The Hip Hostess » St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patty’s Day Cupcakes

hiphostess — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:00:00 +0000

You don’t have to go to a bakery to serve super cute cupcakes for your St. Patty’s Day Party. Bake a batch of your favorite homemade or boxed cupcakes and use some of the fun accessories below to make them party-worthy, no matter what style you are going for. Serve them for dessert, send them along with your kids to school or give them as favors by wrapping them in cello bags tied with a green ribbon or rafia.

Some of the cupcake liners would also be great for a modern baby shower, preppy bridal shower or a hip garden party. Many of the retailers listed offer lots of other beautiful cake and cupcake docorating goods so check out their selections.

Modern
Green Swirl Cupcake Liners – $2.15/30 from Sweetart
http://www.countrykitchensa.com/catalog/product.aspx?T=1&productId=632615

Crafty
Clover Cupcake Wrapper - $13/ dozen from Paper Orchid Stationary
http://www.paperorchidstationery.com/modules/cart/products.php/nav_id/775/page/1/id/862/name/LuckyCupcakeWrapperGreen

Preppy
Green and White Polka Dot Cupcake Liners – $8.99/ 100 from Cup Cakery Supplies
http://www.acupcakery.com/green-polka-dot-cupcake-liners-100-p100.html

Retro
Shamrock Cupcake Liners – $2.95/ 50 from Plates and Napkins
http://www.platesandnapkins.com/Store_ViewProdDetail.asp?ProdID=16772

Shiny
Green Metallic Foil Cupcake Liners – $2.25/ 32 from Country Kitchen
http://www.countrykitchensa.com/catalog/product.aspx?CatId=530&ShopId=38&SubCatId=1089&T=1&productId=634507

Unusual
Folded Light Green Cupcake Liners – $5.50/ 40 from Fancy Flours
http://www.fancyflours.com/site/7100-CF-FGR-1.html

Fresh
Striped Green Greaseproof Cupcake Liners - $4/ 70 from Fancy Flours
http://www.fancyflours.com/muffin-cup-green-stripe.html

Simple
Green Glassine Cupcake Liners – $7.00/ 100 from Cupcakery Supplies
http://www.acupcakery.com/greenglassinecupcake-liners.html

Sweet
Sugar Shamrocks – $0.75 each from Sugar Craft By Rosie
http://www.sugarcraftbyrosie.com.au/catalog/item/5836485/6732835.htm

Festive
Shamrock Sprinkles – $2.99/ 2.5oz from Confectionary House
http://www.confectioneryhouse.com/product.php?productid=3477

Vintage
Clover Cake Topper Picks – $6/ 12 from BusyIzzyBakery
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20509862

Earthy
Irish Blarney Stones – $9.99/ 12 from Oriental Trading Company
http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=96/1424&prodCatId=377604&mode=Browsing&erec=30&sp=true&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&N=377604&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&sd=Irish+Blarney+Stones

Kitchy
Leprechaun Cupcake Picks – $1.99/ 12 from Fantes
http://www.fantes.com/st-patrick.html

Guinness Cheese Burgers

hiphostess — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:47:27 +0000

Spice up your standard burger with the addition of Guinness. The beer adds a great deep flavor to the meet and keeps it super juicy. The contrast of the sweet caramelized onions and the sharp cheddar will make your mouth water. Serve with oven-baked sweet potato fries and a slaw to round out the meal. Or make these into mini burgers (“sliders”) and serve them at a sports-theme party. These burgers are perfect any time of year, but especially apropos for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

Guinness Cheese Burgers with Caramelized Onions

2 large yellow or white onion, sliced into rings and separated

2 Tbs. unsalted butter1 lb. high quality ground beef (85% to 90% lean)

¼ C. Guinness draught beer

¼ C. chopped yellow or white onion

1 garlic clove

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 (or more) splashes of Tabasco

1 tsp. salt

fresh ground pepper

olive oil

4 oz Irish cheddar cheese cut into thin slices

4 hamburger buns, lightly toasted or grilled

1. Heat a sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat and add butter. When butter is melted and starts to foam, add onion rings to the pan and stir to coat all of the rings with butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are a deep caramel color (about 10 minutes).

2. Combine next 8 ingredients (beef through pepper) in a mixing bowl and mix with your hands until just combined (do not over mix or meat will be tough). Preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Shape beef into 4 equal patties, about ¾” thick. Rub each side of the patties with olive oil. Sear burgers for about 30 seconds to seal in juices, then reduce heat to medium. For medium burgers, cook patties for about 3-4 minutes on the first side and 2-3 minutes on the second side. Divide cheese evenly four ways and put cheese on top of burgers once you flip them to cook on the second side.

