From the wilds of . . . . Salt Lake City? Irish Cream.

Irish Cream is a beautiful thing in my world. It's smooth, creamy, and has a nice kick. You can drink it on its own, or add it to a number of things. A friend of mine adds his to chocolate soy milk. I've had it with Sambucca (slippery nipple), Buttershots (buttery nipple) and on the rocks. Many people add it to their coffee (this does not make what they're drinking Irish coffee, but I'll get to that in a minute). Popular media seems to associate it with the holidaze and parties. Me, I'd drink it all the time if I could afford the calories.


I thought I'd put a myth to the test in this week's blog entry. 


Irish coffee is coffee, Irish whisky, and topped with whipped cream and sugar is usually involved somewhere. I've seen the recipe with sugar on top of the cream, add sugar to the cream,  some with brown sugar, and for some, a sugared glass rim. I like Jameson's Irish whiskey in mine. Irish coffee does not include Irish Cream, though the two make a nice combination, especially if you throw in some Frangelico.


Irish cream is a cream liqueur made with Irish whisky, cream and other ingredients.  


A long time ago when the earth was green, I lived in Salt Lake City, Utah, trying to eke out a living as a disc jockey. One of the other women at the radio station gave me a recipe for Irish Cream that is better than the commercial stuff and has a little bit of flexibility built in. I often wonder what happened to her. Kristen, if you're out there, thank you very much for this!


To make about a quart:


3 eggs whipped in a blender until frothy
1 cup whisky
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 T instant coffee granules (or a few tablespoons strong coffee)
1 T vanilla extract
1 T chocolate syrup


after the eggs have been whipped, add one ingredient at a time to the blender, taking about thirty seconds to blend in each one. Store in the refrigerator in a glass container, covered. Stir or shake well until serving. I'm told this will keep for up to a month, but I've never had it last longer than a few days.


If you comb the web, you'll see more variations of this than there were bones on the Irish Rover (and if you haven't heard this silly song, download the Pogues' version. It's fabulous). I've seen several with almond extract. A friend of mine tried it with orange extract and got a sweet mellow flavor. Bailey's now makes a mint version, which I'm sure could be obtained by a T of peppermint extract. Not quite sure how they got the caramel flavor one though. I'll have to research this.  Darn. :)


Questions? Comments? Death threats? Let's hear them!