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When you think of Irish food the first thing that comes to mind is potatoes. Certainly the history of Ireland has one of its most tragic times during the Great Famine of 1845 to 1850 that saw the death of millions and millions more emigrating many to the United States. Irelands history is one of extreme poverty while landlords became rich and ate well.

Traditional Irish cooking is of the meat and potatoes variety. Cattle, sheep and pigs were all used for meat. Fishing provides a good portion of the Irish diet. Grains were mainly grown for cash crops. Green vegetables like cabbage and kale are frequently part of the Irish diet. While many continue to think of Irish cooking as bland there are now chefs that are showing a new side of Irish cooking to the world.

Irish stew is traditionally little more then mutton or lamb, potatoes, carrots and water. Potatoes are often paired with cabbage, kale or green onions. There are many recipes that use Guinness. Irish like to fry their meats and sausages and go for a hearty breakfast.

I am making an Irish meal for my brother tonight.  Here are some of recipes that go well with an Irish dinner.

Corned Beef with Orange-Honey Glaze

Serving Size: 6

Amount     Measure             Ingredient — Preparation Method

——–    ————       ——————————–

3           pounds                corned beef brisket — lean

½          cup                     honey

¼          cup                     orange juice

4           tablespoons          Dijon mustard

¼          teaspoon              ground cloves

2           whole                  bay leaves

1           teaspoon             peppercorns

1           medium               onion

30         whole                  cloves

1           teaspoon              mustard seed

Stud the onion with cloves. In a large pot place corned beef brisket, onion, bay leaves, mustard seeds and peppercorns. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook around 2½ hours or until tender

Heat oven to 350°F.

In a bowl combine honey, Dijon mustard, orange juice and ground cloves.

Put meat in an oven proof dish and spread with honey mixture. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until glaze is just brown and crisp. Halfway through brush meat with glaze.

Irish American Shepherd’s Pie

Serving Size: 8

Amount     Measure     Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

1¼      pounds     ground beef, extra lean

1     tablespoon     olive oil

3     ounces     carrots — diced

8     ounces     mushrooms — sliced

1     cup     celery — diced

1     cup     frozen green peas

1     cup     frozen corn

1     small     onion — diced

2     cloves     garlic — minced

1     tablespoon     Dijon mustard

1     tablespoon     Worcestershire sauce

¼     cup     red wine or beef broth

½     teaspoon     seasoned salt

¼     teaspoon     seasoned pepper

½     teaspoon     allspice

1     tablespoon     cornstarch

1½     pounds     potatoes — peeled and cubed

½     cup     low-fat sour cream

1     cup     low sodium cheddar cheese — shredded

½     teaspoon     salt

¼     teaspoon     white pepper

Add potatoes to boiling water. Cook 15 minutes or until tender. Drain.  In a separate pan cook carrots in boiling water. Drain.

Mash potatoes with sour cream, cheddar cheese, salt and white pepper.

Add olive oil to large frying pan and heat. Cook beef, onions, mushrooms and garlic until no pink remains in beef and vegetables are softened.

Add carrots, peas, celery and corn. Cook until vegetables are softened.

Mix cornstarch and wine. Add to beef and vegetables. Add Dijon mustard, seasoned salt, seasoned pepper and allspice. Mix well and cooked until gravy has thickened.

Put meat and vegetable mixture in a 2 quart casserole. Cover with mashed potatoes.

Bake uncovered at 325°F for 35 to 40 minutes.

Vegetarian Irish American Shepherd’s Pie

Serving Size: 8    

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

1¼ pounds vegetarian burger mix — Morning Star Crumbles

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 ounces baby carrots — diced

8 ounces mushrooms — sliced

1 cup celery — diced

1 cup frozen green peas

1 cup frozen corn

1 small onion — diced

2 cloves garlic — minced

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon A-1® Steak Sauce

¼ cup red wine

½ teaspoon seasoned salt

¼ teaspoon seasoned pepper

½ teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1½ pounds potatoes — peeled and cubed

½ cup low-fat sour cream

1 cup low sodium cheddar cheese — shredded

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon white pepper

Add potatoes to boiling water. Cook 15 minutes or until tender. Drain.  In a separate pan cook carrots in boiling water. Drain.

Mash potatoes with sour cream, cheddar cheese, salt and white pepper.

Add olive oil to large frying pan and heat. Cook crumbles, onions, mushrooms and garlic until no pink remains in beef and vegetables are softened.

Add carrots, peas, celery and corn. Cook until vegetables are softened.

Mix cornstarch and wine. Add to crumbles and vegetables. Add dijon mustard, A-1 Sauce, seasoned salt, seasoned pepper and allspice. Mix well and cooked until gravy has thickened.

Put crumble and vegetable mixture in a 2 quart casserole. Cover with mashed potatoes.

Bake uncovered at 325°F for 35 to 40 minutes.

Sour Cream Potatoes

Serving Size: 6

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

1½ pounds potatoes — golden, cubed

1 medium shallot — minced

1 cup sour cream, light

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon white pepper

1 tablespoon butter

Put potatoes in boiling water to cover. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Melt butter in small saucepan. Add minced shallots and cook until tender. Add sour cream, salt and pepper. Mix until heated through but not boiling.

Toss potatoes with sour cream sauce.

Sweet Onions and Potatoes

Serving Size: 6    

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon freeze-dried chives

1 medium Vidalia onion — sliced

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes — sliced

½ cup water

Melt butter in large frying pan. Layer onions and potatoes and sprinkle with salt, pepper, basil and chives.  

Pour water over onions and potatoes. Cover and cook on medium for 30 minutes.

Irish Champ

Serving Size: 4    

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

8 large russet potatoes — peeled and cubed

8 whole green onions — finely chopped

⅔ cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon white pepper

¼ cup butter

Place potatoes in boiling water and cook 18 to 20 minutes or until tender.

Heat milk and butter until warm and butter melts. Add green onions.

Drain potatoes and mash.

Add milk and onion mixture with salt and pepper and mix until combined.

