Happy St. Patty's Y'all

St. Patty's is such a fun holiday!  I love it, so I always try to do something fun to celebrate.  Back in North Carolina, that was usually going to the Emerald Isle festival.  This year, Carl came in town and we made a day downtown Chicago.  A green river, green beer, Irish food, and city full of festivity..what more could you ask for?!

Of course I've blogged about my love for Irish Car Bombs before and naturally we had several yesterday.  Just.so.good.

Irish Car Bomb
3/4 pint Guinness Stout
1/2 shot Jameson Irish Whiskey
1/2 shot Bailey's Irish Cream

Pour the Guinness into a glass or beer mug and let settle.  Pour Jameson and Bailey's into a shot glass.  Drop the shot glass into your Guinness and chug!

I actually tried a new stout drink while we were out and about too - a Black Velveteen.  Carl was not a fan, but I loved it!  Here's the recipe so you can try it too!

Black Velveteen
12oz Guinness Stout
4oz Magner's Irish Cider

Pour both into a large mug.  Serve and enjoy.
  

Bailey's Fall-Apart Fudge

Naturally, I so wish that 'fall-apart' did not have to be the adjective in the title.  But it was necessary.  Since that is what my fudge did.  Which is disappointing, because wow, the taste was delicious...it just would not set correctly.  I used the recipe from Lauren Conrand's website because the simpleness of a microwave fudge caught my eye.  I've pretty much decided it's a European recipe of sorts since the main ingredients are all listed in ounces.  Or at least that's my guess.

Bailey's Fall-Apart Fudge
14 ounces (1 can) condensed milk (I used the non-fat kind)
10 Tbsp butter
Heaping cup Splenda sugar blend
Heaping cup Splenda brown sugar blend
1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
2 Tbs Bailey's  

Using the largest microwaveable bowl you have, combine the milk, butter, and sugars.

For a 900W microwave, cook for 9 minutes, removing to stir every 3 minutes.  If you're microwave is a lower wattage, the mixture will need to cook longer.  Add 1 minute to the cooking time for every 50 watts lower.

Once finished cooking, add in the vanilla and Bailey's.  Stir until it looks glossy.  Pour into a 9x9 pan lined with parchment paper.  Once it has cooled to room temperature, pop it in the refrigerator overnight to get a better set.

Where I think I went wrong -- The recipe mentions to cook longer for lower wattage, however it doesn't say anything about having a microwave with higher wattage.  I should've checked the microwave, but I'm guessing the one in our kitchen may be a bit higher than that.  Therefore I should have removed a minute of cooking time for every 50 watts higher it was.  Next time I'll be sure to check this out.  And believe me, there will be a next time.  It captured the taste of Bailey's excellently.  Thank goodness my mom is so close to her co-workers that it was acceptable to bring in fudge that was falling apart.  Or else we probably would've eaten the whole pan, haha.

***If you try this & get it to set please let me know what you did!  It's so delish, I'd love for mine to set!!