I wanted a St.Patricks Day background...

But I've never taken pictures of my shamrock cookies. So I decided to go with a general spring/easter background which will technically last longer anyway. In honor of the Irish holiday which is quickly approaching I feel this post is appropriate.

This is somewhat of a passion of mine (on behalf of Sean because if I'm honest I probably prefer the Bailey's verson). I cannot tell you how many restaurants we've been to where Sean has ordered an Irish Coffee and recieved a beverage no where NEAR what it should have been. In the worst case, a coffee with Baileys Irish Cream comes out (WRONG), sometimes though a coffee with Jameson (or so we can only hope), canned whipped cream and some sort of green minty slime on top (FAIL) comes out. Certainly I understand in College Station, TX you might not expect a proper Irish Coffee to be in every bartenders repertoire, for the most part the bartenders are college students, and well Texas isnt generally known as a strong Irish enclave. Ok so we deal with it.

BUT now we live literally minutes from Philadelphia (known for large concentrations of proud Irish families). A few weeks ago I headed into the city to meet Sean for dinner on a Friday night. After a decent but not really memorable meal in a hip center city eatery, Sean ordered himself an Irish Coffee and our waiter said..... "So, do you want a coffe with Bailey's or with Jameson?" To which Sean of course said Jameson, but what we both wanted to say was... NEITHER he ordered an Irish Coffee!

This recipe is reportedly from the restaurant that invented the Irish Coffee  (in California not Ireland, I know) which I reasearched several years ago when I gave Sean a set of crystal Irish Coffee mugs for his birthday.

Admittedly, I have not researched the importance behind the shape of an Irish Coffee glass, I just think these are pretty. An otherwise properly prepared Irish Coffee in a "standard" glass is perfectly acceptable :).

First you want to start with a jigger (used a shot glass) of Irish Whiskey in your mug.

Then fill your mug to aproximately 3/4 full with a bold (unflavored) coffee.

The original recipe calls for 3 cocktail sugar cubes (which is 3 teaspoons) but I generally add a heaping teaspoon full because Sean doesn't really like it that sweet and stir until its disolved.

To finish it off top with lightly whipped cream. For this, just take a small amount of heavy whipping cream and use a fork or a whisk (or an electric mixer with one "leg" attached) and whip the cream until frothy, but not stiff. Then gently pour the cream over the top of an upside down spoon so the cream settles on top of the coffee but does not fall through.

And voila, you have a proper, potent and pretty Irish Coffee.

The New and Improved Flourblossoms Kitchen!

Well, its blizzarding outside right now, adding an additional 15 inches to the 25 we got on Sat! Fortunately, Sean's parents made it in Thursday before the snow started falling, and we've been hard it work pulling down wallpaper, sanding, painting, installing baseboards, changing light fixtures and putting in a new kitchen faucet.  Its been the perfect weather to get lots of home improvements taken care of, and the kitchen is overwhelmingly improved but I don't think its coming across as well as I'd like in the pictures!

I tried to do this from as close to the same angle as possible...

Yes this is actually the same part of the kitchen. I haven't actually loaded up that hutch yet, but I bought it at salvation army and painted it green. I kind of love it. We also pulled down the black rubber baseboards, put in wood ones, and took out the hanging light fixture and just put a cap on the ceiling right there.

Paint is really the only change here, but before we painted (Behr "dried plaintain") I was convinced I was going to paint the cabinets the same green as the hutch. I've decided maybe they aren't SO bad now and will leave them as is at least for a while.

And this I just had to change because I missed having a sprayer, and the other one was so low over the sink that if you had something in there it was almost entirely impossible to fill anything else up.