Believe it or not, even though we seem to be attached at the hip…sometimes we belles do seperate for brief periods of time. It was spring break time for the teen belles, so SHE (petite belle and family) traveled to a far away island for some tropical r&r…

…while I happily (but a tad jealously) stayed home with a light schedule and a couple of free days.

So, with a bit of time on my hands, I took the opportunity to get a lil ahead of the game and tackle an Irish recipe for the blog…hoping to give us all a plan for a St. Pat’s Day meal. Now, not tryin’ to brag or anything, I have been told that I’m a pretty dang good cook on more than one occasion…and I feel like I know my way around a recipe…and even have enough know-how to tweak and adjust with confidence.

Looking for something classically Irish, I picked a Guinness stew that seemed perfect for the occasion. With absolutely no hesitation, I took to cooking. Three and a half hours later…most of which was cooking time, I opened the Dutch oven to discover…a complete and utter disaster. The liquid had totally evaporated, it was on the verge of being stuck to the bottom of the pot, and it looked revolting!! I dared taste it…NOT GOOD…BITTER…YUCK!! Still, because I’ve been doing this kitchen gig for a while now, I didn’t panic. I resorted to tweaking, adding liquid, seasoning, stirring. I tasted again…blech!! Had I failed? Surely not! Leprechaun trickery? Likely!!

So, I did what every good cook would do…I got rid of the evidence. Straight to the trash it went. I didn’t even give the dogs a chance at it (…it was that bad). So, now what? I was over the whole stew idea…and I realized it might be better to simply recommend the ace-up-my-sleeve Corned Beef and Cabbage that we posted for St. Patrick’s Day last year…
Make it…it’s tantrum (and Leprechaun) proof. (And if y’all have any Irish mains that are tasty, and foolproof as well, please share with us!!!)

All was not lost, though. I might have been conquered by the stew, but I did come across two additional treats that you will want to make all year round!

First, an appetizer…

Via Pinterest
Hot Reuben Dip from recipegirl.com

This appetizer is drool-worthy and perfect for any time…even if you’ve just had a hissy fit and take to eating it with a spoon because no one is around…just sayin’. We especially like the drizzle of thousand island over the top of it to raise the yum factor.

And, of course, we love any excuse for a sweet treat…so this cake should do the trick.

Via Pinterest
Baileys Irish Bundt cake from aspicyperspective.com

I mean…do we even have to say anything? Words just don’t do this cake justice…but a fork will!!

So, traveling belle and humbled belle are back in their rightful places…and we have more March menu ideas (of the liquid variety) headed your way tomorrow! Could a belle ask for more??

a&a