Cooking in KC: Kiss Me, I'm Irish

Fun fact: I have Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and English ancestry. Very conflicted, right? There are the McGraws (Irish), the McCaskeys (Scottish), the Owens (Welsh), and the Halseys (English). Now, I haven't done extensive research into any of these family lines—only the Scottish arm of the family has been traced. But growing up, I was always very adamant about my Irish ancestry because I loved St. Patrick’s Day so much. I never really did much to celebrate it; it just seemed so mythological and ancient--not the everyday (fun fact #2: I wanted to be a paleontologist/archeologist as a kid, so this obsession with old things was not new).

So this year in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’m doing two things. First, I actually looked up a Wikipedia list of famous Irish people, and it was unending. Here are a few of my favorites:

Liam Neeson
Cillian Murphy
James Joyce
Oscar Wilde
C.S. Lewis
WB Yeats
And honorary Irishman, Norman Reedus.

I actually don't watch "The Walking Dead." More of a Boondocks Saints fan myself.

Second, I’m revisiting my two favorite Irish foods: soda bread and Jameson.

Irish Soda Bread

Ignore all those soda bread recipes that are dressed up with fruit, nuts, and other mix-ins. True Irish fare is simple. And apparently, there is a Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread. They are very firm about this point: “Flour, Salt, Baking Soda, Buttermilk. Anything else added makes it a ‘Tea Cake!’”

Here’s their recipe. It took me about 5 minutes to mix it all up and throw it in a pot.

I use my fancy measuring cups for special occasions.

I love my dutch oven!

The original recipe suggests using two cake pans to simulate the "bastible pot"--I have no idea what that is--but since I have a dutch oven now, I went that route. I have used cake pans in the past though, and they work just fine.

Ta-da!

This will make some great sandwiches or French toast.

Jameson & Ginger

We call this drink a whiskey ginger at my house, but today it’s strictly Jameson. This is one of my favorite mixed drinks year-round, and as soon as you try it, it’s going to be your usual too.

The theme today is green.

Start with some ice in your highball glass. Add the Jameson (1-2 oz. depending on your taste). Top off with ginger ale. Squeeze a slice of lime in it and use as garnish.