St. Patrick’s Day recipe

Reuben Calzones

Reuben Calzone

There is more than one way to enjoy corned beef. This time of year, because of the St Patrick’s Day specials, corned beef is on sale at lots of stores. These calzones are a fun way to serve corned beef.

While more often made with Italian ingredients, you can make calzones with other fillings, too. I made these for a friend a while back and we were talking about them the other day. I decided to make them again.

These are a fun way to make a Reuben, but with a twist. You can leave the sauerkraut out, if you like.  I add some thousand island dressing to the calzones, but serve extra on the side. They also freeze well, so you can make a batch, enjoy some fresh, and freeze some for later. I thought I would share the recipe with you.

Reuben Calzones

3 ¼ c. flour

1 c. rye flour

1 T. sugar

1 t. salt

1 package quick-rising yeast

1⅓ c. hot water

1 T. oil

1 c. Thousand Island dressing, recipe follows

1 lb. thin sliced corned beef

8 oz. shredded Swiss cheese

1 c. sauerkraut, squeezed dry

1 egg , beaten

Caraway seeds, optional

Set aside 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Combine remaining flour with the other dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in water and oil and gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover dough and let rest 20 minutes. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll one piece into a 6-8 -inch circle. In the middle of the dough, add a spoonful of Thousand Island dressing,  place 1 ounce of the Swiss cheese and 2 ounces of the corned beef. Add a tablespoon or two of the sauerkraut, if using. Brush the edge of the dough with water. Fold over the dough in half and press the edges to seal. Brush the edge again with water and roll the edge over again. It will give you a prettier look and seal the calzone better. Repeat with remaining dough and fillings. Place calzones on greased baking sheets- or on a baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper liner. You will end up with 8 calzones in all. Only put 4 on one baking sheet. Cover and let rest 15 minutes while preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Before placing calzones in the oven brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with the caraway seeds, if you like. Also poke a few holes in the tops with a fork to help steam to escape while baking. I put both baking sheets in the oven at the same time and switch them halfway through baking. Bake in a preheated 400-degree for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. If baking both at once switch them after 10 minutes or so. Cool slightly before eating. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers.

If you want to use regular yeast use warm, rather than hot water. Also, allow a little more time for the dough to rise the first time, about 40 minutes. Everything else will work the same.

If you want to make your own dressing, here is the recipe

Thousand Island Dressing

1/2 c. ketchup

1/2 c. mayo

1/2 c. sweet pickle relish

Mix ingredients together and serve, or chill until needed.

Irish Soda Bread Scones

Irish Soda Bread Scones

If you are in the mood for Irish Soda Bread- you can get the same wonderful flavor in a scone.

Scones don’t take a lot of time or effort to make. These would be a wonderful addition to your St. Patrick’s Day meal.

While traditionally served for breakfast or tea time, scones are really good any time of the day. They certainly can be served with dinner.

I used golden raisins, but you could use regular raisins, currants or cranberries, for a less traditional scone.

  Irish Soda Bread Scones

2 c. flour

3 T. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

½ t. salt

1/3 c. butter

½ c. golden raisins, raisins, or currants

1 t. caraway seeds

2/3 c. buttermilk

1 egg

Milk

Extra sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds. Beat together buttermilk and egg and add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until mixture just coming together. Turn onto floured surface and knead 5-6 strokes or until ball of dough holds together. Dust an 8-inch round cake with  flour. Press dough into cake pan. Invert pan over onto prepared baking sheet. I find if I do this quickly the dough comes out more easily. Remove cake pan. This will give you a perfect 8-inch circle of dough. With a sharp, floured knife cut dough into 8 wedges. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake 14-16 minutes. Makes 8.

Scones ready for the oven

Irish Soda Bread Scones

Irish Soda Bread Scones

If you are in the mood for Irish Soda Bread- you can get the same wonderful flavor in a scone.

Scones don’t take a lot of time or effort to make. These would be a wonderful addition to your St. Patrick’s Day meal.

While traditionally served for breakfast or tea time, scones are really good any time of the day. They certainly can be served with dinner.

I used golden raisins, but you could use regular raisins, currants or cranberries, for a less traditional scone.

  Irish Soda Bread Scones

2 c. flour

3 T. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

½ t. salt

1/3 c. butter

½ c. golden raisins, raisins, or currants

1 t. caraway seeds

2/3 c. buttermilk

1 egg

Milk

Extra sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds. Beat together buttermilk and egg and add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until mixture just coming together. Turn onto floured surface and knead 5-6 strokes or until ball of dough holds together. Dust an 8-inch round cake with  flour. Press dough into cake pan. Invert pan over onto prepared baking sheet. I find if I do this quickly the dough comes out more easily. Remove cake pan. This will give you a perfect 8-inch circle of dough. With a sharp, floured knife cut dough into 8 wedges. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake 14-16 minutes. Makes 8.