Irish Soda Bread

Serving Size: 8    

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter

2 whole eggs

3 tablespoons buttermilk, dried

¾ cup water

⅓ cup golden raisins

Heat oven to 375°F.

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl.

Cut in butter until crumbly.

Combine 1 egg and water and stir into dry mixture just until moistened.

Fold in raisins.

Knead on floured surface for abut a minute.

Shape into a round loaf and place on greased cookie sheet.

With sharp knife or razor blade cut a ¼ inch cross on top of loaf.

Beat remaining egg and brush over bread.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: You can substitute ¾ cup of buttermilk for the water and buttermilk powder.

Guinness Cake

Serving Size: 8    

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

1 cup butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

1¼ cups Guinness

1½ cups raisins

1½ cups golden raisins

1 cup candied fruit

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cardamom

½ teaspoon baking soda

3 whole eggs — beaten

Heat oven to 325°F.

Grease and line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.

Place butter, sugar and Guinness in a saucepan and slowly bring to a boil stirring constantly until the sugar and butter have melted. Mix in the raisins and dried fruit and bring mixture back up to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and cool completely.

Sift the flour, spices and baking soda into a large bowl.

Stir in the cooled fruit mixture and beaten eggs.

Put into prepared pan and bake for 2 hours.

Cool in pan before removing cake.

Michele’s Irish Scones

Serving Size: 8    

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

2 cups all-purpose flour — sifted

1 tablespoon baking powder — sifted

2 teaspoons light brown sugar — sifted

¼ teaspoon salt — sifted

3 tablespoons Kerrygold Irish Butter — at room temperature

¾ cup heavy cream

½ cup golden raisins

Heat oven to 350°F.

Sift dry ingredients into a medium mixing bowl.

Add butter and work in with hands until the consistency of fine sand.

Add cream and raisins and work just into dough comes together.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Pat into a circle one inch thick and cut into eight wedges.

Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 12 to 15 minutes.

NOTES : If you can find Irish butter use it. If you can’t use unsalted butter and increase the salt to one teaspoon.

You can also bake on a lightly greased baking sheet if you don’t have parchment paper.

Potato Scones

Makes 12 farls

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

1 pound boiled — mashed potatoes

3 ounces flour

3 tablespoons melted butter or bacon fat

½ teaspoon salt

Mash potatoes well, add melted fat and salt. Add as much flour as potatoes will take without becoming too dry.* Turn out onto a floured board, roll until ¼ inch in thickness. Cut into circles, then into farls (quarters). Prick all over with a fork. Cook on a griddle or heavy pan dusted with a little flour. When they brown with small darker spots appearing, they are cooked.

They can be refrigerated, wrapped in grease-proof paper like crepes. They can be eaten immediately, hot, with butter, honey or syrup. They are delicious reheated in bacon fat until crisp with bacon and eggs.

* Flour amount varies with potato used; the floury kind needs less than others.

Notes : This treat is eaten for breakfast from the Shetland Islands to the North of Ireland and is simple yet tasty. It is sometimes called Potato Farls or Potato Farrs (quarters).

Barm Brack (Traditional Irish Bread)

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

2½ cup mixed dry fruit-currants, dark and golden raisins.

1 cup boiling black tea

1 egg

1 teaspoon mixed spice (see note*)

4 teaspoon marmalade

1 cup (heaping) superfine sugar

2½ cups self rising flour

Place dried fruit in a bowl, cover with the hot tea and let soak overnight. The next day, add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Preheat oven to 375° F. Pour batten into greased 7 inch square pan and bake in the center of oven for 1½ hours. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack. Slice and serve buttered with tea.

Note* (Mixed spices: equal parts of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, and mace.

1. In Northern Ireland and in the Republic, Brack is the Celtic word for salt and is used to mean “bread”. Barm brack is leavened bread, the word Barm meaning yeast.

2. The term “barmbrack” for an Irish fruit loaf or cake does not derive from barm or leaven. It is a corruption of the Irish word “aran breac” (Speckled Bread).

Irish Whiskey Cake

Servings: 8

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

Cake

8 ounces raisins

grated rind of 1 lemon

⅓ cup whiskey

6 ounces softened butter

3 eggs

6 ounces soft brown sugar

6 ounces plain flour

1 pinch salt

1 pinch ground cloves

1 teaspoon baking powder

Icing

juice of 1 lemon

8 ounces confectioners’ sugar

warm water as needed

crystallized lemon slices, as garnish, if desired

Put the raisins and grated lemon rind into a bowl with the whiskey, and leave overnight to soak.

Grease a 7 inch cake pan, and line the bottom with parchment; preheat oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Separate the eggs and sift the flour, salt, cloves and baking powder into a bowl. Beat the yolks into the butter and sugar one by one, including a spoonful of flour and beating well after each addition. Gradually add the whiskey and raisin mixture, alternating with the remaining flour. Do not over beat at this stage. Finally, whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the mixture with a metal spoon. Turn into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 1½ hours, or until well risen and springy to the touch or test with a skewer: when it comes out clean, the cake’s ready. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the icing by mixing the lemon juice with the sieved confectioners’ sugar and just enough water to make a pouring consistency. Put a dinner plate under the cake rack to catch the drips, and pour the icing over the cake a tablespoonful at a time, letting it dribble naturally down the sides. Don’t worry if a lot of it ends up on the plate underneath — just scoop it up and put it on top again. When the icing has set, it can be decorated with crystallized lemon slices if you like.

“Irish Coffee” Cake

Servings: 4

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

Cake

4 ounces butter, at room temperature

4 ounces granulated sugar

2 eggs

4 ounces self raising flour

2 tablespoon coffee essence*

Irish Coffee Syrup

⅓ cup strong black coffee

4 ounces sugar (for coffee syrup)

4 tablespoons Irish whiskey

Icing

⅓ cup heavy whipping cream

confectioners’ sugar to taste

1 tablespoon whiskey, or to taste

chopped nuts or grated chocolate

*This is a concentrated, liquid coffee easily found in Ireland, but probably not in the States. I would dissolve 2 tablespoon of a good instant coffee (Taster’s Choice or something similar) in an equivalent amount of water, and use that.

