I’m not a fan of corned beef, but I love Irish soda bread. It’s so easy to make and tastes delicious. I often wonder why I only make it in March, but the reason is probably the same as why I only make fudge at Christmas. I’d eat too much of it otherwise.

I usually make several small loaves to give away, but since I’m not seeing anyone at the moment, my hubby gets a large loaf all to himself. This makes him very happy.

Why not make some fresh bread for your family on St. Patrick’s Day? It takes less than an hour to make, and most of that is baking time. I end up getting flour everywhere, but that’s part of the fun. As breads go, this one couldn’t be easier.

There are dozens of recipes on the internet, but this is the one I use. It’s from Simply Recipes and is a basic Irish soda bread recipe.

Irish Soda Bread

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.
3. Using your (clean) fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then add in the currants or raisins.
4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir.
5. Dust hands with a little flour, then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in a little more flour. Do not over-knead!
6. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf. Note that the dough will be a little sticky, and quite shaggy (a little like a shortcake biscuit dough).
7. You want to work it just enough so that the flour is just moistened and the dough just barely comes together. Shaggy is good. If you over-knead, the bread will end up tough.
8. Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet (it will flatten out a bit in the pan or on the baking sheet).
9. Using a serrated knife, score the top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an “X” shape. The purpose of the scoring is to help heat get into the center of the dough while it cooks.
10. Transfer to oven and bake at 425°F until bread is golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 35-45 minutes (less if you are making smaller loaves). (If you use a cast iron pan, it may take a little longer as it takes longer for the pan to heat up than a baking sheet.)
11. Check for doneness also by inserting a long, thin skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, it’s done.
    1. Hint 1: If the top is getting too dark while baking, tent the bread with some aluminum foil.
    2. Hint 2: If you use a cast-iron skillet to cook the bread in the oven, be very careful when you take the pan out. It’s easy to forget that the handle is extremely hot. Be sure to put a potholder over it.
12. Remove pan or sheet from oven, let the bread sit in the pan or on the sheet for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool briefly.
13. Serve bread warm, at room temperature, or sliced and toasted. Best when eaten warm and just baked.

My husband likes to experiment with cooking a lot more than I do. I wrote in an earlier post how I followed a new recipe, and the results were blah. Well, when my husband cooks, usually without instructions, the results are sometimes better than others, but always bold.

When we went to Alaska last summer, he had pizza soup in a great restaurant outside of Denali National Park. I thought the soup was okay (the pizza was better), but he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

A couple nights ago, he tried to recreate it, and it was way better than the restaurant’s version. It was like eating pizza with a spoon. So tasty.

Deconstructed Pizza Soup probably won’t be the same the next time he makes it since there isn’t a recipe to follow. But as long as it is saucy, cheesy, and filled with pepperoni, I’m sure it will be just as good.

I don’t try recipes often, but occasionally I get a yen and hunt the internet for ideas. The funny thing about recipes is you can’t tell how good they are. Every blog brags about how good their version is, even if it isn’t. I found one that suited the ingredients I had, so I tried it.

Bad idea.

The recipe was for jicama fries. The blog said they were crispy and spicy. Well, they did have a pleasant spicy flavor because I used the same seasonings that I use on my California fries. However, the jicama gave off so much steam that the fries were never going to get crisp, even though I followed the directions and didn’t crowd them.

Raw jicama is crunchy and tangy. It’s excellent in salads and when dunked in ranch dip. Baking them did not improve their texture or flavor, so I won’t do that again. At least I won’t have to wonder if jicama fries are good. They’re not.

Do you use a lot of recipes from the internet? How do you pick a good one? Do you cook with jicama? I’d love a simple recipe that tastes good. For me, simple is essential.

I hadn’t had any for awhile, so I pulled out the recipe my Aunt Patti gave me over twenty-five years ago and made a tasty loaf.

Have you ever made beer bread? You can buy mixes, (hubby got one for Christmas that was good,) but the recipe only has five ingredients so it’s super simple. I heard one time that cheap beer works best so I use whatever we have in the house. If I was more adventurous, I would try a better beer, but I am afraid I won’t like the results. (Try different beers and let me know what you like.)

I don’t drink alcohol, but beer bread doesn’t taste like beer. It just tastes delicious. I have provided a recipe below, and I’m sure there are a lot more online.