Scones ready for the oven

Irish Soda Bread Scones

Irish Soda Bread Scones

If you are in the mood for Irish Soda Bread- you can get the same wonderful flavor in a scone.

Scones don’t take a lot of time or effort to make. These would be a wonderful addition to your St. Patrick’s Day meal.

While traditionally served for breakfast or tea time, scones are really good any time of the day. They certainly can be served with dinner.

I used golden raisins, but you could use regular raisins, currants or cranberries, for a less traditional scone.

  Irish Soda Bread Scones

2 c. flour

3 T. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

½ t. salt

1/3 c. butter

½ c. golden raisins

1 t. caraway seeds

2/3 c. buttermilk

1 egg

Milk

Extra sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds. Beat together buttermilk and egg and add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until mixture just coming together. Turn onto floured surface and knead 5-6 strokes or until ball of dough holds together. Dust an 8-inch round cake with  flour. Press dough into cake pan. Invert pan over onto prepared baking sheet. I find if I do this quickly the dough comes out more easily. Remove cake pan. This will give you a perfect 8-inch circle of dough. With a sharp, floured knife cut dough into 8 wedges. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake 14-16 minutes. Makes 8.

Scones ready for the oven

Colcannon

Colcannon

Colcannon is perhaps the ultimate comfort food. This traditional Irish dish is made with potatoes, kale, green onions, parsley and butter. There are variations made with cabbage or Brussels sprouts. All of those versions are pretty good. This is a great side dish for your St. Patrick’s Day dinner. It’s pretty, too.

I have made colcannon with Brussels sprouts, chives and even used ramps one time. For the version I made last night I used kale. I wonder why I don’t colcannon more often. It is so good- and simple to make.

Here is the version I made last night.

Colcannon

1 1/2 lbs. potatoes

1/4 lb. kale, or a bit more

3/4 c. finely chopped green onions or chives

1/2 c. chopped parsley

4 oz. butter

salt and fresh ground pepper

Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Boil in salted water until very tender. Meanwhile, trim the stems out of the kale and blanch in boiling water for a few minutes. Remove kale and drain. Rinse with cold water to cool down. Squeeze out excess water and chop the kale finely. Set aside. Once the potatoes are tender, drain well and place in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and mash the potatoes until pretty smooth. A few lumps are not a problem. Stir in the kale, green onions and parsley. Mix well, adding salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

Irish Soda Bread Scones

Irish Soda Bread Scones

If you are in the mood for Irish Soda Bread- you can get the same wonderful experience in a scone. We made a batch of these scones in a Spring Baking class last week. They came out great.

Scones don’t take a lot of time or effort to make. These would be a wonderful addition to your St. Patrick’s Day meal.

While traditionally served for breakfast or tea time, scones are really good any time of the day. They certainly can be served with dinner.

I used golden raisins, but you could use regular raisins, currants or cranberries.

  Irish Soda Bread Scones

2 c. flour

3 T. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

½ t. salt

1/3 c. butter

½ c. golden raisins

1 t. caraway seeds

2/3 c. buttermilk

1 egg

Milk

Extra sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds. Beat together buttermilk and egg and add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until mixture just coming together. Turn onto floured surface and knead 5-6 strokes or until ball of dough holds together. Dust an 8-inch round cake with  flour. Press dough into cake pan. Invert pan over onto prepared baking sheet. I find if I do this quickly the dough comes out more easily. Remove cake pan. This will give you a perfect 8-inch circle of dough. With a sharp, floured knife cut dough into 8 wedges. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake 14-16 minutes. Makes 8.

Right out of the oven

Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread

It’s that time of year. Irish food in on the mind. This soda bread is a classic. Simple and fast to make, it can be served with breakfast, lunch or dinner.

The soda bread is  like a big scone or biscuit. It has a crisp, outer crust, with a crumbly, soft center. I like to serve soda bread with butter and jam.

I used raisins, but you can substitute currants, golden raisins, or just leave them out, if you prefer.

I make Irish soda bread all through the year, not just for St. Patrick’s Day.  Right from the oven with some butter and jam. Yum.

 

 

Irish Soda Bread

2 c. flour

½ t. each baking powder and baking soda

¼ t. salt

2 T. butter

¾ c. raisins, currants or golden raisins

2 t. caraway seeds

1 egg. Beaten

1 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dust a baking sheet with a little flour. Combine dry ingredients in bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Add raisins and caraway seeds. Combine egg and milk and set 2 tablespoons of this mixture aside. Add remaining milk mixture to flour mixture and combine just until dough forms into a ball. Place on baking sheet, brush with reserved egg mixture and cut a crisscross on top of loaf. Bake about 25 minutes or until bread sounds hollow. Makes 1.

Subscriber to our Mailing List

Follow us on Social Media

Support This Site

Donate Now

New Release: