DFW Gaelic League

When Dad and I were in Ireland back in '94 we stayed at a B&B. The lady that ran the place, during breakfast, listened to us rant about "British Food" that we had been eating the previous week as we toured England. She laughed as we commented on how good the meal was and quipped, "This is Ireland, we know how to cook on this island."

When my Dad died in 2003, the "family cookbook" passed to me. So I've made some updates to some of the recipes and will post the pertinent ones here that have ties to Ireland.

These are the items that don't really fit into any of the other topics.

Blas Meala

- 2 cups of Orange Juice (Sú Oraiste)
- 2 tbsp clover honey (meala)
- heavy whipping cream or half-and-half
- sprinkle of Oats (uncooked oatmeal)

1. In a small pot, heat the orange juice to hot but NOT boiling
2. Once hot, pour in the honey, stir well
3. Pour the OJ into your serving cups, leaving a half to 3/4 inch or so from the top of the rim
4. Take a tablespoon and turn it upside down so that the spoon just touches the surface of the OJ
5. Gently pour the cream so that it hits the back of the spoon first and gently flows on top of the OJ creating a "lid" of heavy cream
6. Sprinkle the oats on top for pretty

Eat the rest of your breakfast, the Blas Meala will stay warm through the entire meal due to the heavy cream lid.

Boxty on the griddle,
Boxty in the pan,
If you can't make boxty,
You'll never get a man.

Now I never learned the difference between griddle boxty and pan boxty. But I have 2 recipes so I imagine one of these is one or the other.

Bacstai #1

- 1 pound potatoes
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup milk (you might need more)
- salt (to taste)
- butter

1. peel the potatoes and grate them or toss them in a blender until fine
2. add flour, salt, and milk
3. mix until well mixed and a little runny (like pancake batter, add more milk if it's too thick)
4. drop a bit of it onto an oiled/buttered/greased frying pan and cook about five minutes a side (like a pancake)
5. serve it like that for breakfast or fill it with some kind of filling like a French crepe for other meals

Bacstai #2

- Some poundage of potatoes
- the same poundage as the potatoes in leftover Champ or Colcannon (or just plain mashed potatos if you don't have any)
- some flour (about a cup per pound)
- some milk (about 1/4 cup or 6 tablespoons

1. Wash your potatoes
2. Some folks peel them, I don't - just scrub them really good to get all the dirt and any growth off - the skin's got good stuff in it!
3. toss your potatoes in a food processor with a grater attachment, if you're into traditionalism - grate them by hand
4. squeeze your potato gratings and get all the water and juice out that you can (dryer the better)
5. If you're going for traditional, skip the milk and save the potato juice! Wait until the starch separates from the water, pour out the water on top and use the starch that remains how the milk is used here. Personally, I like the creamy texture the milk adds.
6. Mix the milk, salt, mashed potatoes and grated potatoes together.
7. Mix in flour until you get a consistency you like (like very thick pancake batter)
8. Cook them up like a pancake (in a frying pan or on a griddle with butter) and serve hot

Pretty hard to find Irish cheese here in the states so there's this list...

Cáis / Cheese
- Ardrahan = Swiss Appenzeller
- Blarney = Gouda
- Boilíe = Mozzerella balls with olive oil and garlic
- Cashel Blue = any other blue (the creamier and less salty the better) and mix it with some Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, or Stilton to cut the salt
- Carrigaline = Provalone
- Cheddar = Sharp Cheddar
- Coleeney = Camembert
- Desmond = Parmesan
- Dublin = Mix Mild Cheddar and Parmesan cheese half & half
- Milleens = Ricotta