Cookbook author, chef, and restaurateur Judith McLoughlin calls the recipe below “St. Patrick’s Colcannon & Corned Beef.” It’s an alternative approach to the traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage.But we wouldn’t want to limit this delicious dish to just one day a year (St. Pat’s).

Judith adds: “Most Americans are shocked when I tell them that my first meal exposure to the…St. Patrick’s meal of corned beef and cabbage was when I moved to the USA. What we refer to as corned beef in Ireland comes in a tin and is a rather unsavory entrée choice, but in America, corned beef is a brined, cured beef that is delicious.”

Our mother was a big fan of corned beef and cabbage, and cooked a corned beef in her pressure cooker monthly or so, serving it with parsley potatoes. Whole grain or Dijon mustard was our condiment of choice.

But Mom never made colcannon. Instead, she went traditional-American: boiled white-jacket potatoes in parsley butter.

Judith Loughlin’s recipe (photo #1) is below.

> The history of corned beef.

> What makes the beef “corned?”

> The history of potatoes.

> The different types of potatoes: a photo glossary.

> The history of kale and the different types of kale.

> The history of St. Patrick’s Day.

> 100+ St. Patrick’s Day recipes.

>The history of colcannon is below, after her notes on the potatoes and butter.
 
 
ABOUT FLOURY POTATOES

Colcannon requires floury potatoes. In the U.S. the best-known are the Burbank russet and Idaho® Potato* (although there are more than 40 varieties of russets).

Russets are the best potato for baking, mashing, and French fries. That’s because by the time of harvest, most of their sugar has converted to starch and they are low in water content.

Floury potatoes also fry well, as their low sugar levels mean less excessive browning.
 
 
ABOUT IRISH BUTTER

The recipe calls for Irish butter. The Kerrygold brand Irish butter is relatively easy to find in American stores.

Why Irish butter? Irish—and most European—butter is richer (82% butterfat or higher) than American brands (80% butterfat, regulated by the USDA).

The 2% difference in butterfat may not seem like much, but it makes a big difference in taste and texture.

If you need convincing, split your potatoes into two parts and make an “Irish batch” and an “American batch.” Let your palate choose the winner.
 
 
RECIPE: ST. PATRICK’S COLCANNON & CORNED BEEF

Colcannon is made from potatoes plus cabbage or kale. This recipe uses kale, and turns the colcannon into a lovely, green-flecked bed for the slices of corned beef (photo #1).

The recipe is from Judith McLoughlin’s Book, A Return To Ireland (photo #10). There’s more about the author below.

For another side dish, carrots are traditional. For wine pairings, see the caption under photo #9.
 
Ingredients For The Colcannon Potatoes

 
Ingredients For The Corned Beef

 
Ingredients For The Parsley Cheese Sauce

 
Preparation

1. COOK the brisket. It can be slowly boiled or baked in the oven. Low and slow is the key. For the oven method, preheat the oven to 300°F, then wrap up the brisket inside a sheet of foil, fat side up, like a parcel. But first…

2. DRIZZLE a little olive oil over the brisket. Next, wrap the brisket with the foil and roast for 1 hour per pound, leaving 15 minutes for the meat to rest before carving.

3. MAKE the colcannon. Place the potatoes in a large pan of cold, salted water with milk, adding just enough water to cover the potatoes.

4. BRING the potatoes to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until they are soft when pierced with a fork.

5. DRAIN the potatoes with a metal strainer, then set the potatoes back in the empty pan on the warm stove top to allow them to dry out a little.

6. BLANCH the kale. In a large saucepan, bring some water to a roaring boil. Blanch the kale for 1 minute. SAVE 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.

7. DRAIN the kale, roughly chop, and place it in a blender, pulsing for a few seconds.

8. MELT the butter with the cream and ¼ cup of the retained cooking liquid from the kale. Infuse the spring onions, cooking for 30 seconds to soften.

9. MASH the potatoes and slowly add the butter-and-cream liquid from the previous step. Fold in the blanched kale, salt, and pepper. You now have colcannon.