Grease and flour an 8 inch cake pan (preferably a springform cheesecake pan). Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, adding a little flour and beating well after each addition. Stir in the coffee essence, and mix thoroughly. Turn the mixture into the prepared pan, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until springy topped with strawberries.**

**As garnish, if desired. — In saucepan, sprinkle unflavored gelatin over milk. Let stand about 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add chocolate and continue cooking, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted: stir in vanilla. Remove from heat and stir occasionally, adding Bailey’s about five minutes after removal from heat. When mixture forms mounds when dropped from spoon, fold in whipped topping. Turn into crust. Garnish with more whipped topping (or real whipped cream, later, by preference) and strawberries (if desired). Chill at least 4 hours before serving.

Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake

Recipe By: SOAR

Serving Size: 12

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

Crust

1½ packages graham crackers — crushed

6 tablespoons butter — melted

⅓ cup sugar

Filling

24 ounces cream cheese

5 jumbo eggs — separated

1½ cups sugar

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

3 tablespoons cocoa

½ cup Bailey’s Irish Cream

1 pint whipping cream

For crust mix graham crackers, butter and sugar together. Pat into the bottom of a springform pan. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.

Soften the cream cheese in microwave. Soften gelatin in small saucepan with ¾ cup water.

Stir egg yolks into 1 cup sugar. Add to gelatin mixture and cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles. Cool. Beat cheese in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add cocoa and beat again. Add Bailey’s and beat some more. Slowly add gelatin mixture an blend well. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add remaining ½ cup sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold into cheese mixture. Whip cream and fold into cheese mixture. Pour into crust and refrigerated several hours or overnight.

Sticky Toffee Pudding (Irish Style)

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

unsalted butter for baking dish

1 cup and 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup pitted dates (Medjool would be fine)

7 tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1¼ cups boiling water

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

4 tablespoons heavy cream

whipped cream for topping or ice cream

Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8×6 inch baking dish or 8 inch round cake tin. Sift the flour and baking powder onto a sheet of waxed paper or into a bowl; set aside.

Chop the dates fine; toss with 1 tablespoon flour in a small bowl. Beat 4 tablespoons of butter and ¾ cup sugar in large bowl until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg along with a little of the flour mixture; beat for 1 minute. Beat in remaining flour mixture. Add dates, baking soda and vanilla to the 1¼ cups boiling water, stirring to combine; add to batter, beating until well blended. Pour batter into a greased and floured baking dish; bake until set and well browned on top, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven to wire rack.

Heat broiler. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons butter, the brown sugar and the 2 tablespoons heavy cream in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat to simmering; simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; pour topping over pudding. Place pudding in broiler, about 4 inches from source of heat; broil until top is bubbly, about one minute. Serve warm. You can use enough sauce to cover the pudding for bubbling” and reserve the rest for pouring! These can also be baked in individual small pudding tins for about 20 minutes. Everyone gets their very own little toffee pudding.

Dublin Coddle

Yields 4 servings

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

8 ounces thick bacon slices

1 pound pork sausages

1½ pounds potatoes

1 pound onions

salt and pepper

Place the bacon and the sausages in a saucepan. Cover with boiling water. Bring back to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain off the liquid into a bowl and reserve.

Peel and slice the potatoes and onions, and place them, with the meat, in a heavy saucepan or greased casserole dish. Cover with the reserved stock, season with salt and pepper before putting on the lid. Simmer on top of the stove in a moderate oven, 350°F, for about one hour.

Spiced Beef

Serves: 8

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

Spicing

6 pounds beef brisket

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon whole cloves

¼ teaspoon mace

1 teaspoon peppercorns

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon allspice

2 tablespoons brown sugar, firmly packed

⅓ cup coarse salt

Cooking

1 celery stalk, coarse chopped

1 medium onion, quartered

2 medium carrots, sliced

3 whole cloves

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground allspice

½ pint stout

Blend the spicing ingredients together in a small bowl, making sure to break up the bay leaves and garlic. Stand the beef brisket in a large dish, and rub the spice mixture all over the meat. Wrap the beef, and refrigerate for one week. Turn the brisket each day, rubbing the spice mixture at the bottom of the brisket back up to the top.

At the end of the week, rinse the beef brisket with water and tie it for roasting. Place the celery, onion, and carrots on the bottom of a pot large enough to accommodate the brisket. Add the whole cloves, ground cloves, and allspice to the vegetables. To cook the brisket, place the beef on top of the bed of vegetables and add enough water to the pot to cover the brisket. Bring the kettle to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 4 to 5 hours, or until the brisket is cooked through and tender. Add the half pint of stout to the kettle during the last hour of cooking. Place the brisket on a meat platter and carve to serve warm.

Irish Lamb Stew

Serves: 4

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

2 small onions, cut into rings

3 medium carrots, diced

2 turnips, diced

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 small cabbage, cut into pieces

2 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into 3 inch pieces

salt and pepper, to taste

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 small potatoes, diced

2 teaspoons marjoram

Put lamb into large stock pot and cover with water. Season with salt and pepper, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add the vegetables, garlic and potatoes and simmer another 25 to 30 minutes covered. Season with marjoram and additional salt and pepper and serve.

Irish Rover’s Unicorn Pub Shepherd’s Pie

Recipe By: Vincent Lee of the Irish Rover’s Unicorn Pub

Serving Size: 6

The Irish Rovers, of “Puff the Magic Dragon” and “The Unicorn” fame, own a very successful “Old Country Pub” in Calgary, Alberta. Their Shepherd’s Pie is justly famous. Vincent Lee, kitchen manager at the Unicorn says the recipe came directly from Ireland via the Irish Rovers more than 10 years ago.

