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Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: Leaping Leprechauns, It’s Time to Celebrate

By Sherrie Norris

St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner and most all of us lads and lassies will be found wearing a touch o’ green or gold that pays tribute to the patron saint of Ireland. And the shamrock, which symbolizes the Trinity, is a special St. Patrick’s Day icon for many of us.

Whether Irish blood flows through our veins —or not — most of us will celebrate in some fashion and will most likely prepare, serve or eat corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread and/or some of the other traditional celebratory foods on the 17th.

If you are around Boone on Saturday, the 16th, make plans to enjoy a relatively new march down King Street in the form of a grand parade. I hear that it’s going to be a pretty big deal, so find your spot before the green starts rolling at 2 p.m.

Hopefully, the luck of the Irish will be yours fore’er and a day.

 

St. Patrick’s Seven-Up Cake

1 pkg. white cake mix

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup 7-Up

1 small pkg. pistachio instant pudding mix

Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat for 4 minutes. Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Bake in 350 degree oven 30 to 35 minutes, cool.

Frosting:

1 small pkg. pistachio instant pudding mix

1½ cups milk

1 (8 oz.) carton Cool Whip

Combine pudding mix and milk. Beat for two minutes. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread over cake. Chill until served.

 

Irish Minted Peas

1 (10-oz.) pkg. frozen green peas

1 tsp. dried mint

1 tsp. sugar

Boiling salted water

1 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook peas, mint and sugar in boiling salted water 5- 7 minutes, until peas are tender. Drain, stir in butter, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

 

Easy Irish Potato Soup

8 medium potatoes, peeled and drained

2 stalks celery, diced

2 small onions, diced

Milk

2 sticks butter or margarine

Cook vegetables in water until tender. Pour off water, add milk to cover, add butter, salt and pepper to taste. Recipe may be doubled as needed.

 

St. Patrick’s Parfaits

2 cups cold milk

1 small package Jell-o pistachio flavored instant pudding and pie filling

Chocolate sauce

2 cups thawed Cool Whip

Chocolate shamrock cutouts (optional)

Pour milk into large bowl; add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 1 to 2 minutes. Layer pudding, chocolate sauce and 1 cup whipped topping alternately in parfait glasses, repeat.

Garnish with remaining whipped topping and chocolate shamrocks. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

(Shamrock cut-outs: melt 4 squares of semi-sweet chocolate, pour onto wax paper-lined cookie sheet; spread to 1/8-inch thickness with spatula. Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until firm. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Immediately lift shapes carefully from wax paper with spatula and knife. Refrigerate until ready to use.)

 

Pistachio Fluff

1 large can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 pkg. instant pistachio pudding

1 cup miniature marshmallows

1 cup chopped pecans

1 large container whipped topping

Mix ingredients in order given. Chill several hours before serving.

 

St. Patrick’s Day Punch

½ gallon lime sherbet

Large can pineapple juice

2 liter bottle of Sprite, 7-up or ginger ale

Allow sherbet to soften in the refrigerator for about an hour. Mix sherbet, fruit juice and beverage in punch bowl or large mixing bowl until well blended. Best served immediately.