Tis the season for all things green to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Step aside corned beef and cabbage, your friends at Distinctive Inns of New England (DINE) have other ideas for the day of the leprechaun. We’re all about green themed foods this week, and the DINE innkeepers wanted to bring some ideas from our kitchens to yours for the perfect St. Patrick’s Day celebration. From cookies to pies to special paddies for your St Paddy’s Day table, we’re here to make your fellow foodies green with envy for your creativity. Follow along and perhaps enjoy the luck of the Irish with these when your family and friends rave about your fun take on green foods.
Lime Meltaway Cookies– Captains House Inn
Yield: 10 dozen cookies (this recipe can be halved)
Ingredients:
¾ Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 Cup Confectioners’ sugar
4 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice, plus grated zest of 2 limes
1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
2 Cups All-Purpose flour
2 Tbsp cornstarch
¼ Tsp salt
Method:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream the butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy.
Add the lime juice, zest, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add the butter mixture and beat on low speed until combined.
Between two 8 by 12 inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 ¼ inch diameter logs. Chill at least 1 hour.
Heat oven to 350F.
Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place remaining sugar in resalable plastic bag and tint with green food coloring if desired. Remove parchment from logs; slice into 1/8 inch thick rounds. Place rounds on sheets, spaced about 1 inch apart.
Bake rounds until barely golden, about 15 minutes.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack cool slightly 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, place cookies in sugar filled bags, toss to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store in an airtight container up to two weeks.
Spinach Pie from Harbor Light Inn – a perfect St Paddy’s Day breakfast
Ingredients:
1 sweet (or yellow) onion
1 8oz package of fresh spinach, chopped
6 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons grated nutmeg
½ cup grated parmesan
¾ cup of crumbled feta (could go up to 1 cup if you want!)
½ cup pine nuts
Frozen puff pastry sheet, defrosted
2 tablespoons of salted butter, melted
Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium sauté pan on medium heat, sauté the onions with olive oil until translucent and slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the salt and pepper and allow to cool slightly.
Chop the fresh spinach and add it to a bowl.
Gently mix in the onions, eggs, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, feta, and pine nuts.
Butter a pie dish and then add (thawed) puff pastry sheet, letting the edges hang over the pan.
Pour the spinach mixture into the middle of the puff pastry and neatly fold the edges up and over the top to seal in the filling.
Brush the top well with melted butter.
Bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and the filling is set.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.
Spring Pea Cakes from Manor on Golden Pond
Ingredients
2 cups peas (fresh or frozen)
2 eggs
½ cup Panko breadcrumbs ( may need more if mixture is too wet)
2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method
Roughly chop the peas in a food processor or by hand.
Fold in remaining ingredients.
Form into small patties and sauté in olive oil for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown. Serve right away.
Whether it’s to celebrate St Patrick’s Day or to bring a little taste of DINE to your dinner table, we hope these DINE recipes will come in handy. Better yet, let us create these and other fabulous dishes in our kitchens during your stay. Don’t forget to book directly with the inn for your next romantic getaway.
In Connecticut: Inn at Harbor Hill Marina in Niantic
In Maine: Inn at English Meadows in Kennebunkport
In Massachusetts: Harbor Light Inn in Marblehead, Deerfield Inn in Historic Deerfield and Captain’s House Inn in Chatham on Cape Cod
In Vermont: Rabbit Hill Inn in Lower Waterford & Grafton Inn in Grafton
In New Hampshire: Manor on Golden Pond in Holderness & Chesterfield Inn in West Chesterfield.