see post Celebrating St Patrick's Day Like the Irish!
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day like the Irish and get out the green. March 17th is the day to be Irish and it of course can bring out the Irish in us all. From the St. Patrick's Day parade in San Francisco (known as the biggest west of the Mississippi) to the city of Chicago dying their river green or the paramount Nyc parade, citizen across the country celebrate with zest. Bars serve green beer and restaurants offer the original Irish dish of corned beef and cabbage.
Celebrating St Patrick's Day Like the Irish!
When my children were young, we loved to have our own St. Patrick's Day celebrations at home. We would bake green cupcakes topped with shamrocks, dye our applesauce green and make green fruit punch. We all made sure to wear green so we didn't get pinched. Now that they're grown I can relax and just cook my beloved St. Patrick's Day recipes.
I'm a lover of original foods, so on March 17th you will smell the aromas of corned beef and cabbage cooking in my kitchen and find Irish soda bread on the dining table. Let's not forget the Irish coffee after dinner. You could also serve an Irish lamb stew or for a less original dish you may prepare my beloved Corned Beef with Apricot Glaze.
Though corned beef and cabbage are the original Irish fare on St. Patrick's Day, it wasn't all the time so. Cabbage was a staple for the Irish in Ireland for centuries. It was traditionally cooked with a good potential Irish bacon. After advent to America, they couldn't afford bacon and starting using corned beef instead. It caught on and is now the meal served on St. Patrick's Day.
Irish Soda Bread
3 1/2 c. All purpose flour
1 t. Salt
1 t. Baking soda
1 1/2 c. Buttermilk
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Mix dry ingredients. Stir in buttermilk. Dough needs to be soft but not sticky. Knead on a floured board for 2 minutes. Form into a round loaf and place on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Cut a deep cross into the top of the loaf. Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees F. Sacrifice meat to 400 and continue baking for other 20 minutes.
There are distinct theories as to why there is a cross cut into the top of the bread. Some believed it help ward off evil or to let the fairies out. In reality, it was probably done to help the baking of the bread. The cut would allow more air flow which would aid in the rising of the bread.
Get your Irish on! Visit San Francisco for the largest St. Patrick's Day parade west of the Mississippi. Drink some green beer and enjoy a pot of corned beef and cabbage.
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