Aunt Patti's Beer Bread

3 cups flour
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3 tsp. sugar
12 oz. beer of your choice

Preheat over at 350 degrees. 
Grease bread pan. Mix dry ingredients. 
Add beer and mix until doughy. Pour batter into pan. 
Cook 50 to 60 minutes.

One more hint, I think the bread is better the next day. It’s very moist when it first comes out of the oven. Of course, I couldn’t wait and enjoyed every bite.

It’s also Super Bowl Sunday, and if you care about one of the two teams, good luck.

I thought it would be fun to share some yummy recipes for Groundhog Day. This turned out to be a terrible idea. I’m not going to show you all the scary recipes I found, you can google Groundhog Day recipes if you want to be shocked.

There were horrible desserts that looked like they were made by angry three-year-olds. There were beef wellingtons and calzones in the shape of groundhogs. (Why?!) I even found a stew made with woodchuck (I suppose they thought calling it groundhog [they are the same animal] would be too disturbing.)

Other sites created Groundhog Day menus that involved pork dishes. Again, why? Are we celebrating Punxsutawney Phil, or are we eating him?

I did find two lovely recipes that I am willing to share. One is for a winter salad. After all, groundhogs are herbivores; shouldn’t we celebrate by eating what they would eat? The other is for a cute cookie that won’t scare small children (unlike others I found.)

Have a lovely Groundhog Day. It doesn’t really matter whether Phil sees his shadow or not. The fun is in the tradition. Why not add some delicious recipes? I’m sure all the groundhogs out there would appreciate it.

I feel I’ve talked about Miracle on 34th Street a lot this season, so I won’t mention it again (but seriously, only watch the original, black and white version.) Instead, I’ll expand this idea. Pick your favorite Christmas movie and have a movie night with the family.

Perhaps you like White Christmas or It’s a Wonderful Life. I know a lot of people who love watching Elf. The movie doesn’t matter. What matters is hanging out with the family. In fact, why only have only one.

Back when I wrote this idea, I suggested popcorn, but enjoy whatever treat your family likes. Perhaps you could try a new recipe, like reindeer snacks. Make it earlier in the day with the kids, and then enjoy it with your movie.

There are dozens of reindeer snack recipes online. I’ve included two here. A savory one from Taste of Home and a sweet one from Dinner at the Zoo. I like my reindeer snacks sweet, and this one looks delicious.

You can also make your own reindeer snack recipe using ingredients that each family member likes. Whatever you choose to eat and watch, snacks and movies are the perfect combination.

If you have a favorite snack recipe, I’d love to try it out. You can also tell me about your favorite Christmas movie. Maybe I haven’t seen it yet.

Apparently, people like stuffing. Some people like cornbread stuffing, which I’ve never had, and others like a more traditional stuffing.

I do not eat stuffing but I like fixing it. My recipe came from my grandmother, and I feel close to her when I make it. It’s a very traditional dressing, and everyone gobbles it up.

If you are looking for a stuffing recipe, feel free to try out mine. A printable PDF version can be found here or you can read it below. Whatever stuffing you use, I hope your Thanksgiving is delicious.

Ice Family Stuffing

This is the stuffing that my grandmother (Edith Ice) made, and she taught my mom. It’s classic, and when I serve this at Thanksgiving, people devour it.

The recipe is not exact because you can’t screw it up. Use whatever bread you like (we use basic white or wheat.) Cut the onions and celery as large or small as you want. Make it to your taste, and it will become your family stuffing.

One last hint: use the biggest bowl you have because the bread likes to escape when stirring.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf white bread
• 1 onion
• 2 eggs
• 3 stalks of celery
• Innards from the turkey
• ½ cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 tsp. sage
• Salt and pepper (a pinch)

Directions:

1. Put the innards in a small saucepan. Cover with water and simmer.
2. Chop up the onion and celery.
3. Put the onion, celery, butter, sage, and salt and pepper in a second saucepan. Add water to cover and simmer twenty minutes.
4. In a large bowl, tear up the loaf of bread into small pieces.
5. Add 2 eggs to the bread.
6. Pour the onion mixture over the bread and stir.
7. Add enough of the innards water for the bread to be moist.
8. Cook for thirty minutes at 350° in an ovenproof dish, or stuff the turkey.
9. Add pepper to taste (more is better.)