A Southern style Saint Patrick’s Day feast

Published 11:56 am Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I have a sign at my house that reads:  “Tis a grand thing to be Irish, but to be Irish-American is a special blessing indeed!”

Many of us here in the south have a wee bit of the Irish blood coursing through our veins, but on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is Irish. We do it up big at our house on St. Patrick’s Day. My kids get presents, we have loads of Irish food and of course the Leprechauns come by for a visit! We have green wreaths on the door, green and gold table decorations, Irish flags a flying and an Irish tree full of fun Irish ornaments. 

I’ve always been a big fan of St. Patrick’s Day, but spending St.  Patrick’s Day 2010 in Ireland really did me in. Last year at this time, we were walking the streets of Galway City, Co. Galway, Ireland. On St. Patrick’s Day, we began the day with a full Irish Fry at a pub called Finnegans at No. 2 Market Street. An Irish Fry is a full traditional Irish Breakfast.  And when I say full, I truly mean full. We discovered that my husband John was “a grand man for the pan”, which the Irish say to describe one who truly enjoys fried food. The plate comes full of fried eggs, toast, beans (we all thought this was kind of weird), black and white pudding (not pudding at all, it’s like sausage), Irish link sausage, a tomato and mushroom fry and a huge assortment of jams, jellies and their incredible Irish butter. Tis grand indeed.

After our FULL breakfast was followed by watching the parade in Galway City Centre, we had a lovely Irish lunch. I ate traditional Irish stew made with lamb, carrots and potatoes.  I’m not a big fan of eating lamb, but I wanted to go the whole traditional route while I was there.  It was quite good and not nearly as strong tasting as I thought it would be. The highlight of lunch was the lovely, fresh, warm soda bread.  Yes, tis grand, so it is.

Our last full day in Ireland last year was my birthday.  We spent the day shopping and touring the city of Dublin.  Then on our way back to our hotel we stopped in a little town right on the Irish Sea called Greystone. We walked along the rocky seashore and then stopped in a pub called “The Burnaby” for some birthday dessert. I had some Irish Coffee Cheesecake. It was heavenly, so it was. 

You can bring a bit of Ireland to your table tomorrow with a few simple recipes, so you can.  I picked some of our family favorites and they happen to be quite simple.  

Shepherd’s Pie

• Mashed potatoes made from about a pound and a half of potatoes

• 2 tablespoons of Irish Butter (local butter from Piggly Wiggly or Walmart will do, although they do carry Kerrygold Irish Butter at Publix)

• 1 medium chopped onion

• 2 peeled and sliced carrots

• 1 cup of frozen green peas

• 4 tablespoons of flour

• 1 pint of beef stock

• Chopped fresh parsley and thyme

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• 1 pound of ground beef, browned and drained

• Kerrygold Dubliner Irish Cheese (which is a white cheddar, available at Publix) or regular mild cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onion.  Cover and let the onion sweat for a few minutes then add the carrots. Stir in the flour and cook until slightly browned.  Add the stock and herbs and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes (By the way, the Irish pronounced the word herb using the “H” sound.  So you say it like the name Herb.) Add the meat and bring back to a boil until the juice thickens and add the green peas.  Place the meat and veggie mix in a deep pie plate or casserole dish and cover the top with mashed potatoes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Put some grated cheese on the top of the potatoes during the last 10 minutes of cooking.  

If you want the easy short cut to Shepherd’s Pie, Publix carries a Coleman’s Shepherd’s Pie Packet on the ethnic aisle. Just follow the directions on the package. It’s super easy and tastes yummy. Got this tip from a local friend, Siobhan Kelly Holt, who happens to be from the Midlands of Ireland.  My family calls Shepherd’s Pie the perfect blend of food.

Basic Brown Soda Bread

This bread is best if eaten fresh with Irish Butter, but slices much better if left to cool and “set” for at least 4 hours (if you can wait that long.)

• 3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 rounded teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (maybe more)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and stir in enough buttermilk to make a soft dough. Turn onto a floured work surface and knead lightly until smooth.  Form into a circle about 1  inches thick and put onto a greased or floured baking sheet. Mark a deep cross with a floured knife into the top of the dough (This allows the fairies to get out.) Bake for about 45 minutes or until the bread is browned and sounds hollow when tapped at the base.  Cool on a wire rack, wrapped in a clean linen towel if you want the crust to stay soft. Makes one large loaf.

Irish Coffee Pie

(This amazingly simple recipe is not quite the elegant dish I had in Greystone, but it’s a quick and easy way to have some Irish Coffee dessert. Special thanks to my friend Sinead Curtis Brown from Huntsville for sharing this recipe with me. Sinead was raised in Dundalk, Co. Louth, Ireland)

• 1 3.5 oz. package of vanilla pudding mix

• 2 tsp. (or more) of instant coffee (depends on how strong you want the coffee flavor)

• 1/2 cups cold milk

• 3 tablespoons Jameson Irish whiskey (optional)

• 1/2 cup whipping cream

• 1 baked 8”pie crust cooled

In a small mixing bowl combine pudding mix and instant coffee, add milk and beat on high for 1 minute.  Blend in 1/3 cup water and the Irish whiskey. Beat on high until fluffy (approximately 2 minutes). Whip the cream with an electric mixer until the cream is stiff. Carefully fold the whip cream into the pudding and coffee mixture. Pile into the baked crust and allow to chill for at least 3 hours.  

I hope you have a blessed and wonderful St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate Irish heritage and culture, but never forget that it’s also about a man. Patrick was a man who believed in the power of sharing the good news to everyone around him. So on this day of celebration and fun, remember to share your faith with someone. Dia Bennacht Leat! That’s “God bless you” in Gaelic!

If you are interested in more information on the Irish culture and local Irish events, visit the Irish Society of North Alabama’s website, www.shamrockalabama.org. We also have a cookbook coming soon.  Please visit my food blog “Slainte Y’all” at www.kelleyusmith.blog-spot.com.