Back when I was in my 20s and 30s, I decorated for every season. Even if it was just a table scene, I changed it monthly.
In the last few years, I have just been too busy to decorate for much more than Christmas. I am changing that in 2018!
My first tablescape of the year is for St. Patrick’s Day. This is a fun day that pays homage to many Americans’ Irish heritage, including mine.
For a menu, I would go traditional. The Irish people eat fresh foods. We went to the most amazing market, the English Market, when we were in Cork. You could get meats, cheese, salami, chocolates, anything you needed.
My menu will look something like the following:
Appetizer
Irish Soda Bread with Irish Butter
Irish butter is amazing. Add that to a traditional soda bread, and you will be a happy leprechaun.
Main Course
Irish Stew served with Mashed Potatoes
My new favorite way to eat stew is the Irish way…a large scoop of mashed potatoes in the middle of the bowl with a hearty helping of Irish stew on top.
Dessert
Guinness Cake
Guinness is everywhere in Ireland. It does have an interesting history and provides a great source of income for Dublin between exports and tourism. This rich, thick, and chocolately brew serves as a base or flavoring for many recipes including this luscious cake.
or
Appetizer
Irish Cheddar and Stout Fondue
Cheddar and Stout (may I suggest Guinness) come together in this tasty fondue. Serve it with Irish soda bread, and you have hit a homerun.
Main Course
Boxty with a side of Colcannon
Boxty is a form of potato pancake. Fill it like you would a crepe and you have a delicious and filling main course. If a potato pancake isn’t enough potatoes, put a side of colcannon with it and you will be humming an Irish tune! “Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan; if you can’t make boxty, you’ll never get a man!” Traditional Irish Rhyme. Colcannon is mashed potatoes mixed with kale or cabbage.
Dessert
Chocolate Potato Cake
Potatoes are the main underpinning of Irish cuisine. It was the lack of potatoes, caused by potato blight, that created the Great Famine of 1845 – 1849. Over a million people perished due to lack of food. Potatoes add body and depth to this cake.
What the Irish don’t eat is Corned Beef and Cabbage. Our day guide, Jonathan, said he had no clue where that stereotype began.
For my table, I am using a small table runner I made several years ago. It is a variation of a 9-patch quilt. Using shamrock, plaid, and green fabric to make the top, I finished the runner by embroidering several Irish sayings in the white fabric.
My mother-in-law, Janice, gave us the prettiest white coach lantern for Christmas. It makes a statement in my March décor. With the lantern as a backdrop, I surrounded it with leprechauns and clovers. The finishing touch is the napkins I quickly crafted this year out of leftover fabric from the runner.
To make the napkins, see my earlier post here. Use a four-leaf clover cookie cutter as your pattern. For more inspiration on using cookie cutters as patterns, visit this previous post.
