Christmas takes you back to a simpler time and place; back to the land of your ancestors, the home of your family heritage, County Cork, Ireland. A time where friends and family gathered by a roaring fire to share tales of Irish folklore and toast the birth of Christ with age-old Irish family Christmas recipe eggnog, passed down through generations, and spiced with aged Irish whiskey. Carolers’ joyful Christmas songs resound as the family exchanges traditional Irish Christmas gifts. The smell of Christmas goose and potato stuffing mingles with the scent of fresh evergreens. Seed cakes and traditional Irish Christmas Pudding sit on the window sill, tempting all passers by. Celebrating Christmas with friends and family writes the true recipe of Christ’s joy in the hearts of Irish families for generations to come. Show pride in your Irish heritage. Share some traditional Irish Christmas recipes with your friends and family this Christmas season.
Roast Christmas Goose with Potato Stuffing.
One 8-10 pound goose
Potato Stuffing
6 cups potatoes, peeled, diced and boiled.
¾ cup butter of margarine
¾ cup diced onion
½ teaspoon ground sage
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash goose and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Make potato stuffing.
Mash boiled potatoes with a masher in large bowl. In a medium skillet, sauté onions in butter over low heat until they become translucent. Add onions, butter, sage, salt, pepper and parsley to the potatoes, mix well.
Stuff goose with potato stuffing. Place goose in an uncovered roasting pan. Roast fifteen minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees. Roast 25 minutes per pound, about 2 to 2 ½ hours or until leg joint moves easily. Drain excess fat as the goose roasts. Let goose stand 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
Remove potato stuffing. Carve goose. Serve with potato stuffing and warm applesauce. Enjoy.
Seed Cake
Some Irish families traditionally make a seed cake for each person as part of their Christmas celebration. They don’t forget Santa Clause. They leave a warm seed cake and a glass of milk out for Santa on Christmas Eve.
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1½ cups flour
1 tablespoon ground almonds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 Tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons Kirsch
Powdered sugar for dusting
Caraway seeds for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, beat after each one. Stir in flour a little at a time. Add almonds and caraway seeds. Stir in milk and kirsch. Pour into a greased and floured 8-inch round pan. Bake 90 minutes. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes then turn onto a rack to cool completely. Sprinkle top of cake with powdered sugar and caraway seeds.
Christmas Plum Pudding
Irish Christmas Plum Pudding is traditionally prepared during the first or second week of advent as it takes several weeks to age.
½ cup seedless raisins, chopped
½ cup citron chopped
½ cup currants
½ cup dried cherries, chopped
2 cups Irish whiskey
¾ cup flour
2 cups breadcrumbs
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped suet (may substitute 1/3 cup vegetable shortening)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ginger
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup grated apple
2 tablespoons lemon zest
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
4 eggs
1 cup Guinness
Mix raisins, citron, currants and cherry in a large glass bowl. Pour one cup of Irish whiskey over fruit. Cover. Let stand over night.
The next day, mix flour, breadcrumbs, sugar, suet, salt and spices. Mix well. Add the almonds, grated apple, the whiskey and fruit mixture, lemon zest and juice. In a medium bowl, beat eggs, add Guinness. Pour mixture slowly into flour mixture. Blend well. For extra good luck, everyone in the family must stir the pudding and make a wish. Pour pudding into two 6 inch greased bowls.
Cover each tightly with foil. Place on a rack set in a large kettle; add water to the kettle halfway up the sides of the bowls. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered 5 ½ to 6 hours, adding water as needed. Remove pudding from kettle. Cool.
Place puddings in a shallow dish. Pour ½ cup Irish whiskey onto each pudding. Once the whiskey has soaked into the puddings, wrap them in cheesecloth and place in a sealed container, refrigerate to age 2-3 weeks.