Irish Soda Bread

This past weekend I celebrated my Irish heritage and made my friends celebrate with me. The hit of the party was this fantastic bread that I found at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grandma-mcandrews-irish-soda-bread/Detail.aspx.

I made it pretty much exactly as the recipe said. Don't leave out the raisins, they are a must! They add to the moisture and flavor. This recipe makes one good-sized loaf.



Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup corn oil
1 cup raisins

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.
2.In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and corn oil. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Add the raisins, and stir a few times, just until the ingredients come together into a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and with floured hands shape dough into a ball. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet, and cut a large cross in the top with a sharp knife.
3.Place the bread on a middle rack of the preheated oven, and bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.

This pulled together in 10 minutes and was honestly sooo good. Luickly I made two loaves as everyone had their fill and then asked to take some home. In the end I had no leftovers. :)

Sidenote: If you want to make a nice authentic Irish meal, I served this bread with a thick, hearty country stew using cabbage, parsnips, carrots, onions, leeks and bacon, of course. On the side I also served imported Irish cheddar, which was a divine addition!

The rest of the feast:

Coconut Cream Cake

I had the responsibility to make the dessert for Christmas dinner. I was concerned with finding a great dessert that didn't require a vast amount of time. I was lucky to find this great recipe. The cake looked much fancier than it actually was, plus it tasted great!



1 (16 ounce) package white cake mix
1 (14 ounce) can cream of coconut
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (10 ounce) package flaked coconut

Prepare cake according to package directions. Bake in two 9in round pans. Cool completely.In a small bowl combine cream of coconut and condensed milk.
Place bottom layer of cake on plate. Poke holes in cake with a straw. Pour milk mixture over cake. Place 2nd tier on top of 1st tier and repeat. Spread with whipped topping. Sprinkle coconut over cake. Decorate as desired. Serve chilled.

I made this cake again last night for company and served it with fresh berries and it was even more amazing!

Frosted Cranberries

As I was looking for a pretty addition to our food table for the Ugly Sweater Party I was hosting, I came across this recipe. I am glad I decided to make it as it was a gorgeous centerpiece and fun concept. It is an incredibly simple recipe but with great results, causing the cranberries to be tart on the inside but sweet on the outside. It was a total success.



2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons pasteurized egg white or corn syrup
1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries
1 cup white sugar

In a medium bowl, stir together the water and egg white until blended but not whipped. Coat cranberries with this mixture. Spread the sugar out on a baking sheet, and roll the cranberries in it until they are coated. Dry at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Use as garnishes for desserts, or eat them plain.

I found that these were actually better the next day. Also, don't store them in ziplock bags as they will go soggy and sticky.