Tag: blog post

Irish Bread Recipe – Blog post

Everyone needs a great Irish Bread Recipe and this is a GREAT one. Bread can be an intimidating thing to make but Irish Bread is an easy place to start. No yeast or rising to deal with. My family asks for this Irish Bread Recipe all year round and it is wonderful for breakfast and after school snacks… anytime of the day. Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day so this recipe is a tasty way to celebrate the holiday and your new found Irish identity.

“May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, may good luck pursue each morning and night”

-Unknown

I have tried many Irish Bread recipes over the years. I will say my favorite Irish Bread is from our local pub, The Chieftain Pub in Plainville, MA. At dinner service you get a basket of bread when you sit down, it is heavenly. I have tried to get them to teach it to me, but in true Irish fashion, there is no recipe. Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that. My grandmother’s recipe, which was also fantastic has been lost with time which makes me sad. But I am happy with the one that I have come up with. This recipe is a mix of many other recipes I have tried over the years. I would say there are two tips for this recipe, one is soaking the raisins in hot water to plump them up. It is a game changer and two is sprinkling sugar on the top to get that sweet crunchy topping.

If you are interested in more foodie content, please check out the Recipes page of my blog Sunday Chefs for more tried and true family recipes and restaurant reviews.

Irish Bread Recipe

Everyone needs a good Irish Bread Recipe
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Equipment Method

Equipment

  • 4 1/2 cups White Flour
  • 1 1/4 cups Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 2 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 cup Softened Butter
  • 1 Large Egg Room temperature
  • 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
  • 2 cups Buttermilk
  • 2 or 3 cups Raisins

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. This makes two Irish Breads for me and I use 9 inch glass plates.
  3. Spray the pie plates with cooking spray or coat with butter.
  4. Combine all the dry ingredients and sift or whisk them until combined well.
  5. While you are preparing all this. Soak the raisins in very hot water for about 10 minutes. This plumps them up.
  6. Drain them and coat in white sugar or flour so they don't sink to the bottom of the bread.
  7. I have found that using your hands to mix this works the best. It is messy but it works.
  8. Add the butter and combine well.
  9. Add the raisins and combine well, make sure all the raisins are separated and coated well in the flour mixture.
  10. Add all the wet ingredients (heavy cream, buttermilk, and the egg and stir until well incorporated.
  11. Pour the mixture into the pie plates and cut a cross in the top (tradition) and sprinkle the top with sugar for a sweet crunchy top.
  12. Bake for at least an hour until a knife or toothpick comes out clean.

The Barnacle Restaurant, Marblehead Ma.

Looking for a quintessential New England seafood restaurant? Looking for a great restaurant in Marblehead, Ma? If so, The Barnacle Restaurant is just what you are looking for. I have been going to The Barnacle for too many years than I care to admit and it never disappoints. Located in old town Marblehead, Ma., overlooking Marblehead Harbor with stunning views of The Marblehead light and the beautiful Fort Sewall Park with all its amazing history.

The Barnacle is nothing fancy and it is close quarters but don’t let that scare you away. The drinks are cold and the food is fresh and fabulous. The deck has wonderful views on a beautiful day but sitting inside on a rainy, windy day watching the waves might almost be better.

Everyone in my family has their favorites. I can never decide between the fish and chips or the crab cakes. Hubby and daughter love the fried shrimp and the fisherman’s platter. But all of us love the chowder and shrimp cocktail! So lets just say we order it all and share.

I would usually say this is a summer destination, but The Barnacle is fantastic all year round, no matter the weather. And after you have filled your stomach to excess, go for a walk around old town and check out the sights.

To me, food is as much about the moment, the occasion, the location and the company as it is about the taste.

Heston Blumenthal

The Barnacle Restaurant is located at 141 Front Street in Marblehead, MA and is open 7 days a week. Next time you are in the area be sure to check it out. For more like this, check out my Restaurant Reviews page on my blog Sunday Chefs.

Summery Chicken Pasta Salad with Red Grapes

This Summery Chicken Pasta Salad with Grapes is the perfect dish for cookouts, hot summer nights, easy lunches or any day you want something quick and wonderful

This Summery Chicken Pasta Salad with Grapes is the perfect dish for cookouts, hot summer nights, easy lunches or any day you want something quick and wonderful

What I love about this recipe is it is so easy and very different from your usual pasta salad. It is very lemony so the red grapes are needed to balance it out. There is nothing better on a hot summer night then this. It is so cool and satisfying. This summery pasta salad is the perfect one dish meal for any occasion. A pasta salad this easy is something you need in the rotation. Get a rotisserie chicken, break it apart, add it to your favorite pasta with chopped spinach and chopped grapes along with the wonderful dressing in the recipe below and you are good to go. A warm summer night just calls for this cool and satisfying Summery Chicken Pasta Salad with Grapes/

My good friend Pam has always made this summery pasta salad and I finally convinced her to share the recipe with me. So she will get full credit for her culinary prowess.

Check out my other products here on the RECIPES page of my blog Sunday Chefs.

