What can I cook on St. Patrick's Day?

From the very beginning of the day, this must be Irish. So let's start with an Irish Breakfast, hearty and simple as its people, which consists of tea and scones and a fine word or two from a poem by Yeats or the lyric prose of Joyce.




Ir a: http://www.csun.edu/~hceng029/yeats/collectedpoems.html
Ir a: http://www.poemhunter.com/william-butler-yeats/
Ir a: http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/William_Butler.htm
Ir a: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Butler_Yeats (biography)
Ir a: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1923/yeats-bio.html (Official Nobelprize Website)
Ir a: http://www.online-literature.com/yeats/ (also for other authors)

Beef recipes for St. Patrick's Day

There are many options if you want to cook beef, but a simple and tasty one like this will make easier to enjoy the day.

That is why I've chosen this one. The ingredients are also really "Irish" (beef and Guinness) and this is another important reason. But of course, you can choose any other one you like, according to your tastes, time to cook and ability.

So go ahead!

Irish Beef Stew Recipe

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 pounds well-marbled chuck beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces (NOT extra-lean)
6 large garlic cloves, minced
6 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
I cup of Guinness beer
1 cup of fine red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
(It's up to you the possibility of changing the quantities of the spices or not to use some of them if you don't like them; but remember the flavour will change)

Method
1 Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and sauté until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

2 While the meat and stock is simmering, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes. Set aside until the beef stew in step one has simmered for one hour.

3 Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Tilt pan and spoon off fat. Transfer stew to serving bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. (Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Salt and pepper to taste. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.)
Serves 4 to 6.



I consider this is a recipe very similar to some Spanish stews (beef, lamb,...) and it is easier to begin with a similar taste. Is there anything similar in your country?

Ir a http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes/st-patricks-day
Ir a: http://http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/irishbeefstew_73826.shtml (bbc)
Ir a: http://http://blogchef.net/irish-beef-stew-recipe/ (good photos, free recipes, interesting comments)

Spotted Dick

"Spotted Dick" or "Spotted Dog. A curious name for a dish!

And here you are, ready to cook. Or perhaps, ready to explain a group of students "Food and Drink Vocabulary", or the difference between "countable and uncountable nouns" or "how to measure uncountable nouns", ... Or ready to prepare a cultural day.

In any case, you can read recipes or write your favourite dish recipe. Or better, your students can talk about one recipe they like or even prepare if you have got time and a suitable place.

If you try with a British recipe, this may surprising because of the name. What is a "Spotted Dick" or a "Spotted Dog" as it is also called?






Ingredients:

285g (10oz) Self-Raising Flour 150g (5oz) Shredded Suet 150ml (¼ pint) Milk 110-160g (4-6oz) Currants or Raisins 85g (3oz) Castor Sugar 1 Lemon, zest only, finely grated Pinch Salt


How to cook it:


Mix all of the dry ingredients, including the grated lemon zest, together thoroughly Add enough milk to produce a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface. Roll out the mixture to produce a roll approximately 15cm (6 in) long and 5cm (2 in) in diameter. Prepare either a tea towel lightly dusted with flour, or sheet of kitchen foil or a double thickness of greaseproof paper, brushed with melted butter. Wrap loosely but securely, leaving enough space for it to rise. Tie or seal the ends. Place in the steamer and cover tightly. Steam for 1½ to 2 hours. Serve cut into thck slices with hot custard. Other possibilities are cream, hot chocolate, ... but try your own one.

Ir a: http://www.grouprecipes.com/20861/spotted-dick-recipe.html


Ir a: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-spotted-dick


Ir a: http://www.shamrockfoods.ie/Recipes/Spotted-Dick-48.aspx



If you need more details to get a proper "Spotted Dick", follow the instructions shown in this marvellous video, including basic printed vocabulary.


Ir a:http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-spotted-dick

To help student with their own recipes, the following links may be useful.


Ir a: http://wazniak.mimuw.edu.pl/index.php?title=Lesson_3_-_Vocabulary_-_FOOD_AND_DRINK_-_Page1 with easy multiple choice activities


Ir a: http://www.saberingles.com.ar/lists/drinks.html for basic vocabulary and listening to learn how to pronounce


Ir a: http://www.englishclub.com/english-for-work/food-drink.htm for more especialized vocabulary.



And if you are more interested in the curious name, Spotted Dick", you can read interesting websites and surveys with different possibilities. All the same, when dealing with recipes, flavours are more important than background information or ethimology, aren't they?

British traditional breakfast

What is the traditional English breakfast?

The traditional English breakfast consists of eggs, bacon, sausages, fried bread, baked beans and mushrooms. Even though not many people will eat this for breakfast today, it is always served in hotels and guest houses around Britain.

The traditional English breakfast is called the 'Full English' and sometimes referred to as 'The Full English Fry-up'. But depending on where it is served, it is called bacon and eggs, a fry, a fry up, The Great British breakfast, a full English breakfast, a full Irish breakfast, a full Scottish breakfast, a full Welsh breakfast or an Ulster fry. The complement of the breakfast varies depending on the location and which of these descriptions is used.

But Full English Breakfast has seen its last dawn, market researchers have announced.
Fry-up, as it was affectionately known to those who found calorific comfort in its fried bacon, sausage, mushroom, eggs and tomato - could not survive in the modern world.
According to Datamonitor, notoriously unhealthy Fry-up was killed by a flurry of activity. Britons are increasingly busy in the mornings and Full English was just too "time consuming to prepare".

There are even lots of news of different kinds of newspapers, broadcasters or magazines on science and health which include different articles about the health problems caused by too much fat and so on.

But what would be a visit to London or any other British place without tasting, at least for once in a lifetime, a Fry-up? Do it! Then compare ingredients, quantities, flavours, recipes, ... and decide if you like it or not.

Ir a: http://http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/food/meals.htm

Ir a: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_breakfast