St. Patrick's Day arrives just when the seasons are at their most ambivalent. Will it rain? Will it snow? Will the sun suddenly appear, bringing gardens and green delicious things back to life? The simple country fare on the traditional St. Patrick's Day table reflects this tipping point between winter and spring. Here are some of our favorite delicious ways to celebrate this Irish-American holiday.
Over-wintered potatoes and cabbage, along with preserved beef and bacon are the classic choices — along with a pint of good Irish beer. Here are some simple ways to enjoy St. Patrick's and the Irish influence in American cooking. From a vegetarian hash to succulent roasted cabbage with bacon, and real Irish scones to a hot Irish cocktail, pick up a plate or a glass and be Irish, at least for today, saying goodbye to winter and hello to spring.
Here's a smattering of good yet simple Irish eats (and drinks!) we'd like to indulge in today. Many are vegetarian (Guinness Stew, Red Flannel Hash) and most are simple ways to enjoy the vegetables that are still available to us here in the late throes of winter and early spring. Happy St. Patrick's Day, and happy cooking!
EAT
• 1 Red Flannel Hash - Onions, potatoes, cabbage, and... beets! No corned beef in this hash, which is a wonderful way to start or end your day.
• 2 Roasted Cabbage with Bacon - One of my favorite recipes ever, and it just has a couple of ingredients. It turns out silky, plump cabbage wedges, shiny from the olive oil and bacon.
• 3 Vegetarian Guinness Stew - Another vegetarian way to enjoy vegetables and St. Patrick's at the same time.
• 4 Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Guinness Cake - Don't care for Guinness? That's fine — just use it in this rich, chocolatey cake instead.
• 5 Real Irish Scones - Sara Kate went to Ireland and brought back this recipe for these moist, light little pats of joy.
• 6 My Mother's Irish Soda Bread - Classic Irish soda bread, with buttermilk, caraway seeds, and golden raisins.
• 7 10 Ways to Eat a Potato (and Just a Potato) for Dinner - The most enduring culinary symbol of Ireland is still the potato, and this post celebrates that humble, wonderful vegetable with ten ways to let it stand on its own for dinner.
• 8 Kerrygold Aged Cheddar with Irish Whiskey - And if you just want a bite of cheese with your Irish scones or bread, then this cheese flavored with Irish whiskey is your best bet.
• 9 Cheddar & Chive Guinness Bread - Lots of Irish-inspired ingredients packed into one delicious loaf of bread.
• 10 Chocolate Stout Pudding Pie - Beer in your pie? When it's as luxurious as this one, oh yes.
DRINK
• 11 Irish-Style Lager from Rogue Ales - This year's beer pick for St. Paddy's.
• 12 Warm Up to St. Patrick's With an Irish Whiskey Skin - A hot and potent mix of whiskey, lemon, water, and sugar. An Irish cousin to the Hot Toddy, and just right for the colder moments of spring.
• 13 The Trouble With Irish Whiskey (and James Joyce Cocktails) - Bushmills, Jameson, and the James Joyce cocktail.
• 14 Beer Float! - One of our favorite ways to enjoy Guinness or any other proper Irish stout is with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Sacrilege! say the beer purists, but really, an ice cream-stout float must be tried at least once. Bitter, sweet, cold, and delicious!
• 15 Irish Coffee - Classic and wonderful!
What are you cooking for St. Patrick's Day? Is the classic corned beef and cabbage on your table? Or are you branching out with something a little different?
(Images: See linked posts for full image credits.)
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Shortbread cookies and tea.
i made the guinness cupcakes with bailey's cream cheese frosting last night and brought them into work today. huge success!
HILARIOUS! No one in modern ireland would eat any of this! Strictly american-irish!!
Our St. Patty's day meal was this one; http://www.fresh365online.com/recipes/2009/3/17/irish-vintage-cheddar-and-beer-fondue.html. It's simple and fresh and good with beer. Maudite is my favorite with cheddar, both in the recipe and for drinking while you're eating it :)
Corned beef and cabbage all the way--I don't even like it much, but I feel like it's my civic duty!--and of course soda bread, Irish cheddar cheese, Irish butter, Guinness, Smithwicks...:)
@ rtg: I'm delighted to tell you that "Modern Ireland" does still partake in lots of these things... I make fresh soda bread every weekend, my mother makes soda & potato breads at the weekend & we all have the good ol' Irish cooked breakfasts with them too. As for Guinness, hubby drinks it each week (but NOT with the breakfast!) I use Bushmills whisky to de-glaze my pan when I cook steaks for a creamy, tasty sauce, oh and a batch of scones is usually on the go if anyone calls round as they're so quick & easy to make and you can chat in the kitchen as you do them. I'm delighted to have such yummy culinary treats to share with the rest of the world, but don't just save them for once a year! (oh, and the soda bread we make for breakfast tends to be plain with no seeds or raisins... that would be more like something you'd have a slice of slathered in butter to accompany a wee cup of tea!)
I love any kind of excuse to make a themed meal so corned beef, cabbage and potatoes it will be! Hubby has been brining his brisket since last week so looking forward to it.
I've got corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes in the slow cooker as we speak -- a technique that works great for this particular meal! I'm having my St. Pat's tonight because of other weekend plans.
I also be making a soda bread with whole wheat and oatmeal, all served with some spicy mustard.
For dessert I'm keeping it simple: baked apples with vanilla ice cream.
And of course: Guinness.
Delighted to hear, Gillythefilly, that Ireland partakes in some of these yummies!
Growing up, St. Pat's dinner was a pretty big deal in my household. I'd say it was #4 behind Xmas, Easter, and Halloween.
My Irish-American grandmother and grandfather McMartin (my mom's parents) always told us kids that St. Patrick's Day was a uniquely Irish-American celebration, a way for Irish immigrants to come together and bond over a good meal -- especially since they were often pretty outcast from the larger community.
Making my Dad's slowcooker corned beef and possibly the above cheddar chive bread if I have any guinness left:) Also, colcannon w/kale from the first Portland farmer's market this year!
I put it on the wrong thread! I made this vegetarian beer stew pie. Roasted mushrooms, beer-braised carrots and turnips and sharp cheddar in a peppery crust. Lovely!
I just did the twice-baked potatoes with corned beef and roasted cabbage from Melissa Clark's new cookbook. Who knew roasted cabbage was SO delicious?! I was eating it straight off the pan.
We're having prawns, colcannon made with thick bacon and cabbage, and a Guiness... Keeping it simple and enjoying our unseasonably warm weather this St. Patrick's Day.
I'm traveling tomorrow, so we needed a highly transportable St. Patty's Day treat!
Enter: Shortbread cookies made with Kerrygold butter!
@RTG: Hilarious, how? Yes, these meals are largely Irish-American, but so be it. As a 3rd-generation Irish-American, I am pleased to carry on a tradition that my grandparents adopted when they came to this awesome country. So laugh away. I'm going to be enjoying my corned beef and cabbage, potatoes, carrots and homemade soda bread. YUM!
Last year, I made Beef and Guinness Pie and Colcannon for St. Pat's and it was a big hit. This year, I'm going to be volunteering and my boyfriend's going to be doing 200k on his bike, so I'm going to keep it simple: tortellini with pesto, tomatoes, and sauteed zucchini. Hardly Irish, but at least it's green! And we did decorate my honey's bike with a green garland and big green bow!