St. Patrick's Day Our Way

Paul loves St. Patrick's Day, and I'm rather fond of the holiday meself. Although our dark complexions disguise it, both he and I have significant Irish ancestry. We also celebrate March 17th as the day we went on our first date 4 years ago now. It was a bit of a catastrophe, but aren't the most memorable dates always part chaos?

This year for our St. Patrick's Day dinner party, we started off with a Ploughman's Lunch platter. Traditionally, this consists of cheese, bread, pickles, chutney, salad and perhaps some meats. Our featured Kerrygold Dubliner cheddar cheese, sweet pickles, and homemade persimmon chutney, along with slices of hearty, slightly sweet soda bread.


One friend brought a green salad with green goddess dressing; another brought a pistachio fruity salad. We served extra soda bread with Irish butter alongside a variation of a thick Paula Dean beef-potato stew.

For dessert, we made some chocolate-mint cupcakes that looked picture perfect both before and after frosting:

And boy, when you bit into one, it really kicked you in the mouth and shouted, "Mint!" I like spunk in a cupcake. I appreciate it very much. Crowned with a viewing of "Darby O'Gill and the Little People", the evening was an Irish sensation. How can you top a young, dark-haired, smiling Sean Connery? Tis impossible. And with that, I take my leave and wish you all the luck of the Irish.