Bacon & Potato Cakes

Let me just start this off by saying I love potatoes. Yup. Loooove them. I like them baked, boiled, scalloped, fried, steamed, creamed…you get the picture. So I’m always up for any recipe that calls for spuds. These Bacon & Potato Cakes are wonderful for so many reasons. Primarily because they are yum, yum, yummy!

I mean what is not to like here…you’ve got potatoes and bacon. And the bacon is not only inside but also perched on top. Get. OUT!

But this recipe also rocks because you can use left over mashed potatoes in it. Now let me clarify – there are rarely any “leftover” mashed potatoes in my house. Nope. Gobbled right up. But I am thinking of you. You might actually have a bowl of mashed potato left uneaten. In which case this is a great recipe for making good use of them.

Now I have shared a couple similar recipes in the past. Like the one for these scrumptious Potato Farls. I know…these look very similar to today’s featured dish. The difference is that these have flour mixed in with the mashed potato. They have a much more cake or bread like texture.And I did these Colcannon Cheddar Skillet Cakes. They also looks similar to todays treat, however you need leftover Colcannon, which consists of mashed potatoes, cabbage, leeks and bacon, to make these up.

 

So today’s recipe for Potato & Bacon Cakes is pretty pared down to simple ingredients you are likely to have in the house, potatoes, bacon, oats…you get it.

 

And since spuds are so versatile you can serve these Bacon & Potato Cakes for breakfast along with some eggs or as a side dish in the evening. Or really as a meal all on their own. They got it all…the protein…the starch…throw in a little side salad and the veg is covered as well!

They are also fairly portable assuming their not burn your fingers off hot straight out of the ole frying pan. So on St. Patrick’s Day, you can just grab one up and dash out the door if you’re late getting out to the parade. (Sadly, I wrote this before all the parades were cancelled. Thanks Covid -19. You might just have to do a mini parade with just your family marching around the living room this year.) This snack will definitely help to fortify you for all the pints that will be headed your way.

• Servings: 4 - 6
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe slightly adapted from: The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 5 starchy potatoes, such as russets or yukon gold, peeled and cut into even peices
• 8 bacon strips
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoon snipped chives
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• all purpose flour for dusting
• oil for frying

Directions: 

Add the potatoes to a large saucepan of salted boiling water, cover, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes until tender. Drain well and allow to cool.

While potatoes are cooking, fry bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Set aside four of the strips. Chop the remaining bacon.

Rice the potatoes into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix in the butter, sea salt and pepper until creamy. Stir in the chopped bacon, chives, oats and beaten egg. If you already have some leftover mashed potatoes, stir in the chopped bacon, chives oats and a beaten egg into approximately 3 cups of the leftovers.

Dust a dinner plate with flour. With a 1/4 cup scoop, scoop out portions of the potato mixture and drop onto floured plate. With floured hands, pat the scooped potato into flattened cakes.

Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes or so to chill.

Melt some butter or pour some of the reserved bacon grease into a frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add the potato cakes and cook for about 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

Transfer the cakes to a serving plate and top with pieces of the reserved bacon strips and any micro greens you might have on hand.

Enjoy!

Bacon & Potato Cakes brought to you today by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Useful links for Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Bacon & Potato Cakes;

The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook

Oxo Good Grips Ice Cream Scoop

 

Sticky Carrots with an Irish Whiskey & Ginger Glaze

If you’re looking for a side dish to serve at your upcoming St. Patrick’s Day feast – look no further. Folks will go mad for these Sticky Carrots with Irish Whiskey & Ginger Glaze. The carrots are lightly browned in butter and served in a sweet and spicy ginger glaze.

Oh, and don’t forget that Irish whiskey. There is a healthy glug of it added to give these carrots some Irish flare. Believe me, once you taste these little gems they won’t only be making an appearance on St. Patrick’s Day. You’ll be enjoying them year round!

• Servings: 2 -3
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe from: The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• pinch of sea salt flakes
• 2 Tablespoons peanut oil
• 3 Tablespoons salted butter
• 4 large carrots (1 1b.) diagonally sliced into 1/2″ circles
• 1 Tablespoon ginger stir in paste (you could also use fresh ginger if you prefer, use about a 3/4″ piece and chop into matchstick size bits. Saute until tender after carrots have been removed from pan. Add ginger to carrots before making whiskey sauce.)
• 2 Tablespoons Irish Whiskey
• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

Directions:

Combine the sugar, pepper and sea salt. Set aside

Heat the oil and half of the butter in a large skillet. Add the carrots in a single layer and sprinkle with the sugar mixture. Cook over medium high heat for 3 minutes. Turn the slices and reduce heat if necessary. Continue to cook until slightly browned on both sides and tender. Transfer the carrots to a plate.