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

2 pounds ground beef, lean

1 cup onion — diced

1 cup carrots — diced

1 cup celery — diced

1½ cups corn — fresh or frozen

2 cloves garlic — minced

salt — to taste

pepper — to taste

½ teaspoon nutmeg

⅞ cup beef broth

2 tablespoons butter — mixed with 2 tablespoons flour

2 pounds potatoes — cooked and mashed

butter

Cook ground beef in frying pan until brown. Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Lower heat and cook for 10 minutes or until vegetables are wilted. Add beef broth, bring to a boil. Stir in enough of the butter/flour roux to make a thick gravy to bind the filling. Pour into large shallow baking pan and cool. The filling should be about 1½ inches deep.

Cover the meat mixture in the pan with the corn and then top with the hot mashed potatoes. Smooth potatoes evenly, brush surface with butter. Bake at 325°F for 35 to 40 minutes.

Dublin Lawyer (Irish)

Yield: 2 servings

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

2½ pounds fresh lobster

3 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons Irish whiskey

⅝ cup cream

salt and pepper

The lobster should be cut in two down the center. Remove all the meat from the lobster, including the claws: retain the shell for serving. Cut the meat into chunks. Heat the butter until foaming and quickly sauté the lobster chunks in it, until just cooked but not colored. Warm the whiskey slightly, then pour it over the lobster and set fire to it. Add the cream, mix with the pan juices, and taste for seasoning. Put back into the half shells and serve hot.

Beef Braised in Guinness

Makes 4 servings.

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

1½ pounds chuck or round roast

2 medium onions

½ pound carrots

2 tablespoons all purpose flour, heaping

salt and pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil

½ teaspoon fresh basil, minced

⅔ cup Guinness

1 teaspoon honey

⅔ cup stock or water

Preheat oven to 325°F. The roast should be about 1 inch thick and cut into 12 pieces. Peel the onions and chop them fairly small. Peel the carrots and slice them into pieces about the size of your little finger. Place the flour in a flat dish and mix in a teaspoon of salt and a sprinkling of pepper. Heat the oil in the pan, add onions and cook until soft. Transfer then with a slotted spoon to a large, shallow, greased, oven proof dish. Dip the pieces of meat in the seasoned flour and brown them in the fat in the pan. Remove these as they are cooked and place in the dish on top of the onions, in a single layer. Arrange the carrots around them. If necessary, add a little more oil to the pan and stir in the remainder of the seasoned flour. Cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly, then add the basil and the Guinness. Allow to boil for a minute or two and then add the honey and the stock. Return to a boil and pour over the meat. Cover and cook in a 325°F oven for 1½ hours.

Potato Soup (Anrith pra’tai’)

Serving Size: 6

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

2 pounds potatoes — peeled and diced

6⅛ tablespoons butter

5 cups water

2 large onions — diced

3 tablespoons mixed herbs — i.e. parsley, thyme, and sage

2 tablespoons chives or green onions chopped

salt — to taste

pepper — to taste

1¼ cups milk

2 tablespoons cream

Melt butter in a pan and slowly simmer the potatoes and onions. Do not brown. Add the water and herbs, salt, and pepper and continue on a low heat until the vegetables are tender, about ½ hour. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. To make it really creamy and smooth put through a blender before adding the cream and chives. If you do not blend the soup which is the traditional method, then serve hot with the cream and chives garnishing the soup.

Saint Patrick’s Soup

Serves: 4

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

4 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 cup diced raw potatoes

½ cup sliced onions

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 pound spinach

4 cups chicken stock

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ cup Irish oatmeal

salt and pepper to season

whipped cream

Melt the butter over a low heat in a skillet or pan. Add diced potatoes, mushrooms and sliced onions and fry until soft.

Wash spinach. Remove stalks and tough stems and chop finely.

Transfer carrots and onions, mushrooms and spinach to a saucepan and add the stock, salt and pepper (to taste), cloves and diced potatoes. Stir in a ½ cup of Irish oatmeal and simmer for 20 minutes.

Puree in blender or food processor.

Serve into open soup dishes with a teaspoon of whipped cream floating in center.

Colcannon

Yields 6 servings

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

1¼ pounds kale, washed, with stems removed (can also use cabbage)

2 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1¼ pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters

1 cup cleaned and chopped leeks (white part only)

1 cup milk

1 pinch ground mace

salt and pepper

½ cup butter, melted

In a large pot, simmer the kale along with oil and 2 cups water for 10 minutes. Drain kale and let cool a bit before chopping it finely, then set aside and cover to keep it warm.

In a small pot, bring potatoes and water to a boil and simmer until tender.

In another small pot, simmer leeks in milk for 10 minutes, then turn off heat and cover to keep warm.

Drain the potatoes and puree them into the large pot. Add leeks with the milk, and cooked kale. Beat with a spoon or whisk until fluffy, then season with mace, salt and pepper. Top with melted butter and garnish with parsley if desired.

Beacan Bruithe (Baked Mushrooms)

Serving Size: 4

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

16 large field mushrooms

4 ounces chopped onions

4 ounces whole wheat breadcrumbs

4 ounces sausage meat

1 teaspoon chopped sage

salt and pepper

Wash and peel mushrooms. Remove stalks and discard. Brush mushrooms with melted butter. Fry onions in remaining butter. When tender, mix onion and butter with breadcrumbs, sausage meat, herbs and seasonings. Divide among the mushrooms. Place mushrooms in a shallow ovenproof dish, pour 4 tablespoons of water into the bottom of the dish, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a moderate oven.

Boxty (Potato Griddle Cakes)

Serving Size: 8

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

——– ———— ——————————–

½ pound raw potato

½ pound mashed potato

½ pound plain flour

milk

1 each egg

salt and pepper

Grate raw potatoes and mix with the cooked mashed potatoes. Add salt, pepper and flour. Beat egg and add to mixture with just enough milk to make a batter that will drop from a spoon. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a hot griddle or frying pan. Cook over a moderate heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.  

  Good morning Motley Meese! Hope your weekend was lovely. Yes, snow at our house. Again. Really, universe? It’s the middle of March already!!  ::takes deep cleansing breath::

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It’s traditional but not obligatory to give us a weather check where you are and let us know what’s new, interesting, challenging or even routine in your life lately. Nothing is particularly obligatory here except:

Always remember the Moose Golden (Purple?) Rule:

Be kind to each other… or else.

