St Patrick's Day Archives - 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Posted by Meaghan Barry on March 13, 2014

Double Chocolate Guinness Ice Cream

Even though it’s snowing today (ugh ugh ugh), I still wanted to make a batch of this Double Chocolate Guinness Ice Cream in anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day. I found this recipe in David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop ice cream cookbook and knew I had to make it for this weekend. My husband and I both love Guinness, chocolate, and ice cream and this recipes incorporates all three!

Double Chocolate Guinness Ice Cream

This ice cream recipe incorporates milk chocolate and Guinness in its base flavor. The milk chocolate balances well with the Guinness and neither one overpowers the other in terms of flavor. I kicked the chocolate flavor up a notch by adding in mini chocolate chips towards the end of the mixing process to add a bit more chocolate goodness. Plus, as K has mentioned before, the best part about cooking with Guinness is that there is always a bit left over to have a little sip for yourself! If you are looking for a slightly different St. Patrick’s Day recipe this year, I highly recommend this Double Chocolate Guinness Ice Cream.

I’ve been so focused on organizing and working on a few house projects since the new year that I haven’t prioritized making new recipes and blogging about them. I’m hoping to share a few more of my favorite recipes that I’ve made recently soon. It was a lot of fun to finally get back into it! Now that baby N is almost 9(!) months old, I feel like things are finally starting to get a little easier around here…until he starts walking anyway!

Double Chocolate Guinness Ice Cream

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Recipe type: ice cream

Serves: 6

Ingredients

8 ounces milk chocolate chips
1 cup whole or 2% milk
½ cup sugar
pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup Guinness (the rest is for you to sip!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Place the milk chocolate chips into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.
Mix together the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan and warm over low heat. Whisk together the egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl. Pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the entire mixture back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon. I recommend using a thermometer and removing the mixture from the heat when it reaches between 170-175 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pour the custard through the strainer over the milk chocolate chips, then stir until the chocolate is melted. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the cream, Guinness, and vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the mini chocolate chips in the last few minutes of the mixing process.

Source: Slightly adapted from The Perfect Scoop* by David Lebovitz (*Disclosure: This link is an affiliate link.)

Looking for more St. Patrick’s day recipes? Try these below!

DIY Shamrock Shake

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes Filled Chocolate Ganache and Topped With Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Chip Soda Bread

st_patricks_day_chocolate_chip_soda_bread

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

sister m signature

Posted by 2 Sisters 2 Cities on March 16, 2013

Shamrock Shake

When I bought the ingredients for the green mint milk I that I mentioned in my Corned Beef and Cabbage post, I realized I could make something else I love… the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake! Now that there is still sunlight when I get out of work , I was able to take some photo so that I could share this recipe with you. I like that you can control the mint taste because sometimes at McDonald’s I can’t taste the mint at all in their shakes.

Here is my most important tip: You need mint extract and not peppermint extract. If you have peppermint, maybe we can make some candy cane milkshakes near Christmas or you can make these cookies right here from last year’s 12 Day of Christmas Cookies.

Also, if you want to make the green mint milk to go with your St. Patrick’s Day dinner tomorrow, here is what you need to do. First, take the milk and add in a small about of green dye and mint extract (about 4 drops of green food coloring and 1/8 tsp. mint extract for about 16 oz. will make about two serving so divide or multiply as needed.)

For the shamrock shake pictured and referenced in the recipe below, I made it with Eddy’s/Dreyer’s Slow Churned Light Vanilla and skim milk. I also didn’t have liquid food coloring so I put about 2 toothpicks of the gel food coloring in (use a small amount at first and then add additional if you need it.)

Shamrock Shake Knock-Off

DIY Shamrock Shakes

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 cups vanilla ice cream
¾ cup to 1¼ cup milk
¼ tsp. mint extract ( Not peppermint!)
8 drops green food coloring

Instructions

In a blender, add in ice cream, ¾ cups milk, mint extract, and green food coloring.
Blend until smooth
If milkshake is too think, gradually add in more milk until it is the consistency you enjoy.
Serve immediately and make a lucky wish with your delicious Shamrock Shake!

Source– Adapted from Topsecretrecipes.com
sisterk (2)

Posted by 2 Sisters 2 Cities on March 15, 2013

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes filled with ganache and topped with Cream Cheese Frosting

A deep chocolate Guinness Cupcake filled with Guinness chocolate ganache topped with cream cheese frosting for a deliciously boozy St. Patrick’s Day treat. Don’t forget to dress your Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes up with green cupcake liners and sprinkles!

I know, I know, two cupcake recipes in one week. It seems that I have felt very inspired by cupcakes these last few weeks. Must be all the dieting and exercising that makes me think about delicious cupcake recipes all day long.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes

Since we are a couple days away from St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I would share this recipe I made last weekend. I knew there had to be plenty of Guinness chocolate cake recipes out there and I wasn’t wrong. I found some had Jameson chocolate ganache filling and Bailey’s frosting, but I didn’t want to buy two whole bottles of liquor just for cupcakes. I am not much of a hard alcohol drinker, unless it is fruity with an umbrella in it! Beer on the other hand, I will eventually drink, plus Guinness was on sale this week in the grocery stores!

