Spring is widely considered a season of rejuvenation. The warmer post-winter air that is a hallmark of spring certainly adds an extra hop to the steps of millions of people each year, but a number of notable events also lend a festive feel to this beloved time of year.

This this week’s On The Table finds some colorful selections to make for a Spring brunch or tips to plan a college hoops watching party.

Find it in your Thursday Bowie News.

Hearty recipes for celebrating from the comfort of home

(Family Features) While some St. Patrick’s Day celebrations call for green beer and large gatherings, you may instead opt for a cozy evening at home with comforting foods and close friends. Whether your shamrock spirit leads you out for a local parade or you’re more of a stay-at-home leprechaun, there is one tradition all can agree on: delicious Irish food.

If a quieter night cooking at home is up your alley, you’re in luck. You can put a meal worthy of gold on the table with these festive Irish favorites from “Cookin’ Savvy.”

A hearty home-cooked meal loaded with flavor and sure to fill you with cheer, Irish Beef and Beer Pot Pie is made piping hot to warm up any St. Patrick’s Day party. Full of hashbrowns, carrots, peas and beef, it’s a twist on tradition served with puff pastry topping the tasty stew. A cup of your favorite stout beer, of course, will come in handy for deglazing the skillet to ensure you enjoy every bit of beefy flavor.

Perfect for serving as a sweet complement to coffee or tea, or all on its own as a nightcap nibble, Irish Sweet Soda Bread comes together in a snap so you can let it bake while enjoying the main course. Offering an easy way to participate in the festivities, it might just become a household favorite to be savored year-round.

Make your home a St. Patrick’s Day haven with these hearty recipes then discover more celebratory meal ideas from “Cookin’ Savvy” by visiting Culinary.net.

Irish Beef and Beer Pot Pie

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy”
Servings: 4-6

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup stout beer
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 can (15 ounces) tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 bag (28 ounces) hashbrowns with peppers and onions
• 1 can (14 ounces) carrots, drained
• 1 can (14 ounces) peas, drained
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg

1. Heat oven to 400 F.
2. In large skillet or Dutch oven, brown ground beef; drain and set aside.
3. Over medium heat, deglaze skillet with beer and whisk in flour. After thickening, whisk in tomato puree and add Worcestershire sauce. Mix in ground beef, garlic powder and beef broth. Add hashbrowns, carrots and peas. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Place puff pastry sheet on cookie sheet. Beat egg and brush over pastry. Bake 10 minutes. Place hot puff pastry on top of beef mixture and serve.

Irish Sweet Soda Bread

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy”
Servings: 4-6

• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 4 cups self-rising flour
• 1 cup currants
• 2 tablespoons sanding sugar (optional)
• coffee or tea, for serving (optional)

1. Heat oven to 375 F.
2. Mix melted butter and sugar then add buttermilk. Mix in flour and currants.
3. Flour hands and counter. Add sanding sugar to dough, if desired, and knead into ball.
4. Grease small Dutch oven or pie plate and bake 40 minutes. Serve with coffee or tea, if desired, or as a dessert.

Substitutions: Raisins can be used in place of currants.

SOURCE:
Culinary.net

Some folks like murder mysteries, some like autobiographies of world leaders, and some love a good beach read otherwise known as a romance novel.
I prefer a cookbook any day of the week. Lately, I have been going through my mom’s cookbooks, and I think the best are the pages that are beyond smudged and streaked with ingredients from long ago. You know somewhere on that page is a good recipe.
Hopefully, you have an inkling of which one it is. My favorite go-to cookbook is my New Doubleday Cookbook and pages 682 and 683 are so mucky with years of dribble and flour residue. Those pages are the best because they offer about 15 bread recipes, including sandwich yeast bread, rapid-rise yeast bread, and milk bread varieties.
These pages are the pages the book opens to when you just lay open the book. I encourage you to go to your mom or grandmother’s cookbooks and do the “lay it open” test and see which pages it automatically goes to because there is a golden opportunity to make something truly wonderful on that page.
I love baking bread; the aroma of a house filled with freshly baked bread is an incredibly visceral experience. I don’t think a candle labeled “bread” could come close to replicating it. Baking cookies is a close second for me, with the smell of lasagna coming in as my third favorite scent in any kitchen.

Read the full Love & Luck food page in your Thursday Bowie News. Find some new delights to cook up for St. Paddy’s Day on Monday.