What could be simpler than that, right?

I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in “Cheers & Jeers”.

OK, you’ve been warned – here is this week’s tomfoolery material that I posted.

ART NOTES – an array of paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures in an exhibition entitled From Picasso to Magritte is at the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Virginia through August 23rd.

HAIL and FAREWELL to former Florida governor Reubin Askew – one of the first of the “New South” Democratic governors when others were preaching “massive resistance” and promising to preserve segregation – who has died at the age of 85 ……. the widow of jazz great Dave Brubeck (and his lyricist) Iola Brubeck – also the matriarch of a musical family – who has died at the age of 90 …. and Anthony Wedgewood “Tony” Benn – a stalwart Labour Party leader in Britain, and who renounced a hereditary lifetime peerage at the age of 25 to remain in the House of Commons] – who has died at the age of 88.  

BRAIN TEASER – try this Quiz of the Week’s News from the BBC.

THURSDAY’s CHILD is one of five cats living in a hoarder’s apartment – namely, a Manhattan man (who is the son of two famous radio and television personalities) facing eviction this week.

POLITICAL NOTES – a snap provincial election has been called for next month by Pauline Marois – the leader of the Québec separatist party – in hopes of gaining a majority … and once more seeking to hold a referendum on secession from Canada.

THE GLOVES COME OFF via this Josh Marshall’s TPM story about a former South Carolina police officer (among the GOP primary challengers for the US Senate seat) … who references an old Saturday Night Live skit by calling incumbent Sen. Lindsey Graham … “Ambiguously gay”.

FRIDAY’s CHILD is a wet kitteh who struggled in Massachusetts waters before being rescued by firefighters – and who otherwise appears to be well.

A PARTING SHOT (that was not complimentary) was given by the government of China to the outgoing US Ambassador Gary Locke – the Chinese-American former governor of the state of Washington – which is odd, since most Chinese citizens reacted with awe when he arrived to take office and was seen …. buying his own coffee and carrying his own luggage (unlike most Chinese officials, who are waited-on devotedly by staff).

THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at the life and times of musician, arranger and producer Felix Pappalardi – for which the aftermath of his killing (in 1983) was part of one of rock & roll’s great mysteries … until last month.

SEPARATED at BIRTH – TV stars Josh Holloway (James “Sawyer” Ford on “Lost”) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister in the HBO series “Game of Thrones”).

   

……and finally, for a song of the week ………………. in the history of rock bands whose ability was not recognized until years after they had split-up: the British Invasion band The Zombies would be in the first tier. Ahead of their time in many ways (including the use of minor keys) they were more popular away from Britain than within it. They are known primarily for a few hit singles (and only one of its members achieved success after the break-up). But a re-formed band (with two original members) have helped focus attention years later on their entire body of work, a revelation to more than a few.

They formed in suburban London in 1959 (when they ranged in age from 13-16) and yet did not consider music a career until a London Evening News talent contest five years later. The line-up consisted of: Colin Blunstone (lead vocals), Paul Atkinson (guitar), Hugh Grundy (drums) and the band’s main songwriters: Chris White (bass) and Rod Argent (keyboards and its most accomplished instrumentalist). The Zombies won that talent show and thus given a chance to record a demo for Decca Records. Rod Argent’s She’s Not There reached #12 in the UK charts and – after WINS jockey Stan Burns featured it – amazingly reached #2 in both the US and Canada, featuring an early use of an electric piano.

They were promptly shipped over to do the Murray-the-K revue shows in New York – with drummer Grundy asked to assist the Shangri-Las by revving the motorcycle when they sang “Leader of the Pack” – and appeared on a Hullabaloo show complete with screaming girls.

Returning home, they were rushed into the studio to record more single tunes, so that their first album Begin Here had little thought behind it as a statement.

They had another hit single with Tell Her No which once again reflected a dichotomy: reaching only #42 in the UK but #6 in both the US and Canada. It that proved to be the last hit during the band’s (initial) lifetime.

Yet while not selling well: the quality of many of the band’s other releases (“I Want You Back Again”, “Indication” and “She’s Coming Home” for example) are highly regarded by today’s critics. The All-Music Guide’s Richie Unterberger considered them “too adventurous for radio: songs with wind-swept organ solos, downbeat lyrics, jazz waltz-like sounds”.

In addition, he felt they were saddled with an un-hip reputation (their schoolboy image in the 1st photo, without the racy R&B lyrics of their peers). Rushed into stardom, their finances were stretched tight (the three non-songwriters were still living at home) and having no manager: when their Decca contract was not renewed, they signed to Columbia for one album, hoping to make enough money to enable them to split with a modest nest egg (in Atkinson’s case, to afford a wedding). The budget they were given to work with precluded the use of session musicians, forcing the use of the (then-new) Mellotron to emulate strings and horns.

The 1968 album that resulted was entitled Odessey and Oracle – its mis-spelled title and album cover designed by artist Terry Quirk – and sold poorly at first (having tough competition from releases by the Beatles, Stones and the Kinks just in the UK). It was only released in the US due to the efforts of musician/producer Al Kooper who recognized its potential.

Today (apart from its one hit single to be mentioned later) it is considered both a masterpiece by music critics (#80 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time) as well as inspirational to many younger musicians (such as Paul Weller of The Jam, Robert Plant and Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters). Rod Argent says that while it’s not a huge-seller, “it gives us a continuing source of income” to this day.

Sadly, its success a year later came too late for the band – even offers by record companies to re-form were rejected as everyone had moved on (Blunstone even having become an insurance agent). In particular, the band Argent was headed by Rod Argent (with Chris White as a non-performing songwriter) for a few years in the 1970’s. The band Argent is best known for the 1972 single Hold Your Head Up that reached #5 on both the US and UK charts.  

Fast forward to 1991, twenty-three years after the band’s demise. Singer Colin Blunstone, bassist White and drummer Grundy came together for a studio album New World – though it was primarily aimed at preventing bogus Zombie bands from using the name. It wasn’t until 1997 that all of the original five came together for a British reunion concert. It was their only such reunion, as Grundy and guitarist Paul Atkinson had retired from music (Atkinson becoming an A&R man in Los Angeles).

Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent have toured off-and-on since 2001 as The Zombies. They’ve been joined by other veteran UK performers off-and-on: currently, with the Kinks’ former bassist Jim Rodford (who happens to be Rod Argent’s cousin) and his son Steve on drums. They released a 2004 album As Far as I Can See but were dismayed when former guitarist Paul Atkinson died that year at the age of 58.

The Zombies’ most recent recording was released in 2011, and the current lineup will be performing on this year’s Moody Blues Cruise in the Bahamas in early April, followed by several shows throughout the South this spring.

The four survivors commemorated the 40th anniversary of the release of Odessey and Oracle with an entire album performance in London in March, 2008. This has been released on CD as well as DVD. Add to that a plethora of compilation albums available: well, it’s good to see a band receiving its due, however many years later.

   

The best-known tune from Odessey and Oracle is Time of the Season – which Rod Argent modeled after a song the Zombies played live in their early days, George Gershwin’s Summertime – showing up in the breathy vocals asking “What’s your name – who’s your daddy? It helped the song reach #3 in the US and #1 in Canada (although amazingly only #196 in the UK) – but which only became popular after the group had split-up.

It has been covered by many performers (the Dave Matthews Band frequently performs it live). And below you can listen to it.

  Make sure you let your peeps

  know where to find you!  

The morning check-in is an open thread posted to give you a place to visit with the meeses. Feel free to chat about your weather, share a bit of your life, grump (if you must), rave (if you can). The diarist du jour sometimes posts and runs, other times sticks around for a bit, often returns throughout the day and always cares that meeses are happy … or at least contented.

On weekends (and holidays), you may find the check-in thread earlier or later than normal because … it is the weekend! Moosies need their beauty rest:

For those new to the Moose, Kysen left a Moose Welcome Mat (Part Deux) so, please, wipe your feet before you walk in the front door start posting.

The important stuff to get you started:

– Comments do not Auto-refresh. Click the refresh/reload on your tab to see new ones. Only click Post once for comments. When a diary’s comment threads grow, the page takes longer to refresh and the comment may not display right away.

– To check for replies to your comments, click the “My Comments” link in the right-hand column (or go to “My Moose”). Comments will be listed and a link to Recent Replies will be shown. (Note: Tending comments builds community)

– Ratings: Fierce means Thumbs Up, Fail means Thumbs Down, Meh means one of three things: I am unFailing you but I can’t Fierce you, I am unFiercing after a mistaken Fierce … or Meh. Just Meh. (p.s. Ratings don’t bestow mojo, online behaviour does).

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– Finally, the posting rules for a new diary: “Be excellent to each other… or else”

(Some other commenting/posting/tending notes for newbies can be found in this past check-in and, of course, consult Meese Mehta for all your questions on meesely decorum.)

You can follow the daily moosetrails here: Motley Moose Recent Comments.

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Let the greetings begin!

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The President’s Weekly Address post is also the Weekend Open News Thread. Feel free to share other news stories in the comments.

From the White House – Weekly Address

In this week’s address, President Obama highlighted the action he took this week to reward hard work by strengthening overtime pay protections. As part of this year of action, the President has ordered the Secretary of Labor to modernize our country’s overtime rules to ensure that millions of American workers are paid a fair wage for a hard day’s work.

While our economy is moving forward, the middle class and those fighting to get into it are still struggling and too many Americans are working harder than ever just to keep up, let alone get ahead. So, in consultation with workers and business, the Obama administration will update and simplify the rules to reward hard work and responsibility.

Transcript: Weekly Address: Rewarding Hard Work by Strengthening Overtime Pay Protections

Hi, everybody.  In this year of action, I’m doing everything I can, with or without Congress, to expand opportunity for more Americans.  This week, I ordered a review of our nation’s overtime rules, to give more Americans the chance to earn the overtime pay they’ve worked for.

Here’s why this matters.  Our businesses have created 8.7 million new jobs over the past four years.  But in many ways, the trends that have battered the middle class for decades have grown even starker.  While those at the top are doing better than ever, average wages have barely budged.  Too many Americans are working harder than ever just to keep up.

We’ve got to build an economy that works for everybody, not just a fortunate few.  We know from our history that our economy grows best from the middle out, when growth is more widely shared.  So we’ve got to restore opportunity for all – the idea that with hard work and responsibility, you can get ahead.

Now, for more than 75 years, the 40-hour workweek and the overtime protections that come with it have helped countless workers climb the ladder of success.  But today, an overtime exception originally meant for highly-paid employees now applies to workers who earn as little as $23,660 a year.  It doesn’t matter if you do mostly physical labor, or if you work 50, 60, even 70 hours a week.  Your employer may not have to pay you a single extra dime.    

In some cases, this rule makes it possible for workers earning a salary to actually be paid less than the minimum wage.  And it means that business owners who treat their employees fairly can be undercut by competitors who don’t.  That’s not right.  So we’re going to update those overtime rules to restore that basic principle that if you have to work more, you should be able to earn more.  And we’ll do it by consulting workers and businesses, and simplifying the system so it’s easier for everyone.

Americans have spent too long working more and getting less in return.  So wherever and whenever I can make sure that our economy rewards hard work and responsibility, that’s what I’m going to do.  Because what every American wants is a paycheck that lets them support their families, know a little economic security, and pass down some hope and optimism to their kids.  That’s something worth fighting for.  And I’ll keep fighting for it as long as I’m President.

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

Bolding added.

~

  Make sure you let your peeps

  know where to find you!  

The morning check-in is an open thread posted to give you a place to visit with the meeses. Feel free to chat about your weather, share a bit of your life, grump (if you must), rave (if you can). The diarist du jour sometimes posts and runs, other times sticks around for a bit, often returns throughout the day and always cares that meeses are happy … or at least contented.

