[1] Irish-style potato nachos (photo © Irish Potato Commission).

[2] Clockwise: horseradish root, prepared horseradish (made with vinegar and salt) and grated horseradish (photo © Microplane).

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day?

If you’d like a special bite to serve with beer and Irish whiskey, try these Irish-Style Potato Nachos.

This recipe was created by Patterson Watkins, a Philadelphia catering manager, for the Idaho Potato Commission, using homemade crinkle-cut potato chips instead of tortilla chips.

Instead of grated queso quesadilla, salsa, and other classic nacho toppings*, this recipe nods to Ireland with Irish cheddar and corned beef†.

And of course, make that beer an Irish beer!
 
 
RECIPE: IRISH-STYLE POTATO NACHOS

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F.

2. DEEP FRY Deep fry the waffle cut potatoes until crisp. Set aside to drain on paper towels.

3. ARRANGE the chips on a sheet pan and sprinkle the cheese, corned beef and horseradish evenly on each piece. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

4. ARRANGE the bites on a platter, drizzle truffle oil and garnish with chopped chives. Serve hot.
 
 
> NACHOS HISTORY

*Mexican restaurants often use queso quesadilla, a great Mexican melting cheese. But other restaurants and home cooks making classic nachos use Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and cheeses we never use but they have their fans, American cheese and Velveeta.

Other nacho toppings include black olives, cilantro, jalapeno slices, refried beans and sour cream (crema mexicana). See more toppings here.

†Corned beef is not an Irish dish. Irish immigrants to New York learned to make corned beef from their Jewish neighbors on New York’s Lower East Side. The brisket used was a cheaper alternative to Irish bacon, and led to the now-traditional Irish-American combination, corned beef and cabbage.

Corning refers to curing or pickling the meat in a seasoned brine. The word refers to the “corns” or grains of kosher (or other coarse) salt that is mixed with water to make the brine. Typically, brisket is used to make corned beef; but round can also be used. The dish has many regional variations and seasonings. Smoking a corned beef, and adding extra spices, produces pastrami.

March 9th is National Crabmeat Day.

Some of our favorite ways to enjoy crab: crab cakes, crab dip, Crab Louie (a fancy crab salad), deviled crab, crab soup (bisque, corn-crab soup, she-crab soup) or just plain boiled/steamed crabs or sautéed mixed seafood.

Today we offer something different: crab for breakfast.

While you can certainly substitute crab for the Canadian bacon in Eggs Benedict, the recipe below starts the day with a hearty hash.

Alas, it’s a restaurant-size recipe. Assuming two eggs per portion, it makes 24 servings!

However, here’s a slightly different crab hash recipe with family-size proportions.

If you like the ingredients below, just substitute them in that recipe.
 
 
RECIPE: POTATO & CRAB HASH WITH POACHED EGGS

We liked the festiveness of this crab hash recipe from the Idaho Potato Commission: three different types of potatoes, plus the luxury of crabmeat.

One tip, though: This recipe uses the most expensive type of crabmeat, jumbo lump. There’s no reason to spend the extra money for home use. Instead, look for crab claw meat or any other variety (the different types of crabmeat).

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PEEL and steam all potatoes until soft. Drain, let cool and cut into medium dice.

2. COMBINE the diced potatoes in a bowl with the onion, peppers, butter, honey, salt, pepper and bread crumbs. Mix thoroughly. Gently fold the crab in and refrigerate.

For each order (i.e., it’s a restaurant recipe)…

3. SAUTÉ 6 ounces of loose potato-crab hash in 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a nonstick pan, turning gently until hot and crispy. In a separate pan…

4. POACH 2 eggs. Plate the potato-crab hash and top with the poached eggs.

[1] Potato and crab hash with poached eggs (photo © Idaho Potato Commission).

[2] Jumbo lump crab meat (photos #2 and #3 © Phillips Foods).

[3] Claw crabmeat, much less expensive than jumbo lump (above).

[4] Maryland blue crabs. The shells turn red when cooked (photo © Cameron’s Seafood).

While crabs are found worldwide today, the earliest known fossils come from what is now the area of Britain, which likely represents a stem-group lineage, as it lacks several key morphological features that define modern crabs.

The crab population expanded in the Late Jurassic, corresponding with an increase in reef habitats.

Crabs increased in diversity through the Cretaceous period (145.5 to 65.5 million years ago). By the end of the period, they were the largest group of decapods, the order of crustaceans that includes many familiar groups, such as crabs, crayfish, lobsters, prawns and shrimp.

Crabs are found in all of the world’s oceans. Many species also live in fresh water and on land, particularly in tropical regions.

Crabs vary in size from the pea crab, a few millimeters wide, to the Japanese spider crab, with a leg span up to 4 meters (13 feet) [source].
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CRABMEAT

> THE HISTORY OF HASH

[1] Baileys Deliciously Light Irish Cream has half the calories and carbs of the original (photo © R&A Bailey & Co.).

[2] How about a Baileys cheesecake for St. Patrick’s Day? Here’s a recipe (photo © Kraft).

Baileys is the number-one selling liqueur in the world [source].

If you’re a lover of Baileys Irish Cream liqueur, here’s a waist-pleasing option:
 
 
BAILEY’S DELICIOUSLY LIGHT

Cream from grass-grazing Irish cows, and the flavors of cocoa and vanilla, are still here.

How does it taste?

Compared to the The Original Baileys, it’s less thick and rich, as if it were made with half-and-half instead of cream.

But it’s equally delicious, especially when you look at the benefit:

Gone are many of the calories: 40% fewer calories and 40% fewer grams of sugar than Baileys Original Irish Cream (see comparison in the footnote *).

What this means to us is: a larger glass!

We love Baileys instead of dessert at the end of dinner. You can also enjoy it:

 
 
GET YOURS

Check with your local retailer. Online, we’ve found prices raging from $25.99 to $38.99 (in a pricey zip code of Manhattan).

In addition to grabbing a bottle for yourself—or maybe two, since it will go quickly—Baileys Deliciously Light and Baileys Original both make spot-on gifts for St. Patrick’s Day.

A bottle is gift enough; but if you want something more elaborate, there are also themed gift boxes through a partnership with Cocktail Coutourier.

Check out these Baileys recipes for cocktails, desserts, hot drinks

*Per 2.5 fl. oz. serving:
> Baileys Deliciously Light calories-139; carbs-9.3 g; protein-0.8 g; fat-3.7 g; sugar-7.8g.
> Baileys Original Irish Cream calories-233; carbs-16.1g; protein-2.1g; fat-10.1g; sugar 13.3g.

Bacon’s Heir’s first product was Pork Clouds, a crunchy snack that took the classic chicharrón, or fried pork skin, and made it light and fluffy, lower calorie crisps.

The creator thought they resembled clouds on a summer afternoon; hence Pork Clouds.

Product #2 will be very welcome to those who want crunchy panko breadcrumbs without gluten and carbs. These panko breadcrumbs are made from pork skin.
 
 
PORK PANKO GLUTEN-FREE BREADCRUMBS

While other gluten-free panko exists, they aren’t carb free.

For example, Kikkoman brand makes gluten-free panko from rice flour, pea protein and dextrose (they’re kosher, unlike Pork Panko).

But they’re not zero-carb like Pork Panko.

Which would you prefer?

Pork Panko is:

 
 
WHAT ARE PANKO?

Panko are Japanese breadcrumbs. They are actually bread “flakes” rather than breadcrumbs.

The difference is that conventional panko breadcrumbs (made from wheat bread) are ground into tiny bits, while panko are small flakes.

Conventional panko are made from specially baked, oblong, crustless loaves. The larger and lighter flakes produced coat the food without “packing” like regular bread crumbs. They allow foods to stay crispier for longer.

Panko can be used with baked or fried foods.

 
Are you ready to start breading and garnishing?

There are great recipes on the Bacon’s Heir website.

 
> The history of panko breadcrumbs.

[1] Fried chicken with gluten-free panko (all photos © Bacon’s Heir).

[2] Breaded mozzarella (you can bread anything with Pork Panko).

[3] Soba noodles with fried shrimp.

[4] Avocado fries.

Pork Panko is available at retailers nationwide. Here’s a store locator.

Or, head to Amazon.
 
 

Love peanut butter? Love Oreos?

Combine them to create your own peanut butter Oreos (photo #1).

The idea is from Peanut Butter & Co., one of our favorite brands of peanut butter.

They have Smooth and Crunchy PBs in three versions: regular, No Sugar Added and Old Fashioned.

And the flavors! Dark Chocolatey Dreams Cinnamon Raisin Swirl, Mighty Maple, The Bee’s Knees, White Chocolatey Wonderful (and for the holidays, Pumpkin Spice).

March 6th is National Oreo Day, so even if you don’t want to make this PB Oreo recipe, treat yourself to a jar of Peanut Butter & Co., available at fine grocers and online.
 
 
QUICKIE RECIPE: PEANUT BUTTER OREOS

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SLIDE a sharp knife under the top of each Oreo and remove it.

2. ADD an amount of peanut butter commensurate with the white filling. Replace the cookie tops.

NOTE that the peanut butter will be softer than the white stuffing. If you don’t want the PB to spill out, place the cookies in the fridge for 15 or more minutes before consuming.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF OREOS
 
 
MORE OREO RECIPES

[1] Make Peanut Butter Oreo Cookies (photo © Peanut Butter & Co.).

[2] Oreo Cookie Layer Cake (photo © Kraft)

[3] Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies (photo © Bella Baker [now closed]).