I've never had much of a taste for revenge, but once, after he ruined a beautiful batch of risotto by spitting a freaking cinnamon candy into it as it simmered, I made my little brother a batch of salt pancakes (please note that we were 9 and 12 years old). The gullible, risotto-destroying brat saw nothing amiss in the golden stack of flapjacks presented to him by his big sis, and so he took a huge buttery, syrup-drenched bite. Of course, the cup-and-a-half of Morton I had poured into the batter made his lips curl into a look of disgust before he spat out the half-chewed sodium bomb.

So, this morning, when I told him I was making salted chocolate chip cookies, he said "You would add salt to something delicious. Thank you for being transparent with your intentions this time."

I promise you this, dear reader: my days of intentionally ruining sweet dishes with copious amounts of salt have gone the way of slap bracelets. Full House and not getting along with my little brother. Now, I only add salt to foods to make them extra delicious. Trust me on this one.

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, a limerick:

There once was lady named Gabi
And waiting for bread to rise always made her crabby
She thought, “Maybe instead,
I’ll make Irish Soda Bread!”
So she did, and it wasn’t too shabby!

• ingredients
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling and for pan Pantry
• 2 tsp baking powder Pantry
• 1 teaspoon baking soda Pantry
• 1 tbsp sugar Pantry
• 1/2 teaspoon salt Pantry
• 4 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes $1 for a stick
• 1 egg, beaten $1.50 for 12
• 1 cup buttermilk $1.50 for a pint
• 1 chopped dried fruit of your choice (currants, raisins, apricots, dates) $3.50 for 8 oz.

Total Cost of Ingredients 7.50

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly flour a baking sheet and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Cut in butter with 2 forks until mixture resembles small peas.

Stir in egg, buttermilk and dried fruit to form a sticky dough

Shape into a ball and flatten slightly. Use a sharp knife to score the top a few times.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until hollow-sounding when tapped on the bottom.

Serve hot, cut into wedges, with“fresh butter”:http://brokeassgourmet.com/articles/fresh-butter.

Serves 4-6.

Making fresh butter is definitely not necessary—good, fresh butter is available at your local grocery store for about what it costs to make it, and in much less time. Still, it’s delicious and a lot of fun to make, shape (hello, butter sculptures?) and serve.

It’s easiest and fastest to make using an electric or stand-up mixer, but feel free to try your hand (pun fully-intended) at whisking or shaking old-school. It’s a great project for kids, particularly if you also bake fresh bread to eat it with.

• ingredients
• 1 pint very cold heavy whipping cream $2
• 1/2 tsp salt Pantry

Total Cost of Ingredients $2

Directions

Place heavy whipping cream and salt in a sturdy mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand-up mixer. Beat, either using an electric mixer or the whisk on a stand-up mixer, well-past the stiff-peaks phase of whipping the cream, until the solids begin to separate from the liquid and curds of butter form, about 8-9 minutes of electric beating.

Discard the liquid and mold the butter into the desired shape. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Note: this can be done with a whisk by hand or by pouring the cream into a large glass jar and shaking it, it just takes at least 20 minutes of non-stop shaking/whipping.

Makes about 1/2 cup butter (approx 1 stick).

I didn’t know that St. Patrick’s Day was a big deal until I moved to Boston for college. My first year there, when March 17th rolled around, my Irish Catholic roommate woke me up with Dunkin’ Donuts coffee spiked with whiskey, and we dragged our caffeinated/buzzed selves to the dining hall where we ate a fried and processed-cheese-covered version of this.

While our school cafeteria’s rendition of Irish nachos was totally sub-par, I always remembered it as a dish with potential. More than a decade later I make a California-ified version for St. Patty’s Day. Feel free to add any and all nacho toppings not seen here.

The first thing I read this morning was this New York Times dining article about mouthwatering potato gratin with leeks. I knew immediately that I needed to do a version of it. I added shallots, replaced the pricey Gruyere called for with easier-to-find, less-expensive white cheddar and dialed back the herb additions to better showcase the sweetness of the leeks and shallots.

I ate it for lunch with a bit of seared spinach on the side, but will definitely make it again soon and serve alongside roast chicken or grilled steak.

• ingredients
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for greasing ramekins or pan $1 for a stick
• 1 leek, trimmed, halved lengthwise and chopped $0.50
• 1 large or 2 medium shallots, chopped $0.50
• 1 cup heavy cream $1.50 for a pint
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg $1.50 for 1 oz.
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese $3.50 for 8 oz.
• 2 lbs Russet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced paper-thin (use a mandolin or the thin, flat edge of a grater) $2
• 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper Pantry

Total Cost of Ingredients $10.50

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter 4 ramekins or 1 8“x8” baking dish.

Melt the 2 tbsp butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and shallots and cook 7-8 minutes, or until softened and very fragrant.

Pour cream over the leeks and shallots. Sprinkle in nutmeg and stir well. Cook for 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan and stirring as it cooks, then remove from heat.

Toss the sliced potatoes with the salt and pepper and arrange half of them on the bottom of each ramekin (or on the bottom of the baking dish, if using). Pour about 1/8 cup of the leek-shallot-cream mixture over the potatoes in each ramekin (or 1/2 cup in the baking pan). Divide 1/2 of the cheese evenly between the ramekins (or sprinkle over the potatoes in the baking dish). Repeat layering once more, finishing with the cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden-brown and bubbly. Serve hot.

Makes 4 individual gratins or 1 large gratin (serving 4-6).