Seasonal Irish Cooking Perked Up with Dashes O’ Whiskey

By J. Herbert Silverman 

Consider Irish coffee, one of Ireland’s greatest contributions to gourmet drinking. Advice from Ireland: You will produce a better Irish coffee if you buy heavy cream directly from a local farmer. 

But also note that the inimitable Irish have managed to include their incomparable whiskey into recipes for dining throughout the year not just Sundays or Patrick's Day. 

Pub "grub" associated with a "jar" can be elevated to gourmet standards and if you are interested in creating your own version at home, here are some typical recipes. 

Colum Egan is Bushmills master distiller and, not surprisingly, his family has come up with a recipe containing the freshest of home grown ingredients. Co. Antrim is home of Bushmills, the oldest licensed distillery in the world.
 

For starters: Bushmills Wild Mushroom Soup (serves 4)

Ingredients: 
1 tblsp dried porcini mushrooms (soaked in warm water and finely chopped) 
1 cup warm water 
1 tblsp olive oil 
1 tsp butter 
2 leeks thoroughly washed and finely sliced 
2 shallots, chopped 
1 clove garlic, chopped 
1 cup fresh wild mushrooms, chopped 
4 cups beef stock 
½ tsp. dried thyme 
½ cup heavy cream 
Salt and freshly ground black paper 
Sprigs of fresh thyme to garnish 
3 capfuls Bushmills Irish Whiskey 

Method: 
In large saucepan sauté the leeks, shallots and garlic for about 5 minutes in butter and oil until softened but not colored, stirring frequently. 

Add wild mushrooms and stir over a medium heat for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Pour in the beef stock and bring to the boil. Add the porcini, soaking liquid, dried thyme and salt and pepper. Lower the heat, partially cover the pan and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Pour about three-quarters of the soup into a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Return to the remaining soup in the pan, stir in the cream and heat through. Check the consistency, adding more stock or water if the soup is too thick. Add 3 caps of Bushmills Original Irish Whiskey. Adjust the seasoning. Serve hot, garnished with springs of fresh thyme. 

Peppered River Bush salmon with Bushmills Whiskey Cream Sauce
(serves 2) 

Ingredients: 
1 tblsp. black peppercorns crushed. 
1 tblsp. peppercorns crushed. 
2 6-oz. salmon steaks 
1 tsp. Dijon mustard 
freshly ground sea salt 
1 tblsp. butter 
1 tblsp. Bushmills Whiskey 
½ cup heavy cream 
1 tblsp. chopped fresh chives, plus extra to garnish. 

Method:
Rub salmon steaks with Dijon mustard and press black peppercorns on both sides of the salmon. Heat a frying pan until hot. Add the butter and sauté salmon steaks. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the steaks for about 3 minutes on one side to brown them. 

Turn up the heat, turn the steaks over, then splash with whiskey. Boil fast until the whiskey has almost disappeared then pour in the cream. Boil for 1 - 2 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken, taste and season with more black pepper if necessary and salt. 

By this time the salmon should be just cooked. Test with the tip of a knife; if it is still a wee bit pink, simmer over a low heat for another minute. Stir in the chopped chives and serve immediately, garnished with the extra chives. 

Michael Collins Cream, Smoked Salmon with Cucumber 

Ingredients: 
1 cup sour cream 
1 tbsp. Michael Collins whiskey 
salt and pepper to taste 
1 medium-size cucumber, sliced 
4 oz. thinly sliced smoked salmon 
fresh dill sprigs for garnish 

Method: 
In a bowl, mix the sour cream, whiskey and seasoning 

On a work surface slice the cucumber. Cut small pieces of smoked salmon. Spoon whisky cream on the cucumber slices, gently place a piece of smoked salmon on the cream and garnish with a sprig of dill 

Bruschetta with Michael Collins Irish Whiskey and Cashel blue cheese 
(serves 10) 

Ingredients 
2 cups cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped 
2 tblsps. sweet onion, finely chopped 
3 tbsp. Michael Collins Irish Whiskey 
1 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped 
1 tsp. fresh basil, chopped 
2 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped, 
1 loaf Italian bread, cut into one-half inch slices 
1 clove garlic 
extra virgin olive oil 
¼ cup Cashel blue cheese. 

