St. Patrick's Day 2024

I hope you're enjoying St. Patrick's Day.  It's a bit different when it falls on a Sunday. Yesterday was a work day at The Whitney, so I didn't do any advance meal prep.  As always, Sunday mornings is attending worship service at church, so it was around 12:30 when I got in my kitchen to begin preparing our St. Patrick's Day dinner.   I decided it was going to be a 'progressive dinner' to keep hunger pangs away.       

In a recent recipe e-mail from Paula Deen to her followers, she featured Shepherd's Pie Stuffed Potatoes.  She suggested air-frying the potatoes, but I oped to bake mine.  I put them in the oven to bake, while I started making the Reuben Soup.  It's a delicious recipe that I got from a tearoom cookbook and I've made it several years on St. Patrick's Day.

When the soup was done, I called hubby to the table for the first course of our 'progressive dinner.'  I was a bit lazy this year and didn't set a fancy table - just the bare necessities, but I did give a nod to St. Patrick's Day with some dishware and a few figurines.

When The Whitney's tea blender blended our Irish Cream black tea to serve throughout the month of March, she gifted me with a complimentary half lb. bag, so we had Irish Cream black tea to go with our soup.

After the soup course, I started working on the meat filling to go inside the baked potato shells.  I scooped the potatoes from the shells, mashed them, and began assembling the stuffed potato. Since everything was cooked they only had to go in the oven long enough to melt the cheese on top.  My hubby returned to the table for course #2 of the 'progresive dinner.'  The potatoes were yummy and would be a nice savory for a tea party using a smaller potato.  I have served Shepherd's Pie in au gratin dishes before, but this presentation is a nice alternative.

The last course was Irish Soda Bread.  I always make the recipe from the Silver Palate Cookbook, but this year I decided to try a new recipe from the Internet, and it didn't disappoint.  The only thing missing was the Kerrygold Irish Butter that I forgot when I was shopping.  We had to settle for American butter!  ;-)  Currants were hard to find so I had to substitute raisins.  I should have ordered them online and will next time.

A slice of Irish Soda Bread is a close cousin to a scone [in my opinion].

When we took our last bite of Irish Soda Bread, I declared the 'progressive dinner' was over and I was relaxing the rest of the day [after cleaning up the kitchen].  I enjoyed prepping and eating all the Irish food and tomorrow I'll return to my low-carb diet!   Even though my mom was of Irish descent and very proud of her Irish heritage, I don't ever remember her celebrating St. Patrick's Day by making traditional Irish dishes.  It's a special day to me and I always enjoy celebrating it.

I saw many Irish blessings posted on Facebook today as well as quotes from St. Patrick.  He was a remarkable Christian missionary and hero of the faith, with an inspiring legacy.  One of his prayers is good for all Christians today:

"Christ above me, Christ in front of me, Christ to my right, Christ to my left, Christ below me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ in my every thought, Christ in my every word, Christ in my every deed."

How have you celebrated St. Patrick's Day?

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I proudly wear green and the symbols of good luck on St. Patrick's Day because my ancestry on my mother's side is Irish.  But in truth, St. Patrick's Day is about God's blessing [through St. Patrick] rather than good luck.

St. Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland.  His real name was Maewyn Succat.  He was born into a Christian family that lived on the English coast in the late 4th century A.D.  As a 16-year-old, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland.  After six years of captivity, he escaped and returned to his homeland.

He spent several years in religious study, and became a bishop.  After visions from God calling him to return to Ireland to preach the gospel, the Pope gave his blessing for St. Patrick to return to the very people who enslaved him.  He was the obedient missionary responsible for a massive spiritual awakening in the hearts of the Irish people, and won many souls to Christ, and established monasteries, schools and churches all over the country.  

St. Patrick used the three leaves of the shamrock as a metaphor to explain the Christian Holy Trinity - God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today I'm sharing photos from previous St. Patrick's Day Celebrations!
I'm thankful for all my tea-lovin' friends in blogland!

Below is a St. Patrick's tea I had for my mother [on the right who passed in 2014] and my aunt who is 87 and still going strong. She is the only one left of 7 siblings.  Their father immigrated to Canada with his boyhood family during Ireland's great potato famine in 1840. So I do have some Irish blood in my veins.  ;-)

The Daniel Sullivan family - my mom is standing on the right.

A Reuben Sandwich at O'Blivions - a Detroit Corktown [Irish] Cafe

 ~ Irish Soda Bread ~

~ Shepherd's Pie because in captivity St. Patrick was an Irish herdsman. ~

~ Potato Soup and Green Salad ~

~ My Mother's Trio ~

2012 St. Patrick's Day Dinner

I didn't host a St. Patrick's tea party this year, but I did invite three couples to dinner on St. Patrick's Day evening.  One of the invitees had to work,  but seven of us spent a wonderful evening together.  

Same dishes as pictured in other posts [Shannon by I. Godinger & Co.], but I only had service for six, so I had to scout out a couple of antique stores for vintage green teacups and saucers to mix and match, and two more water goblets.   While in one shop I spied a green sugar and creamer in the "Tea Room" pattern so it came home with me for the tablescape!

My menu was:  Irish Soda Bread Scones with Streusel-Oat Topping

[A combination of two recipes - yummy!]

Reuben Soup

[My first time to make this and it is definitely a keeper!]

 1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, diced

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup beef broth

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

3/4 cup sauerkraut, rinsed and drained

2 cups light cream

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups corned beef, cooked and chopped

1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded

In saucepan, sauté onion and celery in butter until tender.  Add broth and puree in blender.  Return to pan and add baking soda.  Combine cornstarch and water and stir until smooth.  Add to broth.  Bring to boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat.  Add sauerkraut, light cream, chopped corned beef [I purchased mine from the Deli], and seasonings.  Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add cheese and heat until thoroughly melted and blended into soup.  Serve immediately, garnished with rye croutons.

Green Fruits in Jasmine Tea Syrup

[recipe in Tea Cuisine by Joanna Pruess with John Harney]

 

I have served "green fruits" [kiwi, halved green grapes, and honeydew melon balls] before, but never marinated in jasmine tea syrup and it's very good.  I garnished the individual servings with mint leaves.  Pictured above, however, is a clover I plucked from my Oxalis plant today for this photo since I used all the mint leaves on Saturday.  I don't think it's edible, so please don't copy my photo! ;-)

A St. Patrick's meal wouldn't be complete without potatoes somewhere in the menu, so they topped the individual servings of Shepherd's Pie in the main entrée.

Author, Elizabeth Knight says all the Celtic countries are big on gingerbread, so dessert was gingerbread parfaits.

   

I've got my list of green depression glass pieces to acquire for St. Patrick's Day celebrations next year... but now it's time to start thinking spring!