Ah St. Patrick’s Day! March 17th is the one day of the year you can don shamrock everything, eat green food without getting sick and run around pinching people without penalty. It’s a good day.
Speaking of green food, are you as tired as me of green fingers (green beer which is actually just regular beer with green food dye) and zombie-apocalyptic-like stained teeth? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for themed food! It’s all part of the fun! But why not do something new this year? Why not get into the swing of things this St. Patrick’s Day by making green food new. Let’s take a moment to re-imagine St. Patrick’s Day food as what it actually should be – Irish! You can read a semi-history of St. Patrick’s Day here or a full one here, but for our purposes – let’s focus on the food! Or rather, making the food NEW this year!
Some traditional Irish dishes include Sausage Potato Hot Pot, Soda Bread, Lamb Stew, Shepherd’s Pie, Cottage Pie, Irish Stew, Corned Beef and my personal favorites, Irish Coffee and Guinness Cake! It’s a veritable smorgasbord of comfort foods! And who doesn’t like comfort food? Nobody I know, that’s for sure! Using these dishes as a starting point for something new – something you – is a great way to celebrate the Irish culture while honoring your own talents, skills and kitchen.
Liven these dishes up by using real ingredients like fresh herbs, new salad greens or Spring(ish) vegetables, avocados, green peppers, and ever-popular kale chips. * Or simply put a new spin on an old classic by cooking it differently, making it into a sandwich or a soup or even revolutionize an aspect of one of these dishes by substituting the main ingredient for something totally new. And instead of filling your party guests (or self) up on chemical-laden, so-last-year green beer, class it up and create a real WOW Moment for them by mixing a Melbourne Mule or Mojito!
There are so many ways you can make St. Patrick’s Day foods new this year – the possibilities for Irish recipe innovation are limited only by your imagination.
What will you create new this St. Patrick’s Day? Have a particular favorite Irish dish? Green food? Like the green beer? Share with us below or meet us on Facebook to join the discussion!
* Bonus: These ingredients all make things green.
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