On weekends (and holidays), you may find the check-in thread earlier or later than normal because … it is the weekend! Moosies need their beauty rest:

For those new to the Moose, Kysen left a Moose Welcome Mat (Part Deux) so, please, wipe your feet before you walk in the front door start posting.

The important stuff to get you started:

– Comments do not Auto-refresh. Click the refresh/reload on your tab to see new ones. Only click Post once for comments. When a diary’s comment threads grow, the page takes longer to refresh and the comment may not display right away.

– To check for replies to your comments, click the “My Comments” link in the right-hand column (or go to “My Moose”). Comments will be listed and a link to Recent Replies will be shown. (Note: Tending comments builds community)

– Ratings: Fierce means Thumbs Up, Fail means Thumbs Down, Meh means one of three things: I am unFailing you but I can’t Fierce you, I am unFiercing after a mistaken Fierce, or Meh. Just Meh. (p.s. Ratings don’t bestow mojo, online behaviour does).

– The Recommended list has a prominent place on the Front Page because it reflects the interests of the Moose. When people drive-by, we want them to see what we are talking about: news, politics, science, history, personal stories, culture. The list is based on number of recs and days on the list. Per Kysen: “The best way to control Rec List content is to ONLY rec diaries you WANT to see ON the list.”

– Finally, the posting rules for a new diary: “Be excellent to each other… or else”

(Some other commenting/posting/tending notes for newbies can be found in this past check-in and, of course, consult Meese Mehta for all your questions on meesely decorum.)

You can follow the daily moosetrails here: Motley Moose Recent Comments.

~

Let the greetings begin!

~

Recently one of rock & roll’s great mysteries was solved, which will be noted after the jump …..

Thirty years ago last April, a notorious shooting took place that took the life of noted musician, arranger and producer Felix Pappalardi at only age 43. And it came at the hands of his wife, who received a lenient sentence and disappeared afterwards, never to be heard from until recently (which will be recounted later). But unless you were a rock fan in the late 60’s/early 1970’s, you may not know the name (much less the career) of Felix Pappalardi … for which tonight’s Top Comments will attempt to remedy the situation.

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Born in the Bronx, New York in 1939 to a doctor father (who was a talented amateur violinist), Felix Pappalardi attended NYC’s High School of Music and Art (studying piano and viola). After graduation, he attended the University of Michigan to train to be a classical music conductor.

Alas, returning home in the early 60’s he found no work … instead, settling-into the burgeoning folk music scene of New York’s Greenwich Village. Yet his musical training would stand him in good stead: he could write and read music, was a skilled arranger of the work of others and was at least proficient at a number of musical instruments (keyboards, bass, viola, trumpet, even the ukulele) so he could find session work. And while in college, he was exposed to the blues at the University of Michigan Folklore Society. All of this led to a career as a producer at various studios, including Elektra, Vanguard and Atlantic.

First, though, he did spend time in a band I had no idea he was involved with. Max Morath’s Original Rag Quartet – which revived Scott Joplin ragtime music from 1964-1965 – toured the following year on the college circuit and even performed four times on the Dinah Shore show .

During this time, it was in Greenwich Village that he met his future wife Gail Collins – no, not the present-day NY Time essayist – who was a poet and artist. She also knew music theory, which later helped in collaborations with Felix.

Among the folk music recording artists for whom he worked as either a session player, or arranger or producer – and sometimes all three – were Tim Hardin, Fred Neil, Joan Baez, Tom Paxton, John Sebastian, Richard & Mimi Farina, Ian & Sylvia plus Cass Elliott. He also produced the first album by The Youngbloods (of “Get Together” fame) as the music scene began to change away from folk music towards rock by 1966. Yet it was his next project that first made Felix Pappalardi into a music legend.

For those of us who came to love the blues-rock band Cream – it is worth wondering whether their short (1966-1968) life would have been memorable had they not encountered Felix. Whereas most rock bands consisted of childhood friends or acquaintances (the Beatles, Stones, Who, Beach Boys, et al), Cream is considered the first rock supergroup – of musicians who had already made a name for themselves (especially in the UK).

Eric Clapton had been a member of the Yardbirds and John Mayall’s band, drummer Ginger Baker a longtime member of pioneering British R&B bandleader Graham Bond’s Organisation, along with bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce (who had also starred with Manfred Mann). Yet their excellent debut album Fresh Cream suffered from poor recording, and their manager Robert Stigwood sent them across-the-pond to New York in early 1967 to record at Atlantic Records (which had just invested a good deal of capital into cutting-edge recording technology). In part, this was because Atlantic’s Atco was to be the US label for the band (since Stigwood’s Reaction label was solely UK-based).

They were assigned recording engineer Tom Dowd – who had worked on the Manhattan Project in his college days – yet the initial session was awkward. Dowd would go on to become a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee for his work as producer (including on Eric Clapton’s solo albums). But in early 1967, he was more used to working with jazz and folk acts, not rockers with loud equipment and over-sized drum sets. Moreover, he and Atlantic president Ahmet Ertegun were used to a bandleader/sidemen arrangement – not a balanced trio (with the explosive drum sounds of Ginger Baker) to deal with as a recording engineer.

Fortunately, Felix Pappalardi was at Atlantic Records that day, hoping to meet them (as he had been blown away after purchasing Fresh Cream on an import label). And he told Ahmet Ertegun, “I know what these guys are about” and asked if he could work with them.

The result was the landmark album Disraeli Gears – whose title, by the way, came from a roadie’s malaprop in discussing a racing bicycle’s derailleur gears – and thus Felix and Tom Dowd (L-to-R in photo right below) came to be known as the 4th and 5th members of Cream, trusted by the band members fully.

   

To fill-out the album, he borrowed from the blues classic Hey Lawdy Mama – and his wife Gail came up with new lyrics to create the song Strange Brew …. Felix & Gail also wrote the music/lyrics to another song on the album World of Pain – which references a tree on MacDougal Alley (in their Greenwich Village backyard).

Felix went on to produce their final two albums, including Wheels of Fire – the first double-platinum LP in music history, and my favorite of all time – and produced bassist Jack Bruce’s first solo album in 1969. Shortly thereafter, Felix and Gail married in May of that year.

