and you have a wonderful sandwich, and you can serve with dinner as a roll. What's better?
Mom's Simple Southern Biscuit recipe is soooo easy. You only need 3 ingredients and they make light and fluffy biscuits that are to die for! Can't you just imagine sinking your teeth into a hot, fluffy biscuit with butter or jam on it? My mouth is watering now....
So the bread dilemma is solved, and I feel lazy. Wonder if I can go another day or two without going to the store! (that will be a test!)
Enjoy!
Simple Southern Biscuits
Source: Imogene Center's recipe box
Makes: 15 Biscuits
½ cup cold butter, cubed (1 stick)
2 cups self-rising flour
¾ cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse peas sized crumbles. Stir in buttermilk just until moistened.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3-4 times. Pat or lightly roll to ¾-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2 ½-in. biscuit cutter.
Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake about 10-11 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
