I recently hosted the
March Bunco at my house. It was a St. Patrick's theme... clover, Irish food, the whole thing. It was really fun to prepare and everyone seemed to really like the Irish food! My friend Leigh Ann helped with the appetizers and decorations too! Here's the menu we served:
Apple & bacon salad with cheese dressing. I got the recipe
here. It was ok, but I wouldn't make it again like that recipe. However, I loved the butter lettuce and will use that again! It was fun to serve it like the chef shows on TV to each person as we "plated" the salad!
We served
Irish Soda Bread with the salad and the main dish too, since I made 2 loaves. This is the easiest bread recipe I think! I made a brown flour version and it turned out pretty yummy.
Marilyn O'Reilly's Irish Soda Bread was my favorite one but I will definitely be making both of them again for many occasions! All the soda breads have buttermilk but don't really need kneading or rising which is what makes them so easy to me! And this one listed caraway seeds and raisins, which I used but I would like to try it without the caraway seeds next time. Those are pretty flavorful little tiny seeds! It took me forever to figure out what they are so I'll let you in on a secret...they are on the spice aisle at the grocery store at about $4. I was looking in the bulk nuts area and produce thinking they were like sunflower seeds! Anyway, super easy recipe and goes great with butter and the main dish of...
Irish Stew. Here's the recipe I used with some variations. It also includes the
2nd Brown bread recipe. I used one pound of lamb (it was kinda pricey and after reading the reviews, looked like you could sub the beef), and probably 3-4 pounds of beef for stew. I was pleased to see it was already cut up in the meat case! The pearl onions were available loose in my Kroger store and I chose about 30-35 of the smaller ones. They have a great flavor for stew. I used about 5 carrots and 4 cans of chicken broth and a little more water. I bought a 6 pack of Saint Arnold Stout and used 2 full bottles. The fresh thyme is key. This stew takes just a few minutes to prepare & about 2 hours to cook, so easy, low-stress party food! And it was hearty and tasty to all!
The best part of the meal was the dessert! This one is so yummy, everyone is waiting for the recipe, so here it is!!
Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce
1 loaf French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 quart heavy whipping cream
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup whiskey (I used Jim Bean)
1 cup raisins (soaked in whiskey overnight) - I used currants (can also omit them)
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
Soak the raisins in the whiskey overnight. Put the cubed bread in a large casserole dish and pour the whipping cream over it, allow to soak in. Combine sugar, eggs, chocolate chips, raisins and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Pour over the soaked bread and stir together thoroughly. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until brown and bubbly.
Whiskey Sauce:2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 eggs, beaten
Bourbon whiskey to taste (1/8-1/4 cup)
Melt butter in a sauce pan. Gradually stir in powdered sugar using a whisk to keep it in suspension. Remove from head and add beaten egg a little at a time. While whisking, allow to cool and add whiskey to taste. Spoon 3-4 Tablespoons whiskey sauce over each serving. Serve warm. Delish!! Note: don't leave out the whiskey sauce! The picture above shows what was left over.
Then we played BUNCO!
The most wins winner was Leigh Ann! YEAH GIRL!
And it just so happened to be that it was her Birthday that day! What a fun birthday gift to win some birthday bunco money!! We all sang Happy Birthday too when dessert was served. And she
was a little impressed with how good it sounded.
Here she is being so impressed!
The "boobie prize" winners were excited about winning their lucky
Irish Lotto tickets and stationery from Simply Sassy Paper!
Catherine, Robin & Kathy
It was really a fun time with Bunco friends and here are some more photos from the night:
Katie, Kathy, Catherine & Robin having some salad
Denise, Nicole & Sheri having the salad
Julie & Katherine eating the stew
Katherine, Cammie, Catherine & Sheri checking their scores
Kathy, Leigh Ann, Robin, me & Katie
Who is this sexy hot mama?
Can't wait for the next fun Bunco night!! Let me know if you try any of the recipes and how it comes out! Or better yet, bring me some! :-)
Emma turned 6 last week and has grown up so much! She woke up to a surprise of gifts and singing that morning. She wanted a kitty that meows and kneads like she has already but I found a bigger one that does all kinds of things and meows loudly. I just knew she would love that new kitty and I felt like I was buying a real cat because of the way it meows all the time.
After we got dressed and ready for school, Emma was off for another fun day! She loves school and it was going to be especially fun on her birthday! We planned for Mommy to join her for lunch on her special day!
Here is how Emma greeted me in the cafeteria!
It was pretty entertaining having lunch with her. Here we are with one of her friends, Hannah.
I brought the requested cookies too and everyone got to share them with her. Boys got blue icing and girls got pink icing on their cookies.
As lunch ended, Emma got to be the line leader and took her place at the front of the line. This is a special position! She also got a special birthday ribbon and crown.
A while later after we got home from school, Emma's good friend Tyler came by with some cupcakes to wish her a happy birthday. I got a rare adorable picture of them posing together.
Here's the birthday princess with her crown and precious dog Annabelle.
Later on that evening, we went to Benihana's which is Emma's favorite restaurant. She didn't want to wear the hat though, so I got this face.
Some puppies got to go with us too because we don't really go anywhere without some puppies.
Everyone is singing to me....Love that little face!
When we got home, Emma got a phone call from Pop right before bathtime and hopping into bed as a 6 year old!! We love that sweet big birthday girl! 