10. PREPARE the parsley sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan. Add the flour and allow to cook gently for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

11. Whisk in the milk and chicken stock and bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 3–4 minutes. Stir in the cheese and mustard and cook for 1 more minute. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the chopped parsley.

To serve:

12. SPOON the colcannon onto a warm plate for each serving (if you can microwave your plates, warm them in the microwave for 30 seconds). Place slices of corned beef on top. Drizzle the dish with about 2 tablespoons of parsley sauce.

13. GARNISH with a small crown of curly parsley (see photo #1) and serve immediately.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF COLCANNON

Colcannon is a traditional Irish side dish, often served during festive occasions such as Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day.

The name is derived from the Gaelic cal ceannann, meaning “white-headed cabbage.”

The dish typically consists of mashed potatoes mixed with either chopped kale or cabbage, along with butter, milk, and sometimes a member of the allium family‡‡: spring onions, green onions/scallions, or leeks.

The origins of colcannon date to the late 16th-century Ireland, when potatoes were introduced.

Sir Walter Raleigh, an English adventurer, writer, and explorer, is often credited with bringing the potato to Ireland during his time as an estate owner in County Cork.

He is said to have obtained the potatoes from the Canary Islands and planted them on his estate in the late 1580s or early 1590s. (Potatoes originated in Peru. Here’s the history of potatoes.)

The potato quickly adapted to the Irish climate and soil conditions, becoming a staple crop for the population. Its high yield, nutritional value, and versatility made it an essential part of the Irish diet.

Over time, the potato became a crucial element in Irish agriculture and cuisine, playing a significant role in the country’s history and development.

Colcannon emerged as a way to make boiled and baked potatoes more flavorful and nutritious by combining them with local vegetables such as cabbage and kale—or essentially, whatever ingredients were readily available.

The dish evolved over time, with regional variations and personal preferences influencing the recipe.

Its predecessor was a dish called champ (also called poundies): mashed potatoes with chopped spring onions or green onions/scallions and milk.

Potatoes and cabbage or kale remain the core ingredients of colcannon, along with butter, milk, and a member of the onion family such as scallions, leeks.

Modern takes include bacon or ham, Dijon mustard, grated Cheddar, herbs, red pepper flakes, and chopped jalapeños.

You can even make colcannon with sweet potatoes! Experiment as you like.

Colcannon has become a signature dish of Irish cuisine. It has also gained popularity in other parts of the world as a tasty comfort food.

A related recipe is the “Bubble and Squeak” of British cuisine: mashed leftover potatoes and chopped cabbage mixed together and fried in a round cake, then sliced and served at breakfast.
 
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Judith McLoughlin is an Irish chef and owner of a gourmet food business in Georgia called The Shamrock and Peach. Specializing in Irish cuisine, Judith has created her own unique food fusion by blending the techniques of her homeland with the newfound flavors of the South.

Growing up in County Armagh in Northern Ireland and setting down roots in the South, over the past decade Judith has become one of the most recognized Irish faces and brands in Atlanta, throughout the American South and abroad. She regularly contributes to food columns in national newspapers and magazines on both sides of the Atlantic and leads numerous discovery tours from the U.S. to Ireland each year.

Before A Return To Ireland, she published a cookbook entitled The Shamrock and Peach.

[1] A beautiful presentation: corned beef and colcannon. The recipe is below (photo © Hatherleigh Press).

[2] Corned beef begins as a brisket. This USDA Prime beauty is available from Lobel’s (photo © Lobel’s).

[3] The colcannon uses russet-type potatoes, a.k.a. baking potatoes (photo © Good Eggs).

[4] A conventional corned beef and cabbage recipe. Here’s a recipe made in a slow cooker (photo © Idaho Potato Commission).

[5] Curly kale† is one of four different varieties (photo © Good Eggs).

[6] Spring onions are bulbous, green onions a.k.a. scallions are more oblong. Here’s a discussion about the differences (photo © Christine Gallary | The Kitchn).

[7] Dubliner cheese is an Irish version of Dutch Gouda (photo © Kerrygold).

