Columbus Foodie

Kochtopf of 1x umrühren bitte is hosting a one-off event in honor of today: St. Pat’s Day: Green or Irish, in which we’re asked to cook or bake something green or Irish. Today, we had corned beef and colcannon.

Now, I know that corned beef isn’t traditionally Irish, although it’s often served on St. Patty’s Day, but the side dish that we do serve with it is: colcannon. There are tons of colcannon recipes out there, but our version is as simple as can be. Boil a head of diced savoy cabbage with about 3 lbs. of peeled and diced potatoes, and then make mashed potatoes in the manner of which you usually do - in our case, we use lots of butter and cream and sea salt (hey, I didn’t say it was healthy!). Or you can use it as a base for adding your own flavors, like herbs or horseradish or anything else that tickles your fancy.

Be sure to check the roundup of what everyone else made after the 20th.

I’m in a bit of a quandry. Normally, if I have a bad experience at a restaurant, I’ll visit a second time before writing a bad review. After all, they could be having an off night, and it wouldn’t be fair for me to pan them based on that, right??

However, I had an experience at a restaurant tonight that was SO bad, SO abysmal, SO atrocious, that my husband and I ended up walking out before we even got an opportunity to place an order. Bad sign #1 was when the hostess told us, when she seated us, that they were out of half of the items on the menu. This is less than an hour after dinner service started - after a 3-hour period after lunch when they were closed, presumably, to prep for dinner. Bad sign #2 is when said hostess comes back after a couple of minutes to tell you that your waitress will be with you “once she gets here” - meanwhile people coming in after us were being waited on by another waitress. Bad sign #3 was when the bread that they served us was so hard from toasting that it cut my gums. A half hour later when we still hadn’t been asked for our order, we left for greener pastures because we were ready to gnaw our own arms off from hunger.

The bad thing was that I *really* wanted to like this place; after all, it’s the only restaurant that serves this particular type of ethnic cuisine in town. Ethnic cuisine that I miss dearly and would drive 500 miles back to my hometown to eat. But I honestly can’t see myself going back there. I can’t attest to the food because I never got to eat any, but based on the toast and Shedd’s Spread we were served, and what we saw coming by on the way to other tables (small, overpriced portions), it didn’t look promising.

Here’s the dilemma - the place is fairly new, and I can understand some minor hiccups, but if they continue running this place in that manner, it will run itself into the ground in a matter of months. Do I keep my mouth shut, and pretend that this experience never happened, since I don’t plan on going back, OR do I write a negative review without even having tasted the food? I’m torn on this one.

The theme for this round of HHDD#10, hosted this time around by Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, is one of my all-time favorites: cheesecake! Normally I’d just bake up Mom’s recipe, but since I’ve already blogged about that and since I was looking for something a little different this month, I decided on a Taste of Home recipe: Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake.

And the best part of all? It was made from start to finish by my husband. I didn’t need to lift a finger, and was rewarded with yummy cheesecake anyway. How did it taste? The different layers worked together beautifully, but it’s so rich that a little goes a long way (I ended up splitting the piece in the picture between my husband and I). Since it’s just the two of us, he’s going to bring some in to his job to share with his co-workers. Yum. We modified it a bit by using more of a 50/50 ratio with the graham and oreo crumbs, but YMMV. I’ll post the recipe in its original configuration.

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
courtesy Taste of Home Magazine

Crust:
1 1/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. crushed cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
1/4 c. sugar
6 tbsp. butter, melted

Filling:
3/4 c. full-fat name brand creamy peanut butter
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 c. (8 oz) sour cream
1 c. sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. hot fudge ice cream topping, divided
6 full-size peanut butter cups, cut into small wedges

In a bowl, combine cracker crumbs, cookie crumbs, sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the side of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack. In microwave-safe bowl, heat peanut butter on high for 30 seconds or until softened. Spread over crust to within 1 inch of edges.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and sour cream until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed until just combined. Stir in vanilla. Pour 1 cup into a bowl; set aside. Pour reamining filling over peanut butter layer. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat 1/4 c. fudge topping on high for 30 seconds or until thin; fold into reserved cream cheese mixture. Carefully pour over filling; cut through with a knife to swirl.

Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.

Microwave remaining fudge topping for 30 seconds or until warmed; spread over cheesecake. Garnish with peanut butter cups. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan, and cut into 12 or 14 slices.