The Feastie Blog

While you never need an excuse to break out the Guinness and Irish whiskey, St. Patrick's Day is certainly a good reason to do so. If you love boozy desserts, you're in luck - the web is practically on fire with Irish-inspired boozy desserts this week. But let's not forget the savory favorites - corned beef, shepherds pie, beef stew, colcannon - you can find recipes for all the traditional favorites on Feastie, as well as fun new spins on the classics. Reuben dip! Colcannon cakes! We've rounded up the top 10 St. Patrick's Day recipes on the web this week - because 5 recipes just wasn't enough! Sweet, savory and everything in between - share one of these recipes with your friends this Sunday when you raise a glass of Guinness to celebrate.

Champ from Lea & Jay
Photo from Lea & Jay

As I may have casually mentioned before, I love spinach artichoke dip. Like the really-terrible-for-you hot ooey gooey cheesy fattening calorie-bomb dip you can get during happy hour at a bar - that stuff. We're talking cream cheese and mayo and sour cream and CHEESE and more CHEESE and fried chips to dip into it - oh yeah, some artichokes and spinach - and more cheese. This mayo-free hot artichoke dip is fantastic - I have literally obliterated almost half a pan of it with a friend - but I was in the mood for something a little more traditional. Something that more closely resembled the evil, delicious, decadent stuff you'd indulge in at a restaurant. Um, yeah - Skinnytaste to the rescue yet again. I decided to give the hot spinach and artichoke dip from Skinnytaste a try - it seemed a bit more traditional (i.e. no tofu) and had that spinach in there - I wanted to see how it would measure up to the mayo-free artichoke dip I so madly love. Totally measured up. And the friends I shared it with agreed - this stuff is good. You'd never know it was light{er}!!! I went to a dinner party this past weekend and when I asked what I could bring, the hostess mentioned this dip - I whipped some up with some homemade pita chips and it was a total hit. You can't not love this stuff - if you love spinach artichoke dip, you will love this lightened-up version. You'll never know it's light - I swear. Make this for your next book club meeting, or game day party, or just make a half recipe to share with a friend or two with some beer - find any excuse to make it. 

Sriracha is like, so hot right now. ;) For those who already enjoy the deliciousness that is Sriracha, well you're in luck because we're sharing 5 of our favorite Sriracha recipes with you today. For those unfamiliar with Sriracha - be prepared for your next foodie addiction! Sometimes referred to as "rooster sauce", Sriracha is a smoky, spicy, uber-flavorful hot sauce that is easily recognizable by the rooster printed right on the bottle. It's made from ripe red jalapenos, and the sauce is less spicy than a regular jalepeno, but spicier than a banana pepper - in other words, the perfect amount of heat. It's showing up in everything these days - even ice cream! It deserves a spot in your hot sauce collection alongside the Cholulas, Tabascos and Frank's - you'll soon find yourself reaching for this familiar bottle during breakfast, lunch, and dinner - maybe even dessert. We've rounded up 5 of our favorite Sriracha recipes for you to try, so go get your rooster sauce and get cooking. 

Chocolate Sriracha Ice Cream from Vegan Yack Attack
Photo from Vegan Yack Attack

I know National Peanut Butter Lovers Day has come and gone, but I love peanut butter every day - especially in baked goods. Mmmm. And peanut butter has made me love something I never thought I would - banana bread. I'm not big on banana bread - or anything banana flavored, for that matter. I'll eat a banana if it's in a pristine greenish-yellow state - no bruises, no black spots, no soft spots - in other words, I have a very short window of time to enjoy a banana. So when the three bananas that I'd bought turned brownish before I could get to them, I decided to make banana bread as a gift for a friend. Because generally, I'll take a pass on banana bread. But then I came across this peanut butter banana bread with chocolate chips from Brown Eyed Baker, and I thought, "Hey, that sounds kinda good. I like peanut butter with banana." I mixed together the batter and tasted it before I put it into the loaf pan - OMG. Not what I was expecting. This was unlike any other banana bread I've ever had - the peanut butter makes such a HUGE difference!!! I decided that my friend wouldn't mind if a tiny piece was missing from the end of the loaf (taste test, right?), and tried it while it was still warm. OMG again. If you like banana bread, this will probably blow your mind. If you're not a huge banana bread fan, this may change your mind altogether. 

No matter how skilled (or unskilled) you are in the kitchen, a good quick bread is always an enjoyable and rewarding treat. They're quick to put together and adaptable to just about any flavor you can imagine - savory and sweet and everything in between. Those blackened, overripe bananas on your counter can fulfill their banana destiny in a quick banana bread - that wilty zucchini in your crisper drawer can live up to its full zucchini potential in a zucchini bread. Bruised apples? Apple cinnamon bread. Leftover booze? Beer bread! Endless variations on a quick and easy theme. We've rounded up the top 5 quick bread recipes on the web this week, both sweet and savory. Another perk of quick breads - no yeast. If you're a bread-baking novice or intimidated by the yeast and kneading in traditional bread, give a quick bread a try - you won't be disappointed. 