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Don’t be freaked out by this recipe because it has beer in it, except if you are pregnant (sorry M!) The Guinness or any stout beer just deepens the flavor of chocolate and makes it extra delicious. I didn’t even use a whole beer for this recipe, which was nice since I got to enjoy the other half of Guinness while I made these.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes filled with Guinness Chocolate Ganache

Drinking Guinness reminds me of my family’s vacation to Ireland that we took a few years ago to celebrate my little sister’s high school graduation. It also reminds me of my brother-in-law who would probably point out that he is surprised I remember anything from that trip since I was reading Twilight the whole time. Let me explain, it wasn’t the whole time, it was a couple of drives through the country side that I pulled out the book to read. There are only so many rolling green hills and sheep you can see! Okay, maybe it wasn’t the best time to get “bit” by the Twilight saga, but I still remember the trip!

In Ireland, the Guinness and Murphy’s (the other stout) beer are so delicious. A little interesting fact about Guinness is that they actually export the powder to make Guinness and brew it here in America so it doesn’t taste the same as when you have it in Ireland. Still works for cupcakes though!

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 12

Ingredients

Cupcakes

½ cup Guinness (or stout beer)
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
6 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup AP flour
1 cup sugar
¾ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. + ⅛ tsp. salt
1 large eggs
⅓ cup sour cream

Ganache

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
⅓ cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. butter
1-2 tbsp. Guinness

Cream Cheese Frosting

2⅓ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
4 oz. cream cheese, cold

Instructions

For Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place cupcake liners in muffin tins.
In a small sauce pan bring ½ cup Guinness and butter to a simmer. Add in cocoa powder and stir with a whisk until smooth.
In a medium bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Then in bowl of mixer beat egg and sour cream.
Once stout chocolate mixture has cooled slightly, add into the the egg mixture until combined.
Add in dry ingredients and beat on slow then using a rubber spatula lightly fold all the ingredients together.
Divide batter among 12 cupcake tins with a ¼ cup measuring cup or a cupcake scoop.
Bake for 17-18 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool.

Ganache Filling

Chop the chocolate and place in a small glass or ceramic bowl. Microwave for 1 minutes and stir.
In a small sauce pan simmer ⅓ cup of heavy cream, then pour over chopped chocolate.
Stir until completely melted. Add it butter and stir until melted and mixed in. Add in 1-2 tablespoons of Guinness and stir until combined.
Let ganache cool in the refrigerator and make sure to stir every 10 minutes.

Frosting

In the bowl of mixer, add in sifted confectioners’ sugar, and butter and beat on medium with the paddle attachment. Scrape down sides and mix until combined. Add in cream cheese and continue to mix. Turn mixer to medium-high and beat for 4-5 minutes until frosting is light and fluffy.

To Prepare Cupcakes

Once cupcakes are cooled, use a cupcake corer or apple corer to scoop out middle. Put cooled ganache in a bag and cut the corner. Fill the hole in the cupcake with ganache. Top filled cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and decorate with green sprinkles.

Source– Cupcakes and ganache adapted from Smitten Kitchen, frosting adapted from Joy the Baker

Need other St. Patrick’s Day desserts?
Check out M’s Chocolate Chip Soda Bread

st_patricks_day_chocolate_chip_soda_bread

Or make these with green food coloring and green sprinkles!

Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting (use a shamrock cookie cutter!)
Soft Sugar Cookie with Buttercream Frosting
Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

…umm, can you tell I love buttercream frosting??

Also, make sure you enter our KitchenAid Mixer Giveaway! You can get a Kelly Green one and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day all year round.

sisterk (2)

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on March 12, 2013

Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner

Well believe it or not, it is already mid-March and this upcoming weekend is St. Patrick’s Day. Not only is St. Patrick’s day a day to have fun and drink green beer, but also a day for those of you that are Irish (like M and I) to pay homage to our heritage and our ancestors. Our family actually came over to America during the potato famine like so many Irish families did. They had to work really hard to prove themselves in America and helped with building many things like the canals and railroad systems we have today. St. Patrick’s Day is a way to honor them.

Corned Beef Dinner

Every St. Patrick’s Day growing up ,our mom would make corned beef and cabbage for dinner. She would also boil some potatoes, carrots, and onions with the meal.

Our local milk brand, Byrne Dairy, would sell green milk. Similar to the shamrock shake, this was mint-flavored milk, except it tasted a thousand times better!! {They stopped selling this green milk like 10 years ago so if you are reading this now, Byrne Dairy, bring back the green milk! } Although it wouldn’t do me much good out here in Cali so maybe I should be asking this of Berkeley Farms or Clover Farms. Along with the green milk and traditional corned beef and cabbage, my mom also made us these cut-out sugar cookies in shamrock shapes with green frosting and green sugar sprinkles for when we came home from school.