Clean the skillet with paper towels. Add the remaining butter, the whiskey, stock and ginger paste. Bring to a boil and simmer for three minutes or until it becomes syrupy. Return the carrots to the skillet and swirl with the syrup for one minute. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Sticky Carrots with Irish Whiskey & Ginger Glaze brought to you today by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Useful links for Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Sticky Carrots with Irish Whiskey & Ginger Glaze:

The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook

Gourmet Garden Ginger Paste – I could not find the ginger paste that I use on amazon, so I have provided this link here so you can see what I am talking about.

Guinness & Honey Glazed Pork Loin with Roasted Potatoes

So did I hear you say that you are totally over corned beef & cabbage? Or that you never liked it to begin with? Well, don’t fret, I’ve got a great dish that you can serve on St. Patrick’s Day and there is no corned beef in sight. What you do have is a flavorful, succulent loin of pork roasted with a Guinness & Honey glaze.

I don’t know what it is with Guinness. I don’t really just like to sit around drinking pints of the stuff. Seriously, one pint makes me feel as though I’ve eaten an entire loaf of bread. But I absolutely love every recipe where it makes an appearance. An this pork loin is no exception. That Guinness Honey Glaze is amazing – sweet and tangy. Just the perfect flavor combination for pork.

And these little potatoes are fantastic all on their own. I’ve rubbed them in a bit of bacon drippings and roasted them until soft and tender. Then they are sprinkled with a bit of sea salt. They’re great with or without the gravy.

This tasty dish is very easy to prepare leaving you plenty of time for other St. Patrick’s Day activities. Believe me, with their plate piled tall with this Guinness & Honey Glazed Pork Loin & Roasted Potatoes no one will be missing that Corned Beef & Cabbage!

• Servings: 4
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe adapted from: BBC Good Food

Ingredients:

• 2 – 2 1/2 lb. Pork Loin
• 150 ml. Guinness Stout Beer
• 50 ml. honey
• 125 grams light brown sugar
• 1 cup beef or chicken broth
• splash Guinness

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 355° F.

For the glaze: Place the Guinness, honey and sugar into a deep sided saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is reduced by half and thickens to make a syrupy glaze. Take care that the mixture does not boil out of the pot onto your stove. You will be very sorry to have to clean up that sticky mess!

Season the pork loin with salt and pepper. Place in in a roasting tin and bake for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, generously baste the pork with the glaze and then continue to cook for a further 40 -50 minutes, continuing to occasionally brush the glaze over the meat from time to time. Reserve 1 Tablespoon of the glaze for the gravy.

Once it reaches an internal temperature of 160° F, remove it from the oven. Place on a cutting board to rest and tent it with aluminum foil.

Pour the 1 Tablespoon of glaze into the roasting tin, add a splash more of Guinness and one cup of broth. Place over a burner and heat until it comes to a boil. Whisk in a bit of flour if you would like the gravy to be a bit thicker.

Serve Pork with the Gravy and Roasted Potatoes.

Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. Baby Red Potatoes
• 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
• 1/2 cup of reserved bacon drippings or canola oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the baby potatoes in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover them by 1″. Add the salt to the water and heat until they just reach a boil. Remove the potatoes from the heat, drain and pat dry.

Place the melted bacon drippings or oil into a shallow dish. Add the potatoes and stir them around until they are coated. Transfer them to a baking sheet.

Season with additional salt and pepper. Place them in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Carefully turn the potatoes over and continue to bake for 25 more minutes, or until they are soft and fork tender.

Enjoy!

Guinness & Honey Glazed Pork Loin with Roasted Potatoes brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Useful links for Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Guinness & Honey Glazed Pork Loin with Roasted Potatoes:

Chicago Professional Roasting Pan with Rack

Oxo Good Grips Large Silicon Basting Brush

Oxo Good Grips Gravy Whisk

Irish Bacon & Potato Leek Cakes with Colcannon Butter Sauce

 

Breakfast for dinner? Absolutely – especially if it is this dish! Irish Bacon & Potato Leek Cakes with Colcannon Butter Sauce is just amazing. Now, I know when you hear bacon, you might be thinking breakfast. But this is a pretty hardy meal and everyone knows, bacon is good anytime – breakfast, 2nd breakfast, elevenses, lunch, tea, dinner, supper, late night snack…I think you get the picture.

