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Visit us at one of our three store locations to find Irish Jewelry, Claddagh Rings, Irish Sweaters, Irish Foods, Guinness Products, Waterford and Belleek.

Call us at one of the numbers below or use the accompanying form to contact us.

The Irish Boutique - Long Grove, IL (847 634 3540)

Paddy's on the Square - Long Grove, IL (847 634 0339)

 

228 Robert Parker Coffin Road
Long Grove, IL, 60047
United States

847 634 0339

The Irish Boutique is an Irish import store that has been located in the Chicago land area for over 40 years.  The shop stocks a variety of products ranging from Irish jewelry, crystal, china, food, sweaters, caps, t-shirts and a wide variety of Irish gifts. 

Cooking Blog

Visit our blog to read about Michelle Barry's adventures in cooking and eating Irish cuisine and to learn about new products and upcoming events. 

 

We're Back with Big Changes and Fish Fry-day

john barry

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Hello there! It’s been FOREVER since I’ve been here. So much has happened. We bought a house. In another state. We are in the process of selling our home that we love so much. We are moving to the new house soon. We got VACCINATED! Because life as we know it has not really resumed, at least not the full swing of it, it’s hard to recognize all the ways things have gone back to normal. I was just reading through some posts from about a year ago, looking for the lemon pie recipe that Emmett wants to make, and those old posts kind of floored me. No one was going to school, or leaving the house for that matter, the timeline for a vaccine was totally unknown. People were hoarding toilet paper. We didn’t know if we would even have jobs through the summer. Crazy times. We have so much more stability now, which is a huge relief.

For us, the big changes coming up are self-imposed. Like so many people, we re-evaluated our lives and what we wanted out of them during the past year. We decided that a more flexible post-pandemic office schedule would allow us the freedom to move further away from downtown Chicago. Ever since we had kids, I’ve longed to live in a small town, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the traffic, the frenetic energy that I get more than enough of at work. We knew we didn’t want to live very far from Paul’s family. So when we found a small town just outside of Milwaukee that seemed to be the perfect fit for our family, we decided to look for a house there and miraculously (really, it was, given this housing market), we found one!

Look at us! Fully vaccinated! We went to church for the first time in AGES to celebrate Emmett’s first communion. It felt so normal (I’m pretty such normal has a new meaning now, more like fantastic).

Look at us! Fully vaccinated! We went to church for the first time in AGES to celebrate Emmett’s first communion. It felt so normal (I’m pretty such normal has a new meaning now, more like fantastic).

I’ve always wanted an old farmhouse and after many months of searching Paul found her. She’s beautiful, with so much character. Well, right now she’s loaded with unpacked boxes in every room but she’ll be back to her old splendor soon. I couldn’t help but notice when we took a moving truck over how different it was from last time we moved, ten years ago. Yes, there is so much more stuff. But also, it was so much more exciting and fun, the kids were running all over the house finding hiding spots and checking out every room, laughing uproariously the whole time. It really hit home that in the last several years we made all these happy little kids. We made a family. So it seems it will never be quiet in the new house the way it once was in our current one, before the babies. And there will be so much to discover in our new community. I'm really looking forward to this next chapter and feel lucky that we get to have this adventure together.

That said, two real estate transactions, an out-of-state move, a job change (I’m still at the same company but in a new role) and the ongoing global pandemic have taken up a lot of my time in the last several months. Which is why I haven’t been here. Oh, and also all of my pots and pans are in boxes at the new house though we are still living in Chicago most of the time through the end of the school year. Moving y'all. It’s a process. I’m still cooking though, growing little people demand it. And I’m really looking forward to having people over for dinner again now that we are vaccinated. It’s been so, so long.

I made batter-fried cod today because it’s Emmett’s favorite food. Even though I hate deep frying at home, I wanted to know how to make it, just in case (of what? I do not know). It was so simple, really good and not messy at all. I’m not sure why I always tell myself deep frying is messy, because it never really is in the end. I followed this recipe but instead of making sandwiches, we just ate the fish with hash browns (I’m trying to make sure we eat everything in the freezer before we move), coleslaw and tartar sauce. It was super easy and quick - perfect for a Friday night. The fish came out crunchy without being overcooked inside. I was so proud of myself.