Method: 
Preheat the oven to 400º F. 

In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, onion olive oil, whiskey and herbs. 

Brush both sides of the bread with garlic. Place the bread slices on a lightly oiled baking sheet, and top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with Cashel blue cheese. 

Bake in preheated oven for ten minutes, or until bottom of bread is browned. 

Allow to cool five minutes before serving. 

Irish Stew (quick recipe) 

Ingredients:
1 lb. Irish lamb chops 
2 potatoes 
2 onions 
1 cup water 
salt and pepper 
2 carrots, optional 

Method: 
Cut the lamb into 1-inch pieces, removing surplus fat if necessary. Peel potatoes and, if large, cut in half or quarters. Slice onion thinly. Put all these in layers in a stew pan, beginning and ending with potato and sprinkling salt and pepper between each layer. Pour water over and stew gently, covered, until potatoes are soft. About 1 1/2 hours. 

Note: In the southern counties of Ireland, it is customary to add carrots cut in one-inch chunks to the stew in layers with the onions, potatoes and meat. Lamb can vary in cooking time, so test several times during preparation to see if it is done. 
 

Guinness Beef and Oyster Stew 

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless chuck steak 
2 tblsps, chopped onion 
1 tblsp. butter 
1½ tblsp. flour 
2 cups beef stock 
2 oz of Guinness stout 
A bouquet garni (parsley, thyme and bay leaf tied together) 
½ cup sliced mushrooms 
12 oysters and their juice 

Method: 
Cut beef into 1-inch cubes and season with salt and pepper. Heat butter in a flame-proof casserole, being careful not to burn it. Sauté meat in the fat until it is brown on all sides. Remove from casserole. Cook onion in casserole for three to four minutes more. 

Blend in the stock and stout and bring to a boil stirring. Add the meat, the bouquet garni, mushrooms and oysters. Taste and correct seasoning if necessary. Cover and bake at 350º F for approximately two hours or until the meat is cooked. It can also be cooked on the stove top set low to simmer slowly. 

The mixture may be served as a pie if transferred to a pie dish, covered with pastry and heated when necessary in a hot oven until the pastry is nicely browned and the pie bubbling. 

Medallions of Beef with Jameson Sauce 

Ingredients: 
4 beef filet medallions 
1 tblsp. butter 
1 clove garlic, minced 
1 tsp finely minced shallots 
1 cup mushrooms, chopped 
1 tsp. honey 
1 tsp. wholegrain mustard 
1 oz. Jameson Irish Whiskey 
¾ cup beef stock 
¾ cup heavy cream 
Freshly ground black pepper 

Method: 
Sauté steaks in butter to desired doneness and keep warm. Sauté garlic, 
shallots and mushrooms in butter. Add honey and wholegrain mustard. Add the whiskey and flambé. 

When flame dies out, add the stock and reduce by half. Add the cream and reduce slightly. Adjust seasonings. To serve, slice fillets and pour sauce over. 

Bushmills Whiskey Cheesecake
(serves 8) 

Ingredients: 
1½ tblsps. butter 
2 cups graham cracker crumbs 
1 cup confectioner's sugar 
1 cup heavy cream 
8 oz. cream cheese 
3 capfuls Bushmills 

Method: 
Mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press mixture into bottom of an 8-inch cake pan with removable bottom. Put in refrigerator to chill while preparing the filling. Whip cream cheese until soft. Add confectioner’s sugar. Whip cream and add to mixture. Finally, fold Bushmills into mixture. Pour filling on to crumb base. Return to refrigerator and chill until set. Cut into slices and serve. 
 

(When not in his kitchen or at the dining room table, writer J. Herb Silverman can be reached at jhsilverman@att.net.)