St. Patrick's Day recipe: Chef Kevin Dundon's easy potato bread 'farls'

Triangular potato bread 'farls' from "Kevin Dundon's Modern Irish Food" Need recipes for Irish soda bread, Irish stew, scones and numerous traditional mashed potato dishes — from the easy potato bread triangles known as “farls” to Colcannon with cabbage or “champ” with onions? How about beef and Guinness pie?

If you're looking for St. Patrick's Day recipes for traditional Irish foods, you’ll find them all in “Kevin Dundon’s Modern Irish Food” (Octopus, $24.99). Of course, the chef from County Wexford puts his spin on tradition, and he includes dishes of international influence such as gratins and curries.

Click to read more ...

Fresh cranberry holiday celebration punch recipe

Family friendly winter sangria punch

12 ounce bag fresh cranberries (tested with Ocean Spray brand)

1 cup granulated sugar

6 cups water

Juice from 3 lemons (about 3/4 cup)

3 cups grape juice

2 cups spiced or plain apple cider (tested with Trader Joe's spiced apple cider)

1 apple, washed, cored, thinly sliced

1 pear, washed, cored, thinly sliced

1 orange, washed, sliced into wheels

Click to read more ...

How to use a can as a ring mold to beautify salads and desserts

A raw salad of marinated beets, green beans, pecans and feta shaped by a can. (Photo by Kimberly L. Jackson)Layered salads and desserts presented in an attractive round stack on the plate are often created with ring molds in various sizes. These tools can be purchased from well-outfitted kitchen supply stores, but chefs often use alternatives such as assorted widths of PVC pipe that have been cut to appropriate lengths.

Click to read more ...

Delish: Just Four Ingredients Fast!

"Just Four Ingredients Fast!"What if every recipe could have just four ingredients?

It could happen for those consulting the recipes in “Just Four Ingredients Fast!” from the editors of Delish magazine. Easy options cover breakfast through dessert with lots of salads, a few soups, blended juices or smoothies, and many imaginative entrees included.

Click to read more ...

With four-ingredient recipes, feeling full can go beyond the food

A four-ingredient wrap has turkey, cranberry sauce and watercress in a whole-wheat tortilla. You won’t be cheating if you add a slice of your favorite cheese. Sliced brie is used here. (Image courtesy of Delish)A whole wheat tortilla spread with cranberry sauce, topped with shaved turkey breast and rolled up with a few sprigs of peppery watercress would make a tasty meal.

But the picture of that wrap, shown left from the cookbook “Just Four Ingredients Fast!” (Hearst, $14.95), communicates more than the idea of a deliciously quick lunch. Cinched with a cut of gingham plaid and tied with pink ribbon, it is a perfect presentation for lunch served to a good friend or tucked into a sweet daughter’s lunchbox.

But what if you wrapped up the sandwich and made it pretty just for you?

We often lavish such special treatment on our mates, friends and children as a demonstration of our love for them. But I wonder: How would the experience of eating the sandwich change if we dressed it with that level of detail as an expression of self-love?

Click to read more ...