St. Patrick Day Recipe: Raglan Road Dubliner Mac ‘n Cheese & Bread Pudding

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! When I think of Disney and St. Patrick’s Day, there are two things that spring into mind: the Little Man of Disneyland and the Raglan Road Irish Pub at Disney Springs in Walt Disney World. So in honor of the green-hued holiday, I’ve got a little magic from coast to coast that I’d love to share with you. 

Raglan Road Mac ‘n Cheese & Bread Pudding

Let’s start with the delicious part: the recipes! Today’s recipes are coming from the Raglan Road Irish Pub located in Disney Springs. It is filled with live Irish music, step dancers and yummy Irish-inspired food.

Here are a couple of favorite dishes of mine from this magical establishment. This Mac ‘n’ Cheese recipe would be a perfect side to your traditional St. Patty’s Day meal or a tasty lunch the next day. And then to finish on a sweet note, the bread pudding is a rich dessert and I like to enjoy it with a strong cup of Irish Breakfast tea.

Dubliner Mac ‘n Cheese

For Cheese Sauce

• • 6 T. Butter (I used Kerrygold)
  • 1 Shallot, chopped
  • 1 cup White Wine
  • 3 cups Heavy Cream
  • 3 cups Dubliner Cheese, shredded (I got mine from Sam’s Club)
  • 1 tsp Salt and Pepper mix

For Macaroni Pasta

• • 1 lb Macaroni
  • 3 qt Water
  • 1 tsp Salt, kosher

INSTRUCTIONS

For Cheese Sauce

• • Melt the butter in a pot and sweat the shallots (do not brown)

• • Deglaze with wine, cook for 4 minutes until wine reduces by 1/2

• • Add in the cream and salt & pepper mix, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes

• • Add in the cheese in 3 to 4 batches. Stir to melt and then use an immersion blender and emulsify to a smooth consistency. There should be no lumps.

For Macaroni Pasta

• • Bring the water and salt to a rolling boil
  • Add in the pasta, cook according to package directions
  • Quickly and carefully strain the pasta of all water

Assembling the Dubliner Mac ‘n Cheese

• • Add the pasta to the sauce and stir well to coat

Serve immediately for best flavor and texture! 

Raglan Road Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding Ingredients: 

• • 1 ½ loaves French Bread (I used 2 loaves of Challah bread and had enough left over to make 5 small ramekins without raisins for people who don’t like them.
  • 1 pound (4 sticks)Kerry gold butter, softened
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • 1 quart Crème anglaise (see below)
  • 1 cup Raisins, soaked in Irish mist or water

Creme Anglaise

• • 6 Egg yolks
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean split or a teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 quart Heavy cream

Caramel Sauce

• • 2 sticks butter, chilled
  • 1 cup Brown sugar
  • 1 cup Heavy cream

Bread Pudding Instructions: 

• • Combine the sugar and butter, spread evenly on the bread slices to make sandwiches, stack together and cut off the crust. 

• • Cut the “sandwiches in ½ on an angle (from corner to corner into triangles but I made mine rectangles because of the shape of the Challah) 
  • Butter the inside of a 13 x 9-inch pan, dip sandwiches into creme anglaise, and then arrange into the pan. Sprinkle raisins over the pieces of bread as you place them in the pan. Make two layers of the sandwiches. Lightly coat, do not soak the sandwiches. 
    
  • Bake covered in a Bain Marie (the 9×13 pan in a bigger pan; I used a half sheet pan. Place both pans in the oven and add boiling water, with a kettle, to the larger pan until it reaches almost the top of the bigger pan.) at 375 degrees for 40 minutes until it rises a bit. Remove the cover and bake an extra 10 minutes until slightly brown.
    
    
  • Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly serve warm or at room temperature with anglaise and caramel sauce.
    
    

Sauce Anglaise Instructions

• • Heat up the cream and the vanilla bean on the stove until it almost starts to boil. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk well.

• • When the creams reach the almost boiling point, turn off and remove the pot from the flame. Temper the yolks, by ladling a small amount of cream to the bowl and mixing well. Then add the yolk-sugar mixure to the cream, whisk well so that it does not curdle. Place over a low flame for 2 minutes whisking until it starts to thicken. Strain and allow to cool at room temperature.
  • Reserve 1 cup of the creme anglaise to top the finished bread pudding if desired.

Caramel Sauce Instructions

• • Caramel Sauce Method of Preparation: Combine the brown sugar and butter in a pot and cook over a medium-high flame. Whisk well to combine, when sugar is melted and it starts to boil turn off the stove, remove from the flame and whisk in the 1 cup of cream to combine. Allow to cool to room temperature.
    

And the most important step of all . . . enjoy! 

The Little Man of Disneyland

Now, a little Erin go bragh (Ireland forever!) from Disneyland. Do you know of Patrick Begorra? Well, in case you haven’t read the 1955 Little Golden Book, The Little Man of Disneyland, it tells the tale of how Disneyland was built through the permission of a little leprechaun.  

But what makes this story extra special is that the Little Man of Disneyland REALLY lives there. You can find him yourself if you search hard enough. My daughter and I like to pay him a visit every time we go to Disneyland, but he always seems to be off exploring the park. Maybe we’ll catch him next time!

We have a whole story for you that we published earlier today about this charming classic Golden Book and how to find Patrick in Disneyland for yourself . . . (don’t miss it): 

The Charming Story of the Little Man of Disneyland

Let’s Hear From You

I hope you’re hungry because these recipes are just perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! Have you found the Little Man of Disneyland in the park? Is Raglan Road on your Walt Disney World must-do list? I’d love to hear more from you in the comments below! 

May the leprechauns be near you, to spread luck along your way. And may all the Irish angels smile upon you St. Patrick’s Day.