The bacon I used here is not the streaky bacon you are likely more familiar with. This is Irish Bacon or rashers. It is traditionally cut from the back of the pig rather than the belly, which is from where streaky bacon is cut. It is similar to Canadian Bacon, but I would say has a very different flavor. Irish Bacon, or rashers as they are usually called are cooked until done, but are not until crisp like American bacon. Truth be told, the original recipe for this dish calls for uncured loin of pork. A pork chop essentially, but I happened to have some rashers on hand, so there you have it. If you have pork chops, feel free to sub them in!

One thing I can tell you is you are absolutely going to love this decadent, silky Colcannon Butter Sauce. I think the Husband wants to put it on everything now. And potato leek cakes are right up our alley as well. Can’t do wrong with fried potatoes, not to mention the leeks. We can’t get enough of them! All in all this meal was truly a winner and would be a perfect alternative to a corned beef & cabbage feast. Or maybe make it the day after St. Patrick’s…who says you can’t have it all!

• Servings: 2
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe adapted from: BBC Good Food

Ingredients:

• 8 slices Irish Bacon or Rashers
• 2 leeks, trimmed, green & white parts separated and finely sliced
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 3 potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 1 heaping Tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 medium egg yolk

For the Colcannon Sauce:

• 50 grams (1/4 stick) butter
• 5 cabbage leaves, finely shredded
• a small potato, finely diced
• 4 Tablespoons white wine
• 200 ml heavy cream

For Garnish: handful of cherry tomatoes (if desired)

Directions:

Make the potato cakes: Fry the dark green part of the leek in a little butter, and mix well with the potato, flour, cream and egg yolk.  Place the potato mixture into the refrigerator to cool. The mixture becomes easier to handle and shape when cool. Once it has chilled, then mould into four to six small round discs. Set aside until ready to serve.

Make the Colcannon Butter Sauce: Melt half the butter in a pan and add the cabbage and potato. Cook slowly for 5 mins, then pour in the white wine and reduce by half. Add the cream and reduce by half. Season and remove from the heat. Stir the rest of the butter into the sauce and keep warm until ready to serve.

Cook the Bacon: Heat a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan. Fry the rashers of bacon until they are golden on each side. Should only take a few minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside.

Add a bit more butter to the pan. Sweat the remaining white part of the leeks and some tomatoes if you desire. Season to taste. Remove from the pan and set aside. Fry the potato cakes in the remaining butter for 2 minutes on each side.

Enjoy!

Irish Bacon & Potato Leek Cakes with Colcannon Butter Sauce brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Useful links for Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Irish Bacon & Potato Leek Cakes with Colcannon Butter Sauce:

Donnelly Imported Rashers – This is for an 8 pack of bacon. More than you need for this recipe, but you might be feeding a crowd for all I know…

Boozy Orange Cranberry Sauce

Woah! Here it is Thanksgiving already and no doubt Christmas will be hot on its heels. Before we blink it will be upon us! I can’t believe I’m actually able to get this post off today because the Husband and I have been craaaa-zeee busy lately. But here you go – Boozy Orange Cranberry Sauce, just in time for the holiday. Yes…as I previously mentioned…I do know that Thanksgiving is today. I also would wager there are quite a few of you stuck in the kitchen right now saying ” Oh no! I’ve still gotta do the cranberry sauce”. Don’t reach for that can of cranberry jelly. You can have some lovely homemade cranberry goodness all made up in about 20 minutes or so! Easy peasy! And like a lot of things I make, this Cranberry sauce has a kick…namely Bourbon. Bet no one would notice if you took a wee nip or two while you were preparing this dish. I’m sure you need it about now if you’re cooking for the family. Consider it medicinal.

