What to Eat on St. Patrick’s Day

So, you’re going to have a big St. Patrick’s Day bash and you want to serve traditional Irish food. What should you plan to put on the menu? Although it is actually more Irish American than Irish, corned beef and cabbage is a big favorite with most Americans. We enjoy this meal every St. Patrick’s Day and I’m not about to give it up just because great-great-great grandpa Maguire didn’t eat corned beef! If you want to be more authentic, there are a lot of delicious dishes that come from Ireland:

• Irish soda bread is a kind of heavy bread that doesn’t need yeast. One of my friends made blueberry soda bread scones, but I can’t seem to find the recipe. Here’s an authentic soda bread recipe and here is a buttermilk scone recipe that looks delicious.
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  Lamb Stew - Image: istockphoto

  Irish stew is another popular dish for St. Patrick’s Day. My brother is a big fan. Since I don’t like the smell of lamb cooking, I replace the lamb with beef. This slow cooker recipe is almost the same as the traditional stew we make, but is perfect for someone who is too busy to mind the stew pot. If I was cooking it for myself, I think I’d try this vegan style Irish stew instead.

• I have to have Irish shortbread. These cookies just seem to melt in your mouth.
• An Irish cheese tart sounds pretty good right about now, too. Maybe for a rich and hearty breakfast?
• This cottage pie, which is similar to shepherd’s pie, gets rave reviews. Since the meat was probably originally lamb or pork instead of beef anyway, I won’t feel guilty for substituting ground chicken.
• Irish potato pancakes (AKA Boxty) are also a very traditional dish. Below is a video that shows how to make them.