A Return to Ireland by Judith McLaughlin

While you may not be able to hop on a plane and travel to Ireland whenever your heart desires, with A Return to Ireland – A culinary journey from America to Ireland by Judith McLaughlin, it is the next best thing to being there. Irish Chef and Author Judith McLaughlin lovingly tells her story that takes the reader from her childhood growing up in County Armagh in Northern Ireland to her journey to live in America. Now residing in Roswell, Georgia in the United States where she has a culinary and travel company, Shamrock and Peach, Judith McLaughlin and her husband, photographer Gary McLaughlin, beautifully bring a taste of Ireland and the beauty of the countryside into your home. It is a book that doubles as a cookbook as well as a coffee table travel book that is a perfect gift for yourself, your favorite home cook, or the armchair traveler.

The cookbook is divided into chapters that each tell a story: Chapter One: The Water is Wide, Irish Immigrant Foods – Setting Sail for America; Chapter Two: My Heart Finds a Home, Irish Comfort Foods – Settling in a Strange New Land; Chapter Three: The Greening Shore, Irish Celebration Foods – Finding Love Amongst the Lowly; Chapter Four: Old Traditions in a New Land, Irish Fusion Foods – Putting Down Roots; Chapter Five: Eastward Bound, Surprising Modern Irish Foods – Eastward Bound; Chapter Six: From Green Fields to Kitchen Tables, Rustic Ireland – Earthy Irish Food to Make the Heart Glad; Chapter Seven: Feasts, Friendship & Folklore, Legendary Ireland Dishes – Coming Home; and Chapter Eight: A Toast to Ireland, Whiskeys and More – A Salute to Ireland!

A sampling of the delectable recipes in the cookbook are Sunday Supper Rosemary Chicken Supreme; Crumbled Corn Beef & Sweet Potato Tart; Paddy’s Potato & Leek Soup with a Chive Purée & Crunchy Croutons; Irish Stout & Onion Soup with Blue Cheese; Sweet & Spicy Hot Cross Buns; Irish Stout Chocolate Cake with a Cream Cheese Icing; Marmalade Bread Pudding with Whiskey Orange Sauce; Irish Teatime Bakewell Tart; and Bambrack Charm Bread. From start to finish the cookbook is beautifully crafted with easy-to-follow instructions and gorgeous photographs that will inspire and tempt your palate. The book should come with a warning though, "may spark the desire to travel to Ireland."

Author Judith McLaughlin and Hatherleigh Press graciously provide two recipes from A Return to Ireland by Judith McLaughlin to tempt and inspire your palate, with two recipes from Chapter Two: Irish Comfort Foods with her recipes for Sunday Supper Rosemary Chicken Supreme, and Crumbled Corn Beef & Sweet Potato Tart.

Sunday Supper Rosemary Chicken Supreme

Serves 4

Chicken Supreme Ingredients:

Sauce Ingredients:

Directions: Season the chicken fillets with freshly ground pepper and sea salt.

In a large skillet, melt the butter and oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken breasts and sear on both sides until they are browned. Remove the chicken from the skillet for a few minutes to make the sauce.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in the same skillet the chicken fillets were browned. Add the shallot and cook for a few minutes, until it is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for one minute until fragrant, being careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the wine and cook on medium for about 5 minutes or until the wine has almost evaporated. Add the chicken stock and cream and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the Dubliner Irish cheese until the cheese has melted.

Add the chicken fillets back into the skillet and spoon the sauce on top. Arrange the artichokes hearts all around the chicken.

Bake the chicken supreme in the oven for a further 18-20 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and firm to the touch (internal temperature of 165°F).

To serve, place a chicken breast in the center of each plate and spoon more sauce on top.

Crumbled Corn Beef & Sweet Potato Tart

Filling Ingredients:

Directions: To make the pastry, combine flour and salt in a medium size bowl or food processor. Use a pastry fork or processor to cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cold water 1 tablespoon at a time and mix until the dough is moist enough to hold together to form a ball. Flatten into a disc and wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a circle about 11-inches in diameter for a 9-inch pie plate or fluted tart pan. Trim off any excess pastry and prick the bottom of the dough with a fork.

To blind bake the pastry, line with a double layer of foil and bake for 10 minutes to prevent browning. Remove foil and bake pastry for a few more minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack and leave oven on.

To make the filling, in a large skillet add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the leeks for 3-4 minutes or until soft and fragrant and remove from heat.

In a food processor or mixing bowl combine eggs, cream, mashed sweet potato, salt and pepper.

To assemble the quiche, layer the corn beef and leek and the cheeses and then pour the egg mixture on top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the egg sets and is firm to the touch. Allow the quiche to sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

About the Author

"Judith McLoughlin is an Irish chef and owner of a gourmet food business in Georgia called The Shamrock and Peach. Specializing in Irish cuisine, Judith has created her own unique food fusion by blending the techniques of her homeland with the newfound flavors of the South. Growing up in County Armagh in Northern Ireland and setting down roots in the South, over the past decade Judith has become one of the most recognized Irish faces and brands in Atlanta, throughout the American South and abroad. She regularly contributes to food columns in national newspapers and magazines on both sides of the Atlantic and leads numerous discovery tours from the U.S. to Ireland each year. Before A Return to Ireland, she had a cookbook entitled The Shamrock and Peach."

A Return to Ireland – A culinary journey from America to Ireland by Judith McLaughlin
Published by Hatherleigh Press, Ltd.
Hobart, New York 13788
Telephone: 1-800-528-2550
Email: info@hatherleighpress.com
Website: https://hatherleighcommunity.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HatherleighPress
Instagram: www.instagram.com/hatherleighpr/

Printed in the United States
Copyright © November 2022
ISBN: 978-1-57826-935-8
US: $30, Canada: $35

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

A Return to Ireland – A culinary journey from America to Ireland by Judith McLaughlincan be purchased online at Shamrock and Peach, Hatherleigh Press, Penguin Random House, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart as well as in bookstores.

For more information about Judith McLaughlin, her new book, and her company Shamrock and Peach, please visit the website: www.shamrockandpeach.com, call at: +1-404-775-4246, or by email at: info@shamrockandpeach.com.

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