The Never Ending Summer

john barry

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For lots of parents out there this looks like it might be the never ending summer. Unfortunately, not because the summer weather will persist, but because schools may not reopen.  Oh boy, so many feelings in our household about that.  Too many feelings and many of them are conflicting!

I’ve decided to just roll with the punches, whatever happens.  My company has decided to keep its employees working from home until July of 2021, in part to allow us the flexibility to deal with the uncertainties around education and childcare for our children, which I appreciate so incredibly much.  After barely escaping layoffs at both of our companies, we are in the extremely fortunate position of being able to “roll with the punches” without losing our jobs, or not being able to afford the mortgage, or being forced to make any of the impossible choices those less fortunate than us have been faced with these last few months. 

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Eve’s been taking her Sunday afternoon nap under the tent at Buffalo Creek Brewing in Long Grove for the last several weeks.

Am I concerned about what school will look like for my kids this year, and how it will impact their development, health and safety? Absolutely. Do I wish there was some certainty so that I could make plans for childcare and my work schedule? Yep. The wish list is long. But life has always been unpredictable. The events of the last few months have just highlighted this - lest we become complacent. Did we get too used to going about our lives without a global pandemic to turn the most common of activities into deadly encounters? I guess so. 

When she wakes up she eats Joanie’s Pizza. LIVIN’ THE LIFE!!! #LongGrove

When she wakes up she eats Joanie’s Pizza. LIVIN’ THE LIFE!!! #LongGrove

Anyway, I'm trying to accept the uncertainty and enjoy the moment because I know that we really are so blessed. And if 2020 has taught me anything, it is that nothing is owed. We should be grateful for all of our blessings right now while we have them. 

In that spirit I've embraced lots of things this never ending summer including...wait for it... boxed desserts! Have you ever had brookies (brownies + cookies, or does everyone already know what these are?) from a box? Pure genius I tell you. 

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We made these brookie cookies n' cream ice cream sandwiches the other day and they were awesome. It was definitely easy enough for the kids to do themselves although step #2 wall all me.

Here's how we did it.

1- We used the boxed Brookie mix and spread the batter out as thin as we could on a baking tray, then baked for less time (because they are thinner) than the instructions told us, though I do not remember how much less, we just kept checking them for doneness. 

 2 - I guarded them like a hawk so that my little army wouldn't devour them before we could make them into ice cream bars. 

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3 - Once they were room temperature, we cut them into two large squares that I could insert into a square cake pan. 

4 - We lined the cake pan with saran wrap, then put one brookie piece in.  

5 - We spread the brookie piece with softened cookies 'n cream ice cream (because I would have had to go to the store for vanilla).

6 - Then we put the other brookie piece on top, wrapped the saran wrap over the entire thing, put it back into the cake pan and loaded it into the freezer to harden. 

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7 - The next day (though it could be an hour or two later) we took the HUGE ice cream sandwich out of the cake pan and cut it into small pieces with a serrated knife. 

8 - Then I hid a few of them in the back of the freezer for myself before handing them out to the kids. 

 You’re welcome.  Oh yeah, and if you are looking for somewhere low-key and very social-distancing friendly you should check out Buffalo Creek Brewing in Long Grove. We have been going there every weekend. It’s been so nice to get out of the house and for the kids to be able to see their Uncle and Grandpa. It would also be a great spot for a date IMO. There is a lot of outdoor seating, appropriately spaced out for social distancing, and it is bring your own food (or order it, we've been getting chicken and pizzas from Joanie's...yum).  

Sampling the ROOT beer at Buffalo Creek Brewing.

Sampling the ROOT beer at Buffalo Creek Brewing.

 Now go on and enjoy your never ending summer. xoxo








 

Double Streusel Cherry Almond Coffee Cake 

john barry

Mountains of streusel.

Mountains of streusel.