Cheddar Onion Beer Bread from Juggling With Julia
Photo from Juggling With Julia

I looooooooove pumpkin butter. The pumpkin butter from Trader Joe's is TO DIE FOR. Every fall I buy a bunch of jars - sure I could learn how to make it myself, but why bother when this little jar has so much magic inside?! It's perfect! And while I'll eat it slathered on just about anything, my favorite way to eat it is stirred into some oatmeal, topped with toasted pecans. Mmmmm. So when I saw this recipe for pumpkin butter granola bars from Citron Limette, I had a feeling it would be a winner - oatmeal, pecans, and pumpkin butter all rolled into a little portable soft granola bar? Yes, please. And they didn't disappoint - these are delicious. They're soft and have a great pumpkin-y, spiced, sweet flavor that makes them a completely satisfying snack or treat to have alongside some afternoon tea. I'll definitely be buying extra jars of pumpkin butter next year to make more of these bars - they keep well in the fridge and would be great for freezing as well. After school snack, dessert, tea time treat, even breakfast - these bars are great any time of day. Or any time of year, for that matter - for anyone. In fact I recently made these for some friends at the barn and not only were they a hit with my human friends, but a horse friend quite enjoyed his pumpkin granola bar as well. 

Cauliflower: most likely you either love it, or hate it. There aren't many people in that cauliflower "gray area" - when asked, most have a strong opinion about this veggie. Cauliflower belongs to the same family as brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, collard greens, and kale - in other words, it's a healthy, nutritious vegetable, and it's plentiful this time of year. If you are a card-carrying member of the cauliflower fan club, then you'll be stoked - we've rounded up the top 5 cauliflower recipes on the web this week! Woohoo! If you're not on Team Cauliflower, you're still in luck - these recipes may just change your mind about this cruciferous veggie. This is miles away from steamed or boiled cauliflower - reimagine this veggie in a gratin, or even a pizza - give one of these recipes a try, and you may find yourself a cauliflower convert. 

Creamy Cauliflower Bacon Soup from Savory Simple
Photo from Savory Simple

I'm not a huge potato person. I know they're tasty - these hasselback potatoes are mind-blowing - but for some reason I just don't make them very often. Potato salad once in a while, perhaps a hasselback baked potato now and then - but I don't keep them in the house. Now sweet potatoes - I can get behind a sweet potato pretty much any time of any day. Not only are they ridiculously delish, they're actually good for you! They're full of vitamin A, C, fiber, even iron. When compared side by side, sweet potatoes make regular potatoes look like under-achieving lazy bums. My kitchen is fully stocked with sweet potatoes at all times - they're a perfect quick weeknight dinner, great for packed lunches, and completely versatile - you can use them in anything. Sometimes I'll cube up half a sweet potato and add it to my salad for lunch, or toss it with some tofu and broccoli for a quick dinner. They can go sweet - sweet potatoes are amazing with a touch of maple syrup and brown sugar - but they're just as good in savory dishes, too. I cook mine in the microwave - they're ready to go in less than 10 minutes. And we eat the skin! Always! I think it's delicious, and the skin on microwaved sweet potatoes gets nice and soft. Since we eat them so often I'm always looking for a new way to prepare them - and when I came across this recipe for broccoli cheese stuffed sweet potatoes from A Couple Cooks, I knew I had to add it to the sweet potato dinner rotation! With a few little tweaks, this has become a weeknight favorite - it comes together in less than 30 minutes and it's healthy, tasty, and filling. And cheap! When you come home late from work and don't know what to make - make this. 

Coconut oil is so popular that it's everywhere these days - it's like the queen bee prom queen of the oil world. Although it was vilified in the 1980s, virgin coconut oil is now the darling of the foodie world. Not only is virgin coconut oil intensely delicious, researchers are suggesting that it has many health benefits as well. Win-win! It's especially great in baked goods or as a substitute for butter or margarine - and it's downright magical in vegan desserts. Pie crust without the butter? Yes - try coconut oil! It's great in savory dishes, too - use it in a stir fry, to saute some onions or veggies, or even to sear chicken or fish. Coconut milk, coconut sugar, coconut cream, coconut butter, and coconut flour are great ingredients as well - try subbing them in for conventional ingredients in your favorite recipes. We've rounded up the top 5 coconutty recipes for you this week, both sweet and savory. While some of them feature coconut as the main flavor in the dish, others don't - so even if you're not a huge coconut fan, give them a try - you may be surprised. 

Vegan Cheesecake from Avocado Pesto
Photo from Avocado Pesto

2013 is officially the year of the vegetable. At least in our house. One of my New Year's resolutions was to eat more veggies - like, a LOT more. I had leftover cabbage from making the cole slaw for the pulled chicken sandwiches, and wanted to figure out a way to use it up (without making more slaw - it's really good, but I have my slaw limits). I thought a stir fry would be good, maybe something with shrimp - and I came across this recipe for shrimp and cabbage stir fry on Food Network. Now I'll come clean right now so there's no ambiguity  here - this recipe does NOT call for the type of cabbage I had on hand. I had leftover green cabbage - the recipe calls for Napa cabbage. Is this the end of the world? No. Did my version have an ideal texture? No. But it was still good. What can I say - in an effort to use up loose ends of veggies in the fridge, sometimes you need to wing it - so I went with the green cabbage for this stir fry. I will definitely say that if you can find a Napa cabbage that it is preferable to use that - I vastly prefer Napa cabbage over the green variety in stir fries. But this was still a great dinner with fantastic flavors and we enjoyed leftovers the next night as well. I served it over some brown rice and we had a really great, delish, filling, healthy dinner. So do yourself a favor - find a Napa cabbage and make this stir fry.