Now I will admit, this is a bit of a cheat because I have published this recipe before but it was hidden within other recipes. Like this Thanksgiving Pie -Toffee Blonde Pie with Cinnamon Toast Crumb Crust, Pumpkin Ganache and Boozy Cranberry Sauce for example:

This year, I decided it should get the limelight. (And I did mention that things have been nuts around here right…). Sweet, tangy and a bit boozy, it is the perfect complement to items on your Thanksgiving menu. Not to mention, it is wonderful to have around when you dig into all those Thanksgiving leftovers! What would the Thanksgiving leftover sandwich be without it? Or maybe you could make up these Holiday Leftover Pirozhkis that I told you about last year?

It is also wonderful stirred into yogurt or as an oatmeal topping. This Boozy Orange Cranberry Sauce it so fantastic and easy to make – which is very important since preparing holiday meals can be somewhat frantic to say the least – I bet it’ll show up on your Christmas table. There is no reason it should be relegated to Thanksgiving alone.

This sauce can actually be made up several days before your holiday event as well and does just fine chilling in the fridge. So there you have it, a quick, easy and tasty Thanksgiving side dish, just in the nick of time. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

• Servings: 2 1/2 cups yield, about 8 - 10 folks depending on their appetites...
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces, weight Fresh Cranberries
• 3/4 cups Granulated Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Loosely Packed Orange Zest
• 1/2 cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 stick Cinnamon
• 1/4 cup quality Bourbon

Directions:

Pick through the cranberries, removing any stems or berries that don’t look plump and ripe. Rinse the remaining cranberries well, then place them in a heavy bottomed medium saucepan with the sugar, orange zest, orange juice, water and cinnamon stick. Stir to combine, then place the pan over medium heat. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.

After 15 minutes, the cranberries should all have burst. Remove the pan from the heat. The sauce will look very liquidy, but will thicken as it cools. After the sauce has cooled completely, stir in the bourbon. Remove the cinnamon stick and serve the cranberry sauce at room temperature or chilled.

Cranberry sauce can be made 2–3 days ahead of time.

Enjoy!

Tex-Mex Grilled Corn & Tomato Salad

Hmmm….I was afraid I might have waited a little too late in the season to talk about all of the delicious late summer veggies. I really did think Fall was here. Boy was I wrong, not only has the mercury hit 85° F (29°C) around here but sounds like it is slated to shoot up to 88° F (31 °C) on Saturday. Really?!! Completely out of line Mother Nature! So, I guess it isn’t too late to talk about those summer veggies after all. I talked up tomatoes last time and today I will be talking about corn. I’m always happy to see corn on the cob at summer picnics and BBQs. Grilled up with this spicy marinade, you’ll think of it more as a treat than a vegetable!

We certainly ate a lot of this Grilled Corn & Tomato Salad this summer. (It was another vehicle for my plethora of cherry tomatoes!) Sometimes we served it as a side dish, but a few times we made a big salad, added a few strips of grilled chicken and then spooned this spicy corn and tomato mixture over the top as a zesty dressing.

If you have never grilled corn before, you simply must get started! Grilling it gives it a wonderful smoky flavour which goes along wonderfully with the natural sweetness of the corn.

Simply peel those husks back, remove the corn silk, brush the salad dressing over the kernels and then gently fold the husks back over the corn. Grill for 20-25 minutes. Believe me, you will have a hard time not gobbling all that corn up right off the cob before you can get it anywhere near the salad bowl. Delicious! Absolutely one of summer’s best!

Tex-Mex Grilled Corn & Tomato Salad

recipe from: Mom Foodie

Ingredients:

• 3-4 ears of fresh corn in husk
• 1 cup grape tomatoes (sliced in half)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeno, (de-seeded & diced)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• ¾ tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• ¼ tsp chili powder

Directions:

Combine olive oil, lime juice, garlic, salt, brown sugar and chili powder in small bowl and whisk together. Separate dressing in half. Use half to baste the corn and the other half to dress the salad.
Preheat grill.
Peel back the corn husks, discarding all but a couple inner layers. Remove corn silk, then baste with dressing, and recover corn with remaining husk.
Grill on med-high for 20-25 minutes, turning 3-4 times during cooking time.
Remove the corn from grill and allow to cool a few minutes, then cut off stem end, place the flat cut end on bottom of large bowl, and use a corn zipper to strip the kernels from the cob. Or if you don’t have a zipper, run a small sharp knife down the length of the cob, slicing off kernels.
Add the tomato, cilantro, jalapeno and ½ the dressing. Mix well.
Serve at room temp or chilled.

Enjoy!