Lately we’ve been playing a game at dinner where we ask each other questions. Emmett thinks this is so fun and I do too. We learn all kinds of funny things about each other that somehow, we have never covered before. It’s fun for parents and kids because it's middle ground between adult conversations (BORING) and discussing the latest toy craze and why “We NEED those toys in our lives!”.  It’s a game where we can all participate equally. The other night the question was “What is your favorite breakfast?” So that led us down the path of what the best breakfast foods are. Paul mentioned coffee cake, then why we never have it, and casually, “We should make a cherry coffee cake sometime.” Asking for a specific baked good just days before Father’s Day? Well played Paul. Well played. 

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“We” got the hint. Truthfully, I don’t know why we don’t have coffee cake more often. It’s so good. And I know I never make it, because I remember the last time I made a coffee cake. VIVIDLY. It was just over four years ago. The day before Eve was born. New neighbors had moved in down the street. I bought all of the ingredients to make them a “welcome-to-the-neighborhood-cake” and didn’t want a little thing like going into labor to cause them to go to waste. Ha! So I made the cake and had 3-year-old Emmett bring it over to their house with me. Because it was for them, we never had a chance to taste it. I remember it looking delicious and thinking that I probably should have made a double batch.  This became especially obvious to me the next morning when I finally had baby Eve in my arms after a long night at the hospital. 

This baby is thick.

This baby is thick.

I don’t remember much about the recipe or what I changed back then but I do remember that it came from King Arthur Flour and it was a recipe for blueberry coffee cake. When I decided to make this one, I went back to that same recipe and adapted it to make something cherry and almond flavored. Cherry as requested, almond because it goes so well with cherries and we all love it.  I added a touch of cardamom just because. I also used cake flour, because I have some and because I recently looked up several coffee cake recipes where cake flour was used so I thought, why not? 

The top photo is with double streusel, the bottom is with original amount. The batter becomes really thick after adding the frozen fruit.

The top photo is with double streusel, the bottom is with original amount. The batter becomes really thick after adding the frozen fruit.

Initially, I made half of the streusel but once I put it on top of the batter it looked sad and sparse, so I doubled it. How much is too much crunchy, buttery topping? I don’t know. But let me tell you what isn’t too much. Double. I mean this clearly isn’t diet food. I believe that you should just make cake that tastes amazing and have a smaller piece.  I used frozen cherries, which is one reason I think this cake took so long to bake. I know it seems long, but promise it took the entire 75 minutes! Even then I was wondering if I was pulling it too soon, but after letting it cool in the pan for a little while, it ended up being perfectly cooked through.  I was checking intermittently from the 40 minute mark. Even though I used a 9-inch pan, with all that streusel this cake came out tall and thick. I have no idea how to remove a cake like this from a regular cake pan, so I used a springform pan which worked well. For our purposes it wouldn’t have mattered (since we are always happy to eat straight from the pan), but if you want to remove it and put it on a plate, keep in mind that you might lose some streusel when you turn it out onto one. 

This should be my new zoom background.

This should be my new zoom background.

Double Streusel Cherry Almond Coffee Cake 

Ingredients 

For Streusel

2/3 cup  sugar

1 cup cake flour (or all-purpose)

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at cool room temperature  

For Cake

2 cups cake flour or all-purpose

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, softened

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract 

1/2 cup milk, at room temperature

12 ounces frozen cherries

Directions

 Streusel

Grease a 9-inch cake or springform pan.

 For streusel, combine flour, sugar, salt, cardamom and almond extract in a bowl.

Using a pastry cutter or your hands, combine butter into flour mixture until the texture is crumbly.  Set aside. 

Cake

Preheat oven to 375F. Combine sugar, and butter in the bowl of a mixer and mix until fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add egg and extracts and continue to beat for another few minutes until the mixture is pale and well combined.

While you are mixing the butter and sugar, combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. 

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixture.  

Once milk and flour mixture are thoroughly combined with the butter mixture, add frozen cherries and stir until just combined. 

Pour batter into prepared cake pan and top with streusel. 

Bake for 65 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

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