[8] Curly parsley. Italian (flat-leaf) parsley has a more robust flavor and is better in recipes. Curly parsley has a more mild flavor and is more attractive as a fresh garnish (photo © Good Eggs).

[9] For a wine pairing, choose a lighter red wine with good body: Beaujolais, a French Côtes Du Rhone, an Italian Chianti, or a light Pinot Noir or Zinfandel. If you want a white wine, try Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio, Riesling, or most Spanish or Italian whites (photo © Rebelle | NYC | Alas, Permanently Closed).

[10] A Return To Ireland is a delicious gift for people who are of Irish descent, of course, and also every cook who likes to cook the gastronomy of Europe (photo © Hatherleigh Press).

†Curly kale is also known as dinosaur kale, lacinato kale, black kale, Tuscan kale, and cavolo nero, which is Italian for “black cabbage.”

‡Spring onions and green onions are both immature onions, but they are not the same thing. Spring onions have a white, very round bulb at the end. Green onions, also called scallions, have a narrow, longer white tip—oblong rather than round.

Spring onions are slightly stronger in flavor than scallions/green onions because they are left in the ground longer. However, they still have a gentler flavor than regular onions, which have been left in the ground much longer and grow much larger.

To substitute for spring onions, use scallions or shallots.

‡‡The Allium botanical family, also called the onion family, includes chives, garlic, leeks, onions, scallions/green onions, shallots, and spring onions.

If there’s a 5 Napkin Burger near you, now’s the time to grab a limited-edition Blarney Burger (photo #1).

It’s one of our favorites of their seasonal burgers, and we’ll enjoy it several times before the St. Patrick’s Day holiday is over—along with their delicious sweet potato pies, pickles, and an IPA.

If that sounds good, you can easily make this St. Pat’s treat at home. Five Napkin Burger calls it their “Blarney Burger”—and believe us, you don’t need any blarney* to convince us to have another.

> The history of St. Patrick’s Day.

> The history of the burger.

> 100+ St. Patrick’s Day recipes.
 
 
RECIPE: 5 NAPKIN BURGER’S BLARNEY BURGER
 
Ingredients

 
Plus:

 
Preparation

1. COOK the cheeseburgers, place on buns.

2. TOP with corned beef, then mustard, then slaw, then top bun. Skewer with toothpicks as necessary.

3. SERVE with pickles, beer, optional French fries, etc.
 
 
GUIDE TO IRISH CHEESE

Thanks to iGourmet for this information. The cheeses can be found online.

A brief history of Irish cheese:

Irish cheese making is a relatively young industry. Economic factors in centuries past dictated that most dairy production in Ireland be focused on milk and butter.

By the 1900s most of Irish cheese production came from large manufacturers whose main focus was Cheddar cheese.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that Ireland became known for farmhouse cheese making. Today, Ireland is ninth in cheese exportation globally.

Thanks to Ireland’s naturally rich and lush pastures, Irish cheese often contains a higher level of beta-carotene.

This gives the milk used to make their Cheddars and other cow’s milk cheeses a natural yellow color.

Most other Cheddars, including American Cheddars, use annato, a natural orange-red dye derived from a tropical tree, to give the naturally white cheese its yellow-orange color.

Today, farmhouse cheeses made in Ireland are of high quality and unique to each farm thanks to the dedication of the families that produce them.
 
Some Of The Best-Known Irish Cheeses

Ardrahan: Ardrahan is an award-winning semi-soft vegetarian† Irish Cheese made from pasteurized cow’s milk. Ardrahan has a pungent aroma with a buttery and complex flavor. This unique Irish Cheese is a washed rind type made by the Burns family in the lush countryside of Duhallow, County Cork in Southern Ireland.

Blarney Castle: Blarney Castle is a semi-soft Irish Cheese made from cow’s milk (photo #6). Available plain or smoked, Blarney Castle is made from the milk of grass-fed cows, which gives this Irish Cheese a mild and creamy flavor similar to a young Dutch Gouda. This popular Irish Cheese is ideal for sandwiches and pairs well with fresh fruit and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Cashel Blue: The first Irish blue cheese, Cashel Blue (photo #7) is modeled after the great French blue, Fourme d’Ambert. Developed by the Grubb family in the 1980s, Cashel Blue, a semi-soft farmhouse cheese, is an award-winning cow’s milk product made on the Grubb family’s Beechmount Farm in Tipperary Ireland. It is named after a nearby landmark, the Rock of Cashel.

