Brown Soda Bread and Irish Stew

After trying my hand at Indian flatbreads, I decided it was time for me to graduate to something a little bit more complicated. I found a recipe for soda bread in the March issue of Cooking Light, and I thought it sounded like it may fit the bill. I had been really wanting to make something Irish for St. Patrick's Day this year. It's funny; I've got a lot of Irish in my blood, but up until a week ago I had never made any type of Irish cuisine. I set out to change that.

To my slight disappointment, though, I realized when I actually read through the soda bread recipe that it was going to be easy to make! I was bummed. I had been looking to do something that would challenge me a little more than the flatbread had, but this was not it. My disappointment didn't last very long, though. I was still getting to bake bread, which was going to be fun, no matter what. It turns out that this bread is a quick bread. It contains all kinds of nice, healthy ingredients, such as whole wheat flour, wheat bran, and steel-cut oats. The oats in particular are something I've had on hand for a while but haven't been able to use yet. Now was my chance!


After a quick mix of ingredients, a transfer into a loaf pan, and a trip to the oven to bake for 65 minutes, it was all done. It smelled wonderful, and it tasted even better. The kids and I were snacking on it while I made dinner that night, and it was pretty addictive. Now that I've finally made a quick bread, I want to do it again sometime soon. It's such little effort, for such great reward. I could get used to having homemade bread around all the time.

The main dish that evening was Pork and Guinness Stew. I know, another recipe using beer. I've really been stepping outside my comfort zone lately. Ordinarily this wouldn't be something I'd make, but when I read through the recipe it just sounded yummy to me, and a good way to dip my toe into the world of Irish cuisine. I substituted pork for the beef in the original dish, and threw in a sweet potato while omitting a parsnip (we just don't like them around here). The result was a very delicious, very hearty meal that was well worth the length of time it took to bubble away on the stove. I have to say, we've been very happy with our monthly Cooking Light magazines; nearly everything we cook from them truly make us forget we are eating so healthy!

The recipe for the Brown Soda Bread can be found here.

The recipe for the Beef (or in our case, pork) and Guinness Stew can be found here.

Boozy Brownies

When trying to decide what kind of special treat to make for St. Patrick's Day, I turned to the March issue of Cooking Light Magazine for inspiration. They had a full menu for St. Patty's, from starters to after-dinner coffee, and I thought much of it sounded great and worth trying. However, these brownies really caught my eye. They're called Black and Tan Brownies, and they are basically two-layer bars with beer as one of the ingredients. Initially I was surprised to see a recipe like this in Cooking Light. Beer? Real butter? Pure unsweetened chocolate? All baked into a brownie? How could that be healthy? But hey, I figured if Cooking Light was telling me I could eat this, guilt-free, who was I to argue?

I really wasn't sure how this was going to go. I mean, it could either have been an ambitious kitchen experiment gone terribly wrong, or it could be my next great discovery. Only time (and my trusty taste-testing husband) would tell. So I dove in. The first step was very simple and came together quickly. I whipped together a blondie layer (the "Tan" part of the brownie) and baked it in the oven for 15 minutes.


When that part came out of the oven, I was instructed to assemble the brownie layer, or the "Black" half of the brownie. This is the part that contained beer. A whole cup of it. The recipe recommended I use Guinness Stout, but we had purchased a double chocolate stout just for this occasion.

When the finished product came out of the oven, I discovered that the blondie layer had risen too much on the sides and not as much in the center. As a result, the whole entire pan of brownies had a funny-looking border of blondie around its edges, making it look kind of like a brownie picture in a yummy frame.


This was simple enough to fix. Once it was entirely cool, I carefully sawed off the edges of the brownie and cut about 24 squares. I now had 2 dozen cute little black and tan brownies, and four long, skinny borders to taste test! And taste test I did. These are really good brownies. The beer does pair well with the chocolate, and it's not overwhelming or overpowering. I am not a fan of the taste of beer, so I didn't know whether I'd like these. But the flavors are complementary and make for an intriguing, delicious adult treat. It's a good thing my children are not brownie fans, or else this probably wouldn't be the best brownie to make and keep around the house. They were great for Andy to take to work, though! He loved them, and they were devoured quickly at his office.

Black and Tan Brownies

adapted from Cooking Light, March 2010

makes 24-36 bars, depending how big you cut them

Ingredients
Tan Layer
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)
Cooking spray

Black Layer
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Guinness Stout (I used different beer; it was fine)
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Place one rack in lower third of oven; place another rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To prepare Tan Brownies, place 6 Tbsp. butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla. Weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 oz. flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine this flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir well. Add flour mixture and pecans, if using, to sugar mixture, beating just until combined. Spoon into a 13x9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray, spreading evenly with a knife or rubber spatula. Bake at 350 in lower third of oven for 15 minutes.
3. To prepare Black Brownies, melt chocolate and 4 Tbsp. butter in a large microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 minute or until melted, stirring after every 20 seconds until smooth. Add granulated sugar, stirring until well combined. Add 2 eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla, and beer, stirring with a whisk until well combined. Weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 oz. flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine this flour with the salt, stirring well. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring to combine. Pour mixture evenly over Tan Brownie layer.
4. Bake on the center rack at 350 for 25 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack; cut into squares.
*Note: I lined my pan with aluminum foil, then sprayed foil with cooking spray. This worked well; the foil peeled off easily when brownies were inverted onto a flat surface.