Summertime is always the best of what might be

Charles Bowden

Summery Chicken Pasta Salad with Red Grapes

Print Recipe
Course: dinner, Salad
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 12 oz box Pasta Bowties or Rotini work well
  • 3 cups Cooked Chicken Breast rotisserie chicken works great here
  • 3 cups red grapes sliced in half
  • 3 cups Baby Spinach coarsely chopped
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • 1/2 cup Fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup Olive oil
  • 1/2 cup Red wine vinegar
  • 1.5 tsp garlic powder
  • 1.5 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method
 

  1. Cook the pasta as directed and rinse under cool water.
  2. When the pasta is cooled, add the chicken, grapes, and chopped spinach
  3. For the dressing. Mix lemon juice, zest, olive oil, red wine vinegar and spices.
  4. Mix the dressing well. Add to the dry ingredients and mix well.
  5. Refrigerate for about a half hour and enjoy.

Notes

Great for a hot, summer evening!
Allergy Friendly: Contains gluten but can be made with gluten free pasta.
 

Restaurant Review – Luciano’s, Wrentham MA

Restaurants in Wrentham, Ma. appear to be on my list of favorites lately. Luciano’s is one of them. My husband and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary. Where to go? Saw a Facebook post from Luciano’s in Wrentham, MA with a picture of their baked stuffed lobster and I was sold. We have been to Luciano’s before, but not since before Covid, so this was going to be a treat.

Established in 1991, Luciano’s is hidden away in a very unassuming location on Rte. 1 in Wrentham, MA. When you enter you are brought back to a classic Italian steak house of old. Great bar with weekend entertainment and a classic, sophisticated ambiance. This was just the “lets get dressed up and celebrate” location that we were looking for.

As we were being seated it occurred to me, “What if the baked stuffed lobster was a special that night and not available tonight…. I should have called first!”

Our waiter was wonderful and told us the long and complicated list of specials (Baked stuffed lobster was there!!). Explaining them all perfectly. I ordered a chardonnay and my husband got the house red wine. I don’t usually go for red wine, but the waiter’s recommendation was fantastic. The waiter noticed me stealing sips and brought a glass for me, so my husband could be left in peace with his drink. This is the kind of service and attention to detail that Luciano’s is famous for. We started our meal with the focaccia and Italian bread with olive oil for dipping. I could have had this for my meal alone it was so good.

For the appetizer we got the classic shrimp cocktail to share. It was prepared perfectly and served ice cold. For something so simple it is so easy to get wrong. They did not get this wrong. It was wonderful. We knew we were getting big meals, so we did not want to fill up on appetizers.

Ordering for me was easy and I told the waiter it was the Facebook post that got me here. He let me know that I would not be disappointed. He was correct. I cannot even remember how long it has been since I had a baked stuffed lobster. A very classic dish that isn’t on a lot of menus these days. It was my late mother’s favorite and I cannot help but have fond memories of this wonderful woman while I am eating it. Anyone who knows me knows that I feel food is love and food is memories and this meal checked off quite a few of those boxes.

The lobster came and to say I was speechless was an understatement. A two and a half pound lobster, prepared and stuffed to perfection. I actually couldn’t even finish it. The waiter chuckled at my reaction. I brought the leftovers home and my college student, home for the summer, finished it in a flash.

My husband got the Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romana and was thrilled with it. I am not a huge fan of veal normally, but I would order this. It was an amazing dish. I had every intention of getting dessert because it was a special occasion but I was just too full to get anything else.

Going to Luciano’s was the perfect choice for this special occasion. The waiter even noticed the breast cancer pin on my purse and asked if I was a survivor. I am and this year will be five years since my diagnosis and we had a very sincere chat and I appreciated his thoughtfulness. As we were waiting for the check, there were a few elderly ladies sitting across from us having a grand celebration of some sort. One woman had a walker and was tired and was having a hard time using the walker on the carpet. This wonderful man that was our waiter (I wish I could remember his name), had her sit in a chair and he slid the chair across the rug until she was in a place to use the walker more easily. He was charming and made her feel special and she had a great smile on her face throughout the whole adventure.

I cannot recommend Luciano’s in Wrentham, MA any more highly. It is the perfect special occasion restaurant. But let’s be honest, life is short, every day should be a special occasion.

This Mother’s Day is different – I’m choosing to celebrate all women instead.

Sitting here thinking about the Mother’s Day Social Media posts that I am going to create and honestly, not really up for it. I don’t need flowers or brunch. I think we need to change the narrative. I have decided instead to celebrate all women, not just mothers. Because what we really need is to not feel helpless. I need to do something and I feel helpless. I need to feel empowered and for my girls to feel empowered. I did not fight and survive Breast Cancer to be told I am less than and for my girls to be told that. Life is fleeting, don’t let anyone tell you, you are not worth it. I am not here to debate, I am here to celebrate and empower. So I have decided that I am going to start some #dailybadasswomen posts. I am sure there are people who will disagree with my views, but I think as women we can all agree that we do not want to live in a world where our daughters have less rights than we had or even their grandmothers. I will try to do it every day. Can’t promise everyday will happen in this crazy world. But we as women, we need some inspiration and encouragement in this scary, crazy new world. Because there are a lot of bad ass women out there and they just woke up.

As for my girls, I’ll raise them to think they breathe fire.

JM Storm

Pink Mandala Journal

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LETTER TRACING FOR KIDS: PRE-K WRITING PRACTICE

Pandemic hits and you are bored, so what do you do? Put all those graphic designs skills to use and create some workbooks and journals. Would love if you checked out my first workbook Letter Tracing for Kids: Pre-K Writing Practice.

Give your preschool aged child a headstart with fun and engaging letter writing practice sheets. This beginner handwriting book contains over 70 pages of brightly colored, creative tracing activities. A fun way to build confidence and improve penmanship all while teaching them letters and beginning spelling.