This creamy tangy Irish Cheese has a pale buttery interior streaked with blue veins. Cashel Blue is wonderful in leafy green salads, with fresh fruit or spread atop a piece of French crusty bread.

Cahill’s Farm Cheddar: Cahill’s Farm Irish Cheddar is an artisan cow’s milk cheese made in County Limerick in Ireland. This unique handmade Irish Cheese starts life as a tangy Irish cheddar, which is chopped into bits before aging, blended with a flavoring, then hooped, lightly pressed and aged to perfection.

Cahill’s Farm Cheddar has a veined appearance due to this production method. Flavors of this Irish Cheddar include Irish Whiskey, Porter Ale, and Elderberry Wine. This vegetarian Irish Cheese makes a stunning presentation on cheese platter or when offered as an hors d’oeuvre.

Dubliner: Named after the city of Dublin, Dubliner Cheese is often described as a combination of Cheddar and Parmigiano Reggiano. Dubliner is an aged cow’s milk Irish Cheese with the texture of Irish Cheddar but the flavor of Parmesan. It uses the same rennet used in Parmigiano Reggiano production, imported from Italy, married to a modified Irish Cheddar production method.

Sweet and nutty, Dubliner is aged over twelve months to create a full flavored cheese that is perfect for salads or sandwiches (photo #8). Dubliner is also available flavored with Irish stout (think Guinness) which combines the caramel and bitter notes of Irish stout with the complex flavors of Dubliner Cheese.

Irish Cheddar: There are many excellent brands of Irish Cheddar: Kerrygold, Shamrock, Tipperary, and Wexford to name a few. Aged Irish Cheddars have rich, sharp and strong flavors of Ireland’s lush pastures. The grass, which is rich in beta-carotene, also provides a natural yellow color color.
 
________________
 
*Blarney: Talk that aims to charm, flatter, cajole, or persuade, designed to gain favor. It is also used in the sense of deceptive or misleading talk: nonsense or hooey. The word appeared in the late 18th century, named after the Blarney stone of Blarney Castle outside of Cork, Ireland. A large block of carboniferous limestone stone set into a tower of the castle in 1446 the stone said to give the gift of gab (persuasive speech) to anyone who kisses it.

†A vegetarian cheese means that the cheese uses plant rennet—made from cardoon thistle, artichokes, or nettles—instead of the animal rennet, made from the stomach lining of a calf, ewe, or kid. Animal rennet was traditionally been used to make cheese.

Vegan cheese, on the other hand, is made with zero animal product, neither animal milk nor rennet. Instead, it can be made from soy, nuts such as cashews and macadamias, and vegetable oils, such as coconut oil. Agar, arrowroot, peas, and tapioca are other options.

‡Why a lamburger? Sheep are abundant in Ireland, for cheese, meat, and wool. More lamb is eaten than beef.
 
 

[1] The Blarney Burger, an Irish cheeseburger for St. Patrick’s Day (photo © 5 Napkin Burger).

[2] Plan on three slices of corned beef for each burger (photo © Omaha Steaks | Facebook).

[3] Irish Cheddar cheese enveloped in green wax is mature, aged for 12 months or longer. This is from iGourmet (photo © iGourmet).

[4] Stout mustard, made by a brewer of craft stout, available on Amazon (photo © Sierra Nevada).

[5] An Irish stout or other Irish beer is a perfect pairing with the Blarney Burger (photo © Carlow Brewing).

[6] Blarney Castle is a Gouda-style cheese, similar to a young Dutch Gouda cheese (photo © Kerrygold).

[7] Cashel Blue Cheese, a scrumptious, creamy blue (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

[8] This Dubliner cheese from Kerrygold has an bonus: Irish whiskey is added to the cheese (photo © iGourmet).