Meanwhile, Felix had produced an album by a band called The Vagrants in 1968. Their guitarist (born Lawrence Weinstein) had received a Fender Stratocaster as a Bar Mitzvah present …. and later adopted Leslie West as a stage name.  

The Vagrants did not succeed, but the following year Leslie West recorded a solo album entitled Mountain – using Felix Pappalardi as a producer/sideman once again. It became a critical success, and West asked Pappalardi if he would become his bassist – and decided to adopt the solo album’s title Mountain as the name for the new band itself. Along with drummer Corky Laing and keyboard player Steve Knight, Mountain achieved some success quickly – made famous by their appearance at Woodstock, only their fourth concert.

In 1970 they had their one Top 20 hit with Mississippi Queen – which you can still hear on classic rock stations today – and is possibly the world’s only song Christopher Walken might not insist “needs more cowbell”. By the way: that famous cowbell intro came about when Felix asked drummer Corky Laing simply to count-off … and when he (randomly) selected the cowbell, it became the song’s hook.

They lasted from 1969-1972, breaking-up for two years (while Jack Bruce joined-up with two members to form the short-lived West, Bruce & Laing band) and reunited from 1974-75, before finally disbanding for good. Keyboard player Steve Knight later became involved with local politics in Woodstock, New York before his death last year at the age of 77.

During the band’s existence, Felix and Gail contributed several songs (with he as composer, and she as lyricist) – among these are “The Laird”, Nantucket Sleighride, “For Yasgur’s Farm” and a tribute to the (then recently deceased) Jimi Hendrix, “Tired Angels”. Their collaboration continued in his post-Mountain career as well. She also tapped into her artistic background, creating the art for the band’s album covers.

Felix retired from active touring, as the result of some hearing loss from his large on-stage Sunn bass amplifiers. Returning to producing, he produced the late 70’s Japanese band Creation – and also released a 1979 solo album (utilizing more funk, reggae and jazz than blues and rock) along with session greats Chuck Rainey and Bernard Purdie. But his drug use began to escalate into the 1980’s, which began to exact a strain not only on himself, but also on his home life.

Felix and Gail had long had a rock & roll open marriage – with each partaking of extra-marital relationships. But in 1982, Felix began seeing an aspiring singer (much younger than Gail) named Valerie Merians, and Gail believed it was not merely a physical relationship (telling her in-laws that December she feared their marriage was in jeopardy).

Long after midnight on April 17, 1983 she confronted Felix after he had returned from a visit to his lover’s home. She later claimed that he was teaching her how to use the .38 Derringer revolver he had bought for her (as a present, some months earlier) when the gun went off accidentally, mortally wounding Felix (at only age 43).

Yet the first phone call she placed was to … her attorney, who advised her to call an ambulance, instead. Police found Pappalardi dead, along with a shredded copy of the couple’s marriage certificate in a wastebasket.

At her trial in 1985, several witnesses testified to her having carried that pistol for months on-end … but she testified in her own defense, and the turning point of the trial came when the prosecutor brought her the revolver, screaming “I can’t touch that!”

And that was cited by jurors when they rejected second-degree murder charges and convicted her of criminally negligent homicide, punishable by only a four-year sentence. Felix’s band mate Leslie West later suggested that rock stars buy their wives “diamond rings, flowers, candy … just not a gun”.

Judge James Leff was openly scornful of the verdict, rejecting pleas for mercy by saying the jury had already granted mercy and sentenced her to the maximum four years. She served only two years before being granted parole, and when she disappeared after release in 1987, her whereabouts were often noted in lists of Rock & Roll unsolved mysteries.

That is, until word surfaced last month of her death – at age 72 – in the mountain resort town of Ajijic, Mexico. She had led the life of a recluse (other than her three cats) living off music royalties she had earned from earlier work as well as some more recent artwork. Neighbors described her as brilliant yet ‘opinionated’ and were upset that she left instructions for her veterinarian to euthanize her three cats so their ashes could be mixed with hers.

Guitar Player magazine once described the wide-ranging body of work left by Felix Pappalardi as that of a “giant among giants” and Leslie West told an interviewer, “I couldn’t believe how talented Felix was musically”. Today a solo performer, West mentioned that when they first met, “I knew nothing … I learned a lot of what not to do because of him, and I learned a lot of what to do because of him”. Felix Pappalardi was laid to rest next to his mother in Woodlawn Cemetery, in his native Bronx, New York.

I thought I might highlight two songs from his career. One was a song written by Felix and Gail, which concerns a legend from their beloved vacation getaway of Nantucket, Massachusetts. One Last Cold Kiss is about two swans and given what happened in their marriage the lyrics seem ….. well, somewhat incongruous. The song has – interestingly – become a favorite of Irish (and Irish-American) musicians, including tenor John McDermott, Christy Moore and Luka Bloom. (Having seen The Chieftains perform the other night, I half-expected to hear it from them, too). Below you can hear Felix Pappalardi sing it with Mountain.

The other is a song not written by Felix – but one that he produced (and later performed with Mountain). Cream bassist Jack Bruce wrote (with his lyricist Pete Brown) the ballad Theme for an Imaginary Western – ostensibly about the American pioneers heading west in wagons, but which was metaphorically a salute to the pioneering British R&B and blues musicians of the early 1960’s (such as Alexis Korner, Cyril Davies and Graham Bond).

It was rejected by Jack Bruce’s bandmates in Cream, but one that he recorded on his 1969 solo album Songs for a Tailor which was produced by Felix Pappalardi. The album’s curious title was dedicated to the American-born fashion designer Jeannie Franklyn – who designed many of Jack’s on-stage outfits (and who died in a car crash with several members of Fairport Convention).

It is a staple of Jack Bruce concerts to this day – as it was for Mountain (and which Leslie West also performs today) – and Jack Bruce has dedicated this song on-stage to Felix Pappalardi, noting their friendship and how Felix “was able to get the best out of people without putting his own stamp on it”.

And below you can hear Felix sing it with Mountain.