Original Irish Cream (Allrecipes)

Making your own Irish cream is surprisingly easy and the results are delicious. This recipe creates a silky, indulgent liqueur that's perfect for sipping on its own, adding to coffee, or using in desserts like my amazing Irish Cream Cake. The whiskey provides the backbone while the cream and condensed milk make it impossibly smooth. Those touches of espresso and chocolate add depth without overpowering the classic Irish cream flavor profile. Store it in the refrigerator and it keeps beautifully.

 

 Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 2/3 cup Irish whiskey

1/2 t instant espresso granules 

2 T chocolate syrup

1 t vanilla extract

1 t almond extract

Directions:

In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend on high for 20 to 30 seconds. Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. Shake well before serving. 

Irish Cream Cake

If you're looking for a showstopper cake for St. Paddy's Day, this Irish cream cake is it. The Irish cream adds this wonderful depth and slight boozy flavor that makes it feel special, while the chocolate chips provide little bursts of sweetness in every bite. That final glaze really takes it over the top - it's the kind of cake that makes people ask for seconds.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 box white cake mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

4 whole eggs

1 cup Irish Cream

1 package (12 oz) mini chocolate chips

For the glaze:

1/2 cup Irish Cream

1 cup powdered sugar

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, oil, eggs and 1 1/2 cups of Irish Cream. Beat on medium high for about 2 minutes. Fold in half of the chocolate chips. 

Pour into a prepared bundt pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top. Bake for 35-45 minutes.

While cake is baking, in a small bowl add the 1/2 cup of Irish Cream and the powdered sugar and mix with a wire whisk until combined.

As soon as you take the cake from the oven, poke holes in the surface of the cake with a bamboo skewer. Pour the glaze over the hot cake. Allow it to cool completely before removing from the pan.

 

Coon Ass Style Shrimp and Grits (Guest Post - Jeff)

 This is my own version of Carolina style shrimp and grits.

 

 Grits:

1 cup yellow old fashioned grits

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup 1/2 & 1/2

1 cup water (lightly salted)

Salt to taste

Butter to taste

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Boil the water, stock, cream. Add grits, stir until combined and cook on low heat covered about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir every few minutes. Once grits are done, add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Add butter to taste.

 

Shrimp:

1 pound peeled de-veined shrimp 

1 small onion

3 (or more) cloves of garlic, chopped

2 links of Andouille  sausage sliced in quarters

Tony's seasoning to taste (Sprinkle on shrimp)

While grits are cooking, saute the sausage on medium high heat in cast iron skillet. When browned, remove to drain on paper towels. Add butter, onion and saute for a few minutes, add the garlic, add the shrimp and saute until they are pink on both sides. Once the shrimp are cooked, it is ready to serve.

Spoon the grits into a pasta bowl, add some of sausage and shrimp onion mixture over the top.

Serve with French bread.

 

Watch out, this is highly addictive!

 

Lump Crabmeat and Crawfish Dip by Chef John Folse

 Ingredients:

1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat

1 pound crawfish tails, package

1/4 cup butter

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced celery

1/ cup diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup minced garlic

1/2 cup flour

3 cups evaporated milk

1/2 pound Swiss cheese

1/2 to 1 ounce sherry

Black pepper, to taste

Tabasco to taste

Directions:

In a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Saute 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted. Sprinkle in flour  and with a whisk, whip until a white roux is achieved.  Pour in evaporated milk bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add cheese and sherry. Continue to cook until cheese is melted. Fold in crabmeat and crawfish tails and season to taste with salt and pepper and hot sauce. 

Serve warm with crackers.

 

M&M Cookies

 

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 t cornstarch

3/4 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 cup salted butter, chilled and diced into cubes (1/2 inch)

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 t vanilla extract

1 (11 oz) bag of mini M&M's

 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside

In the bowl of a electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend together butter and sugars on low speed until it starts to come together then increase mixer speed to medium and whip until creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Mix in egg and egg yolk. Stir in vanilla. Set mixer on low speed and slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Batter will be thick due to the chilled butter. Mix in M&M's. 

Scoop dough out 2 Tbsp at a time and shape into a ball. Bake on parchment paper in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly golden.