[1] A Dutch Baby pancake with a sautéed apple topping. The recipe is below (photo © Bob’s Red Mill).

[2] A Dutch Baby can be customized with numerous flavors, both savory and sweet. Above, a lemon-berry Dutch Baby. Here’s the recipe (photo © Camilla Styles).

[3] A savory Dutch Baby can include eggs plus bacon, sausage, cheese, herbs, whatever you like. Here’s the recipe for this one (photo © Food With Feeling).

On this last day of February, National Pancake Month, we’re featuring the Dutch Baby pancake, one of our favorites.

A Dutch Baby pancake is a cross between a conventional pancake and a popover—the latter in that it’s both puffy and crisp, similar to a large Yorkshire pudding. Other names include Bismarck, Dutch Puff, German Pancake, Hooligan, and Hootenanny.

Unlike other types of pancakes, Dutch Babies are baked in the oven instead of fried on the stove. They also don’t contain leaving ingredients, such as baking powder or baking soda.

Despite its name, the Dutch Baby is technically an American invention, although it is derived from a traditional German recipe.

> The recipe follows below.

> The history of the Dutch Baby pancake.

> More Dutch Baby pancake recipes.

> The history of pancakes.

> More about pancakes.

> The different types of pancakes: a photo glossary.
 
 
RECIPE: HARVEST APPLE DUTCH BABY PANCAKE

This pancake is baked, not fried, and serves 2-4 people. Use your favorite apple variety.

Thanks to the great Bob’s Red Mill for the recipe. A pioneer in the U.S. natural foods movement, their products—flours, cereals and other grains, baking mixes, beans, seeds—are the very best!
 
Ingredients For The Pancake

 
For The Apple Topping

 
Preparation
 
1. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F. Once the oven is fully heated, place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven to heat for at least 25 minutes. While the pan heats…

2. ADD the eggs, ¼ cup butter, milk, flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon to a blender. Blend on high for 20–30 seconds until smooth.

3. CAREFULLY REMOVE the hot cast iron pan from oven and place the reserved 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan to melt. Once the foaming ceases, pour the batter into the hot pan. Immediately return the pan to the oven and bake until puffed and set, 20–25 minutes.

4. MAKE the topping while the Dutch baby bakes. Slice an apple into ¼-inch slices.

5. MELT 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the apple slices, brown sugar and thyme, gently swirling together for 3–4 minutes until the apple slices are soft but still intact. Remove from the heat.

6. CAREFULLY REMOVE the Dutch Baby from the oven and spoon the apple slices and butter sauce over top. Serve immediately.

February is National Hot Breakfast Month—one of the 115 breakfast holidays of the year. Before the month runs out, we made this special recipe, a skillet scramble with potatoes, bacon, and sausage.

The recipe was developed by Love Keil of Munchkin Time and shared with us by the Idaho Potato Commission.

> The history of breakfast.

> 115 breakfast holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: SKILLET BREAKFAST SCRAMBLED EGGS,
FRIED POTATOES, BACON & SAUSAGE

This dish is actually an entire skillet breakfast complete with golden fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, smoky sausage, and crispy bacon—all topped with melted cheese!

It’s a whole breakfast made in one pan—you can think of it as a scramble with potatoes, sausage.

Not only is it an easy meal, it’s hearty and delicious.

The recipe was developed by Ms. Love Kyle of Munchkin Time, and shared with us by the Idaho Potato Commission.

If you want to read more than we have in this post, you can read her entire article with step-by-step photos.
 
Ingredients For 4 Servings

While this recipe allows for one egg per person, we used to eggs.

In the past, we happily used the Litehouse brand of freeze-dried herbs specified below. But since we have a burgeoning herb garden on the kitchen windowsills, we used them in this recipe.

TIP: In general, if you want to use fresh herbs instead of dried, there is a 3:1 ratio of fresh:dried, i.e., 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon of dried herbs. We’ve noted the equivalent measures in the ingredients list.

 
Preparation

1. COOK the bacon in a non-stick skillet on medium heat until crispy. Remove from the skillet and drain on a plate lined with paper napkins.