St. Patrick's Day Traditional Corned Beef Dinner

For the last three years, I happened to visit my parents in Syracuse with my boyfriend on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. My mom made us the corned beef dinner when we visited so my boyfriend also has an appreciation for the meal. Armed with my mom’s recipe, I attempted to make my first corned beef and cabbage meal over the weekend. I made it a weekend early just so I could share it with all of you.

I was worried at first that my grocery store wouldn’t carry the corned beef brisket or round. I guess I never looked for it before because every store had this including Target, Costco and Safeway. Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!

Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner with Guinness

Does anyone else have something traditional they do on St. Patrick’s Day?

If not, why not start one this year by making this meal. It is really easy to make and delicious. Did I mention leftover corned beef is perfect to make reuben sandwiches?

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

2 lbs. corned beef brisket or round
1 bay leaf
1 cooking onion
1 crushed clove of garlic
7-10 peppercorns
6 carrots
5-6 white or gold potatoes (small to medium sized)
1 head of cabbage
2-3 small onions

Instructions

Take corned beef out of package and dry with a paper towel. If there is fat on the back of corned beef, you can cut it down with a sharp knife. Leave a small amount on there to add flavor to the cooking broth (Be careful with your hands!)
In a large pot or Dutch oven, place brisket. Fill pot with cold water so that the brisket is covered with water, plus an extra inch of water.
Cut cooking onion in fourths and add to water along with bay leaf, peppercorns, and garlic.
Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer (covered) for one hour and forty minutes.
Fifteen minutes before the timer end, start to prepare the vegetables. Peel carrots and cut them in halves or thirds. Wash the potatoes and cut them in half. Peel onion and cut in fourths. Rinse cabbage and peel off first layer. Cut into eight slices with part of the core divided in each to hold the cabbage together while it cooks.
Skim fat off the top of the corned beef water and add carrots, potatoes, and onion. Cook for twenty minutes with lid closed.
Pull out corned beef and place on a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Skim additional fat off the top.
Add cabbage to water with vegetables and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Slice the corned beef in thin slices, and drain vegetables (or pull vegetables out with a slotted spoon or tongs). Serve on a a platter and enjoy!

Source– Adapted from our Mom!
sisterk (2)

Posted by 2 Sisters 2 Cities on March 13, 2012

If you are looking for a fun treat to celebrate St. Patrick’s day this weekend, try making this Chocolate Chip Soda Bread. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a huge fan of corned beef and cabbage, but soda bread is an Irish tradition that I can stand by (as well as the occasional Guinness.) If you are throwing a St. Patrick’s Day Parade Party, chocolate chip soda bread would be a great brunch addition.

I’m not sure if it’s the lack of carbs from being on the 17 Day Diet, but I thought this turned out fantastic! I highly recommend making it this upcoming Saturday morning for a St. Patrick’s day tradition that’s sure to stick in your house.

Chocolate Chip Soda Bread

Ingredients:
-cooking spray
-6 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into cubes
-3 cups all-purpose flour
-1/3 cup sugar
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-1 teaspoon fine sea salt
-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
-1 cup Greek low-fat plain yogurt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prep a 9-inch round pan with cooking spray and set it aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Work 6 tablespoons chilled butter into flour mixture with your fingers. Stir in chocolate chips. Stir in yogurt until just combined, and then knead in the bowl just until a dough forms.

Shape into a 6- or 7-inch loaf and transfer it to the prepared pan. Bake until cooked through and golden brown, about 50 minutes. Set aside to let cool.

Source: Adapted from Whole Foods March 2012 Whole Deals

What St. Patrick’s Day tradition do you carry out in your house?

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Posted by Meaghan Barry on March 6, 2010

Living in South Boston, we usually end up throwing a St. Patrick’s day party for the annual parade. Over the years, I’ve tried out serving different types of food for the event. I’ve never tried making corned beef and cabbage, as that sounds like a truly terrible dish to me. I like to stick with brunch ideas as the festivities usually start around 11 or 12 on a Sunday. Here are some ideas:

-Make-Your-Own Omelette Bar: This is pretty easy to put together. Gather a number of small bowls and fill them up with things that people might want to put in their omelette: mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, spinach, ham, shredded cheese, etc. Also, in a large bowl, crack a few cartons of eggs and whisk together a large batch of egg mix. Everyone can pick exactly what they want in their omelettes and everyone is happy.

-Breakfast Sandwiches: Cook a couple packages of bacon in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Put the bacon on paper towels to soak up the grease afterwards. Cut a couple packages of English muffins in half, put on a cookie sheet, and toast under the broiler. In the meanwhile, start cooking eggs sunny-side up. About 30 seconds before they are done, put a slice of cheese on top of each egg and allow to melt. Put one egg on each English muffin bottom, top with bacon and the other half of the English muffin.

-On the side, I like to make a large fruit salad and have a couple of pitchers of beverages. While most people stick to beer on St. Patty’s day, I like to make Bloody Mary’s and a sparkling pomegranate juice for the non-drinkers. In small cups, put limes, lemons, and celery for people to add to their drinks.

Happy St. Patty’s Day!

-m