Until last Saturday, I didn’t know what Colcannon was.  I was given the ingredients and a recipe and was told to make it.  This is not a family recipe or some comfort food my kids will remember.  In fact, they’ve never had it.  It’s because of my unexpected guests that I chose to blog about it.

Colcannon is generally made with kale or cabbage, mashed potatoes, butter and milk, and is an Irish dish that is served on Halloween with coins hidden in it for the kids.  It’s also served on St. Paddy’s Day.  Now, I don’t have an Irish bone in my body (English through and through), but you can’t go wrong with mashed potatoes, no matter what’s in them.

Two weeks ago, the woman who rented our beach house in Carova, NC had to leave because her dog became seriously ill.  We were very upset for her and the dog, but we took the opportunity to go down and perform some much needed maintenance and spend a few days looking at the ocean.  We rent our house out from Sunday to Sunday (www.breaknwind.com) and it’s always booked, so we hardly get to use it during the season.  

My oldest friend (lol, I’ve known her since I was 5), GeGe, and her mom “Grammy King” came too, and as always, GeGe overbuys food (aka food hoarder) and brought way too much.  And, of course, chaos follows her as usual.  She had to leave the next morning because her daughter went into labor six weeks early and she had to get to Pittsburgh.  Grammy King stayed with me.  This baby, Kaiden Michael, is just the first of the unexpected guests that arrived too early that week.

So, on that Saturday morning I planned to have hamburgers for dinner, put them on the counter to defrost and we all went to the beach.  It was a gorgeous day. We stayed out there for hours, having Lane move the umbrella every hour or so for Grammy and I as the tide went down.  Lane went back up to the beach house and shortly came back with two people I didn’t recognize behind him.  I told Grammy, “Lane is with two people”.  She says, maybe they are his friends.  I said, “Lane doesn’t have two friends”.  Anyway we laughed, but I had already figured out in my mind who they were.

They introduced themselves, and sure enough, they were the renters for Sunday that showed up a day early.  Lane found them in our house roaming around, looking at our luggage and cell phones and unmade beds and began to get scared that someone might come out with a shotgun if they didn’t get out.  They called my cell phone and it rang on the table.  At this point, they still hadn’t figured out what the deal was.

Lane, thinking that they are some sort of maintenance people, said, “Who are you?” and the guy says, “I’m Mr. Grimm.  I rented this house.”  Lane tells them it’s a Sunday to Sunday rental and after they looked at their paperwork, they realized their mistake.  They had been on the road for two days to get there.  They were so excited to arrive they left a day early.  Lane told them they could stay, but would have to check it out with me.  That’s when he brought them to the beach.  I told them there was no chance they’d get a hotel for only one night on a Saturday anywhere near there and that they’d have to stay with us and join us for dinner.

I made my way back to the house and decided that maybe I’d make the Colcannon and a spiral ham that GeGe brought, so I looked at the recipe.  I decided to make a few changes.  Between the Colcannon, the wine and the laughter, we became quick friends and have a great story to tell for years to come.

Colcannon for Unexpected Guests

Wash about 2 lbs of unpeeled, red potatoes and cut them into large chunks.  Put them in boiling water with a generous amount of salt for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute 1/2 a large onion and salt and pepper in 2 Tbsp on butter and a Tbsp of olive oil until soft, about 10 minutes.

Add 3/4 head diced cabbage and more salt and pepper and cook until soft.  I used shredded because Trader Joe’s didn’t have a head of cabbage, so I was forced to buy the bagged shredded.  Ideally, I’d prefer if the cabbage and the onions were about the same size.  That way Grammy King can’t tell there’s onion in the dish. She thinks she’s allergic.  hehe

Melt 6 Tbsp on butter on low heat and keep warm.

Shred some Irish Dubliner cheese.  You can get it in your fancy cheese section.  It’s pretty common.  It typically comes in a 7 oz. block, so use it all if you want.  There’s never such a thing as too much cheese in my opinion.

Also, if you have it, chop about 4 green onion tops.

When the potatoes are done, drain and put back into the pot.  Mash with a fork and add some salt and pepper, 3/4 cup of milk and a giant spoonful of sour cream.

Mix well.  Then add the cheese and mix, and then finally the cabbage mixture and mix again.

Top off with green onions and give it a stir.

Spoon the mashed potato mixture onto a plate and make a “nest”.  Spoon a tablespoon of butter into each nest.  This is the best part.

Serve with people you’ve never met, lots of wine and laughter.