2. ADD the sliced sausage to the skillet and sauté for a few minutes, or until the slices are a nice golden color. Remove to the plate with the bacon.

3. MELT the butter, add the sliced potatoes, and cook on medium heat until cooked through and a nice golden color, about 10-15 minutes. Flip a few times using a spatula. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. ADD the eggs, parsley, chives, and half of the bacon and sausage. Stir and cook until the eggs are cooked through (scrambled), about 1-2 minutes.

[1] Except for the toast and coffee, here’s an all-in-one skillet breakfast (photos #1 and #2 © Love Keil | Munchkin Time | Idaho Potato Commission).

[2] Adding the eggs, with Litehouse freeze-dried herbs.

[3] Instead of smoky kielbasa, we used this chicken-apple sausage from D’Artagnan. It adds a subtle note of apple to the dish (photo © D’Artagnan).

6. GARNISH with a sprinkle of chives and parsley and serve while warm.

[1] Like Air Puffcorn, our Top Pick Of The Week, was featured on Shark Tank (photo © Shark Tank Products).

[2] You can a large-size (4-ounce) combo pack on Amazon (photos #2, #3, #4, and #5 © Like Air Snacks).

[3] Pancake is a delicious flavor of popcorn, with far fewer calories than eating pancakes!

[4] Cinnamon bun is the closest to kettle corn, without the calories.

[5] You can buy a variety pack of the four flavors, in either family size or individual size, on the company website (we recommend it!).

Like Air Puffcorn is our Top Pick Of The Week: popcorn with a melt-in-your-mouth texture that is made without the popcorn kernel hulls that can stick in your teeth.

Yes, that makes it better than traditional popcorn in our book. (A tiny kernel stuck in our tooth* sent us to the dentist for a $300. He said, “Next time skip the popcorn.”

We were bereft because popcorn is a high-fiber, low-calorie snack we relied upon.

Then, on Shark Tank, we discovered Like Air Puffcorn.

Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary, exclaimed that it was the best-tasting low-calorie snack they’ve had in all 15 years of Shark Tank.

The company got a deal from deal from Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner.

We were so excited that, rather than write for editorial samples, we quickly purchased three boxes: three flavors of the individual-size packages.

We now must go back for the fourth flavor, and hope that the fifth, the limited-edition Pumpkin Spice, comes back this fall.
 
 
LIKE AIR PUFFCORN FLAVORS

There are both 4-ounce bags and .65-ounce individual portion bags.

The individual size is a perfect school-safe snack, party favor, stocking stuffer, Easter basket treat, and so on.

 
Like Air Puffcorn is:

 
 
FOOD FUN: CUSTOMIZE YOUR CORN!

While popcorn is just 50 calories per cup, you can enhance your snack—still without getting anything stuck in your teeth.

With the Classic and sweet flavors, we add some extra calories by:

 
With the Classic and White Cheddar flavors, we add:

 
 
GET YOUR LIKE AIR PUFFCORN

Like Air is sold in 3,500+ stores across all 50 states, including larger retailers like HEB, Kings, Kroger, Meijer, Sam’s Club, ShopRite, Stop & Shop, and Wegmans.

E-tailers include Amazon, Fresh Direct, Instacart, Sams’s Club, and the Like Air Snacks website.
 
 
October is National Popcorn Poppin’ Month.

> The history of popcorn.

> The history of popcorn salad (and recipe).

> 20+ popcorn recipes.

> Popcorn trivia.

> Popcorn, a whole-grain food.
 
 
________________

*Popcorn kernel hulls are the ideal size and shape to get caught between gums and teeth. We may not even realize we have a stuck particle until our gums become sore a few days later.

†The “Big Nine” allergens: eggs, milk, nuts, fish, peanuts/tree nuts, sesame, shellfish‡, soybeans, and wheat.
 
‡Shellfish include mollusks and crustaceans. Mollusks have a hinged, two-part shell, such as clams, mussels, octopus, oysters, and squid. Crustaceans, on the other hand, have exoskeletons, such as crabs, lobsters, and shrimp.

Congress passed the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA), citing eight foods as major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans. Here’s more about it.