3. Remove burgers from the grill, put on a lightly toasted or grilled bun, top with caramelized onions and other desired toppings. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 burgers

I use organic grass-fed and grass-finished beef, which tends to cook about 30% faster so vary the cooking time accordingly.
For juicy burgers, beef with a higher fat content (80-85% lean) is generally used, but since you are adding the beer and onions you can use leaner meat (90% lean) and still have a very juicy burger.
To keep juices in the meat, only flip burgers once and do not press down on the burgers while they are cooking.
If the cheese is not melting fast enough you can close the cover or the grill or cover the grill pan with a lid or cookie sheet to speed up the melting process.
When selecting the cheese, use a cheddar aged for 1 year or less – you don’t want it to be too sharp for these burgers.

Truffles for St. Patty’s Day!

hiphostess — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:26:21 +0000

Looking for a St. Patrick’s Day treat that doesn’t involve green dye? These Baileys Irish Cream Truffles are just the thing. Don’t be intimidated by homemade truffles – they are actually very easy to make and outrageously good. Serve these with coffee after dinner and your friends will swoon. They are extremely rich so you probably only need to make a few per person, but make more so you have leftovers. You won’t be sorry.

Baileys Irish Cream Truffles

¼ C. heavy (whipping) cream
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 ½ Tbs. confectioners’ sugar
8 ounces high quality bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao), chopped
1/8 C. Baileys Irish cream
unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Combine the cream, butter and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate to the cream, stirring until the chocolate has melted completely. Do not put the saucepan back on the heat – the chocolate will seize.

2. Heat the Baileys in a small bowl or ramekin for 20 seconds. Stir the Baileys into the chocolate mixture until fully incorporated. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 4 hours or overnight.

3. If the mixture is not pliable when you remove it from the refrigerator, let it stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper or plastic wrap. Using an extra small spring-loaded scoop or melon baller, scoop the chocolate mixture out into small round balls, about ¾” in diameter, onto the prepared cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and return to the refrigerator for 10 minutes to harden.

4. Place the cocoa powder in a small bowl. Coat your hands with cocoa powder so the truffles don’t stick. Roll each truffle in the palm of your hands to form round balls. Place each truffle, one at a time, in the cocoa powder and gently shake the bowl to cover the truffle with cocoa. Chill the truffles and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Serve at room temperature.

Makes about 2 dozen truffles.

The recipe can easily be doubled to make 4 dozen truffles
Use the highest quality chocolate you can find, such as Valrhona
You can substitute semisweet chocolate if you prefer
If you prefer sweeter truffles you can substitute additional confectioners’ sugar instead of cacao to coat the truffles (the unsweetened cocoa gives the truffles an initial bitter chocolate taste but it is a great contrast to the creamy filling once you continue to chew the truffles)
Use a serrated knife to chop the chocolate
Don’t worry about trying to make your truffles perfectly round or perfectly uniform – you want them to look homemade!

St. Patrick’s Day Menu Ideas

hiphostess — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:19:08 +0000

Need ideas for a hip St. Patrick’s Day menu? Forget about corned beef and cabbage. There are plenty of other tasty ways to celebrate the Emerald Isle. Here is a menu of what I will be serving for a casual St. Patrick’s Day dinner. I will post some of the recipes later this week so you can whip up these tasty treats by the weekend.

If you need more ideas, listed below are also links to some other Irish-inspired recipes.

Hip St. Patty’s Day Menu

Starters
Irish Brown Bread Crostini with Rocket Pesto and Goat Cheese

Irish Cheddar served with Sliced Green Apples

Main Event
Guinness Burgers with Caramelized Onions and Irish Cheddar
Sweet Potato Fries
Cabbage Slaw

Sweet Ending
Baileys Irish Cream Truffles

Bevies
Guinness (of course)
Hard Cider
Irish Coffee

Other Menu Ideas

Irish Cheddar and Stout Fondue
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/234120
Grilled Chicken with Whiskey-Ginger Marmalade
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=380659
Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon
http://www.chow.com/recipes/10712
Chocolate Guinness Goodness Pudding
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/234304
White and Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding with Irish Cream Sauce http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/108851
Baileys Pudding Parfaits with Oatmeal-Walnut Crunch
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/100970
Chocolate Whisky Soufflé Tart
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/100972

Ideas for St. Patrick’s Day Cocktails
http://cocktails.about.com/od/cocktailrecipes/tp/st_pty_cktl_tp.htm
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayMenu&menu_id=585196

*The picture shown is of a portion of the Kilkenny Castle, which I visited last summer when I was in Ireland for a wedding (my friend Mike married his lovely bride, Helen, who is from Galway)