March ~ the first month of Spring! (don't forget to turn your clock ahead an hour on the 11th)
And, don't forget the "wearing o' the green" on St. Paddy's Day, March 17th! Not that a few pinches from the right someone wouldn't be nice. *_*
This month's recipes are a salute to St. Patrick's day ~ aren't we all a little Irish on the 17th?
Corned-beef dinner, Irish style ~
3 to 4 pounds corned-beef brisket
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
6 small to medium potatoes, pared
6 small carrots, pared
1 medium head cabbage, cut in 6 wedges
Place corned-beef in Dutch oven and barely cover with hot water; add onion, garlic, cloves, and bay leaves. Cover and simmer (do not boil) 1 hour per pound of meat, or till tender. Remove meat from liquid; add potatoes and carrots. Cover; bring to boiling and cook 10 minutes. Then add cabbage wedges; continue cooking 20 minutes longer or until vegetables are done.
To carve corned-beef, cut at slight angle across the grain, making thin slices.
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Since we're romantics, we surely can't have a celebration without chocolate! Here's a great Irish dessert.
Emerald Isle Dessert Cups~
1 cup white cream mints
3/4 cup milk
few drops green food coloring
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
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1 7 ounce package solid chocolate-mint candy wafers, OR 1 6 ounce package (1 cup) semisweet chocolate pieces
2 tablespoons shortening
First, make mint ice cream: Combine mints and milk. Cook over low heat; stirring frequently, about 15 minutes or till mints are melted. Cool to room temperature. Stir in food coloring; fold in whipped cream. Pour into refrigerator tray and freeze till firm.
Serve in chocolate cups: Melt chocolate mint candy wafers or semisweet pieces with shortening over hot, not boiling, water, stirring till smooth. Cool to room temperature. Place paper baking cups in muffin pans. With a teaspoon, swirl chocolate mixture around inside cups, covering entire surface with a thin layer of chocolate. Chill.
When chocolate hardens, tear off paper. Fill with rounded scoops of Mint Ice Cream. Top each dessert with a chocolate mint wafer.
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On the writer's scene ~
A big thank you to my readers who voted "The Christmas Store" a winner in the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll! I appreciate each vote.
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The winner of last month's 'branding' contest is......
Helen P. from North Vernon, IN. Her suggestion was - Ann Marie Bradley writes haunting, soul-healing paranormal love stories.
What do you think? Does it describe my writing? Can you think of anything better? I'm still open to suggestions if you want to drop me a note. (Helen won the heart-shaped box of chocolates)
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God bless our troops fighting to keep peace. May God keep them save as they do their job of keeping us safe.
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Till next time,
happy reading,
Ann Marie