Looking for the perfect St. Patrick’s Day recipes? Mary Rapoport with the Virginia Egg Council has a great dinner and dessert.
When thinking of the Irish-themed holiday, we think of shamrocks; leprechauns; gold coins; the color green; potatoes; corned beef and cabbage; and Irish whiskey.
When deciding what to serve for St. Paddy’s Day dinner, Mary suggests something easy and something that contains as many of the above as possible. Mary shared this recipe with WSLS 10.
So here it is: For dinner: A delicious skillet scramble, featuring potatoes, bits of corned beef, chopped zucchini and peppers (for the green touch), and served with a cabbage slaw. Where are the gold coins? That’s what you’ll save with this inexpensive dinner meal.
For dessert, we’ll enjoy Irish Cream Cheesecake - flavored with an Irish liqueur and topped with a candy shamrock. The only thing missing is the leprechaun so we named our entrée Leprechaun Scramble!
Leprechaun Scramble ♣
6 eggs
½ tsp. coarse salt
3 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups refrigerated hash-browned potatoes
1 small fresh zucchini, sliced thin
1 slice green pepper (sliced crosswise to resemble a shamrock) and a bit for the stem – set aside
½ cup chopped green pepper
½ cup chopped or shredded deli corned beef
Beat eggs with salt and water. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook potatoes, zucchini, chopped pepper, and corned beef about 5 minutes until hot and veggies begin to wilt, turning frequently. Pour eggs in pan over everything. As it begins to set, very gently move everything around until eggs are set, but still moist. Garnish with pepper slice in center to resemble a shamrock. Serve with a cabbage slaw. Makes 4 servings
Irish Cream Cheesecake ♣
1 cup crushed Mint Oreo cookies
2 Tablespoons melted butter
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) lower fat Cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
1 cup lower fat sour cream
½ cup Irish cream liqueur (like Bailey’s) (or ½ cup sweetened coffee and cream with rum flavoring)
4 eggs
Garnish: Candy shamrock – use 3 sugar coated candy mint leaves
Heat oven to 325°. Combine crushed cookie crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of a 9″ springform pan. Bake for 10 min. Wrap bottom and up sides with foil.
Beat cream cheese, sugar and flour until blended. Add sour cream and liqueur and when mixed well add eggs, one at a time, incorporating each on low speed (do not whip). Pour over crust. Place cheesecake in a larger pan, filled with water to halfway up sides of cheesecake. Bake for 1 hour and 10 – 15 min. (edges should be firm and center ‘jiggly’). Turn oven off; open oven door; let sit in cooling oven for an hour. Run a knife around the side of cake; cool on a rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Remove sides before serving. Makes 16 servings.
*To make marble cheesecake – reserve 1 cup batter; tint green; fold into batter in pan with knife or spoon; bake.
Garnish with candy shamrock: With rolling pin, flatten candy mint leaves – cut 3 with a small heart-shaped cookie cutter; cut scraps into a curved stem. Place on center of the cake to form a shamrock.
Virginia Egg Council ~ eggsrgr8@rev.net ~ 540.345.3958 ~ www.virginiaeggcouncil.org